Project Management

Chapter I: Introduction to Project Management

I- What is a project?

Definition:

Here are three excellent and complimentary definitions:

A- A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique

product or service.
B- A project is a one-time, multitask job that has clearly defined starting
and ending dates, a specific scope of work to be performed, a defined
budget, and a specified level of performance to be achieved.

As we can begin to sense, three key of these definitions:

1. A project is temporary.
2. A project is unique.
3. A project is the result of a multi-task job that performs
something specific (i.e. a goal). It is thus progressively
elaborated.

1- A project is temporary

What does temporary mean when specifically applied to the definition of a project?

It means this:

A Project is something that has a specific start date and a specific end date. This start
and end date must be understood, and accepted, by the people in charge of the project.

2- A project is unique

important This doesn’t mean that any given project cannot have key similarities to other
projects. In fact, a smart Project Manager will actively search for similar projects to
the one she/he is poised to work on in order to see what some of the risks and realities
might be.

However, the process to create your project is unique, and therefore, the product of
the project (the thing the project creates) is subsequently unique. This is distinct from
a program, which often uses an existing process and duplicates it over and over to
 produce a duplicated product. An assembly line or maintenance works are examples
of a program, while building a skyscraper is an example of a project.

3- Progressive Elaboration

A project is the result of a multi-task job that performs something specific (i.e. a
goal).

What does this mean?

Essentially it means that between the start and end dates of your project, the unique
thing that your project does involves a series of interconnected processes that
performs in a progressively elaborative way to achieve a specific goal.

Progressive elaboration means that you keep creating, modifying, and building upon
the raw ingredients of your project, in an organized way, in order to achieve the
project's specific goal.

A project should also have:

important
• Clearly identified stakeholders, including the primary target group and the final
beneficiaries; Parties prenantes clairement identifiées, y compris le groupe cible principal et le groupe
final.les bénéficiaires;
• Clearly defined coordination, management and financing arrangements;

• A monitoring and evaluation system (to support performance management);

(Execution program – Primavera )

• An appropriate level of financial and economic analysis, which indicates that the
project’s benefits will exceed its costs.

Types of project:

Projects can vary significantly in their objectives, scope and scale.

Small projects might involve modest financial resources and last only a few months,
whereas a large projects might involve many millions of $ and last for many years.

Examples of projects :

Private Sector :

Small Projects :

• Rehabilitation of Computers Network in your Company or Factory costing

100,000 $ over 3 months,
• Des modalités de coordination, de gestion et de financement clairement définies ;
• Un système de suivi et d'évaluation (pour soutenir la gestion des performances) ;
(Programme d'exécution – Primavera)
• Un niveau approprié d'analyse financière et économique, qui indique que le
les avantages du projet dépasseront ses coûts.
 • Creating new product meeting the consumers requirements with a budget of
50,000 $ over 6 months.

Big Projects :

• A skyscraper building costing $100 million over five years,

• Commercial Mall costing $ 50 million over three years,

Public Sector :

Small Projects :

• Construction of a new school, costing $ 1 million, over one year,

• Expansion and Rehabilitation of sewage network ( Water Network) in village

X, costing $500,000, over 6 months,

• Construction of a new pumping station ( or Water Tower), costing $ 300,000,

Big Projects :

• Creating a New Power Plant with 500 MVA Capacity, costing $ 600 million
over 4 years,

• Expansion and rehabilitation of public phone network, costing $ 200 million

over 5 years,

• A road and bridge building project, costing $ 50 million over 5 years;

In order to accommodate this kind of diversity, it is important that project cycle

management systems support the application of standard working modalities/rules in a
flexible manner.
important
Guides steps of mangments process

Project management steps which lead to succec:

You've just been appointed to manage a project (you are a Project

Manager). How do you get started? What steps do you do next? How do
you maximize your chances for success? The project management steps
below guide you through the process of managing any project, step by
step :

1. Define the Scope of works

The first, and most important, step in any project is defining the scope of
works of the project. What is it you are supposed to accomplish by
managing this project? What is the project objective? Equally important
is defining what is not included in the scope of your project. If you
don't get enough definition from your boss, clarify the scope yourself
and send it back upstairs for confirmation.

Example :

Project name: Expansion of Transmission Network in Region X

The scope of work is the installation of a 66 kV OHTL between point x to

point y, a 66 kV Substation (AIS) with capacity of 40 MVA and 5 MV
OH Output lines for the following Villages, the scope shall include, but is
not limited to, site surveying, design, procurement of materials, deliveries
to site, civil works, equipment erection, testing, commissioning, clearance
of defects over the liability period up to the issue of defects liability
certificate, training of operation and maintenance personnel.

