Project Management for Sydney Opera House - Case Study Example

Project Management for Sydney Opera House By: Professor: Class: University: City: State: Date of submission: Project Management for Sydney Opera House Introduction Project management concerns time, resources, legal compliance, and placing reliance on the output of the simulations systems. The success of a project depends on the extent to which its meets the outlined goals; however, it is important to note that there are different perspectives of successful projects. One such example is the Sydney Opera House project whose budget went 16 times the projected budget and four times to finish than earlier anticipated. The initially projected cost was about AUS $7 million and projected to take four years though the budgets increased to almost AUS $102 million. In addition, the final impact that Opera House created became successful and big that no one remembers the originally missed goals. The planning of the project started in the late 1950s though it experienced numerous challenges before its completion. Project Background The Sydney Opera House is an art-performing centre located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The building is considered one of the iconic places globally that has become the Australian international symbol. The New South Wales government organized an international architect competition in which the Danish architect Jørn Utzon managed to win the bid to design the project construction. The project started in 1959 and was originally scheduled for completion in four years time at a budget of AUS $7 million. However, the client failed to set the cost and design specifications of the project; as a result, time and cost overshadowed the project which the managers put blame on Jørn Utzon. Due to such weakness, Jørn Utzon resigned prior to the completion of the project in 1966, which saw the appointment of Australian architect to complete the project. The project ended in 1973 after 14 years, which was 10 years behind the original, schedule at a cost of AUS $102 million reflecting a cost overrun of 1300%. Even though Jørn Utzon drew and structured the building, Sydney Opera House experienced numerous restructuring that led to its success (Irvine, 2013). PMBOK Knowledge Application Time NSW defines the standard activity sequence that is applicable to all the projects. In addition, the program used in developing the project design and features need to provides both import and export functionality with the other scheduling tools. The project managers can import back the schedules into the project while adding the financial data automatically for the execution, monitoring, and control of the project (Lawson, 2008, 114). In addition, product management needs to involve conducting of the feasibility studies, definition of the objectives and project scopes, planning the model for achieving the outlined objectives, implementation of the planned activities in accordance with the design and scope, evaluation of the processes for implementation to ensure that appropriate guidelines and quality are maintained (Management Institute, 2013). The project simulation tool used needs to provide the project managers with an opportunity of defining the efforts, quantities, duration, and resources at the task level. As the project provides the creation of numerous WBS versions, the project managers could compare various work plan versions for the assessment of actual time required for repetitive delivery types. Besides managing the project scope, the project managers need to ensure also effective management of the project schedule when the work is expected to be completed. Project scheduling considers the amount of time available and allocates such time to work as enshrined within the project’s Work Breakdown Structure. As a result, the discipline of project time management is associated closely with management of the project schedules (Baguley, 2008, 108). The project needs to start with clear objective that prioritized the quality of the end design; nonetheless, with the schedule for finalization the project drawing closer, there were apparent shift from quality to time with the project running out resources. The project manager broke down the activities and delegated the responsibilities to various human resources; thus, each person assigned to the project had to ensure effective management of time (GharExpert, 2012). The action plan assisted in ensuring the project stayed focused within the short-term tasks. Months/years Task Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 Development of construction designs 2 Ensuring that the plot lies within the Residential Zones 3 Checking whether the site is prone to natural activities or may compromise human activities 4 Establishing if the developed designs meet the required standards 5 Submission of the drawings for approvals through competent authority of the city 6 Making arrangements for the construction materials 7 Developing project timelines and seeking the authority from the government 8 Collection of money and other resources from the government 9 Ensuring the stakeholders and various service providers are compliant 10 Completion of the project 11 Handing Over Human Resource Management People determine the project performance and success; therefore, it is important that project managers understand various ways of managing human resources. Effective management of human resources commense with identifying the resources required, establishing their roles and responsibilities, skills, and establishing the period they are required (Maylor, 2010, 221). Similar to any activity, there are challenges associated with management of the teams like conflict resolution, communication of the project expectations, and ensuring that each person is involved and motivated (Burke, 2013). A project needs people with skills of various extents ranging from the low skilled manual labour within the construction site, the semi-skilled responsible to handle the machine tools, and the highly skilled personnel handling complex machinery (Fewings, 2013, 99). RAM used in Sydney Oprah House is RACI which standards for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Responsibility are those that actively participate and contribute in the project, accountability refers to those ultimately responsible for the result, consulted are people who have to be consulted due to their specific expertise, and inform are those affected by the decisions made thus need to be formed (Stackpole, 2013, 182). Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) Chart Activity Position NSW Sponsor Architect Advisor Project Manager Music Advisor Define A R I I Design A C R C Develop A I I R Test & QA R C I A Key Human Resources in the Project Role Role Description Finance Manager Budgeting and forecasting on the project activities to relate it to the outside communities Carrying out bookkeeping activities Reporting to the management financial matters relating to project activities Overseeing the cash flow of the project: both payable and receivable Provision of important information to assist the management make important decisions (Project Management Institute, 2004, 192) Quality Manager Ensuring performance quality and delivery of products and services remain high Establish and ensure continual improvement of QMS processes Monitoring quality objectives of the project Nonconformity and corrective actions Logistics Departments Ensuring construction materials reach the site on time Controlling the activities of the parties involved in the supply chain Procurement Department Improve corporation with other teams and stakeholders to determine the needed resources Securing the purchase documents Evaluating the suppliers Data management Coordination of staff Architect Advisor Ensure the project meets the required design Prepare and develop the needed drawings, diagrams, and images Liaise with external design team and other city building departments Project Manager Overseeing the whole project Development of the project schedules Estimation of the cost and time of the project Development of the budgets, documentation, and creation of charts Scalability and portability analysis of the project Controlling the quality of the programme construction Manager Granting potential satisfaction on completing the project Ensuring suitable management arrangement are made for the project Notification of relevant authorities on certain projects Checking the level of competencies and resources of all the involved parties Allowing adequate time and resources for project development and implementation Communication Management Project communication involves processes needed to ensure timely and appropriate presentation, collection, storage, and disposition of the project information. The role of project communication is to provide important link among the people, ideas, and information needed for the success of the project. Therefore, it is important that each person involved in the project to prepare to receive and send messages relating to the project (Evans, 2011). For effective communication system, it is important to consider various factors: communication planning, information distribution, performance reporting, and administrative closure. Communication planning involves establishing the information and communication needs of the stakeholders (Wells, 2013). For Sydney Opera House, the project manager developed a communication plan, which highlighted distinct communication methods, frequency, and audience. Sydney Opera House communication plan Deliverables Description Communication method Frequency Owner Audience Reports Project status Regular update on important issues Email, text, face to face Weekly Project manager NSW government Risk management Regular update on quality performance Email, text, face to face Weekly Project manager NSW government Budget Updated documents on the used and remaining resources Email, text, face to face If the scope is altered Project manager NSW government Work Breakdown Schedule Lists of tasks organized up to date Email, text, face to face Weekly Project manager Project Manger and NSW government Reviews and Meetings Interview in Sydney Getting information of their needs Email, text, face to face 3 times during the project Project manager NSW government and project manager Sponsor meeting Meeting with NSW for project review Email, text, face to face Weekly Project manager Project manager and NSW government Team meeting Meeting to review project status Email, text, face to face Weekly Project manager NSW government and project manager Deliver final report Handing in the portfolio with the project document Email, text, face to face End of project Project manager NSW government and project manager Project members NSW government, architect advisor, project director and manager, music advisor, legal team, managers(construction, quality, finance, procurement, and logistics) Project manager Email, text, face to face daily Project manager and NSW government NSW government References Baguley, P. (2008). Project management. London: Hodder Education. Burke, A. (2013). A Danish architect, an Australian icon: the history of the Sydney Opera House - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved May 3, 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-21/anthony-burke-on-sydney-opera-house-history/5034028 Evans, M. H. (2011). Managing Projects. Retrieved May 3, 2017, from http://www.exinfm.com/training/pdfiles/course19.pdf GharExpert. (2012). List of construction activities in sequence | construction activities list. Retrieved May 3, 2017, from http://www.gharexpert.com/tips/articles/Construction/2368/Start-Construction-2368-List-construction-activities-in-sequence_0 Irvine, J. (2013). Why Sydney's Opera House was the world's biggest planning disaster. Retrieved May 3, 2017, from www.couriermail.com.au/news/why-sydneys-opera-house-was-the-worlds-biggest-planning-disaster/news-story/9a596cab579a3b96bba516f425b3f1a6 Lawson, D. (2008). PMBOK quick implementation guide: Introduction, tips, FAQ's, mapping, terms and definitions. Australia: Emereo. Maylor, H. (2010). Project management. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall is an imprint of Pearson. Project Management Institute. (2013). Agile Project Management: Essentials from the Project Management Journal. US: J. Wiley & Sons. Stackpole, C. (2013). A project manager's book of forms: A companion to the PMBOK guide. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Wells, K. (2013). Sydney Opera House | australia.gov.au. Retrieved May 3, 2017, from http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sydney-opera-house Read More