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Winsome Manufacturing Company produces plastic storage containers and sells them to the home consumer through home sales events. At the company’s quarterly meeting, the head of marketing described a new product to be introduced in the first quarter of the next fiscal year, approximately 9 months from now. The product will be a room-sized plastic storage unit suitable to the outside of the home; it is similar to a competitor’s product but will have significantly more features. This product will open new markets for the sales channel, lay the foundation for add-on products, and generate new revenues. Management has only seen preliminary sketches of the potential product but are very excited by the new product.

The project will require participation from the design, production, purchasing, shipping, sales, and marketing departments. Winsome Manufacturing owns a line of suitable injection molds, so all manufacturing will be done in-house. The project manager for this project has not yet been selected, but that decision is expected to be made in the next week.

A preliminary project initiation meeting will result in the identification of the project sponsor, selection of a project manager, and creation of the project charter. A manager in the production department who knows you are taking a college project management course asks you to prepare a brief report to help him prepare for the meeting by answering the following questions:

• Who are the project stakeholders? How will they be involved in the project?
• Who should be the project sponsor? Why?
• From which department should the project manager come? Why?
• What skills and experience are likely needed by the project manager for each phase in the project life cycle, and how do they differ between the various phases?
• What type of communication plan will likely be needed during the project?
  • What information should be shared with the project stakeholders?
  • What is the mechanism that could be used for each type of information?
  • What is the frequency with which information should be shared?
  • What should be done if project communications are not proving to be effective?
  • What technology could be used for project communications?
  • At what point could communication about the project become an ethical or legal issue?
• What information should be included in the following elements of the project charter:
  • What is the problem the project proposes to address?
  • What business opportunity might project completion create?
  • What is the business case for undertaking the project?
  • What is the financial impact of the project?
  • What are the expected results of the project?
  • What value will the project add?
  • What are risks that might be involved with undertaking the project?
  • What is the potential impact to the company if the project is not undertaken?