Assessment task 2

Grow Management Consultants

Leadership Conference 2020: Leading in the twentieth century

Project charter
Project scope

This project will cover all aspects of the conference, including planning and follow-up. It is restricted to the
conference itself, and will not affect, or be accountable for, any other Grow Management Consultants
products or services.

Project objectives

The objectives of this project are:

- Motivate the workers

- Attract the interest of potential customers.
- Make contact with many qualified business people who attend the conference
- Promote Management Networks
Provide professional development for members

Project deliverables

This project’s deliverables are:

- Talks and workshops on the latest trends in business leadership

- Talks and workshops on the latest techniques for business leadership.
Project stakeholders

The project’s stakeholders include the following:

 Grow Management Consultants staff and management

 Grow Management Consultants clients
 All of the invited speakers
 The venue project manager
Roles and responsibilities

The Administration Manager is responsible for the overall coordination of the congress preparation.

The rest of the project team is:

 Donna Chisholm will help with contacting and lining up the speakers.
 Dan Streep will determine and prepare the venue.
 Edith Partridge will be responsible for the project’s finances.
 Erin O’Donnell will be responsible for marketing activities.
Grow Management Consultants
Leadership Conference 2020: Leading in the twentieth century

Project Management Plan

Introduction

The leadership conference will enhance Manager Network’s reputation and provide our clients with up to
date information on leadership skills, knowledge and trends. It will also provide clients with numerous
valuable networking opportunities for clients and staff.

Compliance

Successful completion of the project will support the following company Strategic Plan objectives:

relationship between the project and broader organizational strategies and goals

Project objectives

The objectives of this project are:

- Motivate the workers

- Attract the interest of potential customers.
- Make contact with many qualified business people who attend the conference
- Promote Management Networks
- Provide professional development for members

Benefits

The benefits that Grow Management Consultants include:

 Increased brand awareness

 Increased number of customers
 Will be known to many qualified business people
 Motivated workers

Project deliverables

This project’s deliverables are:

- Talks and workshops on the latest trends in business leadership

- Talks and workshops on the latest techniques for business leadership.
Project requirements

The following are required for a successful Conference:

 Effective marketing
 Effective management
 Enough staff
 Provided with facilities and equipment that are necessary for the workshops
 Effectively scheduled activities

Measurable outcomes

The success of this project can be measured by:

- Number of new customers

- Number of new business partners
- Number of participants in the conference

Project constraints

The project constraints include

:Not enough budget to organise the conference

Insufficient resources

Response from the staffs

Project governance

The CEO will carry ultimate responsibility for the conference, but the conference planning will be
coordinated by the General Manager who will be the Project Manager. Each project team member is
responsible for their area of expertise, working closely with the Project Manager and the Project Assistant.

Project scope

This project will cover all aspects of the conference, including planning and follow-up. It is restricted to the
conference itself, and will not affect, or be accountable for, any other Grow Management Consultants
products or services.

Project scope management

Scope control will be managed as follows:

- Plan the scope: Gather input from the stakeholders, then decide how to control the scope
- Collect requirements
- Define the scope: define exactly what is in scope and what is out of scope for the project
 - Create a work Breakdown Structure
- Validate the scope
- Control the scope: a project’s status should be monitored from start to finish to ensure that it is
being executed according to the project management plan

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The project’s Work Breakdown Structure is:

Task When Who

1. Venue Six months prior to conference Project Assistant

 Get quotes

 Decide venue

 Book venue and equipment

 Arrange catering

2. Speakers Six months prior to conference Marketing Manager

 Decide topics

 Identify speakers

 Arrange speakers

 Brief speakers

3. Marketing Commencing on finalisation of Marketing Manager

venue and speakers
 Decide marketing
communication strategies

 Develop promotional materials

 Implement marketing
communications

4. Registration Two months prior to the Accounts Manager

conference
 Prepare conference materials

 Create registration process

 Process registrations
Milestones

The project milestones will include the completion of the WBS tasks.

Milestone Time Objectives

Get quotes and decide the venue Six months prior Venue
to the conference
Book venue and equipment Six months Venue
prior to the
conference
Arrange catering Six months prior Venue
to the conference
Decide topics Six months prior Speakers
to conference
Identify and arrange speakers Six months prior Speakers
to conference
Decide marketing communication strategies Commencing on Marketing
finalisation of
venue and
speakers
Develop promotional materials Commencing on Marketing
finalisation of
venue and
speakers
Implement marketing communications Commencing on Marketing
finalisation of
venue and
speakers
Prepare conference materials Two months prior Registration
to the conference
Create registration process Two months prior Registration
to the conference

Any changes to milestones must be made in consultation with the project team. This can be done at
meetings or by email.

