Building a New Sydney Opera House - Essay Example

 «Building a New Sydney Opera House» Introduction This essay will discuss the issues involved in Building a New Sydney Opera House, from a project management perspective. The Sydney Opera house is an architectural marvel of the modern world, yet from a project management perspective many people see it as a failure. Modern project management techniques and technologies have contributed to architectural accuracy and speed of construction, as well as adding beauty to modern designs. In contrast, there could be a lot of the ancient projects that have a beauty architectural in designs so far. It can be said the Sydney Opera House is one of the greatest in design regardless of the problems that accompanied its construction stages. For the purposes of this essay, the Sydney Opera House can be defined as an enormous building and a great urban edifice that works as the center of multi performing arts and a Public place for activities of cultural and social, as well as it can be considered as an entertainment center to contain many of the recreational areas surrounding it and its Prominent location in Sydney City. Project charter This paper discusses how the construction stages of the new Sydney Opera House could have been made more cost-efficient, with maintaining on some of the features from the design, principles and goals which had been established for it. This can be made possible by focusing on the different procedure stages of the design and the implementation of the previous project for Sydney Opera House, and take advantage of those operations, whether positive or negative in the new project. The construction stages of the new project maybe without errors which had occurred in the Previous project stages that can be by the substantive changes at all levels and harness construction possibilities and Modern techniques and using plans and the new programs for the projects’ management. As well as scope creep, another inherent problem during the construction of the Sydney Opera House was the complex array of committees who tried to control the project and the difficulties that the architects and other professionals faced in dealing with these committees. It was impossible for project managers to manage when their work was governed by committees who could not agree. Thus, there was no process where the decisions reached by committees could be brought to a forum where a project management decision could be made. To ensure that this problem is taken care of during construction of a new Opera House, the project manager must be allowed to manage the construction process without excessive distractions from external committees. Stakeholder/building relationships Stakeholders in this project include every group, individuals, unit or organization that is affected by, or can affect the outcomes of this building project. Stakeholders in this building project include the Sponsors of the project, the Steering Committee, potential clients and Customers of the Opera House, co-workers and the Project Team. There are also some Key Stakeholders identified within the Stakeholders who can cause the failure of this project, if they were to withdraw their support for the building of the new Opera House. “Stakeholder Groups Project Teams and Organization Effective teams enable organizations to achieve the high levels of performance that are essential to survival and prosperity in today's extremely competitive and rapidly changing environment.” (Robertson & Tippets, 2002) Organizational culture During the construction of the Sydney Opera House there was lack of organizational ability to understand the effects of political interference in the project. In order to build a New Sydney Opera House, an organization must be established that will be capable of undertaking the task without undue political interference. After setting the scope and budget of the project, the team should know what is to be delivered. Although the time for the project may have been properly allocated, it is still possible for scope to slip away from the project manager. Thus, the project team must maintain a good handle on the project in order to ensure that time is not squandered, thereby pushing the project over the preconceived budget severely. Therefore, some solid tactics must be employed for the progressive management of the budget for the building project and there must also be maintenance of total visibility during the entire duration of the project. Another mistake made in the old project was the failure to break down the project timeline into smaller detail during the initial scoping exercise. This is one of the first tools that will be used during the construction of a new Opera House for effective budget management before the project is even approved for execution. This tactic can be referred to as ‘granular scoping’, meaning that the project management team should endeavor to allocated a budget to each resource at a task level in the project. “There is no chance a project manager will have success in measuring project profitability with any comprehension if each resource isn't recording hours spent on specific projects. Ideally, resources will log how much time is used on each project task (back to granularity) so that you will understand exactly what areas of the project are most time consuming.” (DeMarco, T., and Lister, T.1999) Hence, required hours will not be estimated in large lump sums, instead hours will be broken down into as much detail as much as possible during the initial scoping exercise. This will allow the project management team to subsequently assign and manage the project timeline in smaller steps, thus enabling greater transparency and control as the building team consumes their allocated hours. The greater advantage here will be the advances in technology that would probably enable greater visibility in the project, as regards the length of time required for each project task. Thus, the