Issue Management: Pinpointing and solving issues

Project management has become the standard in the majority of modern work situations. Although details may differ from one project to the next, the project life cycle is often comparable. Events management can be referred to as a “lighter version” of project management, and therefore the project life cycle applies. The life cycle of a project consists of four phases namely:


Initiation


Planning


Execution (also includes monitoring and control)


Evaluation


The initiation phase of a project commences by defining the objectives, timescales,


scope, deliverables, resources, purpose, and the project structure. The next step should involve developing several possible solutions as well as a cost/benefit analysis for each of those. The chosen solution should then be assessed to ensure that it’s feasible and has minimum risk. Appointing a project team is equally significant in this phase (Dobson).


In the planning phase, the first step is to create a detailed project plan that the project manager would utilize to monitor and control cost, time, and quality from the start to the end of the project. It is crucial for the project manager to create the plans below:


Resource plan: involves specifying material, equipment and the staffing required


Quality plan: to facilitate quality control techniques and formulate quality objectives and goals


Acceptance plan: pointing out criteria for accepting deliverables


Financial plan: estimating the budget


Risk plan: pointing out risks and plan ways to mitigate them


Eventually, a phase review should be done to assess the deliverables before the project execution phase commences. During this phase, the project team is required to deliver while the project manager controls and monitors project delivery through:


Cost Management: Monitoring costs against the project budget


Communication Management: Keeping stakeholders updated on project issues, risks, and progress


Change Management: reviewing possible changes to the project and implementing them


Time Management: tracking time spent on activities against the project plan


Risk Management: weighing the level of project risk and finding ways to mitigate


Acceptance Management: gaining client acceptance and following up the completion of deliverables


Issue Management: Pinpointing and solving issues


Quality Management: reviewing the management processes and assessing quality of the deliverables


Lastly, a Post-Implementation Review or an evaluation is done to determine the overall success of the project. An evaluation is also carried out to determine whether the benefits stated earlier (usually in a business case) were achieved. Documenting the lessons learnt for future projects is prudent.


Overview


This paper will focus on a project management program for a book launch event, highlighting the various activities that will be undertaken from the beginning of the project, its continuation and how it ends. It will also highlight the processes that will take place after the event.


Introduction


When defining a project, it’s crucial to set clearly defined objectives, evaluate risks involved and determine the key success criteria. Other factors to consider especially in a project definition document otherwise known as a project charter include the following:


Project mission or purpose


Project goals and targets


Project scope, deliverables, and constraints i.e. performance criteria, resources, and time


Key success criteria


The project’s measurable objectives


Performance criteria and quality standards


Risks involved


To ensure the success of a project, the project manager has to bear in mind some critical skills since they are entirely responsible for the planning and execution of a project. A competent project manager must possess the following skills all together:


Organizing


Planning


Problem-solving


Excellent communication


Risk management


Throughout the scope of the project, project managers should monitor closely all the risks associated and try to mitigate them since they impact significantly on the project’s success or failure. Good communication can be instrumental in mitigating risk through ensuring that all the project team members can freely express their opinions and concerns.


Objective


The objectives of the project should align with the context of the project and responsibilities of the project manager. The fundamental objective remains to achieve the event’s goals. The following objectives will also apply in this book launch event:


To boost the author’s credibility


To intensify the author’s email list


To generate more funds to write and publish more books


To promote the book


To develop more readership


Significance


Events are meant to promote an idea to the targeted audiences, and for this case, the event is a book launch. The importance is this book launch event is to build a positive image of the author to the readership. Marketing is all that is required for the success of any author planning to write more books. This event will serve as an exposure platform where the author will be able to create a pool of readers who will read not only the current book but also the ones that will come in the future. The book launch will also raise funds for the author through the copies of the book which will be sold during the event and also later on as a result of exposure.


The plan


Initial stage


During this stage, a team of skilled personnel based on their experience in book launch events will be selected. With the team in place, it will be easy to identify various activities of the project and get down to the planning process (Maserang, 2002). It is also at this stage that clear objectives and goals will be set so as to ascertain a sense of direction i.e. where the project is and where it’s expected to go. Setting goals will also be useful for the following reasons:


To facilitate planning


Providing a sense of motivation for the team


To enable easy evaluation and control of performance


The initial stage will be useful in this project because defining the purpose of the event, its scope, results to be achieved, and objectives will propel the project towards the success of both this and subsequent stages of the project. The highly skilled manpower to be deployed here will also ensure every activity flows smoothly from the start to the end of the event (project).


Planning stage


At this point that all the necessary requirements of the project are laid down (Maserang, 2002). The planning phase is the most important stage in the whole project event as it is a projection of everything required for the entire project. The team will create the following plans;


• Resource plan- A resource plan is a plan which will list down all the important requirements for the event. The resources include venue, seats, public address system, entertainment, refreshment`s, gifts and enough books to be sold during the event. Before the event begins, there is the time allowed for people to arrive and during that period, the guests will need a little entertainment as they get to interact and familiarizing themselves with the environment. Refreshments will also be necessary as the event will take a better portion of the day.


• Communication plan- The team will also make plans for communication /marketing on the event. Marketing is a crucial aspect of the event since it will be selling the event to the targeted audience who are the readers of the book. For this, there will be a necessity in identifying the best means of communication that will reach the people needed to attend the event. Getting the word out will require the use of social media sites, mainstream media and use of billboards in the city.


• Financial/ budget plan- Financial/budget plan is a crucial part of the planning process. At this stage, the team comes up with the amount of money to be used in the entire project then develops a plan on how the money will be divided. A budget for the event will help the owner to communicate with his/her sponsors so as to get the funding. Budgeting may also help in planning when exactly the event takes place.


