The goal of the Capstone Project is to develop a project plan to successfully execute a project.In this option, you will develop, compile, and write important project documents for a service type proj

PROJECT INITIATION 7

Project Initiation

Anastazia Rogacki

PJM580 – Capstone - Project Management

Colorado State University-Global Campus

Dr. Steven Powelson

June 4th, 2018

Project Initiation

Elite Shoe Collection is an online shop for shoes and footwear that was started in 2009. It specializes in the design and sale of all kind of shoes for any occasion or need. Working as an online store, Elite Shoe Collection aims at increasing its customer base by going global. The business, therefore, has designed a project to help it cross borders and attract clients from across the globe. The purpose of this document is to report the feasibility and scope of the project. For a start, the initiation project will target Mexico and Brazil as the scope of operation. The criterion of settling in these countries was based on careful analysis of consumer behavior and patterns which recommended these two countries to be the best fit for the pilot project.

Project Statement of Work (SOW)

As earlier mentioned, Elite Shoe Collection aims at increasing its customer base by starting operations in other countries; this need was inspired by the numerous customer purchase requests especially from Mexico and Brazil on social media and the company’s official website. We believe this project will not only increase sales but also will help the business grow its brand and thus attracting more shareholders. Based on analysis of the customer demands, we believe failure to address the issue will give other companies that operate in our niche the opportunity to seize the opportunity thus losing a huge number of potential clients (Piekkari, Welch & Welch, 2014). Our company vision aims at becoming the leading shoe fashion house in the globe while our mission is to offer the client a one-stop shopping experience that caters for all show and footwear needs for the whole family by offering unique and exquisite shoe designs at affordable rates. The expansion project, therefore, is in line with our vision and mission and thus would be a step closer to the achievement of our goals.

Business case

The expansion project is in response to the numerous customer demands for purchase and delivery of products in other countries, on social media and the official company website as well. Thanks to the advancement in technology, clients from whatever part of the world can make requests and suggestions to us in whatever language, courtesy of the language translate feature. We thus feel the need to respond to these demands as it serves both the customers and the organization. Through expansion, the company will be able to increase its sales and thus its revenue (Piekkari, Welch & Welch, 2014). It will also build its brand which will attract more clients. On the customers’ perspective, the establishment of branches in the countries will make the customers grow closer to the brand as they will feel that the branch is a result of their requests. This will not only motivate their purchase behavior but also increase their loyalty.

Agreements

The following signatures from the chair of the board, the CEO and project manager show that all departments of the organization consent and approve of the project after a review of the benefits of the project vs the risk involved. It shows that they have reviewed the information contained in the scope statement and consent the project commencement

Name	Signature	Date
Theodore Johnsonnes - CEO		6/4/2018
John Snow - Chair of the Board of Directors		6/4/2018
Max Emiliano - Project Manager		6/4/2018

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The expansion project is in line with all federal and corporate laws set and implemented by the U.S government. It is also accommodated in the business’ culture and structure which is evidenced by a number of reasons. For instance, the company aims at being on the frontline in the fight against racism. For this reason, it gives employment and charity opportunities to people of all races and communities. Expansion in the other countries is therefore in line with the organization’s structure and culture. We believe the alignment of our culture and structure will be instrumental to the success of the project.

Organizational Process Assets

To facilitate the success of the project, the project will need a number of resources provided by the business. These include templates of proposal appraisal criteria, work analysis template, risk template and access to the historical database for prior projects.

Tools and technique

To measure the feasibility of the project, we used the SWOT analysis to determine if the project was worth the investments. This analysis involves assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the project to determine its feasibility (Binder, 2016). The strength of the project was the fact that it was a consumer derived initiative as it was demanded by the customers. This, therefore, means the expansion would be welcomed by the customers and thus the project would be a success. The weaknesses of the project as identified by the analysis was that it the project would face the problem of language barrier during implementation, especially in non-English speaking countries. The identified opportunities are expanded customer base, access to a diversified range of cultures thus providing insights on foreign designs, brand building and access to a wide range of talent for recruitment. The identified threats were competition from domestic firms and resistance from their governments. On weighing the pros against the cons of the project identified by the analysis, it was decided upon that the project would be a lucrative investment for the business.

Project charter

The signatories below acknowledge they have reviewed this Project Initiation document and authorize the funding and use of company resources by the Elite Shoe Collection Globalization Project

Signature: _________________ Date: _______________

Print Name: Theodore Johnsonnes

Title: CEO

Signature: _________________ Date: _______________

Print Name: Max Emiliano

Title: Project Manager

Signature: _________________ Date: _______________

Print Name: John Snow

Title: Chair of the BOD