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PROJ6002 – Project Planning and Budgeting Trimester 3/2020 National Symposium Project Planning and implementing a national symposium for a society that will draw about 1000 attendees is a major project. As the event is not for profit, the registration fee is $1,250 per attendee for a 3-day symposium with free access to all arranged workshops. The tasks involved in hosting such an event are considerable and involve selecting a program committee, choosing a theme, contacting exhibitors, making local arrangements, planning the program, and on and on. Gold Coast is selected as host city/chapter for the 2020 Annual December Symposium. The objectives for the event are three: (1) to deliver a high-quality, value added program that would be useful and last for years to come, (2) to offer a social and guest program that would reflect well on the host city, and (3) to meet strict financial criteria. The first task after selecting the city and hotel facilities is to put together the project team and chairperson. This includes managers in charge of each of the tracks, the social program, the local arrangements, and all the other details. The project team needs to organize this event using a functional approach. The Gold Coast officers have most of the primary responsibilities, with members from five other business partners assisting in other duties. Next is the development of the work breakdown structure and the Gantt chart of activity schedules. As shown in Table 1, scheduling all the work for a major event such as this is an overwhelming effort. For the 2020 Symposium, the technical program offered 22 workshops composed of 70 technical papers, special panel discussions, and case studies. The technical tracks include engineering and construction, pharmaceuticals, utilities, software, automotive, R&D, defence, education, and manufacturing. The workshops include sessions on preparing for professional certifications, learning about Taguchi concepts of statistical quality control, and future practices. All of these also require careful scheduling. The vendor program includes exhibits by dozens of vendors and a large number of showcase sessions for in-depth demonstrations of their wares. The social program includes a golf tournament, numerous social activities to meet with colleagues, tours of Pittsburgh’s attractions, and a wide variety of entertainment opportunities. All in all, a symposium is as difficult a project as many firms face in their competitive markets. Your tasks: This case study provides you with an opportunity of drawing on your acquired project planning, scheduling, budgeting and quality management skills and materials covered in this course. Overall, you are responsible for developing a project scope statement document, a project schedule, a cost management plan and a quality management plan for the case study. Specific tasks: A group of maximum 2 students is required to perform the following tasks in addition to the descriptions in assessment briefs. PROJ6002 – Project Planning and Budgeting Trimester 3/2020 Assessment 1-Part B 1-1) Scope management planning Describe the entire scope of the work including project background, a list of specific project goals, deliverables, constraints and assumptions, and milestones. Create Work Breakdown Structure (at least three levels) for the project. 1-2) Project scheduling Construct an original Gantt chart for the project using project activities given in Table 1. Conduct a critical path analysis and carefully apply the 3-point estimate technique on identified critical activities to develop an estimated project schedule. It is assumed that the critical activities will remain the same in a risk-free environment. On the other hand, without an appropriate risk management, the durations of critical activities creep by 40% Perform a final schedule analysis using the results obtained from project scheduling conducted in the previous stages. Table 1 – The Symposium Project Activities ID Description Duration Predecessor A Symposium Project Management AA Recruit project team 26 days - AB Establish organisational procedures 40 days AA(ss+1) AC Establish CAO support levels and budget 40 days AA(ss+1) AD Develop symposium goals and objectives 36 days AC(ss+6) AE Issue reports to VP-Tech and Board of Directors 30 days AA(ss+1) B Technical Program BA Develop symposium theme 20 days AD(ss) BB Recruit technical program team 28 days BA(ss+6) BC Strategize tracks and special interest groups 23 days BB(ss+6) BD Develop selection process procedures 12 days BC(ss+6) BE Interface with Education Committee on workshops 20 days BD(ss) BF Plan and issue call for papers/panel discussion 17 days BE(ss) BG Recruit invited papers/panel discussions 11 days BF(ff) BH Recruit moderators 10 days BG(ff) BI Select printer 7 days BD(fs-1) BJ Plan and issue abstract books and proceedings 4 days BI(ff) BK Develop and issue master schedule for presentations 10 days BJ(ff) BL Organise awards for Speakers’ Breakfasts 4 days BK(ff) BM Identify audio/visual requirements 5 days BL(ss) BN Develop and issue post-symposium technical report 7 days FA(ss) PROJ6002 – Project Planning and Budgeting Trimester 3/2020 