Project Management

Project Management C19PT

Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus Page #

1

Project Management

Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus

Name HWUID HW Email

Hadia Jamil H00172447 [email protected]

Megha Kamath H00169826 [email protected] Mohammad Owais H00168126 [email protected]

Sankalp Oberoi H00172861 [email protected]



2

Table of Contents

Project Charter................................................................................................................3

Scope Statement...............................................................................................................4Background / Environment.......................................................................................................4Business Need............................................................................................................................4Business Objective....................................................................................................................5Project Objective......................................................................................................................5Project Scope............................................................................................................................5Key Milestones..........................................................................................................................6

Project Parameters..........................................................................................................7Constraints................................................................................................................................7Critical Assumptions.................................................................................................................7Critical Success Factors............................................................................................................8

Product / Service Description...........................................................................................9Expenses....................................................................................................................................9Revenue...................................................................................................................................10Job Roles & Responsibility.....................................................................................................10Key Deliverables & Expected Outcomes.................................................................................11

Organizational Breakdown Structure............................................................................12

Work Breakdown Structure..........................................................................................13

........................................................................................................................................13

Task Responsibility Matrix............................................................................................14

Communication Plan.....................................................................................................15

Risk Management..........................................................................................................17Risk Map.................................................................................................................................18Risk Analysis...........................................................................................................................19Risk Parameters......................................................................................................................21Probability Impact Matrix......................................................................................................23Risk Provision.........................................................................................................................24

Cost Plan........................................................................................................................26Expenses..................................................................................................................................26Revenue...................................................................................................................................27

Project Schedule.............................................................................................................28

........................................................................................................................................28

........................................................................................................................................29

References......................................................................................................................30



3

Project Charter The project charter defines the main goals of the project, how they can be broken down into

smaller activities and accomplished. The key purpose of the project charter is to aid as a

source of contact between all parties involved in the project (Chang, 2005, p.256). Once

approved by the senior management and the stakeholders, the project charter will form the

basis of the projects activities and actions.

Requesting Organization: Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus

Date of Request: 30th November 2015

Business Need:

This project intends to successfully initiate the Heriot Watt University Student Newsletter in the Dubai campus. The newspaper aims to be an effective medium of communication between the students and faculty in the university. It also proposes to encourage students to put forth their best skills and enhance work opportunities within the university. In order to execute this, the project will include SMART goals and objectives to resourcefully launch the newsletter within the university’s fixed budget and time frame. Furthermore, it intends to administer the cost plan efficiently as the long term objective would be to generate enough revenue to run this newsletter without the university’s assistance financially.

Product/Service Description: The Heriot-Watt Student Newsletter will be targeted specifically targeted to the students in the university. The articles will be written by a selected team of student writers. This newsletter will include; interviews with the faculty, news and events within the campus, fashion, sports, food and music review and other miscellaneous weekly updates such as horoscopes and internship opportunities. The university will be funding this newsletter in the first phase of its launch and taking care of the printing and publishing as well. The initial printing quota will be 5,000 copies at the rate of £1 or 5.55 AED per newsletter. Anticipated Benefits: This newsletter will be a source of updates on events, academic related work and general learning accessible to all students in the university. It will improve interactions between the students and enhance the overall student experience. Furthermore, it would be form the basis of opportunities for students to volunteer and develop existing skills; writing, editing, designing, advertising, etc. This can also encourage students in being more involved in the university and offer experiences they can use on their CV. It would also offer further assistance in job opportunities and internships. Need Timeframe: 2 months – 21st September 2015 – 30th November 2015 Critical Issues: Critical Issues that may arise during this project phase would be managing the quality level of the content that would be published in the newspaper every week. Furthermore, it will be vital to economically manage the finances of the newspaper and administer a fixed schedule to avoid any delays. Lastly, managing sponsorships and cliental relationships.



4

Scope Statement

Businesses define the scope of a project as a useful tool to outline the project’s deliverables

along with providing a basic understanding and identifying the limitation, assumptions and

main success factors. It ensures a mutual understanding of the projects scope among all

stakeholders (Lebedeva, 2015, p.21-25).

Background / Environment

In order to encourage academic writing skills, knowledge and to make room for

improvements within the communicational system of the campus, the management has

decided to take the initiative of introducing a Student Newspaper. Not only will this be a

medium of communication but will also be an opportunity for many students interested in

literature.

