Executive Summary - Operation Optimize

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this document is to present the facts and issues surrounding the initiative "Operation Optimize". The scope includes personal observations and conversations held with various department heads and the resulting inferences made. This executive summary will recap the situation; formulate conclusions, and present recommendations for actions to be taken to remedy the obstacles that are evident.

Summary of the Situation

Project "Operation Optimize" has effectively stalled. Our research shows that our competition is steps away from a marketplace breakthrough. It is essential to the survival of AcuScan, Inc. to be the first to market a viable product of our own and win market share.

We have a crucial situation in which several of our department heads are in conflict regarding the launch of iScanner. This conflict is not constructive and is the primary cause of the interruption in the project. We must resolve this situation immediately in order to get "Operation Optimize" back on track and ensure the timely launch of iScanner.

Key Points

Several senior staff members have been tasked with getting this project off the ground. Currently they are unable to agree on a course of action. Pat Lambert, the new director of Marketing, and Kelly Thomas, chief of the software development team, cannot agree on the capabilities and the availability of the programmers. Thomas argues that with recent staffing cuts his team is maximized in maintaining support of existing systems. Adding the additional work of developing new product features is more than the department can handle. Lambert's stand is that after a conversation with department programmers, a fully-featured prototype can be brought to market within the requested timeframe and budget. She also feels that this can be achieved without additional statistical analysis which is costly and causes further delays in the project. She believes that the use of outside resources will benefit the project. Neither Lambert nor Thomas appears to be willing to reach a compromise, since both are so intent on defending their positions. Thomas is particularly upset that Lambert approached and questioned one of his staff without his prior knowledge.

Chris Martinas, vice president of Product Development, argues that the iScanner product can be brought to market with minimal hardware changes. He believes that Marketing and Software Development can work together to work out the details. While he may be correct in his evaluation about minimal hardware changes, he has not considered software changes that may be required.

Overall, no single staff member appears to be interested in taking responsibility or ownership of the project. Martinas is leaving it in the hands of Lambert and Thomas. Lambert expects Thomas to get the software side working, and Thomas is claiming that his people already have too much to do.

Conclusions

Pat Lambert and Kelly Thomas are at an emotional standstill. Lambert has alienated Thomas and thus will find it difficult to encourage him to motivate his staff. This has been caused in part by Lambert's unrealistic expectations of the design team.