Acuscan Executive Summary 3 Essays

Acuscan Executive Summary 3 Essays Acuscan Executive Summary 3 Essay Acuscan Executive Summary 3 Essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO: Cliff O’Connor, CEO AcuScan, Inc. FROM: VP of Organizational Development SUBJECT: Observations and Recommendations for Optimization Project DATE: June 30, 2008 Purpose and Scope of Document The purpose of this document is to provide a basic overview of the current status surrounding the AcuScan Optimization Project. This document will provide a brief background and summary of the current situation, and then provide key points relating to the underlying issues. This document will then outline the options AcuScan has in order to address the project issues and recommend the most feasible course of action. Summary of the Situation The AcuScan Optimization Project, known as â€Å"Operation Optimize†, is experiencing both cost and resource restraints. The company must cut costs by 15% in almost all departments, while at the same time creating new expenses by trying to launch a new product. The company has not produced a new product in some time and it is believed that in order to increase sales, the current iScanner technology must be utilized and built upon to reach out to a new market. However, there is a conflict between the Director of Marketing and the Senior Engineer, in that they have a different understanding of what can be and should be accomplished with the limited resources available. The Director of Marketing, Pat Lambert, crafted a project development plan that was based on an overall optimistic view of the project. Pat had concluded that the current iScanner technology would transition easily into the retail market with minimal efforts in programming and engineering. As of yet, no competitor had used eye scanning technology in the retail industry and this was considered a great opportunity for AcuScan. In order to take advantage of this unique situation, it was proposed that AcuScan release a product by August in order to gain the market advantage. A budget of $575K was proposed in order to cover the costs of the product development. The project began to loose momentum when the Senior Engineer, Kelly Thomas, expressed concerns over some unrealistic expectations. Kelly claimed that several project requirements were overly optimistic and pushed back on the project proposal, claiming that such a product could not be delivered by the August deadline. Based on this reaction, Pat concluded that contractors needed to be hired in order to work around the staffing constraints in the engineering department, and increased the project budget request by about $250K. Emails between the Director of Marketing and the Senior Engineer indicate that important issues need to be addressed before problems between the departments escalate to a point that will make it difficult to reconcile differences and work together in order to ensure the success of the project. Key Points Relating to the Situation Sales and service revenues have led to budget constraints which add restrictions to project funding. Both departments are experiencing stress due to limited resources, pressure to cut costs, and expectations to deliver a new product before the end of the year. Each department head is operating independently and not working together to collaborate as a team. A lack of trust and respect has developed between the departments heads due to poor communicati on. Decisions are being made based mainly on rather than performing formal research and analysis Conclusions The success of â€Å"Operation Optimize† is critical to the future success of AcuScan by directly impacting an increase in sales revenue and broadening the company’s customer base and marketing versatility. AcuScan must take immediate action to address concerns of both departments, and guide the project back on track for a successful rollout. At the same time, the company must realize that it will not be able to produce a quality product within the time allotted on a small budget. Recommendations and Actions to be Taken Based on the conclusions AcuScan has two possible options. One option is to delay the release of the new product in order to compensate for the lack of man hours. The company can split up the project into a series of rollout phases, which will extend the project timelines, but reduce the workload pressure being placed on the current engineering staff. This would save the company money in the short term, but could potentially impact their competitive edge in the long term if the competition develops a similar product first. The other option is to act on Director of Marketing proposal to hire contractors in order to take on the increased workload. The company would have a dedicated resource for the project while at the same time allowing the engineering staff to continue to provide a high level of quality service to existing customers. The company would have to make a short term budget sacrifice, exacerbating the current budget crisis; however the new product would launch before the end of the year and give AcuScan the competitive edge it needs to increase sales over the long term. It is proposed that AcuScan align budgeting goals to accommodate the current project timelines and making a small sacrifice in costs to aid in the development by hiring outside contractors. In order to encourage collaboration between departments, the Director of Marketing must allow that the contractors are selected and managed by the Senior Engineer, who will be the most knowledgeable as to the minimal extra man power needed and the skill set required to accomplish the tasks. The Senior Engineer must allow that some new product functionality must b e developed and brainstorm with the Director of Marketing to design a simple but innovative new product. The Senior Engineer must also work with the Director of Marketing to bridge the gap of understanding between the two departments by taking time to educate one another at a high level as to the nature of their job and how they can best serve one another. These action items must be incorporated into the project timeline and each department head must provide a weekly status update as to the progress of the new deliverables in additional to the overall development of the new product.