HND Computing Professional Practice IT Seminar Event Report

This report details a project undertaken to plan, design, and deliver a seminar for company management within an IT context. The project was structured using a work breakdown structure (WBS) to manage tasks and timelines, including project planning, initiation, execution, and closing phases. Key challenges addressed included time scheduling and budget estimation, which were tackled using project management software and techniques like bottom-up budgeting. The report provides a detailed WBS with durations, predecessors, and resource allocation, along with a budget breakdown. The report also discusses challenges faced and the methodologies used to mitigate them. The seminar aimed to facilitate discussions and interactions between board members and employees. The project's success was measured through the effective use of project management tools and techniques to overcome challenges related to scheduling and budgeting.

Running Head: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN IT
Professional Practice in IT
Name of the Student
Name of the University

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LO1: Seminar Event Plan
The project was based on the preparation, design and delivery of a seminar in which there
would be various discussions and interactions between the board members and the employees of
the organisation (Ziakas and Trendafilova 2018). Based on the requirements of the seminar, the
project was divided into individual tasks in the form of a work breakdown structure that was then
scheduled in order to identify the overall duration of the project (She, Tong and Chen 2015). The
project timeline developed is shown in the following table along with the work breakdown
structure.
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
0 Hosting a Seminar for Company Management 42 days Tue 13-08-19 Wed 09-10-19
1 Project Planning Phase 4 days Tue 13-08-19 Fri 16-08-19
1.1 Conference Start Up 4 days Tue 13-08-19 Fri 16-08-19
1.1.1 Initiate the Design and Planning of Project 1 day Tue 13-08-19 Tue 13-08-19
1.1.2 Create a Brief for the Conference Requirements 1 day Wed 14-08-19 Wed 14-08-19 3
1.1.3 Develop and Submit Project Proposal for Evaluation 1 day Thu 15-08-19 Thu 15-08-19 4
1.1.4 Approval to Proceed 1 day Fri 16-08-19 Fri 16-08-19 5
2 Initiation of the Project 27 days Mon 19-08-19 Tue 24-09-19
2.1 Initial Planning 7 days Mon 19-08-19 Tue 27-08-19
2.1.1 Prepare Initiation Document for the Project 1 day Mon 19-08-19 Mon 19-08-19 6
2.1.2 Select Conference Date and List the Management
Members for Participation in the Seminar 2 days Tue 20-08-19 Wed 21-08-19 9
2.1.3 Verify the Availability of the Members on the Selected
Conference Date 0.5 days Thu 22-08-19 Thu 22-08-19 10
2.1.4 Develop Complete Project Plan 1 day Thu 22-08-19 Fri 23-08-19 11
2.1.5 Develop Resource Usage Plan for Event Preparation 0.5 days Fri 23-08-19 Fri 23-08-19 12
2.1.6 Register Conference Email Address 1 day Mon 26-08-19 Mon 26-08-19 13
2.1.7 Create Registration Form for Conference 1 day Tue 27-08-19 Tue 27-08-19 14

