Jane Jones and John Smith are excited about their wedding day. Wedding is one of the most celebrated events in this world. The moment that Jane and John inform their loved ones about their upcoming nuptials, a stream of parties and get-togethers have taken place. Most of John’s and Jane’s friends are excited for their big day, and have enjoyed the celebrations that have led them up to this great event. This was an exciting experience for Jane and John. They will both enjoy all the excitement happening around them during this time and remember these wonderful celebrations will become fond memories in the years to come. After the fun is over, the time to plan the event is essential.
Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting things that can ever happen to any couple. As Jane and John get ready for their wedding, they realize they are embarking on a life-altering event. They want their wedding to become a fantastic event so they took into account any tip to arrange the wedding of their dream and the wedding that would delight their guests. This is the first marriage for both of them. As they go on developing their lists of items to accomplish, they realize that to accomplish a successful wedding, one or both of them will have to commit several hours to wedding plan preparations. Most important, both Jane and John are high-level managers within the companies they work for and can not make the necessary time commitment to their wedding plans.
In order to sustain their goal for a one-of-a-kind wedding, Jane and John decided to use the services of a professional wedding planner to plan and manage their wedding.
The wedding consultant can be hired to make sure everything happens on schedule, handle any emergencies and, most importantly, be there for advice and support he or she is in need. The organization of a wedding is not an easy task. It is essential to compare several locations, to see several caterers, DJs etc in order to choose the best, o the most suitable. You have to select the dress, the groom’s outfit, the rings, the flowers…
More than 35 various professionals can be involved in a wedding. The aim of a wedding planner is to make the bride and groom avoid stress of arranging and to make them enjoy their special day with total peace of mind, knowing that everything will be done according to their expectations (Organzamariage, 2009). Jane and John review lots of wedding consultants and decided to use Team B largely as they feel comfortable with them.
Team B is a professional wedding consultant who uses aspects of project management in their approach to planning wedding. The aspect of project management that Team B uses most is the Project Plan, the Critical Path (CP), and the Critical Path Analysis (CPA). The project plan is a formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and project control. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and document approved scope, cost, and schedule baselines. The CP is used to keep the project on track while avoiding big problems.
The CP is critical because it ensures that every single activity on the path must be completed on time in order for the project to come in on time. With regard to a wedding, the wedding plan is created using the steps outlined in creating a project plan and the CP ensures that each wedding activity on the path must be completed on time for the wedding to be successfully completed the way the bride and groom requested.
Wedding Checklist (Project Plan)
Project Title
Jane Jones and John Smith Wedding Plan
Project Summary
Team B wedding planners will serve as wedding planner and coordinator for the couple that will organize and arrange all the requirements for the wedding ceremonies and reception that will be held on February 14th , 2010 at 6p.m.
A wedding coordination consultancy company operates on the basis of a strong, solid and viable relationship with suppliers and/or vendors of additional services. Because of this arrangement the major part of the project sometimes deals with a lot of networking and association established with vendors and this should be done in a very meticulous manner.
Project Opportunity
The wedding planning service will enable the couple to be relieved from the tedious process in putting together the requirements for the event. “Weddings involve emotionally laden decisions and external pressures. A wedding consultant brings logic to the process” (Daniels & Loveless, 2007)
Project Budget
For an expected guest list of 250, the total budget for Bride and Groom X is allocated at $45,000. This is the prime information in this project management plan shown in our attached Gantt chart. The budget for this project will be the major focus because all of the planning will revolve around the amount of money being spent on the wedding.
Project Stakeholders
Both the parents of the bride and groom, together with the couple, are the stakeholders in this project that must have the privilege of a most memorable wedding event.
Project Scope (see detailed scope below)
Exclusion
The wedding coordination and planning for Bride and Groom X will exclude travel and accommodation arrangements for their honeymoon. The service will also not cover getting the necessary licenses. Any plan for a bridal shower will also not be assisted within this project. The services range neither includes the search of beauty consultant along with the necessary beauty regimen.
Inclusion
Team B wedding coordinators will manage this project to provide full assistance in selecting, preparing, distributing and managing invitations and RSVP; preparing guest
list; the choice of wedding ensemble for the bride and groom; the choice of ceremony and reception venues; the menu; organizing the flowers and the musicians.
Project Assumptions
At a high level to make sure this wedding is a success Team B coordinators will have to make sure that all the deliverables from the vendor contracts will be in accordance to the agreed quality and quantity. It will also be an assumption that barring any natural deterrence, the wedding day will be as remarkable, memorable and heartwarming as it should be.
Project Risk
Weddings themselves bring with them special risks. The major risk is the possibility of the wedding requirements, preparation and coordination might go over the designated budget. There is also the possibility of any members of the entourage will have an uncontrollable circumstance like illness.
