Running head: FISHING TRIP PROJECT
Alaska Fly Fishing Trip
Stanley Cochran
MGMT505 Project Management Fundamentals
February 10, 2012
Joel Light Ph. D.
Southwestern College Professional Studies
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Abstract
Great Alaska Adventures (GAA) has been asked to plan a fly fishing trip by the president
of BlueNote, Inc. The president is rewarding the top productive management team for their work
by giving them an all-expense-paid fly fishing trip in Alaska. The management for GAA will be
responsible for organizing and leading this fishing trip. This trip will last for five days in June
and be on the Tikchik River, and the cost is not to exceed $27,000. The leadership at GAA will
figure out all requirements and meet back with the president of BlueNote, Inc to make sure
everything is correct and both sides understand their requirements for this project.
This paper will explain why each one of the steps of the project is important. First it is
important that a leader be chosen and this person is the project manger that is responsible for
making sure everything happens on time and that the project stays on budget. This project is
about a fly-fishing trip where the project manager will be from the adventure group and will
make a plan where everyone understands what their role is in this trip.
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Alaska Fly Fishing Trip
Great Alaska Adventures (GAA) in Dillingham, Alaska has been asked by the president
of BlueNote, Inc to plan a reward fly fishing trip for BlueNote’s top management team. This will
be an all expense paid fishing trip that GAA will be responsible for organizing, and leading the
expedition. GAA must identify and explain all the requirements for this trip and identify the
responsible party for each phase of the trip. Once all the requirements are identified the team will
meet for a final review with the president of BlueNote, Inc. The project scope will set the stage
for developing an organized plan that will give all the information needed to show both
companies, GAA and BlueNote, Inc., all the requirements (Larson & Gray, 2011, p. 102).
Requirements will define the following: costs, risk, resources, schedule, responsibilities, and
constraints.
Project Scope of the Fishing Trip
The project scope is designed to give all the details for both parties to fully understand
their respective roles in the project. It is important to understand that if the project scope is not
correct there can be many costly mistakes that could lead to problems with this fishing trip. This
scope will define all the responsibilities and the owner of each responsibility. For example
BlueNote is responsible for transportation costs to and from Dillingham, Alaska. If this were not
spelled out in the beginning the idea of a trip to reward hard work would be thrown out the
window because both parties would be upset. In the responsibilities section it should define the
parties that are responsible for each part of the fly-fishing trip.
The purpose of spelling out all the details is to make sure the customers know what they
are getting and to have fun on this trip. These details will also stop any problems like scope creep
of the customer asking for more than is expected and not wanting to pay extra. The expectations
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that the customer has that are outside the project are referred to as scope creep (Doll, 2001). This
scope creep would be like the group shows up for the trip and has an extra person assuming that
it will be alright for this extra person. To help eliminate problems like this the project scope
needs to identify exactly the expectations that will allow everyone to understand the details of
the trip.
The main goal of this scope is to organize and lead a five day fly fishing trip for
employees of BlueNote, Inc. This trip will begin in Dillingham, Alaska from June 21 to 25 on
the Tikchik River and the cost will not exceed $27,000. GAA must identify what each party is
responsible for like transportation, lodging, fishing equipment and licenses, meals, guides, and
fly fishing lessons.
Transportation requirements:

Guests are responsible for travel arrangements to from Dillingham, Alaska.

GAA will provide air transportation from Dillingham, Alaska to Camp I and from Camp
II back to Dillingham.

GAA will provide river transportation consisting of two eight-man boats with out-board
motors.
Lodging:

GAA will provide overnight accommodations at the Dillingham lodge.

GAA will furnish three four-man tents with cots, bedding, and lanterns for nights on the
Tikchik River.
Fishing Equipment and other requirements:
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
Guests are responsible for their own fly-fishing equipment and clothing.

GAA will furnish four hours of fly-fishing lessons.

GAA will furnish four experienced river guides with fly-fishing experience.

GAA will provide licenses for all the guests.

GAA will furnish three meals a day for the five days spent on the river.

