Project Management: designing a new brochure - Essay Example

?Running Head: Project Management Project Management [Institute’s TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 3 PARAMETERS AND SCOPE OF DESIGNING NEW Brochure 3 Managing the development of new brochure 5 COMPONENTS OF NEW Brochure 9 ANALYSIS OF PROJECT USING PRINCE2 FRAMEWORK 12 Conceptualization of Developing new Brochure 12 Starting the Project of Developing new Brochures 12 Directing the Development of Brochure 12 Executing the Plan 13 CONCLUSION 13 REFERENCES 16 INTRODUCTION Project management is the skill to organize the elements of a project, whether it is the development of fresh merchandise, the start of an innovative service, a promotional drive, or some ceremony. A project is not something that is component of regular business functions. It is usually produced once; it is momentary, as well as unambiguous. It has a clear starting and ending point. A project uses funds, and it has certain limits of financial support. Regardless of the form of project, project management normally follows the identical outline: (1) description, (2) scheduling, (3) implementation, (4) power, and (5) end (Project Management Institute, 2008, p. 102). Commonly, project management is considered to have three components: (i) time period, (ii) cash / funds / capital, and (iii) scope. Increasing or decreasing any one of the three will possibly influence the remaining two. If a business decreases the quantity of time it can give to a project, that will have an effect on the scope (that is, what can be incorporated within the project) as well as on the expenditure (in view of the fact that extra individuals or funds may be needed to meet the shortened plan) (Horine, 2009, p. 93). The project under consideration for this study is designing a new brochure. PARAMETERS AND SCOPE OF DESIGNING NEW Brochure Developing a new brochure for the company was very useful for business itself, for the clientele as well as for the prospective customers (Berkun, 2008, p. 129). Nonetheless, the company ensured that it is making an excellent brochure with the intention of having good outcomes. Following are some of the points that company has taken into consideration to confirm that the desired objectives can be obtained: (1) ensuring that the brochure conveys the correct message for the business. The brochure signifies the business, so the company ascertained that it is representing itself in the most excellent way and sending out a constructive image; (2) next, introduction of the company was inserted in the brochure for those may not be acquainted with the company or may want to find out more. (3) The new brochure was designed in a way to tell the potential customer as well as general readers about the types and designs of the doors that the company manufactures. (4) Lastly, informative information about the company in addition to its contact information - phone number(s), email address, URL of website - was also included in the brochure (Kerzner, 2009, p. 73). It provides additional information or gives reply to extra issues about the product that it promotes because if the brochure offers no or little or vague data is destined to lose prospective clients (Harvard Business School Press, 2003, p. 32). This is the result of modification in the thought process of the contemporary customers. Customers, at the present time, would like to know precisely what they are paying for so it falls on the hands of the company to respond to these questions and to guarantee prospective customers that they will be having their money’s worth (Campbell, p. 93, 2006). The company decided to make the new brochures colored ones is because the good graphical representation is considered more attention capturing as well as interesting (Harvard Business School Press, 2003, p. 191). More or less any business these days can get an immense as well as appealing image for a brochure. However, what makes people to look at and go through the colored brochure carefully is due to the image that provokes feelings as well as strong feedbacks (Schmidt, 2009, p. 291). Therefore, the company tries to create that extremely interesting and inspiring image, which can show something touching as well as eye-catching. At the same time, as there may be a great deal of sections of data around, information that is more complete is meagre. Study on real expenditure performance again generally evaluates merely two brochure development systems or deviations, which does not let preparing a universal view on the competence of a quantity of various project systems. Particularly in view of the fact, that studies concentrate on “projects of different type, size, etc. and under different circumstances” (Wiefling, 2007, p. 83). Managing the development of new brochure Brochures offers a distinctive benefit on other promotional means: its double utilization of text along with graphics within a physical medium permits it to be both visually stimulating as well as extremely enlightening whereas, at the same time, providing readers with something physical to grasp (Wysocki, 2011, p. 113) - a significant feature in the digital era. In order to avoid any problem and to make the brochure flawless, company critically evaluates the following question; (1) what makes a viewer prefer a specific brochure to begin with. (2) Why do they feel compelled to open it and go on reading past the first title? And (3) How can the company ascertain that its brochure are notable among the remaining, converting attracted readers into trustworthy clients (Campbell and Collins, 2010, p. 213)? The initial blunder that was avoided to prevent a brochure from completing its promotional potential is failing to notice significant scientific information, for instance, selecting the proper paper as well as tackling problems of picture resolution (Taylor, 2010, p. 183). Scientific blunders can create a lot of unnecessary disturbance during the design procedure so they were dealt with earlier than the brochure gets to print, otherwise the outcome can be anything from unprofessional to inoperative. An additional regular brochure blunder links with content. Providing the visual character of a brochure, it can be appealing to ignore the real material in favour of concentrating on developing a product that is glossy as well as attention grabbing, but one should remember that the brochure's most important purpose is enlightening, not pleasing to the eye (Kendrick, 2006, p. 212). Clients read brochures with the intention of collecting the data essential for them to come to a well-informed decision regarding where to spend their money, so the company should not withhold the fine points and should not speak in unclear overviews. Instead, it should concentrate on the objective of making a sale as well as offering readers an understandable, particular ‘call to action’: the company is required to tell the readers what is needed from them as well as how they must go about doing it - and advise them to do so without any delay. For example, instead of just listing the company’s product, providing a contact details and looking ahead for interested parties to call, clearly state that readers must ‘Call now for a free catalogue!’ This call to action is extremely important and has to be included in the brochure (Meredith & Mantel, 2011, p. 223). The causes the global information capture together with the ‘reference project data’ were considered as a foundation for the monetary analysis of this project. The following project delivery system specific functional expenditures along with timings are shown in Table 1. For the analysis, the expenditure of activities is separated into consistent periodical expenses for the whole period of the activity. Activity of Project Delivery System Start Month End Month Realized Existing Cost Conceptualization 0.0 3.5 40,000 Design 3.5 19.5 4,509,932 Creation 7.6 48.6 68,396,111 Client management 3.6 48.6 2,193,618 Maintenance 48.6 49.6 2,724 Client management 48.6 49.6 7,179,593 External recommendation 3.6 48.6 7,189,593 Total nominal investment 89,511,571 Table 1: Actualized activity timings and expenditure of project delivery system (Pinto, 2009, p. 200) The expenditure was initially changed to the June 2009 cost level (the start of the main reference project) earlier than the analysis supported by the standard alteration in manufacturing expenditure in the design as well as construction phase. With respect to the subsequent reference project, the test was the same apart from the timing of the start of the project. Maintenance expenses (direct as well as organizational), again, are supported by an industry average to include real renovating works that were not yet contemporary within the reference projects. The data provided in Table 1 signify current expenditure of the first month just after its completion. The “time value of money was naturally taken into account” - that is, the variation in the completion period of construction among the project delivery systems. While there seem to be many inconsequential differences in activity expenses among the project delivery systems, the most important determinant on the entire level appears to be the distinction in production expenditure. A main contributor at this point is the boost over actual agreement expenses - or aimed cost, which in the case of DBB as well as production management was turned out to be 20 percent in fact. Despite the fact that there were minor variations in the apparent cost performance of the project delivery system among different departments, the variations were comparatively lesser, and the data from different departments was found to create a logical set of facts supporting the general evaluation (Heagney, 2011, p. 177). This in spite of the fact that the subject departments are on altered phases of growth: some companies have more understanding from incorporated project delivery system over an extended phase whereas a small number of companies are still rather more conservative. In addition, “at the time of the research no DBFO project had yet finished, although many of the roads have been in use for years”. As a result, the entire life expenses could not be “measured ex post nor were they reported anywhere”. Even though production management may seem more cost effective as compared to DBB, the reality that production management has been regularly condemned as well as mainly neglected in other places in infrastructure formation may present a biased reply. In any case, the offered performance assessment of production management should not be taken as a complete fact (Larson and Gray, 2011, p. 301). The expenditure of activities was initially separated into standardized periodical expenses for the entire period of the activity taking into account the portions of months here in addition to the remaining calculations. Provisional multi step sections were “coded into the software application” (Schwalbe, 2010, p. 310). The same distribution logically signifies just a rough calculation in view of the fact that the accrual of expenses throughout an activity is barely linear (hence, it was as well considered pointless to concentrate on the actual influence of inflation on an activity within the distribution). Subsequently, all quarterly cost items were transferred to its present value followed by the totalling up of the discounted quarterly costs for every action. This resulted in the data given in Table 2 as recognized constant costs. Activity of Project Delivery System Start Month End Month Recognized Constant Cost Expected Current Costs Conceptualization 0.0 3.6 30,925 30,924 Design 3.6 19.6 3,390,897 4,460,257 Creation 7.6 48.6 63,500,032 65,954,353 Client management 3.6 48.6 2,117,162 2,150,641 Maintenance 48.6 370.0 11,866,436 16,244,759 Client management 48.6 370.0 440,215 610,360 External recommendation 3.6 48.6 6,690,175 6,941,810 Total (nominal) 88,035,842 96,393,104 Table 2: Timing of activity and computational expenses of project delivery system (Pinto, 2009, p. 145) The whole attempt was necessary in view of the fact that the inflation rates in the execution of reference projects - that were possibly factored into the plans as well as incorporated within the actualized expenses - were separate from what is anticipated during the near future. The purpose was to do sensitivity examination for various inflation rates, which as well needed the particular approach. The above affects the activity expenses of the venture period. Maintenance expenses in addition to the associated expenses of client management were supported