Business Need

Considering the research and analysis that has been conducted and after studying student

behavior, it has been understood that the communicational channel at all campuses of Heriot

Watt University (Dubai, Malaysia and Edinburgh) is not as effective as it should be. This

may be in terms of students not having adequate information regarding resources available to

them, information and news about what is going on at their campus. Cause information is not

being communicated in an effective manner which it should be, is the reason behind last

minute miss-communications and unwanted stress and tension. In order to resolve these

critical issues, this initiative of ‘Heriot – Watt Student Newspaper” will be focused upon the

following mentioned below:

- Inform students about upcoming university events

- Tips regarding exam and assignments.

- Enhancing and creating opportunities for students interested.



5

Business Objective

The ‘Heriot Watt Student Newsletter’ intends to create more opportunities for students to

enhance their writing and academic skills, improve student experience and offer quality

education and entertainment to all students. This will assist in better interaction between

students and faculty encourage more reading.

The university will be financially aiding the students in the first phase of the publication.

Hereafter, the newsletter would have to generate enough revenue to fund itself. Furthermore,

the newsletter would have to be entertaining and appealing enough for students to continue

purchasing it.

Project Objective

A project’s objectives are often expressed in the form of improvement or enhancement.

Ideally, they should be SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-

bound. Objectives must outline benefits and performance developments that are expected

from the project

Project Scope

Project scope is part of project planning that comprises of defining and documenting specific

project goals, tasks, costs, constraints and deliverables (Mnsc, n.d.).

The scope of the ‘Heriot Watt Newspaper’ is to attract the right target audience (students).

This can be achieved by engaging with students from different courses and bringing them

together. Students can voluntarily be part of the team (graphic designers, interviewers, etc.)

and this will help them communicate better with the students and create more willingness

amongst students to participate and purchase the ‘Heriot-Watt student paper’. This would

lead to an increase in sales and the project will accomplish its aims and objectives within the

two-month time span.



6

The students can also give their feedback which can help us identify how we can make the

newspaper better and improvise on it every issue. The main aim of this student paper is to be

interesting, relevant and attractive enough for the students.

Key Milestones

- 1st October 2015: Selection and Requirement of Volunteers

- 2nd October 2015: Defining Job Specifications and descriptions for all members of the

team.

- 10th October 2015: Selecting and finalizing the design and layout for the student

paper.

- 18th October 2015: Reviewing the content and approving it

- 25th October 2015: Wait for Approval of Project by Dr. Salama

- 10th November 2015: All documents and articles sent for publishing

- 24th November 2015: Student Paper ready for distribution and handed over to

distribution officer.

- 30th November 2015: Student Paper available for sale.



7

Project Parameters Constraints

The major limiting factors that may affect the key deliverables are the following:

- Time Scale: Since there is a lot of time taken into the research work, writing,

designing and editorial bit into the newsletter, the final publication will be completed

by 10th November. This gives the office manager at the university two weeks notice to

print the final newsletter and Ken Allen two days to distribute the 5000 copies.

- Effort: The project will involve numerous students having different jobs therefore,

working hours would be two hours a day, three times a week.

- Equipment: The key hardware required would be PC’s, printers and copiers.

- Environment: All the printed material will be preapproved by the staff in the

editorial department. Changes to the published material will be discussed in the

meetings with sufficient time to make changes. Facilities available- Students will be

allocated a room every week for the meetings. Food and beverages will be provided?

And the hardware for getting the work done.

Critical Assumptions

Our project plan intends to print 5000 newsletters and will be sold at the price of £1 per

newsletter in the first publication itself. However, there is no guarantee that all the copies would

be sold out. It would be time consuming to advertise and develop the level of interest amongst

students. Furthermore, in a modern tech-savvy world such as today, there is no guarantee of

how a newsletter that isn’t digitized would do in a market. If the newsletter fails to sell out the

5000 copies, cost cuts would have to be made along with changes in the content with the help

of a member of the staff. Our key resources would be the hardware and funds initially provided

by the university.



8

Critical Success Factors

- Sale of all 5000 copies and demand for more newspapers. - Popularity of the newspaper amongst the students and increased interaction within the

university and/ or on social media. - Increased willingness to be a part of the Media team. - The newspaper to generate enough profit to fund itself after the first publication. - Maintaining or further reducing the costs involved in the production of the newspaper;

printing costs, advertising costs, etc.



