Question No.

1:-

What are the salient aspects of a typical project? Discuss important issues that
managers must consider while conducting project analysis.

What is a Project? – The Definition

Project is a great opportunity for organizations and individuals to achieve their business and
non-business objectives more efficiently through implementing change. Projects help us
make desired changes in an organized manner and with reduced probability of failure.
Projects differ from other types of work (e.g. process, task, procedure). Meanwhile, in the
broadest sense a project is defined as a specific, finite activity that produces an observable
and measurable result under certain preset requirements.
It is an attempt to implement desired change to an environment in a controlled way. By using
projects we can plan and do our activities, for example: build a garage, run a marketing
campaign, develop a website, organize a party, go on vacation, graduate a university with
honors, or whatever else we may wish to do.
Project:
is a temporary, unique and progressive attempt or endeavor made to produce some kind of a
tangible or intangible result (a unique product, service, benefit, competitive advantage, etc.).
It usually includes a series of interrelated tasks that are planned for execution over a fixed
period of time and within certain requirements and limitations such as cost, quality,
performance, others.
As follows from the given definition, any project can be characterized by these
characteristics:

 Temporary.

This key characteristic means that every project has a finite start and a finite end. The start is
the time when the project is initiated and its concept is developed. The end is reached when
all objectives of the project have been met (or unmet if it’s obvious that the project cannot be
completed – then it’s terminated).

 Unique Deliverable(s)

Any project aims to produce some deliverable(s) which can be a product, service, or some
another result. Deliverables should address a problem or need analyzed before project start.

Page 1 of 18
 Progressive Elaboration.

With the progress of a project, continuous investigation and improvement become available,
and all this allows producing more accurate and comprehensive plans. This key characteristic
means that the successive iterations of planning processes result in developing more effective
solutions to progress and develop projects.

In addition to the listed characteristics, a conventional project is:

 Purposeful as it has a rational and measurable purchase

 Logical as it has a certain life-cycle
 Structured as it has interdependencies between its tasks and activities
 Conflict as it tries to solve a problem that creates some kind of conflict
 Limited by available resources
 Risk as it involves an element of risk

Some examples of a project are:

 Developing a new product or service

 Constructing a building or facility
 Renovating the kitchen
 Designing a new transportation vehicle
 Acquiring a new or modified data system
 Organizing a meeting
 Implementing a new business process

Work Breakdown
In organizations, a project is defined as a piece of work that is planned for implementation
within current business environment. This definition let’s make a distinction between other
pieces of work, such as:

 Program – a broad, long-term objective that is often decomposed into a series of projects
and sub-projects
 Task – an identifiable and measurable activity that create a small unit of work for a related
project
 Work package – division of a project task
 Work unit – division of work packages

Projects along with programs, tasks, work packages and work units are the elements of work
breakdown structure or WBS. Often WBS is used to determine an activity-based hierarchy
of projects, with reference to their deliverables and objectives.

Page 2 of 18
 A program includes several or more larger projects. A larger project can be broken down into
smaller interrelated sub-projects. Each one can be divided into tasks which in term are
decomposed into interrelated activities or sub-tasks. A task includes a series of smaller goals
which are monitored against milestones.

Managing Projects
Project management is the art of planning, controlling and executing a project in a way that
ensures successful delivery of the desired outcome. It is widely used in organizations as a
complex of tools for delivering strategic goals and objectives.
The key advantages of using project management within a company’s business environment
can be described as:

 Accelerating improvement and strengthening of the company’s management through

implementing the ideas of participatory management. Projects help involve employees in
decision making
 Adopting systems engineering approach that helps deal with risks effectively
 Accomplishing specific changes that are linked to the company’s strategies

Where do you start?

This first step – understanding the directions you might take – can be more important than
many organizations realize.

We saw a perfect example of this phenomenon with one recent client, whose leadership
believed they had only a handful of potential projects to pursue. However, when they decided
to broaden the group of decision-makers, the sheer number of possibilities that opened up
surprised everyone. This story is a reminder of another key principle: it’s important that all
stakeholders are in the room from beginning to end.

Once you’ve identified the paths before you, it’s time to choose. As you embark on the
selection process, make sure to consider five key points:

1) Ensure that the project aligns with your organizational strategy.

