Project Management for Events PDF

Project Management for Events Part 2 Dr C. Hattingh  Learning objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: discuss project management as an approach to the management of festivals and Events describe the phases of event management discuss t...

Project Management for Events Part 2 Dr C. Hattingh  Learning objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: discuss project management as an approach to the management of festivals and Events describe the phases of event management discuss the knowledge areas involved in conducting an event using project management techniques use the fundamental techniques of project management  Project management techniques Most of the project management techniques used in engineering, information technology etc. are useful to event management. The project management process is outlined as a cascade model in Figure 2. The description of project management as a linear process is only an approximation, as each stage of the process will influence the early stages. Figure 2: Project Management Process  1. Defining the project and scope of work The indispensable technique in project management is defining the project and, therefore, defining the scope. Misunderstandings over what is involved in the management of an event are common. Most project management literature stresses that the time spent on clearly defining a project in the initiation phase is time well spent.  1. Defining the project and scope of work The scope – or scope of work – refers to the amount of work required to get the event up and running and then to shut it down; it is all the work. Equivalent terms are project charter or statement of work (SOW). O’Toole and Mikolaitis (2002) describe the SOW as ‘a document that sets out the event objectives, lists the stakeholders, draft budget, scope, schedule and an outline of responsibilities’.  1. Defining the project and scope of work The project definition can be as detailed as necessary, although one page may suffice. If the client's resources-such as accounting, legal, and promotion-are being used to create the event, it is advisable to have some guidelines regarding how much of those resources can be committed to the event. The guideline document may contain the following headings: Event description-with mission statement, vision, and key objectives Roles and responsibilities of the principal parties List of stakeholders, such as marketing, human resources, public relations, government agency, or charitable sponsor Scope of work Draft schedule with milestones Basic assumptions (which may change over time) Budget with cash flow structure Signature authority and limitations The statement of work cannot be expected to specify all the work involved in putting together an event. However, it will provide a baseline and a memorandum of understanding from which to launch the next step in the process. It may also contain a section outlining the procedure for making any changes to this baseline.  2. Creating a work breakdown structure The next step in the cascade is the ‘work breakdown structure’ (WBS). The creation of the WBS is a technique that focuses management on the work required to deliver the event. The creation of a visual display of all the work that needs to be done can assist the staff in understanding the scope of the work. To deliver the event there will be an extensive number of tasks that have to be completed. These tasks can be complex and a long list of them may not be very helpful. A way to get this under control is to ‘aggregate’ the tasks under headings.  2. Creating a work breakdown structure All the tasks concerning the venue, for example, could be grouped under the heading ‘venue’ or ‘on-site’. The tasks that concern finding the money and working out the cost could be listed under the heading ‘finance’. Deciding on task groups and headings should be completed during the initiation phase or at the beginning of the planning phase.  2. Creating a work breakdown structure The work breakdown structure can also be used to create a coding system for the whole event. The coding can be completely numeric or alphanumeric. A training seminar and an exhibition, for example, would first be broken into S (for seminar) and X (for exhibition). The WBS for the seminar could be venue (V), presenters (P), registration (R), catering (C), and equipment (E). The cost for the equipment for the seminar would carry the Code SE.  2. Creating a work breakdown structure The WBS shown in Figure 3 can enable the event manager to scope the event with the client. In this way, "who does what” is clearly outlined at the beginning of the event planning. An important aspect of scoping is to know the limitations of the work required-in other words, what does not have to be done. Figure 3: WBS of an award ceremony organised by event functions  2. Creating a work breakdown structure Note that there are various ways to divide up the work. The first division may be by physical place (location) at the event. This is quite common when there are a number of staging areas and different teams managing them. This alternative way to divide the awards night is shown in Figure 