The city of Glasgow would be hosting the XXth Common Wealth Games from 24th July 2014 to 3rd August 2014. This magnificent event would be viewed by billions of people in every corner of the world. Opening Ceremony holds the key to the expected success rate for any event and especially an event of this hype in a vibrant city of Glasgow, famous for its life style, holds a lot of significance. Scottish Government and City Council of Glasgow have shown how delightful it is for Scottish nation to host such a big event 3rd time in the history of Common Wealth Games. The entire city has stood up backing this event with over 1.7 million Scots registering them for voluntary work.
Being appointed as the Senior Project Manager of the Opening Ceremony, it is my duty to organise and manage the event in accordance with the Legacy Plans and match the vision of the Scottish nation in making this event as historical as possible.
This project holds major significance in benchmarking Scottish culture throughout the world. This is once-in a-generation opportunity for any country to host such a big event and by the Opening Ceremony; Scotland has a chance to show Scottish history, culture, lifestyle and their civilization. Glasgow has a chance to make their own branding by exceeding the expectations set by billions of viewers all over the world, after the success of Delhi's Common Wealth Games
PROJECT SCOPE:
3.1 PROJECT SCOPE INCLUDES:
The proposal is for the event organization and management of the opening ceremony of the Common Wealth Games, Glasgow. The projects given period is from 10th October 2010 to 23rd July 2014 out of which its target setup date is till 22nd June 2014 and from then onwards would be Testing Phase for a month before proceedings starts.
The setup for the opening ceremony would be started from the audience arriving at the stadium and everything from seating arrangements to food court, from lightning to the fireworks, from Audiences to their Security has been placed in the
Ceremony has been divided into 7 major phases,
Welcome Music and Performance
Count down and Fireworks
Artistic Performances
Participant Entry
Speeches
Cultural Music
Theme Props
Oath Ceremony
Facilities available during the Opening Ceremony would be
Special Buses
Performance Stage
Dressing Room for the performers
Food Court
Broadcasting Stations
Fireworks with 250 Space Cannons
VVIP Box
Facilities for the performers would also include material supplies throughout the setup phase and would be allowed to practice during the entire setup phase. Firework cannons would be placed all along the ground. About 100,000 Security guards would be hired for the event.
3.2 PROJECT SCOPE EXCLUDES:
As this ceremony is going to be the part of the Common Wealth Games, Glasgow, setup of cables, digital connectivity, media services and telephone facilities is not in the project scope. Screen inside the Stadium, water and electricity services and stadium maintenance throughout the setup phase is not in the project scope.
Any type of structured work for the stadium is not part of the project scope unless it is being made or designed specifically for the performers or artists to utilise at the Opening Ceremony. Opening Ceremonies Organizing Committee is not responsible for the maintenance and operation of any facility after the Opening Ceremony.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
To setup, organize and manage the Opening Ceremony of the Common Wealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland to the standards, expectations and requirement of the Common Wealth Games Organizing Committee.
To efficiently supervise this major event during the setup phase and in line with the legacy plans and health and safety regulations.
5.0 PROJECT EVALUATION:
5.1 NON-FINANCIAL ANALYSIS:
From a strategic point of view, for a city, winning the right to host a sporting event such as the Common Wealth Games presents an opportunity to showcase itself and the country. But with the emphasis on building new stadiums and ensuring the games run smoothly, the long-term benefits for society from these events are often forgotten. 2014 Commonwealth Games could help tackle the high levels of deprivation in the east end of the city and improve the life chances of the citizens.
An event like Opening Ceremony would present a good opportunity for the citizens to plan extracurricular activities as part of their normal day routine. More than 1.7 million Scottish citizens have registered their names for voluntary services. Showcase of Opening Ceremony would not be anything they have witnessed for a long time in their own state so it's a good family outing opportunity to watch their own culture represented by some of their own fellow citizens.