Project stages

Include the tasks that define when each stage has been completed:
Stage 1: Project Charter approval

Stage 2: Project Management Plan approved

Stage 3: Completing the tasks required by the project

Stage 4: Report and the control of the project management

Stage 5: Project Management Review is submitted.

Roles and responsibilities

The Administration Manager is responsible for the overall coordination of the congress preparation.

The rest of the project team is:

 Donna Chisholm will help with contacting and lining up the speakers.
 Dan Streep will determine and prepare the venue.
 Edith Partridge will be responsible for the project’s finances.
 Erin O’Donnell will be responsible for marketing activities.

Project stakeholders

The project’s stakeholders include the following:

 Grow Management Consultants staff and management

 Grow Management Consultants clients
 All of the invited speakers
 The venue project manager

Project communication

Project communication should include, but not be limited to:

 A monthly update for Grow Management Consultants’ staff and consultants

 Weekly or fortnightly meetings for the Project Team.
 Direct emails and social media marketing for prospective attendees.
 Brochure with covering letter sent to all registered attendees two weeks before conference date.
 A written report on the project’s progress will be sent to the CEO by the Project Manager each
month.
  A project management evaluation report is to be written by the Project Manager and Project
Assistant and submitted to the CEO as soon as possible following project completion.

Change management

Changes to the project schedule or Project Management Plan should only be made with the agreement of
the project team. Decisions are to be made by consensus, with the CEO having veto over any change.

Cost management

Cost management will be overseen by Edith Partridge, the Chief Financial Officer.

A financial report will by written by Edith within one month of the conference.

Resource requirements

identify the major resources requirements to assist with cost estimation

- Resources must be necessary to the project

- Resources must be effective
- Resources must be not too expensive
- Venues must be able to provide required conference equipment. Need to be able to
access audio-visual equipment including microphones, projectors and screens for
projecting. Also need lecterns and an electronic whiteboard.
- Conference catering should be on-site and include a high-quality morning tea, lunch and
afternoon tea

Major project costs

Outline the budget for the project using the following table.

Response may include the following cost items.

Costs are to be consistent with the student’s research.

Projected costs
Rental cost of the venue and the equipment $600* 10= $6000
Payment for the speakers $2,000(per speaker) * 5= $10,000
Marketing costs $2000
Expenses relating the conference materials $500
Staff salary $700
Expenses of catering $200
Total $19,400
Project cost control procedures
Project costs will be controlled as follows:

Costs will be monitored on a weekly basis.

Any variations will be assessed on the following basis:

Variation rate Action

0 – 5% Report variance and explanation of cause
5 – 20% Further commitment to additional costs must be approved the by
Project Manager
20 – 45% Further commitment to additional costs must be approved by the
Senior Management Team
45% plus Project must be stopped and reconsidered

Where a cost variation is considered, a change request must be submitted by email to the Project
Manager.

The request is to include

 Project costs to date

 Additional cost(s) that will be incurred
 Variations to baseline and actions required
 Justification for the change

No cost change can be confirmed until it has been authorised by the Project Manager.
Risk management

All identified risks are to be discussed and documented at the project team meetings.

Potential risk contingency measures

Including associated threats and opportunities

1. Ineffective speakers and/or topics will give negative impression on potential customers.
Risk treatment ideas:

 Brainstorm speakers’ topics

 Ensure that all speakers are effective communicators
 Have good quality backup speakers available
Strengths and weaknesses of risk treatments above:

Weaknesses:

 It is not possible to evaluate a speaker’s performance prior to execution

Strengths:

 Having backup speakers will broaden the pool of available speakers

 Brainstorm could produce themes that could be useful elsewhere in the company.

2. A shortage of critical skills in the booth attendees

Risk treatment ideas:

 Identify suitable training or professional development for existing staff

 Supervisor in attendance at all times to give support.
Strengths and weaknesses of risk treatments above:

Weaknesses:

 It is not possible to evaluate every interaction with potential customers

Strengths:

 Skills learned could be applied to other areas of the booth attendees’ jobs

3. Potential customers not aware of conference so do not attend

Risk treatment ideas:

 Contact should be made with potential customers to inform them of the conference
 Advertising for the conference should focus on Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine
Coast.
 Booth attendees should highlight the company’s services to all people they have contact
with.
Strengths and weaknesses of risk treatments above:

Weaknesses:

 It may be difficult and/or expensive to reach congress attendees prior to the congress
beginning
 Strengths:

 Speaking to conference attendees about the company’s services is a good way to begin a
discussion with them
Issue management

All identified issues are to be discussed and documented at the project team meetings. Issues that cannot
be resolved at the project team level are to be immediately escalated to include participation of the CEO.

