Essay: Report On Developing A Computerised Ticketing System For Riverina Agriculture Show.

Project Description

Task

You are to prepare a report based on the Virtucon/Globex scenario, and your peer to peer learning.

You are required to develop a charter for the Project including:

MOV - Measurable Organisational Value

• Identify the desired area of impact - Rank the following areas in terms of importance: Strategy / Customer / Financial / Operational / Social
• With reference to your project, identify one or two of the following types of value: Better - is improving quality important to your client?

Faster - does your client want to increase efficiency?

Cheaper - is cutting costs important?

Do more - does your client want to continue its growth?

• Develop an appropriate metric - this sets the target and expectation of all the stakeholders. It is important to determine a quantitative target that needs to be expressed as a metric in terms of an increase or decrease of money.
• Determine the timeframe for achieving the MOV - ask yourselves, when do we want to achieve this target metric?

Define Scope and produce a Scope Management Plan

Define the scope of the project and detail how the scope will be managed.

Provide a list of Resources

Identify and detail the resources for the project using MS Project where appropriate, including:

People (and their roles), plus any extra personnel that is required for the project.

Technology - any hardware, network and software needs to support the team and your client.

Facilities - where will most of the teamwork be situated?

Other - for example, travel, training etc.

Using MS Project, develop a schedule using a high level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It should include:

Milestones for each phase and deliverable

This will tell everyone associated with the project that the phase or deliverable was completed satisfactorily.

Activities / Tasks

Define a set of activities / tasks that must be completed to produce each deliverable.

Resource Assignments

Assign people and resources to each individual activities.

Estimates for Each Activity / Task

Develop a time estimate for each task or activity to be completed.

Project Risk Analysis and Plan

Document any assumptions you have made about the project

Using the Risk Identification Framework as a basis, identify five risks to the project – one for each of the five phases of the methodology.

Analyse these risks, assign a risk to an appropriate member, and describe a strategy for the management of each specific risk.

Quality Management Plan

A short statement that reflects your team’s philosophy or objective for ensuring that you deliver a quality system to your client.

Develop and describe the following that your project team could implement to ensure quality;

A set of verification activities

A set of validation activities

Closure and EvaluationResearching for the closure checklist and project evaluation

a.To prepare for this task, you will be required to provide an annotated bibliography. Write an Annotated Bibliography for three (3) relevant texts or readings around project evaluation. The Annotated Bibliography is a critical examination of the most relevant, recent and scholarly research on the topic area that is not just a summary of the articles you have read. You will submit this as an appendix to your project evaluation documentation. Ensure that the AB submitted by you is your own work and has not been submitted elsewhere and comply with the University's requirements for academic integrity.

b.Develop a closure checklist that the project team will use to ensure that the project has been closed properly.

c.Develop a project evaluation –outline and discuss how your project’s MOV will be evaluated.

BT & Sons is based out in Australia and they are an enterprise that offers farming equipment to local farmers. They organize an annual event called RALS or Riverina Agriculture and Lifestyle show. Since last several years, RALS has grown gradually and finally it has grown so large that their manual ticketing system at place is starting to become restrictive. Globex is a division created by the enterprise to look after the annual show. Their primary responsibility is to be an event management company to look after the needs of RALs. (Dowson, & Bassett, 2015) Globex has now decided to develop a computerised system so as to handle the ticketing system and make the process automated and seamless both for organizers and visitors.

Since manual ticketing system has turned out to be limited, the automated ticketing system was deemed to be a replacement. The system would feature a friendly user interface, identification system, database system and capable reporting functions.

MoV or Management of Value is a tool for management which is meant to provide maximum benefits to the efficient use of resources. It follows a specific set of methods, processes and principles.

Area	Rank	Impact
Strategy	3	Brand position in the market Heightened capacity for visitors Competitive edge for RALS
Customer	1	Reduced waiting time Seamless access to the event Quicker information updates
Financial	5	Reduction in labour costs Faster accounting Improved control over expenditures Increased profits owing to reduced overheads
Organizational	2	Team management becomes easier Work allocation is easier Scheduling and other operations are streamlined.
Social	4	Benefits to farmers from updated information Easy access to farming equipments Increased opportunity to network

Better: Visitors are likely to enjoy the event while at the same time gaining information and networking more. As a by-product this raises the quality of the event.

Faster: Even information and ticketing flow is speedier.

Cheaper: Operational costs are reduced.

Stakeholder	Expectation	Target
B T & Sons Farming Equipment	Improving RALS value for customers and visitors	Increased in visitor count by 5% and increased positive perception of RALS
Globex	Improvement in administration as well as operations	A savings of 15% time and reduction of operational costs.
Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV)	Increase in donations	15% rise in donations
RALS Volunteers	Satisfaction of volunteers would increase	Volunteers are more satisfied

• Benefits with respect to the project must end by next RALS event

• Project is perceived to bring net positive results to RALS with respect to visitors satisfaction, revenue generation and cost management.

