Christmas party

Executive Summary

The content encapsulated in this report is the variety of work and the process involved in executing a successful Christmas party for the top University in Glasgow. Working to the requirements of the client, this report illustrates the different stages of planning implemented by the project team to cover all angles of the Christmas party; planning, advertising and sales. Together the team has decided upon all of the key elements of the party and has pieced together all the detailed work done in planning out the event into one final report for the client.

The client made clear the aims of the Christmas party to the project team before the planning stage. These aims allowed the project team to scope their planning stage and their research to meet the aims of the client. The main aims for the Christmas party were to:

· Host a party on the 11th December 2020

· Select a venue that can entertain 250 guests

· Make an overall profit of £2,000

In order to reach these goals, the project team undertook a number of different strategies to plan out the whole occasion. Within project management there are many well-known and trusted tools that can be utilized to form the planning stage in every project. The three main project management tools that the team carried out were: project charter, work breakdown structure and a project schedule. The project charter indicates the main points of the project by detailing key milestones, budgets provided, targets and any risks or challenges. The work breakdown structure illustrates all the major work to be carried out by the project team by splitting up the main criteria – such as venue, advertisement, entertainment etc. – of the party and detailing the work required to fulfill each criteria. The project schedule provides the team with a clear structure to work towards. Setting out a start and finish allows the team to set milestones and deadlines which results in the project being more successfully implemented and ready in time for the required date of the party. MS Project also provides the team to keep track of the resources and the efficiency of the team completing tasks as the project is underway.

For the purposes of ensuring a successful project that satisfies the client and guests, the team divided the project down into key tasks to be completed. By spreading the workload, it allowed the team to agree on key elements of the project such as venue, date, costs etc. then share responsibility and specialize on the different stages and considerations for the party to improve work speed and quality. The key tasks for the Christmas party are as below:

· Project Charter

· Scope Statement

· Work Breakdown Structure

· Venue Selection

· Finances

· HR Management

· Project Schedule

· Risk Management