Wilmont’s is a top‐ranked U.S. retail pharmacy company based in St. Louis, Missouri, with more than 8,000 stores nationwide and more than 244,000 employees. The company has engaged in a number of innovative business practices, and now they are considering breaking ground with an even newer concept—using drones to deliver prescriptions and drugstore items. The idea isn’t new—a small firm named DronesTech, Inc., in San Francisco, California, announced its drone-delivery capability in March, and the company is looking to develop a relationship with drugstores around the country to launch the concept for real. Wilmont’s may be the big break it’s looking for!

Wilmont’s operations VP, George Cranston, has asked the CIO, James Connor, to develop a pilot project to get something going and see how this works. Mr. Cranston will provide the funds and oversee all aspects of this initiative. You are a project manager for Wilmont’s internal IT department, and the Mr. Connor has assigned you to lead this project in terms of the information systems that will be needed to support the pilot project. Phillip Greenberg is the project manager at DronesTech, Inc., who will work with you. You have been asked to provide a project charter document along with a project management plan prior to starting the project. Read the following complete case study, which will be needed for you to create these documents: Project Management Case Study.

Directions

As you complete these documents, be sure to refer back to the scenario and case study to obtain all the essential information. Wilmont’s is eager to get this project started and has asked you to provide the following documents in order to begin:

• Project charter document: This critical, one-page document will outline the tasks that will be performed on the project and authorize the project management team to begin the work. Specifically, it must include the following:
  • Project name: Give the project a name.
  • Objectives: List at least three primary objectives of this project. Consider the following question: What is the purpose and desired outcome of this project?
  • Deliverables: List at least three deliverables. Consider the following question: What will you need to deliver to your manager throughout the life cycle of this project?
  • Constraints and scope boundaries: Briefly describe any constraints, including time, cost, and scope. You should also explain what is in and out of scope for this project.
  • High-level milestones: List at least five high-level milestones. These do not need to include dates or budget but should consist of the major milestones that must be completed to bring this project to a close.
  • Risks: List at least three potential project risks. Consider the following question: What might cause delays in the project, be too expensive, impact personnel, and so forth?
  • Approval signatures: Include a space for approval signatures by the project manager and executive sponsor.
• Project management plan: Complete the Project Management Plan Template. The template has additional details beyond the directions given here, so be sure to open the template early and read through it entirely. This document will outline exactly how you plan to manage this project and is an essential tool to move forward. Many of the sections may be adapted from your project charter document. The following sections must be completed:
  • Introduction: What is the purpose of the project management plan?
  • Goals and objectives: What are the goals and objectives expected to be achieved as a result of implementing the project?
  • Scope: This section includes the scope definition, costs and benefits, project deliverables list, and milestones.
  • Assumptions: What specific and measurable assumptions have been made about this project that relate to scope, schedule, resources, and so forth? List at least three.
  • Constraints: This section includes project constraints and critical dependencies.
  • Quality management: This section include tools and techniques and the quality management approach.
  • Project management approach: This is the most in-depth section of your plan. It should include a brief summary of your project effort estimation, communications and control approach, risk assessment, and project budget. It must also include the following:
    • Work breakdown structure (WBS) Gantt chart: Include a high-level WBS of the project, highlighting the stages and major tasks that must be performed to complete the project. Then complete a Gantt chart, which reflects the project schedule and is composed of the WBS, the projected date that each task is to be started and completed, and the resources assigned.
      • You may use any version of a Gantt chart that you prefer. Some free versions can be found here: Spreadsheet Shoppe, teamgantt, and Vertex42.
  • Approvals: Include a sign-off sheet at the end of your project management plan.