Project Charter For The Development Of A Computer-Based Ticketing System For Annual Riverina Agriculture And Lifestyle Show (RALS)

Project Background

The aim of the report is to prepare a project charter for development of a computer based ticketing system for Annual Riverina Agriculture and Lifestyle Show (RALS). The RALS was established by Globex in the year 2000. The tickets for the program are only available for purchasing from the RALS gates. The manual ticketing system gives rise to a number of problems such as increase in queue, slow sales processing, people slipping through gates without paying and others. In order to deal with these problems, a project for developing an e-ticketing ot computer based ticketing system is proposed. The report will give an idea of the project background, measurable organizational value, risks associated with the project and the role of project manager in this project. The detailed project charter is illustrated in the following sections.

The project of developing a computer based ticketing system is proposed in order to deal with the problems faced by manual ticket selling process. Currently the tickets for annual Riverina Agriculture and Lifestyle show can only be purchased from the gates. The crowd in the gates becomes difficult to control and manual ticket selling is a slow process. Ticket selling is an important aspect of RALS as all the takings from the show are donated to charity Indigenous Community Volunteers or ICV. Therefore, accurate ticket selling is important. ICV are very active in the Riverina Region and are invited by the communities to help them achieve their goals. Thus, in order to ensure no one can trespass the event without ticket, the use of a computer based system is proposed. The facility of online ticket booking will help in reducing the crowd gathering in front of the gate and trespassing. The online ticketing system will enable the patrons in accessing ticket sale from any online platform and mobile devices (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). The tickets will be digitally enabled that will validate the identity of the individual.

The objective of the project is to plan a charter for development of e-ticketing system so that the operational inefficiencies associated with ticket selling and allowing entry to the event can be reduced.

The project in-scopes are as follows-

1. To develop the e-ticketing system
2. To decrease the operational inefficiencies
3. To increase the profit from the event
4. To reduce the hassle of manual ticket booking system

 Measurable Organisational Value (MOV) helps in evaluating a project in terms of business value. The values that the e ticketing system will help be providing the clients are as follows-

Better:  The computer based ticket reservation system will help in reducing the operational inefficiencies associated with manual ticket selling for RALS project (Burke, 2013). The use of computer based ticketing system will further help in increasing the profits. Therefore, the proposed system will be advantageous for both the business and customers.

MOV

Faster:  The new system will help in faster ticket booking and ticket checking. The interested participants for the programs can book ticket well in advance over the internet (Marchewka, 2014). This will further eliminate the issue of lengthy queue thereby giving a faster access to the event.

The desired area of impact of the project is as follows

1. Operational:The Project is expected to increase the operational efficiency of the RALS event.  Since the patrons will be able to access ticket sale from any online platform. Earlier, the tickets were available for purchase only at the gates (Larson et al., 2014). With the implementation of the project, tickets should be available to purchase from a number of other locations in the town for the ones who have no access to computer or any other suitable devices. The ability of purchasing tickets in advance will reduce the queues at the gates.
2. Financial:The project will help in increasing the financial figure associated with RALS. The computer based ticketing system will replace the current manual system (Fleming, & Koppelman, 2016). Although the cost of implementation of the system will be higher initially, it will bring financial profit for RALS.

This measurable organization value for this project was developed on basis of the overall business goal (Harrison & Lock, 2017). The identified MOV will help in measuring the overall success of the project.

Stakeholders play a significant role in ensuring success of a project. The stakeholders associated with the project and their interest in the project in represented in the following table (Heagney, 2016).

Stakeholder	Description	Interest	Influence
Globex	Globex is one of the main stakeholders of the project RALS event is volunteered by Globex	High	Medium
Virtucon	Virtucon is an important stakeholder of the project as well since the computer based ticketing system will be delivered by Virtucon	High	High
RALS Committee	RALS committee is in charge of Riverina Agriculture and Life Show	Medium	Medium
Project Manager	The project manager is responsible for ensuring successful completion of the project	Medium	Low
ICV	The Indigenous Community Volunteers are in charge of volunteering the program.	Medium	Medium
Volunteers	Deals with ticket checking and ticket sales.	Low	Low

Table 1: Representing the Stakeholders associated with the Project

Stakeholder’s management is an important need for successful implementation of a project (Haimes, 2015). For that, an effective communication among the stakeholders is needed to be maintained. For that a communication plan is prepared which will be followed by the stakeholders for efficient communication.

Stakeholders	Description of Purpose	Communication Vehicle	Communication Frequency	Target Audiences
Globex	To communicate the major specifications of the system to be developed	Face-to-Face Meetings	Once in a month	Project Team, Virtucon
Virtucon	To share the status of project implementation	Face-to-Face Meetings and conferences	Weekly	Globex, RALS Committee, Project Team
RALS Committee	To specify the Project needs and any additional requirements of the project  (Phillips, 2013 )	Face-to-Face Meetings and conferences	Monthly	Virtucon and Project Team
Project Manager	To share the updates on project progress	Face-to-Face, email and telephone	Bi Weekly	Virtucon and Globex
ICV	To communicate changes in the Project	Email	Monthly	Virtucon, project team and Globex
Volunteers	TO share project status	Face to Face	Weekly	Project Team

Table 2: Representing the Communication Plan for the Project

Although the project is of less complexity, there are a number of risks that can have a large impact on the successful execution of a project (Kendrick, 2015). In order to manage the risk, a risk management process will be followed. The risk matrix below identifies the most significant risk associated with the project and their severity.

