Portfolio Case Study
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Portfolio Case Study
Darren Hamilton
MGMT505– Project Management Fundamentals
September 15, 2011
Tony L. Sines
Southwestern College Professional Studies
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Portfolio Case Study
From beginning to end, a project must be superbly managed and properly planned to help
ensure a successful completion. From the initial inception, a project manager is responsible for
creating an accurate scope, developing a plan, allocating resources, determining deliverables, and
orchestrating the cooperation of teams involved. For this case study we take a look at a Nicolette
Larson, who has been designated director/project manager for planning a summer soccer
tournament. We look at the current situation, a plan for completing the project involving risks,
costs, constraints, resources, and methods to manage the project.
Case Summary
The Manchester United Soccer Club (MUSC) is a soccer club designed to help
recreational soccer players attain a higher level of skill and prepare them for the State Olympic
Development Program and future school teams. The club currently has 24 members, both boys
and girls, ranging from 9 to 16 years of age. The board of directors has determined to sponsor a
soccer tournament in the fall that should provide a source of income. These tournaments are a
great method for creating a revenue flow due to the fact that each MUSC team competes in up to
four tournaments per summer. Estimates for the revenue generated range from $50,000-$70,000.
The board of directors has decided that in order to host the summer tournament additional fields
will need to be added to the complex and existing fields need improvements made. Some of
these funds would also be utilized to improve the scholarship program that helps subsidize the
dues for athletes whose family cannot afford the $450 yearly dues.
Nicolette Larson is a self-proclaimed ‘soccer mom’ who has been appointed to
tournament director of the Manchester United Tournament Organizing Committee. She has been
placed in charge of planning the club’s first tournament. Nicolette organized the first committee
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meeting and had high hopes and expectations for the meeting. She decided to begin this meeting
by having a brainstorming session to try and determine what necessary steps/resources were
needed to pull off this tournament. This lack of direction for the first meeting resulted in many
different suggestions and arguments. The suggestions that may be useful to the project were
utilizing local college’s fields, how much teams would be charged to enter, how much would be
spent on prizes for winners, and several fund raising ideas. The fund raising ideas were looking
for local sponsors and selling tournament apparel.
In order for us to begin this project, we must determine what the deliverables for the
project will be. The end result is a remodeled soccer complex, but there are many small
deliverables that must combine to create this final product. In order to build a new field, we are
going to have to have a land survey, have the land prepared and install new fields and improve
existing fields. We will also need to provide sponsors for raising funds for the various expenses
we will incur. A scholarship fund must be created. We will also need lighting and other
equipment for the fields, such as corner post, goals, and bleachers. A draft of the Work
Breakdown Structure (WBS) can be seen on the following page.
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Tournament
Remodeled
Complex
Remodeled
Fields
New Fields
Survey,
Blueprints
Dirt Work
Field Dressings
Landscaping
Replace
Equipment
Field
Treatments
Funds
Sponsors
Fund Raising
Apparel
Turf
Lighting
Goals
Corner Posts
Bleachers
Design
WP-1 T
WP-2 T
WP-3 T
WP-4 T
WP-1 CP
WP-1 L
WP-2 L
WP-3 L
WP-1 G
Fund Raising
Activities
WP-1 B
Clothing
manufactured
Grants
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Developing a WBS could alleviate some of the problems that occurred during the first
meeting and help organize and plan the project by determining deliverables that will be
necessary to complete the project. “A work breakdown structure is the cornerstone of every
program because it defines in detail the work necessary to accomplish a program’s objectives”
(Work Breakdown Structure, 2009). By listing each of these deliverables and the work
associated with each, we can create a means of control for the meeting and the project. This will
give the next meeting a more focused direction and allow specific conversations to be had about
responsibilities and future of the project. If we can keep the group on track, the WBS will help
avoid topics of controversy unrelated to the project. Responsibilities for tasks can begin to be
determined giving team members tasks to focus on.
Nicolette can find additional information to help develop a WBS for the tournament
project by contacting other clubs or schools that have gone through this process to prepare fields
for activities. Since most schools have their own fields, we may want to visit newer schools that
have recently constructed their fields. City park managers may be able to provide additional
information if they were involved with the construction of fields. Other soccer organizations
such as the US Soccer Foundation have a wealth of information about lighting, field types, sizes
and other important knowledge. One important thing to consider is that there may be members
of the parent committee that have experience in some of the fields that are requiring tasks. If any
of the members own a construction or lawn care business, not only can they give accurate costs
and timeframes, they may be able to provide services at a slightly discounted rate.
