Introduction to Project

Management
Lesson 1
 After completing this chapter…
⚫ Define a project using characteristics that are
common to most projects.
⚫ Describe major activities and deliverables, at each
project life cycle stage.
⚫ List and define the nine knowledge areas and five
process groups of the project management body
of knowledge (PMBOK®).
⚫ Delineate measures of project success and failure,
and reasons for both.
⚫ Compare and contrast the advantages and
disadvantages of organizational structures
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 What is a project?
project – “a temporary endeavor undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result.” PMBOK® Guide

Projects require:
◦ an organized set of work efforts.
◦ progressively elaborated detail.
◦ a defined beginning and ending.
◦ a unique combination of stakeholders.
⚫ Projects are subject to time and resource
limitations
stakeholders – “an individual, or organization who may
affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a
decision, activity, or outcome of a project.” PMBOK® Guide
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 Project Management (PM)
Project management – “the application of knowledge,
skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet
project requirements.” PMBOK® Guide

initiate
⚫ Work processes that plan work.
execute
close

⚫ Tradeoffs among
Scope Schedule
Quality Resources
Cost Risks

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 Project Management (PM)
⚫ Administrative tasks planning
documenting
controlling

⚫ Leadership tasks for work associates

visioning motivating promoting

⚫ Knowledge, skills, and methods apply for most

projects

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How Can Project Work Be
Described?
⚫ Projects versus operations

⚫ Soft skills and hard skills

⚫ Authority and responsibility

⚫ Project Life Cycle

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 1. Projects Versus Operations
⚫ Projects are temporary

⚫ Projects have routine and unique characteristics

⚫ Operations are ongoing work

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2. Soft Skills and Hard Skills
⚫ Soft skills activities
◦ Communication
◦ Leadership
⚫ Hard skills activities
◦ Risk analysis
◦ Quality control
◦ Scheduling work
◦ Budgeting work

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 3. Authority and Responsibility
⚫ One person being assigned accountability
⚫ Project managers negotiate with functional
managers
⚫ Strong communication and leadership skills to
persuade subordinates

Functional manager – “someone with management authority

over an organizational unit.…the manager of any group that
actually makes a product or performs a service.” PMBOK®
Guide
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4. Project Life Cycle (PLC)
⚫ Predictable stages

⚫ Life cycle allows for control

Project life cycle – “the series of phases that a

project goes through from its initiation to its
closure.” PMBOK® Guide

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Project Life Cycle Stages
⚫ Selecting and initiating

⚫ Planning

⚫ Executing

⚫ Closing and realizing

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Project Life Cycle Stages

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Understanding Projects
⚫ Project
Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK)

⚫ Selecting and Prioritizing Projects

⚫ Project Goals and Constraints

⚫ Project Success and Failure

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 1. Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK®)

⚫ ProjectLife Cycle
⚫ 5 process groups
⚫ 10 knowledge areas

Project management process group – “a logical grouping

of the project management inputs, tools and techniques, and
outputs.” PMBOK® Guide

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PMBOK® Process Groups
Initiating—“define a project or a new phase by obtaining
authorization”

Planning—“establish the project scope, refine objectives

and define actions to attain objectives”

Executing—“complete the work defined to satisfy project

specifications”

Monitoring and controlling—“track, review, and

regulate progress and performance, identify changes
required, and initiate changes”

Closing—“finalize all activities to formally close project of

phase”

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 PMBOK® Knowledge Areas
Integration management - “processes and activities to
identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various
processes and project management activities”

Scope management - “processes to ensure that the project

includes all the work required, and only the work required, to
complete the project successfully”

Time management - “processes to manage timely

completion of the project”

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 PMBOK® Knowledge Areas
Cost management – “processes involved in planning,
estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing,
and controlling costs so that the project can be completed
within the approved budget”

Quality management - “processes and activities of the

performing organization that determine quality policies,
objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will
satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken”

Human Resources management - “processes that

organize, manage, and lead the project team”

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 PMBOK® Knowledge Areas

Communications management - “processes to ensure

timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation,
distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control,
monitoring, and ultimate disposition of project information”

Risk management - “processes of conducting risk

management planning, identification, analysis, response
planning, and control…to increase the likelihood and
impact of positive events and decrease the likelihood and
impact of negative events in the project”

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PMBOK® Knowledge Areas

Procurement management - “processes to purchase

or acquire products, services, or results from outside the
project team”

Stakeholder management - “processes to identify the

people, groups, or organizations, that could impact or
be impacted by the project, analyze their expectations
and impact, and develop strategies for engaging them
and managing conflicting interests”

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2. Selecting and Prioritizing
Projects
⚫ Identify potential projects
⚫ All parts of the organization are involved
⚫ Determine which projects align best with
major goals of the firm
⚫ Organizational priorities:
◦ Understood
◦ Communicated
◦ Accepted

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 Selecting and Prioritizing Projects
What value does each Are the demands of
potential project bring to performing each
the organization? project understood?

