2013
Pet Food Drive
Project Management Report
An outline of our successful Pet Food Drive to support the local Humane Society.
Sydney Paterson, Shannon Pickering, Xin Zhang
Nicole Vincic
8/2/2013
Change Request Form
Project Name: Poker Face
Date Request Submitted: July 5, 2013
Title of Change Request: Pet Food Drive
Change Order Number: 1
Submitted by: Shannon Pickering
Change Category: Scope Schedule
Cost
Technology Other
Description of change requested:
We believe that it is in the best interest of our group project to hold a pet food drive instead of a
poker game for our Project Management group project.
Events that made this change necessary or desirable:
We were unable to find an appropriate venue to hold a poker game. We tried calling several local
venues, and were unable to secure a location. This alone put us considerably behind schedule.
Once the considerable out of pocket costs are factored in, it becomes apparent that a poker game
has too much risk for our time and cost constraints, and may be too large in scope to be managed
effectively by three people.
Justification for the change/why it is needed/desired to continue/complete the project:
The probability for success is higher with a pet food drive then with a large-scale poker game. It
will have considerably lower costs, resulting in an increased chance of being able to make a
donation larger than our out-of pocket expenses. Furthermore, with more limited scope we can
focus on producing high-quality deliverables.
Impact of the proposed change on:
Scope:
In changing our project, the entire scope of our project changes. However, we are still trying to
help a charitable organization. The pet food drive has a more limited scope in execution,
although the project management deliverables we will need to complete remain the same.
Schedule:
We are considerably more likely to finish the project within the time frame we have to complete
this project. Finding a venue alone was putting us considerably behind schedule. If we had been
unable to find a venue, our entire project would have been in jeopardy.
Cost:
The costs of holding a pet food drive will be considerably lower than holding a poker game. We
will have fewer advertising expenses; we will not have to pay for a venue, refreshments or staff.
Staffing:
By holding a pet food drive, we will be able to complete the entire project on our own. A poker
game would have required hiring people, or finding volunteers to serve as dealers and servers.
Risk:
There is considerably less risk involved with a pet food drive, as it will be less expensive, easily
accomplished in the time allotted, and is an achievable goal for three group members.
Suggested implementation if the change request is approved:
If we implement this change, we will need to begin the initiating process immediately for the pet
food drive to allow ourselves sufficient time to raise an adequate amount of donations.
Required approvals:
Name/Title
Sydney Paterson
Xin Zhang
Date
Approve/Reject
July 5, 2013
Approve
July 5, 2013
Approve
Project Description
The project we have chosen to carry out is a fundraiser for the Hamilton/Burlington Humane
Society. As a group, we are holding a fundraiser at Mohawk. We are also individually holding
smaller fundraisers. Shannon is holding one at her apartment building in Brantford, for their local
society Xin is also holding a fundraiser at her apartment building in Hamilton, and Sydney is
holding a neighborhood fundraiser in Dundas, through word of mouth. We decided to hold a
fundraiser for the Humane Society, because it is a not for profit organization, that receives no
government funding, and depends solely on public donations. The animals need as much help as
possible in order to make their stay at the Society comfortable, and to keep them as healthy and
happy as they can be before they find their forever homes. The project group members are all
animal lovers and we thought this project would be a great way to help the animals we love, and
we can donate as much as we receive to help out our local shelters with their needs. It will be a
project that will give us a sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction of helping others in need.
We are encouraging people around Mohawk College, as well as our home communities in
Brantford, Hamilton and Dundas, to donate pet food, treats, toys, and supplies. Cash donations
are welcome, including Canadian Tire money. Any donation is welcome, whether new or used,
and every donation is greatly appreciated and needed by the SPCA. The fundraiser will be held
for a little over two weeks, to give people enough time to gather any donations they would like to
give.
Without the help from the public, these shelters would not be able to remain open, and the
animals there would have no place to go. It is important to us to create public awareness of the
needs of these shelters. If it was not for the public, and the amazing staff there, these animals
would either be homeless or euthanized. With this project, we hope to create more awareness
about the societies and encourage people to donate, in the hope that these shelters can remain the
first step to an animal’s forever home.
Work Breakdown Structure for Pet Food Drive
Prepared by: Sydney, Shannon and Xin
Date: July 9, 2013
1.0 Initiating
1.1 Kick off Meeting
1.2 Charter
1.3 Team Contract
2.0 Planning
2.1 Business Case
2.2 Scope Statement
2.3 Promotion Planning
2.3.1 Researching items the SPCA needs
2.3.2 Deciding what the flyer should say
2.3.3 Deciding on appropriate images
2.3.4 Gaining approval for posters from Student Engagement
2.4 Time Management
2.4.1 Milestones Report
2.4.2 Gantt Chart
2.4.3 Schedule
2.5 Cost Management
2.5.1 Budget Estimate
2.6 Human Resources
2.6.1 Human Recourse Plan
2.6.2 Timeline for performance
2.7 Risk Management
2.7.1 List of Prioritized Risks
2.8 Communications
2.8.1 Meetings
2.8.2 Text Messages
2.8.3 Emails
2.8.4 Communications Management Plan
3.0 Executing
3.1Requests to hold fundraiser
3.1.1 Mohawk
3.1.2 Southwick
3.1.3Xin’s Apartment
3.2Advertising
3.2.1 Creating advertisement
3.2.2 Distributing posters to Student Engagement
3.2.3 Advertisements are posted
3.3.3.1Mohawk
3.3.3.2Apartment Buildings
3.3Fundraiser
3.3.1 Inform people through word of mouth
3.3.2 Distribute donation boxes
3.3.3 Collect Donations
3.4 Delivery to SPCA
3.4.1 Brantford Location
3.4.2 Hamilton Location
4.0 Monitoring and Controlling
4.1 Donation Box Check up
4.2 Recording of donations
4.2.1 Tallying total cost of donations received
4.3 Schedule Monitoring
4.4 Cost Monitoring
5.0 Closing
5.1 Thank you Letter
5.2 Lessons Learned
5.3 Finalizing Reports
5.4 Submitting of Project
Pet Food Drive
Kick-off Meeting
July 8, 2013
Meeting Objective:
Our meeting objective is to develop a common goal for our project, come to an agreement
regarding the project scope, and discuss how we will execute our project.