Guests are responsible for all fish caught
Schedule
The schedule is important because it gives the time line for each phase of the project.
This schedule can help establish dates for critical activities like travel arrangements that need to
be reserved in advance, resources like outsourcing the plane travel to and from the base camps.
The schedule will also identify other resources like the four guides, food for meals, cots and
bedding, communication devices, boats, fishing equipment, and any other resource that will be
needed for the trip. Poorly prepared schedules do not give an accurate assessment of the project
needs and can lead to delays (Avalon, & Foster, 2010).
GAA and BlueNote, Inc signed the contract on January 22. This fly-fishing trip will
begin with the guests arriving on June 20th in Dillingham, Alaska. They will depart for the flyfishing trip by flying to Base Camp I on June 21st. They will spend five days and four nights on
the Tikchik River. They will then be flown back to the Dillingham lodge on June 25th. The guests
are responsible for transportation cost with any fish they wish to return with them.
Schedule Milestone Chart:
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Fly-Fishing Adventure
Page 1 of 1
Start
Date
2/10/12
End
Date
18
TASK
20
21
25
22
23
24
25
26
27
Contract Signed
January 22
6/20/12
6/21/12
6/25/12
6/26/12
6/20/12
6/21/12
6/25/12
6/26/12
Guests Arrive in
Dillingham
20
Depart by plane to Base
Camp I
21
Depart by Plane from
Base CAmp II
25
Leave Dillingham
26
Legend Entry 1
Legend Entry 2
Legend Entry 4
Legend Entry 5
Legend Entry 3
Responsibilities
GAA needs to identify leaders for each phase of the fly-fishing trip. As the leader of
GAA this person will be referred to as the project manager. The project manager will be
responsible for contacting the president of BlueNote, Inc and going over the final review to make
sure both GAA and the president of BlueNote understand what each group is responsible for in
this project. The project manager will then identify the team leader of each phase of the project.
The project manager will make sure that the clients trip arrangements have been made and that
the people will show up at the designated time.
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Team leaders need to be identified for each phase of the trip and for making sure all the
resources have been ordered and are will be ready when needed. First contact with the
management team that won the free trip will be made by the project manager. There needs to be
team leaders for several different phases of the project. The various phases are: meeting the
managers that won the trip, transportation to and from the base camps, boats, fly-fishing training,
guides, meals, licenses, and communication.
Responsibility Matrix:
Responsibility Matrix
Task
Project
Manager
Asst.
Project
Manager
Training for
fly-fishing
X
Training for
medical
emergencies
X
Guide 1
Meals
Guide 4
X
Budget
X
Guides
X
Boats
Guide
3
X
Bedding
Equipement
Licenses
Guide
2
X
X
X
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Plane
Transportation
(Cochran, 2012)
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X
Constraints
The project manager must be aware of the constraints of the project and be able to work
within these constraints. In projects there are constraints due to the availability or unavailability
of resources that can affect the way a project can be managed (Larson & Gray, 2011, p. 255).
These constraints consist of areas that could cause problems for the project like: people, weather,
and equipment. For this project the project manager must plan ahead for people constraints and
make sure there are four qualified guides available for the trip on the river. At least one of these
guides needs to have experience in training fly-fishing techniques.
The constraints of the weather could be because of a drought that makes it difficult or the
boats, or there could be flooding due to too much rain. Either of these problems needs to be
addressed by the GAA team and by planning ahead they will understand how to deal with these
problems if they arise. A third problem could be severe weather during the fly-fishing trip and
what emergency steps will the guides have available in a severe storms. This may mean even
more training for the guides prior to the fishing trip. In a worst case scenario the weather is
severe enough that emergency evacuations may need to take place. What kind of restraints in
access, planes, or is medical help are available.
A third constraint would be in equipment and this time of year is when everyone is
scheduling fly-fishing trips. How many boats are available and how many other adventure
groups will be using the same river and this location on the river? Another problem is the
availability of outsourcing the flight to and from the base camps. How many planes are there and
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how many different groups may need these planes. The project manager must make sure to
reserve the transportation in advance and to follow up on this reservation.
Resources
Resources for this project are: motel rooms for two nights, fishing licenses, meals, boats
with motors, tents, lanterns, digital cellular communication devices, cots, bedding, transportation
flights to and from base camps, fly-fishing training, medical emergency supplies, and trained
guides. All these resources must be planned in advance and several may need to be reserved far
in advance due to constraints of resources. This will be the time of year where all the adventure
groups that sell fly-fishing trip will need the same resources that your company may need. In a
trip like this where one resource is flying people to and from base camps needs to be shared can
be done with planning ahead. One of the main problems most projects face is shared resources
(Jacob, & McClelland, 2001).
If the project manager lays out the critical path of needed resources he/she can plan ahead
and share some of the resources with other fly-fishing groups. For example the plane that is
being used could plan certain times that it will pick up passengers from one location in the
morning and a second location in the afternoon. Depending on the distance the panes could make
even more trips per day. Most of the resources, like the boats, will be used by the group for the
whole trip. It is important that the customers know what to expect and that they arrive on time
for the fly-fishing adventure. If there are any delays it will most likely affect future fly-fishing
trip that are scheduled after this group’s trip.
Cost
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Need to identify costs that the customer is responsible for and the cost that GAA is
responsible for. Both time and cost are affected by the resources assigned to each phase of the
