MGT5PIP - Assessment 1 - Problem Evaluation and Project Scoping

Assessment 1- Details and instructions

Data Migration Project to Migrate On-Premise Data to Google Cloud for ANZ Bank

The main aim of this project is to transition the current on-premises data storage* of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ Bank) to Google Cloud, a secure and flexible cloud computing** service. There are several reasons that might justify the need for data migration*** from on-premise data storage to Google Cloud:

1. Scalability: Cloud environments like Google Cloud can easily scale up or down based on demand. This is particularly beneficial for businesses like ANZ Bank that might experience variable data storage needs.
2. Cost-Effective: In many instances, cloud services can be more cost-effective than maintaining on-premises data centres. They eliminate the need for investing in hardware, infrastructure, and maintenance, turning capital expenditure into operational expenditure.
3. Security: Google Cloud provides robust security measures that can help protect the bank's data. It offers data encryption at rest and in transit, advanced threat detection, and a wide array of access control and identity management features.
4. Improved Data Management: Cloud services offer superior data management capabilities, such as automated backups and disaster recovery solutions. This can help the bank ensure that its data is always safe, up-to-date, and readily accessible.
5. Innovation and Agility: Adopting cloud technologies can increase business agility and enable rapid innovation. ANZ Bank can quickly adopt new services, analytics tools, AI, and machine learning capabilities offered by Google Cloud to gain valuable insights and improve their services.
6. Regulatory Compliance: Google Cloud is compliant with a wide range of international and industry-specific regulatory standards. This could simplify ANZ Bank's compliance management in terms of data storage and processing.

Your Role

As an IT project manager, you have been assigned to manage this significant migration project, which carries the expectation of zero data loss and minimal downtime during the transition. The organization is relying on your expertise to ensure the smooth migration of their data from the old system to the new one. You should develop a team of project members, identify the key stakeholders involved in the project and operationalise the project.

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Your Tasks

1. Perform a gap analysis for the previous and current state. 

This includes identifying the problems that might be related to the current on-premise system, such as scalability, cost, performance, and maintenance issues. This will also involve defining the project, analysing the potential solutions, and recommending one. Explore the available gap analysis tools and employ at least one or multiple appropriate tools to perform the gap analysis. As a point of reference, you can use tools, such as customised checklists, SWOT, PESTEL, Fishbone diagrams, and McKinsey 7s in conducting your gap analysis. This will help you to identify the problem.

2. Identify the project initiation process

By this stage, you would have identified the problem, requiring the data migration. It means that you are ready to define a project for this problem.
Once the problem is defined, you need to recommend and justify the project goals. Project goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bounded (SMART). At this stage, there is no need to include price or cost estimation.
The project involves migrating ANZ Bank's on-premise data to Google Cloud. The optimal solution is to employ a phased migration strategy to minimise disruptions. So, you should identify the strategy and its phases.
A cost-benefit analysis can help to reduce maintenance costs, increase data management efficiency, and improve business intelligence. So, you should apply the cost-benefit analysis to address these issues.
You finally justify and recommend a solution. You recommend proceeding with the Google Cloud migration project, subject to approval from ANZ Bank's project steering committee. So, you see how project governance can be involved here.

3. Develop a project scope statement

Your proposed project goals (presented in the problem statement) should be further specified by adding a clear scope statement. In fact, the project scope is considered as the project mission. Hence, a clear project scope definition helps your client and all stakeholders gain a common understanding about the prospect of the project. The scope statement should include the following:

• An outline of major deliverables (5-7 major deliverables would suffice)
• A list of the product’s requirements (recommended product features)
• A list of anticipated major milestones (a list of major project events that can be anticipated at this stage)
• A list of the project limitations
• A list of project exclusions (set the boundaries by mentioning out-of-scopes)
• Key assumptions (remember if you do not share your key assumptions with your stakeholders at this stage, later they may become risks as the project progresses).

Remember, the project scope will be derived from the gap analysis, problem statement and your project goals.

4. Develop a project priority matrix

You will need to set the direction of the project by discussing your approach towards the project schedule, budget and quality.

5. Identify the project sponsor and other key stakeholders

Do your research about the organisational structure and identify the relevant department/s that is/are going to provide sponsorship for the project justifying your selection. Identify other key stakeholders that should work with the project sponsor to ensure project success.

Make sure you read the Assessment 1 marking criteria carefully before you start the work. Submit the assessment as a Word document of 1500 words (+/_10%). References are excluded from the wording.

Tips on preparing your assessment:

• You need to carefully explore and search the ANZ Bank website and published documents and also use the knowledge gained in this subject and MGT5PMT.
• Please make sure you use academic publications, peer-reviewed journal articles, valid web pages, and books to strengthen your assignment and cite them properly in the body of your assessment and provide a references list using APA Referencing style.

Key Definitions

* An on-premises data storage: An on-premises data centre, often abbreviated as on-prem, refers to a server infrastructure that is physically located at the same site as the organization that owns and operates it. This type of data centre is typically housed in a dedicated facility or room, which might contain server racks, network hardware, cooling systems, power backups, and other necessary equipment to ensure stable, continuous operation. Management of an on-premises data centre includes the responsibility for all hardware and software, as well as network setup and maintenance, data storage, backup, recovery, and cybersecurity measures. This is in contrast to cloud-based data centres, where much of the responsibility for hardware maintenance, system updates, and some security measures is handled by the cloud service provider.

** Cloud: In computing terms, "cloud" or "cloud computing" refers to the delivery of computing services over the internet rather than from a local, on-premises data centre. These services can include servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, artificial intelligence, and more. Instead of owning and maintaining their own data centres and servers, companies can access technology services, such as computing power or storage, on an as-needed basis from a cloud services provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure.

*** Data Migration: Data migration is the process of transferring data from one system to another. This process is typically performed programmatically to achieve an automated migration, freeing up human resources from tedious tasks. It is a key consideration for any system implementation, upgrade, or consolidation, and it is usually performed in such a way that the data remains fully functional and intact, preserving its integrity. Before initiating the process, it's crucial to understand the data being migrated and the interdependencies. Depending on the complexities of the data, a strategy needs to be framed with details about the data set, the timing of migration, the impact on the users, and the potential risks involved.