Blue Bench BLUE RunProject Management Notebook

 

Prepared by Breanna Berens, David Freund, Brad Hullinger, Ryan Nuu, Mike Overton,

April 28, 2015Prof. Bob Kois

ISMG 4900

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Table of contents:

Table of Contents (Mike Overton)……………………………………………...…………..…2Executive Summary (Bre Berens)………………………………………………………….....3

Magnitude of Budget…………………………………………………………………....5Integration (Ryan Nuu)…..………………………………………………………………..……5

Project Plan….…………………………………………………………………………..6Project Execution………………………………………………………………………..6Monitor and Control………………………………………………………………….….6

Scope Management (Bre Berens)…………………………………………………………….8Milestones………………………………………………………………………………..8WBS………………………………………………………………………………………9

Time Management Plan (Bre Berens)……………………………………………………....11Define Activities……………………………………………………………………..…11Develop Schedule…………………………………………………………………..…12Control Schedule…………………………………………………………………..…..12

Cost Management (Brad Hullinger)……...…………………………………………………..13Estimated Budget…………………………………………………………………..….13Monitoring the Budget…………………………………………………………………13

Quality Management (Brad Hullinger)..………………………………………………..……14Quality Plan………………………………………………………………………….....14Quality Checklist…………………………………………………………………….....16

Human Resources (David Freund)……………………………………………………..……18Execution…………………………………………………………………………..…...20Acquire Project Team……………………………………………………………..…..20

Communications Management (Mike Overton)….…………………………………….…...20Communications Plan………………………………………………………………....21Distribution of Information……………………………………………………….....…22Performance Reporting………………………………………………………….........22

Stakeholder Management (David Freund)………………………………………..………...23Procurement Management (Mike Overton).………………………………………….……..24

Plan Procurements…………………………………………………………..………..24Administer Procurements………………………………………………………..……25Procurement Closeout………………………………………………………………...26

Risk Management (Ryan Nuu)…...……………………………………………………….….27Plan Risk Management……………………………………………………………….27Identify Risks…………………………………………………………………..……….27Plan Risk Response………………………………………………………………..….28Control and Monitor Risk……………………………………………………………...29

Closing Project (David Freund)…………………………………………………………..…..30Close Contacts……………………………………………………………………..….30

References (Brad Hullinger)...……………………………………………………………….31

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Executive Summary:

The objective of this project is to team up with Blue Bench and raise awareness of sexual assault by being active in the community. Blue Bench mission statement is to eliminate sexual assault and diminish the impact it has on individuals, their loved ones, and our community through comprehensive issue advocacy, prevention, and care. Blue Bench is a non-profit organization that raises awareness of sexual assault within the Colorado area. Blue Bench first started in 1983, going door to door canvassing. Year after year, Blue Bench raised awareness in many different ways.

History Timeline:1983 -First night of door-to-door canvassing.         -First hotline volunteer training-Development of Board of Directors 1984-Prevention program offered in schools -Mayor Pena hosts premiere showing of play at the Paramount Theater -Sponsored the startup of the Colorado Coalition against Sexual Assault (CCASA) 1986-Began offering individual counseling services to those who had no resources and then moved into group counseling-Hosted National Coalition Against Sexual Assault Conference in Denver1987-Received the equity of home for office space from the Albi family and a generous donation from an anonymous donor to secure the space1988-Worked with CCASA to present Marital Rape Bill legislation1990-Growing staff created the need for more office space so attic space was converted-After facilitating focus groups to understand how better to serve women of color, began offering African American women and Latino groups1991-Began offering Self Defense Classes1995-After two years of effort, the Denver Sexual Assault Interagency Response Protocol was signed and initiated1996-Opened first satellite office in southeast suburbs to serve residents of the 18th Judicial District1998-Began developing the 18th Judicial District Sexual Assault Interagency Council-Began program offering services specifically to Temporary Aid to Needy Families recipients     -Elementary and Middle & High School Prevention curriculums were adopted    

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1999-Growing staff and programs created need for major renovations and addition to building     -Began offering counseling services to monolingual Spanish speaking clients2000-Administrator/Teacher Sexual Harassment Prevention Training was added-Development of specific college prevention curriculum2003-Rape Assistance and Awareness Program celebrated 20 years of service to the metro-Denver community.  2005-Sexual Assault Interagency Council 10-year signing ceremony2013-Celebration of 30 years serving the metro-Denver Community.  The organization rebranded and is now The Blue Bench, putting an end to sexual assault through comprehensive issue advocacy, prevention and care.-Work on the signed Sexual Assault Response Team Protocol for the 17th Judicial District began

In 2015, our team will team up with Blue Bench and create an awareness event located in Downtown Denver, and will consist of a marathon in which people will run for the cause. The event will allow the community of Denver to come together to support the fight against sexual assault, raise money for the organization, and create awareness against sexual assault. Bringing the community together for a great cause and being active in the community is the next step for Blue Bench.

