Case study

Manager Networks is an organisation that provides networking events for business people across
Australia. It also runs an annual conference event focussing on an area of business considered to
be of key importance.
Each year, it is hoped that the conference will:
 provide information on cutting edge leadership topics that focus on leadership skills,
knowledge and trends
 promote Management Networks, as well as providing professional development for its clients.
You are the newly appointed Administration Manager for Manager Networks. You have been asked
to coordinate the conference project as the Project Officer, including managing the project costs
and making sure the budget is met and adhered to. Your project team will include:
 Donna Chisholm, who is the co-ordinator of the Manager Networks’ trainers
 Dan Streep, the Administration Assistant has had experience with the ground level work
required for a conference.
 Erin O’Donnell, the Manager Networks Marketing Manager, will co-ordinate the marketing
material.

Information relevant to Section 1 of the Project Portfolio

The CFO (Edith Partridge) has set a net profit target of $200,000. All expenses should be
accounted for at the completion of the project. To help you get started, she also provided the
conference budget information from the previous year. The CFO is aware that costs associated
with running a conference have increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has
suggested that this budget is only used as a guide. She expects a similar income as that of the
previous year.

Expenses Income

Venue $50,000 Registration fees – $100,000

individuals

Catering $20,000 Registration fees – $100,000

companies

Speaker fees $10,000 Sponsorship: Gold $50,000

Speakers travel $4,520 Sponsorship: Silver $45,000

Publicity $7,250 Sponsorship: Bronze $100,000

Courier $1,595

Entertainers $6,400
 Expenses Income

Printing $3,500

TOTAL 103,265 TOTAL $395,000

You are required to report back to the CFO on a monthly basis, providing a financial report to show
the project’s progress.

Information relevant to Section 2 of the Project Portfolio

The project commenced 1 month ago. All the team members are enthusiastic and fortnightly
meetings have taken place. You are satisfied that at this early stage, the planned processes and
procedures are being followed. At a recent team meeting, you received the following preliminary
information:
 Registration software quotes show best option to be $5,500. The full amount has been paid
for.
 A deposit of $3000 has been paid for equipment hire (quoted amount $23,000).
 Marketing has commenced, with $4000 already having been spent (marketing and
entertainment quotes have been received to total $10000.
 The venue that meets all requirements has been confirmed and a deposit of $15000 paid. The
quote received was $82,000.
 Staff costs to date are $2000.
After another 2 months passed, the following information was discussed at a team meeting:
 Catering quotes have been analysed and a quote for $16000 has been accepted. Half the
amount has been paid.
 Speakers have been confirmed – After some negotiation, fees will total $16000.
 Speaker’s travel arrangements have been made and a total of $8000 has been paid.
The Administration Manager (Project Officer) has noticed that the initial enthusiasm has died down.
Not all quotes have been accounted for (as planned) and some team members are slow in
responding to emails and update requests. This means the administration manager cannot update
and report back to the CFO as accurately as possible.
Information relevant to Section 3 of the Project portfolio
All costs have been paid. Income for the conference was as follows:

Actual income:

Registration fees – individuals $110,000

Registration fees – companies $95,000

Sponsorship: Gold $50,000

Sponsorship: Silver $47,000

Sponsorship: Bronze $93,000

All expenses have been paid for, as quoted. The following additional amounts were paid:
 $4000 for printing
 $2000 for courier costs
The conference took place as planned. As the time for the conference grew closer, the team re-
engaged and put in an outstanding effort. However, when asked for feedback, a few team
members requested that they too have visibility of the budget and that costs are represented
graphically for them to understand and interpret quickly.
 Manager Networks

Conference Plan Brief

The following information reflects notes from the Senior Management Team about the proposed
conference.

Conference purpose, style and outcomes

 Purpose of the conference: to provide a conference that focuses on leadership skills,
knowledge and trends.
 Desired outcomes: promote Management Networks, provide professional development for
members.
 Conference theme: cutting edge leadership topics
 Conference style: formal with a balance of conference elements to ensure that outcomes are
achieved. Conference is to be a one-day event and include at least one key-note speaker, four
sessions and breaks. Timing is 9 am to 4 pm.

