Office Green – Project Management Case Study

Google Project Management Certificate | Merit America

 

Project Overview

Office Green is a simulated business initiative developed as part of the Google Project Management Certificate program. The project focused on planning and launching a sustainability-focused workplace program, requiring structured project initiation, stakeholder alignment, risk planning, and timeline development.

Role: Project Manager
Methodology: Waterfall (planning-focused)
Tools: Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides

 

Project Objective

The goal of this project was to define and plan a workplace sustainability initiative by establishing clear project scope, identifying stakeholders, anticipating risks, and creating a realistic project schedule to support successful execution.

 

Key Responsibilities

  • Defined project scope, goals, deliverables, and success criteria

  • Identified key stakeholders and assessed their influence and communication needs

  • Developed risk mitigation strategies to reduce project delays and cost overruns

  • Created structured project documentation to support alignment and execution

 

Project Artifacts & Documentation

Project Charter

Defined the project’s purpose, scope, objectives, deliverables, constraints, and success metrics. This document served as the foundation for project alignment and decision-making.

Includes:

  • Business need and project justification

  • High-level scope and deliverables

  • Success criteria and constraints

[View Project Plan (includes Project Charter)]

 

Stakeholder Analysis

Applied stakeholder analysis principles to identify key internal and external stakeholders, assess influence and interest, and inform communication and engagement strategies throughout the planning phase of the project.

Focus areas included:

  • Identifying decision-makers and impacted groups

  • Anticipating stakeholder concerns and priorities

  • Adjusting communication approaches based on stakeholder influence

 

Communication Plan

Outlined how project information would be shared with stakeholders, including communication methods, frequency, and ownership to ensure transparency and alignment throughout the project lifecycle.

Includes:

  • Communication channels

  • Stakeholder-specific messaging

  • Responsibility assignments

[View Project Plan (includes Communication Plan)]

 

Risk Management

Applied risk management principles during project planning to identify potential risks, assess their likelihood and impact, and consider mitigation strategies to reduce schedule delays, scope creep, and resource constraints.

Risk considerations included:

  • Timeline and dependency risks

  • Resource availability and capacity constraints

  • Stakeholder alignment and communication risks

  • Scope clarity and change management

[View Project Plan (includes Risk Management)]

 

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Developed a detailed work breakdown structure for a separate simulated project (Community Center scenario) to decompose project scope into manageable tasks and deliverables. This artifact demonstrates my ability to apply WBS principles to support planning, scheduling, and execution.

Includes:

  • Deliverable-based task decomposition

  • Clear task hierarchy and scope breakdown

  • Foundation for timeline and resource planning

[View Work Breakdown Structure (Community Center Project)]

 

Project Schedule

Developed a structured project timeline outlining task sequencing, dependencies, and estimated durations to support on-time delivery.

Includes:

  • Task dependencies

  • Timeline estimates

  • Milestones

[View Project Plan (includes Gantt Chart)]

 

Key Takeaways

This project demonstrates my ability to apply structured project management principles, create clear documentation, and translate high-level goals into actionable plans. It reflects hands-on experience with core PM artifacts and a strong foundation in planning, stakeholder communication, and risk management.

 

This project highlights my ability to think critically about project planning, anticipate challenges, and communicate effectively across stakeholders—skills I’m excited to bring to an entry-level project management role.