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2.2 Procurement 6 days Wed 28-08-19 Wed 04-09-19
2.2.1 Select an Appropriate Venue for the Conference 2 days Wed 28-08-19 Thu 29-08-19 15
2.2.2 List the Supplies and Resources Required for the Project 0.5 days Fri 30-08-19 Fri 30-08-19 17
2.2.3 Procure Vendors through Tender Process 0.5 days Fri 30-08-19 Fri 30-08-19 18
2.2.4 Procure Resources from Vendors as per the Contract 0.5 days Mon 02-09-19 Mon 02-09-19 19
2.2.5 Receive Delivery of the Resources 2 days Mon 02-09-19 Wed 04-09-19 20
2.2.6 Make Full Payments to the Vendors 0.5 days Wed 04-09-19 Wed 04-09-19 21
2.3 Speakers for Conference 2 days Thu 05-09-19 Fri 06-09-19
2.3.1 Identification of the Speakers 0.5 days Thu 05-09-19 Thu 05-09-19 22
2.3.2 Event Brief Sent to the Speakers 0.5 days Thu 05-09-19 Thu 05-09-19 24
2.3.3 Check whether Selected Speakers will be Available 0.5 days Fri 06-09-19 Fri 06-09-19 25
2.3.4 Final Shortlist of Conference Speakers 0.5 days Fri 06-09-19 Fri 06-09-19 26
2.4 Conference Pack 3 days Mon 09-09-19 Wed 11-09-19
2.4.1 Purchase Folders and Paper Documents, Arrange Laptops 0.5 days Mon 09-09-19 Mon 09-09-19 27
2.4.2 Order Required Stationary for Conference 0.5 days Mon 09-09-19 Mon 09-09-19 29
2.4.3 Create a Spreadsheet for Evaluation 0.5 days Tue 10-09-19 Tue 10-09-19 30
2.4.4 Printing of Necessary Documents 1 day Tue 10-09-19 Wed 11-09-19 31
2.4.5 Send Courier Packs to the Venue 0.5 days Wed 11-09-19 Wed 11-09-19 32
2.5 Invitation and Processing of Participant Details 3 days Thu 12-09-19 Mon 16-09-19
2.5.1 Send Information to the Employees Regarding the
Conference 0.5 days Thu 12-09-19 Thu 12-09-19 33
2.5.2 Send the Conference Information and Formal Invitation to
the Management Members 0.5 days Thu 12-09-19 Thu 12-09-19 35
2.5.3 Send Acknowledgement Mails to the Speakers 0.5 days Fri 13-09-19 Fri 13-09-19 36
2.5.4 Monitor the Registration of Employees for the Conference 0.5 days Fri 13-09-19 Fri 13-09-19 37
2.5.5 Set Registration Deadline 1 day Mon 16-09-19 Mon 16-09-19 38
2.6 Marketing for Conference 3 days Tue 17-09-19 Thu 19-09-19
2.6.1 Design the Venue for Conference 0.5 days Tue 17-09-19 Tue 17-09-19 39
2.6.2 Develop a Private Webpage for the Conference 0.5 days Tue 17-09-19 Tue 17-09-19 41
2.6.3 Communicate with Management Members 0.5 days Wed 18-09-19 Wed 18-09-19 42
2.6.4 Make a Formal Release for the Employees Regarding the
Conference 0.5 days Wed 18-09-19 Wed 18-09-19 43

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2.6.5 Send Out Invitations to Partners and Partner Groups 1 day Thu 19-09-19 Thu 19-09-19 44
2.7 Final Preparation for Conference 3 days Fri 20-09-19 Tue 24-09-19
2.7.1 Finalize the Objective, Scope and Agenda of the
Conference 0.5 days Fri 20-09-19 Fri 20-09-19 45
2.7.2 Finalise the Schedule of Activities within the Conference 0.5 days Fri 20-09-19 Fri 20-09-19 47
2.7.3 Appoint Conference Administrators 0.5 days Mon 23-09-19 Mon 23-09-19 48
2.7.4 Appoint Volunteers for Assistance 0.5 days Mon 23-09-19 Mon 23-09-19 49
2.7.5 Make Arrangements for Snacks, Food, Drinks and Other
Amenities 1 day Tue 24-09-19 Tue 24-09-19 50
3 Project Execution Phase 2 days Wed 25-09-19 Thu 26-09-19
3.1 Final Preparations at Venue the Day Before 0.25 days Wed 25-09-19 Wed 25-09-19 51
3.2 Assign Delegates at the Venue 0.25 days Wed 25-09-19 Wed 25-09-19 53
3.3 Assign Volunteers and Other Delegates to the Venue 0.5 days Wed 25-09-19 Wed 25-09-19 54
3.4 Conference Day 1 day Thu 26-09-19 Thu 26-09-19
3.4.1 Conduct the Conference 0.6 days Thu 26-09-19 Thu 26-09-19 55
3.4.2 Collect All Evaluations 0.3 days Thu 26-09-19 Thu 26-09-19 57
3.4.3 Clean Up Venue After Conference 0.1 days Thu 26-09-19 Thu 26-09-19 58
4 Project Closing 9 days Fri 27-09-19 Wed 09-10-19
4.1 Review the Overall Conference 2 days Fri 27-09-19 Mon 30-09-19 59
4.2 Review the Project Performance 2 days Tue 01-10-19 Wed 02-10-19 61
4.3 Develop a Project Report Document 4 days Thu 03-10-19 Tue 08-10-19 62
4.4 Sign Off and Closing 1 day Wed 09-10-19 Wed 09-10-19 63
In the table above, the durations of each activity have been estimated based on their work
requirements and the number of human resources working on them (Müller 2015). The durations
have been estimated to as much accurately as possible in order to ensure there is no further delay
in the project.

