Project Management of Music Festival - Case Study Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Name Course Tutor University Date Abstract Project management skills are required to accomplish set goals and objectives. To implement the music festival strategy effectively, resource plan is required. They include chairs, public address system and computers as well as human resources. It is the responsibility of the project manager to ascertain these resources taking into account the project deliverables. The management plan is also required to delegate duties and responsibilities appropriately among the project management team. The project manager guides the entire project while the support team assists the manager in performing the duties. Moreover, the risks involved in the project include inadequate financial resources, congestion and harsh weather because it might rain on the audience. In this regard, the project manager has a responsibility of interacting with the other staff and work as a team towards achieving the objective of the music festival. Table of Contents Abstract 2 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Project plan and approaches 4 2.1 Project resourcing plan 4 2.2 Risk management plan 5 2.3 Leadership and management plan 7 2.4 Justification 9 2.4.1 Resourcing 9 2.4.2 Risk 9 2.4.3 Leadership 9 2.4 Project approach 9 3. Conclusion 10 References 11 1.0 Introduction Project management is an important concept that helps to accomplish required goals and objectives (Trevor 2013). The project manager has a responsibility of mobilising resources of the project and also motivates the team so that they can work as a team and achieve the desired goals and objectives (James 2006). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the management of music festival project. Its venue is Victoria country. The expected audience is 12,000 people. 2.0 Project plan and approaches 2.1 Project resourcing plan The success of the project depends on the availability of resources. Since the music festival takes three days, the project management team must put in place every measure to ensure that the project aim is achieved (James 2007). It is worth to note that the project manager played a crucial role in mobilising 12,300 chairs for the expected audience. Besides, the hall is hired in time, and the sitting arrangement made to ensure that the guests are not disappointed. In this regard, the table below shows the project resource plan for the music festival project. Project Phase Deliverables Resources Activities Duration Person involved Phase 1 Developing project objectives Human Resources Identifying the project scope Developing the goals and objectives of the project. Identifying the project theme. One month Project manager and the entire project management team. Phase 2 Planning the project Human Resources Accommodation facilities Chairs Equipment Public address equipment. Finances. 12,300 chairs 10 speakers for sound projection. Prioritising the project activities. Calculating the expected budget for the project. Scheduling and developing the project curriculum. Mobilising the required resources. Two weeks Project manager Phase 3 Executing the project Human resource skills. Finances. Equipment. Allocating the resources appropriately. Communicating different roles and activities. Sharing project goals and objectives. Three days Project manager Phase 4 Controlling the project Human skills. Auditing skills. Finances. Equipment. Schedules. Checking the project status daily. Assessing the achievement of daily expectations. Check the project against schedule. Three days Evaluation manager Phase 5 Closure Evaluation resource. Finances and equipment like computers. Post project evaluation. Compare the objectives against schedule. Making project recommendations. One day Project management team. (Thomas 2010) 2.2 Risk management plan The following are the key risks expected in the project; Inadequate financial resources: It is anticipated that the music festival project management team might run a shortage of financial resources. It is because of the changing economic conditions as well as the high number of attendance (Thomas 2010). For instance, the public address equipment might break down; thus the sounding system requires quick adjustment. It requires financial resources, and if not available the festival might not meet its high standards. Inadequate accommodation facilities: It is another highly anticipated risk when implementing the project (Bjarne 2007). Previously, the crowd attending the festival is between 8,000 and 12,000. However, it is not possible to determine the exact number of attendants, but the project management team makes an assumption of hosting 12,000 visitors. Therefore, the management must put aside extra financial resources to cater for unseen emergencies like a high number of guests. Congestion on the roads: Because of the large number of people attending the ceremony, the hilly roads are likely to be congested. In the process, it will be difficult for people to move from and to the venue and this is liable to delay some activities (David, & Roland 2006). Therefore, the management has a responsibility of ensuring that there is smooth traffic on the roads (Ralph 2007). Moreover, if the traffic is not managed properly as well as congestion of people, it can lead to a stampede. Security risk: The high number of participants in the ceremony poses a safety hazard. In the recent years, acts of terrorism have increased globally, and most governments are trying to put in place measures to protect the lives of its citizens from terror attacks (Young-Hoon 2005). It is also important to understand that the terror activities increase where there is a crowd of people. Therefore, the management must put in place adequate strategies to ensure everyone is safe. On the other hand, the following are the risk mitigation strategies the project management team has put in place to control the above-identified risks; Risk avoidance: It is the first plan that helps to eliminate the identified risks. Once the risk is identified, it is managed by eliminating it. For instance, the safety hazard is run by installing the hidden cameras all over the podium (Joseph 2003). Also, the financial risk is run by putting aside additional finances to make any purchase of accommodation facilities to meet the high number of attendants. Risk transfer: The project team can also manage the risks by transferring them to other parties. For instance, the project team can take insurance covers for the three days of the music festival. The aim is to transfer any risk of damaging the property during the event to the insurance company (Dennis 2007). Moreover, the risk of congestion on the roads can be managed by outsourcing a security firm to control the traffic. In this context, it is possible to