Homework: Project Management
Learning Outcomes:
a. Describe the need for a project-based approach inside organizations.
b. Understand the role of project management as strategic element inside organizations.
c. Critically assess the roles and responsibilities of a project manager;
d. Evaluate how to select, develop, plan, schedule and measure its outcomes and risks.
Preamble:
The Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO) is the association in charge of disseminating Operations Research (OR), a subfield of mathematics, throughout Europe. In turn, the EURO is included within the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS). Dissemination takes place in the form of prestigious scientific journals and the organization of conferences. The most important conferences are called EURO-k, which are held annually in a European city. The choice of the city is made by lottery among the universities that have thus requested their organization. For a university, the fact of taking charge of the organization of a EURO-k represents a series of indirect benefits such as recognition and collaborations with other universities and companies. In this case, imagine that you are the coordinator of the research department of the university in your city, and fortunately you have been awarded the task of carrying out EURO-2023.
It is expected, according to data from the latest conferences, that more than 2000 people from the field of 5G or related will participate, including:
a. University professors
b. Master's and PhD students
c. Representatives of research centers
d. Representatives of private companies
All of them not only belong to European universities, development centers and companies, but can also come from anywhere in the world. For participants, attending a conference of this type means:
a. Disseminate your research in the form of 30-minute conferences and obtain feedback from attendees. In this case, they send a work to the scientific committee and if it is approved, they have the right to hold a conference.
b. Know the progress of the work carried out in the field of 5G
c. Offer services by companies in the field of 5G
d. Generate networking and synergies among attendees
The conferences of the attendees are carried out within some 'slots'. Each slot is 1 hour and a half long and has room for 3 conferences of 30 minutes each. There are between 16-20 slots that run in parallel, that is, in the same time slot. There are a total of 5 time slots per day. With all this, some 700 - 900 conferences are expected to be held during the congress.
Obviously, the organization of a conference of this type supposes a great effort in terms of time and costs, not only on the dates of the conference but also before and after. The following points detail the organization and related activities before, during and after the conference.
Organization:
The organization of the conference is mainly based on two committees:
a. Organizing Committee: It is made up of a president, who organizes the entire congress. Given the complexity of the organization, the president appoints a number of people to be part of the organizing committee and they jointly plan and execute the necessary activities. He is also in charge of creating the scientific committee and a team that will help the organization, normally made up of student volunteers, during the days of the congress.
b. Scientific Committee: Depends on the organizing committee. It also has a president and at the same time, he can designate different members of the committee who will be in charge of the acceptance/rejection of the works sent by the participants, proposal of plenary conferences and preparation of the congress agenda. Unlike the organizing committee, the members of this committee must be PhDs.
Before the congress:
The EURO-k tend to be held during the second half of they year. EURO assigns the holding of the conference to a university approximately a year and a half before its realization for its correct organization and dissemination. So much so that the EURO-k (or IFORS) already contains information on the next EURO-k, including advertising (posters and information brochures) and access to its website.
As tasks of the organizing committee before the realization of the conference are the following (although there may be more):
a. Find a conference location
b. Outsourcing of a catering company during the days of the congress
c. Create the support group for the organization
d. Creation and maintenance of the website
e. Disseminate the congress in other congresses prior to the date and in related publications.
f. Create accreditations and other complementary material for attendees on the day of the congress.
The scientific committee will be in charge of the following:
a. Reception of the works sent by the participants to the congress interested in holding a conference
b. Approve or reject jobs
c. Organize plenary sessions. Sessions in which the speaker is a prestigious scientist and that his conference is of interest to the whole society
d. Create a conference agenda for the days of the congress
The web page of the congress is basic for the realization of the congress and it is where it brings together all the information regarding the event and acts as an exchange of information. The information and functionality that does not need to be operational from day one but can be released in phases. So that:
a. From the previous year's conference until 8-9 months before the conference, the website must be active, indicating at least the dates of the conference, the location and the possibility for users to contact the organizers.
b. From 8-9 months before the conference it is necessary to have:
i. Exact information on the place of the conference as well as a list of recommendations to arrive. It can be in the same organizing university or in convention and congress centers, etc.
ii. Functionality related to the submission of papers by the attendees to participate in the conference (period from-to the participants can send the papers and the maximum date in which the scientific committee will communicate the inclusion/exclusion of the papers in the conference)
iii. Functionality related to the payment to attend the conference
iv. 2-3 months before the conference, it is necessary to have the conference program finished for the attendees with all the programming.
During the congress:
a. The congress lasts for four days and all the staff (organizing committee, scientific committee and the organization team) must be at the congress all the time. During all these days, the organizing committee is responsible for:
i. Organize the activities of the organization team
ii. Networking among congress attendees to obtain feedback and apply corrective measures if necessary.
b. The scientific committee will be in charge of:
i. Ensure that the conferences, especially the plenaries, are carried out successfully
ii. Networking among congress attendees
c. The organization team:
i. During the first two days of the congress, the accreditations and other complementary materials will be delivered to those attending the congress.
ii. They will give support to those attending the congress as well as to both committees if necessary.
Definition
The student will need to read the preamble to understand the organization of the event and prepare a project plan that will be turned in in two phases, the initial phase of the project plan (as per the deadline mentioned above), and the final project plan (end of the semester, as an homework for "Task").
Task
A. Write the necessary sections for the project plan:
a. Project general description:
i. Project description& objectives
ii. Assumptions and restrictions
iii. Project scope: inclusions and exclusions
b. Project stakeholders:
i. Identification and description of project stakeholders
ii. Stakeholder Power/Interest/Influence/Impact Matrix
iii. Stakeholder expectations management strategy
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.