Alexander McQueen Summer Shoe Launch: A Project Management Plan

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This project analyzes Alexander McQueen's summer shoe launch.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
PROJECT
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Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 5
LO 1................................................................................................................................................ 6
P1 PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................6
P2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN.............................................................................................7
PROJECT DEFINITION............................................................................................................. 7
PROJECT STRATEGY................................................................................................................7
PROJECT SCOPE......................................................................................................................7
PROJECT COST AND TIME...................................................................................................... 8
COMMUNICATION PLAN........................................................................................................8
RESOURCES INVOLVED.......................................................................................................... 9
RISK ASSOCIATED...................................................................................................................9
QUALITY MANAGEMENT......................................................................................................10
SMART GOALS......................................................................................................................10
P3 GANTT CHART..................................................................................................................... 12
LO 2.............................................................................................................................................. 14
P4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................................ 14
LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................14
QUESTIONNAIRE AND SURVEY.............................................................................................15
LO 3.............................................................................................................................................. 21
P5 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH AND DATA....................................................................................21
P6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................23
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LO 4.............................................................................................................................................. 24
P7 REFLECT ON OWN LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE............................................................24
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 26
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................27
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The project deals about the launch of new summer shoes by Alexander McQueen which is to be
showcased at London Fashion Week to be held in February 2019. This is an important platform
for the company to launch its new product line as it can get the attention of a number of
celebrities, fashion enthusiasts and critics. The product has to meet the desired level of quality
and also be at par with other competitors in the market. The study covers qualitative analysis
from books and online journals and quantitative analysis from survey and questionnaire. Later
in the project, a reflection of own performance is also done to access own contribution to the
project.
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INTRODUCTION
The aim of this study is to understand the managing and running of a successful business
project for Alexander McQueen which is a popular brand in the UK market. The company is
planning to launch a new summer-shoes line in the upcoming London Fashion week which is
going to be held in mid-February of this year. This is an important event for Alexander
McQueen as it can give a nice and wide exposure to its brand by launching it at such a coveted
event. The summer shoes are in high demand for the consumers and the company had been
planning to launch it from quite some time now. The company's management plan for the
summer shoes of AMQ is discussed in detail to highlight the company's plan to launch the
summer shoes in the best manner (Shenkar et al., 2014).
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LO 1
P1 PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives are the company's vital aspects which determine where the company is
headed to and how will it achieve its goals and objectives. The objectives are the crux of the
management plan which is going to be discussed further in the study. The aims which the
company Alexander McQueen wants to achieve from the upcoming London Fashion Week are
discussed below-
 To discuss the fashion brand Alexander McQueen to see its demand and scope of shoes
in the existing market
 The scope of the project and its degree of making a success
 How the quality of the shoes will be ensured and how can the company make an
excellent product
 How to manage the risks associated with the project
These are the aims and objectives of the company Alexander McQueen which are to be covered
in the study. These aims will guide if the company can successfully take off its novice venture of
launching summer shoes in the upcoming fashion week which will give a brilliant exposure to
the brand and the product (Leidner, 2010).
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7

P2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
PROJECT DEFINITION
Alexander McQueen brand was founded by designer Alexander McQueen in the year 1992. He
has been awarded as the ‘British Designer of the Week’ four times between 1996-2003. In
December 2000, the company was acquired by Gucci with 51% stake and appointed Alexander
McQueen as the Creative Director of the company. The menswear by the company was
launched in Spring/ Summer of 2005.
The project of the company is to launch its new line of summer shoes in the upcoming London
Fashion Week to be held in February 2019. The project can be successful if all the aspects of the
project are managed successfully like the cost aspects, managing resources and also ways to
minimize the risks. All these are necessary if the company has to make its project successful. A
Gantt chart is also a helpful tool to understand the time duration and also to manage the cost
requirements of the project on time (Shenkar et al., 2014).
PROJECT STRATEGY
The strategy used by Alexander McQueen to make the project success depends on its capability
of managing a project well and also the competitors in the fashion week that are going to
launch their products. The company has to devise excellent project management strategies
which can be used to make the project successful. The strategy is to use the resources well,
manage the costs within the budget and adhere to the timescales set in achieving the goal and
also to access the risks beforehand to avoid any losses or setbacks (Bravo-Biosca et al., 2016).