With the knowledge gained from creating the WBS, Nicolette and her task force can use
the WBS to generate cost estimates for the tournament by determining the costs of labor,
resources, and deliverables required for the tasks in the WBS. Since the WBS breaks each small
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deliverable down into tasks, it should be possible to provide fairly accurate timeframes and costs.
This information would be useful to present to the board of directors, forecast expenditures, and
determine the viability of the project.
Plan Going Forward
I will work with Nicolette to first define exactly what we are trying to do with this
project. We have to determine the specifications, tasks, and responsibilities for those tasks and
have a clear understanding of what is the expected final deliverable. There may need to be
several meetings with the board of directors to determine exactly what they are expecting. With
this information we can then create a scope statement. This scope statement or project charter
will include information about what the objective is, what the deliverables are, what the major
milestones will be, the technical requirements, and the limits and exclusions. This scope
statement will then need to be approved by the board. From here, we will integrate the WBS into
an organizational breakdown structure (OBS). The OBS assigns resources to each of the tasks
needing completed. Using the OBS we can create responsibility matrices that determine which
resources are primary and backup on each of the tasks or deliverables for the project.
Once we have compiled all of this information, we will then begin estimating the
resources, funding, and time needed for the project. We need to begin estimating the amount of
time and costs associated with the tasks and deliverables of the project. Since we have parents
involved in both construction and lawn care, we will go to the experts to gain accurate costs and
schedules. We will utilize the bottom-up approach of estimating costs, resources and time since
we have knowledgeable field experts on the team. Utilizing the skill set of the group of parents
that attend the meeting, we will assign tasks and begin looking for contractors to gain estimates
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to complete some of the remaining tasks. Once these estimates are complete we will be able to
move on to the project plan.
As we begin to draw up the project plan, we will need to determine the order in which
tasks need to be completed. We will create an activity-on-node network diagram that will allow
us to determine multiple characteristics about tasks. Some tasks can overlap and other tasks have
no predecessors that can float to varying times during the project to level out resource need.
Once we have an activity-on-node network completed, we can begin to accurately create
schedules and allocate resources.
Once the plan is complete and we have the approval to move ahead, we will begin
executing the tasks associated with the project. During this phase, we will have contractors
doing surveys of the land we intend to use for new fields, a crew to create the proper dirt base for
the field, a team installing lights, turf, goals, bleachers, and teams in the same areas working on
renovating the existing fields. We will utilize status reports, monitor changes, watch for quality
issues, and begin forecasting metrics about the project. During the closing phase of the project,
we will hand off any maintenance tasks required for the new soccer complex.
Constraints
There are a number of constraints concerning this project. The first constraint facing this
project is time. We have been given 11 months to complete the soccer complex before the
tournament is to be held. With a portion of that during the winter months, construction may be
stalled and momentum may be lost. We will have to be well prepared to complete the complex
in 11 months.
Another major constraint on this project is funding. We will have to actively be
searching for sponsors to help fund this project. We will have to look into fund raising activities
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and other means of generating revenue to proceed with this project. We may be able to generate
some revenue by renting fields or the complex out, allowing cell phone companies to lease a
portion of the land to put up a cell tower which we can use to mount lighting (Academy Sports
Turf, 2010), selling team apparel, and selling advertising around the field.
Another constraint may be people, materials, and equipment. It may be difficult to enlist
parents as a resource for this project. Many of the parents probably have other obligations and
may not be available when needed. Contractors may have other jobs they have to complete on
their schedule that may conflict with our schedule. There may not be enough equipment or
materials in the area, so that must be researched and those required resources will need to be
shipped in. If there are certain times in the project when we are completing similar tasks, such as
laying turf on two different fields, our resources may be stretched too thin and we may need to
use a leveling technique to spread out the need of those resources to fit availability (Larson &
Gray, 2011).
Resources
There is a large variety of resources needed for this project. One major resource needed
for this project will be funding. We will create a team that specifically seeks out funds for this
project. They will be responsible for finding sponsors and will operate fund raising activities.
