A Detailed Analysis of Wedding Planning - Term Paper Example

 Table of Contents 1- Abstract 2 2- Introduction 2 3.1- Constraints 3 3.2- Opportunities 3 4- Project Scope 3 5- Objectives 4 6- Deliverables 4 8- Stakeholders Analysis 4 8.1- Project Stakeholders 4 8.1.1- Primary Stockholders 5 8.1.2- Secondary Stakeholders 5 8.2- Onion Diagram 5 8.3- Stakeholders Matrix 5 9- Communication 5 10- Project Planning 6 10.1- Project Activities 6 10.2- Time Planning (Gantt chart) 7 10.3- Network Diagram 8 10.4- Critical path Analysis 8 10.5- Work Break down Structure 9 11- Project Risks 11 11.1- Cost Risks 11 11.2- Time Risks 11 11.3- Resource Availability Risks 11 12- Project controlling 11 13- Conclusion 11 14- Bibliography 11 Appendix 13 Onion Diagram 13 Stakeholders Matrix 14 1- Abstract The wedding is a most precious and memorable event in someone’s life. Thus, the effective planning and management of wedding ceremony is vital to make this event more successful. Like management of other projects, the similar project management abilities are employed and implemented in wedding planning. In addition, the efficient management and organization of resources is a main part of management theory that could be employed to manage wedding ceremony. Thus, the wedding planning through these abilities becomes a tremendous day for the happy couple. This report presents a detailed analysis of wedding planning. This is a huge wedding that involves a lot of tasks and operations that we need to manage and handle. In this scenario this report will assess and analyze the project management aspects and plans for the time and resources. 2- Introduction The wedding day is a crucial day in all the people’s life. The management and handling of all operations at such occasion is really essential. In this case the effective management and handling of all operations at that day is really necessary and essential. Additionally, the majority of couples are spending more on their wedding as compared to some other expenses in their lifetimes apart from for their home or car. Actually, a research by a well accepted wedding resource shown, that 2.4 million couples get married each year in the United States by spending average cost of $20,000 (Wedding , 2009). This report is about planning and managing the wedding project that is going to be held after few days. This wedding ceremony will be a huge marriage ceremony that requires extensive planning and availability of all the things at the day of wedding. In this report the overall plan for wedding project will be presented. That will be helpful in making this project a successful project. 3- Project Constraints and Opportunities In this project, there are several constrains those could affect the project. However, there are also some opportunities those could make the overall project comfortable. Some of main constraints and opportunities are outlined below: 3.1- Constraints This project should be completed on time, within allocated cost and resources. For example in case of exceeding the cost this marriage could be affected. If all the resources are managed in a better way but not on time then it will also affect the whole project. In scenario of management of the resources the present project is having a lot of problem areas. Like in case of delayed delivery from Florists, Caterers, Bakers or Clothiers the overall program of project would be influenced. 3.2- Opportunities In this project there are several opportunities, however the project team is well experienced and having really effective project management and planning skill. In this scenario the project management team will be able to tackle the hard and complex problems those could happen in the project. 4- Project Scope This wedding project needs effective management of overall processes and operations to handle a huge event. Since, this day is very important in lives of two families. Thus, the effective and successful management of all the tasks of wedding day is really necessary. The scope of this project covers the following operations: Renting wedding venue Making arrangement for dinner Inviting people Arranging dressings Decorating wedding venue Making sitting arrangements Inviting priest Arrangement of wedding vehicle Serving dinner 5- Objectives Here are the major objectives of this project: Effective management of all wedding arrangements Rapid supply and presence of necessary resources at the wedding venue On time availability of resources or things Effective management 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 6- Deliverables To manage this wedding project we will be entitled to deliver the following deliverables; Project management report Project Budget report Project time plan Project cost plan Expenditures reports Booking receipts Expenditures receipts 8- Stakeholders Analysis 8.1- Project Stakeholders There are lots of stakeholders involved in this project. These stakeholders are different in categories but having the similar intention to effectively manage and handle the wedding ceremony and happy ending and completion of day. In this project, the stakeholders could be divided into two categories, primary and secondary stakeholders. 8.1.1- Primary Stockholders The primary stakeholders of this project are; Bride Groom Parents of both Bride and Groom Relatives 8.1.2- Secondary Stakeholders The secondary stakeholders of this project are; Witnesses to marriage Wedding guests Florists Caterers Bakers Clothiers Musicians 8.2- Onion Diagram Available in Appendix A 8.3- Stakeholders Matrix Available in Appendix B 9- Communication In this wedding project there is need to establish effective communication with and among all the stakeholders and to the management of the project. Thus, this needs to take following actions for the effective management of communication among all project stakeholders: Meetings: Calling all the stakeholders about the planning and handling of all events in the wedding. Invitation: Inviting all relatives and guests to the wedding, for instance, inviting them through phone, cards and emails. Telephone: Communication with all stakeholders through telephonic communication. Messaging: The internet and mobile messaging could be used for establishing the communication among all primary and secondary stakeholders. 