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LO2: Key Challenges and Problems Faced
During design and delivery of the event, several challenges have been faced that have
also been mitigated with suitable tools and techniques. Some of the major challenges faced are
discussed as follows.
Time Scheduling – One of the primary challenges faced was the scheduling of all the
activities within the project. There was a large number of activities to be performed within a very
small space of time. Delay in any of the activities could result in delay in overall project delivery
and thus the conference could also be delayed. Moreover, throughout the course of the project,
there were many external entities and stakeholders involved who needed to deliver their duties
and services in time for the project (Van Aken and Berends 2018). Thus, scheduling became a
major issue in the project and presented serious risk for the project. In order to solve this
particular problem, project management scheduling technique has been used along with the aid
of project management software. The technique involved development of a work breakdown
structure in which, the entire project was divided into a number of different activities under a
number of phases. These activities were linked with each other appropriately such that there was
a specific sequence to the entire project processes. Once the work breakdown structure was set,
MS Project software was used for scheduling the entire sequence of the activities and thus
determining the overall schedule of the project. Thus the challenge of the scheduling of activities
was overcome in the project.
Budget Estimation – Another major challenge that was faced during the project was the
development of budget of the project that needed to be accurate so as to avoid cost overrun or
unnecessary expenses. During the start of the project, it was determined that the overall budget
was limited and there would be no extra funding if the need be. The overall budget could have

5PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN IT
set just by some manual estimation and spending could have been done accordingly (Bardach
and Patashnik 2015). However, in that case, the estimation would have been very much
inaccurate and would not have reflected the actual costs that would have been encountered in the
project. In order to solve this particular challenge, bottom up budget estimation technique was
utilised that was again performed with the help of the work breakdown structure and the MS
Project Software. In this technique, the resources required in the project including human and
material resources were first set in the form of a resource list in MS Project. Once the resources
were finalised, there costs (wages for the human resources and costs of the material resources
required in the project) were set. After the finalisation of these costs, the resources were assigned
to each activity in the work breakdown structure and the software automatically developed the
overall budget of the project including the budget breakdown. In this case, this particular has
been used because it produced a very accurate budget for the project (considering there will be
no changes in the wages of the human resources and the costs of the materials to be used). The
overall budget estimated using the bottom up estimation is shown in the following table.
WBS Task Name Predecessor
s Resource Names Cost
0 Hosting a Seminar for Company Management $48,500.00
1 Project Planning Phase $7,840.00
1.1 Conference Start Up $7,840.00
1.1.1 Initiate the Design and Planning of Project Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager $1,880.00
1.1.2 Create a Brief for the Conference Requirements 3
Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager,
Chief Finance Officer
$2,880.00
1.1.3 Develop and Submit Project Proposal for Evaluation 4 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager $1,880.00
1.1.4 Approval to Proceed 5 Event Manager $1,200.00
2 Initiation of the Project $29,900.00

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2.1 Initial Planning $5,560.00
2.1.1 Prepare Initiation Document for the Project 6 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $680.00
2.1.2 Select Conference Date and List the Management
Members for Participation in the Seminar 9 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $1,360.00
2.1.3 Verifty the Availability of the Members on the Selected
Conference Date 10 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.1.4 Develop Complete Project Plan 11 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $680.00
2.1.5 Develop Resource Usage Plan for Event Preparation 12 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.1.6 Register Conference Email Address 13 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $680.00
2.1.7 Create Registration Form for Conference 14 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Technical Assistant $1,480.00
2.2 Procurement $13,360.00
2.2.1 Select an Appropriate Venue for the Conference 15 Procurement Manager $1,120.00
2.2.2 List the Supplies and Resources Required for the Project 17 Procurement Manager $280.00
2.2.3 Procure Vendors through Tender Process 18 Procurement Manager $280.00
2.2.4 Procure Resources from Vendors as per the Contract 19 Procurement Manager $280.00
2.2.5 Receive Delivery of the Resources 20 Procurement Manager $1,120.00
2.2.6 Make Full Payments to the Vendors 21 Procurement Manager,
Resources and Other Costs[1] $10,280.00
2.3 Speakers for Conference $1,360.00
2.3.1 Identification of the Speakers 22 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.3.2 Event Brief Sent to the Speakers 24 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.3.3 Check whether Selected Speakers will be Available 25 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.3.4 Final Shortlist of Conference Speakers 26 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.4 Conference Pack $1,680.00
2.4.1 Purchase Folders and Paper Documents, Arrange
Laptops 27 Procurement Manager $280.00
2.4.2 Order Required Stationary for Conference 29 Procurement Manager $280.00
2.4.3 Create a Spreadsheet for Evaluation 30 Procurement Manager $280.00