Agenda:
 Project background
 Decide on common project goals, and the scope of activities involved in achieving these
goals
 Brainstorm ideas regarding when, where and how we want to raise funds
 Decide what we types of donations we want to receive, based on the needs of the SPCA
 Determine what our planning activities will include
 Schedule our next meeting
Action Item
Completing business case
Time management
Human Recourses
Management
Cost Management
Communications
Management
Advertisements
Requests to hold fundraisers
Assigned To
Items 1-3: Xin
Items: 4-6: Sydney
Items 7-10: Shannon
Shannon
Xin
Due Date
July 12
Complete as group
Sydney
Throughout Project
Throughout Project
Sydney
Mohawk- As group
Global Pet Foods- Sydney
Apartment Buildings- Xin
and Shannon
July 10
July 12
Throughout Project
Throughout Project
Date and time of next meeting: July 9, 2013, to complete team charter and team contract.
Project Charter
Project Title: Pet Food Drive
Project Start Date: July 2, 2013
Projected Finish Date: August 2, 2013
Budget Information:
We have budgeted $25.00 to complete our project. Our main expense will be on creating our
flyers to distribute at our donation locations. This expense is expected to be $10.00 for 20 flyers.
We have budgeted $5.00 for transportation to deliver our donations to the Brantford and
Hamilton Humane societies from our donation locations. $5.00 has been allocated for
miscellaneous expenses, which will include items such as tape, and $5.00 has been factored into
our budget as a buffer.
Project Manager:
Shannon Pickering
519-771-9597
[email protected]
Project Objectives:
Our project objective is to raise donations for the Brantford and Hamilton Humane societies by
holding pet food drives at various locations within these cities. We will hold a pet food drive at
both Shannon and Xin’s apartment buildings, and Sydney will hold a word of mouth pet food
drive in her Dundas neighborhood. Shannon’s apartment building is in Brantford, while Xin’s is
located in downtown Hamilton. Collectively we will hold a pet food drive at Mohawk College.
At each of these locations, we will place donation boxes in convenient locations, and put up
flyers to inform people about the project. The donations we hope to receive consist of cash, pet
food, toys, and supplies such as paper towel.
Main Project Success Criteria:
Our main project success criteria is to raise cash and supplies to support the local Humane
Society in their efforts to keep the animals happy and healthy. Our budget for this project is $25,
and raising more in supplies than this amount is important. Ultimately we would like to raise
$30.00 or more.
Approach:
We will produce flyers to gain awareness, and distribute boxes at our donation locations to give
people a place to leave their donations. The boxes will be monitored on a daily basis, and
emptied when they are full, or if we suspect theft. We will also raise donations through word of
mouth by letting people know that we are holding a pet food drives, the items we are looking for
and that they are welcome to donate if they choose. Once the project is completed, we will take
the Brantford donations to the Brantford SPCA and the Hamilton donations to the Hamilton
SPCA. We will hold our fundraiser for two weeks, from July 15 to July 29.
Throughout this project, administrative duties related to project management will be completed,
including paperwork related to time, cost, human resources and communications management, as
well as items such as the work breakdown structure, business case and lessons learned. We will
track any issues which arise through our issues log. Shannon will be in charge of time
management, Xin will be in charge of human resources management and Sydney will be in
charge of communications management. We will collectively work on initiating and closing
activities such as the WBS and lessons learned report and collaboratively manage our budget.
Once completed, our project will be submitted for grading.
Roles and Responsibilities
Role
Name
Organization/
Position
Time Manager,
paperwork,
looking after
fundraising in
apartment
building, and help
wherever else is
needed
Shannon Pickering
Team Member
Looking after
fundraising in
apartment
building, Human
Resources, help
wherever else is
needed
Xin Zhang
Team Member
Looking after
Sydney Paterson
fundraising in
Dundas area,
Communications,
help wherever else
is needed
Contact
Information
519-771-9597
Team Member
Sign-off:
Comments:
Charter, WBS, Scope Statement as well as Cost Management will all be completed as a group.