Execution stage


The execution stage is of similar significance as planning as it is the stage where the plans are put into action (Maserang, 2002). This is the stage where the team ensures that everything planned at the previous stage is executed and within the right limit. First, a percentage of the money will be paid for the venue to secure it before the event. The other money will be spent on marketing the event a month before the event to allow enough time to market it. Finally, the other share of the money will be spent on paying for the other resources a week before and for the complete amount for the venue. It is also at this stage that marketing will take place but a month to the event. Other activities that will take place at this stage is getting the resources, organizing the event venue the day before and ensuring the event itself runs accordingly without and glitches. The team will also ensure that they monitor and control the book launch event making sure everything goes as planned and ensuring that time is managed well.


Closure


The closure stage is the final step in the even project management. This is the step that will take place immediately after the closure of the event. The purpose of this is to identify whether the objectives of the event have been achieved through analysis. It is also the step where a complete project review report is written highlighting everything that went down since the start of the project to the end. Only important details to the higher management are documented (Robinson, Wale and Dickson, 2010).


Tools and techniques


The event project will require several tools to make the work easy and achieve the objectives. These tools are both manually used while others are computer aided software (Maserang, 2002). In this project, the team will use one important tool which is the Gantt chart. Gantt chart is a tool used to show calendar time and the activity going to take place within the period from the beginning of the project to the end. The Gantt tool uses graphic representation to present the beginning, the continuation and the end of the project. This tool will help the team come up with a timeline that will be close to the actual timeline and will be good in time management.


The Gantt chart tool is significant in the following ways;


It will make the planning easy for the team


It prepares a negotiation tool the people involved in the project.


The tool allows for comparison between various projects similar to the one at hand helping in resource allocation and risk assessment.


The tool allows for better time management allowing for clear communication with various stakeholders involved in the event.


The tool also ensures that there is a clear communication of the actual progress of the project.


The tool allows the project manager to have a clear picture of the project helps assisting in controlling how the project works out.


Date/Month


Task/Activity


Jan


Feb


Mar


Apr


May


Jun


Jul


Aug


Sep


Oct


Nov


Dec


Initial


Team creation


30th


Set goals and objectives


Planning


Resource Planning


3rd


Communication planning


10th


Financial planning


17th


Execution


Partial Payment for the venue


15th


Project Review


27th


Event Marketing kickoff


14th


Full Payment of the venue


5th


Organizing the venue & acquisition of required resources for the event


11th


Main event


12th


Monitoring & Control


Closure


Evaluation and analysis


14th


Project review report writing


17th


Fig1: Gantt Chart for the book launch event


Several techniques will be used during this project to ensure its success. They include;


Team creation- As mentioned earlier, the team to be created will be that of experienced individuals who have worked on a similar project. This will ensure quality work and achieving the best results.


Breaking down the project- dividing the entire project to small tasks will ensure that there is a comprehensive approach to the project. For example, the planning process will be broken down into various divisions like marketing plan, finance planning, and resource planning.


Developing a schedule- this will allow for the smooth running of activities with proper time management hence allowing for things to go as planned.


Communication- this is an important aspect of any project as it allows various stakeholders to know the progress of the project. Through communication, the team will be able to know what is lacking and what changes need to be made in the project (Maserang, 2002).


Risk Management


It is important to evaluate all the probable risks that may arise during the event before it commences. The evaluation may involve all the stakeholders of the event be the project manager has to be there together with the team to make sure that nothing is left to chance. Through this assessment, it will be easy to identify any hazards on the venue hence allowing time to eliminate them. Involving emergency services is also advisable since they are specialists and may have vast knowledge on the subject. Having assessed the venue will allow for things like emergency contingency plan (Event management planning guide, n.d.). The plans may include;


Incident control center


Setting of various evacuation procedures


Establishment of proper lines of communication


Additional service personnel


Emergency and ambulance vehicle loading areas


Some of the risks that may arise include:


Financial loss


Loss or damage of useful equipment


Over-distraught workers


Accidents to attendants due to slippery surfaces, potholes, obstructions, electrical faults or other causes


Unhygienic food


Competitive aggression that may result in abuse, brawls, and harassment


A thorough examination of the risks named above and planning ways to mitigate them will ensure the event turns out successful and that there will be human safety i.e. the well-being of all those who will attend the book launch event.


Conclusion


This plan is expected to reap maximum results since face to face interactions are considered valuable, effective and powerful in marketing other than building an online connection. Personal interactions between the author and his audience could form a strong base for a firm brand image that is reliable and forge solid lifetime relationships. The author will enjoy a rare opportunity to showcase his dexterity at the launch to his customers and prospects in the industry with the potential to provide greater opportunities. As the project management team, we will have a chance to learn in the process hence increasing our experience in the event management.


References


Dobson, Michael. "Understanding The 5 Stages of The Project Life Cycle -". Leadership & Business Management Blog. N.p., 2013.


Event management planning guide. (n.d.). 1st ed. [ebook] Wodonga: Wodonga Council, pp.15-17. Available at: http://www.wodonga.vic.gov.au/leisure-arts visitors/events/images/Event_management_planning_guide.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2017].


Maserang, S. (2002). Project Management: Tools & Techniques. [online] Umsl.edu. Available at: http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/488_f02_papers/ProjMgmt.html [Accessed 24 Mar. 2017].


Robinson, P., Wale, D. and Dickson, G. (2010). Events Management. [online] Google Books. Available at: http://bit.ly/2mC0qkt [Accessed 24 Mar. 2017].

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