Venue
 Conference facilities: requires a centrally located venue in Brisbane that has a conference
room that can accommodate up to 150 people. Also want to accommodate staff and speakers
there so will need to be rooms for speakers either within the conference venue or in nearby
hotels. Accommodation for approximately 20 people.
 Venues must be able to provide required conference equipment. Need to be able to access
audio-visual equipment including microphones, projectors and screens for projecting. Also
need lecterns and an electronic whiteboard.
 Conference catering should be on-site and include a high-quality morning tea, lunch and
afternoon tea.
 Use a web site such as https://www.ivvy.com/ to calculate price

Draft conference program

The conference program must include key sessions with timing included based on the timing
advised in the meeting plus the number of speakers.
The program must also reflect, as required, a balance of conference elements e.g. networking
sessions mixed with formal sessions. Frequent breaks.

Recommended speakers
 Speakers: should be well-known. Focus on Australian speakers with maximum one
international speaker.
 Arrange 5 speakers, fees to be paid - $2,000 per speakers plus travel costs depending on
their location.
Participant profile
Target participant group is managers in all industries.

Proposed budget allocation and timeline

 Budget: Projected numbers will be 150 people and want to make at least 50% profit after
costs. Registration costs should be determined based on this. The student will need to
develop a preliminary budget based on estimated costs and proposed registration fees. This
will include identifying all the possible expense and estimated costs and then calculating the
registration fee required to make at least 50% profit.
 Budget variances of up to 5% can be accommodated but must be reported.
 Timelines: conference to be conducted six months from day of meeting.
 Conference timing: not during school holidays or on weekends.

Conference Action Plan (Work breakdown structure)

Task When Who

1. Venue Six months prior to Project Officer

conference
 Get quotes
 Decide venue
 Book venue and
equipment
 Arrange catering

2. Speakers Six months prior to Project Officer

conference
 Decide topics
 Identify speakers
 Arrange speakers
 Brief speakers

3. Marketing Commencing on finalisation of Project Officer

venue and speakers
 Decide marketing
communication
strategies
 Develop promotional
materials

 Implement
marketing
communications
 Task When Who

4. Registration Two months prior to the Project Officer

conference
 Prepare conference
materials
 Create registration
process
 Process
registrations

Promotion
 Advertising: Mass media advertising (such as broadcast and print media). High cost and
impersonal but may result in high attendance.
 Digital marketing communication: for example, social media channels (such as Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn) together with search engine advertising (SEA) and
organisation-sponsored websites. Interactive source of marketing that can be highly effective.
 Direct marketing using several types of media, for example, email marketing to reach
consumers and encourage them to purchase or take some form of immediate response.
 Using database marketing to promote the conference to existing customers.
 Sales promotion, for example, using price reductions, contests or sweepstakes to encourage
consumers to attend.
 Sponsorship marketing through associating with a charity for example. Promotes a feel-good
factor.
 Using marketing public relations as a low-cost option as the company does not pay for media
time or space as free print space or broadcast. Time is provided because journalists consider
the information pertinent and newsworthy for their audiences. In this way MPR can also be
seen as credible and unbiased, as it is not paid for.

Registration
 Each attendee must register separately.
 Early/author registration payments must be received by DATE, for the early registration fees to
apply.
 If payment is not received by this deadline, no early bird payment is due.
 On the day print the official confirmation of registration e-mail and bring it with you to the on-
site registration desk.
 Project Management Policy and Procedures

1. Purpose
Manager Networks adopts a standard approach to project management to ensure the consistent
success of their projects. This policy and procedures are designed to specify the requirements for
managing projects to ensure that project scope is articulated, stakeholders are involved, costs and
risks are managed, and project benefits are maximized. These policy and procedures apply to all
projects.

2. Types of project
Generally, there are three types of project: small project, medium project and large project.
A small project is defined as a project that has a budget of less than $25,000 and expected
duration of less than 8 weeks.
A medium project is defined as a project that has a budget of between $25,001 - $100,000 and
expected duration of between 8 – 16 weeks.
A large project is defined as a project that has a budget of between $100,001 - $200,000 and
expected duration of between 4 - 12 months.
In each of the above cases the following staff are to be involved.

Small Project:
 Project Manager/Officer
 Project team member (at least 1 selected from suitable staff)

Medium Project:
 Project Manager/Officer
 Project team member (at least 1 selected from suitable staff)
 CFO or Operations Manager (as approver of all decisions)

Large Project:
 Project Manager/Officer
 Project team members (at least 2 selected from suitable staff)
 CFO

Project staff will vary depending on the type of project.

3. Project Phases
All projects should progress through the following project phases.

Stage one
Stage one of the project management process is triggered when the organisation identifies the
need to solve a problem, improve a process or implement a new service. It defines what the project
will attempt to achieve based on appropriate business justification.
Key tasks involved in this phase will be the preparation of project initiation documentation being the
project charter and that includes:
 Overall outline of project
 Relationship between project and organisational strategies/goals
 Proposed project objectives, outcomes and benefits
 Proposed project governance
 Proposed size of the project including budget and staffing.
Bottom-up estimation techniques should be used for cost estimations.