Business Case for Pet Food Drive
Date
Prepared by: Shannon, Xin and Sydney
1.0 Introduction/ Background
We all like animals, wanted to do a project to help animals in some way. A pet food drive
is an excellent opportunity to help animals at the SPCA. As well as food, we want to raise
supplies specified by the SPCA as being needed. These supplies include:













Financial donations
Liquid Laundry Detergent
Disinfectant Wipes
Canned Cat Food
Canned Kitten Food
Non-Clumping Litter for Shelter Use
Photocopier Paper
Canadian Tire money
Vinegar
Paper Towels
Cat Toys (new or used)
Squeaky Dog Toys (new or used)
Pet Food Store Gift Cards
We will hold pet food drives in both Hamilton and Brantford. The donations we receive
in Brantford will go to the Brantford SPCA, and the donations received in Hamilton will
go to the Hamilton SPCA. We will be holding fundraisers individually at our apartment
buildings and through asking for personal donations. Collectively we will hold a pet food
drive at Mohawk college. We will raise donations by placing donation boxes at various
locations, as well as through word of mouth and through flyers.
2.0 Business Objective
Our business objective is to raise cash and pet food and supplies for the Humane Society.
We also want to raise awareness that pets are in need and the humane societies need our
help. We hope to receive as many donations as possible in a few weeks. Our goal is to
raise $30.00 or more in toys, supplies and money. We want to raise more than we spend,
which is expected to be about $25.00.
Our other objective is to submit a high-quality project, completed by August 2, 3013.
3.0 Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity Statement
The Humane Society receives no government funding, and raises funds strictly through
public donations. Thousands of animals across Ontario are in need in these shelters, and
this project gives us an opportunity to raise awareness of and donations for our local
shelters.
4.0 Critical Assumption and Constraints
We are assuming that we will get a lot of donations at Mohawk College and through our
Hamilton, Dundas and Brantford fundraisers. We will not spend any money more than
$25 throughout our entire project, and have until August 2 to complete the project.
5.0 Analysis of Option and Recommendation
We had the options of raising donations and money through events, or in our buildings
and at Mohawk through donation boxes. We chose the second option it is more
convenient for us to do so in terms of time and expense, and it is easier to get donations
in a building. Word of mouth is another convenient way to raise donations.
6.0Preliminary Project Requirements
We are assigning different tasks to each person, and then we set up meeting time with all
the group members to discuss our processing of tasks. After all we will combine our parts
together for the final project.
7.0 Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis
We are estimating a budget of $25.00 for our entire project. Our two largest costs are
expected to be ink and gas. Ink is expected to cost about $10.00, most of which will be
for coloured ink for our advertisements. Gas is expected to cost around $5.00, based on a
gas price of $1.25 per litre and an average car getting 11km per litre. We will have
transportation expenses to bring our donations from our drop off centers to the SPCA.
This cost has been slightly overestimated to account for a possible increase in gas prices.
We also allocated $5.00 in our budget for miscellaneous items such paper and tape. 20%
of our budget, $5 additional dollars, is included for unforeseen expenses. It is imperative
that the monetary value of our donations exceeds $25 (or more if we go over budget) to
meet our success criteria. We are hoping to raise $30.00 or more. A more detailed
analysis of our budget is located in our budget estimate.
8.0 Schedule Estimate
Our project will take place from July 8 to August 2nd. This time period has been divided
into 4 sections: Initiating activities on July 8th and 9th, planning activities from July 1014, executing and monitoring and controlling activities from July 15-29, and closing
activities July 31 and August 1.We have some flexibility in our schedule in that, though
we want to hold the pet food drive for two weeks, we can shorten this time period if we
believe that there will be issues with finishing our closing activities on time.
Our schedule includes several milestones to monitor our progress. Our most important
milestone is our breakeven milestone, which signifies receiving more in donations than it
cost us to implement the project. We hope this milestone is achieved on or before July 22.
Please see our milestone report, schedule and Gantt Chart for more detail on our
schedule. For more detail on what activities will be included in or initiating, planning,
executing, monitoring and controlling and closing phases, please refer to our WBS.
9.0 Potential Risks
Our four biggest risks with this project are:
1. Not getting enough donations
2. Going over budget
3. Theft from the donation boxes
4. Not having enough time to complete the project
Contingency plans have been developed to address each of these risks. They are
described in further detail in our List of Prioritized Risks.
Scope Statement
Project Title: Pet Food Drive
Date: July 9, 2013
Prepared by: Shannon, Sydney and Xin
Project Justification:
The SPCA is always looking for donations to help out their animals, as they do not
receive any government funding, and rely on donations from the public to keep the
animals there.
Product Characteristics and Requirements:
Our project involves encouraging people to donate food and other items to the SPCA. We
plan on holding a pet food drive from July 15-29. One of our first steps will be to ask
various locations if they will allow us to hold a pet food drive. These locations include
Mohawk College, Southwick Place Apartments in Brantford and Xin’s apartment
building in downtown Hamilton. Once we have obtained permission from these locations,
we will create awareness for the food drive by creating and putting up advertisements, as
well as through word of mouth. We will place boxes in designated areas so that people
can drop off donations, and also collect donations in-person. Sydney will be holding a pet
food drive in Dundas by informing people about the fundraiser and collecting donations.
The food drive is expected to last about two weeks. During this time, we will monitor the
boxes by checking on them at least once a day. We will be checking that nothing is stolen
from the boxes, and that there is still room for more donations. If items are stolen from
the boxes, or the boxes are full, the donations will be taken out and stored until the
fundraiser is complete.