Why is it so important that organizations select the right projects in the first place? If a
prospective project is simply a good idea – or more problematically, someone’s pet project –
it’s unlikely to survive. For this reason, you need to make certain that the prospective project
aligns with your overall organizational strategy.

Page 3 of 18
Again, it’s important that all key stakeholders are in the room, and that they’re familiar with
your overall strategy. With your strategy as a guide, identify where each project might meet
multiple organizational goals. One way to measure the efficacy of a project is using a two-
by-two matrix.

On one axis, chart the project’s ease of implementation. On the other, chart its anticipated
impact on organizational goals. Without this comparative tool, your effort on a project might
ultimately outweigh impact. But by using this framework, you can select the projects that
will make the biggest difference.

2) Identify a project champion.

One of the most crucial factors in a project’s success is its having a designated champion or
owner. Without a clear assignment of responsibility and advocacy, a project can falter. But
with a properly identified champion, you can make sure everything proceeds as smoothly and
efficiently as possible.

The individual who serves as project champion should have a role at the highest level of the
organization. They should also, of course, carry a commitment to seeing the project through.
The champion’s job is to support the project, communicate its progress to the team at large,
and tear down any barriers that might hinder the project’s success.

3) Conduct an organizational or environmental assessment.

How broad and intensive an effort will this project be for your organization? In order to find
out, you should conduct an organizational or environmental assessment. This is key for
helping you better understand the context in which you will undertake your project.

In this process, you will answer questions like:

 How involved will different functions or processes within your organization be on

this project?
 Is it isolated to the IT department (for example), or will this be a cross-functional
department project?
 Which departments’ processes will be impacted by the outcomes of this project, and
what changes might they have to make as a result?

This assessment helps you both scope and coordinate the project, while anticipating future
needs.

Page 4 of 18
4) Assess your resources.

Speaking of future needs, the next step is to evaluate the resources you have at hand to
accomplish the project ahead. In this case, resources may mean people, time, or budget. Do
you have the resources necessary to complete the project successfully and efficiently? This
should be a key consideration in selecting your project. Projects for which you do not have
sufficient resources may stall and become an ongoing drain on your organization, while less
ambitious projects may help you reach a position from which you can more easily
accomplish more expensive or time-consuming goals.

5) Identify your parameters for success.

When will your project be complete? This is a crucial point to decide up-front. As you set out
on your undertaking, nail down your parameters for completing the project, particularly the
timeframe. Will it take six months or a year?

As you consider timeframes, you should also decide on the metrics by which you will
measure success. When you know these metrics from the start, you will be able to track not
only your results, but your progress along the way.

With these five considerations guiding your project selection process, you’ll be ready to
choose the projects that will best serve your organizational goals. From here, it’s all a matter
of implementing your project – and managing it to a successful conclusion.

Question No. 2:-

Technology and process play crucial role in certain projects. What the key issues
are with regards to choice of technology, equipment and processes at the stage of
formulation of projects?

It is widely appreciated in the financial technology industry that business analysts can play a
vital role in bridging the specification and implementation gap between client and technology
provider. Clients, whether treasury or bank users, list requirements in the anticipation of
meeting these ideals through a new solution; while the technology provider understands the
needs and delivers solutions in accordance. Nonetheless, the whole exchange of requirements
and solution between these two entities is not always straightforward.

The project scope and expectations from both sides can vary and escalate to a situation where
either or both parties decide to end the project abruptly, or even prosecute each other in the

Page 5 of 18
courts. In most circumstances the misinterpretations are small, but erupt unexpectedly in the
final stages of a project, which can lead to reworking and huge cost overruns.

A third party entity, fulfilling an independent role, can be the business analyst, who can
seamlessly connect these two sides. The analyst should strive for clear client requirements
and a flawless technology solution from the vendor. Business analysts possess domain
knowledge in various financial products and have a holistic view of the programme by
connecting multiple stakeholders.

Therefore, a business analyst is crucial for a banking technology project because they can
add absolute value in terms of cost savings, quality assurance, timeline adherence and client
satisfaction.

Five Areas Where Business Analysts Can Shine

Acquaintance with financial products and their lifecycle

A bank might be selling hundreds of products and their variants to clients, nevertheless all of
them fall under certain product groups based on their nature and the manner they are
processed. For each product group, a business analyst should be able to depict the lifecycle
and associated events. This exercise will guide the business analyst to understand how many
systems process the events end-to-end and how many teams/roles perform these. Once this
foundation is established, it’s easier to relate any new requirement that originates.