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2.4.4 Printing of Necessary Documents 31 Procurement Manager $560.00
2.4.5 Send Courier Packs to the Venue 32 Procurement Manager $280.00
2.5 Invitation and Processing of Participant Details $2,400.00
2.5.1 Send Information to the Employees Regarding the
Conference 33 Technical Assistant $400.00
2.5.2 Send the Conference Information and Formal Invitation
to the Management Members 35 Technical Assistant $400.00
2.5.3 Send Acknowledgement Mails to the Speakers 36 Technical Assistant $400.00
2.5.4 Monitor the Registration of Employees for the
Conference 37 Technical Assistant $400.00
2.5.5 Set Registration Deadline 38 Technical Assistant $800.00
2.6 Marketing for Conference $2,040.00
2.6.1 Design the Venue for Conference 39 Coordination Manager and
Supervisor $340.00
2.6.2 Develop a Private Webpage for the Conference 41 Coordination Manager and
Supervisor $340.00
2.6.3 Communicate with Management Members 42 Coordination Manager and
Supervisor $340.00
2.6.4 Make a Formal Release for the Employees Regarding the
Conference 43 Coordination Manager and
Supervisor $340.00
2.6.5 Send Out Invitations to Partners and Partner Groups 44 Coordination Manager and
Supervisor $680.00
2.7 Final Preparation for Conference $3,500.00
2.7.1 Finalize the Objective, Scope and Agendaof the
Conference 45 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager $940.00
2.7.2 Finalise the Schedule of Activites within the Conference 47 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager $940.00
2.7.3 Appoint Conference Administrators 48 Event Manager $600.00
2.7.4 Appoint Volunteers for Assistance 49 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00
2.7.5 Make Arrangements for Snacks, Food, Drinks and Other
Amenities 50 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $680.00
3 Project Execution Phase $2,440.00
3.1 Final Preparations at Venue the Day Before 51 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $170.00
3.2 Assign Delegates at the Venue 53 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $170.00
3.3 Assign Volunteers and Other Delegates to the Venue 54 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $340.00

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3.4 Conference Day $1,760.00
3.4.1 Conduct the Conference 55 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager $1,128.00
3.4.2 Collect All Evaluations 57 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator, Event Manager $564.00
3.4.3 Clean Up Venue After Conference 58 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $68.00
4 Project Closing $8,320.00
4.1 Review the Overall Conference 59 Event Manager $2,400.00
4.2 Review the Project Performance 61 Chief Finance Officer $2,000.00
4.3 Develop a Project Report Document 62 Event Planner and Conference
Coordinator $2,720.00
4.4 Sign Off and Closing 63 Event Manager $1,200.00
Another alternative method was top down estimation technique that does not require
assistance of any software and the estimation is done manually. However, this technique would
not have been able to deliver the budget with high accuracy and hence, it was not used.
Vendor Selection Process – One major problem that was faced during the project was the
process of vendor selection. Once the required resources were determined, it was required to
select suitable vendors and service providers who would be able to deliver best quality resources
and services at the lowest cost possible. For one time purchases, vendor selection process is not
always necessary but for significant amount of purchase over a considerable amount of time
requires a reliable vendor who can supply the best quality of the products at reasonable costs
(Funke and Frensch 2017). However, initially, the exact best method was not known regarding
the selection process and setting selecting criteria and hence, a detailed research study was
conducted in order to identify the same. The research studies suggested that for major projects
and long term partnerships, the vendor selection can be done through the tendering process in