While the tournament will bring in some income to cover some of the costs, it will take many
tournaments to cover the cost of the remodeled complex. For the first phase of the project,
Nicolette and I will work together to create the scope, plan, schedule, and determine required
deliverables and resources. We will utilize some of the parents as team members to distribute
some of the tasks and will rely on contractors for many of the other tasks. To survey the land we
intend to develop, we will need a contractor with equipment to complete this survey. We will
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then need a designer to lay out the blueprints for the new fields. Based on these blueprints we
will need to bring in a development contractor with large earth moving equipment to create a
base for the new field. After this is complete, we will need a team to install turf and electricians
for the lighting. We will need landscapers to renovate the existing fields that need work. We
will need graphic artists to create designs for apparel for us to sell, a manufacturer to produce the
apparel, and team members to promote the apparel. Final touches will need to be done by
another team, properly marking fields, putting up goals and corner posts, bleachers, and
operating the refreshment stands selling tournament apparel.
Responsibilities for Resources
Task
Survey land
Develop land
Install turf
Refurbish
existing fields
Install
lighting
Jayhawk
Lightning
Landscaping Electricians
Thompson
Excavation
Jim’s Turf
Co.
X
X
X
X
Skyline
Surveyors
X
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Task
Tom
Fund Raisers
Design
Apparel
Produce
Apparel
Dress Field
X
Develop
scholarship
10
Spiffy
Designs
Decal
Graphics
All Star
Sports
Cathy
X
X
X
X
Timeframe
The completion of this project is due by summer of next year. We have a short window
of 11 months to get the soccer complex into shape to host a tournament the next summer.
During the fall of this year, we will complete a number of subtasks. In order to begin funding
this project, we will begin having fund raisers and looking for sponsors and grants. We will
contract out the design for the apparel and send that design to the clothing manufacturer. During
September and August, we will bring in the landscaping contractors to begin work on existing
fields. During this same time period, we will have surveyors in to lay out the new fields and
bring in the excavation team for developing the land. We will continue to raise funds over the
winter months. The next phase should begin in late February or early March depending on the
weather. Once the new field base has settled, we will begin installing turf. During this time, we
will be replacing and improving the equipment on the existing fields. Once the turf is in, the
electricians will begin to put up the lights and the equipment team will be installing the new
goals, corner posts, and bleachers.
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Costs
If the board of directors determines not to move ahead with this project, there will be no
immediate costs associated with that decision. The only impact would be loss of future revenue
due to not being able to hold tournaments or rent out the complex. There could be major costs
involved if this project fails. Depending how far along we are in the project plan would
determine what those costs would be. If we have already started the spring phase of the projects
we would have all of the surveying and land development, improvements on existing fields,
apparel design and manufacturing, and angry sponsors to deal with. The table below contains
information on the costs of this project.
Deliverables
Dollar Amount
Quantity
Totals
Each new Field
$600,000 (Fresenburg, 2006)
2
$1,200,000
Lighting/field
$200,000 (SAFE)
2
$400,000
Apparel Design
$500 (Costhelper, 2009)
1
$500
Apparel Production
$5000
1
$5000
Field equipment
$7400
5
$37,000
Existing field
improvements per field
TOTAL:
$10,000 (U.S. Soccer Foundation)
3
$30,000
$1,672,500
Return on Investment
Through the course of this project and after this complex has been completed, there will
be considerable costs as well as returns. The yearly tournament can bring in between $50,000 to
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$70,000. The complex can also be utilized for regular season games and possibly rented to other
schools or organizations that do not have their own fields. By finding partners such as Nike and
the U.S. Soccer Foundation, it may be possible to reduce costs by up to as much as 40% (U.S.
Soccer Foundation). That would drop the total cost down to $1,003,500. There is an estimate of
$70,000 a year revenue off of tournaments. With a possible income from renting fields of
$45/hour per field, there is a possible income of an additional $225/hour for the complex during
daylight hours and $135/hour after dark (City of Oakland Office of Parks and Recreation, 2008).
Depending on rentals, this is expected to bring in an additional $75,000 to $100,000 a year.
Apparel revenue is expected to be around $10,000 to $15,000 per year. Advertising at the
stadium is expected to bring in an additional $25,000 per year. With estimates of $210,000 a
year income, the remodel would be paid for in a little over 5 years not taking into account any
fundraising activities or donations.
Risk Assessment
Along with every project come risks. There are a variety of risks facing this project.
According to one veteran project manager, the key to project success is to be a proactive project
manager, looking forward to the next milestones, seeing the associated risks, and having a
contingency plan if those threats should materialize (Paul, 1999). Risks facing this project are
listed in the risk assessment on the next page.
