Project Charter - Market Simulation

Sponsor

David Solomon, PMP, Professor, School of Business

Wayne Macintosh, CFO, ABC Incorporated

Goal Statement

The goal of this activity is to practice waterfall/agile project management methodologies, processes, and reporting tools in a team environment. The activity emphasizes business finance, in-depth research, team collaboration, and critical decision-making to successfully navigate the simulation.

Simulation Background

ABC Incorporated is a Canadian Technology company that has been gifted an incredible opportunity. In the annual Board of Directors meeting, Wayne Macintosh (CFO of ABC Incorporated) is delighted to share the news. Because of the team's successful transition to an online environment during the Covid-19 pandemic, office rental costs and new processes have resulted in significant cost savings. The online environment has allowed ABC Incorporated to open a product service department that has shown strong growth. "We could be the giants, with a few well-placed moves" Wayne explains "DEF Product Services Group is our biggest competitor in this space... if we act fast, there's no doubt we could buy them out". The Board of Directors is moved by his charisma and agrees to grant him a new $3,000,000 project, with the goal of acquiring DEF Product Services Group.

After the meeting, Wayne connects with you over Zoom to explain the situation: "There is a lot of potential here, and a lot at stake. I'm trusting your lead. We've assigned you and your team to a new project under my finance department. You will be overseeing our 3-million-dollar investment portfolio, funds split evenly into $500,000 blocks, leveraging company financials to maximize growth. You and your team will need to research and select 6 publicly traded stocks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), submitting your project plan for approval. The Board of Directors knows we're going to take risks as long as the research is justified, so I need you to keep me up to date, even if it all goes wrong. The Board has expressed great concern with this project and will not hesitate to shut it down. I've agreed to present our project progress to the Board of Directors on week 6, we will need their approval to move to the next phase.

Project Overview

Teams will research existing companies, market conditions, and opportunities, in order to create their project management plan. Wayne will be presenting the team's progress to the Board of Directors in Week 6 for approval. The Board of Directors may approve the project plan, request revisions, or cancel the project if required.

If approved, the company will 'purchase' the selected investments 9:30 am on week 9. The team will track their selected investments, reporting gains/losses, progress, risks, and report outcomes weekly. Should the team want to buy or sell selected investments, they will need to present a formal Change Request with a justification that leverages research, make a clear recommendation, state a time when the change will be implemented, and list a minimum of 3 risks based on research. Change requests require approval by the project sponsor in order to move forward. Should the team lose 25% of its total investment portfolio, the project will be canceled. If the team increases its investment portfolio by 25% by the end of project execution, the project will be deemed a success.

QUESTIONS

1) Purpose: Why are we doing the project

2)Investment: How much will the project cost

3)Benefits: What benefits and impact will the project generate and how will we know the project is successful

4)Sponsorship: Who is accountable for the project

5)Resources: Who will manage the project and which skills are needed to deliver the project

6)Stakeholders: Who will benefit from and be affected by the project

7)Deliverables: What will the project produce, build or deliver

8)Plan: How and when will the work be carried out

9)Change: How are we going to engage stakeholders and manage risk