Envisage an overcast and damp Port Fairy, beyond our window the Port Fairy Folk Festival infrastructure is being dismantled!

This apt scene got me thinking about the project management skills required to run a four day event, involving hundreds of acts, thousands of visitors and volunteers.

Kevin Bennett from KB Business Solutions defined a project as “A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product or service”.

Kevin then launched into a fast paced day covered the key phases of project management – initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and closing and the importance of reflecting, analysing and evaluating each new piece of information.

A range of tools, methods and tips were provided throughout the day including the 80/20 rule, work structure breakdown, responsibility matrix’s, critical paths, risk management etc. By the end of the day we had covered five project management processes, seven tools, three behaviours and thirteen concepts!

As the project management day unfolded we gained new skills and importantly it allowed the participants the opportunity to interact with one another and helped us to analyse our own strengths and weaknesses, and each teams unique dynamics and the varying leadership roles

Jason Cay, 2019 Program Particpant 19/03/19