Project Management Report: QAB020N503S Project Management Module

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of a project management plan for hosting an inter-university multi-sports event in Manchester. The project, initiated by QAHE, involves ten Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) participating in various sports within a rented indoor stadium. The report details the project objectives, which include hosting Olympic-style games and providing a sports environment for students. It outlines a project timeline and budget, emphasizing the importance of a contingency budget. A communication plan is developed to ensure effective stakeholder interaction. The report also compares and contrasts project management methodologies such as PRINCE2, Waterfall, and Agile, concluding that PRINCE2 is the most suitable for this project. The report highlights the need for efficient communication and a structured approach to project management, emphasizing the importance of adhering to timelines and budget constraints to ensure the successful execution of the event. References from various project management resources are included to support the analysis.

Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Project Details and Discussion........................................................................................................2
Project Objectives........................................................................................................................2
Project Timeline and Budget.......................................................................................................2
Communication Requirements........................................................................................................5
Selection of Methodology................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
QAHE has decided to host an inter-university multi-sports event in which it has been
proposed that 10 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Manchester will participate in multiple
types of sports. An indoor stadium will be rented for hosting the entire event and once the
decorations and preparations are complete, invitations will be sent out to the institutions for
participation.
This report discusses the details of the project along with the importance of
communication plan and the selection of appropriate project management methodology for the
project.
Project Details and Discussion
Project Objectives
The primary objective of this project is to host an inter-university games in Olympic style
in the city of Manchester. The secondary objective is to provide the students with sports
environment that will not only keep them fit but will also provide a source of environment.
The scope of the project, with its significant limitations due to the academic nature,
involves hosting the games between only ten higher education institutions. It also involves
conducting multiple sports events within the entire event.
Project Timeline and Budget
Since the time and budget constraints have been already specified during creation of the
project requirements, it is important to develop an appropriate timeline as well as a breakdown of

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the project budget so as to ensure the project can be delivered on time and within the budget
limit.
Accordingly, a table (diagram below) has been created that contains necessary data
regarding the timeline and budget breakdown for the project. The breakdown of timeline and
budget can act as a guide for the project team to ensure all the work packages within the different
phases of the project are completed and delivered within the specified dates and also keep track
of the expenses since the maximum budget allocated for the project cannot be exceeded.
Moreover, some portion of the budget needs to be considered as contingency budget and hence,
the total estimated budget for the project needs to be less than the actual budget, which is
reflected in the table below. Finally, the budget breakdown in the following table considers all
types of costs including wages and material / fixed costs that are associated with the project.

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WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish Resource
Names Cost
0 Preparing and Hosting HEI Games 268 days Mon 10-06-19 Wed 17-06-20 £17,624.00
1 Requirement Analysis and
Discussions 33 days Mon 10-06-19 Wed 24-07-19 £904.00
1.1 Team Meeting 7 days Mon 10-06-19 Tue 18-06-19 £280.00
1.1.1 Call meeting among team
members 1 day Mon 10-06-19 Mon 10-06-19 Project Manager £40.00
1.1.2 Discuss the goals and objectives
of the project 1 day Tue 11-06-19 Tue 11-06-19 Project Manager £40.00
1.1.3 Discuss budget requirements
and time for preparation 1 day Wed 12-06-19 Wed 12-06-19 Project Manager £40.00
1.1.4 Discuss various requirements to
fulfil while working for the project 1 day Thu 13-06-19 Thu 13-06-19 Project Manager £40.00
1.1.5 Make various considerations for
the project 2 days Fri 14-06-19 Mon 17-06-19 Project Manager £80.00
1.1.6 Discuss stakeholder roles in the
project 1 day Tue 18-06-19 Tue 18-06-19 Project Manager £40.00
1.2 Feasibility Analysis 15 days Wed 19-06-19 Tue 09-07-19 £360.00
1.2.1 Analysis of Requirements 2 days Wed 19-06-19 Thu 20-06-19 Project
Supervisor £48.00
1.2.2 Conduct feasibility test on the
project 4 days Fri 21-06-19 Wed 26-06-19 Project
Supervisor £96.00
1.2.3 Conduct cost benefit analysis 4 days Thu 27-06-19 Tue 02-07-19 Project
Supervisor £96.00
1.2.4 Submit feasibility report 5 days Wed 03-07-19 Tue 09-07-19 Project
Supervisor £120.00
1.3 Prepare project proposal 10 days Wed 10-07-19 Tue 23-07-19 Project
Supervisor £240.00
1.4 Submit proposal to supervisor 1 day Wed 24-07-19 Wed 24-07-19 Project
Supervisor £24.00
1.5 Receive approval for proceeding
with the plan 0 days Wed 24-07-19 Wed 24-07-19 £0.00
2 Project Planning 35 days Thu 25-07-19 Wed 11-09-19 £1,080.00
2.1 Project Charter Development 15 days Thu 25-07-19 Wed 14-08-19 £600.00
2.1.1 Defining project scope 4 days Thu 25-07-19 Tue 30-07-19 Project Manager £160.00
2.1.2 Determine aims and objectives
of the project 4 days Wed 31-07-19 Mon 05-08-19 Project Manager £160.00
2.1.3 Specify project timeline 3 days Tue 06-08-19 Thu 08-08-19 Project Manager £120.00

