EPMS
Project Management Process
Aspects of traditional Project Management that can be used by the practicing
event manager
CONTENTS
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The following information is a summary of a huge body of knowledge distilled from the experience of project managers around the world. The manager of an event - just as with the construction, IT or any other project based industry - has to control various areas, some of which are listed below. They will require different amounts of attention throughout the life of the event i.e. the event project life cycle. It is almost a certainty that should the event company loose focus of any one of these areas the event will face serious problems.
Figure 1
Projects are of interest to event management because they share many characteristics including:
That is not to say that all the traditional methods of project management, as set out for example in the Project Management Body of Knowledge, are directly transferable to event management. Many of the tools will tell the project manager the completion date of a project. This can be slightly variable in the engineering and information technology industries. However the event can not be a few days later. An event company cannot suggest to their client that the New Years Eve party be put back a few days. Also change and dynamic decision making are far more important in the event management field.
Although with the speed of change in other industries, the traditional models are now less applicable.
However the tools are important and can help not only in the planning and control of the event but in event evaluation and documenting. Figure 1 is a schema of the Project Management Process.
In summary, the event company works out what has to be done, breaks it into manageable units, assigns resources and schedules the units efficiently. This process is dynamic and continually under review as conditions change.
Figure 2
Why use Project Management
The
rapidly changing world of business is producing economies that need to respond
quickly to this change. The traditional company model with the pyramid structure
of responsibilities and authority and functional departments cannot change quickly
enough. There is no end of current literature on this subject. A prime example
of this development is the effect of increasing computer processing speed. Increasing
processing power means that remaining with the existing software and the hardware
is a competitive disadvantage. Companies have to be constantly aware of new
software and hardware.
Of interest is the recent development of object oriented technology. The complexity
of traditional structured programming has created a need to break the overall
tasks done by the software into smaller units. The units or objects are then
recombined in various configurations to produce the desired results. This pattern
of breaking up the work into manageable tasks is the basis of project management.
The increase in the use of project management is a response to the inability of traditional organisational structure and methods to deal with the new economic fluidity. The event industry is not immune from this situation. In part, it is fuelling it. Special events are used to bring about change within a corporation, region or a country. The merger of two major companies is made known to all the suppliers, the press and is celebrated by an event. The event assists accepting the change in the corporate culture brought about by the merger. The acceptance of new products and new ways of doing business is consolidated through the use of special events. Conferences and exhibitions are a way to create a change in attitudes and business methods.
The need for thorough accountability to stakeholders, risks, complexity, rules and regulations affecting events, cross border status, increasing size, number and economic importance of events are factors that create the need for a systematic and accountable approach to the actual management of events.
Project management provides a number of advantages to event management these include;
2. Project Scope and Definition
When an event manager is asked by a client to create and manage an event it is not always obvious what the client has in mind by 'the event'. As it may be a 'one off', specifying exactly what the event entails is the first step in event project management. This is often combination of a number of straightforward objectives and not so obvious or covert objectives.
A useful concept
from the methodology of project management is the 'project definition'. It is
regarded as the first step in the whole process. For event management it means
formalising the understanding of what the client really wants - whether it is
the government, corporate or charity. It may be far more than the 'event brief'
as it includes input from the event management company as well as a statement
of purpose from the client.
It could also be called a statement of understanding plus an outline of the
work, responsibilities, schedule and budget. Other terms are Statement of Work
or Project Charter. These terms are used freely by organisations in areas other
than event management and are the common terminology of modern business.
A useful concept from the construction industry is the Statement of Work. It can be as detailed as necessary. One page may suffice. It is at this stage that the guidelines - and the future directions - are set. Of particular importance will be the responsibilities of the sponsor/client and their organisations and the event management's responsibilities. In a situation where the resources of the client are being used to create the event - such as accounting, legal and promotion - it is advisable to have some guideline as to how much of the resources can be committed to the event.
The document may contain these headings:
The text Project Management Methodology goes into further detail of this process for general projects.
The Statement of Work can not be expected to contain all the work that is involved in putting together an event. However it will provide a baseline and a memorandum of understanding from which to launch the next step in the process. It may also contain a section outlining the procedure for any changes to this baseline.
2.1 Product Breakdown Structure
A technique used in traditional project management is to create a Product Breakdown Structure. The product is the event itself and could include, for example, a supplier exhibition, conference dinner with entertainment, harbour cruise and networking opportunities. It is important to list the whole product and not to ignore the more subtle aspects of the event. For example, the objectives of a local festival could well be to impress the state government. The PBS is both a way of establishing what the client requires, the goals and establishing a common event language. As well, the hidden objectives may surface through this process. Common assumptions need to be stated and noted in the minutes or a least put on paper. It is handy to be able to refer to these common assumptions as the event is being planned and the plan implemented.
The PBS can also be used to establish the organisation structure. For example a local festival with a wide ranging product breakdown structure would be managed by a committee system. This has many advantages as committee can respond easily to growth of the events at a festival. An extra major event can be looked after by an extra committee formed to manage that event.
