APPENDIX A: ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

Surname Thupana

First Name/s Belinda Khutjo

Student Number 166674

Subject Applied Technology

Assignment Number 8

Tutor’s Name

Examination Venue Pretoria

Date Submitted 24 March 2021

Submission (√) First Submission √ Resubmission

2 Candlewoods Lane
Candlewoods Country Estates
Postal Address
59 Stables
Centurion
0157

E-Mail Bksetsena@gmail.com
(Work) 011 497 4380
(Home) N/A
Contact Numbers
(Cell) 076 416 0394

Course/Intake Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management

Declaration: I hereby declare that the assignment submitted is an original piece of work produced by myself.

Signature: Date: 24 March 2021

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1. Introduction

Our company aims to inspire, to connect great people with great ideas, to personalize
your event from beginning to end. We enjoy a challenge and deliver quality
experiences that your participants will always remember. Everything we do is
personalized and tailor-made. That is because we are the company for event
management that creates solid bonds. Our company works closely with you to ensure
that your party is everything your attendees will be drawn to. We will meet your
requirements and expectations on time and in budget.

Our company is a well-known player within the event industry with 10 years of
experience. We are a full-service event company, dedicated to personalised service
and offering tailor-made packages to fit all occasions. Our team of highly trained
professionals will turn your ideas into practice, ensuring the satisfaction of all desires.
Our services include:
• Event Planning and Design – With our experience in design and industry
knowledge, creative viewpoint, service, and attention to detail we are sure to
embrace any function with effortless style.
• Themed events - Our company will collaborate with you to plan the ideal event.
• Décor and Flower arrangement - Our team of event specialist will assist in
creating the perfect theme, colour scheme, and the overall look and feel of your
event.
• Hiring of furniture – our furniture hiring includes tables and chairs, bar hiring,
kitchen hiring, cutlery and crockery.
• Event Infrastructure - all temporary infrastructure, including marquees, tents,
mobile toilets, and generators, can be sourced, and supplied by us.
• Catering and Bar service - we will handle all aspects of the bar and catering on
your behalf.
• Event service staff – Barmen, waiters, bouncers, and security.

Project objective:
To plan, coordinate and implement a memorable and special 21st birthday party for a
male person on the 9th of November 2020 with 150 guests.

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Constraints:
• Tight timelines (a birthday party typically is celebrated within a week to 10 days
of the actual birthday).
• Unknown budget
• Weekends allow for higher participation and venues may be booked a couple
of months advance, if not sooner.
• Covid-19 constraints (uncertainty of lockdown conditions i.e venue capacity,
sales of alcohol, social distancing, Curfew etc)

Conditions:
The event is planned to take place in an indoor space.
Due to Covid-19 regulations, guests with no masks will not be granted access to the
venue.
Each table in the venue will cater for 10 people with assured social distancing and
guests will be sited as per the RSVP list.
Menu packages include but are not limited to the following:
• R 250 pp – Finger foods and 2 drinks
• 350 - full meal which includes 1 starch of your choice, 2 veggies of your choice
and 2 meats with 2 drinks.
• 450 – A 3 course meal buffet
Minimum budget of the event is R250 000.
A deposit of not less 50% is required prior to the planning of the event.
A 3-week cancellation before the event guarantees 25% refund of the deposit and 0%
anytime later than that.

2. Assumed Resources.

Resources contributing to the project are listed below:

Recourse Responsibility
Event’s coordinator Coordinate the events
Event’s administrator Assist with the event’s admin including
bookings and invoicing.
Event’s communication officer Handles communication

Desktop designer Invite and programme designer

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 Caterer Prepares food for the day and cake

MC Programme director
Guests’ speaker Keynote speaker to attract the guests
DJ Entertainment
Photographer Captures the event
Waiter (Event staff) X 15 Usher guests and Serve food on the day

Bar tender X 2 Tend the bar

Car Guard X 5 Assists with parking and security

*Note: Please refer to Annexure 1_Project Schedule & Gantt Chart, Annexure
2_Resource Sheet & Annexure 3_Resource Usage for more details on resources
and their usage.

3. Cost Estimates

As mentioned above the minimum project budget is R250 000. The cost required will
be to procure all the needed products (flowers, food, drinks etc), services (Logistics,
presenters, and catering) and resources(consulting) to deliver the project successfully.

After each milestone is complete a payment is made.

Estimates are carried out at all stages of the project, initially to help project planning.
Throughout the project, these initial estimates are validated and revised to provide
accuracy based on emerging detail, the planned and actual measures of the event.
The estimates for the team member costs are at a different rate per hour.

Efforts made to save costs.

• From a service provider perspective, we will be able to negotiate discounts.

• Paying in advance before the event we can negotiate discounts.
• Guest speakers will mainly be family and friends.
• We arrange Bands, DJ’s, and MCs through our connections.

*Note: Please refer to Annexure 5_Resource Cost Overview & Annexure

3_Resource Usage for more details.
Annexure 1_Project Schedule & Gantt Chart for the WBS.

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4. Schedule and dependencies

*Note: Please refer to Annexure 1_Project Schedule & Gantt Chart and Annexure
4_Project Dependency & Critical path for more details.

Method used to shorten the critical path:

A method used to shorten the critical path is Fast tracking. According to PMBOK (2017:
215), fast-tracking is a technique of compression of the schedule in which activities or
stages normally carried out in a sequence are carried out for at least a portion of their
duration in parallel. This method was chosen as the activities are worked on
simultaneously instead of waiting for each task to be completed separately. It also
saves costs. Once the requirements are clearly defined the guest list can be
determined and the invitations can be designed. Meanwhile the venue can be booked.