Over the last 32 years, Blue Bench has been building its brand, but now they must use their skill and knowledge of sexual assault and teach the community. The Blue Bench BLUE Run will be a 5k walk/ run event held for one day in May. The run will include obstacles that men and women will have to complete in order to move on in the race. The obstacles will include learning how to take down an attacker, how to punch correctly, and helpful defense mechanisms. Once the race is completed and each runner crosses the finish line, blue paint will be dumped on each runner in honor of those who have been sexually assaulted and in honor of you raising awareness in the community by crossing the finish line. This event will be fun and educational for all runners, but more importantly it brings the community together in a way to support those assaulted and to support the awareness of sexual assault.

Below is the breakdown of key milestones of the Blue Bench BLUE Run will incur. The project timeline, from the preliminary design to actual race day is 52 weeks. The key milestones and schedule are shown in Table 1 below:

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Table 1: Milestones

The final cost of the event is estimated at about $60,000; while the budget is set to $65,000. This includes the labor, renting the space, merchandise, advertising, paint, and course material.

Magnitude of Budget:Rough Order of Magnitude BudgetRent event space                          $15,000Course Equipment                       $15,000Advertising Expenses                  $7,000Merchandise (t-shirts)                $2,000Paint                                                $1,000Labor                                               $20,000Total Cost                                        $60,000

The success and completion of this project requires lots of time and effort from employees and volunteers. This includes the management department, marketing department, set up crew, and design group.

The quality metrics include quality assurance from training, employees, and audits all run by our team and Blue Bench organization. We will be making sure our team and employees know the importance of this event. We will use the checklist method to make sure each department completed what was needed on time and in a fashionably order.

The biggest risks of this project include injuries during the race and the risk of obstacles not running correctly. Also, the lack of merchandise and number of tickets available is a high risk of not completing or putting an event on to raise sexual awareness again in the future due to unsatisfied customers within the community.

Integration:

Project Charter

Blue Bench hereby authorizes the BLUE run project, which will help to eliminate sexual assault and diminish the impact it has on individuals in Colorado, their loved ones and our community through comprehensive education on issue advocacy, prevention and care. This will be

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accomplished with a 5k run in which participants will overcome obstacles within the course to help raise awareness of sexual assault. Karmen Carter, Executive Director will act as executive sponsor for this project.Breanna Berens will be the Project Manager (PM). She is authorized to plan, execute, monitor, and control the race design, create, and confirm of the BLUE run project. The PM should set up a plan to brief the project sponsor and director. The briefing should be weekly and should include the status of crucial project milestones.Financial, material, and human resource may be produced by the PM up to the amounts approved by the PMO oversight committee lead by Karmen Carter, as well as the additional funds provided by any outside resource. The committee will review and audit all procurement requests.

Preliminary Project Scope Statement

The objective of this project is to raise awareness for sexual assault happening within the Colorado area, sponsored by a company called Blue Bench. We will coordinate with Blue Bench to create an event that raises money for active and curious people around Colorado to run in a marathon. This marathon will be called The BLUE run. The run will be used to raise awareness by making the participants go through a series of obstacles that will educate them to the seriousness of sexual assault.

Project Management Plan

The Project Management Plan contained in this notebook conforms to the Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (PMBOK) as published and copyrighted by the Project Management Institute. During the Planning Phase of the project, each of the ten Knowledge Areas of the Project Management Plan will be reviewed by the responsible Core Team member with any other affected team members and stakeholders.

The planning stage of the project will conclude on June 12, 2015. On this day, all team members and stakeholders will meet and review the key deliverables and project milestones. Afterwards, the preliminary design stage will begin.

Project Execution

Breanna Berens is the PMO appointed Project Manager. She will direct manage the project execution while coordinating the acquisition of any team members that will be necessary in addition to the core team. She is responsible for coordinating all team and status meetings.

Each core team member is assigned an individual task that they are in charge of for the upcoming race. Each individual member is responsible for completing and updating the PM weekly on their progress. If the PM notices that there is slack in any specific area, she will request for additional help or reevaluation.

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Monitor and Control Project and Deliverables

The Project Management Plan will detail all areas of the project, including budget, time, quality, and risk. As the team nears completion of each milestone, the PM should perform a Schedule Performance Index and Cost Performance Index to ensure that the milestones and scope are kept in focus. The PM is in charge of making sure that the project remains lean through various bootstrapping techniques. This entails checking and maintaining the Network Diagram for float and HR Management Plan for resources that can be reassigned or better utilized throughout the critical path of the project. If the resources are better used on more critical activities, then activities with float can be delayed by the amount of float.