Stage two
The purpose of this phase is to determine how the project will be executed. This means developing
a project management plan based on the project charter. Essentially the preparation of a detailed
model of the work required to achieve the project objectives is required and confirmation of the
budget and project arrangements suggested in the project charter. Risks are also defined and
documented in a risk management plan. A detailed schedule is also prepared.

Stage three
The purpose of this phase is to implement the project. Regular reports of the progress of the
project should be provided to relevant staff, as well as regular meetings as outlined in the project
management plan.

Stage four
This is the final phase of the project and is the formal closure of the delivery component of the
project. It has two main outcomes:
 The handover of project outputs to the operational areas responsible for ongoing support and
maintenance (if applicable to the project); and
 The evaluation of the success of the project
The evaluation of the success of the project is important part of the project. The actual project
outcomes and cost must be compared with the planned outcomes and determine whether what
was achieved by the project was worth the amount invested.
Project recommendations to be included in project evaluation report should include a
recommendation to close project.
All project issues arising must be documented in the project issues register.
4. Project Communication
It is expected that the project team meet at least fortnightly, depending on the size of the project.
Records of every meeting must be kept.
Regular reports must also be sent to senior management and/or the project steering committee
regarding project progress.
A closure report must be written by the Project Manager within three months of the project’s
completion. This report is to be sent to the CFO.
All project information must be checked by the Project Manager thoroughly to ensure the quality
and accuracy of all project data.
Once the project is completed, all project information and communication must be stored in the
folder Project Information and Communication for each project.

5. Program Communication
A program is a set of interrelated projects, each of which has a project manager. ‘Multiple projects’,
or ‘a program of projects’, refers to a number of related projects managed by the same person as a
program to achieve organisational objective/s.
Program Managers manage a suite of projects, which together constitute a program.
The purpose of establishing a program and appointing a Program Manager is to ensure that all
projects are mutually beneficial for each other.
A Program Communication Plan should be developed to identify stakeholders, their differing
interests and engagement methods depending on their communication needs.

6. Project record keeping

A project folder is to be established for each project. The overall folder should be the name of the
project e.g. Human Resources Information System Project and sub-folders should be created
including folders for the business case, project management plan, project reports, minutes and any
other relevant folders e.g. briefs to contractors. All documents should include the title of document
and the date when it was saved.
 Project Cost Management Plan

Introduction
Outline the purpose of the cost management plan in relation to the project.

Financial objectives
Include the financial objectives of the project and any actions required to maintain the financial
objectives.

Resource requirements and cost

Summarise the major resources requirements, including the estimated and maximum allowable
costs.

Processes and procedures for monitoring actual expenditure against the

budget
Describe the processes for monitoring the actual expenditure (include recording of expenses).

Potential causes of increases in costs

Describe at least three factors that need to be considered that would increase costs

Project cost control procedures

Describe cost control management processes that will be followed.
Complete the table below to show allowable variations in costs and approval requirements.
 Project Financial Report

Project: Manager Networks Conference Project

Date: 15-May-2024

Summary of finances to date:

Summarise the financial situation for the project to date.

The Manager Networks Conference Project has experienced robust financial performance thus far. Total
income stands at $395,000, comprising registration fees, and sponsorship contributions. Meanwhile, total
expenses amount to $129,500, encompassing venue rental, catering, speakers, marketing, and registration
software costs. Consequently, the project has achieved a commendable net profit of $265,500.

Current expenditure:

Summarise the costs to date.

The current expenditure details are as follows:

 Venue: $82,000
 Catering: $16,000
 Speakers: $16,000
 Marketing: $10,000
 Registration software: $5,500
 Total Current Expenditure: $129,500

Variations:

Summarise the variations to estimated costs, and explain how you addressed the variation.

Fortunately, there have been no significant variations between estimated and actual costs for the Manager
Networks Conference Project. Our proactive cost management approach, including meticulous budget
monitoring and negotiation with vendors, has contributed to aligning expenses closely with projections.

Cost management processes review:

Review the cost management processes followed to date.

What have you done well?

How can you improve?

The cost management processes followed to date have proven effective. We have diligently
monitored expenses, adhered to the budget, and implemented proactive measures such as
obtaining multiple quotes and negotiating favorable terms with vendors. However, there is room
for improvement in enhancing communication channels for better budget oversight and exploring
opportunities for cost optimization through further vendor negotiations or alternative solutions.