project (Salewski, Schirmer, & Drexl, 1997). For this fly-fishing trip the price has been
negotiated and it is not to exceed $27,000. This means that the project manager must set a budget
that will allow for all the needed deliverables to be furnished for this trip. GAA is outsourcing
the air transportation to and from the base camps and this helps GAA save money in the long run
by not having to own and take care of their own plane and then have a pilot.
Risk
GAA needs to identify all the risks associated with this fly-fishing trip and have
contingency plans for any possibilities of problems with the project. It is important to identify all
potential risk and then take any actions that may help prevent the risk from happening or make
plans that will only be needed in case of emergencies. There is risk that must be identified that
could stop the trip from starting or cause problems later in the middle of the trip that could cause
it to be stopped. Most of the potential risk can be overcome by planning ahead and developing
any training that might help the guides in emergencies.
Possible risk are: medical emergencies, weather conditions, late arrival, plane problems
associated with trip to and from base camps, camp sites along river, lost equipment,
communication, licenses due to problems acquiring them, or training. Risks are simply the
potential for problems that could cause problems in a particular phase of the project (Cohen, &
Palmer, 2004). By being ready for problems the team and the trip will be successful. Project
managers understand that by being proactive and developing contingency plans for all the known
risks the final project is more likely to succeed.
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It is important that GAA use risk analysis tools that will identify potential risk and give
information that will aid the team. The team can brainstorm possible risk and analyze the
potential problems with each of the risk that have been identified. By performing a risk
assessment the team can identify all possible risk and the impacts these risks will have on the
fishing trip.
Risk assessment Chart:
Likelihood
Impact
Detection
Difficulty
When
Plane Problems to
and from Base
Camps
Low
Moderate
Low
To and from base
camps
Weather problems
Moderate
Moderate
Low
Before and during the
fishing trip
Health Problems
Low
Moderate
Moderate
During trip
Accident / medical
problems
Low
High
Low
During trip
Late arrival
Low
Moderate
Low
Before trip
Lost Equipment
Low
Low
Low
During trip
Communcation
(Cochran, 2012)
Low
Low
Low
During trip
Risk Event
Once the risks have been identified the team can build a risk response matrix and identify
the problem, how to respond to the problem and the person to contact for each type of problem.
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Risk Response matrix:
Risk Response Matrix
Risk Event
Response
Contingency
Plan
Trigger
Plane Problems
to and from
Base Camps
Evaluate
problem to see
time impact
Have 2nd
source ready
for emergency
Have emgency
evacuation plan
ready
Accident /
medical
problems
Have temp.
emergency paln
in place
Guides have
training for
health
emergencies
Guides have
training for
health
emergencies
Late arrival
Depends on
how late arrival
Fewer days of
fishing
Soon as time
delay is
extablished
Trigger
depends on
severity of
weather
Trigger
depends on
severity of
health problem
Trigger
depends on
severity of
problem
When
customers do
not arrive on
time
Once
equipment is
lost
Once
equipment
breaks use
backup
Weather
problems
Health
Problems
Have backup
Lost Equipment equipment
Have backup at
Communcation base camps
(Stan Cochran, 2012).
Have emgency
evacuation plan
ready
Have emgency
evacuation plan
ready
Have more
equipment sent
Have backup
equipment
Who is
Responsible
GAA
GAA
GAA/
BlueNote
GAA/
BlueNote
BlueNote
GAA/
BlueNote
GAA
Conclusion
This fly-fishing adventure may seem like a simple project but when you start defining the
fly-fishing trip it is more understandable there is more to the task than one might think. It is
extremely important to develop a project scope that will help define the trip and will serve both
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the supplier and the customer needs. The project scope will show everyone involved all the
issues and responsibilities of everyone. The project scope will identify the objective of the
project, all the deliverables that need to be furnished, a milestone chart that gives a time-line of
the project, any technical requirements, limits and exclusions, and all this will be reviewed with
the customer to make sure everyone knows what the final outcome is to look like.
The project team then can develop the schedule and make plans on the use of resources,
identify any constraints, identify responsibilities, address risks, outsource any needed parts of the
project, and establish a cost budget. It seems crazy that all this is required for a fly-fishing trip
but when a company is selling adventure packages the customer has more expectations than if
they went fishing by themselves. The expectations are higher and the results are more
demanding. This simple project requires lots of planning and developing to make sure everyone
has fun and they remain safe. Since the project team has addressed all the potential risks and
resources have been planned the fly-fishing trip will be successful.
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References
Avalon, A., & Foster, C. W. (2010). Schedule Quality Assurance Procedures. AACE
International Transactions, PS.01.1-PS.01.11.
Cochran, Stanley. February 10, 2012. Milestone Chart.
Cochran, Stanley. February 10, 2012. Responsibility Chart.
Cochran, Stanley. February 9, 2012. Risk Assessment Chart.
Cochran, Stanley. February 10, 2012. Risk Response Matrix.
Cohen, M. W., & Palmer, G. R. (2004). Project Risk Identification and Management. AACE
International Transactions, 1
Doll, S. (2001). Seven steps for avoiding scope creep. TechRepublic. Retrieved February 5,
2012, from http://www.techrepublic.com/article/seven-steps-for-avoiding-scopecreep/1045555
Jacob, D. B. & McClelland, W. T. (2001). Theory of Constraints Project Management: AGI
Goldbratt Institute. Retrieved February 7, 2012, from http://www.pmiswva.org/vault/jacob_and_mcclelland_2001_theory_of_constraints_pm_intro.pdf
Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2011). Project management, the managerial process. (5 ed.). New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Professional Pub.
Salewski, F., Schirmer, A., & Drexl, A. (1997). Project scheduling under resource and mode
identity constraints: Model, complexity, methods, and application. European Journal Of
Operational Research, 102(1), 88-110.
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