Since most of the race will be funded by donations, budget variance is only vital when it comes to costs that can’t be covered by donations. If this becomes the case then budget variance will be extremely important. Any budget discrepancies will be immediately addressed by the CFO—Ryan Nuu. Once information is found on the budgetary issue, the CFO will sit down and inform the PM. The CFO will constantly be analyzing the budget throughout the project. If there are budgetary issues then they will be addressed according to PMO policy. Any extra donations that are not going to immediately filling a need will go to a contingency reserve to help eliminate risk of future financial overages.

Quality Management is crucial in making sure the event and race go off without a hitch. Poor quality management will ultimately lead to a function that isn’t as successful as it could have been. In the eyes of our team, if participants in the race don’t come away with new knowledge or a desire to get involved, than the project was a failure.

In order to have successful quality management, it is vital that there is also an importance put on risk management. Any unforeseen risks need to be reported to the PM immediately in the process described in the Risk Management Plan.

Since there is only a limited amount of time, it is key that time management is reviewed each week by the PM through the come member’s reports. In the reports, there will be time sheets of the previous week’s activities. If the project is behind schedule, the PM will know exactly where to allocate people and resources to get the project back on schedule. Also, it is a great source of accountability, because it allows the PM to confront and encourage the team member that is falling behind. Lastly, these weekly reports will allow the PM to update the sponsor and PMO with accurate information.

If at any time there is a significant “pivot” in the scope of the project, there is a lot of communication that needs to happen. First, there has to be a submission of change request forms to the Board of Directors. This will notify them where the project is at and where they want to go. If the change of the scope leads to an increase of budget that can’t be covered by the contingency reserve, then extra funds will also be requested and submitted to the sponsor.

Project Closing

Closing procedures before the race are chief to this project. When closing the project, the PM will review all prior information from the previous phase closures to ensure that all Project work is complete and that the project has met its objectives. Since project scope is measured against the project management plan, the PM will review that document to ensure completion before

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considering the project closed. All of the following must be completed before the BLUE Run can be officially presented to Blue Bench for review:

Event area has been booked to hold the race and activities Design of the course and obstacles has been completed Proper advertising material has been created Tickets are ready to be sold Race Day has been established

Once all of the above tasks have been completed to satisfaction, the PM will release all team members from their duties.

Scope Management:

Milestones:

Figure 1: Milestones Chart

Project Scope Statement:The objective to this project is to raise awareness of sexual assault happening in the Colorado by being active in the community with a company called Blue Bench. Blue Bench will create an event that raises money for active people around Colorado to run in a marathon. This event is called Blue Bench BLUE run.

Product Description:Each runner who participates in the project will run a 5k run and will overcome obstacles within the course to help raise awareness of sexual assault. Once the obstacles are complete, each runner can move onto the next obstacle. When all the obstacles are complete, each runner will cross the finish line and be covered in blue paint to represent that the runner is raising awareness and helping the cause of sexual assault with Blue Bench. The obstacles will consist of skills learned to help protect oneself from sexual assault to happen. BLUE run is different from the color run and the mud runs that are popular because the BLUE run is showing women and men how to protect and fight off

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sexual predators while the marathon is going. Raising awareness and learning about sexual assault in Colorado is the key vision we will have for this event.

Project Requirement:The requirement for this race is to race a profit for Blue Bench since they are a nonprofit organization, and their employees are mostly volunteers or get paid very little. In order for Blue Bench to stay around and keep making a difference, they rely on donations and fundraisers. This event will not only benefit the community, but it will also benefit Blue Bench. Since Blue Bench is spending 60,000 to hold the event, we hope the event raises 100,000 dollars. In order for this to happen, we will make a profit off merchandise and tickets. There will also be a donation table, where the community can give back so there can continue to have events like this held every year.

Initial OrganizationBlue Bench will have 5 different groups: Design, advertising, financials, merchandise, and labor.

Project Deliverable:The main deliverable is reaching out to the community and raising awareness for sexual assault. As a community we must stand up against such an offense. Another deliverable is teaching the community how to correctly defend yourself if they were ever put into such a situation. Blue Bench will do this correctly by teaching the community defense mechanisms during the race at different obstacles that must be completed.

Project Exclusions:There will be no exclusions during this event. Everyone is welcome, and we ask that each runner, fan, or supporters are respectful to all, and only positive vibes are welcomed at the BLUE Run.

Project Constraints:The only constraint that will appear at the event is the lack of shade. We ask the community to come prepared. Food and beverages will be provided, but weather is uncontrollable. Please bring proper clothing, sunscreen, umbrellas etc.

Project Assumptions:We assume that the event is going to be packed and very busy. Be cautious of your surroundings, and stay clear of the running track. There will be plenty of members to assist the community in any way possible.

Project Acceptance Criteria:Once every department is set up, the track is set, obstacles are complete, and the employees are ready the gates will open, registration will start, and runner numbers and t-

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shirts will be handed out. The event will be organized and easy to follow in order to prepare runners in an orderly fashion, and checking people in quickly.