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Likelihood Scale
Impact Scale
Detection Difficulty
Scale
1 = Highly Unlikely
1= No Impact
1= Easy Detection
2 = Unlikely
3 = Moderately Likely
4 = Highly Likely
2 = Minimal Impact
3 = Average Impact
4 = Significant Impact
2 = Average Detection
3 = Difficult Detection
4 = Undetectable
Risk Event
Bad Weather
Not enough
funding
Losing a
contractor
Increasing
resource cost
Not popular
Failure to
complete in time
Lack of
Materials
Likelihood
Impact
Detection Difficulty
When
3
During execution
2
During execution
2
3
3
4
2
4
2
During execution
3
3
1
During execution
2
2
3
4
3
2
2
4
3
After completion
After expected
completion
During execution
Methods for Tracking Progress
Several tools we would use to track progress are the cost performance index and a
tracking Gantt chart. The cost performance index gives us an up to date measurement as to
where our task is on budget and can be used to estimate overages or coming in under budget. If
we utilize the CPI on a regular basis, we can trend the direction a task is headed. A tracking
Gantt chart gives us a visual picture of where we are timeline wise in a project. It shows us how
the baseline durations of each task tie together, how one influences another, and what percentage
of completion we are on a particular task in a project. I can see both of these being useful to
graphically and numerically show us where we are on the timeline and budget. These methods
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could be used in monitoring the project in several ways. The graphical representation of the
timeline and how tasks rely on one another will be a good way to predict completion on schedule
and may allow for certain tasks to be shifted in the timeline to regain lost time or better utilize
resources. The CPI will permit me to report how we are running budget wise and either find
additional income or predict the future need for more funding or reduce the number of fund
raisers because we are running ahead of schedule.
Another way to gather data and monitor progress would be regular status meetings with
team members and team leaders. This would give us a broad view of how the project is going
from a management view and how it is perceived and headed from a resource view. Ensuring
that team members are on track and focused on a regular basis will help contribute to the success
of the project.
I would also implement software tracking for this project. Utilizing Microsoft Project to
track resources and time, as well as progress and budget would be very useful. It can
automatically create statistics and various diagrams and charts. It can also alert you if there are
scheduling conflicts and helps you tie together task dependency to determine the critical path as
well as which tasks can float and not impact the critical path. Microsoft project is capable of
managing project related information including tasks, duration, dependencies, resources, and
costs and generate a schedule as well as make it easy to share with others (Burns, 2008).
Conclusion
With a positive return on investment after approximately 5 years, this complex will pay
for itself and be a source of income. With tasks well defined and team members and contractors
responsible for their tasks, there should be little room for failure to complete this project in time.
With proper preparation for the risk involved with this project, the team can mitigate the impact
Portfolio Case Study
that those have on the project. We will keep on top of the tracking of the project utilizing
Microsoft Project, frequent status updates, tracking Gantt charts, and the Cost Performance
Index. If the board of directors follows this plan, the project has the best chance of success.
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References
Work Breakdown Structure. (2009). GAO Reports, 65-78. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Academy Sports Turf. (2010). FAQ's Regarding Synthetic Turf. Retrieved September 22, 2011,
from Academy Sports Turfs: http://www.academysportsturf.com/faqs.php#6
Burns, M. (2008, March). Project management to the rescue. CA Magazine, 141. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
City of Oakland Office of Parks and Recreation. (2008). Field Rental Rates. Retrieved
September 22, 2011, from City of Oakland / Parks and Recreation:
http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/facilities/rental_fieldrates.asp
Costhelper. (2009, January). How Much Does a Graphic Designer Cost? Retrieved September
22, 2011, from Costhelper: http://www.costhelper.com/cost/small-business/graphicdesigner.html
Fresenburg, B. (2006, July 21). Synthetic Turfgrass Costs Far Exceed Natural Grass Playing
Fields. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from CAFNR:
http://cafnr.missouri.edu/research/turfgrass-costs.php
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project management the managerial process. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Paul, L. G. (1999, November 22). Maintaining momentum; Network professionals let you in on
their secrets to project management success. Network World, 61. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.
SAFE. (n.d.). Have You Considered Lighting your Sports Field? Retrieved September 22, 2011,
from SportsTurf Managers Association: http://stma.cyzap.net/_files/_items/stma-mr-tab92455/docs/sportfieldlighting_safe.pdf
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U.S. Soccer Foundation. (n.d.). All Conditions Fields. Retrieved September 22, 2011, from U.S.
Soccer Foundation: http://www.ussoccerfoundation.org/atf/cf/%7B4AB68129-5AD74143-BFC9-BDBD63658B29%7D/ACFBROCHURELO.PDF