Project Management Garden Community Garden:

Project Management Garden

Community Garden: Project Management

Project Plan Narrative:

The project which we have selected for execution is concerned with the development of an urban community garden. With intent to create such green-space within the context of an inner-city neighborhood both where such could beautify and improve the social constructs of a community and where such is likely to be capable of thriving, our five person team has dedicated itself to the goals of locating candidates for such a space, identifying the best venue for the project and committing to the execution of the plan.

Plan to Accomplish:

The plan is a multi-step operation which begins with the identification of suitable spaces for the execution of the project. Therefore, our team will first devise a list of criteria for candidates.

Such criteria will reflect the needs and goals of the garden project at large, such as the likely effectiveness of a garden in the selected neighborhood and its likely survivability.

Once these criteria have been shaped, we will open the project up to public application. By allowing members of the local region submit proposals for spaces in their neighborhoods, we can draw from a pool of desiring and deserving candidates. This will allow us to select the best balance between optimization and charitable good-will.

Once a space has been selected, the organization must concern itself with particulars such as ownership, zoning and even the possibility of public funding. The extra-organizational phase can be crucial to preventing long-term planning failures. Following this phase, we could officially invite members of the community to take part in groundbreaking, preparation, garden-plot distribution and other logistical concerns. Finally, the garden would warrant the creation of a neighborhood gardening association for the organization of events, the distribution of plots and establishment of a forum for rules, regulations and conflict management.

Who Involved

The success of this project will depend on the involvement of many different parties. Our five member team will take an administrative role in delegating responsibilities and tasks. First and foremost among the participants which will be required will be those residing in the neighborhood itself. This garden will be designed for the community, and therefore, members of the community will be addressed directly in the process of gathering volunteers and prioritizing interests in its construction.

End Result

The end result should be the design, construction, planting and administration of a garden for use in the community. This should serve the interests of improving the aesthetic quality of the community and can be used as a place for social gathering and the improvement of relationships betwixt neighbors. The mission of our group is create a space that improves the overall living standards in a neighborhood that is both in need and deserving of such a space.

Master Schedule:

As per the plan laid out by the Project Plan Narrative, the schedule shown below will engage a series of sequential steps which will increasingly become concurrent as the plan is furthered in execution. The two major project milestones, as identified in the master schedule shown below, will guide the execution of most other steps.

In particular, the first milestone will be the selection of a proper space. Here, it is scheduled to occur at the end of February. This is an important milestone, leaving the month of March for preparation to begin execution by the spring time. This should afford organizers the chance to seek public funding assistance or private sponsorship donations, to navigate any extra-organizational concerns which might obstruct or delay the process -- though the most important issues such as zoning and safety should have been considered during the proposal selection process -- and to court crucial community involvement.

The execution of these steps will lead to the second milestone which will be the groundbreaking in April. This is the step which naturally initiates plot distribution, planting and the coordination of all related activities and events.

Task

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Space Criteria X Proposal Review X Space Selection X Extra-Organizational XXX Community Involvement XXXX Groundbreaking X Plot Distribution XXX Planting XX Association XXXXX

Work Breakdown Structure:

Our five member team has created a flat distribution of responsibilities based on the perception of individual strengths. In each capacity where an individual has taken the lead role, delegation of tasks and responsibilities to other team members is required. The division of responsibilities shown in the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) shown below. Evaluating according to the RACI format, this matrix assigns responsibility (R), accountability (a), consultation-, and support(S) in different phases of the project. These would be based, as stated, on a perception of individual strengths and on the delegation of responsibilities.

Task

Bill

Jim

Lucy

Arnold

Sylvia

Space Criteria

C

Proposal Review

C

Space Selection

C

Extra-Organizational

S

Community Involvement

S

Groundbreaking

R

Plot Distribution

S

Planting

R

Association

S consideration of the RAM featured above shows that responsibilities have been divided first according to leadership tasks and then according to a supporting balance. Bill and Sylvia, for instance, are shown to be in charge of the process of identifying and selected the desired space. In addition, Bill and Sylvia take a supportive role in the various community affairs which are noted to be Lucy's primary leadership responsibility. Indeed, most team members have been delegated to support Lucy in this role as liaison to the community. In that instance, Jim will be the party in charge of providing accountability.

In such areas as extra-organizational affairs, where Jim has been placed in charge, Bill will provide consultation while support is provided by Lucy and Arnold. This basic breakdown proceeds consistently through project requirements, creating an even distribution of roles, responsibilities and leadership opportunities.

Action Plan:

1. The project detailed here above will be called the Community Garden Initiative. Its overarching goal is to select a neighborhood space within which beautification is both needed and deserved for an urban community. This will contribute to the goals of creating a garden space in a community, distributing plots therein and providing the neighborhood with the organizational resources to maintain and enjoy the space.

2. The main tasks necessary to accomplish this project will be the identification and selection of a suitable space, the courtship of community involvement in improving this space and the general execution of beginning, planting and maintaining a community garden. Some tasks herein are somewhat complex, and do require the design of sub-tasks. For instance, in the case of the identification and selection of a space, sub-tasks will include the identification of criteria for desirability, the use of public avenues for inviting proposals and the review of proposals and research materials in choosing the optimal space. The sub-tasks pertaining to the overarching task of beginning the usage of space may also be complex, and will include the communicative contact with public officials, private donors, community agencies and other potentially valuable supportive outlets. This is a process that naturally requires a great deal of legwork and the constant design of new subtasks Likely is this the case with planting, whose subtasks are the establishment of real and meaningful lines of contact and communication with members of the community itself, the breaking of ground and the careful strategic distribution of plots and planting responsibilities.

As shown in the RAM listed above, Bill and Sylvia will share in the responsibility for tasks of space selection. Jim is responsible for contacts in the extra-organizational capacity while Lucy will take the lead in tasks pertaining to community involvement. Arnold is the chief coordinator of both groundbreaking and planting. A distribution of supportive responsibilities as shown in the RAM above will demonstrate the intent for assistance in the delegation of sub-tasks.