W11_Stella_ Scheduling  a Friend’s Wedding applying the best Practices

1.Problem Definition and Recognition

A friend of mine is planning for her wedding and she is proposing to have her wedding not later than four months from now in a very simple but classical way. She decided to contract the project of planning and executing the wedding to a well renowned wedding planner in Lagos at a fixed amount.

She was not certified with the wedding plan he gave to her, she could not read meaning into it . All she needed was a well structured plan and how long it will take to implement the plan. We put heads together and decided to plan and schedule the wedding ourselves and then give out our plan to a contractor to execute based on our schedule.

The approach we followed was the best practice in Planning and scheduling, capturing all activities, sequencing, assigning resources, assigning or estimating duration etc.

2.Feasible Alternatives

Her Initial plans were

i.              Sublet the contract to a wedding planner (incomprehensive list)

ii.             The spouses  planning the wedding on their own intelligence(canceled)

iii.            Scheduling applying best practices

 

3.    Develop the outcomes for each alternative

i.Sublet the contract to a wedding Planner

The wedding planner is one of the renowned planners we have in Lagos, and due to his tight schedule, he gave her an eight month wedding schedule listed below.

7-8 months

Announce engagement to family and friends

Discuss “who is paying for what”

Set your wedding budget

Consider purchasing wedding insurance (before

laying down non-refundable deposits)

Research vendors for ideas, services and pricing

Create a wedding website

Choose your wedding attendants

Begin compiling guest list

Mail Save the Dates (6-12 months ahead of

Wedding date)

Research wedding dress and veil styles

Research and decide on wedding planner

6-7 months

Choose bridal party attire

Book vendors

Purchase wedding dress

Establish a fitness routine

5-6 months

Research and order Invitations

Begin planning wedding programs

Begin planning honeymoon

Register at three national retailers

Choose cake style and baker (schedule tastings)

Reserve any rental equipment

Research and book transportation to and from

venues

Mail Save the Dates (if you haven’t already)

Order wedding bands

Research three different nearby hotels at different

price points for OOT guests

4-5 months

Choose and order flowers for wedding party,

venues, cake, and attendants.

Make honeymoon reservations

Research wedding day hairstyle

Choose groomsmen attire

Finalize Favors and Reception Items

Plan welcome baskets for OOT guests

Make and book rehearsal dinner plans

3 months

Plan ceremony and reception seating arrangements

Experiment with hair and veil with stylist

Purchase guestbook (or DIY), toasting flutes,

serving pieces, flower basket and ring-bearer pillow

2 months

Begin writing vows

Mail Invitations

Book spa and beauty treatments for you and your

wedding party

Review and confirm ceremony details with officiate

Purchase gifts for attendants

First dress fitting

2 months

Submit wedding announcement to newspaper

Finalize transportation arrangements

Finalize seating arrangements

Finalize playlists with musicians

Create, copy, and send wedding day schedules to

vendors, wedding party, parents and officiate

Create contact info sheet for your loved ones while

you’re on honeymoon

Confirm reservations for OOT guests

Confirm that wedding party and parents have their

fittings and attire complete

1 month

Call vendors and confirm dates, times, and

locations

Final dress fitting

Confirm honeymoon reservations

Pick up wedding rings

Pack for honeymoon

Write Thank You notes as gifts are received

Pick up your marriage license and order 2-3 extra

copies

Order wedding programs

2 weeks

Give final count to caterer

Update registries

Begin breaking in wedding shoes

Make necessary arrangements for when on

honeymoon: pets, mail...

Final haircut and color

Get your playlists to DJ/Musicians

Delegate wedding day duties: gift table, guestbook attendant, etc.

Delegate someone to return tuxes and other rental

items

Send directions to wedding day transportation

drivers

1 week

Prepare final payments to vendors

Lay out wedding clothes to make sure you have everything

Prepare wedding day emergency kit

Give your readers their scripts

Spa treatments

Give photographer and videographer request(s) for shots and moments you want captured

The Day Before

Mani/Pedi

Massage

Wedding Rehearsal

Rehearsal dinner

Get to bed at a decent hour!

Day of the Wedding

Eat a good breakfast!

Mail wedding announcements to extended friends,

family, and colleagues (optional)

Allow yourself plenty of time to get ready

Congratulations! ENJOY the Day!

After the Honeymoon

Send Thank You Cards as soon as possible

 

 

 

iii.Scheduling applying best practices

 

1st is to creat the WBS in order to capture all the activities using wbs chart pro

 

 

The plan using microsoft project  

 

 

 

 

The Schedule using Microsoft project (finish to start) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The schedule  start date and end dates are 17th of march and 16th of May repectively which is within the client's demand.

 

 

 

.The Network diagrams below diplayed the sequence of the activities and was demostrated using precedence diagram. (finish to start) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Applying “Visual Brainstorming” ideas to compare the two alternatives.

Wedding planner	Applying the best practices
His list is not comprehensive	This application is very comprehensive
The durations are not clearly detailed	The durations are clearly detailed and interrelated
A lot of items need to be eliminated	The items are already eliminated
All activities are captured	All activities required are captured
The period is far beyond the bride’s timing	The period is within the bride’s schedule
Cannot track the progress of the wedding perfectly	The progress is tracked and monitored
Difficult to identify the milestone	The milestones are clearly indentified
No critical path is indicated	The critical paths are indentified

From the Visual brainstorming above we decided to make use of the planning done using Microsoft project. 

4.    Selection of Criteria

The target of the client is to achieve her simple wedding within three or four months, this was achieved by the use of planning software and adhering to the best practices;it gave her a completion date far beyond the duration proposed by the planner. In addition she could c

The scheduling software helps you plan, see and make adjustment where necessary.

5.    Analysis and comparison of the alternatives

Application of the best practices in scheduling is really a perfect tool for planning and scheduling because it gives you a whole lot of information in one package.

You can plan, schedule, monitor, control, and track the event on daily basis with it.

This best practice is far more better than a wedding planner sending a list of items and then ticks on the item each time he completes the activity.

6.    Select the preferred alternative

From the analysis above the best alternative in this case was to make use of the planning software ,plan for the wedding yourself and then  contract the plan to a wedding planner to follow your schedule.

     7. Performance Monitoring & Post Evaluation of Result

The scheduling tool is a good performance and monitoring tool because it tracks each item in the system and helps one to control and take full charge of a project.

I equally recommend wedding planners to adopt the use of planning and scheduling software, and then applying best practices with them will give them an edge in the society as a well and good wedding planner.

8. References

i. Scott A, PE.,(2010) .Chapter 13 Scheduling(pp13.1 – 13.17) Skill &Knowledge of Cost Engineering  (5^th Edition).Morgantown ,USA.

ii. Humphreys G.C. (2011)Chapter 6 What is scheduling ? Schedule Types Project Management Using Earned Value (2nd Edition) Humphreys & Associates, Orange, CA USA.

iii. Project Management Knowledge,The Ultimate Resource for project Managers,... retrieved from http://project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/d/dummy-activity/

iv.GAO Scheduling "Best Practices" retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-120G

v.Brassard, M. & Ritter, D. (2010).Brainstorming (pp. 23 -25). The Memory Jogger 2: Tools for Continuous Improvement and Effective Planning (2^nd edition). US: Goal/QPC