implement activities properly. The table below summarises risk plan; Risk type Level Mitigation Inadequate financing Moderate Avoidance Inadequate accommodation Moderate Avoidance Congestion on the roads High Risk transfer Security threat Low Surveillance systems 2.3 Leadership and management plan For the project to succeed, the project manager must possess competent skills and must have experience as well as references for the past accomplished projects. As a result, the project managers possess more than seven years’ experience in organising music festivals with large crowds. The experience helps the leader to understand various deliverables of the event as well as anticipated challenges and how to encounter them (Dennis 2007). Also, the project manager is experienced regarding problem-solving. He or she must foresee main problems and risks and take appropriate actions to control the risks from occurrence. Furthermore, he must possess critical computer skills such as Excel, project publisher. Consequently, the support team must also possess required skills to aid the leader in executing the project. Moreover, the project will not succeed without implementing critical best practices. Firstly, leadership must show commitment and excellent communication with the stakeholders (Eric 2003). Formal communication must be made to the project management team so that they can all have a shared understanding. As a result, communication contributes to a good working relationship and eliminates any loophole that can otherwise affect project implementation. The project supervisor supports the overall manager in developing and implementing project plans. The primary source of power is through project management skills just like the project manager (Eric 2003). The source of power for supervisors is reward and they possess excellent communication and reporting skills. Finally, the foremen implement the activities and their source of power is their craft skills. Responsibility Source of power Skills Project manager Legitimate project management communication leadership Assistant project manager Legitimate Leadership skills Delegation of duties Supervisors Reward Ability to lead by example Skills to solve deadlock Reporting skills Foremen Competency Handwork skills Excellent communication 2.4 Justification 2.4.1 Resourcing The best approach to resourcing plan in training and development. The first step is to select potential employees and develop a training program to develop their skill about music festival project (Eric 2003). The approach is effective because it helps to ensure the staff understand the project well and possess required skills to work as a team towards achieving the objective. 2.4.2 Risk The approach to risk management is brainstorming. The approach is appropriate because it helps to understand possible dynamics in the environment that can pose risks (Joseph 2003). Therefore, the project will hold meetings to deliberate on the issues and ways to manage their eventualities. The approach is cost effective and faster in decision making. 2.4.3 Leadership The management approach to apply in the project is consultative approach. The approach is preferred because it contributes to incorporating diversified needs and expectations of the stakeholders on the project (Iman 2008). For instance, decisions are made on consensus. As a result, the staff will work together as a team to achieve the desired outcomes of the project. 2.4 Project approach Considering the complexity of the music festival project, the best approach is critical chain approach. It explains that there is one element that is likely to affect the implementation of the project. There is a cross-functional relationship between various departments, but the single constraint can affect the entire process of implementing the project. It can be related to behaviour or process. In this case, the project leadership has to consider the primary constraint that is likely to affect the implementation of the project and take precautionary measures (Iman 2008). The critical chain approach is preferred because a mathematical tool is used to provide reliable data about the number of attendants to the event. It is based on past data that shows crowd of between 8,000 and 12,000 attend the festivals. Based on this statistics, the leadership can calculate the expected number of visitors and plan properly. The traditional approach is not preferred because it is not flexible to incorporate the changes during the project. It also assumes that the objectives of the project are dormant until the project is completed and this is not correct. Besides, the extreme approach to business is not preferred because it is complicated to implement and is appropriate in projects experiencing dynamism (Eric 2003). For instance, it is applied in marketing where the preferences of the customers keep changing implying that the management team plans the project based on the current data in the market. Therefore, the critical chain method is preferred because it uses past data to predict the risks and put measures in place to manage the incidences. 3. Conclusion A project is a complex thing to manage. To achieve the set goals and objectives, the project leadership must possess competent skills and experience in the related project. The main resources required in implementing the music festival project include human resources, finance, and equipment. On the other hand, a collaborative approach should be applied in this project so that every individual participates. Finally, the critical chain method is the most preferred approach to the project because it enables the management team to use past data to anticipate risks and then take appropriate measures to manage the risks. References Bjarne, K 2007, Project Management –. Theory and practice.. Nyt Teknisk Forlag. David, I. C & Roland, G 2006, Global Project Management Handbook. "Chapter 1: "The evolution of project management". McGraw-Hill Professional. Dennis, L 2007, Project Management (9th ed.) Gower Publishing, Ltd. Eric, L. C 2003, Project planning best practises, IBM. Iman, A 2008, Project management practises: The criteria for success or failure, IBIMA. James, L 2007, Fundamentals of Project management, New York Amacom. James, T 2006, A survival guide for project managers, New York Amacom. Joseph, P 2003, PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. McGraw-Hill Professional. Ralph, K 2007, Effective Communication for project management, Auerbach Publications. Thomas, G 2010, International Project Management: Leadership in complex environments, John Wiley &Sons, Inc. Trevor, Y 2013, Successful Project Management, Kogan. Young-Hoon, K 2005, "A brief History of Project Management". In: The story of managing projects. Elias G. Carayannis et al. (9 eds), Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More