9

Product / Service Description The ‘Heriot Watt Student Newsletter’ has been designed after extensive research and

understanding of student behavior in all campuses. What is understood from much research

and analysis is that there’s a communicational gap between the university and the students

and many students are not aware about important information regarding news, events as well

as examinations. Hence to fill this gap and improve the communicational system, the

Newsletter/Student paper will focus on the below:

- Important University News regarding changes in regulations and upcoming events.

- An Entertainment Section including music, book, sports and fashion reviews and

news.

- Head of departments, Principal and faculty interviews.

- Examinations and Assignment tips and tricks.

- Adverts by local businesses as well as internship and job opportunities.

Expenses It has been agreed upon that the students working on the Student Newsletter would be paid an

hourly wage of £6.50. The Editorial Department will be under the control of the Senior Editor

and a Deputy Editor, both being paid £7.50 and £ 7.25 respectively. It has also been decided

that the monthly budget of the newsletter would be £125, and all financials will be recorded

and reported to the Finance Department – Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus

Other expenses such as food and transport will be paid by the university itself. The final

student paper will be submitted to Mr. John Guttenberg for publishing, 2 weeks’ prior the

deadline date. Publishing costs would come up to £0.65 per paper. After the final student

paper is ready, it will be handed over to Mr. Ken Allen of Estates for distribution on 24th

November. The cost of publication would be £160.

Details No. Cost Totals

Departmental Heads 5 £6.5 £ 32.5 Deputy Editor 2 £7.25 £ 14.5 Publishing Costs 1 £100 £ 100 Distribution Costs 1 £160 £ 160 Stationery 1 £100 £ 100 Total Budgeted Expense £ 407



10

Revenue

Details No. Cost Totals

Sales of Newspaper 5000 £ 1 £ 5000 Total Budgeted Revenue £ 5000

Job Roles & Responsibility

Role Description Name of Position Holder

Student President – Head of the student body and responsible for the management Pheobe Buffay

AAO – Authorizes the documentation processes and gets approvals Rachel Green

Head of Finance – Responsible for finances and budget, allocation of salaries of staff Ross Geller

Stationery – Supplying the necessary commodities for the printing Monica Geller

Advertisers – Promotion and advertisement of the student newspaper Joey Tribianni

Office Manager – Responsible for getting authorizations and administration processes and tasks Mr. John Guttenburg

Distribution Manager – Managing the distribution of the newspaper within a short span of 2 days Mr. Ken Allen

Printing – Required to print 5000 issues for the first phase Mr. John Guttenberg

Finance Manager Regina Filangi

Design and Layout Manager Chandler Bing

Project Manager Burhan Ahmar

Editor Mohammad Owais

Deputy Editor Hadia Jamil and Megha Kamath



11

Key Deliverables & Expected Outcomes

- Content that needs to be included in the newspaper

- Sponsorship

- Social media for promotion purposes (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

- Costing and budgeting

- Advertising

- Other finances (printing, stationery, salaries etc.)



12

Organizational Breakdown Structure

The OBS is a vital tool used in complicated projects that allows the organizational resources

to be utilized and organized in a structured manner. A successful plan would ensure that all

the different activities are allocated between each individual and department resourcefully.

An OBS can be created in the following steps:

1. Analyze and draw out the organizational structure and the resources involved in the

project.

2. Identify all the individuals involved in the project and allocate them their roles and

responsibilities.

3. Ensure that all the organizational resources are efficiently utilized between each

department.

Our project has used the functional organizational breakdown structure for the Heriot Watt

University Newspaper. The functional structure allows an organization to be divided into

different departments. In the case of this project, each internal aspect of the newspaper will

be divided into a different department; Entertainment news, sports news, fashion news,

etc. The external organization would include the sponsors, distributers and publishers



13

Work Breakdown Structure The work breakdown structure can be defined as ‘A deliverable-oriented grouping of project

elements that organizes and defines the total work scope of the project’ (Haugan, 2002,

p.03). The aim of this is to have an appropriate agenda to explain the role of each member

and how the activity can be broken down and categorized into.

A WBS can be developed by the following steps:

1.Ensuring that the goals of the project are in line with the final product.

2.Classifying and breaking down all the work areas and jobs in the project.

3.Further subdividing those categories and focusing on deliverables.



14

Task Responsibility Matrix Since a project involves numerous individuals in each division in an organization, a Project

Responsibility Matrix is devised to define the roles and duties of each individual in the

organization. This Matrix efficiently allocates duties to each member in the project assisting

in enhanced achievement of targets.