WBS:

Figure 2: Location WBS

Figure 3: Design WBS

Figure 4: Advertisement WBS

Figure 5: Selling WBS

Figure 6: Purchasing Equipment WBS

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Time Management Plan:The Time Management Plan for the Dream Chaser™ scale model provides scheduling for all project activities.  The six processes below are required to manage timely completion of the Project:

Define Activities:The activities defined in the Time Management Plan are based on the WBS.  The activities have start and finish dates.

Sequence Activities:The sequenced activities have been placed into a Network Diagram in order to create a Critical Path. The amount of float has also been calculated in the non-critical path activities.

Estimate Activity Resources:All resources required are listed in the Resource Bar Chart.  These human resources are described in more detail in the Human Resource section.

Estimate Activity Durations:Activity durations have been divided up into how long each activity will take. The durations along with the total Project duration can be found on the Project Time Management Network Diagram and Gantt chart.

Develop Schedule:The project schedule was developed based on information above plugged into Project Libre.  The sequence, duration, and start to finish are listed in the Project Activities Time Management Schedule.  This schedule is used for the Time Management Network Diagram.  The Network Diagram shows the amount of float and the Critical Path is the path that has zero float. The float times are important because even if resource leveling is needed, the Critical Path can still be maintained.

Control Schedule:Schedule performance measurements (SV, SPI) are used to assess the magnitude of variation to the original schedule baseline.  The resource leveling is used to distribute the work among resources, adjust leads and lags to see if activities have extra room or no room at all. Change Requests are processed for review in the Integration Change Control Section.

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Figure 7: Time Management Breakdown 1-27

Figure 8: Time Management Breakdown 12-37

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Cost management:This section will help determine a budget for the Blue Bench Blue Run project, and how to monitor the expenses effectively. The estimate budget will be determined to begin. The Blue Bench Blue Run is one of the many non-profit organizations in the Colorado Combined Campaign, a campaign designed to raise awareness of sexual assault and prevention. These non-profit organizations are solely funded by the generous donations to the Colorado Combined Campaign and to the Blue Bench organization directly, so funding will be limited and a budget must be followed.

Estimated BudgetManagement will be charged with the duty of determining an estimated budget from the costs of planning the project, the materials needed, and the existing resources that will be used. In order to determine the budget, management can look at the records of previous projects done by Blue Bench organization. Management can also research similar projects done by other organizations

Monitoring the budgetAn “S” curve may not be relevant to the project, seeing as though “awareness” of a crime cannot be tangibly or monetarily measured short term. Added value may be measured long term by any reduction in the crime rate of sexual assault and other forms of domestic violence. Vendors will help determine the estimated budget. For the sake of planning, the budget will be split into the relevant components of the overall project.

March April May June July August0

5000100001500020000250003000035000

Cumulative Blue Bench BLUE Run Monthly Budget

Cumulative Blue Bench BLUE Run Monthly Budget

Figure 9: Budget Chart

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Quality Management:

PlanQuality assurance and quality control will be the most essential aspects of the Quality Management plan. Quality assurance will help to ensure the success of the overall project; that it meets the standard goals one can expect from an awareness event, in raising awareness and doing so effectively. A quality checklist will help determine a plan to ensure quality. The checklist will include a section for project quality, a required skills section, and finally a project management checklist.

Quality control will be considered as well. Quality control is the process of monitoring and controlling the aspects of quality throughout the duration of the project. As the event progresses, the quality checklist will be used to ensure that the event functions properly and raises awareness of sexual assault, but also does not exceed the planned budget costs.

The service of this event will be to promote the awareness of sexual crimes for the Colorado Combined Campaign to the people who attend, but also to provide entertainment (ie. The run), to the people who decide to attend

Project Quality Checklist

Project Requirements: Yes/No Date/Initials Remarks

Have all standards and procedures for the project been clearly defined?

Have any project-specific exceptions or additions been identified?

Does the team have the knowledge required? Is further training required?

Have all customer-defined project requirements been addressed and met?

Event Requirements: Yes/No Date/Initials Remarks

Have all standards and procedures for design and integration been clearly defined?

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Have any changes to the customer-defined system been noted?

Does the team knowledge base cover each system? Is further training required?

Have all customer-defined system requirements been addressed and met?

Team Dynamics: Yes/No Date/Initials Remarks

Is every member of the team personally committed to the success of the project?

Is every member of the team aware of and willing to comply with all project standards and procedures?

Is each team member aware of his or her roles and responsibilities?

Customer Needs: Yes/No Date/Initials Remarks

Will customer be satisfied with project the quality of the event?

Will the customer be comfortable and safe?

Are there maps of the design for customers to follow?

