RESPONSE: 2-1 Discussion: Planning for Success 349 (AT)

DBR2-1 (AT)

I feel that all the processes are very important to procurement. If I were to choose two or three though, it would have to be: Work Breakdown Structure, Communications Plan, and Risk Plan. All three of these have critical elements to them for any project to succeed.

The work breakdown structure is informing all parties what duties are required to be completed for the procurement to be successful. This structure allows the process to begin for scheduling of duties that need to be accounted for in the budget. Within the work breakdown structure, there are four areas that need to be included. First being the tasks or work that needs to be completed for the procurement. Second would be the goals of these tasks. Meaning what would be looked forward to at the end of the procurement. Thirdly are the milestones. These milestones are areas in the procurement that have a large impact. Lastly, there are activities in the procurement that may involve more than one person. These are tasks that may be specific and take a lot more time to complete than a regular task would take.

Communication is key to any successful company. Therefore, I see the communication plan being very important. This plan gives a breakdown of the stakeholders of the project or procurement. It is important to know who to contact should there be a need. This plan also gives details on how this contact should be made. Whether it be a fact-to-face conversation or if it would be ok to send communication over an email. Additionally, the communication plan also outlines how often the communication should be sent out and to whom.

Finally, the risk plan I see as also being very critical. Without a risk plan, there may be no understanding on what to do should an event occur that was not foreseen or discussed. This could be a supplier having to close for a month due to an emergency shutdown. The risk plan would detail out what to do in a situation like this. Within the risk plan, there are three risks that should be evaluated. Those are any known risks with the procurement, predictable risks, or unpredictable risks. Being able to foresee any risks can help in situations should they arise at the most unpredictable times. This can save a company money as well as save the company itself should the issue become overbearing.

Resource:

Lindstrom, D. (2015). Procurement Project Management Success. J. Ross Publishing. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781604277470