Project Management by VORT

Assuming you decide positively, the next step towards smart, sustainable and innovative city logistics can start, the start of the actual project. VORT can manage the project from initiation until after care. The project management style by VORT exists of five stages. Every stage will be closed by a decision of the executive board.

1. Preparation stage:

During stage several activities need to be executed:

• Install project organization: review executive board, create project teams; get approval with regard to availability of resources
• Refine the business case (review of rough-cut business case developed for Decision Making)
  
• Develop project initiation document(PID): project contract with objectives, scope, budget, planning, quality plan
• Develop communication plan (exception management), issue log, quality log
• Prepare executive board decision (to go to the next stage)
  

2. Exploration stage:

This stage is important to set the outline of the preferred situation:

• Define scenarios / use cases / user stories
  
• Describe and visualize current processes (value stream mapping)
  
• Validate the solution: check if solution covers the requirements, refine business case if necessary
• Gap closure: review the outcome of the gap-analysis during Decision Making and take measures in case of incompleteness
• Ordering as follow up of the TENDER
  
• Continuously review communication plan, issue log, quality log, monitor supplier(s)
• Review PID, including scope, budget, planning and quality plan
  
• Prepare executive board decision (to go to the next stage)
  

3. Realization stage:

During this stage the actual solution will be realized on all different streams:

• IT/Finance:           develop (via sprints), unit testing, regression testing
• Legal:                     investigate, develop legal solution
  
• Hardware:             selection (e.g. real estage, vehicles, etc), furnishing
  
• Other streams:     develop, confirmation by specialist, testing
• Develop cut-over plan
  
• Continuously review communication plan, issue log, quality plan
  
• Review PID, including scope, budget, planning and quality plan, monitor supplier(s)
• Prepare executive board decision (to go to the next stage)

4. Deploy stage:

Finally the total solution will go live. Also this stage exists of multiple sub-activities:

• Final user acceptance tests
• Final confirmation by specialists (e.g. legal specialist, financial specialist, etc.)
• Test hardware, layout, etc.
• Start cut-over plan
• Review PID, including scope, budget, planning and quality plan, monitor supplier(s)
• Prepare executive board decision (to go to the next stage)

5. Run stage:

After final approval of the executive board, the status of the project will change from passive to active:

• Communicate/announce go-live
• Prepare hyper-care team
  
• Go-live (freeze periode? No movements allowed)
  
• Start hyper-care period
• Prepare final executive board decision
• Decision by executive board
• Project termination: the project executive board will no longer exist -> business as usual (BAU); owners are responsible
  
• Reflect project management process, the solution (KPI's as defined during Decision Making: e.g. reduction of traffic, costs, pollution) and the supplier
  

The tool VORT is using to support project management is Smartsheet, an online project management tool.