Put yourself in the role of a project manager collaborating with MTD, an events company.
Considering the difficulties and problems that MTD encounters in their projects, what insights have you gained this week that could offer assistance?
If an iterative approach were employed in organizing an event as a project, what would be the consequences? Similarly, what are the implications of adopting an agile approach? If the company sought your advice, what would you recommend?
Contribute your thoughts and ideas to the discussion.
If I were to be the project manager in MTD Company, both linear and iterative approaches would have been best to use interchangeably for the success of the event, using linear now, it’s going to be a well defined project in that all the unforseen circumstances might have been predicted and necessary procurement would have been in place should in case any issue arises, and to use the iterative approach, I will surely work on the feedback gotten from the previous event in that environment and agility would have helped to act fast on providing necessary steps to actualize the success of the project… So in this past week, I have learnt that these approaches can actually be used interchangeably for the success of any project I embark on.
Taking an iterative approach to setting up an event as a project involves breaking the planning and execution process into smaller, manageable phases or cycles. Each iteration builds upon the feedback and outcomes of the previous one. Here are the implications.
Flexibility and Adaptability
Allows adjustments based on new information, unforeseen circumstances, or client feedback.
Facilitates incorporating changes without disrupting the entire project.
Improved Quality
Regular feedback loops ensure the event meets expectations and meets the desired standards.
Early identification and correction of potential issues reduce risks.
Enhanced Stakeholder Collaboration
Frequent updates and reviews involve clients, vendors, and team members, fostering better communication and alignment.
Efficient Resource Utilization
Resources can be allocated in stages, reducing waste and optimizing their use.
Allows for prioritizing essential tasks and scaling up gradually.
Risk Mitigation
Early iterations help identify and address challenges before they escalate.
Testing concepts or smaller elements of the event (e.g., mock setups) can prevent costly mistakes.
Continuous Learning
Each iteration provides insights that inform better decisions for subsequent phases.
Encourages innovation and creativity through trial and refinement.
Taking an agile approach to setting up an event involves using flexibility, collaboration, and iterative progress to adapt to changes and deliver the event successfully.
Adaptability to Change
Agile’s iterative nature allows event planners to respond quickly to changing requirements, unforeseen challenges, or evolving client needs.
It supports incorporating feedback from stakeholders throughout the process.
Enhanced Collaboration
Frequent interactions between team members, clients, and vendors foster better communication and alignment.
Shared decision-making ensures all stakeholders feel engaged and heard.
Incremental Progress
Breaking the event planning process into smaller, manageable tasks ensures steady progress.
Deliverables at each iteration (e.g., venue confirmation, theme design) help build confidence and maintain focus.
Risk Mitigation
Early testing of concepts (e.g., event themes, technologies) and continuous feedback help identify and address potential issues before they escalate.
Encourages experimentation with new ideas in low-risk settings.
Increased Quality
Regular reviews ensure that each component meets high standards before proceeding to the next phase.
Allows for fine-tuning based on real-time insights.
Client Satisfaction
Agile focuses on delivering value early and consistently, aligning with client priorities.
Continuous updates reassure clients that their vision is being realized.
My advice will be the following
1. Clearly Define Goals and Objectives
Ensure everyone understands the event’s purpose, key deliverables, and desired outcomes.
Use this clarity to guide iterative cycles, ensuring all activities align with the broader vision.
2. Adopt a Strong Leadership Structure
Assign a project manager or Scrum Master to oversee the Agile process, ensuring team coordination and resolving bottlenecks.
Designate a Product Owner (client representative or lead stakeholder) to prioritize tasks and approve progress at each iteration.
3. Break Down the Project into Manageable Chunks
Divide the event planning process into smaller phases or sprints (e.g., venue booking, vendor coordination, marketing rollout).
Focus on delivering valuable outcomes in each sprint, such as confirming contracts or launching promotional campaigns.
