Event Management

Event management is the application of the management practice of project management to the creation and development of festivals and events.Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_management

Project Management Tips

Project Management Tips: Plan to Work and Work to Plan

The key to successful project management is carefully planning the project beforehand, and controlling the execution of the work to ensure your desired results. You can't overestimate the importance of proper planning.

Project failures can almost always be traced back to problems in the planning stages. There are three deliverables in the project planning process; Project definition, the work plan and project management procedures.

Project Definition
Often the planning process gets missed on unsuccessful projects. There is an emphasis on jumping in and getting on with the work, to maximise the amount of time available to complete it. But the time spent properly planning the work would lead to more efficient working, both in cost and time. It is advisable to properly plan the work. The Project Definition describes all aspects of the project, and is approved by the customer or stakeholder. The Project Definition includes information such as:

Project overview The reason for the project.

Objectives What will the project achieve?

Assumptions and Risks: What events are being taken for granted, and which ones are of a concern? How will the risks associated with the project be addressed?

Approach: A full dscription of how the project will proceed.

Organisation: Showing the roles designated on the project.

Initial Effort, Cost and Duration Estimates :These will inevitably be estimates, but they can continue to be revised when the workplan is completed.

Project Workplan
Once the Project Definition has been decided, the workplan can be created. The workplan provides instructions for contructing project deliverables and managing the project. Use workplans from similar projects if one exists.

Create a detailed workplan, including assigning resources and estimating the work as far as is necessary. As the project moves on, a new set of concerns will become apparent. Activities which were initially vaguely described need to be defined in more detail.

Project Management Procedures
This section includes how the team should manage certain issues. It is important that everyone involved in the project is fully aware of the objectives and procedures laid down by the project manager, and adhere to them completely. It is important that everyone understands that it is not solely about when the work is done, but how the work is done that is paramount.

If common procedures have emerged from a previous endeavour, utilise them again on the current project. Much of the degree of control you need to have over the work being carried out depends on the type of work that is being carried out. Regardless, it is imperative that the Project Manager is in control of all elements of the project, as it is the Project Manager who will have to explain how things went wrong.

http://projectmanagement.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-29866-project-management-tips-plan-to-work-and-work-to-plan.aspx

A Formula 1 Advertisement

Formula 1 in Turkey

The Project

Being constructed by EVREN Enginnering and Construction and owned by FIYAS; Formula 1 Istanbul Park Racing Circuit is a project of national importance for the Republic of Turkey . The Circuit is scheduled to take part in 2005 Formula 1 racing program.

The Site of the Project is located on the Asian side of Istanbul , 6 km from the junction of Kurtkoy on the north side of TEM Motorway, linking Istanbul to Ankara . The site is close to the newly constructed Sabiha Gokcen Istanbul Airport . In addition to easy access form TEM and Airport, the Site is located within the green belt surrounded by forest and cultivated green fields. The area is clean of any pollution and pleasantly attractive for out door activities.

The total area allocated for the Istanbul Park Circuit is 2,215,000 m2. The Track which runs anti-clockwise is 5,333 m long with an average width of 14 - 21.5 m, excluding Runoff Areas. The Circuit is composed of 14 curves, of which 6 are right turns and 8 left turns. The sharpest turn has a radius of 15m. The start-finish straight is 655.5m in length. The Track runs over 4 level sections with rising and descending grades.

The main parking areas, with the total parking capacity of 20,000 are located along the outer peripheral ring road which is 5,482m in length and will facilitate the movement of traffic on the outer limits of the project area.

In addition, the facility consists of 2.3 km of inner service roads and emergency lanes. There are 4 under-passes and 3 pedestrian over passes linking the general admission areas and temporary grand stands with the parking areas plus the media tunnel. The central area is reserved for the construction of Go-Cart Racing Track.

The main Grand Stand has an area of 12,700 m2 and a seating capacity of 26,250 spectators. In addition, the temporary grand stands and general admission areas provide a total capacity of over 130,000 spectators with the main grand stand. The paddock buildings are two level structures. The ground floor sections are for the teams and the upper floors serve as hospitality areas with additional viewing capacity of 5,000 seats. There are two VIP towers at the two ends of paddock buildings, each consisting of 7 floors to provide a floor space of 7,392 m2.