The responsibilities of each member is identified in the report below:

Activities Owais Sankalp Hadia Megha Pavan Shreya Sadiyah

Entertainment C,A C,A,I - - - I,A,O -

Sports C,A C,A,I - C,A - - I,A,O

Study Tips C,A - - C,A,I,O I,A,O - -

General News C,A - C,A - I,A,O I,A,O -

Recipes C,A - C,A - - I,A,O I,A,O

Selection Process C,A - C,A,I,O C,A,I,O - - -

Fashion C,A - C,A,I,O - - I,A,O

I.T Department C,A C,A C,A,I,O - - - I,A,O

Advertising C,A C,A,I - I,A,O - I,A,O

Social Media C,A - C,A,I - I,A,O - I,A,O

Legend ’C” indicates responsibility for checking the report “’A” indicates an authority for authorizing the contents of the report prior to the submission to the client “I” indicates input, where the individual concerned has a responsibility to make a defined input to the stated design stage report “O” indicates responsibility for organizing reports.



15

Communication Plan

Audiences Whom How Frequency Responsibilities Outcome

ChiefEditor(Mohammad

Owais)

MsHadiaJamilandMsMeghaKamath(TheChiefEditorwillnotreporttothembuthavecommunicationonaregularbasis.)

Formalmeetingsthrough

telephone,emails

Daily

Keepsacheckonalldepartmentsassuringqualityofworkandultimateefficiencyandeffectiveness.

Keepstheorganizationrunningsmoothlyandwouldallowforgrowthanddevelopmentofthe

newspaper.

DeputyEditor(1)(HadiaJamil)

ChiefEditor,DeputyEditor(2),

Entertainment,Sports,Fashion,Publisher


telephone,emails

DailytoChiefEditorDailyorweeklytodepartmentsunder

WeeklyormonthlywithPublisher

Toorganiseandapprovereportsregardingtheir

specificdepartmentsandgiveinformationtotheChiefEditor.

Makessurehighermanagementiskeptintheloop.Allowforontimeprintingandpublishingofthe

paper.

DeputyEditor(2)(MeghaKamath)

ChiefEditor,University,Horoscope,University,Distributor,

Sponsor


telephone,emails

DailytoChiefEditorDailyorweeklytodepartmentsunder

WeeklyormonthlywithDistributorsorsponsors

Toorganiseandapprovereportsregardingtheir

specificdepartmentsandgiveinformationtotheChiefEditor.

Makessurehighermanagementtobeintheloop.Allowforontimeprintingandpublishingofthe

paper.

EntertainmentNews

(SanidOberoi)

DeputyEditor(1),SportsDept,


telephone,emails

Dailyorweeklytothedeputyeditor(1),dailyto

SportsDept

Manage,handlethecontent,writing&

editingandorganizingtheir

department.Meetdeadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.

Focusesofdifferentaspectsofculture.Readersupdatedaboutnewbookreviews,gigandmusicreviews.

SportsNews(SankalpOberoi)

DeputyEditor(1),EntertainmentDept


telephone,emails


EntertainmentDept




Includesinformationaboutuniversitysportevents.

Studentswillbeupdatedaboutthesportstournamentstakingplaceintheuniversityonafrequentbasis.

FashionNews(SadiyahNazer)

DeputyEditor(1),EntertainmentNews


telephone,emails


EntertainmentDept


editingand

Keepstudentsupdatedaboutthe

latestfashion



16

organizingtheirdepartment.Meet

deadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.

trends,andupcomingstudentfashionshows.

UniversityNews(VishalSharma)

DeputyEditor(2),HoroscopeDept,


telephone,emails


HoroscopeDept




Themainreasonfortheexistenceofthenewspaper.Consistsofinterviewwiththeprincipal,detailsaboutupcomingworkshopsetc.

HoroscopeNews(PavanKumar)

DeputyEditor(2),UniversityDept


telephone,emails


UniversityDept




Horoscopenewswillbeupdatesforevery

issue.

Publisher(External)

DeputyEditor(1),ChiefEditor

Communicationthrough

telephone,submitfinaldocuments

throughemail

WeeklyormonthlytoChiefEditorandDeputy

Editor(1)

Meetthetargetof5000copiesandalsoprintfuturecopiesofthenewspaperonthe

deadline

Thecopieswillbeprintedintimesothatitissenttothedistributorintime.

