Pala Din inc. Project Management Report

Project Work in Paladin Inc.

Current Situation of "Real Life-Real Faces"

Budget Required by Production Team

Risk Assessment of "Real Life-Real Faces"

Management Risks

Resource Risks

Timing Risks

Strategic Risks

Environmental Risks

Project Management

In today's world, the term project management is used globally, rather frequently in all types and sizes of organizations related to different industries. Studies have provided evidences that more and more companies are turning into project-oriented models as the time passes (Whittington, et al., 1999, Bahrami, 1992). Well-planned business endeavors are the work models that organizations seek for. The benefits provided by project management are the reasons why many companies are emphasizing on reaping benefits of this work model through better utilization of resources and increased productivity (Pinto & Kharbanda, 1996, 1).

The purpose of this report is to analyze the risks that Paladin Inc. may face while executing its current project "Real Life-Real Faces" which is expected to be launched on 23rd July, 2013 on the occasion of "Unilever Lifestyle Exhibition" where Paladin has made its reservations for the launch of this show. This report is intended to evaluate the risks that the project might face while its execution and also devise preventive and corrective measures to mitigate these risks.

Project Work in Paladin Inc.

Paladin Inc. has performed most of its ventures on the basis of project-model where every single business venture is new endeavors all together require different, unique and new business plans. Projects are separate business ventures which are require efforts focused on thorough planning, have a clear objective and a process defined to achieve it with complete understanding of the final product. This report has been drafted immediately after taking over the office of Project Manager and provides the analysis of the current situation of this project, along with the risks that may hamper the progress in the execution phase.

Current Situation of "Real Life-Real Faces"

At the current stage, the show is in its preliminary state where 75% planning has been performed. However, execution of the show is still in its infancy. The budget allotted for this particular project is USD 3.5 Million. Presently, the most pressing tasks in hand are:

a) Confirmation of dates required from all the guests expected to be the part of this show, owners and organizers of the locations and other participants

b) Coherence of production time with these confirmed dates

c) Legal compliances and other permissions are required to be in order- The pre-production team has initiated the process but the permissions for the shoots in the main metropolitan areas are still required from the city government and also three o f the guests have signed contracts with the rival channel ARY News. Their legal advisors haven't shared their feedback till the time this report has been released. Also, Mick Anderson, one of the participants has not shared his consent as of now.

d) As per the discussion with the pre-production team, shooting permit in the IVA Studio has not been received yet and also city government hasn't shared its consent for shooting in the National Park which is required in the initial phase of the show. Also, the team is not sure that these permits will be received by 23rd April, 2013.

a) The time schedule of the project is still in its macro-state i.e. no proper time scheduling has been performed and the communication in between pre-production, production, post-production and PR team is in the form of monthly deadlines rather than firm dates with daily and weekly schedules.

e) For this project, the equipments required during production have been outsourced by the specialized supplier named as "Shooting Specialists Inc.." The costing has not been received by the team and therefore cannot be incorporated in the project budget.

f) The design team at Paladin is already in place on the visuals and graphics with the new logos, indents and promos and identity. Presently they have provided a set of visuals that have been agreed upon by the project team but as yet have not been signed off by the new board of Paladin.

g) The PR Team has been made aware of their role and also the timelines that they have to work on. However, due to lack of budgeting, the PR team is still unaware of the budget that has been allocated to them.

h) The project budget is required immediately to ensure that project team and PR team are provided with their financial figures so that the project can actually be commenced.

Considering the current state of the project, we immediately need permissions for the on-site shootings, confirmations from the participants as well as the guests, a firm time frame...

Considering the cost of the guests which has been estimated to be USD 1.2 Million as per the legal department of Paladin, the production cost is estimated to USD 0.9 Million. The breakup of this cost is given below:
a) Cost of Covering a single episode which covers all the expenses along with crew expenses, vehicle coverage etc.

USD 0.6 Million

b) Equipment Expenses estimated as per market rate

USD 0.1 Million

c) Fee charged by the visual effects team and editing team

USD 0.2 Million

Risk Assessment of "Real Life-Real Faces"

In order to understand what the risks that any project can face analysis of the current situation can act as a guiding factor. This analysis is performed in the light of traditional project management theories.

Project Management is a broad concept entailing the overall progress of a project from the very inception i.e. planning to the execution phase which will ultimately result in a final product or finished service. While evaluating the current situation of this particular project of Paladin, the Project Management theory has been used along with contemporary Lean theory. Project Management theory itself consists of following divisions (Erno-Kjolhede, 2000):

a) Project Theory- Transformation, Flow, Value Generation

b) Management Theory

1) Planning - Management-as-planning

Management-as-organizing

2) Execution - Classical communication theory

Language/action perspective

3) Control - Thermostat model

Furthermore, the very concept of project management entails that, "projects need to be performed and delivered under certain constraints" (Ruuska, 2001). As per the researchers, any project is impacted by three different factors: Scope, Time and Cost. In addition to that these three factors are interconnected and change in one has a tendency of affecting other two as well. Hence, the quality of the project is dependent on these three factors. (Atkins, 2001, 37-39).

In the light of above divisions, following risks have been identified which this project may face during its course.

Management Risks

Management Risks are related to the scope, nature of a project and also the strategy used to for its execution. While evaluating the current state of the project, we analyzed several risks which are to be analyzed in the light of management risks.

The primary constraint that this project is facing is lack of coherence in its departments. The basic foundation of the project has been laid but none of the departments are aware of their internal scheduling and budgeting. Furthermore, necessary legal obligations have not been met which have tendency of hampering the overall scope of the project.

Concerning the first risk, Paladin Inc. has not received the approval from the concerned legislative bodies for the outdoor shoots. Out of six, four of the episodes have fifty percent of the coverage to be made in the outdoor locations. Considering this plan, necessary procurements have been made and layouts have been designed by the time along with the episode plans. Also, the participants have been shared with their part of scripts whereas the concerned guests have also been given the programme outline. Furthermore, Natasha Sharma, the Asian participant in the show, is already engaged with the rival channel and we have not received the confirmation from her as of now.

In addition to that, the PR team has been provided with the timelines and their concerned role but till the last update received from the team head, Mi Chung Lee, the team is still performing its preliminary planning for necessary marketing strategy whereas one month has been lapsed. This risk is of mild nature and can have an effect on the desired outcomes of the project if necessary remedial actions are not taken thoroughly.

Considering the fact that the necessary legislative restrictions are not duly met 11th April, 2013 which is two weeks from the actual date, as per the costing of the accounts department, the overall loss would be of USD 0.3 Million. Along with that, the overall progress of the project may also get severely affected as the guests and the participants may not be available at the later stage. Considering the accounting figures and the impact of this risk on the overall projects progress, this risk can be considered of a severe nature.

Recommendations

After evaluating these risks, few back up strategies have been devised accordingly. First and foremost, as a primary foundation of project management, planning and budgeting need to be performed in the preliminary phase. Also, the inherent risks to the current situation should be analyzed and are addressed as…