Brief Summary of the Project

Smart Jewelers is a company that focuses on the sale of jewelry online. The primary
target market is ladies aged between 27 and 45 years. With women increasingly shopping for
jewelry, the company seeks to ensure that they can shop online and have the products delivered
to their doorsteps. Smart Jewelers is a sole proprietorship and seeks to ensure that advertising is
done online. In the digital age, many consumers are active on various social media sites. The
company thus seeks to ensure that it gains customer loyalty through online promotions and
advertisements. The business will actively interact with consumers online and ensure that it
fulfills their needs and wants. In-depth market research will also be conducted to ensure that the
business aligns itself with the needs of the consumers and, in so doing, maximize revenues.
Project Challenges
One of the main challenges of starting the business is generating targeted traffic. In the
digital world, technology is always evolving. Evolution in technology means that businesses
have to adapt to the changes (Kapurubandara & Lawson, 2007). Smart Jewelers may struggle,
ensuring that it remains visible to the consumers. Visibility will help raise awareness and, in so
doing, guarantee an improvement in the level of sales. The challenge can be addressed through
the use of multiple channels to promote the business. The business should ensure that it is active
in all social media websites, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Assembling the right team to execute the business plan is also a challenge. Starting a
business online requires one to hire employees who will work towards the realization of the
business mission and vision (Kapurubandara & Lawson, 2007). A business team helps ensure
that the businesses improve on its weaknesses and builds on its strengths. The challenge can be

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overcome by ensuring that the hiring practice is done in a systematic way. A careful analysis of
all prospective employees will be done to determine the ones that can help in the realization of
the business goals and objectives.
The third challenge relates to enhancing customer loyalty. Customer loyalty will help
push the business forward and, in so doing, help in achieving long-term growth. In the process of
starting a business, one is bound to get both good and bad customers (Kapurubandara & Lawson,
2007). Good customers can be difficult to find. Good customers are loyal and aim to benefit both
themselves and the business. On the other hand, bad customers are actively looking for loopholes
in the business to exploit. Bad customers always look for ways to rip off the business. Bad
customers often incur bad debts and cause losses to the business. The business can easily be
liquidated by bad customers (Kapurubandara & Lawson, 2007). The business will create a policy
against debts. In addition, a loyalty program will be established. The program will ensure that
consumers that shop with the business get loyalty points that they can later redeem. A loyalty
program will help attract good customers that will help the business achieve long-term growth.
Managing the Project through Earned Value Management
Earned value management (EVM) helps ensure that project managers measure the
performance of projects. It defines the status of the project and helps ensure that it allows a
project manager to make conclusions based on the desired final product (Pajares & Lopez-
Paredes, 2011). In managing the Smart Jewelers project, the first step will be the definition of the
work. A work breakdown structure will be established. Elements, including the creation of social
media accounts, acquiring stock, securing contracts with courier services, will be listed. The next
step will be the assignment of value (Pajares & Lopez-Paredes, 2011). Weighted point value will
be assigned to all activities. After assigning a weighted value, earning rules will be defined. A

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percentage rule will be used to ensure that simplicity is accomplished. The earning rule will work
well for the project since it is small in nature. The project will then be implemented based on the
plan and progress measured. The earning rule will help evaluate the progress of activities started
or finished. A scoreboard graph will be created. The graph will be updated on a weekly basis.
A planned spend curve and the actual cost will be plotted. Through the plotted graph, the
manager will be able to analyze the success of the project (Pajares & Lopez-Paredes, 2011). The
earned value will also be calculated. The earned value consists of three important concepts,
namely the planned value, actual cost, and earned value. The planned value will be obtained by
calculation of the budgeted costs for work scheduled. On the other hand, actual costs will be
obtained by evaluating the funds spent for the work done. The earned value will be obtained
through an analysis of the percent of the total budget completed at different intervals in the
implementation of the project. An analysis of the three concepts will help in enhancing the
transparency of the project.
EVM Metrics
The three metrics that will be used in the project include cost variance, scheduled
variance, and performance indices (Pajares & Lopez-Paredes, 2011). The definition of Smart
Jewelers project success is the completion of all activities that result in the establishment of the
business (Pajares & Lopez-Paredes, 2011). The cost variance will help identify the difference
between the earned value and the actual costs. In so doing, the project manager will help identify
the strengths and weaknesses of the project. The schedule variance will help identify the
difference between earned value and planned value. The project manager will help identify
whether or not the project is on schedule. Performance indices will define the cost performance

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and schedule performance. The cost performance index will be calculated by dividing the earned
value by the actual cost. The figure will define how well the project is doing.
Closing the Project
Closure of the project goes beyond the execution of the deliverables. In order to close the
Smart Jewelers project, one of the steps that will be undertaken is a confirmation whether all
tasks are done in accordance with the requirements. All deliverables will be analyzed to ensure
that work is done in accordance with the expectations. Pending payments will also be made to
ensure that the business does not incur unreasonable debts. All suppliers and partners will be
paid to complete the procurements done. A review of all contracts and documentation will also
be done. The business will have various contracts with suppliers and other partners. A review of
these contracts will help in closing down the business. A project review will then be done. The
review will help identify the successes and failures of the business. Opportunities for
improvements will be identified.

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References

Kapurubandara, M., & Lawson, R. (2007). SMEs in developing countries need support to
address the challenges of adopting e-commerce technologies. BLED 2007 Proceedings,
24.
Pajares, J., & Lopez-Paredes, A. (2011). An extension of the EVM analysis for project
monitoring: The Cost Control Index and the Schedule Control Index. International
Journal of Project Management, 29(5), 615-621.