Distributor(External)


Communicationthrough

telephoneandemail,finalpaper

handedatmeeting


Editor(2)

Successfullydistributingthefinishedproduct

(newspaper)tothestaffandstudentson

thedeadline.

Studentswillbeabletopurchasethenewspaperinthe

givendate.

Sponsor(External)


Communicationthroughemailsandtelephone


Editor(2)

Createawarenessforthemselvesand

providerelevantanduseful

advertisementsforstudentsandthe

university.

Wouldallowrelevant

advertisementandinformationfor

universitystudentsandhelpsincreasethesponsorswealreadyhave.



17

Risk Management Risk management is defined as the process of identifying and analyzing the uncertainty of a

decision. Risk management broadly occurs when an investor evaluates the market and

attempts to measure the potential for losses in the investment, and then takes the suitable

action given their objectives and risk tolerance in terms of investment. Insufficient risk

management can result in severe consequences for entities as well as organizations. Risk

management is a vital part of decision making and ethical management. It consists of

identifying risks and applying them effectively to management culture, objectives, mission

and vision (Chapman and Ward, 1996, p.344).

Risk management assists in ensuring that a firm is prepared for any possible situation and the

outcome of a particular situation (Hopkin, 2013, p.08).

Risk management occurs in the following steps:

1. Analyze the different kinds of risks and the possible consequences of those risks

through the help of suitable risk assessments.

2. Identify how controllable the risks are and use the necessary controls to maintain

organizational strength.

3. Design a structured and effective risk action plan and communicate the strategy to

the rest of the organization.

Risks management, however, can not always be effective since risks are predictable and

unpredictable. Predictable risks are generalized from past experiences; they are known

unknown risks such as changes in interest rates in the economy. They are predicted with

precision but not certainty (Valdivia, Dunn and Jett, 1996). On the other hand, unpredictable

risks are very difficult to identify in advance and. They cannot be foreseen with any accuracy.

For instance, broadband networks (Marieke and Harry, 2010, p. 3-19).



18

Risk Map

High Probability / Low Impact

(Yellow Zone 1)

- Authenticity and validation of the content - Critical Management of cash inflows and

outflows - Unable to market the student paper well - Information Collection - Managing to cover all expenses and cost

High Probability / High Impact

(Red Zone)

- Delays in printing and distribution - Disagreements between group members - Not able to fill communication gaps - Errors or publishing misleading or wrong

information

Low Probability / Low Impact

(Green Zone)

- Increasing minor expenses i.e. food,

transportation - Minute errors in design, layout or also

grammatical mistakes - Misuse of student paper or unforeseen

issues such as theft of student paper - Collecting effective and useful feedback

Low Probability / High Impact

(Yellow Zone 2)

- Quality and Quantity of the content that is published should be interesting for readers

- Minor delays in editing and design processes.

- Lack of support from sponsors and advertisers



19

Risk Analysis

High Probability / Low Impact - (Yellow Zone 1)

Authenticity and validation of the content: Making sure all the content that is written and

published in form of articles is accurate and has a proper source.

Critical Management of cash inflows and outflows: Ensuring that all revenues and expenses

are recorded.

Unable to market the student paper well: It is very important to advertise and promote the

student paper for its success. The students in the university should be aware about the paper

and should be encouraged to read it and review it.

Information Collection: Editors should make sure that adequate amount of quality

information is collected and reviewed before being published.

Managing to cover all expenses and cost: Emphasis and focus should be towards ensuring not

to exceed the budgeted expenses and cost and having a control over the spending.

High Probability / High Impact - (Red Zone)

Delays in printing and distribution: Delays in printing and distribution would cause an

extremely negative impact hence it is important to set deadlines and any unforeseen delay

should be communicated to the members.

Disagreements between group members: Misunderstandings and disagreements between can

cause effect the productivity of the team hence regularly meetings will be held where all

member’s opinions will be discussed and analyzed by the manager.

Not able to fill communication gaps: All members of the team have been clearly told their

roles, responsibility and the line managers they are supposed to report to and are accountable

to only a daily basis and in case of any emergency.



20

Errors or publishing misleading or wrong information: There is a high chance, that the first

issue of the paper will have some mistakes and hence it is important for the editor and the

deputy editor to thoroughly review the articles and rectify any mistakes and errors.

Low Probability / Low Impact - (Green Zone)

Increasing minor expenses i.e. food, transportation: It is important to keep all costs at the

minimum level and control the current level of expenses such as transportation and meals for

students.

