PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
Creative Genius, Ltd. Office Move Case Study
Mrs. O’Leary
Background
Creative Genius, Ltd. is a 350-person advertising agency based in downtown
Chicago. They create integrated marketing campaigns (including print, web,
direct mail and radio/television) to promote the products of its national and
international clients.
In the past year, the agency has doubled in size, outgrowing its present office
space. In order to support the firm’s business objective of being its clients’ most
valued creative marketing partner, the firm is moving from one downtown office
to a larger converted warehouse space in the trendy River North area a mile
away.
Project Sponsor Oscar Martin, the CEO, has approved and allocated the funding
for the move to the larger space.
Segments
The firm consists of three segments and their leaders:
• Account Services - Michael Stock (VP Account Services)
• Creative Services - Jim Helper (VP, Creative Services)
• Operations - Andy Burnett (VP of Operations).
These segment leaders are your primary stakeholders; they are interested in
ensuring that the move is successfully executed with minimal disruption to clients
and the employees in their respective segments.
Departments
The Managers of each department within Operations have been assigned to this
project. They are responsible for ensuring that each department and the agency
as a whole are successfully packed and moved.
You are the Senior Manager of Operations for the firm, and you report to Andy
Burnett. You have been selected to be the Project Manager for this move. The
Project Sponsor (Oscar) is leaving on October 15 for an extended vacation, so
you need to arrange for a Project Kick Off meeting prior to his departure.
DePaul University School for New Learning Essentials of Project Management 2
The lease at the current downtown location is up on Friday, December 31; it is
now Friday, October 1.
Details
Organizational Structure
Creative Genius, Ltd. focuses on food and food-related, packaged goods and
adult beverage clients. The following is a breakdown of each segment to assist in
planning the move:
Account Services Segment-100 employees
This segment is composed of Account Executives and their support staff divided
into the following account groups:
• Food and Food-related account group – 40 employees
• Adult Beverage account group - 30 employees
• Packaged Goods account group - 30 employees
Creative Services Segment-200 employees
This segment is composed of Art Directors/Copy writers /Production Managers
and their support staff divided into the following creative groups:
• Food and Food-related creative group - 80 employees
• Adult Beverages creative group - 60 employees
• Packaged Goods creative group - 60 employees
Operations Segment-50 employees
This segment is composed of the internal staff that supports the agency:
• Facilities (5 employees)
This group is responsible for the upkeep of the office space, maintaining
office supplies, shipping and internal moves.
• Human Resources (7 employees)
Responsible for recruiting, service delivery, employee relations, employee
records, performance management, training & development and benefits
administration.
• Internal Marketing (5 employees)
This group is responsible for advertising, public relations, corporate
sponsorship events, corporate identity, print and digital collateral, including
maintaining the corporate website.
• Finance (20 employees)
Responsible for client and internal billing, including accounts payable,
accounts receivable, internal auditing and payroll.
• Records Management (3 employees)
Responsible for the organization and maintenance of digital and hard copy
repository containing samples of previous client jobs and cataloging
artwork and creative concept files for future use.
• Information Technology (10 employees)
This group is responsible for wide area and local area network and
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Updated March 2015
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the Author.
desktop support, mobile devices and telephony. Secure servers are
located maintained offsite by a third party vendor.
Project Team
A project team for the move has been assigned and includes:
Project Manager:
YOU! You are part of the Facilities group, Senior Manager of Operations,
responsible for internal operations. Oscar has asked you to manage the Office
Move. Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: determining
milestone dates for the project and completion of the Project Charter (in
conjunction with the Sponsor), WBS, Project Plan/Schedule and Lessons
Learned documents).
Project Team Members:
Team Member Responsibilities
Facilities
Kelli Keeper
Senior Manager
• Real estate procurement and redesign
• Coordinating the redesign and construction
of the new office spaces with the
architectural firm contracted for this project
• Assigning office spaces in the new locations
Facilities
Erin Hamm
Office Manager
• Office logistics and supplies.
• Identification and selection of movers (with
the Project Manager)
• Procurement and distribution of packing
materials to all departments
• Overseeing the packing of all contents in the
office space
• Overseeing the safe move of the artwork
and Mrs. O’Leary
• Purchase and delivery of new furniture to
the new location
• Overseeing the packing and moving of the
Account and Creative segments
Human Resources
Toby Fender
Manager
• Employee records
• Managing employee communications (with
Dwight Shultz)
• Manage employee concerns about the move
DePaul University School for New Learning Essentials of Project Management 4
Team Member Responsibilities
Marketing
Dwight Shultz
Senior Manager
• Corporate identity/website
• Managing employee communications (with
Toby Fender)
• Procurement of new print materials for
employees
• External communications
Finance
Stanley Hodges,
Manager, Client Accounting
• Moving corporate and client financial
records
• Year end accounting and taxes
• Paying all bills associated with the move
Records Management
Angela Marvel
Specialist, record archival and
client portfolio
• Organizing and archival of secure client
files, both digital and hard copy
• Cataloging/storage of hard copy print
materials samples
• Overseeing the move of secure documents
Information Technology
Ryan Howe
Senior Manager, Network
Services
• Network connectivity, telephony, mobile
devices
• Maintaining secure, uninterrupted service in
both locations throughout the move
Shareholder(s)/Responsibilities
Shareholder(s) Responsibilities
Michael Stock
(VP, Account Services)
Jim Helper
(VP, Creative Services)
Andy Burnett
(VP, Operations)
To ensure that resources are provided to assist
with the move and ensuring that the move is
successfully executed with minimal disruption to
clients and the employees in their respective
segments.