Scope of the project defines the ultimate goals of the project, it’s timeframe, functions, project outcomes and costs. (Schwalbe, 2015)

• Contributors of the project namely Globex, ICV, Virtuocon and BT & Sons
• Helping the stakeholders gain a better experience and improving the operational process of the event.
• Management of volunteers, retrieving of information and capture of critical data needs to be improved.
• This new system implementation is meant for ticketing system and management Globex  and not the entire operations (Watt, 2016)..

Among many project management methodologies at disposal, the PMBOK methodology is one of the most famous and respected. The biggest feature of PMBOK is that it allows for a lifecycle model that includes the initiation phase (Spaho, 2016), the execution phase, the planning phase and the control phase. Each of these phases have some critical function that is associated with the activities of the project including system design, system analysis, estimation of costs, quality testing, training and installation, program testing and the final closure of the project.

In order to get the project completed, the resources given below need to achieve a particular outcome.

Role	Organization	Responsibilities	Timeframe/s
Sponsor	B T & Sons	Supporting RALS as well as Globex with all kinds of management, funding and leadership.	A commitment to the project that goes up to and beyond the project
Administration Manager	Globex	Organization of event, management of service providers at virtuocon and meeting of the objectives at RALS	A commitment to the project that goes up to and beyond the project
Volunteer Management Associate	ICV or Indigenous Community Volunteers	Assigning the relevant volunteers to RALS event as well as working on the social workers identity. Searching and assigning volunteers to achieve the respective goals of the event.	A complete commitment to the project that goes up to the project
Project Manager	Virtucon	Providing leadership to execute, initiate as well as completing the project with provided resources	Through the entirety of the project
Project Leader	Virtucon	Understanding the objectives and scope of the project within the timeframe and the available resources.	Through the entirety of the project
Technical Consultant	Virtucon	Conducting system analysis, development of the high level architecture, designing of modules and implementation of the project.	Through the entirety of the project
Coding resources	Virtucon	Conducting system analysis, development of the high level architecture, designing of modules and implementation of the project.	Through the entirety of the project

• Hardware: Desktop workstations and laptop workstations along with necessary networking hardware and servers to complete the project.
• Software: Development platforms, operating system, testing tools, reporting and database tools (Westland, 2016).
• Network: Network plan and implementation for the success of the project.

Infrastructure Resources

• Meeting with staff
• Implementation of a space to showcase, test as well as install the system being developed.

• The resources that are currently available to the project would suffice.
• The said resources would be made available on time.
• Project would not face any administrating issues for RALS events
• Project would not run into political or other external issues that would otherwise hamper the development.  

• Resources must be provided by BT & Sons
• Their cooperation is expected out of Globex staff
• The employees of Virtuocon should have the necessary skills and competence.
• The organizational as well as communicational process of the Virtuocon and Globex team

• The project needs to be completed within 150 days and prior to 3 months of RALS event
• Timeframe should not be changed
• Project needs to be finished entirely within all the allocated resources
• Project should achieve all its goals and objectives.

Risks have significant effect on each and every part of the project and no project comes without it’s risk. (Skorupka, & Duchaczek, 2015). The probable risks are enumerated below along with the required action by the project manager to eliminate or reduce them:

• Initiation phase : Misunderstanding of the project’s needs
• Planning phase : Errors in estimation, decisions on methodology and technology
• Execution phase : Impedance towards resource flow as well as occurrence in unexpected flaws and events
• Control phase : Cost overrun or changes in requirements
• Closure phase: Solution’s inappropriateness, quality issue, failure to function, bugs ridden and over complicated for the user.

Measurable Organisational Value (MOV)

Risk assessment is an important area of the risk management plan. It enables project manager to test and understand the risks in a methodological way. Both the probability and the impact enables the project manager to classify a risk as an acceptable or non-acceptable risk. The table below outlines the risks of the event which is derived using risk assessment tools and quantitative methods.

No	Rank	Description	Category	Root Cause	Triggers	Response	Risk Owner	Probability	Impact	Status
R1	3	Technological failures, implementation failures and design errors	Initiation phase	Incomplete technological knowledge	Initiation phase and the implementation phases	Selecting a suitable technological alternative	Expert in technology	Medium	Medium	Assessment and mitigation strategies
R2	3	Incomplete resources or skills	Planning	Underestimation of project’s demands	During the project’s implementation	Extending the project’s budget and acquiring new resource	Project manager and sponsor	Medium	Severe	Assessment meetings for resources
R3	5	Schedule overflow	Execution phase	Delays for completing the project goal	During the project’s execution phase	Accidents, negligence and errors	Tightening of implementation plan, strengthening of parameter and reallocation of some responsibilities	High	Medium	Review meetings and assessment meetings
R4	2	Risks associate with quality	Frequent issues in system and lack of coding standards	During the project’s closure stage	Incomplete verification as well as validation	During the closure phase of project	Rigorous application as well as verification process	Project leader and manager	High	Frequent team meetings to develop the required standards

Project’s quality needs to be monitored at every stage with respect to documentation, checklists and verifications. The quality standards are necessary to achieve user satisfaction and system effectiveness. The agile method of software development would be used to develop the project and it is imperative that a rigorous testing plan be integrated in the development process.