Minute errors in design, layout or also grammatical mistakes: It is a very basic yet one of the

most important jobs for an editor to make sure there are no mistakes in the design, layout or a

grammatical mistake.

Misuse of student paper or unforeseen issues such as theft of student paper: The security

system within the premises should make sure that such unethical activities do not take place.

Collecting effective and useful feedback: To improve the student paper, it is important to

collect feedback and use it and develop the paper according to the suggestions offered.

Low Probability / High Impact - (Yellow Zone 2)

Quality and Quantity of the content that is published should be interesting for readers:

Important to ensure that the articles in the student paper are interesting and informative

otherwise students would not be looking forward to the next issue of the paper.

Minor delays in editing and design processes: Productivity and efficiency levels should be at

the maximum in the first phase of publishing to ensure all processes and procedures run

smoothly and it’s the responsibility of the manager to look after such issues

Lack of support from sponsors and advertisers: It is understood that at the beginning phase of

the student paper, much support from sponsors and advertisers would not be expected.



21

Sponsors and Advertisers will only be interested when the student paper is developed and is a

success within the university.

Risk Parameters

No. Risk Type Description Solution Mitigation

1 Managing Cost and Expenses

Critical Management of cash inflows, outflows and being able to cover all expenses of the publishing, printing and distribution.

Reduce Risk Will control expenses and record all transactions

2 Marketing Unable to market the student paper well. Not able to create awareness about the student paper in the university.

Reduce Risk Indulge in aggressive marketing and promotions within the campus

3 Information Collection Editors should make sure that adequate amount of quality information is collected and reviewed before being published.

Reduce Risk Review all information before hand and make sure its interesting

4 Authenticity and Validation of Information

The content that is written and published in the articles should be accurate and should have a proper source.

Reduce Risk Make use of academic and other reliable sources

5 Delays and Time Lags Delays in publishing, printing or even designing the layout of the student paper Reduce Risk Follow a strict time schedule and

preplan activities

6 Conflict between Members

Misunderstandings and disagreements between group members, might end up affecting the productivity and efficiency levels of the work.

Eliminate Risk

Create a friendly atmosphere and encourage fun group related tasks

7 Communication Communicational gaps between managers and assistants.

Eliminate Risk

Encourage members to constantly update their heads about work

8 Internal Content Errors or publishing misleading or wrong information Reduce Risk

Have the editorial team and a member of the staff review published material prehand

9 Increasing Administrative Expenses

Unwanted increase in misc. administrative expenses such as transportation and food for students

Reduce Risk Set a fixed budget on number of members required and manage budget accordingly

10 External Environment Unethical activities such as theft or misuse of the student paper

Eliminate Risk

Eliminate this through the security system in the university; cameras, security guards, etc.

11 Development and Improvement

Not being able to collect effective feedback and opinions in order to develop and improve the student paper

Reduce Risk Allocate enough time and energy to take the students opinions into account

12 External Stakeholders Lack of support from sponsors and advertisers

Eliminate Risk

Plan ahead and maintain a good rapport between internal and external organization

13 Technical Production Maintenance and servicing of printing and publishing machinery which might cause delays

Reduce Risk Keep a monthly tab on maintenance and wear and tear of equipment and plan the work schedule accordingly

14 Internal Management Difficulties in delegating and managing activities amongst subordinates Reduce Risk Follow an efficient responsibility

matrix and work breakdown structure

15 Internal Stakeholders Managing and coordinating with additional members joining the community and their expenses

Reduce Risk Have a leader to monitor and control the enrollment of more members in the team



22

16 Demand of student paper Anticipating and identifying the changing demand levels of the student paper within the campus

Reduce Risk Market research into the demand for the paper and what students want to read

17 Growth and future publications

Difficulty in predicting the future of the paper and whether there would even be a second publication

Reduce Risk Keep SMART goals for the members to follow

18 Internal Environment Maintaining a level of interest amongst the students Reduce Risk Market research into the changing

interest of the students

19 Changing tastes and preferences

Need to keep up to date with the changing environment and preferences Reduce Risk Stay updated on changing trends and

implement strategies accordingly

20 IT Related Risks Unforeseen IT related disasters such as loss of data, computer crashes and hardware issues

Eliminate Risk

Maintain a back up of all the data and keep monthly tabs on hardware maintenance

21 Fire Hazard Incase of any fire hazards, publishing can be brought to a halt Reduce Risk Keep a back up plan in case of such

emergencies

22 Holidays Due to public or university holidays, the student paper will not be updated and no audience for the paper

Reduce Risk Stay updated on the government and university announcements

23 Hardware Damage Due to factors such as water leakages or unexpected events the hardware for printing and publishing can be damaged

