Glenelg, the most famous tourist attraction in South Australia, is a popular place of interest when it comes to tourism in southern hemisphere. Our project is about a new health food restaurant located in Glenelg, South Australia. This restaurant is called Nourish and is operating under Lorna Jane which is a well-known Australian activewear brand. Now I’d like to introduce the background of this project.
- A new concept:
Lorna Jane’s most profitable store in South Australia is the store on Jetty Road, Glenelg. The current plan is to purchase a two-story commercial building as an investment property which is close to the existing Lorna Jane clothing store. The top floor will be Nourish, the eatery; the ground floor will be the clothing store. Previously, this venue was a Thai restaurant which wasn’t operating well. As a result, the first floor is equipped with some reusable kitchen equipment. This building’s condition is quite acceptable because it requires minimal renovation. The marketing department of Lorna Jane has confirmed that the demand from customers is tremendous because many of their existing customers are keen to go to a Lorna Jane restaurant where they can eat the healthy food as demonstrated in Lorna Jane’s magazine. So, the opportunity in the market can contribute to Lorna Jane’s brand expansion and increase its revenue. The scope of this project includes two components. The first aspect is in scope. These are site inspection, obtaining relevant business licenses, creating the right menu that resonates with the ideal customer avatar, finding suitable suppliers, planning and fit-outs, interior and exterior design, buying furniture and equipment, installing and testing the system, creating a marketing plan and sending soft launch invitation. The second aspect is out of scope. These include choosing the right location, constructing and renovating the building, creating an operational plan (including maintenance and inventory management) as well as recruiting and train staff members.
We have identified SMART objectives here. First of all, the objective has to be specific, so our objective is to create the first health food restaurant chain under the Lorna Jane brand. This health food restaurant sets an example for future restaurants. Secondly, the objective is measurable: Nourish must be profitable after 3 months of operation. Thirdly, the objective is attainable. This restaurant will be built within 15% budget tolerance and 18 weeks the latest. Next, the objective must be realistic. Due to the increasing trend in health consciousness and healthy eating, Nourish is a viable project. Also, the rising popularity of Lorna Jane as a brand as well as positive feedback on food recipes from Lorna Jane cookbook both indicate that Nourish is a feasible project. Last but not least, the project will be finalized within 15 weeks. This is the time frame that we’d like to have.
Speaking of stakeholders, these internal stakeholders are included: the parent organization, senior management, project manager and project team members. Also, external stakeholders are government agencies, the designing and fit-out team, suppliers, customers and neighbors. It is very important for the project manager to build relationships with the stakeholders. First and foremost, the project manager needs to understand the stakeholders’ environment which informs the development of management strategies. The second step is to build two-way communication with stakeholders, so the project manager must have technical skills as well as people skills. Stakeholders have to clearly understand the goals of this project, so the project manager should be observant at all times. Assessment, problem identification and solutions development within the stakeholders is an ongoing cycle and requires constant review throughout the project life cycle.
- How to manage risks:
Natural disaster is identified as a medium risk, although the consequence is severe, the likelihood of occurrence is low and at some level predictable. Data leakage is identified as a medium risk, constructing Nourish involves little individual data, however, when it does occur the consequence is severe. Delay of contractual/legal signage is also a medium risk, the likelihood is very high but the consequence can vary, this risk can be avoided by rigorous contract content and schedule extra time for approval. Medium risks will be monitored to avoid worsening. High risks will be paid great attention to. The categories identified as high risks are risks related to human, equipment and third-party organization. Human related risk is the most common risk. Acquiring insurance for employees is a common method to transfer the risk. Moreover, proper training, work safety and ongoing assessment can also reduce the risks. Making sure skilled employees are recruited to reduce the delay of the work process or extra employees available when tasks need to be done urgently. Equipment delay is identified as a high risk as it will postpone the finish time of Nourish. To minimize the risk, the contract signed with the business stakeholders must state to bear risks and legal liability to share the risk. On the contrary, when equipment arrives earlier, the ground floor which will be renovated as Lorna Jane activewear will be used as a storage. Fallback plans will be generated when high risks occur and contingency plans fail, such as, finding another contractor for the labor force or another equipment source.
“Glenelg is the place that you shouldn’t miss out on in terms of tourism in southern hemisphere.”