information provided by modern technology will be very useful for the estimation of this project and other future projects with similar tasks. Scope Management Many people support the concept that the Sydney Opera House was never completed. In 1967 the cost was estimated at 6million dollars and by the time it was completed in 1973 more than 100million dollars had been spent on the project (more than 16 times the original budget). This problem can attributed to several factors including Scope creep. Scope creep is usually a significant risk during the construction of buildings, and so the project management team must tackle the issue of how best to mitigate or avoid this risk. This can be accomplished by keeping in mind the proper scope of the project. This will enable the management team to complete the building of the new Sydney Opera House on time within the specified budget, and with fewer complications. The project management team is responsible for providing absolute clarity throughout the duration of the project, and creating the opportunity to recover from any potential pitfalls that may be encountered during the project life-cycle. The project management team also utilizes technology for the project reconciliation exercise which involves analyzing the extent to which the project has been completed (i.e. how much of the total work has been executed) and comparing this against the work effort so far (i.e. the number of hours that have been used). “If you have broken down the scope and hour allocations in a detailed way, and hours are being recorded by each project resource, you will be able to reconcile at key points in the project to identify if you are over or under budget before the project is completed. If you know you are over budget early on, you may be able to take action and correct this trend before it's too late to make a difference. Project reconciliations also present an opportunity for you to share accurate information related to scope and budget with your client.” (Stuckenbruck, L.C. 1981) Communication planning During the construction of the Sydney Opera House there was lack of adequate communications between the various parties involved in the project. For a project of this nature, the project managers must ensure a regular update of the chartering group with major indicator information on the entire project portfolio, including prioritized projects, chartered projects as well as those that still being actively executed. Responsibilities of the Project manager Project management involves the execution of responsibilities and functions of a project manager. These responsibilities and functions have been the subject of research by many management experts. It is the responsibility of the project manger to coordinate and supervise the various activities involved in completing the building project. “A manager has to see to it, that the task is performed to the fullest of the efficiency. A manager has to plan out an organizational structure to bring out ease and flow in the task. He must suggest new policies and modifications in order to reform the nature of work. It is his prime most duty to participate in meetings, discussions, project site visits, workshops and hearings. A manager has to prepare bids and proposals for the prospective clients to expand business operations. A manager should provide full information to the accounts departments and auditors and assist them in case of difficulty.” (Chittister, C., Kirkpatrick, R., & Van Scoy, R. 1993) Change management From a project management perspective, there is a part of the project plan in which there is an intersection between being proactive and starting off with the end in mind. It is important that the project manager and the stakeholders develop a Product Acceptance Plan early in the project (e.g., during the project inception stages). “This kind of plan helps to clearly define the end of the project and will also confront stakeholders with conditions for project closeout early in the lifecycle. A Product Acceptance Plan describes who accepts what and when, against which criteria. In most cases it identifies new stakeholders (e.g., maintenance and support) and new requirements. It also provides important information about the contents of the Transition phase (e.g., how much iteration it will entail). Often the Transition phase is limited to iteration because of cost constraints. However, the number of Transition iterations and the length of iteration are defined by the stakeholders who are responsible for product acceptance.” (Foote, D. 2002) According to Robertson and Tippets, “The long-term benefits of successful teams include higher performance, increased morale, and a strong commitment to the mission of the organization that can withstand almost any kind of adversity” (Robertson and Tippets, 2002) Dealing with technology The project was unique and developmental. Many new technologies were employed and there were many innovations and changes to the scope throughout the project. During the construction of the new Sydney Opera House, viability must be considered before significant resources are committed, regardless of the manner and prioritization in which the building project will be executed. The most critical responsibility of the project manager in such a project as this will be proper scope management. Scope management has a direct effect on the bottom line, contributes to overall project satisfaction, corporate success and professional achievement. Although appropriate scope management may seem an overwhelming task, it can be achieved through breaking down the work effort and ensuring that profitability is continuously measured as the project progresses. Ultimately, this form of versatility will provide the project manager with options, and also help the project manager to understand the state of the project budget at every stage of construction, thus allowing the project manager to react and manage project scope successfully. Another