10- Project Planning This section will present a detailed planning of Wedding project in scenario of cost and time. 10.1- Project Activities The table given below shows the project activities and their overall duration in the project. Project Task Identifier Total Duration Decide on a Wedding date A 4 days Setup a Budget B 6 days Make appointment at church C 3 days Start working on the guest list D 2 days Finalize Ceremony time and date E 2 days Booking Professional photographer F 1 day Selecting a place for the Reception G 6 days Shop for wedding H 12 days Choose Brides maids I 7 days Meet by florist to decide styles and obtain estimates from florist J 5 days Select music type K 3 days Meet with Band/ DJ L 4 days Confirming deal by florist and music M 4 days Meet with caterer N 2 days Order announcements & invitations O 6 days Send invitations P 3 days Start working on rehearsal dinner Q 1 day Day of wedding R 1 day Complete Project Complete Project 72 days 10.2- Time Planning (Gantt chart) This section presents the project time plan and Gantt chart of project that is given below; Project Task Identifier Total Duration State Date End Date Decide on a Wedding date A 4 days 6-Jul-10 9-Jul-10 Setup a Budget B 6 days 13-Jul-10 20-Jul-10 Make appointment at church C 3 days 21-Jul-10 23-Jul-10 Start working on the guest list D 2 days 24-Jul-10 27-Jul-10 Finalize Ceremony time and date E 2 days 28-Jul-10 29-Jul-10 Booking Professional photographer F 1 day 30-Jul-10 30-Jul-10 Selecting a place for the 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 by florist to decide styles and obtain estimates from florist 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 by 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 Complete Project 72 days 6-Jul-10 14-Oct-10 10.3- Network Diagram Task Arrangement The arrangement of activities is given in Appendix C Below is the network diagram for the Wedding project. Here I have used the activity on the node procedure for overall activities. 10.4- Critical path Analysis The network analysis for critical path is given below; Figure 1 Critical path 10.5- Work Break down Structure This section outlines the work breakdown structure (WBS) for overall project. 10.6- Cost Plan 11- Project Risks Project risks are the main areas those could make the overall project a failure. Thus, these risks should be effectively managed. This section will outline some of main risks regarding overall project. 11.1- Cost Risks In case of exceeding the established and planned cost of project we could face problems about the project effective completion. There is a higher chance of happening of such type of risk. However, this risk could be managed through effective and efficient cost based planning. 11.2- Time Risks In case of delay or un-availability of any necessary item, the overall project could become failure. Since, when time exceeds the cost of project also exceeds. The likelihood of happening of this kind of risk is higher. To effectively mitigate such kind of risk we need to follow the WBS and time plan in a really efficient way that will ensure the success of overall project. 11.3- Resource Availability Risks In case of less or no resource availability for the project development we could face a huge failure. In this wedding project we need all resources frequently. For effective managing this risk we need to make available all the resources one day before the wedding. 12- Project controlling To control the overall project successfully and manage the ongoing changes in the project we need to establish a proper documentation of all resources, costs, and events that we are going to handle. There will be proper contracting that will offer effective organization for all operations of this wedding project and enhanced change control. In this scenario there will need to take recommendations and permissions from stakeholders of the project. 13- Conclusion This report has presented a detailed analysis of overall project of a Wedding. In this scenario I have applied different project planning and management techniques to effectively manage, handle, and control the project. I hope this report will be useful in providing an overview of planning. 14- Bibliography Burke, R., 1999. Project Management: Planning and Control Techniques. Chichester: Wiley. Field, M. & Keller, L., 2007. Project Management. Thomson Learning. Gray, C. & Larson, E., 2006. Project Management, The Managerial Process. 3rd ed. New York: 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://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:6RAAoVskY0gJ:www.sustainabletravelinternational.org/documents/planningagreenwedding.doc+Most+couples+will+spend+more+on+their+wedding+than+any+other+single+expenditure+in+their+lifetimes+except+for+their+car+or+home.+I [Accessed 04 March 2010]. Appendix Appendix A Onion Diagram Figure 1- Onion Diagram Appendix B Stakeholders Matrix Stakeholder/ Interest Area Strategic Financial Project Activities Events handling Public Community Bride ● ● ● ● Groom ● ● ● ● Parents of both Bride and Groom ● ● ● Relatives ● ● Witnesses to marriage ● ● Wedding guests ● ● Florists ● ● Caterers ● ● Bakers ● ● Clothiers ● ● Musicians ● ● Appendix C 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 Read More