In case of foreign exchange (FX) business, for example, the following particulars should be
listed in detail:

 Product groups: FX spot, FX forward, FX non-deliverable forward (NDF), FX

options and FX swaps.
 Lifecycle and events for each product group: FX spot – order, match exchange rate,
revaluation, settle on nth day, amend the deal, cancel the deal, etc.
 Application(s) that process each event.
 Team(s) that perform each event.

In parallel, these products and events should be viewed from a broad perspective, such as
credit risk, market risk and operational risk, finance, tax, fees, etc. This activity helps the
business analyst develop a holistic view of products and their processing. It also gives the
extra confidence of holding a map of a new territory while commencing expedition.

Exemplification of requirements
Clients may describe requirements that are not necessarily along the lines of what they really
want. As some users might handle activities in a specific manner on a day-to-day basis, their
Page 6 of 18
description of a certain requirement may be skewed towards addressing issues related to only
those tasks. A requirement that addresses current needs, as well as caters to needs that will
arise in future, is seldom expressed.

A business analyst should question the purpose of requirement and perform exemplification
that involves:

 Inspecting the requirement from multiple dimensions and investigating every aspect
of it, keeping its final usage by users in mind.
 Providing realistic business scenarios as examples to minimize misinterpretation.

Some indicative project questions that should be asked, clarified, analyzed and discussed are:

 Why does the client need this functionality? How was this requirement identified?
What is the overall business context?
 What action of the system or user triggers the functionality expected out of this
requirement?
 What are the prerequisites to carry out this functionality?
 What must happen immediately after this functionality is performed?
 At what stage and in what form does this new functionality enter into the standard
business process execution, such as input of an FX deal? Does it alter the existing
process flow?
 Is this requirement dependent or associated to other requirements?
 What are the business rules for this functionality?
 Which role in the bank, for example a treasury dealer, is the primary consumer of this
functionality?
 What are the channels through which the user acts on this functionality?
 What changes are anticipated in the future? What sort of flexibility is envisaged?

Clarity around the requirements should be well established in analysis stage, which itself can
dodge a faulty design. The cost of correcting problems in the final stages is enormous as
compared to amending them in analysis phase.

3. Mediation between client and technology provider at critical junctures

At every stage, there should exist quality gates and sign-offs to determine that both entities
have agreed on the deliverables in order to proceed to next stage. For example if the design
has not been approved by the client, the technology provider cannot progress in building the
solution.

Page 7 of 18
During the course of the project, there would be many misinterpretations as to the scope and
requirements of a project. Ideally, the project initiation, or scope, document should clearly
define which aspects are in-scope and which are out-of-scope. However, as the different
stages are passed and detailing sets in, certain features start to hover between in-scope and
out-of-scope, or sometimes emerge as fresh requirements.

A business analyst should be equipped to sense such divergences and immediately bring the
client and technology provider together to highlight the issue. This occasion provides
opportunity for both entities to voice their view point, and a business analyst can facilitate the
discussion for a mutually agreeable resolution. A business analyst should avoid the practice
of assuming certain aspects based on one’s own experience and communicating inaccurate
information, else such practice may yield difference of credibility between both the entities
and ruin the image of the business analyst.

4. Test scenario preparation ahead of the design phase

In the majority of projects, test scenarios are prepared when the testing phase is about to
commence. As an ideal practice, test scenarios should be prepared once requirements are
documented and analysed.

The benefits of this practice are:

 The technology provider can create an appropriate solution design, as it is aware of

how the solution would later be tested.
 During detail designing, test scenarios can provide pointers to any essential
functionality that is not explicit in the requirements.
 As the scenarios are prepared in the analysis phase itself, they can be agnostic to
solution design, while methodically verifying the solution output.

Detailed test cases that branch out from test scenarios can be prepared post-design to be in
sync with design-related modifications.

5. Solution validation with a view on its long-term usage and flexibility

Implementing new solution may alter the existing system functionality. Such outcomes are
more often than not hidden and difficult to detect. A business analyst should review the
design in detail and identify the potential impact on all connected components.