5.2 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS:
Financial Analysis shows that the project would be a success for the organization. The estimated budget is 1 million. Expected budget as described in the financial statement of the common wealth games Glasgow organizing committee is 2.8 m divided in ratio of 80/20 between the Scottish Government and Local City Council of Glasgow. According to the financial calculations it can be assumed that this project would return about 200% profit on successful completion.
5.3 TENDERING:
Scottish Government and City of Glasgow council have shaken hands in announcing the total budget of around 2.4 billion Pounds to inject in developing facilities and staging the Common Wealth Games. Keeping the focus on Opening Ceremony there is a need to present a proposal which is good value for money and in line with the legacy plans from which Scottish citizens would benefit even after the Common Wealth Games is over.
The proposal of (£xxx) is being made via considering the financial aspects needed to complete the Opening Ceremony, which includes Procurement, Contracting, Human Resources, Security etc. and it is in compliance with the policies set by the Common Wealth Games Organizing Committee. Ensuring the proposal meets the value for money criteria (quality, delivery, disposal, sustainability, commercial, diversity and inclusion, legal, financial, health and safety) set out by The Common Wealth Games Glasgow Organizing Committee.
5.4 QUADRUPLE CONSTRAINTS:
Time, cost, scope and quality are the four main constraints that need to be tackled equally in order to meet the expectation of the board. The biggest factor among these constraints would be time and it would play a vital role in the success of the event. Hence a Project Schedule (Appendix) has been made indication the timing of every task to be done in certain time period and the activities in line with the given amount of time. It is designed to be tested ahead of the Opening Ceremony to keep room for improvement. Resources needed for the tasks needs to be identified so that cost can be estimated.
RESOURCES:
6.1 COSTS AND BUDGET:
All the cost estimations are performed with the closest resemblance with the currently held Common Wealth Games in Delhi. This estimation was take as it was the most recent event with the closest possible magnitude.
Inflation is taken at 6% as described by Davis Langdon (2006). Contingency cost has not been added as all the major tasks would be performed at the final third of the project leaving not enough time for any changes in prices to occur.
6.2 HUMAN RESOURCES:
There are more than 1.76 million Scottish people registered for the voluntary services (Volunteer Development Scotland). The design, setup, constructional, testing and operational work would be done by allocated team of Supervisors, reporting to the managers of their departments. We would be using 1.76 million volunteers and their skills and knowledge in the seven phases of the opening ceremony which is already mentioned above. This would save the time and cost of recruiting men power. As there would be a need of more than 100,000 people in the performances, this recruitment phase would be outsourced to save time.
6.2.1 PROJECT ORGANISATION:
The organisational structure for this project has been designed in line to the number of work that needs to be done round the clock. This will ensure locals to have an opportunity to try their skills and luck in participating in the setup of the Opening Ceremony.
Senior Project Manager would be the main person responsible for the Project. There would an office setup for the Project Manager in order to create a focal point of communication if needed by any of the teams working for the project. Under the Senior Project Manager would be a number of Managers leading their teams to perform their allocated duties. Managers for the following tasks would be selected with very strict criteria and should have all the following abilities in order to be a successful candidate,
Sound technical knowledge and relevant experience
Personality to lead the team
Charisma to motivate and control the team
Being able to introduce flexible style in order to get work from the team
Organisational structure has been divided in the following categories of which each of the Managers would be directly addressing to the Project Manager.
Procurement
Marketing
IT
Administration
Operations
Structural
Each of the head managers would be accountable for their teams and performances and would be answerable to the Project Manager.
7.0 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT:
Outsourced structural and marketing activities will be the responsibility of the contractor. Contracts with the suppliers of materials would be on the fixed scale, which means that price for each material will be fixed until the work is finished. Any additional cost which is not agreed pre hand will be the responsibility of the contractor. A preferred Vendor list will be provided to the contractors and would be strictly asked to use those vendors only. There would be a list of non-selected suppliers in case the actually supplier fails to deliver the goods on time; the 2nd choice suppliers would be used. Use of inferior material would be taken as a breaking of the policy guidance provided to the contractors. Quality assurance teams would inspect the working from the day contractor starts the activity.