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Figure 10: Quality Checklist

Quality Checklist (Project Manager)

Integration: Yes/No Date/Initials Remarks

Project Charter

Project Scope Statement

Project Management Plan

Direct/Manage Project Execution

Monitor and Control Progress

Integrated Change Control

Project Closing Plan

Scope:

Scope Planning

Scope Definition

Work Breakdown Structure

Scope Verification

Scope ControlTime:

Activity Definition

Activity Sequencing

Activity Resource Estimating

Activity Duration Estimating

Schedule Development

Schedule Control

Cost:

Cost Estimating

Cost Budgeting

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Cost Control

Quality:

Quality Planning

Quality Assurance

Quality Control

Human Resources:

Human Resource Planning

Acquire Project Team

Develop Project Team

Manage Project Team

Communications: Yes/No Date/Initials Remarks

Communications Planning

Information Distribution

Performance Reporting

Manage Stakeholders

Risk:

Risk Management Planning

Risk Identification

Qualitative Risk Analysis

Quantitative Risk Analysis

Risk Response Planning

Risk Monitoring and Control

Procurement:

Plan Purchases and Acquisitions

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Plan Contracting

Request Seller Responses

Select Sellers

Contract Administration

Contract Closure

Figure 11: Quality Checklist 2

Human Resources:

This event’s success is contingent on an effective team effort. Following the proceeding steps will help us to successfully implement the proper human resource management:

Develop a human resource management plan Acquire sufficient team for event Develop the proper team and dynamics, training on all necessary tasks Keep team well managed throughout the events duration

It is imperative that human resource management is in place. Without the proper team management, there are potentially a multitude or problems that could occur. In order to have a successful event, it is also important that the team is well structured with clear task objectives. The following roles are necessary for the success of this event:

Figure 12: Roles and Responsibilities

Team Member Roles and Responsibilities

Role: Responsibility:

Project Manager Manages event planning and execution, oversees all processes

Marketing Team Advertise the event, sell tickets, create and design t-shirts for event

Set up TeamSet up race track, decorate the event, place obstacles, set up chairs, tables, put up start and finish

Planning Team Design course, build obstacles, map out course, purchase materials

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Since some areas require more work that others, multiple people may be needed to fill certain positions. Similarly, because the allowable number of team members is limited for this project, some people may have to fulfill more than one role.

Next, an organizational structure must be designed for the team. This involves developing the team organizational chart to identify reporting relationships.

Team Reporting Relationships Organizational Structure

Figure 13: Organizational Structure

The represented structure indicates that the Project Manager is responsible for leading the entire team. The secondary group is the marketing team, who oversees all promotional aspects of the project, including advertising, ticket sales, and design. The set up team reports to the project manager and is responsible for setting up the racetrack, obstacles, and other event related materials. The planning team works with the set up team, creating the course design, obstacles, as well as purchasing all necessary materials.

The subsequent responsibility matrix displays the coordination between responsibilities and assigned person/group. Each roles activity for the subsequent tasks are indicated with letters stating accountability, responsibility, participant, and informative involvement.

Figure 14: Responsibility Matrix

Project Manager Marketing Team Set up team Planning TeamDesign R R P RModeling A I I RPurchasing A R R IFabrication R I I IOrdering A R R RRace Day P A R R

R= Responsible A= Accountable P= Participant I= Informed

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Execution

Acquire Project Team

Potential issues may arise where one person is interested in working in a position they are not the best fit for. To alleviate this, we have assigned tasks to each team member.

Below are the team roles based on matching each person’s skill with their position:

Figure 15: Team Assignments

Table 9: Team Assignments

Brenna Berens Project Manager

Bradley Hullinger Cost Management

Mike Overton Communication Management

Ryan Nuu Quality Planning

David Freund Human Resource Management

In order to maintain team productivity:

Project Manager must have consistent communication with the rest of the team members

Cost management and Quality management must work together Communication management must work with sponsors and event staff

It is important that the communication team maintains consistent contact with the team, sponsors, and staff. In doing so this will ensure that the even remains on track and each group isn’t overloaded with too much responsibility.

Communications Management:The communication plan dictates the way information will be distributed among team members, contractors, and other stakeholders. Distribution will take place in a timely and appropriate manner, with the designated spokesperson or department head taking responsibility to inform those who require the information. The communication plan ensures that necessary information be generated, documented, distributed and archived properly. Objectives include:

1. Development of the Communication Plan2. Distribution of Information3. Performance Reporting4. Stakeholder Management

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 Communication PlanThe communication plan includes a multiple forms of communication, both formal and informal, to successfully distribute project information to required personnel. Informal communication can occur through a number of channels, including conversations, phone calls, and text-messages. More formal communication through email, official memos, and meetings will be documented and archived. Communication will be tempered considering the intended recipient, and adjusted as needed for internal or external stakeholders.