Upon completion, we will collect the donations and measure the amount donated by
weighing our donations and calculating an approximate total for the donation’s
equivalence in cash. We will then drop the donations off at the SPCA locations in
Brantford and Hamilton. As a sign of appreciation, we will send thank you notes to those
who allowed us to hold food drives, as well as to those who donated.
Our project will also involve the completion of many project management related
administration activities, as described in the project management related deliverables
listed below. Upon completion of our project, we will submit our final project for
grading.
Summary of Project Deliverables
Project management-related deliverables
Several project management related deliverables will be submitted as part of our project.
For the initiating stage of our project we will complete a team contract, team charter and
as well as document our kick-off meeting. These documents will ensure that our team
members start off on the same page regarding the project.
Our planning stage consists of many project related deliverables, designed to improve the
success of our project. Our main deliverables are the business case and the scope
statement, as these are fundamental documents in outlining our project.
We have project related deliverables relating to the time, budget, human resources and
communication planning aspects of our project. To plan our time appropriately, we
created a milestones report, a Gantt chart, and a schedule outline. For our cost planning
we created a cost estimate, and a list of prioritized risks has been created as part of our
risk management plan. We will also complete a communication and human resources
plan and keep an issues log.
Our execution will focus more on physically completing the project and will focus more
on product related deliverables then administrative tasks. Likewise, our monitoring and
controlling activities will consist of physically checking on our boxes, with final totals
included in our closing activities.
Our closing activities will consist of a lessons learned report and final closing documents.
Once our project is complete, our project related documents will be combined to create a
final project for submission.
Product-related deliverables:
Our most important product-related deliverable will be our donation to the SPCA. Our
donation will be comprised of pet food, toys, money and Canadian Tire money and paper
towels. In order to raise donations we will require donation boxes and advertisements.
Our thank you letters to those who assist us with our project by contributing and giving
us places for our donation boxes is another important product related deliverable.
Project Success Criteria:
Our main success criterion is to raise enough to give a donation of pet food and supplies
with a cash equivalent of $30.00 or more to the SPCA. We have budgeted $25 for this
project, and need to raise more in donations then our costs to make the pet food drive a
worthwhile endeavor. Accomplishing this goal will justify holding a pet food drive,
rather than giving a cash donation equivalent to our budget.
Another important success criterion is that our project is completed in a timely manner.
Ultimately we need to submit our completed project by August 2 for it to be a success.
We have allowed some extra time for executing our project to ensure we receive as many
donations as possible. However, if we believe it is required, we will begin closing
activities during this time.
Milestone Report for Pet Food Drive
Prepared by: Shannon Pickering
Date: July 15-Aug. 1
Milestone
Date
Status
Responsible
Kick off Meeting Held
July 8
Complete
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Duties Assigned
July 9
Complete
Advertising complete
July 10
Complete
Sydney
Requests to hold pet food
drives at our desired
locations complete
July 12
Complete
Mohawk:
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Apartment
Buildings:
Issues/Comments
Sydney does not
live in an
apartment
building, and will
be asking for
personal
donations.
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Planning Activities
Complete
July 14
Complete
Time
Management:
Shannon
Human
Resources
Management:
Xin
Communications
Management:
Sydney
Cost
management,
Scope statement,
WBS and
business case:
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
We have divided
the components of
the business case,
so that each one
of us is doing
three parts.
Pet food drive started
(locations set up)
July 15
Complete
Mohawk:
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Only one drop off
location will be at
Mohawk
Apartment
Buildings:
Xin and Shannon
Breakeven- $25 worth of
supplies raised
July 30
Complete
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Once we
combined our
donations and
added several last
minute donations
we received we
were able to
confirm that we
had exceeded our
goal.
Donations Dropped off
July 31
Complete
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Dropped off at
Brantford and
Hamilton
locations.
Closing activities
completed
August
1
Complete
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
Project submitted
August
2
To be
completed
Sydney, Xin and
Shannon
The project is
complete, and just
needs to be
submitted.
Budget Estimate
Cost Estimate for Pet Food Drive
Expense
Advertisments
Fuel*
Cost Per Unit Number of Units Amount Budgeted % of total Budget
0.5
0.113636364
Miscallaneous
Buffer
Total Project Cost Estimate
* Current Gas Price
20 $
17.5 $
$
$
$
10.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
25.00
40%
20%
20%
20%
100%
1.25
Budget Estimate Explanation
Advertisements
As our primary form of communication for informing people about the pet food drive, it is
imperative that our advertisements look terrific. We will need about 20 colour copies of our
advertisements. It is expected to take about 1/4of a $40.00 ink cartridge to print off our required
advertisements. Based on these calculations, the ink used in our advertisements estimated to cost
$0.50 per page. Our advertisements are expected to be the largest expense of our project.
Fuel
$5.00 has been worked into our budget for fuel. We have based our fuel estimate on $1.25 per
litre to reflect total fuel costs, and an average car getting 11 km per litre. Based on this
calculation, fuel costs amount to $.1136 per kilometer travelled. Our travelling costs will involve
taking our donations from our respective locations and dropping them off at the SPCA. We
estimate that 17.5 km will be involved in our project, comprising of 7 km to take donations
from Southwick Apartments to the SPCA, and 10.5 km from Mohawk College to the Hamilton
SPCA. We are going to combine all of our donations for Hamilton at Mohawk College, and from
there take them all to the SPCA. By combining the Hamilton donations, we are able to combine
what could have been three trips into one trip.