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Communication Requirements
In any project, communication is an important aspect of any project. The stakeholders
and other members of the project team must communicate with each with at regular intervals and
must pass on important information regarding the project (Binder 2016). This is important to
maintain a continuity in the project and ensure the stakeholders are aware regarding how the
project is progressing.
Lack of communication among the stakeholders can lead to disastrous consequences in
the project. Many projects fail due to lack of communication between stakeholders that cause
stopping of flow of information. This is very much evident in large scale projects that have
multiple parts and different stakeholder groups are assigned to each part of the project. For
example, in a light rail construction project, there are separate parts like tunnel construction,
station construction and track construction. Each part is assigned to different stakeholder groups
who need to communicate and coordinate among each other to deliver the final outcome of the
project successfully. If there is no communication, hazards can occur like misalignment of the
tracks with a station or a wrong opening of tunnel compared to the station.
For this project, a communication plan has been developed and depicted in the following
table.
Stakeholder Purpose of
Communication
Frequency Medium
Supervisor Updating project
progress
Monthly Email

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Project Manager Guidance and change
requirements
Weekly Face to Face
QAHE Updating project
progress
Monthly Email
Project Supervisor Regular project updates Daily Face to Face, Project
Report
Contractor Project requirements During project planning Face to Face
Marketing Manager Invitation requirements Bi-Weekly Email
Selection of Methodology
There is a wide range of methodologies available that can be used to execute a project.
However, not all methodologies are suitable for all types of project as each specific methodology
is suited for specific types of project. Some common methodologies for project management are
PRINCE2, waterfall and agile. Strictly speaking, PRINCE2 is different from waterfall and agile
in the sense PRINCE2 is a standard project management methodology whereas waterfall and
agile are both considered to be development methodologies. In spite of this basic differences, the
three can be distinguished and compared regarding their advantages and disadvantages. These
methodologies are compared as follows.
PRINCE2– This methodology requires the project to be conducted in a number of distinct
stages that may or may not coincide with each other (Marchewka 2016). The purpose of this
methodology is to specify distinct stages in the project as well as a proper order of activities that
will be conducted in the project. This methodology is suitable for event management based
projects. The main part of PRINCE2 methodology contains four main elements that can be

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integrated together – principles, themes, processes and tailoring. These principles are utilised to
divide the project into distinct controllable stages that in which, various parts of the project are
executed.
Waterfall–Waterfall method also allows the project to be conducted in distinct stages but
these stages do not in any way coincide with each other i.e. one stage must end before the next
stage begins (Heldman 2018). The main drawback of this stage is that if there is a problem like
budget or cost overshoot in one stage, it will affect the following stages of the project. This is
more suitable for software based projects.
Agile – This methodology requires iterative steps to be utilised in the project i.e. the
project is divided into several sub-projects that are passed through several iterations (Eskerodand
Jepsen 2016). If the result of each iteration is not satisfactory, it is restarted until a satisfactory
result is obtained. This methodology is suitable for software development projects.
As already mentioned earlier, both agile and waterfall are completely different from the
PRINCE2 methodology as they are from completely different domains but the principles of agile
and waterfall can be modified to be made applicable for general project management. In spite of
the modifications done on agile and waterfall, both of them are not preferred over PRINCE2
methodology in cases of general project management.
Considering the three methodologies listed and discussed above, the most suitable
methodology for this project is PRINCE2. The project will utilise the stages as specified by
PRINCE2 and the stakeholders will have to ensure the time and budget limitations are successful
fulfilled.

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Conclusion
This project will allow students from ten HEIs in Manchester to participate in Olympics
style multi-sports event. For that purpose, necessary arrangements will be made within the 1 year
academic period along with a budget of £20k that has been offered by QAHE. The entire report
focuses on three distinct features and requirements of the project – project details including
scope, timeline and budget, need for communication between project stakeholders and the
selection of appropriate methodology for the project. While the final deadline and budget has
already been set for the project, it was required to break down the project into work packages so
they can be scheduled separately such that the project can be delivered on time. breakdown of
timeline and budget can act as a guide for the project team to ensure all the work packages within
the different phases of the project are completed and delivered within the specified dates and also
keep track of the expenses since the maximum budget allocated for the project cannot be
exceeded. Moreover, some portion of the budget needs to be considered as contingency budget
and hence, the total estimated budget for the project needs to be less than the actual budget,
which is reflected in the table below. Furthermore, as already discussed, communication is very
important in any project for maintaining a streamlined flow of information regarding project
updates from one stakeholder to another. This is very much necessary in any project as any
breakdown in communication can lead to disastrous impacts in the project. Finally, a suitable
selection of methodology was required for the project among the possible choices of Agile,
Waterfall and PRINCE2. Each of the methodologies have their own advantages and drawbacks
and are suitable for specific types of the projects. Agile methodology requires iterative steps to
be utilised in the project i.e. the project is divided into several sub-projects that are passed
through several iterations. Waterfall method allows the project to be conducted in distinct stages

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but these stages do not in any way coincide with each other i.e. one stage must end before the
next stage begins. PRINCE2 methodology requires the project to be conducted in a number of
distinct stages that may or may not coincide with each other. The purpose of this methodology is
to specify distinct stages in the project as well as a proper order of activities that will be
conducted in the project. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of each methodology
and the projects they are each suited to, it can be concluded that the most suitable methodology
for this project is PRINCE2.

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References
Binder, J., 2016. Global project management: communication, collaboration and management
across borders. Routledge.
Eskerod, P. and Jepsen, A.L., 2016. Project stakeholder management. Routledge.
Heldman, K., 2018. Project management jumpstart. John Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring
and monitoring project performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Marchewka, J.T., 2016. Information technology project management: Providing measurable
organizational value. John Wiley & Sons.
Nicholas, J.M. and Steyn, H., 2017. Project management for engineering, business and
technology. Routledge.
Papke-Shields, K.E. and Boyer-Wright, K.M., 2017. Strategic planning characteristics applied to
project management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(2), pp.169-179.