Project Management Case Study

Introduction

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique result, service or product. A plan has a single goal meaning it begins at a particular time and stops at a specific period, and it has its scope and resources. Management, on the other hand, refers to the process of dealing with or controlling people or things. Project management, therefore, is the process of starting, planning, executing, managing, and ending a team's work to achieve set goals (Burke, 2013).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The report is aimed to plan a project which will be used as the significant launch of events around Birmingham University, so as celebrate the turn of events in the school as well as publicize it. One is supposed to plan the project within the calendar and incorporate elements such as an informal opportunity for staff and students to get tours of the building, celebrations, and invitations and also plan the formal ceremony to be performed during the Fresher's Week in September.

This project is to be done by breaking it into four main sections. They include the sample Project Initiation Document (PID), risk register, work breakdown structure (WBS and a short report written to the Project Sponsor, the director of Operations. The brief description shows the analysis of the methodologies to be used and the need for quality leadership for the project and the role of a successful project manager towards the completion and success of a project.

Budgetary Information

A project must have a viable budget which is used as a reference point to know how much money or capital was required to support it (Kerzner,2014). All transactions are expected to be recorded to account on the overall budget appropriately used and to make sure that one does not go outside the budget.

The budget for this launch is approximately PS50,000. This budget is to cover all the expenses that will be used. It includes the cost of preparation of the event, the cost of hiring the personnel, the price of food, drinks, and entertainment. It also consists of the amount used in sending invitation cards to various guests and dignitaries are it locally or internationally. Other costs may be incurred during the advertisements as the project is aimed at publicizing the university to make it more competitive and popular. Decoration is also done on a formal day to look attractive and pleasing by buying things such as balloons and fireworks and also bringing unexpected high profile musicians and bands to entertain the guests. The cost of bringing additional security guards or law enforcers would also be put in the budget.

Timescales

The timescale is the period needed to do an activity or process (Burke, 2013). For an event to become successful, appropriate time scales must be set at the start of the project. One must understand their project outcome, estimate the time needed to deliver and also plan for uncertainties. Timescales should also be set according to the calendar of events being used to include everyone and not make someone feel left out. Timescales enable performance as everyone delivers what is needed. According to this project, timescales have to be set in many instances. Guests and signatories should be invited early enough to make appointments. Goods and supplies should be ordered early enough to arrive on time and avoid confusion. Tours by staff and students to the buildings should be arranged on time. The main event should be punctual for everyone to enjoy the ceremony. When these strict timescales and schedules are followed the event becomes a success, and nothing embarrasses them. Timescales should also plan for unlikely events or circumstances which may spoil everything planned. Therefore the timelines enable one to adjust and seek substitute methods.

Objectives

An objective may be described as a specific result that a person or system seeks to achieve within a certain time frame and with available resources (Kerzner, 2014).In most cases, objectives are easier to measure than goals because they are more specific and they are the necessary tools needed for a project to succeed. Objectives may also be used as tools for measuring performance and creating policies. The main aim of this project is to publicize the university as it may help attract more students and make it more competitive. This objective is mainly aimed at making Birmingham University have a competitive advantage over other Universities and therefore benefiting in terms of population increase and also in wealth creation. Another objective was to celebrate the success of teaching rooms and computing labs rennovation. This would enable the students and staff to have access to the latest technology and an excellent learning environment. By ensuring that they set their objectives well at the start of the project, it would ensure that the project is completed early enough and in a manner that makes everyone successful.

Approach

An approach for project management refers to how the management of a project is carried out. It may also be referred to as the methodologies used in ensuring the success of a project (Friend, 2011). Different approaches are used to ensure the success of this project. They include: phased, process-based management and benefits realization management. The phased approach is where a project is broken down into different distinct parts to make sure that it is effectively carried out. This project is carried out in different phases from the start of the refurbishment of the teaching rooms and computer labs to the last phase when it is the formal celebration of this achievement. The process-based management approach is where the project is aligned with the goals and objectives of the organization. This is achieved in this project as they try to make sure that the project is directed towards the goals and objectives of the university. The benefits realization management approach is where the organization focuses on deriving benefits from project outputs to maximize return on investment and reap intangible and financial returns for the organization. This approach is used as the University seeks to use this project to reap intangible returns such as publicity and also attract more students and be more competitive. The overall project objectives, timeline, and cost must be well considered to make this project successful.

Key Staff

Project Staff refers to people in the project team who have a particular role or function and assigned tasks (Burke, 2013).In project management, they are also referred to as resources. This is because their input is a critical time and financial factor. The staff participates in the project, and therefore they are the most important factor towards the success of a project. The critical team found in this project is the students, staff, managing director and the director of operations. The students and staff are involved in a daily basis in the teaching and learning process. The managing director is the primary project sponsor, and the director operations represent him.

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholders are people who have an interest in a project or a business. Stakeholder analysis is a technique used to identify people who have an interest in a business or a project. All people who seem to be interested in a business or a project should be analyzed, and their role summarized. Students: they are the primary stakeholders in this project. They are involved in the daily learning activities around the university, and this project is aimed at improving the facilities around the University to bring competitive advantage to the University and also attract more students to the institution. Staff: They are also involved directly in the project. They are included in the teaching activities, and they help in making students more and better than they were before. They are responsible for ensuring the success of the institution is achieved and make the University more competitive. Director of operations; he is involved in this project as the representative of the main sponsor of the project. His responsibility is to make sure that everything goes according to the planned budget and finally report the progress to the managing director. Managing Director: he is the main sponsor of the project. He contributes finances to help make the project a success, and therefore he adds to bringing change to the University to benefit the Students, staff and the University at large...