Project Management in a Wedding Ceremony - Case Study Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT – A WEDDING [Project Sponsor] [Project Manager] [Project Time Frame] Wedding is an imperative phase of a human life, and thus, it enjoys significant importance in human lives. In order to plan and manage a wedding ceremony, it is very imperative to organize it with effective implementation of project management skills. In this regard, it is observation that absence of such skills result in disorganizing wedding ceremony. Although wedding ceremony is a personal ritual, however, project management skills are very imperative, and experts believe that one should plan wedding in a professional manner. In addition, efficient management and organization of resources is main part of management theory that can play a valuable role in managing wedding ceremony. This report presents a detailed analysis of wedding planning. This huge wedding involves many tasks and operations that one needs to manage and handle. In addition, this report will assess and analyze the project management aspects, and will put efforts to implement them in the scenario of wedding ceremony. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 PROJECT CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES 3 Constraints 3 Opportunities 4 PROJECT SCOPE 4 OBJECTIVES 4 DELIVERABLES 5 STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS 5 Project Stakeholders 5 Onion Diagram 5 Stakeholders Matrix 6 COMMUNICATION 6 PROJECT PLANNING 6 Time Planning (Gantt chart) 6 Network Plan 7 Cost Plan 8 PROJECT RISKS 8 Cost Risks 8 Time Risks 9 Resource Availability Risks 9 PROJECT CONTROLLING 9 CONCLUSION 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 INTRODUCTION Since centuries, wedding has enjoyed a significant importance in human lives. In this regard, it is very important to manage and handle different processes of this occasion in an efficient manner, as it becomes the most important memory of one’s life. Researchers (Burke, pp. 19-22, 1999) have indicated that wedding is one of the most common occasions that involve huge spending by individuals, as compared with other occasions and ceremonies. In addition, another research pointed out that in the United States alone, 2.4 million couples tie the knot every year while spending $20,000 (Wedding, 2009). Due to such significance of wedding ceremonies, the researcher will put efforts in this report to discuss different aspects that play a major role in the planning and managing process of a wedding ceremony. The report will include every task that is essential and imperative in a wedding ceremony, and will endeavor responsibilities of different stakeholders in the occasion. PROJECT CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES Like every project, this project of planning and organizing wedding ceremony has some constraints that have the ability to affect the occasion adversely. However, there exist some opportunities as well that will be very beneficial in organizing this project successfully. Constraints Time is the major constraint of this project, as it is essential to carry out this ceremony in a single cycle, and there will be no second chances. Secondly, limited costs and resources is another constraint that needs attention (Kerzner, pp. 11-27, 2006). In addition, all these constraints are interrelated with each other, as ineffective time management will result in increment in costs and expenses of the ceremony. Opportunities On the other hand, there exist many opportunities (Lewis, pp. 45-48, 2006); however; experience of project manager is one of the strengths of the project team that will allow effective handling of the project with efficient use of management skills. In this regard, it is anticipation that project management team will be successful in avoiding constraints with utilization of skills. PROJECT SCOPE In specific, this wedding project needs effective utilization of project management skills for handling different processes and operations. Since this day is important for every member of the two families, overlooking a single task may result in adverse results, and thus, this report will put efforts to consider every operation that will be important for the wedding ceremony: Renting venue Making arrangements for the dinner Inviting guests Arranging dresses Decorating the venue Making arrangements for sitting Inviting priest Arrangement of vehicle for couple and their family members Serving Dinner OBJECTIVES Some of the major objectives of this project are as follows: Effective management of all the above mentioned wedding arrangements Rapid supply and availability of necessary resources at the wedding venue Prompt availability of necessities Effective handling of sitting arrangements Serving good food On time delivery of wedding dresses Timely booking of wedding venue Ensuring delivery of all invitations Satisfaction of all guests Effective management of flowering arrangements DELIVERABLES While managing this wedding, project management team will be responsible to ensure delivery of the following deliverables: Project management report Project Budget report Project time plan Project cost plan Expenditures reports Booking receipts Expenditures receipts STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS Project Stakeholders In particular, this wedding project includes various stakeholders that although have different roles and responsibilities, however, they have the similar intention regarding effective management and handling of wedding ceremony. Specifically, this wedding project has two important categories of the stakeholders: primary and secondary stakeholders that include ‘bride, groom, parents, relatives, and family members’ and ‘witnesses, guests, florists, caterers, bakers, musicians, and clothiers’ respectively. Onion Diagram Stakeholders Matrix Stakeholder/ Interest Area Strategic Financial Project Activities Events handling Public Community Bride ● ● ● ● Groom ● ● ● ● Parents ● ● ● Relatives ● ● Witnesses ● ● Wedding Guests ● ● Florists ● ● Caterers ● ● Bakers ● ● Clothiers ● ● Musicians ● ● COMMUNICATION Like every project, effective communication (Heerkens, pp. 63-67, 2007) is an important necessity that will ensure success of this wedding project, and thus, the project management team will endeavor to establish effective communication between all the stakeholders associated with the wedding. In this regard, it is very imperative to take some actions that will make sure effective communication among all the stakeholders, some of which are as follows: Meetings: Informing all stakeholders about the planning of events in the wedding Invitation: Inviting guests for the wedding day through phone, cards, instant messaging etc Telephone: Communicating all stakeholders of wedding project through telephone Messaging: Internet and mobile can establish the communication among all stakeholders PROJECT PLANNING Time Planning (Gantt chart) This section presents the time plan in the form of Gantt chart (Gray & Larson, pp. 63-79, 2006), as well as network diagram of the project: Project Task Identifier Total Duration State Date End Date Decide a Wedding date A 4 days 6-Jul-10 9-Jul-10 Set a Budget B 6 days 13-Jul-10 20-Jul-10 Appointment at church C 3 days 21-Jul-10 23-Jul-10 Working on the guest list D 2 days 24-Jul-10 27-Jul-10 Finalize Ceremony time E 2 days 28-Jul-10 29-Jul-10 Booking photographer F 1 day 30-Jul-10 30-Jul-10 Selecting place for Reception G 6 days 31-Jul-10 7-Aug-10 Shop for wedding H 12 days 10-Aug-10 25-Aug-10 Choose Brides maids I 7 days 26-Aug-10 3-Sep-10 Meet florist to decide styles J 5 days 4-Sep-10 10-Sep-10 Select music type K 3 days 11-Sep-10 15-Sep-10 Meet with Band/ DJ L 4 days 16-Sep-10 21-Sep-10 Confirming deal with florist and music M 4 days 22-Sep-10 25-Sep-10 Meet with caterer N 2 days 28-Sep-10 29-Sep-10 Order announcements & invitations O 6 days 30-Sep-10 7-Oct-10 Send invitations P 3 days 8-Oct-10 12-Oct-10 Start working on rehearsal dinner Q 1 day 13-Oct-10 13-Oct-10 Day of wedding R 1 day 14-Oct-10 14-Oct-10 Complete Project 72 days 6-Jul-10 14-Oct-10 Network Plan Project Activity Total Duration Preceded By A 4 days B 6 days A C 3 days A D 2 days B E 2 days D F 1 day D G 6 days E, F H 12 days G I 7 days G J 5 days G K 3 days G L 4 days H, I, J, K M 4 days L N 2 days M O 6 days N P 3 days N Q 1 day O,P R 1 day R 1 Q, C Complete Project 72 days 72 days Cost Plan 1. Renting Venue 1000 2. Dressing 4000 3. Music/Flowers/Invitations 3000 4. Dinner 6000 5. Human Resource Costs 4000 6. Decoration 1000 7. Other Expenses 1000 Total Costs 10,000 PROJECT RISKS In the project management, it is very essential to identify risks and take steps to avoid their adverse effects on the project (Frigenti & Comninos, pp. 20-26, 2002). Therefore, this section of the report will recognize and describe some of the risks that will be very crucial for the wedding ceremony project. Some of such risks are as follows: Cost Risks As earlier mentioned, costs and expenses are the most crucial components of the wedding project, and it will be very significant for the project team to manage and control costs effectively while arranging every necessity. On contrary, surpassing the planned cost of the project will cause a number of issues (Cleland & Ireland, pp. 71-77, 2006) that will hinder successful completion of the wedding ceremony. In this regard, the project team is focusing primarily on the cost risks, as it is likely that it will happen due to the nature of the project. Time Risks Besides costs, time is equally crucial component in the wedding project, as both risks exist in interrelation with each other, and thus, delay in any process or task of the project will be very critical and adverse (Field & Keller, pp. 11-19, 2007) for the wedding. Costs risks are easy to prevent while time risks are very difficult to control. Still, the project team will put efforts to carry out all the tasks according to plan while mitigating factors that may cause delay. Briefly, the team will endeavor to follow the time plan (Gantt chart) that will be very beneficial in preventing time risks. Resource Availability Risks The third most crucial risk in the wedding project relates to the availability of resource, as absence of any resource will promote occurrence of the other two risks, and thus, the project management team will attempt to arrange every resource one day earlier of the plan that will eliminate such risks during the wedding project. PROJECT CONTROLLING Besides management, controlling is a responsible task that involves prompt decisions, and thus, the project team will involve all the primary stakeholders in controlling the project through their permissions and recommendations, as well as by documenting every change related to resources, costs, events, etc. CONCLUSION In conclusion, this report presented a detailed analysis of overall project of a wedding ceremony. In addition, the report used various techniques and tools of project planning and management that will be effective in managing and handling the project. Lastly, it is anticipation that this report will be useful in acquiring an overview of planning. BIBLIOGRAPHY Burke, R. (1999). Project Management. Wiley. Cleland, David I., & Ireland, Lewis R. (2006). Project Management. McGraw-Hill. Field, M. & Keller, L. (2007). Project Management. Thomson Learning. Frigenti, Enzo, & Comninos, Dennis. (2002). the Practice of Project Management. Kogan Page Publishers. Gray, C. & Larson, E. (2006). Project Management. McGraw-Hill. Heerkens, Gary R. (2007). Project Management: 24 Steps to Help You Master Any Project. McGraw-Hill. Kerzner, H. (2006). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Lewis, J.P. (2006). Fundamentals of Project Management. New York: AMACOM. Wedding. (2009). How to Plan a Green Wedding. [Online] Available at: http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org/documents/planningagreenwedding.doc [Accessed March 04, 2010] Read More