The accounting firm where you work has assigned you as the Project Manager to supervise an upcoming project. In exactly three months, the firm will merge with a smaller company and needs a new location for its employees. The firm currently consists of 40 employees and will be adding an additional 10 employees as a result of the merger. The second floor of a historic, two-story building has been purchased to accommodate the 50 employees in the city’s downtown district. It is completely gutted, so a complete build-out will be necessary. In order to minimize downtime, the move will take place over Labor Day weekend. You’ve been tasked to oversee renovations and installation of all IT requirements. As a recent graduate of Baker College Online, your CEO (project sponsor) has afforded you a considerable amount of discretion when it comes to decision-making. Although he will provide final approval, he expects you to decide on a floor plan, as well as what furniture and computers to keep and what must be replaced. The firm’s image is important, so he expects you to balance cost with quality.

• Build-out: Offices and/or cubicles for 50 employees (the CEO would like you to price out single offices for 10 senior level employees), a conference room, a break room with a kitchenette, a lobby reception area, a LAN room, storage / supply room, and restrooms.

• Computer network: Currently, the employees of the smaller firm are using older model Dell computers (circa 2005) with a Windows XP operating system. Your company is also in desperate need of hardware updates. Most employees are using older systems with Windows XP and some are using Windows Vista. Your company has a client/server network using Windows 2000 server. Your accountants use either Intuit QuickBooks or Sage Peachtree software. You are currently using Symantec Antivirus Corporate protection. Your company currently performs full backups nightly to an onsite server. Security is of the utmost importance. Your proposal should consider the following:

A. Computers for each employee (Marketing has indicated a preference for Macs for their 5 people due to their graphic capability)

B. Software requirements for each computer

C. Network hardware and operating system

D. Backup System

E. Additional devices required (Printers, Scanners, etc.).

F. Internet Service Provider

Please help answer these questions.

1. Create a proposal containing:

• Purpose and need for project
• Scope of project (project objectives, deliverables, milestones, specifications, overall cost, human resources, communications, procurement, limits and exclusions)

2. Project Teams must identify the project’s primary and secondary stakeholders, the stakeholder’s needs, and how the project objectives affect the stakeholders.
3. Include a RAM based on the RACI format (Responsible, Accountable, Consult and Inform). This type of RAM is called a RACI chart, because it assigns the role that the resource is to play for each given activity.