Process of verification is an important process and every single item of the given project must move ahead according to the plan specified. The following elements are important for the verification:

• Document verification of project charter
• System’s source code verification
• Verifying the project’s implementation plan
• Verifying the project’s closure
• Verifying the project’s communication plan
• Verifying the project’s system design
• Verifying the project’s plan

The activities listed above for verification, each includes the items as follows :

• Regular meetings
• Reviews of status
• Project’s inspection
• Testing of the project

Actual software being developed in this project would be tested against a varied list of requirements so as to ensure that everything being currently developed goes according to the plan. Along with this, testing would also be carried and following tests would be done (Spector, 2014):

• System overall testing
• System sanity testing
• System performance testing
• System regression testing

1. Introduction: The checklist for closure is a way to ensure that the tasks are complete before the project is signed off in this phase. The activities that has been defined here needs to be completed.  
2. Project info
   Name of the Project:  RALS Rostering system development

Description of the Project: Developing a rostering system for RALS volunteers

3. Project Implementation and Acceptance

Mark (x) if completed
	1.         All project task are completed:
	·SOW or  Statement of Work
	· CMP or Change Management Plan
	·  Project Management Plan
	·  Budget
	2.         Functional Requirements are completed
	3.         Technical Features are fulfilled
	4.       All  Testing are duly completed
	5.         Security optimization is completed
	6.         Support systems are completed
	7.         Data migration is completed
	8.         Data is backed up
	9.         Recovery plan in place
	10.      Licensees are taken
	11.      Management Due diligence is completed
	12.      Implementation is effectively done
	13.      Project artefacts are already documented
	14.      Customer acceptance test is completed successfully

Mark (x) if completed
	1.     Following documents related to the project are archived:
	·  Project Charter
	·  Requirements documentation
	·  Statement of Work
	· Project Sign off
	· Customer Acceptance
	2.     A repository for storage of documents

Mark (x) if completed
	1.     Personnel
	·  Information transfer to personnel
	·  Intimating the projects closeout
	·  Releasing of team members
	System access to team members being disabled
	2.     Training
	·  Skills listed and identified
	·  Training of employees
	3.     Feedback
	·  Noting the performance feedback
	·  Discussing the said feedback with members
	·  Sending the feedback to superiors

Mark (x) if completed
	1.     Compiling of results that have been obtained from the project’s closure
	2.     Conducting a meeting to understand lessons-learnt
	3.    Report completion

Evaluation of the project needs to be done based on the Measurable Organizational value or MOV:

Area	Rank	Impact
Strategy	3	? Brand position in the market ? Heightened capacity for visitors ? Competitive edge for RALS
Customer	1	? Reduced waiting time ? Seamless access to the event ? Quicker information updates
Financial	5	? Reduction in labour costs ? Faster accounting ? Improved control over expenditures ? Increased profits owing to reduced overheads
Organizational	2	? Team management becomes easier ? Work allocation is easier ? Scheduling and other operations are streamlined.
Social	4	? Benefits to farmers from updated information ? Easy access to farming equipments ? Increased opportunity to network

Dowson, R., & Bassett, D. (2015) Event Planning and Management: A Practical Handbook for PR and Events Professionals. Kogan Page Publishers.

This paper explores the management planning process including key models and theories related to project management. The models that are covered here by Dowson helps a reader to understand the importance of team building, the program creation, procurement considerations, stakeholder management as well as event evaluation.

Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A. M. E., & Villanueva, P. (2014). Project risk management methodology for small firms. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 327-340.

This journal paper speaks about risk management methods that are critical for small organizations and the respective projects they handle. The author Marcelino details 5 cases of different types and the risk involved therein to better state his points.

Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

This book by Schwalbe talks about the project management principles specific to IT which is further backed by PMBOK methodologies. It also lists techinques and tools for management of project and explains each of the 10 PMBOK knowledge areas on how they should be effective managed.

Dowson, R., & Bassett, D. (2015) Event Planning and Management: A Practical Handbook for PR and Events Professionals. Kogan Page Publishers.

Kelly, J., Male, S., & Graham, D. (2014). Value management of construction projects. John Wiley & Sons.

Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., Lazcano, A. M. E., & Villanueva, P. (2014). Project risk management methodology for small firms. International Journal of Project Management, 32(2), 327-340.

Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Skorupka, D., & Duchaczek, A. (2015). Risk Management in Projects using the Example of Construction Undertakings. International Journal of Contemporary Management, 12(2).

Spector, J. M. (2014). Program and project evaluation. In Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 195-201). Springer New York.

Spaho, K. (2016). Organizational Communication. Retrieved 29 August 2017, from https://www.saycocorporativo.com/saycouk/bij/journal/vol4no2/case_2.pdf

Watt, A. (2016). 15. Communication Planning | Project Management. Opentextbc.ca. Retrieved 29 August 2017, from https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-15-communication-planning-project-management/

Westland, J. (2016). Project Manager. Project Manager. Retrieved 29 August 2017, from https://projectmanager.com.au/7-critical-skills-for-project-managers/