2. Ask for a Feasibility Study

Depending on their types, objectives, scope and scale Projects needs

some feasibility studies to be done before starting to spend money,
because your project may be unfeasible. Many type of feasibility studies
could be done :

• Financial feasibility
• Economical feasibility Eco-Finance Feasibility
• Technical feasibility
• Social feasibility
 • Environmental feasibility (EIA) Environmental Impact
Assessment

It is not necessary to do all type of feasibility, but you choose the one
needed by your project.

3. Determine Available Resources

What people, equipment, and money will you have available to you to
achieve the project objectives? As a project manager, you usually will
not have direct control of these resources, but will have to manage them
through matrix management. Find out how easy or difficult that will be
to do.

People : Engineers, Technical experts, administrative support, drivers…

Equipment : Computers, Cars, Tools, ( existed, rented, to be procured )

Services : Available or to be outsourced by a consulting or a contractor

company

Money : Budget available or to be assured by a loan or an external

partner

4. Execution Program

When does the project have to be started and completed? As you develop
your project plan you may have some flexibility in how you use time
during the project, but deadlines usually are fixed. Three main
procedures help you to develop my Plan:

• List the Big Steps

• List the Smaller Steps

• Develop an Execution Plan

4.1 List the Big Steps

 What are the major pieces of the project? It is a good idea to list the
steps in chronological order.

• 66 kV OHTL (Over Head Transmission Line)

• 66 kV Substation with capacity of 40 MVA
• 5 MV (Medium Voltage) OH Output lines

4.2 List the Smaller Steps

List the smaller steps in each of the larger steps. Again, it usually helps
you remember all the steps if you list them in chronological order. How
many levels deep you go of more and more detailed steps depends on the
size and complexity of your project.

Substation

• site surveying
• design
• procurement of materials
o Submittals
o Shop drawings
o Procurements
o deliveries to site
• civil works
o Controls building
▪ Foundations
▪ floor
▪ pillars
▪ roofs
▪ walls
▪ finishing
o Guard house
o External works
• equipment erection
• testing
• commissioning

4.3 Develop an Execution Plan

Preliminary :Assemble all your steps into a plan. What happens first?
What is the next step? Which steps can go on at the same time with
different resources? Who is going to do each step? How long will it
take? There are many excellent software packages available that can
automate a lot of this detail for you. (Primavera, Microsoft Project)
Baseline Plan: Get feedback on your preliminary plan from your team
and from any other stakeholders. Adjust your timelines and work
schedules to fit the project into the available time. Make any necessary
adjustments to the preliminary plan to produce a baseline plan.

Ex : (Being Project Manager in a Construction company executing an

electrical network ) If you didn't get approval for the material that you
are supposed to install in the appropriate time the construction program
may be delayed and that means people doing nothing = loosing money
and people upstairs will be unhappy.

Keep in Mind: Making the plan is important, but the plan can be
changed. Change it as needed, but always keep the scope, resources and
deadline in mind.

5. Monitor Work's Progress

You should monitor what everyone is doing everything. That will make
it easier to catch issues before they become problems.

6. Document Everything

Keep records. Every time you change from your baseline plan, write
down what the change was and why it was necessary. Every time a new
requirement is added to the project write down where the requirement
came from and how the timeline or budget was adjusted because of it.
You can't remember everything, so write them down so you'll be able to
look them up at the end-of-project review and learn from them.

7. Keep Everyone Informed

Keep all the project stakeholders informed of progress all along. Let
them know of your success as you complete each milestone, but also
inform them of problems as soon as they come up. Also keep your team
informed. If changes are being considered, tell the team about them as
far ahead as you can. Make sure everyone on the team is aware of what
everyone else is doing.
 II-General Components of the Project Profile:

Background and objectives:

Background and objectives of the project,

What are your activities?
What are the intended results?
What changes will occur as a result of the project?
Show that your project is part of your strategic action plan.

Goals:

Show that your goals are specific and measurable.

Scope of the projects:

• Scope of the intervention: (area, deliverable,..)

• Main items of the project: (design, consultancy services, civil
work, Equipment,..)
• and how it will be implemented, staffing.

Rq: It’s very important to know what are the project limits, and what is
not included in the project so that efforts are not scattered and money is
wasted without achieving the goal of the project.

Budgeting:
• Summary of Estimated Project Costs,
• amount requested,
• in-kind contributions,
• and if there are other sources of funding.

Feasibility study:
Show that the project is feasible:

• Financially
• Economically
• Technically
• Environment friendly
• Socially accepted.
Duration of the project:

• Start date and End date.

• Show if your start and end date have relation with other projects
which are under execution in your area.

The End Users of the project:

Who is the segment of civil society benefiting from the implementation

of the project and what will change in their daily life?

Operation and maintenance of the project:

• Who will operate the project and how,

• and how it will be maintained.

Sustainability of the project:

• How will you monitor the project?

• How will the project continue after the grant?

Expected Benefit of the project:

Evaluation of the project:

How will you evaluate the result of the project and if the output of the
project meets your initial goal, and the end users of the project are
satisfied.