Once the event has been defined - at least in draft form - the next stage is to analyse the work involved in the event planning and implementation. This is a process of decomposition, a complex project is broken up into smaller units of work that can be easily managed. This is called a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). These units are commonly called activities or tasks. Hence the process is called task analysis. The characteristics of a task or activity are :
For example an activity at a sports event would be the catering for the competitors or the set up of the generators.
The special event or festival is broken down into these units in a number of ways such as:
Generally it is a mixture of all three, as the aim is to find the small manageable units that can be assigned. As well the WBS may grow or be refined as the planning nears the event date.
The first level of a large festival may be by location on site , such as stage 1, children's stage and then by function at that area of the festival.
Figure 3 shows an actual example of the WBS draft. The event was to be a concert and Internet broadcast in an area of environmental significance in Australia. It involved the traditional owners and the modern optical telescope.
Figure 3
This was used as both a PBS and WBS. It enabled the event manager to scope the event with the client. In this way 'who was to do what' was clearly outlined at the beginning of the event planning. An important aspect of scoping is to know the limitation of the work required. In other words what does not have to be done. However it was not in enough detail to work out all the necessary tasks and assign them properly. The next step was to expand on each of these elements. The work area of Permission is shown as an example of the next level.
Figure 4
Figure 5 shows
a piece of the next level (the third level ) of the task analysis for one task
of the second level. Here the all important permission is broken down into separate
tasks which may be undertaken by different people with specialist skills.
Figure 5
Many of these tasks can be used as cost centres and become the 'line elements' in a budget. The costs for the event can then be found by adding the cost for the activities.
The WBS is the
basic graphical representation of event project management. It is easily understood
by the event staff, client, sponsors and volunteers and gives a quick reference
for any aspect of the event. Its degree of accuracy, which is indicative rather
than measurable, is comparable with the changing event planning environment
- i.e. it doesn't lead to a stultifying plan.
Scope Creep
An important term that will be recognised by most practicing event managers
is scope creep. This refers to the gradual expansion of the amount of
work to be done. It occurs after the WBS has been completed and is often unnoticed
by the busy event company until it is too late to change its cause or limit
the damage. It can arise from the client changing an aspect of the event - for
example the client or sponsor may decide to change the venue for the event.
This can result in an unreocgnised increase in the amount of work to be done
by the event management. Very small decisions during the planning of the event
can exponentially increase the scope of work. Scope creep can be have eternal
causes such as changes in the country's law or changes in the exchange rate.
These are beyond the control of the event management. Internal causes can be
controlled by instigating procedures for any change of scope. This includes
documentation such as a change form, that needs to be completed and signed off
before there can be any change. It is a trade-off decision for the event management.
Whether the increasing bureaucratisation of forms to be filled out is worth
the diminution of trust and independence of the event team.
Once the event has been decomposed into activities or tasks ( tasks are often looked on as sub units of activities and a mini project in themselves), they have to be assigned to a responsible person or group of people. The tasks may be grouped together to form a work package. Thus a multistage festival may have sound set up and operation as a different tasks for each stage, however they would be grouped into the one work package done by the contractor ( a sound company). They represent a continuous amount of work for the contractor who has the appropriate resources, with a starting date and finishing time. This grouping of tasks with the overall start and finish times is often placed on a document sent out to the subcontractors. The document template for a Work Package may be downloaded from this website.
3.1 Tasks - parallel and serial
Once the tasks have been identified, placing the tasks in their most efficient order for the event is the next step. Depending on the available resources some tasks can be done at the same time. For example the advertising of an event can be done at the same time as the contracting of suppliers provided both tasks are not performed by the same person. However the site needs to be cleared before the tents arrive. Tasks can be divided into:
The tasks need first to be sorted by immediate predecessors. What task has to be completed before this task can start? For example the audiovisual equipment can't arrive and set up and operate until the security has arrived and set up.
Given the number of tasks, this initial sorting process in a complex event can be a daunting task in itself. Smaller events often use the sticky notes - one to a task - and place them on a large board. They are then rearranged to get the optimum sequence. This has the advantage in that the 'system' will respond to suddenly changing conditions. For example a corporate client changing their mind over the venue or preferred caterer.
Figure 6 below is an overview of the amount of activity performed by an event company. Initially there are the tasks involved in proposal preparation - or obtaining the work. If successful in getting the gig, the company goes into overdrive in both planning and preparation for the event. As all the other aspects take over there is a period of control, checking everything is running to plan and occasional flourish of activity if there is a problem or a change. Then just before the event the management needs to check and make any last minute alterations. During the event the manager should have little to do but oversee the production. Then it is during event shut down that the skills of the manager in controlling and responding to different conditions come into play.
The timeline for each tasks needs to be estimated. How long will each task take given the right resources and pre conditions? Often called the Estimated Completion Time (ECT) These often have to be estimated by expert guesswork!
In engineering project management there are four estimated values:
The LF and LS are critical to event planning as it is rare that the event date will change. "When will it be completed?" is a common saying by every event manager and the answer becomes more critical the closer to the day of the event.