project management skill necessary for this project is team selection. Team selection is a very vital aspect of project management. Substantial amounts of literature and research have been carried out in relation with this issue. “Unfortunately, for many project management is a resource, and these types of luxuries (like the hand-picking of team-members) do not exist in the real world. Prominent characteristics that both survey and literature deem desirable include good interpersonal communication skills and technical competency. The real challenge lies in being able to effectively communicate the project objectives with personal, professional, and organizational objectives.” (Ammeter, A.P. & Dukerich, J.M. 2002) The role of management in the project Project management is a discipline of planning, organizing and managing a specific task in order to execute the project properly. “The project manager's role in a nutshell is the overall responsibility for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, control and closure of a project. Savvy project managers have radar and can sense and predict events and circumstances. Their brains are gigantic magnifying glasses. They see what others don't. If you have someone like this in your organization or on your team, it may take a bit to acknowledge their abilities and foresight. Once they have several successful, complex projects under their belt with your company, it is time to trust them to do their job.” (Stuckenbruck, L.C. 1981) In order for the project to succeed there are some skills, knowledge and competencies that are must haves for new supervisors and managers. “Successful managers are well rounded with a good sense of the business acumen and the ability to influence others rather than relying on power and authority.” (Berrie, Michele 2009) “Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. If you are a project manager you really need leadership skills. Today's project managers must have leadership skills in order to effectively perform their roles in the organization and stand out from the crowd. Something must make you distinct from the others, especially if you are currently job searching or worried about your job security.” (Dawes, T. 2003) There are several areas of knowledge relevant to managing a project like this. In order to be successful, a project manager must be able to envision the entire project from start to finish, and the project manager must also have the prowess to realize this vision of building a new Sydney Opera House. Conclusion It has been stated that successful project management is a combination of approximately 20 percent hard skills and 80 percent soft skills. These issues have a big impact on product delivery. The lack of adequate preparation, as well as the failure to address these important issues early was the main causes of the problems faced during the building of the Sydney Opera house. For example, after the completion of the grand podium with an enormous, 86 meter (282ft) wide stair, several years were spent reworking the design of the roof. This should have been done before ground was broken. Later, the scheme for the 'sails' were revised, and defined as slices of a sphere with a 300ft (91m) diameter. The hard skills mentioned above relate to the actual procedures, tools, techniques and processes that comprise the planning, organizing, execution and control of the building project, while the soft skills have to do with the attitude and behavior of the project management team. Those errors that experienced the project during the construction stages have had the influential echoes on the management of projects to this day, especially in the area of failing to estimate the project time, cost and initial perceptions effectively. On the other hand, there could be several positive aspects accompanied the project stages that reflect the successful features of project management including the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. References Ammeter, A.P. & Dukerich, J.M. (2002) Leadership, team building, and team characteristics in high performance project teams. Engineering Management Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 4, pg. 3-11. Berrie, Michele (2009) Project Manager Responsibilities, PM Hut Chittister, C., Kirkpatrick, R., & Van Scoy, R. (1993) Risk Management in Practice, TechnicalReview SEI-93-TechReview-004 Clough, R. (1981). Construction Contracting. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Dawes, T. (2003). Project management - an integrated approach. The British Journal of Administrative Management, pg. 24-25 DeMarco, T., and Lister, T. (1999) Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, New York: Dorset House Publishing. Erikson, M., Lillieskold, J., and Jonsson, N. (2002). How to manage complex, multinational R&D projects successfully. Engineering Management Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, pg. 53-61. Foote, D. (2002). Manage your stakeholders. Computerworld. Vol. 36 Issue 47 pg. 25 Freeman, Ed. (1984). Stakeholder Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Pitman Publishing: Boston. Grey, S. (1995). Practical Risk Assessment for Project Management. Chichester: John Wiley &Sons Inc. Mitchell, R.K., Agle, B.R., Wood, D.J. (1997). Towards a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who what really counts. The Academy of Management Review. Vol. 22, Issue 4 pg. 853-886. Ontario. Ghali, S.S., (2003). An Analysis of Project Teams and Organization. Unpublished paper /presentation, University of Calgary, Calgary PMI standards committee. (1994) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Pennsylvania, PA: Project Management Institute. Robertson, R. L., and Tippet, D.D. (2002). Linking project team performance with team health. Engineering Management Journal. Vol. 14, Issue 1, pg. 35-42. Stuckenbruck, L.C. (1981). The Implementation of Project Management. Pennsylvania, PA: Project Management Institute. Read More