If fuel prices hold constant and we are accurate in the number of kilometers travelled, our fuel
costs should only be $2.00. However, other factors need to be included when estimating our fuel
costs. Fuel costs do not stay constant, and can fluctuate drastically in a two week timespan (the
amount of time between our estimate and dropping off the donations). We factored in the
possibility of a rise in gas prices when estimating our fuel costs. Furthermore, it is unknown how
many donations we will receive. It may make more sense to make separate trips for each of our
fundraising activities in Hamilton. If we receive enough donations elsewhere, bringing them to
Mohawk would be an inconvenience. Because of these variables, we feel that a transportation
budget is $5.00 is appropriate to ensure that this expense is fully covered if circumstances
change.
Miscellaneous
$5.00 has been allocated for miscellaneous expenses, such as paper, tape, and any other
miscellaneous expenses we may have during our project. We will need tape to put up our posters,
and may use a lot of it for our flyers at Mohawk.
Buffer
In case any of the preceding expenses end up costing more than expected, we have included a
$5.00 buffer. The buffer is a risk management strategy to ensure that we do not exceed our
budget.
Human Resource Plan
Assigned Tasks:
As a group we decided that Shannon will be the Project Manager, as she is the most organized
out of the project members and is able to print off all documents. She will also be assigned to
Time Management, making sure that everyone is using their full time to complete their assigned
tasks, and also making sure that the project is staying on the designated time period for each task
to ensure the project is completed on time. If there is not enough time to complete a task, she will
make the changes and document it. If there is excess time that can be used wisely to complete
another task, she will make sure to assign another task to that time slot, to ensure we are using
our full time potential.
We assigned Sydney to Communications Management, this includes scheduling meeting times,
communicating with all group members to determine where each group member is at, and to
ensure all members are on the same page. This will be done through email, verbally and through
telephone conversations. Communications also includes communicating to the public about the
project fundraiser, through advertising. She will create and design the posters that are to be
distributed and posted around the school and the apartment buildings. As the Communications
Manager, Sydney will also communicate with Student Engagement about the project and what it
entails and gain approval to post the advertisements throughout Mohawk College.
Finally, Xin is assigned to Human Resources. She will assign tasks to project members and is to
ensure that all group members are happy, and comfortable with the project. She will also make
sure that the project is performing where it should be, and document our potential risks, project
milestones, and all issues and escalations that occur.
The project is not substantially a big project, and will not be a costly one, so as a group we will
work together to estimate, manage and document all project costs. We will all agree on a cost
estimate, and document all costs that we come across personally and as a group. Shannon will
then create an Excel sheet to document the costs and to add or remove costs as we go, and to
keep the costs organized and accurate.
As a group we will go to the Student Engagement office to drop off the donation box, and to
make sure that the staff understands our goals and make sure they are all on the same page as the
project members. We will also all monitor the donation box each day.
Deadline:
The last day for donations will be on July 29, 2013. We will collect the donation box at the end
of that day, and tally up all donations we received during the two weeks. During that day, we
will also come together for our final group meeting and finalize all documents and complete our
Lessons Learned document. The final report will be completed by August 2, 2013 in the morning
at the very latest, and the final copy will be handed into our professor by 3:00PM.
Report Structure:
The project report structure will follow the templates provided by our professor. During our
scheduled meetings, we will decide as a group which templates we would like to use and follow
for our report, and each member will work on their assigned task and choose the template that
best suits their task. The first few pages of the report will be the Project Overview, the Scope
Statement, the Charter, the Team Contract as well as the Work Breakdown Structure, as these are
the documents that start off the project. From there all other documents will follow according to
the WBS. We are to use Microsoft Word or Excel for all documents, and each document must
follow the same style. In the end, we will edit and finalize, either adding or removing
information where needed, making sure that all documents look the same and looks professional,
and the finally put the final project together.
Timeline for Project Performance 2013
On July 8th, we had our kick-off meeting to start the project.
On July 9th, we designated the tasks each of us decided to do at that day.
On July 10th, Sydney created the fundraiser awareness posters and the same day Shannon and
Xin printed fifteen copies each.
On July 12th, all of the project members went to the Student Engagement Office to drop off a
donation box, and also handed in the posters for approval for posting.
On July 12th, we have received approval from the Student Engagement office for our posters.
.
On July 15th, we were told that we were not allowed to post the advertisements and that the
Student Engagement staff would be posting them, as per their policy regarding posters.
On July 23rd, we confirmed that we had reached our breakeven point in donations.
On July 24th, Shannon has checked the donation box in Mohawk.
On July 25th, Shannon has checked the donation box in Mohawk.
On August July 31st , we gathered up the donation boxes, and all donations that were received
from the Student Engagement office, and tallied all of the donations we received over the two
weeks.
On August 1st, as a whole group we had our final group meeting for organizing documents and
finalizing all last minute information, as well as completing our Lessons Learned document.
On August 2nd, final project documents are submitted.