Are the resources

needed to perform Which projects
the project will best help the
available? organization
achieve its goals?

Is there enthusiastic support both from the

external customers and from one or more
internal champions?
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3. Project Goals and Constraints
⚫ Projects are undertaken to accomplish
specific goals
⚫ Scope and quality are performance goals

Scope – “the sum of the products, services, and

results to be provided as a project.”
PMBOK® Guide

Quality – “the degree to which a set of inherent

characteristics fulfills requirements.”
PMBOK® Guide

⚫ Subject to constraints of time and cost 22

Project Goals and Constraints
⚫ Obstacles or challenges may limit the
ability to perform
⚫ Opportunities may allow projects to
exceed original expectations.
⚫ Project Managers (PMs) decide which
goals and constraints take precedence
⚫ Additional constraints
◦ Amount of resources available
◦ Decision maker’s risk tolerance
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Project Customer Tradeoff Matrix

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4. Project Success

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 Why Projects Fail
⚫ Not enough resources available
⚫ Not enough time given to the project
⚫ Project expectations are unclear
⚫ Changes in the scope not understood
or agreed upon
⚫ Stakeholders disagree on expectations
⚫ Inadequate project planning

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Project Roles
⚫ Project Executive-Level Roles
⚫ Project Management-Level Roles
⚫ Project Associate-Level Roles

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Project Executive-Level Roles
⚫ The steering team
◦ The top leader (CEO) and his/her direct
reports
◦ Select, prioritize, and resource project
◦ Ensure that accurate progress is reported

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 Project Executive-Level Roles
⚫ The sponsor
◦ Active roles:
🞄 Charter the project
🞄 Review progress reports
◦ Behind-the-scenes role:
🞄 Mentoring the project manager
🞄 Assisting the project manager

Sponsor – “the person or group that provides resources and

support for the project and is accountable for enabling success.”
PMBOK® Guide

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Project Executive-Level Roles
⚫ The senior customer representative
◦ Identifies and prioritizes constituents
requirements
◦ Ensures project progress support customer
desires
◦ Continuous and active role

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Project Executive-Level Roles
⚫ The chief projects officer
◦ Supports project managers
◦ Require compliance to project directives

Project Management Office (PMO) – “an organizational

structure that standardizes the project related governance
processes and facilitates the sharing of resources,
methodologies, tools and techniques.” PMBOK® Guide

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 Project Management-Level Roles
⚫ Project manager
◦ Directly accountable for project results,
schedule, and budget
◦ The main communicator
◦ Responsible for the planning and execution of
the project
◦ Works on the project from start to finish.
◦ Limited formal power
Project manager – “the person assigned by the performing
organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the
project objectives.” PMBOK® Guide
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Project Management-Level Roles
⚫ Functional manager
◦ Department heads
◦ Determine the how of project work
◦ Supervise the work
◦ Negotiate with the project manager

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Project Management-Level Roles
⚫ Facilitator
◦ Helps the project manager with the
process of running meetings and making
decisions

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Project Associate-Level Roles
⚫ Project management team
◦ Core team members
◦ Planning
◦ Project-level decisions

Project management team – “members who

are directly involved in project management
activities.” PMBOK® Guide

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Summary
⚫ A project is an organized set of work efforts
⚫ Work processes initiate, plan, execute, control, and
close project work.
⚫ Tradeoffs must be made between the scope,
quality, cost, and schedule
⚫ Projects need to be planned and managed.

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Summary
⚫ PMBOK® Guide
◦ Five process groups: initiating, planning,
executing, monitoring and controlling, and
closing
◦ Nine knowledge areas: cost, time, scope, quality,
risk, communications, human resources,
procurement, and integration.
⚫ Projects require an understanding of what project
success is
⚫ Projects require an understanding of the causes of
project failure
⚫ Project management requires an understanding of
the various executive, managerial, and associate
roles in project management
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