Daily emails between members of each team will keep all members of the respective teams up to speed on current goals/progress. Weekly meetings with the team leaders will be held in order to compile a weekly progress report. Each team lead is responsible for communicating their progress with the project manager via weekly email correspondence. The PM will then generate a Gantt chart and project status report to communicate the status to the rest of the teams. Additionally, the PM will use these methods to address upcoming deliverables, milestones, and potential issues.  Announcements will be emailed by the PM so that all teams are aware of any issues. A formal report will be compiled monthly and delivered to all stakeholders. (Sponsors, stakeholders, etc.) If at any point there are any problems or immediate needs, the team member should alert their respective team lead who will then pass on the information to the PM as soon as the problem arises.

The formal report will include an executive summary of work produced each month with respect to deliverables, cost, schedule, and scope.  After each milestone has been met, the Project Manager will submit a formal status report. After specific milestones have been achieved, the PM will have teleconferences with sponsors to discuss the project’s status, any issues, forecasting, and/or any team member concerns. 

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Figure 16: Communication Guide

Distribution of InformationAll major documentation including project records, archives, presentations, stakeholder analysis, change requests, and issue logs will be administered by the methods and practices discussed above.  Communications will be distributed to the appropriate level via of communication including:

1. Hard copies2. Reports3. Emails4. Control charts5. Project meetings6. Teleconferences7. Text messaging

In the event of a communication breakdown or a need to improve upon the current communication system arises, a change control process will be in place to resolve any shortcomings.  Any team member can submit a change order, which shall then go to the change control process.  It will then be decided to whether to implement the change.

Performance Reporting

Brief formal performance reports will only be required monthly, but an informal summary of progress will be made weekly. This information will be given to the Project Manager who shall

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Project Manager

Marketing Lead

Marketing Employees

Planning Lead

Planning Employees

Set Up Lead

Set Up Employees

analyze the entirety of the project’s progress. Progress will be tracked through the above communication systems and organized in a way that the team can visualize progress.

Stakeholder Management:

Stakeholders are individuals and organizations who are either actively involved in the project or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by the execution of the project or its completion. They may also exert influence over the project and/or its deliverables. Stakeholders for the Blue Bench BLUE Run include the organization and sponsors of the run, people participating in the run, employees responsible for any aspect of the run, and any members of the community where the run is being held.Stakeholders requiring close management are those with both a high level of interest and influence and can easily alter the flow of the project. These individuals must be frequently updated so as to not to upset them and to prevent them from receiving unsuspected news. Stakeholders that need to be kept satisfied are those that have influence, but may not be particularly interested in the project so as long as there are no major issues. Typically, they are satisfied with the outcome. Stakeholders with a high level of interest need to be kept informed even if they lack the power to alter the project. This is vital because if they become dissatisfied, they can appeal to more powerful stakeholders to halt the project, which can limit progress. Stakeholders that require only passive monitoring are those that yield little power and have a low level of interest. Typically, this group will not make much noise unless a major problem arises. Still, this group must be monitored as their concerns may be overlooked which could cause problems later in the project.

Stakeholder Communications Management PlanPerson/Group Management Plan Frequency

Team Members Team meetings, e-mail updates, memos

Bi-Weekly

Organization/Blue Regular e-mail updates, design reviews

Weekly

Event sponsors Regular meetings and e-mails Bi-MonthlyStaff Contract Employment, email

updates, Staff Meetings, trainingBi-Monthly

Figure 17: Communication Management Plan

The Project Manager is in charge of handling all stakeholder concerns and complications. The PM can choose to either address the issue personally or delegate this responsibility to a team lead. In certain cases, the Project Manager may need to defer to a team lead when more detailed solutions are required. The Project Manager will document all issues, internal or

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external. This process documents the problem, the action taken to address the problem, the cause of the issue, the priority level of the issue, and who handled the issue. These logs will help create an archive that will be used to help improve future projects.

Figure 18: Manage Stakeholders

Manage StakeholdersName Relationship Possible BenefitsBlue Bench Main Sponsor Increase awarenessEvent Sponsors

Participating Sponsors

Increased brand equity/awareness

Runners Participants Engaging in fun/supportive fund raising activity

Staff Employees Monetary compensationSpectators Attendees Entertainment / involvement

Over the 52-week project, the plan for stakeholder communication management is shown here:

Regular updates and communication gives stakeholders the opportunity to stay informed as well as address concerns prior to the event. At these times, the project manager, event sponsors, and team will take immediate steps to address these issues and concerns in a timely manner so that all parties are satisfied. The staff will receive training videos via email and attend bi-monthly meetings prior to the event.

Procurement Management:The procurement management plan includes the processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the project team. The following processes will be utilized:

1. Plan Procurements2. Conduct Procurements1. Administer Procurements2. Close Procurements

Plan ProcurementsMaterials and services that are not readily available or cannot be supplied by the project team are included in the procurement plan. Procurements represent one of the higher risks in the risk register due to variability of costs and services. It will be important to monitor and control

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contracts during the administration process to validate that contracts are properly being fulfilled. One of the goals of contracting out services is to bring down the cost of the project.