Most of the human resource would be paid on hourly basis which includes all the security guards, site workers, some of the stage performers, and technical staff.
8.0 APPROVAL:
This proposal outlines the cost, timing and scope required for the project and is ready for the boards approval to start the implementation phase.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:-
_______________________ _______________
Mr. Director X Date
_______________________ _______________
Mrs. Director Y Date
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND LIFE CYCLE:
Project to organize the Opening Ceremony of the Common Wealth Games Glasgow is now started with design and plan phase. This is the stage where all the resources are gathered and the structural work is done. Control is placed to deal with the constraints of time, cost, quality and scope.
Project has to be defined and planned before anything is implemented (Appendix). These stages will detail the approved Work Breakdown Structure, Operations Breakdown Structure, Schedules, Scope and Objectives of the project. These are considered the hard side of a project while the soft side deals with the human elements of the project.
The project will be completed by the Iterative and Incremental Life Cycle method as it gives room for feedbacks and improvements. Structural work will begin inside the stadium, which would be creating a stage, installing the spot lights, setting up the fireworks around and inside the stadium, installing projectors, creating backroom facilities for the performers and creating a Project Managers Office.
All the category managers need to ensure that they have gone through with the phase of hiring people and making teams for the designated tasks before starting any work. Operations Manager need to ensure that dancers and musicians have enough space and time practice their performances and report to the Project Manager if there need any changes.
Opening Ceremony Design Plan:
PROJECT SCHEDULE:
Work Breakdown Structure and Operations Breakdown Structure (Appendix) needs to be designed in order to assign the designated tasks to the teams to be completed in given time frame. Installation work inside the stadium needs to be done in time so that it can be tested and modified if necessary.
Reports must be generated to show the progress of the tasks in order to estimate the time frame left in proportion to the work needed to be done. Once the structural work is completed all the focus would be on the performances to be done in the Opening Ceremony. Marketing needs to be started in time, banners, billboards, e-advertisements etc.
Health and Safety regulations need to be tested prior to the Opening Ceremony.
COMMUNICATION:
Communication is one of the most integral parts in the success or failure of any project. Each team would be provided with the group email services. There would be a system introduced by IT Manager to communicate among the teams via group email service. Individual email platform would be introduced for all the Team Managers to keep each other updated with the progress of their team tasks. There would be a special system placed to email the reports generated every month to the Project Manager which would be a help in controlling the entire process of organizing the performances and would updated the Project Manager if there are any proposed changes to be placed within the tasks allocated to them. There would be a special forum for suggestions to improve the event.
RISK MANAGEMENT:
Credentials, suppositions and assessment of risk and uncertainty must be documented and monitored during the project. Following are the few basic steps that would be taken to ensure risk management is in place with this event.
Identifying Risks
First thing in Risk Management is to identify the possible risks that may occur. In this event there may be a number of possible risks that might need a considerate amount of replacement procedures.
Changing Scope of the Project.
Lack of required knowledge of the project teams
Shortage of skilled workers.
Over running of cost and time.
Weather conditions in Glasgow are mostly very cold; Opening Ceremony would be badly hit if the weather is in a rainy mood.
Even though transport system of Glasgow is a satisfactory report, but event of this hype would attract millions of people travelling to Scotland and there would be a chance of Chaos if traffic is not controlled with special rules.
Fire Hazards and Security threats.
Analysing Risks
Understanding the nature of a risk is a precondition for a good response. Therefore taking sometime to have a closer look at individual risks and not jumping to conclusions without knowing what a risk is about is a sensible take.
Out of the three assessed risks, one thing that is most likely to happen is the weather conditions.
Plan and Implement Risk Responses
Planning a risk response adds value to the project. It minimizes the negative effect created by the risk factor and encourages workers to perform their activities without hazel.
Best possible measure to consider in a situation where rain starts falling at the time of the ceremony is to pre arrange a ground cover so that the ground could be covered immediately to prevent it being soaked too much.
Ceremony has to be delayed in this case as there would be no other option to do anything else.
