Project Management C19PT
Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus Page #
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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]
Project Management C19PT
Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus Page #
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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
Project Management C19PT
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.)
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
DailytoChiefEditorDailyorweeklytodepartmentsunder
WeeklyormonthlywithPublisher
Toorganiseandapprovereportsregardingtheir
specificdepartmentsandgiveinformationtotheChiefEditor.
Makessurehighermanagementiskeptintheloop.Allowforontimeprintingandpublishingofthe
paper.
DeputyEditor(2)(MeghaKamath)
ChiefEditor,University,Horoscope,University,Distributor,
Sponsor
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
DailytoChiefEditorDailyorweeklytodepartmentsunder
WeeklyormonthlywithDistributorsorsponsors
Toorganiseandapprovereportsregardingtheir
specificdepartmentsandgiveinformationtotheChiefEditor.
Makessurehighermanagementtobeintheloop.Allowforontimeprintingandpublishingofthe
paper.
EntertainmentNews
(SanidOberoi)
DeputyEditor(1),SportsDept,
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
Dailyorweeklytothedeputyeditor(1),dailyto
SportsDept
Manage,handlethecontent,writing&
editingandorganizingtheir
department.Meetdeadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.
Focusesofdifferentaspectsofculture.Readersupdatedaboutnewbookreviews,gigandmusicreviews.
SportsNews(SankalpOberoi)
DeputyEditor(1),EntertainmentDept
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
Dailyorweeklytothedeputyeditor(1),dailyto
EntertainmentDept
Manage,handlethecontent,writing&
editingandorganizingtheir
department.Meetdeadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.
Includesinformationaboutuniversitysportevents.
Studentswillbeupdatedaboutthesportstournamentstakingplaceintheuniversityonafrequentbasis.
FashionNews(SadiyahNazer)
DeputyEditor(1),EntertainmentNews
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
Dailyorweeklytothedeputyeditor(1),dailyto
EntertainmentDept
Manage,handlethecontent,writing&
editingand
Keepstudentsupdatedaboutthe
latestfashion
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Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus Page #
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organizingtheirdepartment.Meet
deadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.
trends,andupcomingstudentfashionshows.
UniversityNews(VishalSharma)
DeputyEditor(2),HoroscopeDept,
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
Dailyorweeklytothedeputyeditor(2),dailyto
HoroscopeDept
Manage,handlethecontent,writing&
editingandorganizingtheir
department.Meetdeadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.
Themainreasonfortheexistenceofthenewspaper.Consistsofinterviewwiththeprincipal,detailsaboutupcomingworkshopsetc.
HoroscopeNews(PavanKumar)
DeputyEditor(2),UniversityDept
Formalmeetingsthrough
telephone,emails
Dailyorweeklytothedeputyeditor(2),dailyto
UniversityDept
Manage,handlethecontent,writing&
editingandorganizingtheir
department.Meetdeadlinesandkeepinconstanttouchwithhigherauthority.
Horoscopenewswillbeupdatesforevery
issue.
Publisher(External)
DeputyEditor(1),ChiefEditor
Communicationthrough
telephone,submitfinaldocuments
throughemail
WeeklyormonthlytoChiefEditorandDeputy
Editor(1)
Meetthetargetof5000copiesandalsoprintfuturecopiesofthenewspaperonthe
deadline
Thecopieswillbeprintedintimesothatitissenttothedistributorintime.
Distributor(External)
DeputyEditor(2),ChiefEditor
Communicationthrough
telephoneandemail,finalpaper
handedatmeeting
WeeklyormonthlytoChiefEditorandDeputy
Editor(2)
Successfullydistributingthefinishedproduct
(newspaper)tothestaffandstudentson
thedeadline.
Studentswillbeabletopurchasethenewspaperinthe
givendate.
Sponsor(External)
DeputyEditor(2),ChiefEditor
Communicationthroughemailsandtelephone
WeeklyormonthlytoChiefEditorandDeputy
Editor(2)
Createawarenessforthemselvesand
providerelevantanduseful
advertisementsforstudentsandthe
university.
Wouldallowrelevant
advertisementandinformationfor
universitystudentsandhelpsincreasethesponsorswealreadyhave.
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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).
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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
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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.
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