Make or Buy Analysis and Service ContractsBased on a Make or Buy Analysis, materials for the course and obstacles will be purchased or rented while equipment (including operators) to support set-up will be leased.  A waste management service and security crew will also be contracted for the day of the run. Course materials will be purchased via fixed-price contracts and equipment (including operators), waste management service, and security crew will be contracted under Time and Material contracts with not-to-exceed values in accordance with the activity cost estimates.  

Location Selection CriteriaThe selection of the city in which to hold the run will be based on cost, location, and accessibility criteria. The selection process for the Time and Materials contracts for the equipment and operators as well as the waste management team and security staff will be put through a similar selection process to the process presented below.

Figure 19: Location

Weight Boulder Lakewood Denver Co. SpringsLocation 35% 8 4 10 7Cost 35% 4 8 7 6Accessibility 20% 8 6 9 4Course 10% 10 8 9 8Total 100% 6.8 6.2 8.65 6.15

Conduct Procurements

Inquire with Host Locations and Services

A list of potential host cities will be generated based on pre-determined criteria, and information regarding permits and other miscellaneous costs will be requested. Once the information has been aggregated, it will be inputted into a decision matrix where a weighted average score will be generated. Service providers will be researched to ensure they are both qualified and reliable. The contractors that qualify will be asked to place a bid on their respective area of service for the project. There will be separate bids for waste management services and the security staff. Multiple contractors will be solicited in order to ensure the most competitive bids are received. There will also be separate bids for the purchase of project materials and the leasing of the set-up equipment. In theory, one company could win the bids both for supplying course materials and providing the set-up equipment, but this separation is meant to ensure competition and reduce the cost of the bids.

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Selection of Contractors and SellersOnce the proposals have been received from the pre-approved contractors, the Project Manager will select the contactors to supply the waste management and security services. Material and equipment suppliers will be chosen based on cost and quality. Initial fixed price contracts will be negotiated with the winning bidders for the initial bill of materials, but additional material supply contracts may be pursued based on change requests that are approved throughout the course of the project. The main selection criteria will focus around the critical points of a project: cost, scope, and schedule. The proposed costs will be compared against a pre-established independent estimate prepared by the project manager. The Selection criteria will be used to create weighted scores for each bidder, and the bidders offering the best value for the work required will be selected. A similar process will be used to select the host city form the list of potential candidates. The criteria that will be analyzed are location, cost, accessibility, and course layout. Schedule is a high risk for the project, as the race cannot be delayed once the date is set. Cost is the highest concern for the project since it carries the highest risk. The Project Manager will select the winning bids based on their reputation and service records. A Notice of Award will be posted once the contractor has been selected.

Administer ProcurementsThe Project Manager will maintain all procurement planning documentation to include the winning bids and use this information as a baseline against which to measure and track progress and invoices during the project. Invoices will only be paid against work that falls into the negotiated and agreed upon work. The necessary information will be directed to the PM to verify cost and track progress.

It will be the responsibility of the PM to acquire all necessary permits, and the set-up manger should work directly with the contractors to assure materials and equipment are delivered on time from the supplier. This will help to mitigate the risk of a delay in the schedule.

A change in any of the processes or the contracts will need to go through the process change control system and approved by the Project Manager. The change must comply with the scope and be beneficial to both parties involved.

Money will be distributed in accordance with the agreed contract in accordance with the project funding coming from the sponsors. Contractors will be paid on a reimbursement basis against executed services or delivery of materials. Contractors will be allowed to submit invoices for reimbursement based on completion of tasks. No pre-payments will be made so as to avoid contractors mismanaging the funds.

Procurement CloseoutThere will be a final closeout for each contract as the contractors fulfill their obligations.  A final audit will be completed to document successes, failures or remaining work requiring additional procurement efforts. The closeout will include sponsor approval, scope verification, and documentation of lessons learned. Contractor performance reports will also be compiled in order to maintain historical performance records. All closed contracts will be copied and distributed to the Project Manager and sponsor. Experiences in the procurement process will be

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documented along with recommendations to either maintain or improve processes in order to benefit future projects.  

Risk Management:

Plan Risk Management

Risk is a key factor to always keep in mind with a project, and the Blue Run is no exception. The purpose of the Risk Management Plan is to alert all members to small and big risks that must be discussed within the scope of the project. It is important to identify relevant risk so that you can lessen the blow if it happens to occur. Realistically it is impossible to eliminate all risk, but it is absolutely viable to be prepared for all types of risk. Developing a thorough Risk Management Plan involves: identifying risk, analyzing both qualitative and quantitative risks, and planning a response to project risk. The team should start thinking about possible risk from the opening to closing stages of the project. All relevant risks with each and every task should be brought to the attention of the PM. Risk Management is an area that is present throughout the duration of a project since more risks will inevitably be identified later.

