Project Charter And Milestone Schedule For New Perth Stadium Development

Project Charter for New Perth stadium development

The Project Charter should explain the background of the organisation where this project will be carried out, the objectives of the project and the importance of this project to the organisation. The project team should also include a Business Case, Milestone Schedule, as well as any major problems or anticipated Risks with this project if they are known at this stage. The textbook provides detailed examples of what needs to be included in the Project Charter.  These examples will assist the project team in the development of the Project Charter for My Project.

The project that your team uses could be from one of the following categories depending on the type of business a student is involved in:

• an organisational project that a student is involved in as the organisation’s main line of business – to manage projects for your organisation or on behalf of others

• an activity that a student is convinced would benefit from being handled as a project

• an activity in which a student was involved in the past that was not carried out as a project, but one which you believe would have been managed better as a project.

 Currently in Western Australia, Brookfield Multiplex is reconstructing famous Perth Stadium. Westadium Consortium (WC) is handling the whole project and Brookfield Multiplex is handling construction works. The group of Lakhwinder and Navdeep is also a part of Westadium Consortium and the group is actively involved into completion of the new stadium. The current assignment deals with planning and management of Perth stadium reconstruction project.

Table1: Project charter for New Perth Stadium Development project

Current project for new Perth Stadium primarily aims at construction of a five-tiered multipurpose stadium, which will be able to different sports including Cricket, soccer and AFL Football, rugby and other entertainment events. Analysis of project scope is important to develop detailed plan (Kloppenborg, 2012). Currently the stadium will have capacity of 60000 seats (afl.com.au, 2015). However, seating capacity can be increased up to 70000 in future (afl.com.au, 2015). In the newly built stadium, comfort of supporters is prioritized the most and covered seats will account 85% of total stadium capacity (Get The Bigger Picture, 2015). The project also includes installation of two 240 sqm video screens (Perthstadium.com.au, 2015). The design is focused o the aesthetic look of stadium. The project also deals with constructions of a bronze-entrance, which will display geological features of Western Australia. Secondary Constructions included in the project are pedestrian paths, community halls, and places for BBQ, playgrounds and three recreational spaces. In this stadium, LED lights will be installed which will be changed according to the journey color of home teams at night. Apart from this, there will be 4G Wi-Fi connections and provision of future installation of more 1000 screens. WC is not only undertaking construction activities, it is also responsible for proper maintenance of the stadium for next 25 years (Brookfieldmultiplex.com, 2015).

According to Eric Kirkland, (2014) business case analysis enables to understand real purposes of conducting the project. The new Perth stadium construction is an integral part of Burswood Peninsula redevelopment activities. However, the new stadium can be used as a center for different sports and entertainment activities. As the new stadium has the infrastructure of hosting different sports and entertainment activities, many international and national events will be organized here. This new stadium will require large number of staffs when it will become operational. So the current project is expected to improve the employment statistics of the locality. It is also expected that the new stadium will enhance popularity of Perth to tourists and it will contribute significantly on the local economy.

Scope analysis

Table 2: Milestone schedules and Success Criteria for stadium development project

(Source: Perthstadium.com.au, 2015)

Our current project is segmented to different subtasks. Setting realistic milestones is one of the most important tasks  for smooth execution of the project (Kendrick, 2011).The current project commenced in July 2013 though inviting various organizations to undertake it.  The tendering process took place during the period August 2013 to December; 2013.Finally in mid 2014, Westadium Consortium (WC) received the responsibility to undertake the project.  Before WC undertook the project, some pre construction works took place at the site  by EKJV and half of these works were  completed within November,2013.Designing team of the organization started developing the detailed design of new stadium from mid 2014.Finally the construction process commenced since late 2014.

 Currently the new stadium is under construction. The whole construction is expected to be completed by December 2017 (PerthNow, 2015).Future target for this project is making the stadium fully operational from March 2018.Although the construction work has just been started,  the first target is placing 8 tower cranes in the stadium area by 2015.  The next target in the timeline is starting seat installation from early 2016.According to the set timeline, installation of the bronze faced, will also start from early 2016.By the end of 2016, large number of workers will be hired in the project to enhance speed. The playing surface will be finished by mid 2017.

As we are part of a large project, analysis of risks is important for timely completion. As stated by Rybka and Bondar-Nowakowska, (2013) risk analysis is also important to limit the budget.