Reduce Risk Stay prepared for unexpected events

24 Internet Facilities An Unforeseen internet blackout due to the service providers fault Reduce Risk Stay prepared for unexpected events

25 Allocative Efficiency Important to utilize all the resources effectively and productively and not wasting them

Reduce Risk Ensure that all resources are being used resourcefully

26 Supplies Unable to establish good relationships with supplier of stationery and printing, can lead to delays and is not cost effective

Reduce Risk Maintain healthy and friendly ties with suppliers and other external parties

27 Internal Management Workers / Students not maintaining productivity levels which would affect the quality of the student paper.

Reduce Risk Have a strong organizational structure and follow a democratic leadership style

28 Dependency of Resources

The team is currently dependent on the Heriot Watt Dubai Campus Management for financial aid and sudden stop would result in immediate halt in the production

Reduce Risk Follow a strict schedule and plan costs and revenue accordingly

29 Leadership Changes in leadership styles might affect the attitudes and working styles negatively Reduce Risk Stay prepared for unexpected events

30 Scheduling Meetings

Scheduling team meetings whilst taking into consideration examinations and assignments and other study related priorities.

Eliminate Risks

Remain updated on exams and other extra curricular activities and plan meetings accordingly

31 Recruitment and Selection Issues

Selecting and recruiting the right candidates for the job and tasks. Reduce Risk The HR department must make wiser

decisions in allocating tasks

32 Employee Issues Employment related issues such leaves and sickness that will just cause delays in the publishing

Reduce Risk Preserve a 5 day notice for sudden travel leave/ depend less on one individual

33 Information Update

It is extremely vital to gather resourceful and quality information regarding the different segments within the student paper

Reduce Risk Good communication within the internal organization

34 System Inability to manage records and data Reduce Risk

Maintaining financial records as well as weekly and monthly reports on progress to work upon improvements and growth

35 Ethical Issues Some content can be non ethical and may be discriminating races or nationalities which may causes serious issues.

Eliminate Risk

Ensure that content would not be offensive and would be in line with the values and beliefs of the university and the country

36 Content Loss of important data/ inability to publish enough content

Eliminate Risk

Back up content/articles should be available in case of any article is not approved by the authorities.



23

37 Distribution of Authority Disruption between the communicational gap will cause issues. Reduce Risk

Need to establish the span of control and have a specific person employees report to weekly

38 External Organization Dependency on external organizations such as sponsors, publishers etc. Reduce Risk

Maintain a good rapport with existing external parties and have alternative parties in mind in case of any emergency

39 Success of the paper Students in this digital world prefer to use online social media instead of a physical student paper

Reduce Risk Use a strong marketing mix for promotional strategies.

40 Talent Management Managing the opportunities given to students to participate and contribute in the newspaper

Reduce Risk

Ensure that each member is able to contribute and learn from the opportunities. Also, involve as many students who are interested in the newspaper publication

41 Innovation Management Finding new and innovative ways to market and promote the student paper Reduce Risk

Think outside the box and make use of open innovation strategies to make the paper popular in the eyes of the students

42 Language The writing style would not be easy understood amongst diverse students in the university

Reduce Risk

Use a suitable writing style so that it could be understood by the diverse university students.

43 Risk Assessment Unpredictable occurrence of events not accounted in the risk register

Eliminate Risk

Ensure that all the possible risks that could occur are involved in the risk register

44 Support from University staff Inability to receive feedback and guidance in time. Reduce Risk Be prepared for unexpected events

Probability Impact Matrix

The probability impact matrix can be best described as a matrix which represents the

occurrence and probability of risk and their classifications based on their impact.



