Project Scenario
Calendar Project (Note: The companies and people within the scenario are fictional.)
There has been a reduction in fie number of orders at the MNO Manufacturing Company due in
part to the increased marketing activities of its competitors. To help counter this, the company has
decided to create a promotional calendar for next year for all its current and prospective
customers. The end product of this project will be a prepared calendar pack, ready for printing.
The design of the calendar will be similar to one sent out previously, and must reflect the company
image as described in the existing corporate branding standards. Another project is currently
producing a new company logo when is to be printed on each page of the promotional calendar.
The prepared calendar pack will consist of:
Design for each month – correctly showing at public holidays and new company logo
Selected photographs- 12 professionally-produced photographs, showing different members of
staff
Selected paper and selected envelope – for printing and mailing the calendar
Chosen label design – a competition to design a label will be held as part of this project
List of customers – names and addresses of customers to whom the calendar will be sent.
The project is currently in initiation and will have two further stages:
Stage 2 will include tie activities to:
Create the customer fast using information from the Accounts and Marketing departments
Confirm compliance with the Data Protection Legislation
Create a design for each month – this will be done by the internal creative team
Select and appoint a professional photographer
Gather photograph design ideas from previous project and agree photographic session schedule
Prepare a production cost forecast
Select paper and envelope.

Stage 3 will include the activities to:
Produce and select tie professionally-taken photographs
Hold the label design competition and choose the label design
Assemble the prepared calendar pack.
A production cost forecast, based on the options and costs for the paper, envelope, printing and
marketing of the calendar is to be produced in stage 2. However, the actual production and
distribution of the calendars is not within the scope of the project. The product cost forecast will be
reviewed by the Project Board to determine whether tie project should continue.
It is now 05 October and the prepared calendar pack must be delivered to the print company by 30
November, to enable printing and distribution of the calendar in time for Christmas. The cost of the
activities to develop the specialist products and the cost of the project management activities are
estimated to be £20,000. There is a project time tolerance of +1 week /-2 weeks and a project cost
tolerance of +£6,000 / -£6,000. A change budget of £500 has been allocated but there is no risk
budget.
As the project approaches the end of stage 2, the Project Manager has requested a Product
Status Account to ensure that all products are at their expected point of development. Although
the list of customers has been quality reviewed, it has not been baselined because the Marketing
department have not provided all of the prospective customers’ details. What initial action should
the Project Manager take?

A.
Delay producing the End Stage Report until the list of customers has been baselined.

B.
Raise an Exception Report to the Project Board to highlight the issue.

C.
Check the target sign-off date for the list of customers.

D.
Update the product status to baselined and obtain a commitment from the Marketing
department to finish this work within the next few days.