Data Centre Migration Project Plan: WBS, Cost & Quality

Project Overview and Scenario

A network administrator has been tasked with moving a large data centre to a new office location in the newly developed industrial complex at the Corvallis International Airport in Corvallis, Oregon. The company provides application-as-a-service products to 235 oil jobbers and gasoline companies. As a result, the company can experience no downtime during the transition to the new facility. Any service interruptions to clients could result in lost revenues and damage to the company's reputation as a reliable IT provider in the industry.

The scenario dictates the entire focus of the project. Since all data centre components must be moved over a single weekend — after the new location has been fully prepared — there is no allowance for error. This, coupled with the organization's requirement that clients experience no inconvenience whatsoever, makes a successful transfer critically important. Therefore, the most important aspect of this project will undoubtedly be thorough risk management and risk planning. A careful evaluation must be conducted by each functional representative, and a risk contingency plan must be prepared to avoid any potential delays.

Work Breakdown Structure

The work breakdown structure (WBS) below lists all project tasks and their estimated durations.

Task Name — Duration

Preliminary Discussions — 1 day
Scope Meeting — 1 day
Initial Project Planning — 2 days
Hire Contractor — 5 days
Network Design — 10 days
Order Hardware (Ventilation) — 15 days
Order Hardware (Racks, Servers, Switches, and Others) — 10 days
Order Hardware (Power Supplies) — 5 days
Install Ventilation — 5 days
Install Racks — 15 days
Construction — 20 days
Inspection — 2 days
Install Power Supplies and Run Cables — 5 days
Functional Unit Approval — 5 days
Check Voltage — 1 day
Install Test Servers — 5 days
Batteries, Vents, Test Servers — 2 days
Primary Systems Check — 1 day
Set Official Date — 1 day
Move Network Components — 2 days

Network Diagram and Critical Path

The network diagram below identifies task start and finish dates along with predecessor relationships. Critical path tasks are highlighted in bold.

Task Name — Duration — Start — Finish — Predecessors

Preliminary Discussions — 1 day — Mon 5/28/12 — Mon 5/28/12 — (none)
Scope Meeting — 1 day — Tue 5/29/12 — Tue 5/29/12 — 1
Initial Project Planning — 2 days — Wed 5/30/12 — Thu 5/31/12 — 2
Hire Contractor — 5 days — Fri 6/1/12 — Thu 6/7/12 — 3
Network Design — 10 days — Fri 6/1/12 — Thu 6/14/12 — 3
Order Hardware (Ventilation) — 15 days — Fri 6/15/12 — Thu 7/5/12 — 5
Order Hardware (Racks, Servers, Switches, and Others) — 10 days — Fri 6/15/12 — Thu 6/28/12 — 5
Order Hardware (Power Supplies) — 5 days — Fri 6/15/12 — Thu 6/21/12 — 5
Install Ventilation — 5 days — Fri 7/6/12 — Thu 7/12/12 — 6, 11
Install Racks — 15 days — Fri 7/6/12 — Thu 7/26/12 — 7, 11
Construction — 20 days — Fri 6/8/12 — Thu 7/5/12 — 4
Inspection — 2 days — Fri 7/6/12 — Mon 7/9/12 — 11
Install Power Supplies and Run Cables — 5 days — Tue 7/10/12 — Mon 7/16/12 — 12
Functional Unit Approval — 5 days — Tue 7/17/12 — Mon 7/23/12 — 13
Check Voltage — 1 day — Tue 7/17/12 — Tue 7/17/12 — 13
Install Test Servers — 5 days — Wed 7/18/12 — Tue 7/24/12 — 15
Batteries, Vents, Test Servers — 2 days — Wed 7/25/12 — Thu 7/26/12 — 16
Primary Systems Check — 1 day — Fri 7/27/12 — Fri 7/27/12 — 17
Set Official Date — 1 day — Mon 7/30/12 — Mon 7/30/12 — 18
Move Network Components — 2 days — Tue 7/31/12 — Wed 8/1/12 — 19

Quality and Critical Success Factors

To identify critical success factors relevant to this project, a review of the literature was conducted. One study provided a framework for categorizing critical success factors based on an analysis of previous research. These categories were then applied to the current case to extract relevant insights. The categories include: (1) business plan and vision; (2) change management; (3) communication; (4) IT team composition, skills, and compensation; (5) management support and championship; (6) project management; and (7) system analysis, selection, and technical implementation (Nah, 2006).

The vision in this case is fairly straightforward; however, the business plan is far less clearly defined. Planning — especially risk planning — will likely be a critical success factor. Change management will also play an important role, since very few IT projects are executed exactly as planned. This project benefits from the involvement of only five functional divisions, which is a manageable number. Nevertheless, the project manager should maintain a clearly defined communication and change management process to ensure that no deviation goes unreported.

The categories of management support and championship, along with project management itself, can be effectively combined for the purposes of this discussion. Since the project is vital to the success of the entire operation, it is very likely that it will have management's full support throughout.

Additional critical success factors identified in the literature include early user buy-in. In this project, since the Operations unit has been involved from the beginning, significant end-user resistance is unlikely. The project structure virtually guarantees a partnership between Operations and the rest of the team (Verville, Bernadas, & Halingten, 2005). Somers and Nelson (2001) also identify a set of critical success factors that include the use of a steering committee, the use of consultants, adequate testing, and ongoing vendor support. In this case, it may be prudent for project management to have the design independently verified by a consultant to ensure it meets required standards. The experience of a consultant can be a tremendous asset in projects of this nature, particularly when there is little room for error.