Planning an event can involve an enormous number of people from different backgrounds and with different levels of education. This means that effective communication can mean a significant saving in cost and time. Graphic displays can impart information quickly and effectively. The Gantt Chart or bar chart is such a display. If kept simple, it can show the major tasks and when they need to be completed. I have used it primarily in event proposals. Combined with WBS the Gantt chart shows a competency at management that enhances any event proposal.
Figure 7 below shows a simple Gantt Chart for the room set up of a seminar presentation. There is just the right level of detail to show the client a summary of the activities.
Figure 7
3.4 Critical Tasks and the Critical Path
Much of the event manager's skill is in recognising priority in a list of tasks. The tasks that must be completed on time are given the due attention. Tasks that have a float, that is whose completion time is not the Latest Finish time, can be given their due attention.
The sequence of tasks that have no buffer time is the critical path. Each task along the critical path absolutely must be completed on time, even if it costs more resources or means a change in the event content. For example, at an outdoor event so many of the tasks depends on the generator arriving and being set up that it is regarded as a critical task. Once it is set up the tents can be erected and the caterers can get to work. While all this is happening the decorators can do their work at the site entrance. If the generator doesn't work then the event manager is faced with a number of alternatives - all of which will consumer resources (money and people's time) - or change the nature of the event.
There are a variety of books on recognising the critical path, some are recommended at the end of this section - both through estimation and computer software. Suffice it to say that for events, as they exist in an ever changing environment, the tasks that are regarded as non critical can become critical very quickly. It must be recognised that the critical path method is helpful but is not set in concrete.
Tasks are, to a degree, fluid, meaning that they may change if there is a change in the internal or external environment to make sure the event happens on time. The milestone, the completion of an important task, becomes very important in organising the event. In the planning of an event the milestones need to recognised and given prominence.
4 Influence Diagrams and Sensitivity Analysis
These are tools of project management used to better understand the way change can affect the event. The Influence Diagram is a chart that shows, by means of boxes and arrows, what tasks are dependent on others. It is often a sketch to enable a better understanding of the many facets of an event. In particular it demonstrates that an event is a system and a change in one area of the event can have ramifications in many other areas. For example, the programming of an event can have make a large difference to the security. If an important politician agrees at the last minute to open an event, the effect on security planning is highly significant.
To discover the degree of influence that any part of the event has on the event as a whole is the aim of Sensitivity Analysis. In part it is a risk management strategy - how will a small change in this area affect the event? An example of this is when one festival decided to charge the performers for their printed programs . This was not a major decision in terms of resources required. It had little negative affect on the event. The positive affect was an increase in revenue - 1200 performers at $7 a program.
The graphs, charts
and event documents are the outputs of the project management process. A result
of this analysis is the creation of the event documents. Contact sheets, Responsibility
charts, Activity sheets, Work packages are some the documents. Usable documents
(in Word 97) can be downloaded by clicking on the document section. As well
there is an explanation of how they are used.
These documents can also be used as the basis of the event manual, a history
of the event and a method of comparing events.
The great advantage of the project management process is that it can be used on small areas of the event as well as on the event as a whole. A common area for WBS and Gantt Chart is in the event promotion. What is needed to be done to promote the event is broken down into manageable units, given a timeline and placed on a chart. At the 'promotion section of this web site is an explanation of how this process is used. It is used in planning for sponsorship and grants. The grant deadlines become milestones. Creating a bid document or an even proposal also easily lends itself to the project management process (this can be found on the this website). The setup and breakdown of the event venue or site is another area. All these sub-processes are then placed on a master schedule.
An event company
invariably has a number of events on its books in various stages of planning
and implementation. This is similar to what is called Program Management. Unfortunately
there are two meanings to this term. It can mean managing a number of separate
events. Each event has a different client. The only relationship these events
have to each other is that they are run by the same company and share some of
the company's resources.
Another meaning is managing a very large event (such as the Olympics) where
there are a number of projects running at the same time. All the projects have
their own management teams and deliverables that contribute to the whole event.
The program managers role is to keep all these 'sub-events' on track.
Figure 6 above shows the activity level of an event management
company. During the period of monitoring, when the company has the least number
of tasks, the company will look for more work i.e. another event. The aim is
to keep the task level constant. This is an example of resource levelling.
Project management books that may be of assistance to the event manager :
For those interested in hardcore project management :
Comprehensive Project Management ; Integrating, Optimisation Models, Management Principles and Computers, Badiru A. & Pulat P. A Prentice -Hall NJ 1995
Decision Analysis in Projects Schuyler J. , PMI Communications North Carolina 1996
Project Management Institute - http://www.pmi.org
Project Management Forum - http://www.pmforum.org/
For a glossary of project management terms -http://netman.cit.buffalo.edu/FAQs/proj-plan.glossary.html#Activity
University of Sydney Project Management web site- http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/pmoutreach/pm-world/index.html
Copyright W.J. O'Toole