Change in Guidelines of Sports authorities: The stadium design indicates that it will be used to organize different sports including cricket, football, rugby etc. Current design of the stadium is developed according to the guidelines of these sports authorities. As it is a large project, it will take time to be completed. If the sports authorities such as FIFA or ICC change their rules and standards regarding stadium, exiting design may need to be modified. It will cause adverse impacts on by both time and cost for successful completion of the project.

Damage of property caused by Supporters: WC is not only responsible for developing the stadium; it is also responsible for maintaining it when it will become operational. Often it is observed that the agitated supporters cause loss or damage of properties in a stadium. It will also affect on the operating cost of new Perth Stadium.

Apart from this, it should be ensured that the stadium is being developed in a sustainable manner and it is not affecting environment. On other hand, the Australian government also emphasizes on providing comfort to spectators. Any change in environmental standards may require change in construction design and material.

Time constraint for the project:   New Stadium development in Perth is a large project and it includes completion of several constructions such as multi-storied stadiums, road networks and recreation centers. The construction work has just started in 2014 and according to the timeline; WC will complete it by December, 2017.Due to the high complexity of designs, construction may not be finished within time.

Business Case analysis

 According to the current plan, the stadium will require more than $1.1 billion to be built. However, about half of this fund will be collected from taxes paid by citizens. Rest amount is collected by a financial plan of WC.

Stakeholders of the current projects are constructors-Brookfield Multiplex, project managers -Westadium Consortium, the Government of Western Australia. Members of WC except Brookfield Multilex are BrookField Financial, Brookfield Johnson controls and John Liang. Ponnappa, (2014) opined that success of a project depends on contribution of stakeholders in it. John Liang is responsible for asset management and equity investment. Brookfield financial is responsible for fund allocation and Brookfield Johnson looks after facility management activities. All these members are stakeholders of new stadium development project. Apart from these local people of Perth can also be considered as stakeholders as the project may influence their lives also.

Table 3: Stakeholder Identification and Prioritization matrix for stadium development

The Western Australia is undertaking the project of stadium development in PPP model and it is part of Burswood re-development process. Our team got the opportunity to take part in this project; we learned valuable lessons while working for WC. These are as follows,

Importance of Government support for large structure development: We, Lakhwinder and Navdeep, realized the importance of government support for large constructions while working in this project. In case of our project, new stadium development in Perth, huge fund is required for its successful execution. In this case, funding has not become of problem as the government    collected almost 60% of total amount from taxpayers (PerthNow, 2015). Although there are environmental constraints, the government’s focus on attracting visitors helped to designers to reduce complexity caused by strict environmental standards.

Importance of provision of change:  As the proposed stadium is a multipurpose one, its design needs to be changed due to modification in any of the sports guidelines. Apart from this,   it may require to expand in future also. To avoid future problems the design is made flexible for changes.

 The current project is being executed through the collaboration of different departments. Regular meetings are held among teams o these to discuss status of work and new target   development. However, each team sets their own course of action to complete their tasks.

The communication plan for the project is presented here through a communication matrix. Communication plan is important to execute operational activities and it is helpful for strategic planning (Kloppenborg, 2012).

Table 3: Communication plan

We, Lakhwinder and Navdeep implemented a meeting management process to finish our tasks.

Figure1: Meeting management process used by us

First meeting: Before starting the task, we arranged for a discovery meeting. In this meeting, we discussed on the sub-tasks, which we need to complete. In this meeting, we also decided the milestones, which will be completed to finish the whole project on time. Both of us contributed equally to set the milestones. However, we both took responsibility of some tasks separately and we developed our own plans   to finish these tasks separately.  There were some tasks, which we decided to complete as a group. Planning for these tasks was done in collaboration with each other. Identification of resources was another important part of our first meeting. We both used our knowledge to identify which resources are needed by us. As it was our first meeting, we also discussed on the budget of our project and developed plans for funding it. However such meetings are arranged whenever we needed to discuss on the current status of projects.

Milestone schedule and success criteria

Second meeting:  our second meeting was arranged to allocate resources for the project. As I am the manager of our group, resource allocation was my responsibility. I took three days to collect all resources. Second meeting was held after three days of first meeting. In this meeting, I   provided resources to another member of our group, Navdeep .Although the meeting was arranged by me, we both decided how to use these resources efficiently.