While validating a solution, a business analyst should also assess its long-term usage for the
specific area and check how flexible the solution is in accommodating future changes.
Wherever possible, hard coding of the logic should be avoided. New logic or formulae
should be broken into multiple components and each of the components should be made
Page 8 of 18
configurable. This allows the client to re-configure the parameters and achieve desired
customization on their own, rather than depending on the technology provider.

For example, when a new fee is created under FX deal processing, some features such as fee
amount, percentage slabs, fee waiver criteria, amortization flag, and so forth can be retained
as configurable parameters. A treasury or bank can re-define the fee as necessary by simply
changing the parameters with no dependency on the technology provider.

Conclusion

These five features are principally associated with a business analyst role. Shortcomings in
these areas can cause a project to derail beyond repair or lead to expensive corrective steps.
Although a business analyst role is desired consistently across all phases of a technology
project, higher impetus should be given on these five areas which are crucial for the project
and have the potential to contribute continuing value.

Question No. 3:-

What are the objectives of project management information system? What are
the types of data sets used in integrated project management information
system? Discuss briefly how these date sets are used for decision making.

Brief, project management objectives are the successful development of the project’s
procedures of initiation, planning, execution, regulation and closure as well as the guidance
of the project team’s operations towards achieving all the agreed upon goals within the set
scope, time, quality and budget standards.

The successful development and implementation of all project’s procedures. A project,

regardless of its size, generally involves five distinctive phases of equal importance:
Initiation, Planning and Design, Construction and Execution, Monitoring and Control,
Completion. The smooth and uninterrupted development and execution of all the above
phases ensures the success of a project.

Productive guidance, efficient communication and apt supervision of the project’s team.
Always keep in mind that the success or failure of a project is highly dependent on
teamwork, thus, the key to success is always in collaboration. To this end, the establishment
of good communication is of major importance. On one hand, information needs to be
articulated in a clear, unambiguous and complete way, so everything is comprehended fully
by everyone and on the other hand, is the ability to be able listen and receive constructive
feedback.

Page 9 of 18
The achievement of the project’s main goal within the given constraints. The most
important constraints are, Scope in that the main goal of the project is completed within the
estimated Time, while being of the expected Quality and within the estimated Budget.
Staying within the agreed limitations always feeds back into the measurement of a project’s
performance and success.

Optimization of the allocated necessary inputs and their application to meeting the
project’s pre-defined objectives, is a matter where is always space for improvement. All
processes and Procedures can be reformed and upgraded to enhance the sustainability of a
project and to lead the team through the strategic change process.

Production of a complete project which follows the client’s exclusive needs and
objectives. This might mean that you need to shape and reform the client’s vision or to
negotiate with them as regards the project’s objectives, to modify them into feasible goals.
Once the client’s aims are clearly defined they usually impact on all decisions made by the
project’s stakeholders. Meeting the client’s expectations and keeping them happy not only
leads to a successful collaboration which might help to eliminate surprises during project
execution, but also ensures the sustainability of your professional status in the future.

Types of Data Used in integrated Project Management information system

The initial investment into a project management information system can seem
overwhelming. However, a project management information system is capable of
dramatically lowering risk and improving processes throughout your project.

If your organization has not yet implemented a project management information system,
consider how these core benefits will impact your operation.

1. Project Management Information Systems Improve Collaboration

Collaboration is in a symbiotic relationship with employee satisfaction and successful project

delivery. When all members of the project management team, skilled workers and upper-
level management have access to relevant information, they can work together seamlessly.
This reduces the incidence of delays and unnecessary costs by promoting a more cohesive
plan to complete a project.

2. Project Management Information Systems Enable Agile Processes

Project team members who can see what is going on throughout your project will be more apt
to “jump” between different roles to ensure your processes can always meet the needs of the
project.
Consequently, these individuals will be better prepared to manage risk and change plans to
keep the project from failing.

Page 10 of 18
 3. Dedicated Systems Help Your Project Stay on Schedule

To keep your project on track to meet the deadline, you need to know how individual tasks
and activities can influence the overall schedule. Information systems help your project stay
on schedule by keeping all team members informed of current progress.

4. You Can Track Project in Detail

Tracking a project is great, but project information systems allow you to drill down into
specific details for each part of your project. This may include costs, labor resources,
percentage complete and risk for specifics. As a result, you can track your project in detail
and adjust the degree of detail to scale up or down the project.