List of Prioritized Risks for Pet Food Drive
Prepared by: Shannon Pickering
Date: July 12, 2013
Ranking
Potential Risk
1
Not Getting Enough Donations
Our main concern is that we will not receive enough in food and pet supply
donations to reach our $30.00 goal. If we believe that we are not receiving
enough donations, we can increase advertising, preferably through word of
mouth to reduce costs, and/or distribute more flyers.
Budget Overrun
There is the risk that unforeseen costs will arise, which will cause us to go
over budget. We have added a $5.00 (20%) buffer to our budget to cover
any unexpected costs. If any unexpected expenses do arise, we will allocate
responsibility for these costs in a way that is fair to everyone. Based on a
$25 budget, we are hoping to raise $30 in food in other donations. An
increase in our budget will mean we have to adjust our donation goal to
ensure that the amount we raise in donations still exceeds the amount we
spend on the project.
Theft from Donation Boxes
We are limited in the amount we can prevent this risk, without monitoring
the boxes constantly. At Mohawk, it is not an issue, since the box is safely
behind the counter in the student engagement office. Theft is more of a
concern in the apartment buildings. The best we can do to prevent this
issue is to implement our monitoring and controlling procedures through
checking the boxes at least once a day. If we suspect theft, we can empty
the boxes as soon as we notice they contain donations, rather than waiting
until they are full.
Running out of time to complete the project
There are a number of factors which may affect our schedule, including a
lack of donations, illness, or administrative tasks taking longer than
expected. Because submitting our project on time is an extremely important
success criteria, our project will be monitored to ensure it stays on
schedule. By doing so, we can address potential scheduling issues before
they become a serious problem.
2
3
4
We have developed a schedule, with milestones and the phases of our
project clearly defined. Missing a milestone, or having a phase run longer
than expected will indicate that there are scheduling issues which need to
be addressed. Should this happen, we will delegate any work we are behind
on to get the schedule back on track.
Communications
Management Plan
Prepared by: Sydney Paterson
Date: July 13, 2013
1.
The project consists of raising donations of pet food and toys for our local Humane
Society in Hamilton. We will begin by making advertisements in the form of posters, and
distributing them around the college and our apartment buildings. We have also placed boxes in
designated areas, such as areas that Shannon and Xin have chosen on in their apartment buildings
and the Student Engagement office at the school. They will be used to collect the donations and
to keep organized. In the end whatever we gather, we will take to the Humane Society.
2.
When each of the project workers has completed a part in the project, it is sent via email
to our Project Manager Shannon. She prints it off, and keeps it organized in our Project folder.
3.
The distribution of work will be done at our first meeting. Everyone can decide what part
they would like to complete and work on completing it in their own time. Shannon is in charge
of time management, and along with the Business Case she completed, time, cost and risk
management. Sydney was in charge of Communications. She is also in charge of the Introduction,
the Objectives, and the Current Situation and Problem statement in the Business Case. Xin was
our Human Resources Manager, as well as worked on the Critical Consumptions and
Constraints, the Analysis of Option and Recommendation and the Project Requirements for the
Business Case. The Scope Statement, the Charter, and the WBS will all be done as a group, so
we all know exactly what is going on in the project and to keep us all on the same page. As soon
as work is completed along the way, everything will be sent through email to Shannon, who will
then print it off and keep it organized in the Project folder we have created.
4.
Our key project deliverables include the documents based on templates provided by the
Professor on elearn. We will use these templates to keep organized, and to also give us an idea of
how our project documents should look. All documents follow the templates that have been
provided. Posters, donation boxes and, most importantly, the donations are other important
deliverables.
5.
The production schedule of this project will be based on the Work Breakdown Structure.
We will follow the Initiating breakdown of the project during the first few days of how we will
initiate the project, including initiating our meetings, getting to know one another as a group and
working on our contract and charter. We will next follow our planning schedule. During the
planning, we will schedule the distribution of work, and who will do what part, we will do our
research, and plan out the scope statement. We will also plan out how we will want to advertise
the fundraiser. Lastly, we will plan what templates will be used, and what documents will be of
most importance in this project. Next we will closely follow the Executing of the project, to
make sure everyone knows what they are doing, and to make sure the project is executed
smoothly. First we must ask student engagement to approve the posters we have made to create
awareness. We will distribute our advertisements around the school and place the donation boxes
in the Student Engagement office, as well as around our apartment buildings to make sure the
project is off to a good start. While monitoring and controlling the project, we will keep track to
make sure we are using our time efficiently, make sure we are still on budget, and make sure that
communication between project members and our stakeholders is frequent. This means checking
the donation box daily, as well as communicating with the Student Engagement staff to inquire
about anyone coming in looking to donate, asking questions and making sure they keep an eye
on the box as well. Finally when closing the project, we will come together as a group and
finalize all documents we decided we would use in our WBS and work on our closing
statements. We will gather all donations and donate them to the Humane Society, as well as
create thank you letters, and use our Lessons Learned template. By creating the Work
Breakdown Structure in the beginning, we are able to follow exactly what needs to be done, be
on schedule. It also gives us an outline on where we are in the project and what else needs to be
done. It is a great way to keep the project organized.
6.