Risk Description	Risk Responsibility	Likelihood (from a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 indicates greater likelihood)	Impact (from a scale of 1 to 5 where 5 indicates greater Impact)	Priority	Mitigation Plans/Strategy for Risk Management
Schedule Risk: The Project May not be completed within the time allocated as a result of unrealistic deadline set	Project manager	3	3	Medium	The schedule Risk can be mitigated by setting up a realistic schedule. Therefore this Risk is needed to be avoided.
Technical faults in the e-ticketing system	Technical Manager of Virtucon	4	5	High	The technical team of Virtucon should be sound enough to deal with the major risks associated with the project so that the system can be delivered on time. This risk is therefore needed to be transferred to the technical team of Virtucon
Risk of Shortage of Resources	Resource Manager	2	4	Medium	The Risk of Resource Shortage can be mitigated by appointing  a resource manager and this risk is needed to be transferred  to the resource manager
Risk of incorrect Requirement specifications	Globex and RALS Committee	2	4	Low	The risk is needed to be mitigated by ensuring proper specification check prior to project implementation. Thus, this risk is needed to be avoided.
Incorrect cost estimate and over budgeting	Project Team of Virtucon	3	4	Low	The risk of incorrect cot estimate can be mitigated by accurate project budgeting and cost benefit analysis.

Table 3: Representing the most Significant Risk associated with RALS project and their Mitigation Strategy

The work breakdown structure of the e-ticking project that is needed to be implemented in represented in the following picture-

Figure 1: Representing the Work Breakdown Structure of the Project

(Source: Create by Author using MS Project and MS Schedule Pro)

The detailed task list and the work breakdown structure of the e-ticketing project is represented in the following picture-

Figure 2: Representing the Work scheduled of the Project

(Source: Create by Author using MS Project)

Project manager has a vital role to play in successful project implementation. A project manager is in charge of successful project initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring and controlling the project (Muller, 2017). Project manager often play a role of a leader in motivating his/her project team so that a good team work is observed in the project (Martinelli & Milosevic, 2016). Therefore, it is essential for a project manager to posses certain leadership qualities that can help in better management of the project team. The leadership qualities that a project manager should possess are as follows-

1. A project manager should be a good communicator as well. The ability to communicate with the people at all levels is a necessary skill that is required by the project manager to lead the team towards the completion of a project (Too & Weaver, 2014). Negotiation is a skill that a project manager should posses and therefore, a leader must be able to negotiate effectively.
2.  A project manager or a project leader should remain cool under pressure. If a project manager is able to remain cool under pressure, the project team will also be able to handle the pressure (Turner, 2017). A leader should be able to cope up with the uncertain events associated with the project.
3. A project manager and the project leader should posses a team building skill. A team builder can be described as a strong person who is able to hold the team together (Tabassi et al., 2016). In order to achieve this, it is essential for a leader to understand the capacity and capabilities of its team members.
4. A project manager should be a good problem solver. Every project is expected to face a number of problems which are needed to be solved. Therefore, having a problem solving skill is essential for a project manager.
5. Another leadership quality that a project manager should posses includes appropriate team management (Boyle, 2017). A project manager should be able to direct and co-ordinate the members of the team by delegating tasks to the appropriate members.
6. A project manager should be creative so that the work can be completed within the scheduled time.
7. A leader should be honest with the team member and therefore honesty is an integral characteristic of a leader. Project managers need to establish trust with the team members so that the transparency in project processes can be maintained.

The Roles and responsibilities of project team members are represented in the following table-

Team Members	Roles and Responsibilities
Project Manager	Project Manager is responsible for development of project plan and leading the team towards successful completion
Resource Manager	The Resource Manager is responsible for Resource allocation (Martinelli & Milosevic, 2016)
Technical Expert	Technical Expert is responsible for managing the technical difficulties that can be faced by the project team
Business Analyst	Business Analyst responsible for identifying the profit areas of the project
Software Coder	Software Coder is responsible for coding the new software
Software Tester	Software Tester is responsible for testing each modules of software.

Table 4: Representing the Roles and Responsibilities of the Team Member

Conclusion 

The report discusses the need for developing a online ticketing system in order to eliminate the operational inefficiencies that are observed as a result of manual ticket sales for RALS event. The RALS event is mainly organized with an aim of generating funding for charity works. However, with the manual systems, it becomes difficult to track the number of tickets sold. The manual ticketing system further increases the queue resulting in lack of count of the number of visitors and ticket sold. The new system that is proposed is expected to eliminate these inefficiencies.  

References 

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Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.

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