Scope Of Works

• The Scope of Works includes the following;
• Racing Circuit
• Grand Stands
• Paddock Buildings
• VIP Towers
• Main Access Road widening and rehabilitation
• Road Diversions
• Ring Road
• Toll collection building
• Internal Roads
• Under Passes
• Over Passes
• Main Water stream diversion box Culvert
• Parking Areas
• Helipads
• Infrastructures works, Runoff Drainage system, sub-soil drainage, waste water drainage, sewerage, chambers etc.
• Natural Stand
• Temporary Stand Area
• Workshops
• Broad Casting Centre
• Kitchen Buildings
• Equipment Stores
• Vending Areas
• Paddock Areas for support Races
• Medical Centre
• Host TV Compound & Broadcasting Area
• Electrical and Mechanical Works
• Electrical transmission Substations
• Lighting Systems
• Fencing
• Waste Water Treatment Plant
• Road Traffic Signs
• Directional Signs
• Variable Message Signs
• Electronic (LED) Display and advertisement Boards
• Security Systems
• Entrance Exit Gates
• Landscaping

http://www.formula1-istanbul.com/f1/en/?The_Project

Formula 1 İstanbul Hakkında

İlk kez 2005 de yapılan Formula 1 İstanbul yarışlarını hakikaten çok kapsamlı bir proje olarak değerlendirmek yerinde olacaktır. Organizasyon başlangıçta her yönüyle neredeyse mükemmel ilerlerken 2008 yılındaki yarışlara bakıldığında organizasyonun hiç de iyiye gitmediğini görmekteyiz.

Formula 1 İstanbul yarışları ile hem iç hem dış turizm anlamında ciddi gelir elde edilmiştir. Sadece yarışma günlerinde İstanbul Park’a (Formula 1 yarış pisti) gelen izleyicilerden elde edilen gelir bile hayli yüksektir. Kaldı ki şehir ve ülke dışından gelen yerli ve yabancı turistlerin kalacak yer olarak genellikle otelleri tercih etmeleri yine turizm açısından ülkeye büyük bir gelir sağlamıştır. İzleyici sayısının milyarlara ulaştığı Formula 1 yarışının bir ayağının da Türkiye’de gerçekleşmesi geniş kitlelere ulaşabilecek bir tanıtımı sağlamıştır. Yarışın 2010 yılı kültür başkenti seçilen İstanbul’da yapılıyor olması da tanıtım açısından büyük bir kazançtır.

Diğer yandan bu proje için elbette ciddi harcamalar da yapılmıştır. Bu kadar geniş kitlelere ulaşacak bu organizasyonun getirdiği kazançlar göz önüne alındığında yapılmış harcamaları büyütmemek gerekir. Ancak Formula 1 yarışının gelirleri artık beklentileri karşılamamaktadır.

Organizasyonun kötüye gitmesinin sebepleri her şeyden önce pistin işletmesinin Formula yarışlarının organizasyonuna devredilmesidir. Bu pistin sadece yılda bir kere yapılan Formula 1 yarışları için kullanılması da elde edilebilecek gelirin önünü kesmektedir. Formula 1 yönetimi sezon içinde yapılabilecek başka organizasyonlar için astronomik rakamlar talep etmekte ve pist yıl boyunca yarış günleri dışında boş kalmaktadır.

İzleyici sayısının 2005’de 200 bin kişi iken 2008 yılında 40 bin kişiye düşmesinin en önemli sebebi bilet fiyatlarının Türkiye’nin ekonomik şartları düşünülmeden tespit edilmiş olmasıdır. Sebepler arasında havanın çok sıcak ve rüzgarlı olması, tarihin anneler günü ile çakışması, yeterli tanıtım ve organizasyonun yapılmaması ve son olarak da Türkiye’de otomobil sporları kültürünün oluşmaması sayılabilir.

Hava şartları ve tarih için yapılabilecek çok fazla bir şey olmayabilir. Fakat tanıtım eksikliği kabul edilemez bir hatadır. Bilindiği gibi Türkiye motor sporları kültürüne sahip değildir. Ancak bu hiçbir zaman böyle bir kültür olamayacağı anlamına gelmez. Bu kültür oluşturulabilir. Fakat bunu sağlayabilmek için tanıtımın her koldan yürütülmesi gerekir. Eğer bu mümkün değilse bu proje için ta baştan bunca harcamanın yapılmamış olması gerekmez miydi? Şimdi yapılması gereken tanıtıma önem vermek, yarış tarihlerini daha uygun zamanlar olarak belirlenmesini sağlamak ve bilet fiyatlarını Türkiye’nin ekonomik şartlarını baz alarak belirlemektir.

Formula 1 motor sporları arasında en çok ses getiren organizasyondur. Bu organizasyonun ülkemizde gerçekleşiyor olması Türkiye’nin dünya üzerinde tanıtımı için son derece pirim yapabileceği bir durumdur. Bunu dezavantaja çevirmek bizim yararımıza olmayacaktır. Gerekli önlemlerin alınması, düzenlemelerin yapılması ve 2009 yılı yarışlarında daha iyi sonuçlar elde edilmesi dileğiyle...

http://www.tumgazeteler.com/haberleri/formula/

A Tale of Two Project

I also would like to share a tale with you by Robert Howard

Have fun :)

A business tale of what it takes to turn around troubled projects.