Our use of technology is frequent, whether it is communicating by email or by text
message. We are also to keep our communication in general frequent. Daily, we will talk about
the project face to face to find out where each of us are in the project plan, and what else needs to
be done. We will also need to communicate daily with Student Engagement, by checking on the
donation box daily, and asking them if anyone has come in asking questions or looking to
donate. Lastly, we will schedule weekly meetings, or quickly verbally communicate with one
another, distribution of work will be done, and we will set up our next meeting time.
7.
The best method for keeping up to date on the communications plan is by verbal
communication between all group members. If it cannot be done verbally, the next best method
is by email or text message. I am in charge of communications for the project, so all questions,
concerns or up to date changes should go through me first, so I can then update the plan.
8.
If any escalations should appear, we will come together as a group to talk it out, and see how
we should deal with it as a group. If it is something we find that we cannot deal with together, and
cannot find a solution, the next step will be to talk to the Professor about it. If escalations appear at the
apartment buildings, such as theft or damage to the donations, either Shannon or Xin will inform their
superintendent about the situation, and matters will be handled accordingly.
9.
Almost all of our communication was done verbally by face to face meetings between the
project members and stakeholders, so there is no documentation that can be recorded. Our
stakeholders in this project include, all three group members, Sydney, Shannon and Xin. Our
Professor Nicole Vincic is there for whenever we have questions, concerns and clarifications to make
sure we are on the right track with our project. Student Engagement at Mohawk College is another
stakeholder in this project, as we had to go through them first to make sure our posters were approved
to distribute around the school, they held the donation box in their office, and they also kept an eye on
it for us as well. The superintendents at both Shannon’s and Xin’s apartment buildings are
stakeholders as well, as they had to approve the fundraiser in both those buildings, and if anything
went wrong, such as theft or damage, they would have to be informed. The Humane Society is
another stakeholder, as this fundraiser is for them, and the whole reason this project is being held, so
essentially without them knowing about it, it is their project. Lastly, this project could not be
completed or successful without our last stakeholders in the project, the people who donated. It is all
anonymous donations, so we will not know who they are, but the project would not have been
successful if not for everyone who donated.
Summary of Pet Food Drive:
Total Final Costs and Total Donations Received
Total Final Costs
Actual Costs for Pet Food Drive
Expense
Cost Per Unit Number of Units Total Costs % of total Budget
0.5
0.118
Advertisments
Fuel*
30 $
7 $
$
$
$
Miscallaneous
Actual Costs for Pet Food Drive
Amount Over/Under Budget
15.00
0.83
15.83
9.17
95%
5%
0%
100%
Total Donations Received
Total Donations Received
Item
Cans of Pet Food (Small)
Cans of Pet Food (Large)
Toys (small)
Toys (medium)
Toys (Large
Paper Towel
Southwick Dundas Hamilton Mohawk Total Raised Cost Per Unit
12
2
15
4
2
2
2
3
2
3
$
Canadian Tire Money
Pet Treats
Total Raised
2
$15.00
Cash Donations
Pet Supplies
1
5
1
1
1
$1.05
0.40 $ 8.25
5
1
2
15
5
20
8
2
2
$16.05
$8.65
11
3
Total
$0.66
$9.90
$1.32
$6.60
$1.00 $20.00
$2.00 $16.00
$5.00 $10.00
$1.50
$3.00
n/a $16.05
n/a
$8.65
$1.25 $13.75
$3.00
$9.00
$112.95
One of our main success criteria for this project was that the cash value of the food and supplies
we received in donations exceeded the amount it cost us to execute the pet food drive. Our
justification for this success criteria was that if we do not receive more in donations then it cost
us to hold the pet food drive, we would have been better off giving a cash donation for an
amount equal to our expenses. We are absolutely thrilled with our final total of $112.95 in
donations, which represents a 613.5% return on investment. This amount far exceeded any of our
expectations.
Methodology for Estimating Cost of Donations
We believe that it is appropriate to disclose our methodology in deciding on how to place a value
on the donations we received.
Cans, Paper Towel and Pet Treats
Our cost per unit is based on the prices found for these items on www.walmart.ca.
Pet Toys and Pet Supplies
When placing a value on pet toys and supplies, there was some estimation involved. We received
donations of all shapes and sizes, some new and some used. We took the following into
consideration when deciding how to put a price on these donations: If the Humane Society went
to get toys, they would buy them brand new. Furthermore, whether new or used, the donations
have value and add to the success of our project. Donations for both new and used toys are
equally appreciated, and equally useful. Based on these factors, we decided to base the per unit
costs of the toys and based on an average price for new items, based on current prices on
www.walmart.com. We divided the toys into three separate categories: Small toys such as toy
balls and mice at $1.00 each, medium toys such as squeak toys at $2.00 each, and large toys at
$5.00 each. Supplies such as food bowls to cost approximately $1.25 each, also based on prices
on www.walmart.com. We used these prices for our per-unit cost, which we multiplied by the
amounts received.
Explanations for Deviations from Original Project Plans
Budget Deviations
We allocated $5.00 in our budget for paper, tape and other miscellaneous expenses which may
arise during our project. We assumed that we would need tape to put up our advertisements
around Mohawk College. However, we found out that Mohawk College posts any flyers they
receive themselves, meaning that we did not need tape as expected. We ended up incurring no
miscellaneous costs during our project.