To provide additional resources to assist with
packing/moving if needed (Jim)
Preliminary Budget:
Activity Cost
Movers, packers $100,000
Furniture $125,000
Supplies: stationery, etc. $20,000
Miscellaneous moving- related expenses $5,000
Construction-remodeling (Costs overseen by Kelli Keeper) $100,000
TOTAL $350,000
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Updated March 2015
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the Author.
Preliminary Information
Project Phases:
Based on past office moves within the company, it has been determined that the
0Project will be divided into three phases:
• Phase 1: Pre-move preparation
• Phase 2: Moving day activities
• Phase 3: Post-move close out activities
Initial Packing List:
A preliminary inventory of the office space has determined the following packing
list of items to be moved:
• Contents of all 350 offices
• 20 modular desks from “the pit,” a community workspace and staging area
• The creative lounge, which contains a pool table, 4 couches and a freezer
for ice cream
• A life size fiberglass cow (nicknamed Mrs. O’Leary), used in a previous as
campaign for the city, now in the lobby as a conversation piece
• Samples of work done for previous client projects
• Secure files (Angela Marvel’s department)
• Financial records (Stanley Hodges’ department)
• Artwork-framed paintings and lithographs from various contemporary
artists that currently adorn the walls throughout the agency – some of
these are very rare and expensive
• 10 Printer/copier machines
Deliverables:
Project Manager’s deliverables include:
• Project Charter (Initiate)
• Work Breakdown structure to include a project plan/schedule for moving
day (Plan)
• Project Plan/moving schedule (Execute/Control)
• Lessons Learned document (Close).
Each Department Head will determine his/her tasks and deliverables and
list these in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
For example, in the last office move, Facilities had the following tasks and
deliverables:
• Task: Selection of movers
• Deliverables: Signed Moving Contract, Packing Materials
• Task: Oversee packing
• Deliverables: Packed boxes and packing list
DePaul University School for New Learning Essentials of Project Management 6
Assumptions:
• The assigned team will be available to do the work of the project when
needed in order to meet certain milestones to be identified.
• Additional assistance can be obtained through Jim Helper if needed.
• Construction will be completed on the date promised, and the newly
redesigned office space will be available for occupancy on the date
agreed upon.
• Funding for the project has been approved by the partners and is available
for this purpose.
• Finance will conduct year-end close activities starting on December 15 in
order to expedite filing of year-end corporate taxes by December 31.
Risks:
• Because the move occurs during tax season/year end close, Finance
cannot move the last three business days of the month and the first two
business days of the month in order to conduct month end close and client
billing.
• The Adult Beverages account/creative teams are working on several huge
campaigns: one for a new product launch for December 31(creative
deliverables are due to the printer on December 10), and another for a
holiday event tie-in with a major motion picture scheduled for release on
January 1 (creative deliverables to the TV networks on December 24).
• Adult Beverages and the Finance team will need to be accommodated in
their packing and moving to avoid any disruption to their work schedules.
• While the contractor has been procured for the new space, construction
cannot begin until after November 15, when the current occupant has
vacated the premises.
• The Project Sponsor is on vacation and unavailable between October 15,
and December 31, although accessible via e-mail for updates/questions.
• Managing the move of special items (like the expensive art work, Mrs.
O’Leary).
• The current space must be vacated, cleaned up, in the condition in which
it was leased.
Other Important Details:
New Office Space
Architectural consultants have redesigned the new downtown Chicago office
space, and the actual work will take place a month before your move.
The current occupant is scheduled to vacate the space on November 15.
Completion of work is promised for December 15, two weeks before the
lease expires on your current location.
Contractors have been hired to do the remodeling and funds budgeted for it,
overseen by Kelli Keeper. The newly remodeled space will accommodate 500
employees to support future growth.
DePaul University School for New Learning Essentials of Project Management 7
Updated March 2015
©2010 School for New Learning, DePaul University. All Rights Reserved by SNL during contractual interval with
the Author.
Office Space Assignments
The new downtown offices are configured differently from the ones you are in
now. Kelli Keeper is responsible for assigning persons to their respective office
spaces.
Moving staff
In addition to the professional movers and your team members, you can expect
to have the equivalent of two full time professional employees for the next
several months. You may also choose employees for shorter periods of time and
thus have more of them.
Technical Infrastructure/equipment
Secure servers for all digital files are located in an offsite facility.
All employees have laptop computers and phones that use Voice over IP (VOIP)
technology.
Note: If you have questions about the case study, or you want to discuss it with classmates,
please post to the Questions Discussion Forum.