Identify Risks This race has risk that involves both direct and indirect risk. The direct risks stems from responsibilities solely held by the team. In order to identify this risk it is necessary for each individual member to take a minute and write out the risk that can be associated with their assigned task. Then after each individual has written down their possible risk, the project team will sit down and hash out all possible risk. Also at this time, any suggestions for risk prevention will be shared with the group. There are also outside risks that are involved with this project. For example, there is risk of participants getting hurt or weather issues. These risks are outside of the project team’s control, but they are still necessary to keep in mind.

The risks above for the project will be listed in the Risk Matrix. Those that are not listed are either unforeseen as of now or are considered trivial. Risks include those based on time, budget, people, and operations.

Analyze Qualitative Risks

Qualitative risk analysis involves designating priority of each risk. The weighted average (WA) or each risk is found by multiplying the probability by the impact. The risk can be identified as high-priority (“red”), moderate-priority (“yellow”), or low-priority (“green”) based on its likelihood of occurrence and severity of consequences.

Analyze Quantitative Risks

Quantitative risk analysis for the Blue Run Project has been based on whether or not the risk could likely result in project failure. The parameters revolve around a budget of approximately $32k and about four months to complete the project. However, the majority of the risk comes

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from the constraint of time and ability to get people involved in the race and mission of the project.

Plan Risk Response

The Risk Management Strategy defines how risk will be identified and addressed for the Blue Run Project.

Risk Management StrategyRisk Management Methodology

1. Identify risk2. Determine probability, consequence, cost, and priority3. Plan response

Risk Assumptions Assume all risks are high-priority (“red”) until determined to be otherwise.

Define Roles and Responsibilities

Project Manager is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and distributing risks to team. The team is likewise responsible for reporting any risks to the project manager. The entire team will be held responsible for implementing risk management plan.

Define Timeframes Response to a defined risk is required as soon as possible. Newly identified risks should be reported to the project manager the same day. The project manager should plan a response within two days.

Risk Ranking/Scoring Techniques

Risk analysis/assessment will be determined qualitatively by defining each risk as high-priority (“red”), moderate-priority (“yellow”), or low-priority (“green”). Priority determination is determined by the Weighted Average as follows: WA below 30 is low-priority, WA between 31 and 60 is moderate-priority, and WA above 61 denotes high-priority.

Risk Thresholds Due to limited project time and cost budgets, any risk that affects either must be assessed.

Risk Communication Plan All risks must be reported directly to the project manager in written form (memo, e-mail). The project manager will store an updated risk matrix on the project website.

Figure 20: Risk Management Strategy

Risks are collected in and assessed through the Risk Matrix. This details all of the necessary information for analyzing and responding to risks. Each risk is described, and then assigned a

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value from 1-10 for Probability and Consequence. These two numbers are then multiplied to find the Weighted Average (1-100), which is used to assign a level of priority to the risk.

Figure 21: Direct Risk Matrix

DIRECT RISK MATRIX

ACTIVITY Risk P C WA Team(s) Mitigation Plan

Priority

BUILDING OBSTACLES

Not set up Correctly

2 5 10 Set up Crew Inspect each obstacle twice

Yellow

PAINT Allergic Reaction

4 8 32 Management Alert runners of paint

Green

ACCIDENTS Falls happen during race

8 10 80 Management Check course for caution areas

Red

MERCHANDISE Not enough bought

7 6 42 Marketing Order extra of all sizes

Yellow

TICKETS Not enough sold

7 7 49 Marketing Marketing due diligence

Yellow

SECURITY People run who haven’t paid

3 4 12 Management Hire double security

Red

Control and Monitor Risk

Risk management will be an important topic at every meeting from casual team meetings to those with the customer. Risk mitigation and opportunity enhancement are crucial topics to monitor and control. As the project progresses, many new risks or opportunities will likely be added to the preceding matrices. Risks will be considered and addressed at all times throughout the project, and the level of priority for each risk may change as the project progresses.

Identifying and reporting new risks will follow the procedure outlined in the Risk Management Strategy matrix. The team will take all necessary measures to mitigate each and every risk, as well as pursue opportunities.

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Closing Project

Once the event has been completed, setup staff will communicate with project manager to ensure all obstacles and course materials have been cleaned up. Human resource managers will be responsible for closing out with the hired staff, ensuring they have correct contact information for payments. Communication management will contact event sponsors and BLUE organization the following morning. In doing so, they will ensure that the project was a success and thank them for their involvement. Project will be evaluated and determine whether or not to begin planning for the coming year.

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ReferencesA guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide), fifth edition (5th Ed.). (2013). Newtown Square, Pa.: Project Management Institute.

The blue bench. http://thebluebench.org/

Kaitlin Jost and Jamie Magnus. Dream Chaser: Project Management Notebook, November 17th, 2009

Eric Petrie, Morgan Uhlman, Lauren Martinez, and Felipe Braga, Peoria Crossings: Project Management Notebook. 2014

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