4. For example, the main stage area work is divided into seven sub- areas of responsibility - lectern, audiovisual, chairs, decor, video projection and screens, media, and master of ceremonies and stage management. The WBS should be regarded as a tool or a means to an end and is successful as long as it captures all the work that has to be done and lets nothing slip through the cracks. Figure 4: WBS of an award ceremony organised by physical location Figure 5: WBS for a high profile wedding organised by event functions Figure 6: WBS for a high profile wedding organised by physical locations  2.1 Analysing the resources The resource list is developed from the WBS. The WBS is fundamental to resource analysis. The resources may be services, such as security, or goods, such as tents and chairs. Resources may also be a mixture of both goods and services, such as catering and sound. Resource analysis allows the event management to decide on what services and goods are: outsourced to suppliers sourced from the client or sponsor specially created or constructed for the event.  2.1 Analysing the resources These are major decisions as they will impact on the budget. In project management this is called creating a work package. On large events, the supplier may need to submit a tender to supply these goods or services. An example of this is the supply of sound. From the WBS it appears that sound equipment will be needed in various areas of the event, including the different stages and the entrance.  2.1 Analysing the resources These requirements are grouped together and given to a number of sound companies to supply a quote for the work. One of the outputs or deliverables of the resource analysis is a list of suppliers. Perhaps, the most important output of the resource analysis will be the human resource plan. This plan will be linked to the tasks and responsibilities described in the next section. In project management, the tasks are matched to the skills found in the pool of human resources available for the project.  3. Identifying tasks and responsibilities The decomposition of event management into the WBS may identify all the tasks that need to be completed to deliver the event; however, this is highly unlikely as there are myriad tasks for even the simplest of events. One only has to think of the many tasks involved in organizing a wedding. The WBS will classify the tasks in manageable units. Each manageable unit will have groups of tasks associated with it. A WBS, for example, may have ‘promotion’ as a heading. Promoting the event will include the tasks of identifying the media, contacting the media, creating a schedule, creating a press release and many more. Each task has to be completed by a certain time and by a person or group of people; hence the task analysis is the beginning of assigning responsibilities. 3. Identifying tasks and responsibilities For example, the elements in Figure 4 are not specified in enough detail to permit all the necessary tasks to be determined and properly assigned. This step involves expanding each of those elements (e.g., "Band," as shown in Figure 7) to the next level of detail. Figure 8 shows a piece of the next (third) level of the task analysis for one second- level task. Here, all the band entertainment is broken down into separate tasks that may be undertaken by different people with specialized skills. Contracting, for example, may be handled by the legal department. Many of these tasks can be used as cost centers, becoming the "line elements” in a budget. The costs for the entire event can then be found by adding the costs for the activities. The WBS is the basic graphical representation of event project management. It is easily understood by the corporate event staff, client, sponsors, and volunteers and gives a quick reference for any aspect of the event. Its degree of accuracy, which is indicative rather than measurable, is comparable to the changing event planning environment-that is, it doesn't bog down the plan. Figure 7: expanding one of the many work areas Figure 8:Expanding the Band Element of an Evening's Entertainment  3. Identifying tasks and responsibilities In project management practice it is common to map the WBS on the organizational structure. Each organizational unit corresponds to an area of the WBS. The management structure of a community event, for example, will be made up of a number of sub-committees. Each will have a clearly defined group of tasks assigned to it. An output of this process, often called task analysis, is the task responsibility chart or document. On this document are the tasks listed, who is responsible or what company, when the tasks should be completed and how the completion of tasks will be communicated. A task/responsibility list can also be put together at the end of meetings. Sometimes these are called action lists. Project managers prefer a task/ responsibility list to the minutes of the meeting, because they are a ‘call to action’.  