To meet the requirements of advertising at Mohawk, and in the two apartment buildings, we
ended up needing 30 flyers, rather than the 20 we expected to need. At $0.50 per sheet, we
expected our advertising cost to be $10.00. The 10 additional flyers increased the amount spent
on advertising to $15.00, $5.00 over our expected budget.
Schedule Deviations
We wanted to receive as many donations as possible, and decided to extend our fundraising
activities until July 31. We gave our donation to the Brantford and Hamilton Humane Societies
on this date, rather than dropping them our donations off on July 29 as expected. We also began
our closing procedures on this date.
The extension of our pet food drive delayed the completion of our closing activities by one day.
Our closing activities were completed on August 1, rather than July.
Scope Deviations
Overall, there were very few deviations from our original scope. We executed our pet food drive
as planned. The only deviation in scope was with the drive at Mohawk College, as we originally
planned to have several donation boxes placed throughout the school. Instead, we were only
allowed to have one donation box, located in the Student Engagement Office.
Our only other scope deviation was in our monitoring and controlling activities. Originally we
were going to weigh our donations as a part of our final donation totals. We decided to forego
this procedure, as we believed that estimating a total value for the donations received gives more
insight into the success of our project.
Lessons Learned Report
Prepared by: Sydney, Shannon and Xin
Date: August 1, 2013
Project Name: Pet Food Drive
Project Manager: Shannon Pickering
Project Dates: July 8- August 2
Final Budget: $15.83
1. Did the project meet scope, time, and cost goals?
Our pet food drive met all of our scope, time and cost goals. We were each able to hold a
fundraiser in our respective neighborhoods, as well as a fundraiser together at Mohawk
College. We completed the project on time, and will be able to submit it by its due date.
Our pet food drive exceeded our expectations with regards to our cost goals. We had
projected a budget of $25.00, and only spent $15.83, putting us $9.17 under budget.
Furthermore, our primary goal was to raise $30.00 in donations, an amount which
exceeded our expected budget, and made the fundraiser a worthwhile endeavor. We were
thrilled to raise the equivalent of $112.95 in food, toy and pet supply donations.
2. What was the success criteria listed in the project scope statement?
Our main success criteria was to raise more in donations then it cost to hold the pet food
drive, an amount we estimated to be around $30.00. Failing to raise this amount of money
would have meant that the Humane Society would have benefited more from us giving a
cash donation equivalent to the amount we spent on the fundraiser.
Our other success criterion was to complete the project on time, and to ensure that the
project was submitted on time.
3. Reflect on whether or not you met the project success criteria.
We were able to meet both of our success criteria. Our project will be complete and
submitted on time. We exceeded our goal of raising more in donations then we spent on
our project by both being under budget, and raising more in donations then we expected
to. We worked hard to achieve these goals, greatly appreciate the generous donations
people made, which ultimately made this project a success.
We were slightly disappointed in our results at Mohawk, but were still received
donations. We did not receive as many donations as expected, as the school is less busy
in the summer. Furthermore, as we had to have our box in the Student Engagement
office, our fundraiser lacked visibility in this location.
4. In terms of managing the project, what were the main lessons your team
learned?
If we were to fundraise at Mohawk again, we would hold a fundraising event, rather than
just having donation boxes in the school. We believe that students would respond better
to a fundraising event. We also learned that communication is essential. With regards to
our fundraising effort at Mohawk, there was a slight miscommunication regarding being
allowed to have donation boxes in the school.
Though we thought we were allowed to proceed with this fundraising method, it turned
out we could only have the one box. This minor communication mishap could have had
considerable consequences for our fundraiser. The vast majority of our budget went to
posters to display throughout the school, and we did not receive as many donations as
expected. Ultimately we did receive some very generous donations at Mohawk, and our
overall project was a success.
We also learned how to effectively manage the triple constraint of time, scope and cost
goals. Originally we had planned on holding a poker game as our project, but quickly
realized that it may be difficult to meet the triple constraint of such a large project.
Ultimately it is better to ensure the triple constraint is met, and a high quality project is
produced, rather then choosing a project which runs a high risk of not meeting project
standards.
It is also important to work together as a team on any project. Early on we decided that
co-operation and team work were essential to our project success. We ensured that we all
contributed an equal amount of work, and that we were all on the same page regarding
the project. Ultimately we believe that our team work was a contributing factor to our
success.
5. Describe one example of what went right on this project.
The donations we received exceeded our expectations. People were very generous in
what they donated. One person donated a bag of brand new pet toys, while another
donated a scratch post. We were very surprised at the cash and Canadian Tire money
donations. We were able to raise donations through all of our fundraising activities, and
spent relatively little to receive such a large amount of donations.
6. Describe one example of what went wrong on this project.
The Mohawk fundraiser did not go as smoothly as expected. We believe that our
expectations for this fundraiser were possibly too high, as there are relatively few
people at the school during the summer, and students tend to not have extra money to
spend on donations. Having fewer donation locations on-campus then we expected to
have also contributed to this particular fundraiser not going as smoothly as expected.
However, we must emphasize that we are still very happy with the donations we
received, and they are very much appreciated.
7. What will you do differently on the next project based on your experience
working on this project?
On future projects, we will immediately carefully consider the triple constraint when
choosing our project. It would have been nice to have had more time to raise donations
for our pet food drive, rather than spending a considerable amount of time on a project
that did not happen.