GRADED DISCUSSION WEEK 7

Please note that if you edit your initial  response (Original Post), you will not get  credit for the Original  Post. The discussions are set up as “Must post first”. 

In your initial response to the topic you have to answer all questions.

1)  For your first topic in this discussion I would like for you to briefly  review either your personal experiences and/or the financial literature  to identify and present a description of one actual capital  project/product success and the reasons attributed to the success.

Remember  this is a one to two paragraph exercise – do not go overboard – a few  hours research and summation is all that’s required. I am interested  only in your short, concise description of the project and the major  reasons you believe it was successful.

2) In your response please provide financial information  regarding the project (what is available): initial outlay, projected  cash flows, dollar profits.

3) Synthesize your one-paragraph position on what 3-5 specific  factors you believe most likely to contribute to capital project  analysis success.

4) Reflection – the students also should include a paragraph in the initial response  in their own words reflecting on specifically what they learned from  the assignment and how they think they could apply what they learned in  the workplace.

You are expected to make your own contribution in a main  topic as well as respond with value added comments to at least two of  your classmates as well as to your instructor.

Post by  Carey Caginalp  

Week 7 Discussion – I will be studying the Betsy Ross Interchange  project, which concerns rebuilding a stretch of (highway and local) road  near Philadelphia, to widen the highway from three lanes to four and  help mitigate traffic.

1. The Betsy Ross interchange involved completely rebuilding a stretch  of a couple miles of highway near the Philadelphia metro area. The  intention was to widen the stretch of road from three lanes of highway  to four, and this entailed rebuilding many city streets as well. One  reason that this project has been regarded as a success is the level of  attention to detail in the original proposal. The steps were laid out  cleanly with timelines and clear budget estimates for each step of the  project. The project was implemented as a private-public partnership,  which can incorporate the advantages from government along with the  efficiency of the private sector. I was also very much impressed by a  list of potential risks and probabilities of the risk occurring. It is  important to document potential hangups and this project clearly  demonstrated an ability to see which things could go wrong, for example  utilities relocations.
2. Since this is a government project rather than a closed loop in a  private corporation, the numbers take on a slightly different meaning.  We can look at money allocated compared to money spent and look at  whether the project is over or under budget. According to Table 4.1 on  p.30, a total of $113MM has been allocated for the project so far, and  only $53MM has been spent. The project is thus coming in ahead of  budget. Of course, the true benefit – less traffic congestion and  ideally less pollution – is more difficult to attach a dollar figure to.
3. Synthesizing my response into specific factors: clear planning of  steps, listing out risks, public-private partnership, and high level of  detail.
4. In this assignment, I learned a significant amount about project  management and tracking. I had thought that government projects had a  much more spurious budget in general. However, by examining this plan in  detail, I can see that there is a careful documentation of many  aspects: the money to be spent, the different phases of the project, and  the timeline for completion of the project. I will find this  extraordinarily helpful in the workplace as I work towards a management  position. A good manager will want to plan 
5. out projects and do a thorough analysis to maximize the chances that their projects will be successful.

Project information from: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/majorprojects/financial_plans/ifp_i95_bsi_bsr_july2014.pdf 

Post by  Sabrina Mann 

I’ve  spent the past couple of years working for a cybersecurity and risk  company and I have seen a lot of internal growth. When I started out at  this company it was only 10 of us in an office, and now we have 100’s of  people working globally. This growth was only possible due to various  capital projects, which has allowed the company to reinvest into itself  and grow. The organization has slightly shifted its focus, moving from  cybersecurity DFIR work to focusing more on risk management, ransomware  recovery, and business continuity. As operations have become more  focused, capital can be reinvested back into those functions to make  them more sustainable and scalable. As a result, many capital projects  are being oriented to expanding operations and ensuring the availability  of services.

Most recently, [my employer] made a $1M investment in an Enterprise  Resource Planning (ERP) system to drive HR and Finance efficiencies and  enhance scalability. This investment has also provided business insights  to enable effective decision-making and planning. Three key factors to  the success were:

1. Planning 
   1. Establishing and stress-testing an objective and realistic business case that provides a positive Return on Investment.
   2. Ensuring that investment aligned to the business goals.
2. Risk Analysis 
   1. Identify risks early on during the project, provide risk visibility  to leadership and project stakeholders, continuously monitor risks, and  take steps to mitigate.
3. Resourcing
   1. Ensuring that the right people were in the right role early on during the project was critical. 
   2. Establishing a diverse team with different points of view led to project delivery on time. 
   3. Resource gaps were identified early and filled with highly skilled contractors.

This discussion project was a great opportunity for me to talk more  about my work on an executive level. I am most certainly one of the  least qualified people among my peers, as I’m the only one still in  college, so anytime that I have a topic I can discuss it is very  exciting. Additionally, having the opportunity to understand the  business better provides me a great opportunity. This past week I’ve  spent time discussing with the CFO, who gladly help me understand more  about the company. I had heard about some investments into HR and even  met a very talented new HR woman. Even so, I wouldn’t have thought it  would be $1 million! I’m excited to see what else comes out of this  investment.