5. Milestones and Deliverables

The deliverables are grouped into phases which are set as milestones.
The first milestone is planned to be completed on the 29th of October 2020 as indicated
with a diamond sign on the Gantt chart.

*Note: Please refer to Annexure 1_Project Schedule & Gantt Chart for more
details.

6. Project Control and Risks

The general strategy that will be used to manage the project to completion:

The general strategy that will be used to manage the project to completion is to initially
have a one-on-one session with the client to find out about the logistics and any ideas
of the event. Upon getting the requirements of the event, an event planning checklist
will be established to help track and ensure that all details will be taken care of from a
planning’s perspective. The key milestones will be categorised into 4 phases which
are Initiation, Planning, Execution and Closure. An evaluation will be performed after
each phase has been completed to know how the team is doing by examining

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deliverables. Regular check ins with the event’s planning team will be held to ensure
progress, identify any risks that may jeopardise the event and assures that every
minute detail gets covered.

Project phases and how they connect to each other, and the milestones.

The project will consist of 4 phases as per below and outlined in detail in the project
schedule for the event:
Initiation phase
• Requirements gathering from the client.
• Establishing the project team.
• Developing the Event’s planning check list.
• Determining the event’s budget.
Planning phase
• Planning of the event
Execution phase
• Main event
Closure phase
• Wrapping up and finalising invoices

This strategy was chosen so that the is a flow of activities and that nothing is all over.

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10 most important project risks, and how they will be dealt with if they occur.

Risk description Probability Impact Overall Risk Mitigation plan

Risk Rag
Rating
Cancellation of orders 5 6 30 Pay minimum deposit
already paid but not
delivered.

Potential fire hazards 2 5 10 Exits and gateways will be clearly indicated

by suitable signs, illuminated where
necessary and unlocked throughout the
event.
Power outage at venue 9 8 72 The use of a generator

Food safety 2 6 12 Ensure that the caterer has

appropriate licensing and has
access to the facilities they need to
ensure their food meets food safety
standards.
Unpredictable Weather 5 6 30 Marquees, tents and heater will be on stand
by on the day of the event.
MC not pitching to the 2 5 10 MC, DJ and Photographer will be paid after
party. the event. A company that provides a
similar service will be on standby in the
event that our service provider is not

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 attending. The coordinator will act as a
backup for the MC.

Ventilation 4 4 16 Air conditioners and fans will be in place

Sound system 3 4 12 Back up Sound system on standby

Crowd management and 5 5 25 appropriate marshalling, signage,
Traffic parking, and dedicated pedestrian
access will be in place.
Water outage 4 5 20 Outdoor toilets will be in place

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7. Summary (10)

The overall project cost:

Service Item Cost

• Creating a professional checklist for planning – A checklist
guarantees that all the important details are taken care of. It
includes timeframes and transparency, as well as activities
that include follow-up after the 21st birthday party. The result
is a well-organised 21st birthday party that provides guests
with a memorable experience, resulting in repeat business
and referrals.
• Execution of the checklist for a great 21st birthday party
experience – We carefully take care of every aspect, from the
photographer to the food and drinks, so you can focus on the
things that matter most to you while never having to think
about your 21st birthday party guests having a great time.

Total R250 000

The project benefits:

• Opportunity to engage with friends and family.
• All your planning needs will be handled by the events company saving you time
and headaches ensuring that every detail is covered.
• Negotiate on your behalf with service providers to help you save costs.
• Managing your budget by knowing how much money to allocate to each area.

The general strategy

• Planning with the client several times to ensure that we provide the service the
way he wants.
• Ensure that there are several service providers that can provide with the
services highlighted above.
• Checklist and schedule to ensure that the planning and execution of tasks are
performed in a timely manner.

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The list of meetings, with details like who, when and where and estimated times, and
desired deliverable.

Meeting Purpose Attendees Date

Requirements To define and clarify Events coordinator 26 Oct 2020
gathering the client’s & Client
requirements
Kick off Meeting To discuss the Project team 27 Oct 2020
scope and timelines
and assigning
resources to
activities.
Follow up session To present samples Events coordinator 29 Oct 2020
as per the & Client 29 Oct 2020
requirements
gathering session
and to have the look
and feel of the
theme.
Venue viewing Confirm venue Events coordinator 06 Nov 2020
& Client
Cake tasting Confirm cake Events coordinator 30 Oct 2020
& Client
Progress/Status To monitor and track Project team 30 Oct 2020
update meetings progress. 06 Nov 2020
Feedback survey To highlight any Events coordinator 11 Nov 2020
session lesson learned & Client

*Note: Please refer to Annexure 1_Project Schedule & Gantt Chart for more
details.

The Event coordinator will meet up with the client for the first time to discuss the
event’s requirements. The coordinator will then be meeting up with the event’s team
(Project team) to kick off the project. Planning will commence post the kick-off meeting

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with the project team. The coordinator will meet up with the client to provide service
samples and agree on the theme and colour scheme. The project team will every 5
days to ensure that every detail is taken care of and highlight anything that can
jeopardise the event since the timelines are very tight.

The client will be required to view and confirm the venues proposed and will have to
confirm the cake flavour by going for a cake tasting with the event coordinator.

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