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which, the vendors can be selected through the best value bid. However, it is also important to
evaluate the background of the vendor before accepting a bid and sign the contract for the
proposed partnership required in the project.
LO3: Role and Contribution in Group Scenario
In a group scenario, the roles of the individuals in the group are very important. However,
just individual work is not sufficient when a number of individuals are working in a team. A
successful team requires proper skillsets, experience and performance of each team members as
well as sufficient amount of team chemistry among the team members (Lindsjørn et al. 2016). It
is possible that when a team is developed, not all of the team members do not have the same
skillsets and the deficiencies in skillsets and experience can be complemented by the team
members only. One of the hard and fast rules of a successful team is that the team members must
communicate and help each other throughout the course of the project in order to achieve a
successful conclusion within the predetermined parameters like time and budget (Cunningham,
Salomone and Wielgus 2015). If the team fails to perform as a unit overall, the project has a high
chance of failure or even if the project is completed successfully, the quality of outcome may not
be satisfactory. Hence, when a team is assigned for project work, it is important for every
individual in the team to understand the requirements of team dynamics and personal roles and
responsibilities within the team (Kitto et al. 2018). Accordingly, the individual must coordinate
with the other team members in order to ensure there is successful team work within the entire
project or work order.
For this particular project, I also had to play some major roles while working with an
entire team. It was important that I fulfilled all my duties and responsibilities and also assist my

10PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN IT
team members whenever there were critical problems and issues. I consider myself successful as
a team player in the project as I have coordinated well with all the team members throughout the
course of the project.
LO4: Need for CPD and its Role within Workplace
A CPD or a Continuing Professional Development is a document that is used to keep
track and record of personal skills, experience and knowledge that have been gathered by an
individual throughout the course of the professional career (Grant 2017). Not only the document
reflects the overall working experience of the individual but also the skills and experience that
the individual has gathered by working in various situations and jobs roles in the professional
career. The skills and experience recorded in the CPD may be formally or informally gained
through the course of work and this document acts as a portfolio of professional career for a
particular individual (van den Bergh, Ros and Beijaard 2015). There are multiple benefits of
CPD in the workplace. The information provided in the CPD helps an individual to keep track of
his / her skills and capabilities and enhance them as per the standard of work in the workplace.
Moreover, CPD helps the individual to be very aware the changes of the work related trends and
update his / her skillsets accordingly.
Motivational Theories and Impact on Workplace Performance
There are certain motivational theories that explain about various factors that impact the
workplace and personal life performance of the individuals. Some of these motivational theories
are as follows.

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Maslow – Hierarchy of Needs: This motivational theory that describes the stages of an
individual’s life that start with fulfilment of psychological needs and end with self-actualisation.
Alderfer – ERG theory: This theory mainly discusses the basic needs of an individual –
existence, relatedness and growth needs.
McClelland – Need for Achievement, Affiliation and Power: This theory focuses on
satisfying the existing needs of a person that include achievement, affiliation and power.
Herzberg – Two Factor Theory: This theory discusses about keeping a balance between
motivating and dissatisfying factors in order to stay motivated and avoid the non-motivating
factors.
There are also other motivational theories that discuss about various motivational factors
and purposes for an individual. However, among the ones listed above, the most suitable theory
than can be applied for a professional in a workplace is McClelland. This theory perfectly
focuses on the motivational need of a person who is working in a professional sector and
describes how a professional can stay motivated in order to progress further in the workplace.

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References
Bardach, E. and Patashnik, E.M., 2015. A practical guide for policy analysis: The eightfold path
to more effective problem solving. CQ press.
Cunningham, J., Salomone, J. and Wielgus, N., 2015. Project Management Leadership Style: A
Team Member Perspective. International Journal of Global Business, 8(2).
Funke, J. and Frensch, P.A., 2017. Complex problem solving: The European perspective—10
years after. In Learning to solve complex scientific problems (pp. 25-48). Routledge.
Grant, J., 2017. The good CPD guide: A practical guide to managed continuing professional
development in medicine. CRC Press.
Kitto, S., Price, D., Jeong, D., Campbell, C. and Reeves, S., 2018. Continuing Professional
Development. Understanding Medical Education: Evidence, Theory, and Practice, pp.263-274.
Lindsjørn, Y., Sjøberg, D.I., Dingsøyr, T., Bergersen, G.R. and Dybå, T., 2016. Teamwork
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