Management Plan approval process

A draft of this plan is to be completed by the Project Manager and Project Assistant and submitted to the
Project Team for their approval and feedback.

The baseline Project Management Plan will then be communicated to senior management and all project
team members.

The PMP and Project Schedule will be reviewed, and a report written for senior management within one
month of the conference.

An email to the CEO

To: CEO
From: Project Assistant

Dear CEO,
I would like to let you know that the Project Charter and Project
Management Plan is done. The whole project team is working so hard and
preparing very well for the Leadership Conference.

In the attached file I send you the Project Management Plan Baseline, you can
have a look.

I am looking forward for your feedback. If you any question, please let me know.

Best regards,
Mungunbaatar Losolsuren

Attached: Project management plan Baseline

 Assessment task 3
PROJECT CHANGE REQUEST

As set out in the organizational procedures, I am required to write this report to the Project
Manager. Initially, the budgeted costs for the conference were finalized as:

Venue $45,000

Other $49,820

Total: $ 94,820

For the last few months, I would contact each Project Team member every month to review the
project’s progress. The conference project commenced one month ago, and during my review, I
received the information about the venue.

The first choice of venue is unavailable on the day I have required. The second-choice venue,
the convention rooms in the Elements Hotel (which is more centrally located and has better
facilities), will require an additional $5,000 to rent the venue. There are no other suitable venue
options available on that date. Although more expensive than the original venue, it has several
advantages:

• it provides three small meeting rooms at no extra cost

• It will promote the event through its network of clients and business associates

So, there would be an additional $ 5,000 cost on the venue. I think we need to choose this
venue despite the cost, it has several advantages. Because we do not need to buy more rooms
to provide for the speakers and staff. Also, if the promote our event it would be great support for
the marketing.
Email (1)

From: Project Assistant

To: Project Manager

Subject: Project Change Request

Dear Project Manager,

I would like to inform you that we need a change in project cost. Initially, the budgeted
costs for the conference were finalised as:

Venue $45,000

Other $49,820

Total: $ 94,820

For the last few months, I would contact each Project Team member every month to
review the project’s progress. The conference project commenced one month ago, and
during my review, I received the information about the venue.

The first choice of venue is unavailable on the day I have required. The second-choice
venue, the convention rooms in the Elements Hotel (which is more centrally located and
has better facilities), will require an additional $5,000 to rent the venue. There are no
other suitable venue options available on that date. Although more expensive than the
original venue, it has several advantages:

• it provides three small meeting rooms at no extra cost

• It will promote the event through its network of clients and business
associates

So, there would be an additional $ 5,000 cost on the venue. I think we need to choose
this venue despite the cost, it has several advantages. I am looking forward for your
feedback and please provide me with the justification for the change.

Kind regards,

Project Assistant
PROJECT CHANGE REQUEST

As set out in the organizational preocedures, I am required to write this report to the Project
Manager. Initially, the budgeted costs for the conference were finalised as: (After the change in
the venue cost)

Venue $50,000
Catering $15,000
Speaker fees $10,000
Speakers’ travel and accommodation $4,520
Publicity $15,800
Courier $2,000
Printing $2,500
Total $99,820

After a month from the change in the venue cost, during my review, the Marketing Manager has
told me the last speaker of the day, Beverley Farah has just pulled out. Unfortunately, the
replacement speaker has advised me that his fees will be $3,500 rather than the allocated
$2,000 per speaker.

So, another $1,500 will be added on the cost of the speaker fees. This will result in the increase
in the total cost to $101,320. The speaker already pulled out so it is not possible to decrease the
pay.

We need to increase our project cost, not to make inconvenience for the speaker and in the
event.
Email

From: Project Assistant

To: Project Manager

Subject: Project Change Request

Dear Project Manager,

I would like to inform you that we need a change in project cost. As set out in the
organizational procedures, I am required to write this report to the Project Manager.
Initially, the budgeted costs for the conference were finalized as: (After the change in
the venue cost)

Venue $50,000
Catering $15,000
Speaker fees $10,000
Speakers’ travel and accommodation $4,520
Publicity $15,800
Courier $2,000
Printing $2,500
Total $99,820

After a month from the change in the venue cost, during my review, the Marketing
Manager has told me the last speaker of the day, Beverley Farah has just pulled out.
Unfortunately, the replacement speaker has advised me that his fees will be $3,500
rather than the allocated $2,000 per speaker.

