7.2: Plan of Attack

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🧭 Plan of Attack: Leading Execution Through Real-Time Challenges

You’re no longer planning the project—you’re living it.

In this milestone, your team at C-Bay Inc. is responsible for managing the day-to-day execution of the NovaMed Software Project, developed by the vendor WinSoft Systems. The project has officially launched (Week 0), and your role is to lead through execution by making decisions, tracking progress, responding to issues, and communicating clearly with both internal and external stakeholders.

🧩 Task Structure

Each student will receive a series of project memos simulating real execution issues. These are based on actual project artifacts and simulate a full lifecycle of execution—from Week 0 kickoff to performance trouble in later weeks.

Each memo requires you to:

Diagnose the problem
Consult supporting documentation (SOW, HLDD, LLD, Contract, Team Roles, Earned Value data)
Write a formal response as a C-Bay project leader
Propose clear, accountable next steps

📝 Step 1.1 – How to Respond to Memos (Template - Word/PDF)

✅ Use This 4-Step Process:

1. Review the Memo Carefully

Identify the project phase and week
Highlight key facts, risks, and red flags
Reference status reports and project metrics
Cross-check with project documents: Functional Requirements, HLDD, LLD, SOW, Contract

2. Write Your Action Plan

In a short paragraph:

State what the issue is
Explain its impact (on scope, schedule, cost, quality, team)
Clarify what your team will do next
Identify any assumptions or limitations

🧠 Tip: Treat this like a log entry for a real project dashboard.

3. Write a Professional Communication

Use this format to structure your message:

Format for Writing Memos
Field	Example / Instruction
To:	WinSoft PM, Director, or internal C-Bay lead
Cc:	QA Lead, Sponsor, or relevant teams
Subject:	Action Required: NovaMed [Issue Type] – [Short Context]
Week & Day:	Indicate the project timeline (e.g., Week 1, Day 3)
Attachment:	Link or file reference (status report, diagram, etc.)

Structure your message like this:

Brief summary of the issue
A direct, professional tone
What action or decision is required
Timeline or deadline
Optional next steps or escalation route

4. Upload to Your Team Folder

Submit your completed task using this format:
CBay_ExecutionTask_<IssueCode>_YourName.docx

Also maintain a personal submission tracker to document:

Memo title
Issue type
Date submitted
Response type
Any open follow-up items

🧨 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

❌ Writing an emotional or vague response
❌ Failing to mention action deadlines or owners
❌ Ignoring metrics or contract references
❌ Responding to the wrong audience (e.g., internal instead of vendor-facing)
❌ Skipping documentation of assumptions or constraints

💬 Sample Mini-Response (Preview)

Subject: Action Required – HLDD Delay and Mitigation

Hello Ravi,

Based on your update, the HLDD has not been submitted as scheduled. This delays downstream development by 3 days and may impact Milestone 2 completion.

Please submit a revised plan by Friday with adjusted delivery dates and risk mitigation for overlapping tasks.

Thank you,
— C-Bay PM Team

🔹 Step 1.2 – Understand the Execution Environment (Before Responding to Memos)

📋 Project Summary

NovaMed is a secure, modular task management solution being developed for healthcare networks by C-Bay Inc. Development has been outsourced to WinSoft Systems, under a fixed-fee contract governed by the Statement of Work (SOW) and associated deliverables.

The execution phase has now begun. WinSoft is expected to deliver development in three construction iterations (RC1, RC2, RC3) with defined milestone checkpoints. This first memo sets the stage and provides background to help students understand how to respond to future issues.

Key Artifacts (Available for Reference)

Statement of Work: Defines milestones, payment triggers, and timelines for release candidates
Contract: Specifies scope, roles, change management terms, and review expectations
Software Requirements Specification: Details required features for Release Candidate 1
High Level Design Document: System-level and component-level design documentation
WinSoft Team Overview: Includes Project Manager (Ravi Singh), Lead Architect, QA Lead, and three developers
Status Reports: Weekly Excel-based status summaries, submitted every Friday by 5 PM PST
Reporting Guidelines: EVM calculations required weekly; deviation thresholds >10% must trigger notification

🧠 What You Need to Know to Respond

When responding to future memos:

Always check the SOW milestone timeline to determine if deliverables are on track
Reference the contract scope and change policy if there are deviations or feature creep
Validate whether WinSoft's staffing and roles match the expected structure
Use the SRS, HLDD, or LLD to cross-check whether delays are architectural, functional, or resource-related
Compare any reported delays with the Earned Value Data: SPI, CPI, and EV metrics
Watch for communication issues or reporting noncompliance based on WinSoft’s obligations

Before responding to ANY execution memo, students must understand the full execution environment defined by the uploaded artifacts. This step ensures that every response is grounded in contractual expectations, reporting rules, technical documents, and team roles.

