Question
We held a fifa(Football game) tournament in a Student Union. The purpose for this event is to raise fund for charity. We are able to raised 50 pound. 8 participants had joined the tournament and the winner gets 10 pound and a coupon of big jar of beer sponsored by the student union. We had recorded videos and take photos of the event as evidence. We have all the equipment (xbox, joysticks).
Sample paper
Project Management of fifa(Football game) tournament in a Student Union
Project management refers to the process of initiating, executing and planning the work of a team with the aim of achieving specific objectives. Projects are temporary activities that are designed to produce specific results and have a defined beginning and end. The main challenge in project management is to ensure all the goals of the project are achieved within the constraints present (Munns, 1996). Some of the major constraints include time, scope, budget and quality. All these resources must be allocated effectively and integrated to meet pre-defined goals.
Our project; FIFA 17 Tournament was initiated with the goal of raising funds for charity. The tournament was held in the Student Union and raised 50 pounds. However, the project had some risks such as doubts regarding the motive of the project. For a project to succeed, risks must be managed. Doubts can make people fail to contribute if they think that it is not for a worthy cause and it may be difficult to gain people’s trust. In order to gain the trust of people, it is important to make the cause of the project very clear especially for the case of charities. People need to know exactly where or what their money is going into. That way, they will give willingly without doubts.
Another risk that came up in the FIFA tournament was the risk of poor results which would make all the invested funds go to waste. Initiating a project can be challenging because we cannot foretell the outcome but with the right planning we can expect good results. For our case, the project was a success considering we were able to raise 50 pounds. Taking up the FIFA tournament project meant we had to give up other options that possibly could have given 8us better results. That was a risk but it is not to say that the other options did not have their risks. It is important to analyze all options and alternatives, their benefits and risks before settling on one. This ensures that the decision arrived at is well thought out with minimal risks.
All projects require funds to initiate and manage them. Without proper planning, it is easy to run short of funds before the project is over. Cost planning involves allocation, estimation and controlling of costs in the project. It is important to predict or estimate costs in order to reduce chances of over spending. Estimated costs are calculated during the planning process and approved before the project begins (Kerzner, 2013). It is important to document all expenses so that costs stay within the estimated budget. Once the project is complete, it is necessary to compare the estimated costs to the actual costs which can help with planning for any future projects.
In the case of FIFA tournament project, since the funds were meant for a charitable cause, the goal is to spend as little as possible on the project. To ensure the project was still successful, we used a venue that was free; the Student Union. In addition, the prize for the winner was not given from the money raised but was sponsored by the Student union. Since it was a game tournament, equipment were needed which they already had hence did not have to buy anything. To help with funding of the project, we even approached potential sponsors to help in order to ensure the event would not go over the budget.
Various techniques used in project management
There are various techniques used in project management depending on the type of project at hand. Every project is unique depending on the priorities, objectives, risks, resources available and the environment it operates in. One of the project management techniques include the waterfall model. The waterfall model is a design process that is sequential in nature where progress flows steadily downwards just like a waterfall which explains its name (Charvat, 2013). The techniques flows from the stage of conception to initiation and up to the implementation stage. This technique emphasizes that one should only move to the next phase after the previous one is done and verified. The FIFA tournament project used the waterfall technique. This technique suit the project because of its nature of unchanging requirements.
The waterfall technique was used by software developers where once one phase of a project had been completed, going back to make changes would be impractical and incredibly costly. The waterfall method allows for solving of any issues identified during the development phase before the design phase starts. That is how the project members were able to identify that they may need help from sponsors because they had an opportunity to review their plan after every stage. This method is also very efficient since it emphasizes on documentation which helps keep track of things at all times. Many teams are comfortable with this method due t its linear nature that makes it easy to use and understand.
Through this method, the FIFA 17 Tournament project was planned and implemented successfully. Their main objective for raising money for charity was achieved and they got the chance to take their mind off studying and have fun for a worthy cause. The project team of four members all fully participated considering they each had specific tasks assigned to them. Having an efficient project management technique along with working together ensured the project served its purpose to the fullest. All this was achieved at low cost due to proper planning and setting of realistic goals that were not out of students reach.
References
Charvat, J. (2013). Project management methodologies: selecting, implementing, and supporting methodologies and processes for projects. John Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Munns, A. K. (1996). The role of project management in achieving project success. International journal of project management, 81-87.
Appendix
Individual report
Mike
I had an incredible time working on the FIFA 17 tournament with my fellow project members. The project made me feel like I was a part of something important. It gave me a chance to really exercise my critical thinking skills as I was making the project budget to determine what was really necessary.
Conor
I consider it an honor to work on the FIFA 17 tournament. It was amazing to use games to raise money for charity and I believe we gave our fellow students something to think about. It personally showed me that we are all bale to give even in our own little ways. The project members were fun and easy to work with.
Wilson
This project gave me an opportunity to work on my interpersonal skills. It is not easy to convince people to put their money into something but I had to do that because it was part of my responsibility to find sponsors. I had a great time working with the project members.
Bryan
I had fun working on the FIFA Tournament. I love games but never knew I could use them for something such as helping others. I would definitely want to be a part of another project in the future.
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