Question

study:

Prior to the establishment of Globex, founding business B T & Sons Farming Equipment established the annual Riverina Agriculture and Lifestyle Show (RALS) in the year 2000. The RALS is a 3-day event held in November each year and showcases farmers, local business, agricultural equipment suppliers and lifestyle products. The management of the RALS requires the coordination of show stands, demonstrations, live displays, catering, and volunteers, and was originally undertaken by B T & Sons.

The RALS has grown significantly since its inception and is now managed by a community committee. Globex however is still committed to the RALS and has strong community engagement through the management and coordination of the volunteers required for the RALS to run smoothly

All takings from the show gates are donated to charity Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV), who are very active in the Riverina Region. ICV are invited by communities to help them achieve their own goals through their national network of skilled volunteers, who provide practical hands-on help where skills and resources are limited. The ICV also provides volunteers to assist with the RALS, giving back to the community they are working in.

In order to maximise gate takings and therefore donations to ICV, the RALS is heavily dependent on ticket sales.

Currently, tickets can only be purchased at the RALS gates, which causes significant delays, especially on opening day. It is also suspected that when crowds are large and the ticket sales process is slow, people are slipping through the gates without paying to avoid a lengthy wait. The gates are currently manned by volunteers who simply observe that each person entering is carrying a valid ticket. When crowd numbers are large or during peak periods, it is difficult for volunteers to check all tickets.

To improve this process and maximise ticket sales, the RALS committee have made the decision to outsource the development of a ticketing system. As founders of the RALS and trusted committee members Globex has been asked to take the lead role in sourcing a suitable business to develop the ticketing system. As such, based on their long-standing relationship, Globex has contracted Virtucon to develop the required system.

Project Description

The RALS committee have requested a computer-based ticketing system to replace their current manual system.

Currently tickets can only be purchased at the RALS gates which causes significant delays, especially on opening day. It is also suspected that when crowds are large and the ticket sales process is slow, people are slipping through the gates without paying to avoid a lengthy wait.

To improve this the RALS committee have recommended an online ticketing system be implemented. The system should enable patrons to access ticket sale from any online platform and mobile device so that tickets can be purchased before the event. Tickets need to be digitally enabled and can be scanned at the gate so that a range of reports can be generated by the system. As well as digital sales, tickets should also be available for purchase from a number of locations in the town and at the gates for those who do not have access to a computer or suitable device. It is expected however that the ability to purchase tickets prior to the event will significantly reduce the queues at the gates and ticket evasion.

The RALS committee have indicated that a number of ticket options should be made available

Single day passes

2 & 3 day passes

Family passes (2 adults and max 3 kids under 16)

Kids passes (under 16)

Student passes (valid with student id for over 16s)

Concession passes (valid with a pension card)

Stall holders pass (3 free passes per stall. If more are required they are charged at the concession rate).

The RALS committee have also requested that:

A cost estimate and budget be prepared for the cost of the system development and implementation

Barcodes or QR codes are used on tickets and that turnstiles with barcode readers be installed (to capture data, reduce number of volunteers and reduce ticket evasion)

Tickets may be printed as well as e-tickets generated

Detailed reporting system to include (but not limited to):

sales of tickets & breakdown of ticket type

how many bought tickets vs how many were redeemed

how many people came through the gates each day / peak times

where tickets were purchased (online / outlet / gate).

What we need to do????

Using MS Project, develop a schedule using a high-level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) similar to the hierarchy given in the example below (Project-phase-deliverable-activity and milestone) and the Gantt Chart. It should include: (approx 40 steps excluding the level 1 tasks).

o Milestones for each phase
o List of all deliverables for each phase
o Activities / Tasks for each deliverable- Define a set of activities / tasks that must be completed to produce each deliverable.
o Resource Table (to be added in Ms Project from resource list in Part two)
o Assign people and resources to each individual activities.

o Add dependencies.
o Estimates duration for Each Activity / Task- Develop a time estimate for each task or activity to be completed.

You may use the format below.

Project 00 EC Bank Project +1.0 Conceptualize and initialize project +2.0 Develop charter and plan +3.0 Analysis +4.0 Design +5.0 Construction -6.0 Testing Deliverable 46.1 Test 6.2 Test results report 6.2.1 Review test plan with client 6.2.2 Carry out test plan 6.2.3 Analyze results 6.2.4 Prepare test results report and presentation 6.2.5 Present test results to client 6.2.6 Address any software issues or problems 6.2.7 Milestone: Client signs off on test results Activity Task Milestone-Deliverable completion +63 Milestone Testing completed +8.0 Close project 9.0 Evaluate project success

Answer 1

• a) Closure checklist that ensures that the project has been closed properly:

  • Create a registration process that is easy to understand and is optimized for all types of devices.
  • Provide online support to attendees by giving them an easy link to contact
  • The prices of tickets will be determined by the type of ticket you create. Most events have premium tickets that are priced highly. You can then have discounted tickets to motivate the middle-income groups to attend your event
  • Arrange for a cloud-based event management platform that helps in the marketing campaign and online registration system.
  • It should be easily shareable, easy to use and easy for you to keep track of the number of tickets that have been sold for the event
  • You have to have the appropriate page set up for the purchasers of the tickets. Event ticketing websites can give you instructions on how to get started with selling tickets.
  • Do not spend hours checking-in attendees at the door with a piece of paper or spreadsheet. Barcodes or QR codes can be used to validate a ticket purchase and record attendance. Your audience can bring the barcode on paper or in electronic format to be checked-in and it only takes seconds.
  • Enable better tracking by reducing human error.

  b) Develop a project evaluation –outline and discuss how your project’s MOV will be evaluated:

  Project Evaluation that outlines the evaluation of Project’s MOV (Measurable organizational value)

  In order to measure organizational value, Project to be measured covering the following areas viz., Strategy, Operational efficiency, Financial derivatives, Customer Focused and Social.

  The client wants to increase its efficiency. As the money collected from the sale of tickets is going to Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV) in the form of donations. So, to make the whole process more efficient and faster, the new initiative is being taken.

  Globex has continued with RALS and is even supporting in the endeavor to increase the total revenue which comes from the sale of tickets. Though it will not get any financial benefit as all the proceeds from the sale of tickets will to go to ICV. If the whole three-day show is organized efficiently and effectively, Globex's name in the market would gain as the event is organized under the patronage of Globex. This could be an effective marketing strategy for Globex.

  ICV will directly benefit as the increase of revenue from stopping of pilferage of tickets will come to them. They have all the reason to rejoice from the new technology initiative being taken. It would be easy to keep a track of total sales of tickets, totally redeemed tickets, entry of people per gate during the peak hours etc

  This would be good for the customers/ visitors as they will not have a stand in line and wait for their turn for long to buy tickets. The option of booking online will be used by many and it would reduce the rush at the ticket counter. The visitors will have a better experience and will not have to face the inconvenience they were facing earlier. This would even attract more people to the show.

  The time frame for achieving the Measurable organizational value (MOV) should be two years. The whole process should achieve its desired outcome within this time frame. The first year would the testing year and everything goes well the whole process can be cemented by the second year. So in two years time, the desired outcome can be achieved.

  The MOV should be conducting successful RALS year after year. There should increase in the number of footfalls, number of stalls and obviously the number of business transactions using this platform.