Risk Impact Matrix is one of the ways to perform the analysis of the risk impact and how likely it would be.
PROJECT MONITORING:
To work to its full potential, any kind of project needs to set out proposals and objectives. Then a monitoring system should be worked out to keep a check on all the various activities, including finances. This will help project staff to know how things are going, as well as giving early warning of possible problems and difficulties.
Managers of the respective departments must report to the Project Manager about the possible changes, threats and issues as soon as they notice any, they would be working out on following few aspects as part of their job description,
Identify risks, potential project problems, as early as possible
Report when they are falling apart from their goals
Inform if the constraints are being violated
Ensure that contingency plans occur before unrecoverable problems occur
Update themselves and the Project Manager with the status of the phases throughout the project
Department Managers with the Line of control in their hands must ensure that they report the Project Manager if they are lagging behind the scheduled delivery date or if they have over run their budget. They must ensure that the time deadlines are met as they are to make a project successful and in order to compliance with that, they would be reporting any possible issues or any activity demanding change to the relevant heads and ultimately to the Project Manager.
Monitoring of Workflows:
All the work stations would be thoroughly reported throughout the project time scale. Even the rehearsals of the performances to be done would be monitored and would be reported to the Project Manager.
Each Department Manager would be assigned to fetch a report of their respective departments of any issues, changes, and update the Project Manager on weekly basis. Performances for the Opening Ceremony are the most important part of this event, hence they would be monitored as the first priority and it would be done by the Operations Manager. Second most important department monitoring would be the IT Manager, who would be responsible for the Lightning Effects throughout the Opening Ceremony. As the main theme of the Opening Ceremony would be revolved around lights, monitoring its installation and testing it prior time would be a positive step towards successfully completing the project.
PROJECT CHANGE AND PROJECT CONTROL:
Having a time scale and a given budget is not all required to complete a project. As the project work starts, it is necessary to follow and monitor each and every phase and every single department in order to identify a problem in time and find a replacement to it in time rather than going right till the end and resulting in a failure. In a real time scenario, project phases would never go as expected there are possibilities that there would be many slip ups in time scale and budgeting. It is extremely important to identify those issues and find a solution on time to come as close to the plan as possible. This is also known as 'variance analyses. Variance Analyses should be performed against the budget, time scale and scope of the project.
In order to stick to the plan, every contractor would be made clear before giving them tender to meet the time deadlines and follow the project scope and plan. It would be made part of the contract clause to be assured that the time deadlines are met on time. As it is understood that not a single project by far has been 100% on its plan, extra budget would be kept secret for the changes that might appear to be preceded in order to complete the project.
Work Breakdown Structure and Operations Breakdown Structure would be discussed with all the Department Managers to assure that the Project Plan is being followed. WBS and OBS on initial stage would be made in the presence of all the Department Managers. Project Control Plan indicating following steps would be given to all the Managers to ensure Plan is followed.
Maintaining the standards set by the Organizing Committee
Measuring performance and quality on weekly basis
Monitoring the workflow and reporting it to the Project Manager
Following Time Scale deadlines while performing their tasks
Cost variances would be sorted by issuing fixed term contracts to all the contractors for the material used in making the stage and creating costumes for the performers.
Change Control Policies would be introduced which would be mainly focussing on the Scope, Cost and Time Deadlines mentioned in the Project Plan. There would be a Quality assurance team designated to perform the tasks with the help of the department managers to follow the defined set of project control plan.
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
Criteria for successfully completing the project on the given time scale would including following factors to be carried out throughout the process.
Project needs to be delivered on time in line with the scope defined within the projected cost.
All Contracts and sub contracts needs to be closed at the end of the project.
All the members must work together as a family and celebrate together at the successful completion of the project.
Organizing Committee and the audiences need to be satisfied with the Opening Ceremony.
Every activity must be completed in line with the regulations set by the Common Wealth Games committee.
The project's success criteria will act as a platform to complete the Opening Ceremony in accordance with the given policies. One of the most important parts of the project is the closing phase, where every contract, everything started needs to be closed in time.