Students must review the following knowledge set before Week 1:

A. Know What WinSoft Must Deliver (Use SOW for Reference)

Use the NovaMed SOW (Statement of Work) to understand:

Release 1–4 deliverables
Milestone deadlines
Acceptance criteria
Documentation required
Integration & acceptance testing responsibilities
What IV&V C-Bay can audit at any time

This helps students detect:

Missed deliverables
Schedule slippage
Documentation failures
Testing shortcuts

B. Know the Contractual Rules (Use Contract for Enforcement)

The NovaMed Contract (Contract) determines what students can require of WinSoft.

Critical clauses:

Weekly Status Reports are mandatory for payments
Missing/incomplete reporting may trigger withholding
Key personnel cannot be replaced without 5-day approval
C-Bay owns all IP
Termination terms (30-day turnover window)
Confidentiality and NDA requirements

Students MUST cite contract clauses when responding to:

Late status reports
Missing Bulls-Eye charts
Staff turnover at WinSoft
Requests for unpaid re-work
Incomplete milestone submissions

C. Know the Team You Are Communicating With (Use WinSoft Resource List)

The WinSoft Team Overview (WinSoft Team Overview) identifies:

Who to escalate to
Who has the skill to resolve issues
What each team member specializes in
Seniority (Entry, Mid, Lead levels)

Examples:

Architectural issues → Arnold (Architect)
Schedule or resource problems → Julie (Project Manager)
Testing issues → Catherine (QA Manager)
Requirements confusion → James (BA)
UI issues → Tom (Tech Lead)

Students MUST route emails to the right person in every memo.

D. Know the Reporting Expectations (Use Reporting Guidelines & Weekly Template)

From Reporting Guidelines (Reporting Guidelines) and Weekly Status Template (Status Reports):

WinSoft MUST include in every weekly report:

PV, EV, AC
SPI, CPI, SV, CV
Bulls-Eye chart
Work package breakdown
Issues, risks, CRs
Weekly cost reporting ($1/hr normalization)
Variance explanations ≥20%

Students must detect:

Missing metrics
SPI < 1.0 or CPI < 1.0
Patterns of deterioration across weeks
Broken reporting discipline
Vendor masking schedule slips

E. Know the System Being Built (Use SRS + HLDD)

From SRS (Software Requirements Specification) and HLDD (High Level Design Document):

Modules in NovaMed: Tasks, Users, Teams, Roles, Permissions, Projects, Reporting
Login → Operations → Logout lifecycle
UI → Controller → Business Logic → DB layers
Data synchronization rules for offline mode
RBAC structure
Critical functional requirements

Students must use this technical knowledge when:

Determining cause of a defect
Assessing impact of a design delay
Understanding how one component relies on another
Deciding whether a defect is severe or minor

Step 1.3 – How to Analyze the Memo

Students must follow a rigorous diagnostic workflow before writing a response.

A. Extract the Core Issue

Identify whether it is:

A schedule delay
A cost overrun
A defect or rework problem
A missing deliverable
A staffing issue
A contract violation
A risk that has materialized
A communication/reporting failure

Every memo will contain surface text and root causes.
Students must detect both.

B. Identify Which Control Pillar(s) Are Impacted

From Chapter 4:

Scope
Schedule
Budget
Quality
Team

Students must tick all that apply.

C. Determine Severity Using:

SPI (Schedule)
CPI (Cost)
SOW deadlines
Contract clauses
Technical dependencies (from HLDD/SRS)
Reporting compliance

D. Consult All Relevant Documents

Students must reference:

SOW milestones
Contract obligations
Reporting expectations
Latest status report
Resource list
Technical requirements
HLDD dependencies

This is where they justify their professional decision.

🔹 Step 1.4 – How to Write the Response

Using the Individual Action Plan & Communication Template (), students will now craft a structured response.

A. Internal Action Plan (Not Sent to WinSoft)

Students must write:

1. Core Issue

Short and accurate diagnosis.

2. Impact Areas

Check all affected pillars.

3. Referenced Documents

Explicitly cite:

“Per SOW Milestone 2…”
“Per Contract Section 7.2…”
“Per Reporting Guidelines p.2…”
“Per HLDD Component Diagram…”

4. Next Action

Clear next steps, e.g.:

Request revised schedule
Reject incomplete deliverable
Trigger risk escalation
Request design clarification
Schedule a technical review

5. Constraints