Wedding Checklist (Critical Path Analysis)
A review of the Gantt chart documenting the wedding plans reveal 38 critical tasks ranging from buying the wedding rings to final wedding payments due. In order to properly measure each activity for performance, a letter has been designated for each activity. The activities were given letter designators for the purpose of creating a network diagram to ensure that the wedding activities are performed in priority order to ensure that the most important activities were completed first. The reasoning for using the critical path is to ensure that the every single activity on the path finishes on time in order for the wedding project to be completed successfully. Any delay on any one of the critical path activities will cause the entire project to be delayed.
The critical path for the wedding naturally begins with the purchase of the engagement rings. After the engagement rings have been purchased and exchanged, the wedding plans can begin. This is a breakdown of the activities of, their duration and a Network Diagram showing the critical paths to success.
Activities and Duration
- Buy wedding rings – 3 days
- B Pre-ceremony preparation – 57 days
- C. Ceremony Preparation-6 days
- Select reception hall-19 days
- Transportation and accommodation-31 days
- Attire – 23 days
- Final Arrangements – 5 days
- Wedding – 1 day (Greene, Stellman, 2009)
Network Diagram
The network diagram shows the following critical paths:
- A-B-C=66 Days
- D-E-F= 73 Days
- G-H= 6 Days
The diagram shows a total of three different paths to approach wedding completion.
The path with the highest number is the most critical path to follow. Therefore, path number two is the most critical path to follow with ensuring a successful wedding. (Greene, Stellman, 2009)
Project Selection Criteria
Project selection involves the evaluation of the opportunities that the project offers the stakeholders. The pros and cons, advantages and disadvantage, as well as the scheduling and financial aspects need to be considered in the project selection criteria. Team B has chosen the planning of a wedding reception as their project, based on project management experience and business knowhow. The wedding project shall encompass all necessary managerial and planning activities required to coordinate a wedding reception. These shall include the managing and communication of project information, delegating individual responsibilities, and project monitoring are all areas of management responsibilities that will ensure a successful completion of the project within time and budget.
The wedding reception project selection was based on the following criteria:
- Project information and monitoring system. Team B will develop a project management information system to control the wedding plans by tracking progress compared to planned progress. Team B will hold regular meetings to evaluate planned progress versus actual accomplishments.
- Project task management. Team B shall delegate individual responsibilities based on prior project experience and project related qualifications. Tasks are to be grouped into three areas of responsibility;
- wedding couple related activities, i.e. engagement and wedding ring selection, bridal, groom, bridesmaid and best man attire, and guest list requirements;
- ceremony and reception preparation, i.e. faith based activities, hall locations, and scheduling; and
- support activities, i.e. entertainment, decorations, photography/video arrangements, and transportation services.
The methodology used by the project team to select a wedding project was based on the strategic and operation fit of this project to the overall objective and goal of Team B. Each member brings to the organization core competencies and performance compatibilities that will contribute to their mutual goal of a successful course completion. Request for topic approval was submitted and permission to proceed was granted by the delegating authorities.
Project Charter
Project manager(s): Team B
Project Charter
Tools and Techniques
The process of project monitoring is the most important part of the assigned plan. It is stated, that software monitoring tools are the most universal. Any project management and control is effective is it is based on using software tools. Originally, collecting data for thorough project monitoring is a difficult assignment; nevertheless, software for project control and monitoring is designed to simplify this task.
Another technique is the creation of “residential network”. This technique requires special appointments of persons, responsible for controlling every particular stage of project development. This technique was invented by military intelligence agency in 1950s, and now it is widely used in business sphere. All the residents are controlled by chief executive, and report directly to him. Ideally, if wedding agency will not notice “residents”.
The strategies that should be used by project performer may be the strategy of quality strategic control. It entails remote monitoring plans: the organization history and reputation should be thoroughly studied. Thus, all positive and negative customers’ responses may be compared. This would help to create a plan of controlling the company, including the complaints of previous customers.
Organizational performance control is another technique that may be used for the control. The development of the process may be held by the means of everyday reports sent by an agent, or with the use of control technique which requires everyday personal control and attendance of the wedding hall.
References
Organzamariage. (2009) Why use a wedding planner? Web.
Greene, J, PMP, Stellman, A, PMP. (2009). Head First PMP. Critical Path Drill O’Reilly Media, Inc. Web.
Warner, Diane. “How to Have a Big Wedding on a Small Budget”. 2002 North Light Books.
Daniels, Margaret J. & Loveless, Carrie. “Wedding Planning and Management” 2007 Butterworth-Heinemann.