Table 1 – Continued ID Description Duration Predecessor C Finance CA Develop cash flow estimates/projections 38 days AB(ss+8) CB Develop procedures of financial operation 13 days CA(ss+12) CC Initiate code of accounts 3 days CB(ss+2) CD Initiate separate banking account 5 days CC CE Develop independent auditing procedure 5 days CD(ss+5) CF Develop and issue standard reports 13 days CE(ss+1) CG Interact with CAO on account reconciliation 9 days CF(ss+2) CH Develop and issue post-symposium financial report 7 days CG D Corporate Sponsorship DA Establish participation philosophy 22 days BC(ss) DB Target prime corporations 22 days DA(ss) DC Solicit participation 9 days DB(fs-4) DE Recognition 13 days DC(ss) E Facilities Vendor/CAO Support EA Contract with host and backup hotels 6 days AB(ss+4) EB Organise workshop venues 29 days BC(ss) EC Identify and schedule details with Executive Director and Events Manager 24 days DB(ss) F Social Guest Program FA Establish objectives 17 days EA(fs+2) FB Identify available activities 26 days FA(ss) FC Analyse cost-benefit 13 days FA(fs-1) FD Identify recommendations 13 days FC(ss) FE Complete contracts 11 days FD(ss+4) G Speakers GA Identify candidates and related benefits and costs 29 days CA(ss+1) GB Make recommendations and obtain approval 10 days GA(fs-9) GC Complete contracts 11 days GB(ss+2) GD Maintain periodic contact 9 days GC(ss+6) GE Host speakers 3 days GC H Publicity/Promotion HA Theme establishment and approval 20 days BA(ss) HB Logo development and approval 10 days HA(ff) HC Advertising - public and trade media releases 31 days HB(ss+2) HD Video production 13 days HC(ss+6) HE Promotional materials – Identification and approval 19 days HD(ss) HF Regional newsletter articles 13 days HE(fs-7) I Symposium IA Host Symposium 3 days GE(ss) IB Assemble and issue post-symposium report 6 days IA(ss),BN,CH Assessment 2-Part B 2-1) Cost management planning Apply a diverse set of cost estimating tools to justify the cost of activities PROJ6002 – Project Planning and Budgeting Trimester 3/2020 Develop and aggregate the cost of resources needed to complete each activity and determine the detailed budget of the project. Your cost estimate must incorporate at least two appropriate resources given in Table 3 for each group of the given activities. Both cost estimate and a budget baseline must be produced in alignment with the estimated project schedule. Develop and clearly demonstrate the resource loading and cost management planning components in your Cost Management Plan. The cost management plan must include Earn Value Analysis (EVA) as a compulsory cost control tool to be utilised along with other cost control tools in this project. The application of EVA must be clearly demonstrated. Table 2 - Project Budget ID Description Duration Budget Allocation (%) A Symposium Project Management 5 AA Recruit project team 26 days AB Establish organisational procedures 40 days AC Establish CAO support levels and budget 40 days AD Develop symposium goals and objectives 36 days AE Issue reports to VP-Tech and Board of Directors 30 days B Technical Program 15 BA Develop symposium theme 20 days BB Recruit technical program team 28 days BC Strategize tracks and special interest groups 23 days BD Develop selection process procedures 12 days BE Interface with Education Committee on workshops 20 days BF Plan and issue call for papers/panel discussion 17 days BG Recruit invited papers/panel discussions 11 days BH Recruit moderators 10 days BI Select printer 7 days BJ Plan and issue abstract books and proceedings 4 days BK Develop and issue master schedule for presentations 10 days BL Organise awards for Speakers’ Breakfasts 4 days BM Identify audio/visual requirements 5 days BN Develop and issue post-symposium technical report 7 days C Finance 10 CA Develop cash flow estimates/projections 38 days CB Develop procedures of financial operation 13 days CC Initiate code of accounts 3 days CD Initiate separate banking account 5 days CE Develop independent auditing procedure 5 days CF Develop and issue standard reports 13 days CG Interact with CAO on account reconciliation 9 days CH Develop and issue post-symposium financial report 7 days D Corporate Sponsorship 15 DA Establish participation philosophy 22 days DB Target prime corporations 22 days DC Solicit participation 9 days DE Recognition 13 days PROJ6002 – Project Planning and Budgeting Trimester 3/2020 Table 2 - Continued ID Description Duration Budget Allocation (%) E Facilities Vendor/CAO Support 30 EA Contract with host and backup hotels 6 days EB Organise workshop venues 29 days EC Identify and schedule details with Executive Director and Events Manager 24 days F Social Guest Program 5 FA Establish objectives 17 days FB Identify available activities 26 days FC Analyse cost-benefit 13 days FD Identify recommendations 13 days FE Complete contracts 11 days G Speakers 5 GA Identify candidates and related benefits and costs 29 days GB Make recommendations and obtain approval 10 days GC Complete contracts 11 days GD Maintain periodic contact 9 days GE Host speakers 3 days H Publicity/Promotion 10 HA Theme establishment and approval 20 days HB Logo development and approval 10 days HC Advertising -