5. Project Management Systems Allow for Fast Reporting

Reporting represents one of the most time-consuming responsibilities of a project manager.

Information systems are designed to automatically generate reports and provide real-time
insight through project dash boarding tools. By saving time during reporting, you can focus
your attention onto more crucial activities.

6. Communication Is Enhanced

Strong lines of communication throughout your organization are necessary to successfully

complete your project. A project information system is designed to keep all records in a
central location, which enables your organization to attain a high level of accountability and
communication.

As a result, your team can immediately view what changes have been made to the schedule
or assignments within the system. Meanwhile, automatic tracking of actions within the
system helps project managers know when employees and team members have reviewed
these changes.
A project management information system provides many benefits to your organization.
However, the core benefits are critical processes to successful project delivery. Implement a
project management information system now to start reaping the rewards of each of these
core benefits.
Key Takeaway

 Project management information systems benefit your organization through better

collaboration and agile processes.
 Understanding details of your project, especially large projects, helps you stay on
schedule.
 You can track individual activities and tasks in your project with information
systems.
 Fast reporting ensures everyone in your organization is held accountable.
 Project management information systems increase communication across your organization.

Page 11 of 18
Question No. 4:-

Write short notes on the following:

a) CMP vs. PERT technique

b) Matrix organization
c) Financing of project

MP vs. PERT technique

1. INTRODUCTION
Basically, CPM (Critical Path Method) and PERT (Programme Evaluation Review
Technique) are project management techniques, which have been created out of the need of
Western industrial and military establishments to plan, schedule and control complex
projects.
1.1 Brief History of CPM/PERT
CPM/PERT or Network Analysis as the technique is sometimes called, developed along two
parallel streams, one industrial and the other military.
CPM was the discovery of M.R.Walker of E.I.Du Pont de Nemours & Co. and J.E.Kelly of
Remington Rand, circa 1957. The computation was designed for the UNIVAC-I computer.
The first test was made in 1958, when CPM was applied to the construction of a new
chemical plant. In March 1959, the method was applied to maintenance shut-down at the Du
Pont works in Louisville, Kentucky. Unproductive time was reduced from 125 to 93 hours.
PERT was devised in 1958 for the POLARIS missile program by the Program Evaluation
Branch of the Special Projects office of the U.S.Navy, helped by the Lockheed Missile
Systems division and the Consultant firm of Booz-Allen & Hamilton. The calculations were
so arranged so that they could be carried out on the IBM Naval Ordinance Research
Computer (NORC) at Dahlgren, Virginia.
1.2 Planning, Scheduling & Control
Planning, Scheduling (or organizing) and Control are considered to be basic Managerial
functions, and CPM/PERT has been rightfully accorded due importance in the literature on
Operations Research and Quantitative Analysis.
Far more than the technical benefits, it was found that PERT/CPM provided a focus around
which managers could brain-storm and put their ideas together. It proved to be a great
communication medium by which thinkers and planners at one level could communicate
their ideas, their doubts and fears to another level. Most important, it became a useful tool for
evaluating the performance of individuals and teams.

Page 12 of 18
There are many variations of CPM/PERT which have been useful in planning costs,
scheduling manpower and machine time. CPM/PERT can answer the following important
questions:
How long will the entire project take to be completed? What are the risks involved?
Which are the critical activities or tasks in the project which could delay the entire project if
they were not completed on time?
Is the project on schedule, behind schedule or ahead of schedule?
If the project has to be finished earlier than planned, what is the best way to do this at the
least cost?
1.3 The Framework for PERT and CPM
Essentially, there are six steps which are common to both the techniques. The procedure is
listed below:

1. Define the Project and all of its significant activities or tasks. The Project (made up of
several tasks) should have only a single start activity and a single finish activity.
2. Develop the relationships among the activities. Decide which activities must precede
and which must follow others.
3. Draw the "Network" connecting all the activities. Each Activity should have unique
event numbers. Dummy arrows are used where required to avoid giving the same
numbering to two activities.
4. Assign time and/or cost estimates to each activity
5. Compute the longest time path through the network. This is called the critical path.
6. Use the Network to help plan, schedule, monitor and control the project.