Module 3
Assignment 3.3 Instructions
Complete a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for the Office Move
Instructions:
Using the template provided here, list the following information:
• Tasks to be completed
• The resulting deliverable for each task
• Estimated cost of each task
• Name of person responsible for the task
• The date by when the task should be completed
Reference:
• See pages 40-44 in the Cook text and Module3_WBS_the_Benedict_job_Planning_Phase.pdf in the Module 3 Checklist for additional reference.
NOTES:
• Each section of this template should be completed.
• Add sub-tasks as needed
Work Breakdown Structure
Tasks to be completed prior to Moving Day
Add/remove tasks/sub-tasks/rows as needed-you may create this document in Excel and submit separately if you prefer.
# Department
Task (s) Deliverable Cost Estimate Person Assigned By When
1.1 Project Management
1.2 Construction
1.3 Facilities
1.4 Human Resources
1.5 Marketing
1.6 Finance
1.7 Records Management
1.8 Information Technology
1.9 Account Segment
1.10 Creative Segment
Assignment 4.3 Instructions
Complete a Project Plan for the Office Move
Instructions:
Using the template provided here, complete the Project Plan for the three phases of the Office Move:
• Phase 1 - Pre-Move Tasks
• Phase 2 - Moving Day Tasks
• Phase 3 - Post-Move Tasks
Reference:
• See Module4_Benedict_job_Initiate.pdf and Module4_Benedict_Job_Control_Close.pdf and in the Module 4 Checklist for additional reference.
NOTES:
• Each section of this template should be completed, including indicating predecessor task numbers. See additional information below in section named About Predecessors
• Add sub-tasks as needed.
• Time Scale for Phase 1 and Phase 3 is in Days
• Time Scale for Phase 2 is in Hours/Minutes.
About Predecessors:
In the far right column of the Project plan, you will list the task number(s) of the task(s) that have a dependency on the current task. This is done so that you can monitor the tasks that must be completed in preparation for the current task to begin.
Please review the document entitled Module4_Project_Plan_the_Benedict_job_Control_Close.pdf for an example of how this should look.
For example, task 2.1.1:Take possession of briefcase from Turk. Proceed to casino cage door has a predecessor of task 1.1.5: Transfer suitcase to Saul.
This indicates that task 1.5.5 (Turk transfers the suitcase to Saul) must occur first in order for Saul to be able to perform task 2.1.1 (Accepting the suitcase from Turk and taking it to the casino cage door).
Task # Task Description Duration Start Date End Date Task Assigned to Predecessors
Add number here. Task to be performed. How long this task will take (number of days). The date by which this task should start. The date by which this task must be completed. List the team member(s) name(s) here. Put the task number(s) of the task(s) from the column at the far left that must be completed before this task can begin.
Assignment 4.3: Office Move Project Plan/Schedule
PHASE 1 – Pre-Move Plan - Tasks to be completed between signing of Project Charter and Moving Day
(Add tasks/rows as needed)
Task # Task Description Duration
(# of Days) Start Date End Date Task Assigned to Predecessors
1.1 Project Management
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.1.3
1.2 Construction
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.3 Facilities
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.4 Human Resources
1.4.1
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.5 Marketing
1.5.1
1.5.2
1.5.3
1.6 Finance
1.6.1
1.6.2
1.6.3
1.7 Records Management
1.7.1
1.7.2
1.7.3
1.8 Information Technology
1.8.1
1.8.2
1.8.3
1.9 Account Segment
1.9.1
1.9.2
1.9.3
1.10 Creative Segment
1.10.1
1.10.2
1.10.3
PHASE 2 –Moving Day Plan - Tasks to be completed ON MOVING DAY(s)!
Add Moving Date(s) here: add date(s) here!
Task Task Description Duration
(# of Hours) Start Time End Time Task Assigned to Predecessors
1.1 Project Management
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.1.3
1.2 Construction
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.3 Facilities
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.4 Human Resources
1.4.1
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.5 Marketing
1.5.1
1.5.2
1.5.3
1.6 Finance
1.6.1
1.6.2
1.6.3
1.7 Records Management
1.7.1
1.7.2
1.7.3
1.8 Information Technology
1.8.1
1.8.2
1.8.3
1.9 Account Segment
1.9.1
1.9.2
1.9.3
1.10 Creative Segment
1.10.1
1.10.2
1.10.3
PHASE 3 – Post-Move Plan - Tasks to be completed after the Move has taken place
(Add tasks/rows as needed)
Task # Task Description Duration
(# of Days) Start Date End Date Task Assigned to Predecessors
1.1 Project Management
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.1.3
1.2 Facilities
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.3 Human Resources
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.4 Marketing
1.4.1
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.5 Finance
1.5.1
1.5.2
1.5.3
1.6 Records Management
1.6.1
1.6.2
1.6.3
1.7 Information Technology
1.7.1
1.7.2
1.7.3
1.8 Account Segment
1.8.1
1.8.2
1.8.3
1.9 Creative Segment
1.9.1
1.9.2