Project Management Approaches and Phases - Case Study Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY (Student Name) (Course Number) (University) (Date) Project management involves the careful resources, skills and techniques to achieve the objectives of a project. Projects, on the other hand, are the unique undertakings by institutions or companies to achieve specific goals. The effective achievement of goals by organizations depends on how well the projects within such organizations are managed. Projects are characterized by a given time span, resources as well as budgetary allocations. In many organizations today, projects are spearheaded by the project managers whose main roles are organizing, planning and correcting projects where necessary (Harvard Business Press, 2013, p. 51). Project management takes three different approaches. First is the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) commonly used in the United States. Its primary area of focus is the project management skills such as budgeting. The second approach that can be used in managing projects is the Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE) that focuses on among other things keeping communication links open, defining the roles of individuals as well as establishing costs of the project. The approach is mainly applied in the United Kingdom and other countries where English is the main language. Another approach that can be used is the Agile Management, which is applied for complex projects, but provides space for responding to the changes that may occur during the project period. Project management is a cycle that requires close monitoring of all the activities that take place in each cycle. Project management has three main phases. The initiating phase involves project definition and stakeholder analysis. The second phase, that is the planning phase, deals with the development of work schedules and timelines, scheduling resources and risk analysis. The last part involves project execution where the project is actually implemented, and the necessary corrections are done. Project closure is done afterwards (Harvard Business Press, 2013, p. 65) Music festivals, entertaining as they seem, have a lot of risk issues that must be addressed to ensure that the event and concerts are safe right from the beginning to the end. It is of great significance that all the stakeholders including the attendees, sponsors, steering committee and the public authorities come together to address these issues. My company looks forward to hosting the Victorian Music Festival Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria from the third to the fifth of August next year. The company has appointed a project team with myself as the project manager. Among the requirements of the project is the development of a resourcing plan, risk management plan and a leadership management plan to be followed for the realization of the objectives of the company. Resourcing plan a. General Information Project Name: ------------------------------------- Project working name------------- Proponent secretary: ------------------------------- Agency……………………….. Prepared by------------------------------------------- Date…………………………… b. Resource Listing 1. Labour Resource Number skills Tasks Source Duration Project manager 1 Communication skills Time management Team building skills Cost management Conflict resolution strategies The project manager will be mandated to manage the daily activities of the project as well as providing daily reports on the progress of the project. Apart from organizing and leading meetings. The manager will also be required to keep a list of the lessons learnt during the project period. Internal October 2015 to August 2016 Marketers 2 Teamwork Ability to develop interesting marketing strategies The main role of the marketers is to develop both internal and external strategies for making the audience to gain more information concerning the project. Their role will also include thorough internet marketing because the event should attract not only attract local but also international attendees. Internal October 2015 to August 2016 Authorities 300 Professionalism in handling attendees Ability to respond quickly to emergencies Ensuring security of all the attendees and responding promptly to any security issues that may arise during the event. Government department of security August 2015 2. Equipment Item Number Specification purpose Duration computers 10 Very high processing speed, large disk space for storing data To help the project team in monitoring and controlling the project activities. November 2015 to August 2016 CCTV cameras 15 Very high-resolution cameras To assist in controlling security and ensuring that all attendees are safe. As part of security measures, all the attendants will be provided with electronic ids for easy monitoring. April 2016-August 2016 Gears 200 High-quality gears For high-quality performance by the performers. Attendees will be expected to buy their own protective gears against noise and fireworks. August 2016 Assumptions The project requirements will not change during the project Project delivery dates will remain constant Project delivery dates will also remain the same Risk Management Plan Risk management involves identification of all the possible risks associated with an event and putting in place measures to mitigate those risks. Risk management plan helps in developing a risk management program for the project, which serves as a basis of preventing adverse effects that may occur as a result of improper planning (Harvard Business Review, 2013, p. 45). Risk ID Risk Description Consequences Mitigation measures 1 Withdrawal of some of the project staff from the project as the project progresses Lack of proper realization of the objectives of the project Offering better salaries as incentives to enable the staff to work together towards holding a safe and memorable music festival 2 Accidents arising from the narrow and winding roads leading to the music festival venue Loss of attendees and other citizens in road accidents. Deployment of traffic police officers to man the roads during the three day festival. 3 Food poisoning Death of the attendees, the music festival, may have bad public image, The project team will ensure that all the food available is from trusted suppliers, the attendees will not be allowed to carry any food stuff to the event and hawkers will not be allowed to sell food stuff to the people during the festival 4 Crowd crushing and losing control Stamped thus leading to the death of some of the attendees, destruction of property, bad public perception of the event Deployment of security to help in managing the crowds, ensuring that all the attendees have reserved seats according to their booking requirements. 5 Security Loss of property, loss of lives Mandatory security check at all entrances and exits of the venue to reduce risks of attendees carrying gadgets such as grenades to the event, 6 Installations falling down Loss of lives and property Ensuring that all installations are firmly rooted on the ground Leadership and Management Plan Task Activities Requirements Target completion Appointing the project staff The organization management and staff come together to appoint the personnel responsible for the project, consultations done before appointment of the team Established criteria for selecting the project team, creation of forums such as meetings where organization members can select project team members Firs two weeks of the project commencement. Training of staff Improvement of the skills by the staff to ensure that they deliver the project activities efficiently and in time Training materials Creating forums where the staff can exchange ideas and share the knowledge they got with each other The first month of the project (October) Situational analysis Comparing the music festival events that have been held in the past with the present ones and seeing where there is the need for improvement before carrying out the expected project. Situational analysis is done based on the historical and present perceptions Provision of documents showing how past events were organised and the legal issues such as intellectual property rights relating to the project First and second months of the project Communication planning The project team communicates the requirements and plans of the project to the organization management and to the members of the organization as well as other stakeholders. Organized meetings where the project manager can inform the stakeholders about the project First month of the project Strategic planning The plans are put underway to ensure the music festival is memorable and safe for all the attendees including the performers Marketing strategies to ensure that both the locals and foreigners attend the event Third and fourth month pf the project Work breakdown Beginning the work on the ground such as placing the required installations on the project site, placing seats with the required numbers tagged on them Proper work scheduling so that all the project activities are done within the stipulated time Fifth and the sixth months of the project Final planning All possible measures are taken to reduce the risks that may occur during the music festival, final changes that need to be made are done, security is beefed up Detailed risk assessment plans The last two weeks of the project Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that music festivals also have many risks associated with them. If not well taken care of early enough through the development of risk assessment plans as in the case of the above project, adverse effects such as the loss of lives and property may occur and the organizing company can have a bad public image. The organization of such events also require that the resources to be used are planned and budgeted for in advance to ensure that budgets are not exaggerated or things that are not needed are budgeted for. All these plans, when clearly formulated, can help in the effective realization of the goals of accompany through projects. Reference Harvard Business Review Press. (2013). HBR's guide to project management, p. 23-67 Read More