4. Set Milestones with Flexibility
Define clear timelines for iterations but remain flexible enough to accommodate changes.
Balance adaptability with commitment to the event date to avoid overruns.
5. Foster Effective Communication
Hold daily stand-ups or regular check-ins to monitor progress, address challenges, and maintain alignment.
6. Prioritize Feedback Loops
Regularly collect input from clients, team members, and stakeholders to refine plans.
Agile/iterative project approach are short repeatable bursts of energy to build solutions. The approach works best in building websites.
Benefits of these approaches are:
1 Risk mitigation
2 Transparency
3Daily
4 Speed
The experience for the team is positive since they get to see the impact on their project.
The role of the project manager is more of leadership rather than command/control.
In adapting approaches to context, the project manager cannot afford to prefer one method over another.
Using an iterative approach to organise an event for MTD, I would say that firstly;
There should be a requirement gathering from the staff members of MTD & users that will help come up with an idea of what the end goal will be
Secondly, there will be strategy sessions on how to come up with a blueprint of the event
This strategy session will involve mapping a prototype of venue, the sprint planning, scrum team members that will be involved in the implementation
Next step is implementation of the prototype, & then a test is carried out, in this case, it will be a dry run on some of the equipment that will be needed at the event location (these may include; electricity cables, air-conditioning, water supply, runway, decorations & positioning, sound check, convenience systems etc)
The only implication to applying agile methodology to this kind of project is that it may require more financial resources because of the dry run, but in the end, the goal is to deliver a perfect service that will cause a continuous ROI because of returning clients & positive feedback from their clients.
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.
The summary of my understanding of the project life cycle is that, there is no one approach to choose in managing a project. As a manager, I need to learn to combine the approaches.
A lot of things will take the project manager by surprise hence the consequence of employing an iterative approach for project planning. This is because the iterative is an unpredictable one and requires techniques to respond to the environment.
The Agile approach help for building solutions and receiving feedbacks and to make sure that the team is building the right solution for the right people. Honestly, it is the best approach to help in case of an unpredictable environment.
I will suggest the combination of the two approaches–Waterfall & Agile
As a project manager for MTD an events company, i would use both the linear and iteractive method, we will start up with detailed plans on how the event is meant to develop from beginning to the end while leaving windows open for feedbacks from the client to effect changes when necessary,
Working with MTD, an events company, has highlighted the need for flexibility, clear communication, and timely feedback to overcome challenges like last-minute changes and tight deadlines.
Iterative Approach allows for gradual improvement based on client feedback, leading to better quality and client satisfaction. It could extend timelines, requiring effective resource management.
Agile Approach Implications will include a quick adaptability to client changes and closer team collaboration. And also requires careful resource allocation to avoid bottlenecks.
I’d recommend a hybrid iterative-agile approach that will mean to start with structured planning, then use agile sprints for implementation
As a PM with MTD – an event company,I would break down an event project into smaller phases- each phase will involve Planning,Executing, reviews and adjusting based on feedbacks; this will mean introducing iterative approach which works well for large or complex events because in planning,it is flexible,ensures regular Client feedbacks,lowers risk of major failures, I could also adopt the agile approach where the event with be structured into sprints that would be completed in short time frame. This means MTD will focus on what is most important like arranging key speakers,catering etc while less critical tasks goes to later sprints and I this way,the risk of running out of time on important items are reduced if not eliminate .
My advice to MTD would be to adopt a mix of the two approaches – a hybrid that is,iterative and agile wher i will begin with creating a flexible out line that requires iterative approach,get clients input and then bringvit agile sprints to execute high-priority elements of the event in a tie- boud manner and in the process,engage the clients at get feedbacks.Also i will advice the MTD people to embrace agile and get trained in it as it will help them respond to changes effectively.
Mastering these two approaches would help reposition MTD towards delivering successful events in uncertain environment.
As a project manager I will advise them to Collaborate with the MTD and introduce linear and interaction to them