The Key Concept used by CPM/PERT is that a small set of activities, which make up the
longest path through the activity network control the entire project. If these "critical"
activities could be identified and assigned to responsible persons, management resources
could be optimally used by concentrating on the few activities which determine the fate of
the entire project.
Non-critical activities can be replanted, rescheduled and resources for them can be
reallocated flexibly, without affecting the whole project.
Matrix organization
A matrix organizational structure is one of the most complicated reporting structures a
company can implement. Read on to learn why a company might implement a matrix
structure and the advantages and disadvantages for both company and staff.

Definition
A matrix organizational structure is a company structure in which the reporting
relationships are set up as a grid, or matrix, rather than in the traditional hierarchy. In other
Page 13 of 18
Words, employees have dual reporting relationships - generally to both a functional manager
and a product manager.
Example
In the 1970s, Philips, a Dutch multinational electronics company, set up matrix management
with its managers reporting to both a geographical manager and a product division manager.
Many other large corporations, including Caterpillar Tractor, Hughes Aircraft, and Texas
Instruments, also set up reporting along both functional and project lines around that time.
Advantages
In a matrix organization, instead of choosing between lining up staff along functional,
geographic or product lines, management has both. Staffers report to a functional manager
who can help with skills and help prioritize and review work, and to a product line manager
who sets direction on product offerings by the company. This structure has some advantages:

 Resources can be used efficiently, since experts and equipment can be shared across
projects.
 Products and projects are formally coordinated across functional departments.
 Information flows both across and up through the organization.
 Employees are in contact with many people, which helps with sharing of information
and can speed the decision process.
 Staffers have to work autonomously and do some self-management between their
competing bosses; this can enhance motivation and decision making in employees
who enjoy it.

Disadvantages
The matrix structure is generally considered the toughest organizational form to work in, due
to the conflicting pulls on resources. The overlaps can lead to turf battles and difficulty in
determining accountability. The major disadvantages of a matrix structure are:
Financing of project

What is 'Project Finance'

Project finance is the financing of long-term infrastructure, industrial projects and public
services using a non-recourse or limited recourse financial structure. The debt and equity
used to finance the project are paid back from the cash flow generated by the project. Project
financing is a loan structure that relies primarily on the project's cash flow for repayment,
with the project's assets, rights and interests held as secondary collateral. Project finance is
especially attractive to the private sector because companies can fund major projects off-
balance-sheet.

Page 14 of 18
BREAKING DOWN 'Project Finance'
The project finance structure for a build, operate and transfer (BOT) project includes multiple
key elements.
Key Elements of BOT Project Finance
Project finance for BOT projects generally include a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The
company’s sole activity is carrying out the project by subcontracting most aspects through
construction and operations contracts. Because there is no revenue stream during the
construction phase of new-build projects, debt service only occurs during the operations
phase.
For this reason, parties take significant risks during the construction phase. The sole revenue
stream during this phase is generally under an off-take or power purchase agreement.
Because there is limited or no recourse to the project’s sponsors, company shareholders are
typically liable up to the extent of their shareholdings. The project remains off-balance-sheet
for the sponsors and for the government.
Off-Balance-Sheet
Project debt is typically held in a sufficiently minority subsidiary not consolidated on the
balance sheet of the respective shareholders. This reduces the project’s impact on the cost of
the shareholders’ existing debt and debt capacity. The shareholders are free to use their debt
capacity for other investments.
To some extent, the government may use project financing to keep project debt and liabilities
off-balance-sheet so they take up less fiscal space. Fiscal space is the amount of money the
government may spend beyond what it is already investing in public services such as health,
welfare and education. The theory is that strong economic growth will bring the government
more money through extra tax revenue from more people working and paying more taxes,
allowing the government to increase spending on public services.
Non-Recourse Financing
When defaulting on a loan, recourse financing gives lenders full claim to shareholders’ assets
or cash flow. In contrast, project financing provides the project company as a limited-liability
SPV. Therefore, the lenders’ recourse is limited primarily or entirely to the project’s assets,
including completion and performance guarantees and bonds, in case the project company
defaults.
A key issue in non-recourse financing is whether circumstances may arise in which the
lenders have recourse to some or all of the shareholders’ assets. A deliberate breach on the
part of the shareholders may give the lender recourse to assets. Applicable law may restrict
the extent to which shareholder liability may be limited. For example, liability for personal
injury or death is typically not subject to elimination.

