Project Scheduling

A project is a form of operation that is used to produce a unique product, activity or service. The management of a project differs considerably from an ongoing operation. At sanofi-aventis, there are a countless number of projects taking place from the top management level to departmental and team level. An example of a typical project is Spectrum Migration which occurred when sanofi-aventis updated the System Network Topology.

Project Overview

Spectrum is a network application used to monitor the activities of the Global WAN [Wide Area Networks] as well as LAN [Local Area Networks]. The version 6.x currently in use today is considered obsolete and is no longer supported by the vendor. A new enterprise-wide platform has been implemented, which provides the most recent version. Approximately 15 production applications have been identified to migrate to this new platform. As part of this project, end users will be trained on the new platform and an E-Learning solution will be provided. This approach will help users to build or view reports without ETS support, increasing efficiency and reducing the time needed to produce information for decision making.

Project Tasks

The Spectrum Migration took place over the course of 3 months with each tasks broken down into Lots. Each lot had a predecessor and were broken down into the following tasks (activities):

1. Lot 0

• Conceptualization and Brainstorming

2. Lot 1

• Pre-Study
• Pilot
• Acceptance
• Implementation

3. Lot 2

• Pilot Analysis
• Technical Workshop
  

4. Acceptance

5. Implementation

6. Guarantee

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart illustrates a project schedule with start and finish dates. At Sanofi-aventis, Critical Path Method (CPM), Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Gantt Chats are often used. For the Spectrum Migration project, a Gantt chart was developed using “Soft Key” software.

The Gantt chart was used to outline the different phases and activities of the project and allowed for all members involved to coordinate, manage, communicate and take accountability for their involvement in the project.

Recommendations about the Project

The committee did a great job putting the project together. One recommendation would be to add an additional task to Lot 2 that would involve a "train-the-trainer" session. This would entail spending extra time training supper users who would then train end users. The advantages of the train-the-trainer approach are that it allows for smaller groups of people to get trained giving them individualized attention and overcome learning barriers. Although the Technical workshop worked for many users, having a resourceful super user at arm’s reach could prove to be beneficial during the transition to a new system.