DEVELOPMENT OF A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRENADA TOURISM ENHANCEMENT PROJECT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (ABSTRACT)

The Grenada Tourism Enhancement Project (GTEP) is geared towards improving selected tourist attraction sites and facilitating the movement of tourists and locals in the region with the use of ferries. This research paper will focus on the restoration of Fort George as a means of enhancing the tourist experience through the preservation and restoration of a historical site.

The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) is a specialized project management unit under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), which has been established by the Government in order to fulfill Financing Agreements with donor agencies for the funding of projects.  The PCU is about to undertake the initiating and planning phases of the GTEP; however, the PCU has been faced with the challenges of: lack of procedures or guidelines to adequately define project initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling and closure, which has resulted in poor scope definition, cost overruns, project delays and lack of stakeholder participation in previous projects. With the implementation of a Project Management Plan (PMP),  the PCU seeks to apply best practices and principles in accordance with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide that will guide the management processes of the GTEP. 

The general objective of this project was to create a Project Management Plan for guiding the processes of initiating and planning, in accordance with the Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 5th Edition, for the restoration of the tourist attraction site, Fort George. The specific objectives were: to develop a project charter that will provide the project manager with the information, processes, and authority to create a PMP that will be used in the initiating and planning phase of the project in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition; to create a scope management plan to collect requirements, define the scope to ensure that it includes all the work to successfully complete the project, to create the work breakdown structure (WBS) and WBS dictionary in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning; to develop a schedule management plan in order to define activities, sequence activities, estimate resources and durations as well as develop the project’s schedule in accordance with the standards of the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning; to create a cost management plan in order to estimate cost, determine the project’s budget and define the processes to manage the project budget in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning; to develop a quality management plan in order to determine the quality requirements for the project and to ensure that the project results demonstrate compliance with those requirements in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning; to create a human resource management plan for the purpose of providing guidance on how the project’s human resources will be defined, staffed and managed effectively in accordance with standards of the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning; to develop a communication management plan in order to ensure that project communications are structured, well organized and effective in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5th  Edition for project planning; to create a risk management plan in order to identify risks, perform risk analysis and plan risk responses to minimize their likelihood in accordance to standards of the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning; to develop a procurement management plan for the purpose of describing how the project team will acquire goods and services external to the organization in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition for project planning and to create a stakeholder management plan in order to identify stakeholders and the management strategies required to effectively engage stakeholders in accordance with the PMBOK Guide 5 th Edition for project initiating and planning.

This research was done using various information sources (company documents, interviews & PMBOK Guide 5th Edition) and research methods (analytical, descriptive & quantitative), to analyze the current management practices of the PCU. This research was done with the aim of developing a formal plan that identifies areas for development and recommends strategies, guidelines and policies that allow for successful initiating and planning for the Restoration of Fort George, through the implementation of a Project Management Plan. 

In conclusion, we have observed that the PCU faces many challenges created by the absence of an organized template for its project management processes; therefore, the development of this Project Management Plan provides a new strategy/methodology which will guide Project Managers and management team on best practices and policies to project management, thus eliminating many of the problems experienced.  

It is recommended that the PCU will integrate this proposal into the initiating and planning phases of the restoration of Fort George and any future projects, creating an effective way to initiate and plan projects that are methodical,clearly defines objectives and provides clarity for stakeholder engagement. This will serve as a guide that can be replicated to suit all future projects within the unit. 
 
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http://www.uci.ac.cr/Biblioteca/Tesis/PFGMAP1700.pdf