4. Scheduling Project management can be loosely defined as planning the who, what, where and when. The schedule represents the when. Almost all events have a fixed date or a deadline. Completed tasks take on an importance not found in other types of management. The schedule is a vital control tool allowing the project to progress. A mistake in scheduling can have a widespread affect to the other areas of management – leading to blowouts in costs, thereby compromising quality. The deadline is so important that most event managers work back from the date of the event. The schedule can be clearly represented by a Gantt chart.  5. Gantt Chart Gantt charts are bar charts named in honour of the management science theorist Henry Gantt who applied task analysis and scheduling to the construction of Navy ships. The Gantt chart is simple to create and its ability to impart knowledge quickly and clearly has made it a popular tool in project management.  The steps in creating a Gantt chart are described as follows: Tasks: break down the work involved in the area of event management into manageable tasks or activities. One of the tasks, for example, of the security team for the event is the erection of the perimeter fence around the site. This can be further broken down into the arrival of the fencing material, the arrival of volunteers and equipment, and the preparation of the ground. As discussed above, this work is usually done as part of identifying tasks and responsibilities.  The steps in creating a Gantt chart are described as follows: Timelines: set the time scale for each task. Factors to consider are the starting and completion times. Other considerations in constructing a time scale are availability, hiring costs, possible delivery and pick-up times and costs. A major factor in the arrival time and day of large tents, for example, is their hiring costs. These costs can depend on the day of the week on which they arrive, rather than the amount of time they are hired for. Note that the schedule for many aspects of the event management will work back from the date of the event.  The steps in creating a Gantt chart are described as follows: Priority: set the priority of the task. What other tasks need to be completed before this task can start? Completing this priority list will create a hierarchy of tasks and identify the critical tasks.  The steps in creating a Gantt chart are described as follows: Grid: draw a grid with the days leading up to the event across the top and a list of the tasks down the left-hand side of the grid. A horizontal bar corresponding to each task is drawn across the grid. The task of preparing the ground for the fencing, for example, depends on the arrival of materials and labour at a certain time and takes one day to complete. The starting time will be when the prior tasks are completed and the length of the timeline will be one day. The horizontal bars, or timelines, are often colour coded so each task may be easily recognized when the chart is completed for all activities.  The steps in creating a Gantt chart are described as follows: Milestones: as the chart is used for monitoring the progress of the event, tasks that are of particular importance are designated as milestones and marked on the chart. The completion of the security fence, for example, is a milestone as it acts as a trigger for many of the other event preparation activities. In smaller events, milestones such as the arrival of the chairman of the board or another senior executive may be the only scheduling tool.  5. Gantt Chart Figure 9 shows an example of a simplified Gantt chart. This chart is common to most small regional festivals. See Blackboard for a Gantt Chart developed for a more complex celebration dinner. Figure 9: Simplified Gantt chart of a small festival  5. Gantt Chart The advantages of a Gantt chart are that: it visually summarizes the project or event schedule it is an effective communication and control tool (particularly with volunteers) it can point out problem areas or clashes of scheduling it is readily adaptable to all event areas it provides a summary of the history of the event.  5. Gantt Chart For the Gantt chart to be an effective tool, the tasks must be arranged and estimated in the most practical and logical sequence. Underestimating the time needed (length of the timeline) can give rise to cost blow-out and render any scheduling ineffective. In term 3 we will look at how to schedule/work out the timelines – critical path analysis. Class activity You are the organiser of a small seminar at CPUT. Below is the time schedule you have developed for the room set-up specifically. Design a Gantt chart to illustrate the major tasks/activities and when they need to be completed for the above mentioned seminar. Identify the milestone in the below table and motivate your answer.  Resources for additional reading https://www.tomsplanner.com/?template=confer ence-blank http://www.leoisaac.com/evt/top099.htm http://www.tech.leoisaac.com/excelex/excelex15.htm http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/event-gantt- chart  Sources Bowdin, G., Allen, J., O’Toole, W., Harris, R. & McDonnell, I. 2006. Events management. 2nd ed. Elsevier: Oxford. O’Toole, W. & Mikolaitis, P. 2002. Corporate event project management. John Wiley & Sons: New York. Pielichaty, H., Els., G., Reed, I. & Mawer, V. 2017. Events project management. Routledge: New York.