So, another $1,500 will be added on the cost of the speaker fees. This will result in the
increase in the total cost to $101,320. The speaker already pulled out so it is not
possible to decrease the pay.

We need to increase our project cost, not to make inconvenience for the speaker and in
the event.

I am looking forward for you feedback. If you have any question regarding this matter,
please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Project Assistant
Email to the replacement venue

To: Replacement venue

From: Project Assistant

To whom may it concern,

I hereby notify you of the project’s contents ongoing. File that I sent to Project
Manager was about the project’s change request. In connection with the expenditure we
faced a serious requirement to add an additional cost $2000. All of the additional cost
will be spend for the project’s expenditure. Project Manager will send an email about the
disposition of change request and relevant information of project.
Please send an e-mail as soon as possible that you will have a questions from
the project activities.
Best regards,

Email to the Marketing Manager

To: Marketing Manager

From: Project Assistant

Dear Marketing Manager,

I hereby notify you of the project’s contents ongoing. File that I sent to Project
Manager was about the project’s change request. In connection with the expenditure we
faced a serious requirement to add an additional cost $2000. All of the additional cost
will be spend for the project’s expenditure. Project Manager will send an email about the
disposition of change request and relevant information of project.
Please send an e-mail as soon as possible that you will have a questions from
the project activities.
Best regards,
Project Progress Report

Project name: Leadership Conference 2020

Date submitted: 11/09/2019

The conference project commenced two months ago, and all activities are going well as
planned. However, there are two changes occurred in the project cost.

A month ago, the first choice of venue was turned unavailable on the conference day and we
chose second venue which is the convention rooms in the Elements Hotel (which is more
centrally located and has better facilities), will require an additional $5,000 to rent the venue.
There were no other suitable venue options available on that date. Although more expensive
than the original venue, it had several advantages:

• it provides three small meeting rooms at no extra cost

• It will promote the event through its network of clients and business associates
According to its advantages, we chose this and request a change in cost from the General
Manager.

Also, the last speaker of the day, Beverley Farah had pulled out. The replacement speaker has
advised that his fees will be $3,500 rather than the allocated $2,000 per speaker.

These changes occurred during the project. We took actions immediately, for not to make
inconvenience.
 Assessment task 4
1. Assist in finalization of payments to conference speakers.
 Alfred Jersey - $2,979 (included: speaker free, return flight, taxi form airport, taxi
to airport, etc ,. )
 Trish Solomon - $2,169 (included: speaker free, taxi to conference, taxi from
conference, etc., )
 Mark Henry - $2,759 (included: speaker free, return flight, taxi from airport, taxi to
airport, etc., )
 Margret Cartwright - $2,866 (included: speaker free, return flight, taxi form
airport, taxi to airport, etc., )

The total payments for the speakers are: $10,773

We was planned the speakers’ travel fee would be $4,520. However, according to the
Invoice, the travel fee is $2,773 which is low from the planned cost.

2. Send an email to the Project Manager.

To: Project Manager

From: Project Assistant
Dear Project Manager,
I hereby notify you of the project’s funding which include the cost of the
speakers. Through demand of speakers the whole necessary requirements included in
our funding. There are 4 different speaker came and talked very serious speech in the
conference. About the attached file, I send you their cost more detail, and you can have
a look. After that, please inform me about the transfer of the cost to their accounts.
Please send an e-mail as soon as possible and if you will have a questions
project funding.
Best regards,

3. Assist in the development of a project management review.

Project Management Review

Project outcomes

Review the project outcomes to determine whether the scope management approaches were
effective.

The Project Management Plan states that the success of this project can be measured by:

- Overall Comprehensive Plan

- Good manager and team work
- Well defined Objectives
- High Management Support
- Sufficient Funds
- Involved Stakeholder or Sponsors

Project finances

The following expenditure details show the overall financial outcomes from the conference.

An analysis of this is as follows:

Total profit/loss:

Income: 395,000$

Expenses: 96,865$

Total profit or loss is: $300,180

Evaluation: excellent

Conference expenditure details

Expenses Income
Venue $45,000 Registration fees: individuals $100,000
Catering $15,000 Registration fees: companies $100,000
Speaker fees $10,000 Sponsorship: Gold $50,000
Speakers travel $4,520 Sponsorship: Silver $45,000
Publicity $15,800 Sponsorship: Bronze $100,000
Courier $2,000
Printing $2,500
TOTAL $94,820 TOTAL $395,000
Recommendations

As requested by Senior Management, recommendations for more accurate project cost

estimating are as follows:

- Be honest and accurate about the figures

- Clarify assumptions
- Adapt to the available budget
- Include risks
- Breakdown the projects into small before estimation
- List and evaluate each tasks