The year is 2005 and times are good. The business environment is vibrant and the economy is strong. Large businesses are committing large amounts of capital and resources to implement new strategies, establish new capabilities, and open new markets. It was no different at PintCo, where Jack works as a Director of Customer Relationship Management.

Jack walked into work on Monday morning like any other. He dropped his briefcase in his office, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed down the hall to meet with his boss, Brandon, about one of the company's troubled projects. Although Jack had substantial experience, he had only recently joined PintCo after being hired away from a chief competitor. He was still learning about some of the nuances of his current employer.

After the typical morning banter, Brandon and Jack got to the topic at hand. "Jack, I'll get straight to the point. I need to you to take over the Customer Master File project from Paul." Brandon said. He continued, "We hired you because of your significant project management expertise. I know that you've turned around a lot more difficult situations than this." Over an hour later, Jack emerged from Brandon's office and set out to learn more about the challenge that Brandon had posed to him.

Jack was an experienced business leader and project manager. He had seen more than his fair share of ugly projects; some he turned around while others had spun hopelessly out of control. He would be able to tell very quickly how this one would go based on the makeup and culture of the project team.

Troubled Waters

Over the course of the next few weeks, Jack took over the Customer Master File project, met with key project team members, and conducted dozens of interviews with key stakeholders. It was only a few weeks since Brandon had handed the keys to him for this troubled project, and now Jack was back in Brandon's office to give a rather stark update on the situation.

"Brandon, I've talked to the project team and to key stakeholders, and I now why this project is in trouble," Jack started. "If you truly want me to turn this project around, I'll need your support to make some critical changes."

Brandon, a 20-year veteran at PintCo, knew what was coming. He had seen too many projects start, flounder, and then fail at the company. He didn't want to hear that another project was on the brink of failure, but he asked anyway, "What did you find out, Jack, and what can I do to help?"

Jack drew a deep breath and began to explain his findings. "Brandon, as you know this project has been in flight for nearly 6 months now and it is already behind schedule and over budget." Jack went on, "In talking to the project team and other stakeholders, I don't see the situation getting better without making some pretty significant changes."

Jack's experience helped him to quickly identify a number of critical issues with the project, which he carefully outlined for Brandon:

* "The scope of the project is not well defined,"

* "The IT architects are sitting in their ivory towers and disagree with the project's direction,"

* "The project team is not functioning as a team,"

* "There is a lack of clear executive sponsorship, and"

* "Steve from Marketing is trying to manipulate this project for his own political gain."

"I'm not going to sugar coat this for you Brandon," Jack explained. "I've seen this situation far too often in my career, and if we don't change the situation this project will fail in glorious fashion."

Foundatıons For Success

Brandon knew that what Jack said was true, and he also knew that changing the situation would be difficult, painful, and potentially costly. He reluctantly agreed with Jack, and together they laid out several key changes.

"Thanks for working with me on this Brandon," Jack said. "Just to confirm, let me summarize the changes that we agreed to implement:

"First, we're going to stop the current project and recreate a clear and well-defined scope and get consensus buy-in on the new scope."

"Second, we're going end the architectural holy wars by assigning key IT architects to the project on a full time basis."

"Third, we're going to co-locate the team and assign members to a full-time basis on the project. No more part-time participation."

"Fourth, Brandon, you agree to be much more visible and an active participant to drive key decisions for the project, and"

"Finally, Brandon - you are going to have a heart-to-heart with Steve and if necessary his boss - to eliminate any political agendas that could derail the project."

Brandon and Jack both agreed with the plan. Jack knew that some of these changes would be unpopular, but without them the project would be doomed. He left Brandon's office with a sense of relief and apprehension. There was still a lot of hard work and heavy lifting yet to be done...

Celebrations

Six months later, Jack ran into Brandon in the break room as they both were angling for their morning coffee refill. "Jack!", Brandon shouted while patting Jack on the back. "Congratulations on getting the Customer Master File project into pilot. By all accounts, it has been a resounding success!" Brandon crowed.

"Thank you," Jack smiled and answered, "but you know it was pretty touch and go after we met in your office to plan the project turnaround. There were a lot of unhappy campers and several of them didn't like the idea of being assigned 100% to the project if you recall."

"But we quickly converted them - and now I see a project team that is hitting on all cylinders," Jack added. "In fact, Sharon told me she was ready to quit six months ago - and now she's happier than ever and up for promotion." Jack explained.

"I love it when a plan comes together," Jack said proudly as he turned to walk away and take on his next big project.

http://project-management.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-29041-a-tale-of-two-projects.aspx