Defining the Purpose and the Problem When Writing Proposals Essay

INTRODUCTION When drafting a proposal for any type of changes in the workplace, it is important to define the purpose and identify the problem being addressed in the proposal. There must be a needed or desired change identified in order to begin the research and planning phases of the project. Once the desired change is identified, the request for proposal process can begin. This process is repeatable and interchangeable with all project and grant proposals. GENERAL INFORMATION Collecting project requirements is the first step in determining the processes to be used to meet those requirements. The stakeholders of the project should be identified and each group’s individual tasks and boundaries identified. At the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO), efficient, accurate, and personal customer interactions are all part of the Service Department’s daily operating policies and procedures. As a major part of this operating strategy, change is often imperative to maintaining expected levels of efficiency and accuracy when servicing  insurance policies for GEICO customers. Service Agents are responsible for anywhere from 50-100 calls from policyholders per day. Developing a new system of self-service options for GEICO’s approximately 13 million policyholders nationwide help alleviate over-burdened call centers. In order to ensure that policyholders are able to complete needed transactions without a need to call a licensed agent, th e self-service system must include the same controls as the GEICO Agent’s systems. The duration of this system enhancement and development project will be no more than three months, beginning on August 1, 2014. Distribution of the system will be completed over the following two month period and will be fully on-line in all Regional Office Service Centers by January 1, 2015. Financial resources are unlimited, but will be approved at the discretion of the Approving Authority on a case by case basis. There will be a total of 22 participants in this system development project. The Regional Vice President in charge Region X as the overall Approving Authority for the project. All changes to the established project requirements will be sent via the Project Manager through her office for final approval. A Project Manager who is a current Team Leader / Supervisor of Employees is needed to oversee the project directly. This Team Leader will be chosen by the Regional Vice President. Updated monthly statistics through the month of June, 2014 will determine the best candidate for assignment to this project. In the interest of team integrity, the five Licensed Agents assigned to this Team Leader will be selected to serve as the Working Group of the project and will be pulled from regular floor duties for the duration of the project. This group will be responsible for providing performance and safety measures, system input requirements, and accuracy testing through periodic live reviews of the system. A five person Software and Systems Development Team (SSDT) of Information Technology Office Agents (ITOA) will be responsible for the creation of the  new Internet-based system. Taking inputs from the Working Group members, a system will be written and distributed to all GEICO Regional Offices upon completion of testing and final approval. In addition to the trained professionals assigned to this project, a small sampling of ten customers (Product Testers) from the Tucson area will be participating in the testing and improvement phase of the project to ensure simplicity and accuracy of use for the new system. These testers will receive no formal training on the new system. The only outside input provided will be a data entry sheet containing information for the customer to input / edit on training accounts to test the user-friendliness of the final interface before full distribution. These product testers will also be given satisfaction questionnaires throughout the duration of the testing period from October 1 – October 15. The Product Testers will work from 8AM – 5 PM, with a one-hour lunch break, Monday – Friday. The Product Testers will be paid $600 (before taxation) at the end of the two week testing period. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS The Project Manager will report bi-weekly to the Approving Authority directly with performance updates and any changes to the project Scope. Updates to project objective statuses will be included. These objectives are: Develop a user-friendly policy management system. Test the new system. Identify bugs, inefficiencies, and needed control measures to be built into the new system. Implement needed changes and control measures. Develop a training model using a closed operating system with identical functionality as the production system. Train all employees to use the new system. Put the new system into operation across the GEICO organization. Release the self-service version to policyholders through GEICO’s website at GEICO.com Market the new process to current and prospective policyholders throughout the country. RECORD KEEPING Upon completion of the project, a final report (summary of all tasks), changes, and improvements to the original scope of the project is compiled and turned in to the Approving Authority and kept on file for three years in accordance with State Insurance Regulations. All documents and records kept throughout the creation and testing process will be collected, scanned for sensitive information, and all non-essential pieces will be destroyed. Essential project â€Å"keeper† documents containing sensitive information and company procedures will be edited and stored with the final summary document for three years. EVALUATION CRITERIA Upon completion of the project, a final report (summary of all tasks), changes, and improvements to the original scope of the project is compiled and turned in to the Approving Authority and kept on file for three years in accordance with State Insurance Regulations. All documents and records kept throughout the creation and testing process will be collected, scanned for sensitive information, and all non-essential pieces will be destroyed. Essential project â€Å"keeper† documents containing sensitive information and company procedures will be edited and stored with the final summary document for three years. CONCLUSION Through effective use of the Proposal and the Project Planning Processes, change can be implemented across any size organization effectively and efficiently. Accurate identification of the purpose and possible problems when writing a Project Proposal will increase the chances of efficient and effective change.