Learning from a Project “ Post-mortem"

            The project that I decided to reflect on is a personal experience of planning a wedding. My fiancé at the time and I had gotten engaged in August of 2011. The project of planning a wedding was very frustrating and difficult due to many variables. Looking at this project from a Project Managers prospective, it relates to many of the components used in a general business project.

            Instead of hiring a wedding planner, my fiancé and I decided to take upon all of the responsibilities. Just as defining the scope and sequence in any project, this was an area that lacked in my project. A general outline was developed to highlight the budget, timeline, and list of vendors or supporters of the wedding. One major conflict with the scope of the project was due to the fact that my team member and I did not address the project until six months after the initialized engagement. With only six months to plan to work on the wedding, it was faced with many barriers and changes to the initial plan. One of the changes in the initial plan was the set budget. As a project manager communication is a key target when speaking with the stakeholders about changes to the project (Laureate, 2009). Reflecting the initial approval document supports whether changes can be made or eliminated. Due to the fact the as partners in this planning process, we did not stick firmly with our initial decisions, thus far causing an increase in budget.

            Another existing conflict was the defined roles and responsibilities held by the team members. My partner and I often expressed different views in decision making. One failure to this was not reviewing the scope and sequence to assist in our project, it was a long and consistent clash of ideas. When team members find themselves disagreeing on components of a project, it is the Project Manages role to intervene, review individual roles, responsibilities, timeline and budget (Laureate, 2009).

            Although the budget and decision making process was a persistent barrier in the project, there were some successes present. The outside people involved which included family members and vendors were very supportive in assisting with the timeline of the project. Finalizations with major parts of the wedding, which included food, photography, florist, and ceremony, were complete in a timely manner for the deadline.

            The overall success of the wedding was positive. I enjoyed the decisions that were made in the end and it was a fulfilling event. One of major components of this project that I would change would have been the planning process and timeline. Instead of wasting valuable time once the project was initiated, I would have started sooner and outline the work break down specifically. This would have avoided so many conflicts with decision making, the budget would have been maintained, and my team member and I would of focused on our specific roles in the project. It is important to keep in mind that with a specific scope commits to a limited sequences with direct control over a project (Laureate, 2009)

 

Resources

Laureate Education Inc. (2009) (Producer). Project Management Concerns'Scope Creep’ [video] [transcript]. Dr. Stolovitch

Laureate Education Inc. (2009) (Producer). Defining the Scope of an ID Project [video] [transcript]. Dr. Stolovitch