24

Risk Provision Risk provision allows time, resources and surplus money in a project. Cost estimates in the

budget include provision for uncertain risks that could occur while the project is being

completed. It is recommended to create a provision to avoid any issues from occurring, after

the work breakdown structure (WBS) is completed and all resources have been budgeted

(Chapman, 1997, p.273-281). All risks mentioned in the risk map have been allocated a

monetary value to allocate a budget, mentioned below:

High Probability / Low Impact - (Yellow Zone 1)

Authenticity and validation of the content: £ 150

Critical Management of cash inflows and outflows: £ 400

Unable to market the student paper well: £ 100

Managing to cover all expenses and cost: £ 50

Total: £ 700 High Probability / High Impact - (Red Zone)

Delays in printing and distribution: £ 200

Errors or publishing misleading or wrong information: £ 150

Disagreements between group members: £ 100

Total: £ 450 Low Probability / Low Impact - (Green Zone)



25

Increasing minor expenses i.e. food, transportation: £ 70

Misuse of student paper or unforeseen issues such as theft of student paper: £ 100

Collecting effective and useful feedback: £ 130 Total: £ 300

Low Probability / High Impact - (Yellow Zone 2)

Lack of support from sponsors and advertisers: £ 250

Minor delays in editing and design processes: £ 150

Quality and Quantity of the content that is published should be interesting for readers: £ 50

Total: £ 450

Grand Total: £ 1900

Based on calculations and budgets, it has been understood that a provision of £1900 will be

recorded to maintain and look out for either risks.



26

Cost Plan A budget can be defined as a a planning and controlling system (Shim, Siegel and Shim,

2012, p.09). It is an organized summary of all the income and expenses to be incurred in a

particular period of time. Planning is essential for an any organization to achieve its goals and

objectives there, this is why having an effective project budget is important. A project budget

assists an organization in monitoring and controlling their expenditure and in attempting to be

as resourceful as possible in each area or activities of the project.

Expenses



27

Revenue



28

Project Schedule A Gantt chart illustrates a project schedule. It shows the timeline of the project and what task

and work is to be done within the timeframe. It also shows relationships between activities

and highlights the work to be done everyday.



29



30

References Chang, J.F (2005) Business Process Management Systems: Strategy and Implementation,

[Online], New York: Auerback Publications. Available from:

https://books.google.ae/books?id=LBtC3-

rmIaIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

(Accessed 15 November 2015)

Chapman, C. (1997) ‘Project risk analysis and management—PRAM the generic process’

International Journal of Project Management, 15(5), 273–281.

http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(96)00079-8

Lebedeva, A. (2015) ‘Five Essential Project Management Skills’, Information Management

Journal [online], October, p. 21-25. Available from:

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.hw.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=63bc3324-5869-

4697-992e-7e6f64a59a2c%40sessionmgr114&vid=4&hid=127 (Accessed 10 November

2015)

Hartman, F. and Ashrafi, R. (2004) ‘Development of the SMARTTM Project Planning

framework’, International Journal of Project Management, [online] vol. 22 (6), August 2004,

p. 499-510. Available from:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786303001388 (Accessed 15th

November 2015)

Haugan, G.T (2002) Effective Work Breakdown Structures [Online], Virginia: Management

Concepts, Accessible at:

https://books.google.ae/books?id=R_0IQtVZOjMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=work+breakdo

wn+structure&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBoQ6AEwAGoVChMI0qaWsq2QyQIVyTkaCh0Neg

mW#v=onepage&q=work%20breakdown%20structure&f=false (Accessed 14 November

2015)

Hopkin, P. (2013) Risk Management [Online], 1st ed., London: Kogan Page Limited,

Available from:



31

https://books.google.ae/books?id=lroMkSc7XxcC&pg=PA8&dq=importance+of+risk+mana

gement&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CD4Q6AEwA2oVChMIycbJ4cqPyQIVCx6UCh31WQJ0#v=o

nepage&q=importance%20of%20risk%20management&f=false (Accessed 14 November

2015)

Marieke, F. and Harry, B., (2010) "Predicting the unpredictable: dealing with risk and

uncertainty in broadband roll\out", Foresight, Vol. 12, (6), pp.3 - 19

Valdivia, C., Dunn, E. G., & Jett, C.. (1996). Diversification as a Risk Management Strategy

in an Andean Agropastoral Community. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 78(5),

1329จC1334. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1243516 (Accessed 14th November

2015)

Shim, J.K., Siegel J.G. and Shim, A.I. (2012) Budgeting Basics and Beyond [Online], New

Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Available from:

https://books.google.ae/books?id=uiBwToy7Z1MC&pg=PT31&dq=budgeting+is&hl=en&sa

=X&ved=0CFAQ6AEwCWoVChMIq-HspJuSyQIVjJmUCh1taQl-

#v=onepage&q=budgeting%20is&f=false (Accessed 15 November 2015)

Documents

Project Management