Page 15 of 18
Question No. 5:-

A project is different from routine and regular activities. Draw a list of

characteristic and distinguish the project from other activities with examples.

Routine, or Operations
Routine business is also known as general operations. Operations are daily repetitive tasks
that keep the business going; such as general accounting, customer service and technical
support. For example, the accounting department must keep track of all incoming payments
from customers and all outgoing payments for expenses. Common operation expenses
include rental fees for an office building, salaries for employees and utility bills. Continuous
production of products and output of services are also part of operations.
Business Projects
Business projects are temporary tasks that the business takes on to promote the company,
expand a product line or market existing services or products. Projects may also meet a
market demand or serve as a branding strategy, if the company wants to stand out from
strong market competitors. They can also be basic renovation projects or a marketing
campaign. These projects are temporary and may stretch anywhere from a day to a year. In
other words, business projects have a starting date and an end goal, which is the main
difference from continuous operations.
Role of Budget
Both operational business and temporary projects have set budgets. The operational budget
does not change much, as salaries, department funding and product manufacturing rarely
change from month-to-month. However, the set operational budget must bring in the
maximum profit. Temporary projects will often have a budget that must last the entire
project, whether it is a week or yearlong project. Project budgets must incorporate labor,
equipment, raw materials and unforeseen circumstances. Funding for projects may be part of
the business’ master budget or be covered by business grants and sponsorships.
Management
The overall management for operations also differs from project management. Operation
managers must be experienced in one area of business; such as accounting, marketing,
technical support or customer service. Project managers, alternatively, must have multiple
skills and past experience in such areas as managing people under pressure, addressing
budget limitations, hiring temporary help, acquiring temporary equipment and hiring printers
for banners, posters and other marketing materials.

Page 16 of 18
Distinguishing a Project from Routine Work

Project and what is really a routine or routine work. The definition of project varies from one
company to another. In some cases, the word is used loosely to describe any task, exceptional
or recurring. Thus, a “project” could mean any routine that demands time. That’s unfortunate
because it diminishes the importance of actually planning out and managing a project.

Search Craigslist job postings for the word “project” and it’s amazing how many non-project
roles are listed as projects and how many postings that need project managers are actually
looking for a clerk or a data entry person.

Let’s look at a few items that separate a project from some of the routine work that gets
performed that really isn’t a project.

A project is an exception

a project involves investigating, compiling, arranging, and reporting information outside the
range of usual activities while routine is defined within the range of a department’s function.

Example
The manager of a customer service department prepares monthly reports identifying
customer contact trends (complaints, inquiries, suggestions) as part of her routine. When she
is given the task of investigating and comparing automated customer service software, she is
responsible for a project.

Project activities are related

Routines for recurring tasks performed in your department are related to the activities that
define and distinguish that department only, whereas the activities involved in project phases
are related to one another and to a desired end result. So your project may involve
coordinating work that not only takes place in your immediate department but extends to
actions in other departments, as well as to outside resources.

Example
The customer service manager given the project of investigating automated systems may
work with the IT manager, the marketing department, and several suppliers. Collectively, the
internal and external information will help her identify the points of comparison.

Page 17 of 18
Project goals and deadlines are specific

Recurring tasks may be managed with departmental goals in mind; but these goals tend to
remain fixed, or move forward only with time. The same is true of deadlines; you may face
weekly or monthly deadlines for completion of reports, processing, and closing. Projects,
though, have singular goals that will be either reached or missed. And projects have clear
starting points and completion dates.

Example
The customer service manager is told to compare prices and features of software, make a
recommendation, and complete a report within three months. This project has a clear goal
and deadline. In comparison, her department’s routine goals and deadlines extend from one
month to another.

The desired result is identified

Routines are aimed not at one outcome but at maintenance of processes, whereas the
research, development of procedures, or construction of systems or buildings on a project
produce a tangible, desired result.

Example
For her project, the customer service manager is expected to deliver a conclusive report. It’s
a one-time assignment, not one that will recur each month. But the routine reports her
department generates will still be produced as a maintenance function of her department.
Projects are also distinguished from routines by the way in which they must operate under
the three constraints of result, budget, and time. To a degree, all management functions
operate within these constraints. For example, your department may be expected to perform
and produce certain results; it’s subjected to budgeting controls; and its work is planned and
executed under a series of deadlines.

Page 18 of 18