Third meeting: After second meeting, we both started to complete our tasks. It was important to know progress of tasks. Navdeep communicated once in each week for informing me regarding the progress. Most of the time, we used emails for such communication. Although Navdeep   initiated such communications, I also informed him about the progress in my part.

Fourth meeting: Both of us faced different issues while completing our tasks. Once in every week we met to discuss on the issues, which are causing delay to finish tasks. In these meetings, we also developed strategies for eliminating problems. These meetings are also used to identify future issues and modification of our current strategies.

Figure1: WBS for new stadium development in Perth

WBS development helps to identify subtasks for completion of whole project (Randolph, 2014).WC is executing the project in three levels. Deliverable of the first level is finished stadium. However, completion of this level is dependent on activities of level two. Level two activities include inviting RFPs, selecting the project managers, detailed planning of the project and conducting operational activities.  The Government of Western Australia started the process in 2013.   The organizations, which are willing to undertake the project, got sufficient time to develop the proposal. However, after receiving these RFPs, the authority analysed all proposals and selected WC as the project manager.

After completion of tendering process, WC started conducting project management activities for the new stadium.  Developing design of the stadium was one of the most complex tasks among level 3 activities as the stadium should be able to host   both sports and entertainment events. Seating capacity of the new stadium is also large and it is ensured that the capacity will be increased in future.  As the Western Australia authority focused on y providing spectators high quality services, WC required to design large number of restaurants and refreshment centers. As the stadium capacity allows large number of visitors every day, transportation is one of the most important factors for its smooth operation.

WC is also in charge of the transportation infrastructure development at the surrounding area.  According to the proposal, the transportation infrastructure of new stadium will include   both train and bus services. Apart from these, pedestrian bridge on Swan River will also be used to vacate the stadium after an event. Thus, designing process conducted by WC also included designing of a six-platform railway station in stadium area, bus terminuses and pedestrian bridge (Perthstadium.com.au, 2015).  The stadium also required to be developed according to the guidelines of different sports events and it increased difficulty of the whole process. On completion of designing process, WC authority started other level 3 activities including resource allocation, setting milestones and hiring staffs.

Before WC commenced the construction process, the local authority started conducting pre-construction activities in stadium ground. About 50% of these works finished before the main construction was started. Other activities of this level such as installation of seats, decoration of stadium and developing grass surface are yet to be done.

References

afl.com.au, (2015). Design plans for new Perth stadium unveiled - AFL.com.au. [online] Available at: https://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-07-17/new-perth-stadium-unveiled [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015].

Brookfieldmultiplex.com, (2015). Brookfield Multiplex :: Westadium Design For New Perth Stadium Revealed. [online] Available at: https://www.brookfieldmultiplex.com/newsfeed/view/westadium_design_for_new_perth_stadium_revealed_2014_07_17 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015].

Eric Kirkland, C. (2014). Project Management: A Problem-Based Approach. Project Management Journal, 45(1)

Get The Bigger Picture, (2015). New Perth Stadium. [online] Available at: https://getthebiggerpicture.wa.gov.au/new-perth-stadium/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015].

Kendrick, T. (2011). 101 project management problems and how to solve them. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association.

Kloppenborg, T. (2012). Contemporary project management. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

PerthNow, (2015). First look at new Perth Stadium train station at Burswood. [online] Available at: https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/first-look-at-new-perth-stadium-train-station-at-burswood/story-fnhocxo3-1227222675576 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015].

Perthstadium.com.au, (2015). Project timeline. [online] Available at: https://www.perthstadium.com.au/project-design/project-timeline [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015].

Perthstadium.com.au, (2015). Stadium Station design revealed. [online] Available at: https://www.perthstadium.com.au/news-and-information/latest-news/news-article/2015/02/17/stadium-station-design-revealed [Accessed 24 Feb. 2015].

Ponnappa, G. (2014). Project Stakeholder Management. Project Management Journal, 45(2), pp.e3-e3.

Randolph, S. (2014). Maximizing Project Value: A Project Manager's Guide. Project Management Journal, 45(2), pp.e2-e2.

Rybka, I. and Bondar-Nowakowska, E. (2013). Planning of the Risk Handling Methods Related to Alterations to Project Documentation. Procedia Engineering, 57, pp.952-957.