College of Accountancy and Business Administration

Second Semester, A.Y. 2020-2021

APC1 Project Management

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS A PROJECT?

• A project is an activity that:

• is temporary having a start and end date
• is unique
• brings about change
• has unknown elements, which therefore create risk
• Generally, projects are formed to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.
• Business as usual activities can often be mistaken for projects.
• Generally, it is the uniqueness of the activity that is the deciding factor – do we do this every year? If so, then
it is not truly a project – although you can use project methods to get it done.

COMMON PROJECT TERMS

• Deliverables: Tangible ‘things’ that the project produces • Milestones: Dates by which major activities are
performed.
• Tasks: Also called Actions. Activities undertaken during the project
• Risks: Potential problems that may arise
• Issues: Risks that have happened
• Gantt Chart: A specific type of chart showing time and tasks. Usually created by a Project Management
program like MS Project.
• Stakeholder: Any person or group of people who may be affected by your project

WORK-BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS)

 Hierarchy of tasks required to complete project

 Each task is broken into smaller tasks that can be managed and estimated
 Define task dependencies ▪ Some tasks must begin at the same time, some must end at the same time and some
cannot start until the other tasks have finished.
 Estimate task durations and cost
 May be inputted into project management software

• Final WBS plan is called baseline WBS

• Risks:
• Plan is not approved after first round of feedback
• Resources are not available at the required time
• Plan is not given consent
• For each of the above, you should have a contingency plan, or do some activity that may prevent it happening in the
first place.
• Issues: – If any of the above actually happens, then it becomes an issue to solve.

THE PROJECT MANAGER

A person with a diverse set of skills

– management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship – who is responsible for: –
initiating, – planning, – executing,
 – controlling,
– monitoring,
– and closing down a project.

A successful Project Manager must simultaneously manage the four basic elements of a project:
resources,
time, money, and most
importantly, scope.

Each must be managed effectively. All must be managed together if the project is to be a success. The resource that
can be leveraged to the greatest extent in all projects is the people involved.

Project Managers are essentially jugglers. They must make sure that everything keeps to task, that potential issues are
quickly eliminated, and the project is delivered on time, all the while making sure everyone knows what is happening
and the project quality and budget are acceptable.
Specifically, they:
 direct all activities required to successfully meet the project objectives
 manage risk – scanning ahead for potential issues and resolving them before they become a problem
 solve problems - recommending alternative approaches to problems that arise and providing guidance to the
Project Sponsor
 track and report project progress
 communicate to all stakeholders in the project

PROJECT INITIATION

The Initiation phase of the project is the most important phase. The success of the entire project depends on how
clearly and completely the Terms of References are established. – Project Sponsor
– Lines of Authority
– Participants
– Objectives
– Constraints
- Costs/Budget
– Resources
- Deliverables - Phases & Time Scales
- Strategy
– Risks
- Roles & Responsibilities

CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECTS

• A project contains a well defined objective. The project objective is defined in terms of scope ( or
requirements), schedule, and cost.
• A project is carried out via a set of interdependent tasks.
• A project uses various resources to carry out these tasks
• A project has a definite start date and an expected completion date. The actual completion date may not always
be the same as the expected date.
• A project is a one time or unique endeavor.
• A project has a customer.

MEASURING PROJECT SUCCESS

4 major project constraints, specifically: – Scope.

– Cost.
– Schedule (Time).
– Customer satisfaction (quality and performance).
WHY DO PROJECTS FAIL?

1. Poor project and program management discipline

2. Lack of executive-level support
3. Wrong team members
4. Poor communication
5. No measures for evaluating the success of the project
6. No risk management
7. Inability to manage change

A project has a degree of UNCERTAINTY. In project planning many assumptions are made regarding:
• access to resources.
• resource capability.
• impact of environmental factors.
• These assumptions are not always accurate.
• Requires project managers to re-assess and trade-offs between requirements, costs, and time. Above all, be
PRO-ACTIVE.

PROJECT CONSTRAINTS

• Project scope – Have all the project requirements (i.e., deliverables) been completed?
• Project cost – Is the cost of the project close to the amount the customer has agreed to pay?
• Schedule – Was the project completed on time?
• Customer satisfaction – Is the customer happy with the quality of the project?

PROJECT SUCCESS – 12 Golden Rules

 Rule #1 Thou shalt gain consensus on project outcome.