by the market standard, “not on the reference projects from which such figures were not yet available” (Highsmith, 2009, p. 88). Application of the market standard was as well acceptable because it was a suitable means of making expenses of intermittently made “repairs part of the cost data” (Highsmith, 2009, p. 92). Maintenance period expenses were also changed to the expenditure point of their actualization (together with increase in price) in a same way as other expenditure items. COMPONENTS OF NEW Brochure Brochures are an extremely successful instrument for advertising a company or business. They can be utilized in a number of designs to carry out various different promotion activities from business image improvement to advertising of any occasion. As a general publishing project, efficient brochure design is a significant ability for designers (Highsmith, 2009, p. 45). “When determining how to design an effective brochure, the first consideration is purpose. What goals should the brochure meet? When working with the desktop publishing client, be sure to inquire about specific expectations for the brochure. This will help in designing a brochure that works. The company takes into account the brochure target audience, how it will be delivered, if it will be mailed, what type of information will be imparted and what response the client hopes to elicit from the recipients” (Kerzner, 2011, p. 65). The replies to these questions helped the company to find out a successful layout for the brochure, the form of content needed as well as the general appearance of the piece. The objectives of a company in developing new brochure were (i) to offer common facts, (ii) to sponsor a particular occasion, (iii) to summarize about what it has to offer, or (iv) to draw attention towards products (Highsmith, 2009, p. 167). Creating the design components, content as well as graphics of the brochure-publishing project to concentrate on the particular functions of the project guaranteed its success. “Above all, making sure a brochure design is readable is paramount. Regardless of the design elements included, the primary goal of the brochure format itself is imparting information. When writing text for a brochure, consider converting paragraphs to bulleted lists to make the information easier to absorb. In addition, be sure to adhere to standard writing and grammatical conventions so the brochure exudes professionalism” (Mantel et al, 2010, p. 188). “Finally, when designing a brochure, consider the appeal of the design. Design elements such as colour choice, illustrations and photographs, and the arrangement of composition can greatly affect whether the brochure is appealing to the viewer and how much time he spends looking at the piece. Think about the specific target audience for the brochure desktop publishing project as well as the image the client is trying to portray. A brochure highlighting the reliability of an accounting firm will look very different from a piece showcasing the upcoming events at a local nightclub” (Lewis, 2002, p. 234). If the aim is to develop an effective brochure that works, these aforementioned elements must not be ignored. The design should be decisions based on the brochure's function, readability as well as target viewers appeal. With respect to design, the expenditure variations among the project delivery system are only minor. The similar can be said with reference to the expenditure of maintenance. On the other hand, the expenditure of construction appears to be a main issue - due to the variations in expenditure increases. Production management actually decreases production expenditure but only because administration expenses are divided: it boosts the expenses of external recommendation comparatively more. Well-designed brochure can as well reduce the expenses of production as well as the expenses of external recommendation as well as client management at the same time. As to the expenses of production, it is the most resourceful part of company’s information, however the associated external recommendation “eats into the savings” (Williams, 2008, p. 67). In graphically rich brochure, the expenses of design as well as publishing are naturally greater as compared to the simpler one because of the more expensive monetary planning. Even though the added expenses are considered part of activity expenses during the assessment, the entire cost of personal investment can be found out based on the variation in entire costs. The variation in monetary understandings is the single descriptive issue among these project delivery systems whose analysis is supported by the similar functional performance statistics. “Entering into a single integrated contract obviously decreases the production costs while in the case of graphically enriched brochure, that cover also the long period, this benefit is partly lost by the need for external advice and related costs due to, for instance, a more demanding contractual arrangement” (Phillips, 2010, p. 302). On the other hand, the expenses are far less as compared to the equivalent (but persistently changed) point within production management, which is the project delivery system facilitating the quickest commissioning of the built asset. Despite the fact that this information focuses just on outputting statistical or financial values from the analysis, descriptive aspects behind the variations within performance of the new brochure are dealt with earlier (Heerkens, 2004, p. 229). The outcomes of the financial analysis clearly point out that it is the most competent system with respect to the initial costs. ANALYSIS OF PROJECT USING PRINCE2 FRAMEWORK Conceptualization of Developing new Brochure At this phase of the project, the practicability of the project is checked. Requirements for the use of new project delivery system are handled by responding to issues like: ‘Whether this project is according to the business requirements?’, ‘Whether it is suitable to launch a new project delivery system’ and ‘what are the most crucial threats involved with this project?’ The most significant methods applied in this stage are the meetings. Starting the Project of Developing new Brochures Once the project has been considered practical, this phase checks the controlled business procedures, concerned user groups in addition to their particular requirements and needs. Again, the meetings are among the most important methods. The data from these meetings is collected together into a requirements inventory. Directing the Development of Brochure The prerequisites that have been recognized in the earlier phases are transformed to an operational representation. This representation consists of “both a functioning prototype and models; prototyping is one of the key project techniques within this stage that helps to realise good user involvement throughout the project” (Kerzner, 2009-i, p. 183). Different user groups review the developed model. To assure excellence, testing is applied at each iteration of new project delivery system. Executing the Plan In this phase, the tested system together with all records is put into practice and future users are prepared to handle it in a proper and appropriate manner. The system has been reviewed to take account of the needs that have been set in the initial phases of the project. CONCLUSION This report initially explains that every project utilizes resources, and it has a specific confine of economic support. Apart from of the type of venture, project management usually pursues a similar framework (Kerzner, 2009-i, p. 183). Making a new brochure for the business was exceptionally functional for company itself, as well as for the consumers - both potential and existing. However, the business guaranteed that it is creating an outstanding brochure with the aim of having excellent results. The business aimed to develop the new brochure with graphics as the good graphical representation is thought to be additionally attention capturing and interesting as well. More or less any company, operating in the current business scenario, can acquire an appealing representation for a brochure. Research on valid spending performance usually estimates brochure development systems or deviations and / or performance of a specific system (Harvard Business School Press, 2003, p. 66), which does not allow having a general view on the capability of the amount of various systems. Mostly in view of the fact, that concentrates on project systems applied in projects of various form, dimension, etc. and in different situation. On the other hand, one must keep into consideration that the calculations are based on a rough that that does not take into consideration the altered expenses of production as well as operation period financing. Neither does the analysis check the servicing coverage ratios, which are pertinent in practice. Respectively, the supposition of a pure flow of the new brochure development project may be audacious. It may not be the perfect plan as well. As a result, these concerns should be well thought-out with the intention of improving the precision of the outcomes. On the other hand, the existing computation preparation can “at least be supposed to be in line with the accuracy of the operational performance data. Operational performance is again the main explanatory factor behind differences between financial performances of the project development based on a similar financial solution and therefore, that issue can be ignored here” (Portny et al, 2007, p. 44). The outcomes explain the condition in a comparatively big project with no firm limitations. This sort of a project is thought to generate economies of scale, attract investors as well as present the flexibility required for plan development. As a result, it makes sense to include repairs as well as finance into the production agreement. Consequently, the outcomes cannot be generalized to all sorts of infrastructure development or other kinds of infrastructure projects (Berkun, 2005, p. 301). New brochure development project also entail “so many variables that even projects of similar nominal size are hardly alike in all other respects” (Berkun, 2005, p. 345). Projects, their public association, arrangements, construction expertise, improvement prospective, agreement situation, etc. vary a lot. As a result, the outcomes of this study are targeted more on following selection among project delivery system as component of the infrastructure’s policy as compared to individual projects. In such projects, a number of factors may diverge from the hypotheses of the study, as well as a few other goals and project delivery system selection standards than expenses may be more significant. A broad range of project experience gained in different departments and a systematically developed financial model and sensitivity analysis supported the assessment. Related outcomes have not been stated previously. The information in addition to the outcomes may not be explicit, and they do not make additional data gathering needless, but the outcomes can perhaps be said to “make a contribution to knowledge on the subject matter” (Berkun, 2005, p. 351). Taking into account the facts offered; it is expected that the dominance of publicly financed project delivery systems - with respect to financial effectiveness - “derives from their cost efficiency in terms of cost to the owner. For the same reason, the company is likely to improve its competitive position in an economic analysis compared to this cost analysis. The valuation (monetarization) of risk-transfer and quality generation differences constitutes an important theme for further research that will help define the economic efficiencies of the project delivery systems” (Kendrick, 2009, p. 210). REFERENCES Berkun, S. 2005. The Art of Project Management. O'Reilly Media. Berkun, S. 2008. Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management. O'Reilly Media. Campbell, C. A. 2006. The One-Page Project Manager: Communicate and Manage Any Project With a Single Sheet of Paper. Wiley. Campbell, C. A. and Collins, M. 2010. The One-Page Project Manager for Execution: Drive Strategy and Solve Problems with a Single Sheet of Paper. Wiley. Harvard Business School Press. 2003. Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills to deliver on budget and on Time. Heerkens, G. 2004. Project Management. McGraw-Hill. Heagney, J. 2011. Fundamentals of Project Management. AMACOM. Highsmith, J. 2009. Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products. 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