PROJECT SCOPE
The project has an immense scope as it can succeed by launching its summer shoes in the
fashion week that is fast approaching. The project has a scope which can make it successful and
also make Alexander McQueen a leading brand in shoe line. The summer shoes are in demand
of the company for a long time and the company has invested a lot of time, money and energy
in creating excellent shoes for women. The shoes are available in many sizes, colours and prints
which gives it more scope (Leidner, 2010).
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PROJECT COST AND TIME
To complete this project, around 4 weeks are available which includes completion of a number
of project related activities. The designing of the shoes has to be done and approved by the
senior designers. The number of models to be launched is also decided which fall in the set
budget. The budget that is set for the project completion is about £60 million. The budget will
determine how many models can the company make and also the variants of the summer
shoes the company will be launching (Naor et al., 2010).
COMMUNICATION PLAN
A communication plan determines the company’s way of communicating with its workers,
employees, designers and managers. It is important to have a valid communication plan in
working which can facilitate the smooth and unhindered communication between the
employees and the managers (Knox, 2010). While the creation of the management plans, the
communication is bound to take place between various entities participating in the success of
the project management.
Stakeholder Information Method Time of
frequency
Sender
Senior
management
Design approval
of the shoes
Documentation
and graphics
Within next
week
R&D unit
Investors The scope of new
product and their
investment in it
meeting Within a
fortnight
Project co-
coordinators
Employees Starting the
manufacturing of
the shoes at the
unit
Memo,
meetings, email
Daily Basis Management
Vendors Scheduling of
pick-up of shoe
models
Email/
telephone
weekly Marketing and
Operations team
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RESOURCES INVOLVED
The resources that are involved in the creation and completion of the project management plan
are labourers who will give their duties manually in making the right shoe. The designers will be
required who will approve the designs which will be showcased by the company on the final
platform. The discussion and settlement from dealers will also be required to purchase the
required amount of raw materials. After the manufacturing of the final shoe, the testing of the
shoes is also an integral part which determines how durable the product is and how well will it
perform. Any glitches if found in the product are sent for correction with feedback and the said
changes are applied to the product (Shenkar et al., 2014).
RISK ASSOCIATED
There are numerous risks associated with the company along with their probability, impact and
score.
Risk ID Risk
Statement
Probability Impact Score Response
Scope Qualit
y
Schedule Cost
1. Change in
policy
0.5 0.6 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.04
3
Implementation
of the change
2. Time delay
risks
0.4 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.06
7
Faster
operations
3. Operational
risks
0.7 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.9 0.09
8
HR support
4 Technological
risks
0.38 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.07
3
Implying the
latest technical
skills
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QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Quality Management is also an important role played by Alexander McQueen as it is known
worldwide for the quality of goods and services it gives. The quality of the shoes has to be
maintained by the company as the clients and customers are paying for the product of the
brand accordingly. Quality will be managed in the product thoroughly with the help of Total
Quality Management team which will look into the quality constraints of the product (Leidner,
2010).
Scope Huge scope in present market conditions
Cost £60 million
Quality Perfect
Resources Labour, Designers, Raw materials, Machinery
Communication Open-ended communication
Risk Very Few
Timescale 4 weeks’ time
SMART GOALS
While the creation of successful management plans, the company must ensure to create
SMART Goals which can help the company to achieve its business goals easily and in an efficient
manner.
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Fig. 1- SMART Goals
Source- (Leidner, 2010)
The SMART Goals are created to create a plan that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Relevant and Time-based. Alexander McQueen can create these goals. These goals can
improve the project management plan to comply with the desired requirements of the project
and also frame strategies that work for the summer shoes that are in pipeline (Bravo-Biosca et
al., 2016).
Specific- The goals of the company must be specific and to the point. The goal is to make
excellent quality and designer summer shoes for women. The shoes must comply to the
desired quality and should come in various sizes to suit women of all age group
Measurable- The goals must be measurable. The success of the project depends on the
sales of the shoes and the response it gets after its launch at the upcoming fashion
week. The goals have to be accessed as they show the true picture of the project (Crane
and Matten, 2016)
Attainable- The goals must be attainable and realistic. Since launching summer shoe is a
new idea for the company, it must set moderate goals and lenient sales targets in the
first year of the product development
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