 Rule #2 Thou shalt build the best team possible.
 Rule #3 Thou shalt develop a comprehensive, viable plan and keep it up to date.
 Rule #4 Thou shalt determine how much stuff you really need to get things done.
 Rule #5 Thou shalt have a realistic schedule.
 Rule #6 Thou won’t try to do more than can be done.
 Rule #7 Thou will remember that people count.
 Rule #8 Thou will gain the formal and ongoing support of management and stakeholders.
 Rule #9 Thou must be willing to change.
 Rule #10 Thou must keep others informed of what you’re up to.
 Rule #11 Thou must be willing to try new things.
 Rule #12 Thou must become a leader.

Online references:
https://www.edo.ca/downloads/project-management.pdf
 PROJECT DETAILS

Project Life Cycle

Every project, from conception to completion, passes through various phases of a life cycle synonym to life cycle of
living beings. There is no universal consensus on the number of phases in a project cycle. An understanding of the life
cycle is important to successful completion of the project as it facilitates to understand the logical sequence of events
in the continuum of progress from start to finish.

Four phases:
1. Conceptualization,
2. Planning, 3. Execution and
4. Termination.

Each phase is marked by one or more deliverables such as:

Concept note,
Feasibility report,
Implementation Plan,
HRD plan,
Resource allocation plan, Evaluation report
etc.

Conceptualization Phase

Conception phase, starting with the seed of an idea, it covers identification of the product / service, Pre-feasibility,
Feasibility studies and Appraisal and Approval. The project idea is conceptualized with initial considerations of all
possible alternatives for achieving the project objectives. As the idea becomes established a proposal is developed
setting out rationale, method, estimated costs, benefits and other details for appraisal of the stakeholders. After
reaching a broad consensus on the proposal the feasibility dimensions are analyzed in detail.

Planning Phase

In this phase the project structure is planned based on project appraisal and approvals. Detailed plans for activity,
finance, and resources are developed and integrated to the quality parameters.
In the process major tasks need to be performed in this phase are
• Identification of activities and their sequencing
• Time frame for execution
• Estimation and budgeting
• Staffing

A Detailed Project Report (DPR) specifying various aspects of the project is finalized to facilitate execution in this
phase.

Execution Phase

This phase of the project witnesses the concentrated activity where the plans are put into operation. Each activity is
monitored, controlled, and coordinated to achieve project objectives. Important activities in this phase are
• Communicating with stakeholders
• Reviewing progress
• Monitoring cost and time
• Controlling quality
• Managing changes

Termination Phase
This phase marks the completion of the project wherein the agreed deliverables are installed, and project is put into
operation with arrangements for follow-up and evaluation.

Life Cycle path

The life cycle of a project from start to completion follows either a “S” shaped path or a “J “shaped path.

In “S” shape path the progress is slow at the starting and terminal phase and is fast in the implementation phase.
Example:
Implementation of watershed project. At the beginning detailed sectoral planning and coordination among
various implementing agencies etc. makes progress slow and similarly towards termination, creating institutional
arrangement for transfer and maintenance of assets to the stakeholders progresses slowly.

In “J” type cycle path the progress in beginning is slow and as the time moves on the progress of the project improves
at fast rate.
Example:
In a developing an energy plantation. In this the land preparation progresses slowly and as soon as the land
and seedling are transplantation is undertaken.

Project Classification Two

broad groups:
1. industrial and
2. developmental

Each of these groups can be further classified considering nature of work (repetitive, non-repetitive), completion time
(long term, shot term etc), cost (large, small, etc.), level of risk (high, low, no-risk), mode of operation (build, build-
operate-transfer etc).
 1. Industrial projects also referred as commercial projects, which are undertaken to provide goods or services for
meeting the growing needs of the customers and providing attractive returns to the investors/stake holders.
Following the background, these projects are further grouped into two categories:
a. demand based,
The demand-based projects are designed to satisfy the customers’ felt as well the latent needs such
as:
complex fertilizers, agro-processing
infrastructure etc.
b. resource / supply based.
The resource/ supply-based projects are those which take advantage of the available resources like:
land, water,
agricultural produce, raw
material, minerals and
even human resource.
Projects triggered by successful R&D are also considered as supply based.

Examples of resource-based projects include:

food product units,
metallurgical industries, oil
refineries etc.
Examples of projects based on human resource (skilled) availability include:
projects in IT sector,
Clinical Research projects in bio services and others.

2. Development projects are undertaken to facilitate the promotion and acceleration of overall economic
development. These projects act as catalysts for economic development providing a cascading effect.
Development projects cover sectors like:
irrigation,
agriculture,
infrastructure health and
education.

Essential differences between Industrial projects and Developmental projects