PRM101B: Unit 1: Introduction

Study Unit 1: Introduction to project management

Project success is usually expressed as completing the project deliverables on time, within budget and to the required quality
as outlined in the project charter. This study unit will introduce the basic definitions that underpin project management. It is
also essential that the project manager understand the characteristics and features of the project management process to be
able to manage the process effectively.

A project manager must also understand the characteristics and features of the traditional, matrix and pure project
organisation structures and the relevance of organistion structures to project management. Any project manager must be able
to develop a project plan that enables the project manager to outline how to achieve the project’s goals and objectives, and
then guide the project to achieve them. The modern-day project manager also needs to have an understanding of the concepts
related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how these relate to project management.

OUTCOMES

Study Unit 1: Specific Outcomes

Study Unit 1: Assessment Criteria

GLOSSAR Y OF TER MS

Glossary of Terms

STUDY UN IT 1: IN TR ODUCTION TO PR OJECT MAN AGEMEN T

1. Relevance

2. Introduction to Project Management Techniques

3. Project Management - AI

4. Project Organisation Structures

5. Project Plan

UN IT 1: CON CLUDE

Progress Check
Lesson 1 of 9

Study Unit 1: Specific Outcomes

Study Unit 1:
Specific Outcomes

00:08

Voice over: Specific outcomes

Study Unit Outcomes

After completing this study unit, you should be able to:

Section 1: Project Management Techniques

Define a project and Project Management.

Explain the role of the Project Manager.

Explain Agile Project Management, Sustainable Project Management, Principles based Project
Management and Project Management - AI.

Prescribed textbook: Chapter 1

Section 2: Project Management – AI

Explain and contrast the key features of Industry 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 & 4.0.

Describe the Internet of Thing (IoT).

 Describe various IA software applications.

Describe various IA cyber-physical applications.

3D Printing.

Augmented Reality.

Prescribed textbook: Chapter 2

Section 3: Project Organization Structures

Paraphrase what is a project organization structure.

Identify, describe and compare the following organisational structures:

Functional, Matrix, Pure Project, Programme.

Prescribed textbook: Chapter 30

Section 4: Project Plan

Describe how the project plan can be presented as a flow chart.

Summarise the trade-off process to enable conflicting requirements to converge on an

optimum arrangement.

Prescribed textbook: Chapter 12

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 2 of 9

Study Unit 1: Assessment Criteria

Study Unit 1:
Assessment Criteria

00:14

Voice over: Assessment criteria

Assessment Criteria
Section 1: Project Management Techniques

Assessment
Project and Project Management correctly defined in own words.
Criteria 1

Assessment Agile Project Management, Sustainable Project Management, Principles based

Criteria 2 Project Management and Project Management - AI correctly explained.

Section 2: Project Management – Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Assessment
Explain and compare the features of Industry 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 in own words.
Criteria 1

Assessment
The Internet of Things (IoT) explained in own words.
Criteria 2
 Assessment AI software applications, AI cyber-physical applications, 3D printing and augmented
Criteria 3 reality described in own words.

Section 3: Project Organization Structures

Project organization structure, functional organizational structure, matrix

Assessment
organizational structure, pure project organizational structure and programme
Criteria 1
organisational structure correctly identified and described.

Assessment A comparison of the structures is conducted in a case study to determine the

Criteria 2 preferred option in the circumstances.

Section 4: Project Plan

Assessment
Project plan presented in flow chart format correctly described.
Criteria 1

Assessment Trade-off process and optimal convergence enablement of conflicting requirements

Criteria 2 described in own words.

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 3 of 9

Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms

00:08

Voice over: Glossary of terms

This terms are used in this study unit.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

–
the ability of a digital computer to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent human beings.

Digital Twin
–
electronic replica of a project which receives data from the IoT.

Internet of Things (IoT)

–
A system of devices that incorporate smart sensors which are connected to a network and transmit data to and from a
central controller.
Process
–
a linear sequence of steps that is carried out to achieve defined objectives.

Project
–
a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.

Project Plan
–
the project plan integrates all the individual plans in order to develop an optimum arrangement.

Project Management
–
the management of a project using the project management principles, and the special planning and control tools and
techniques.

Project Manager
–
the person appointed to manage and achieve the project’s objectives.

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 4 of 9

1. Relevance

Today, brands cannot afford to ignore online channels

00:30

Voice over: Relevance

Relevance

“ The delivery of business outcomes is realised through the success of projects, and in essence that is the way that project management
strategies drive organisational success”

Adrian McKnight, PMP, programme director at Suncorp-Metway Ltd

Looking for a way to stay ahead of the pack in today’s competitive and chaotic global economy,
companies are turning to project management to deliver business results consistently.

A survey by consulting giant McKinsey & Co. found that nearly 60% of senior executives said
building a strong project management discipline is a top-three priority for their companies as they
look to the future.

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 5 of 9

2. Introduction to Project Management Techniques

It is important to understand the 4Ps of project

management techniques

02:03

Voice over: Introduction to project management techniques

Introduction to Project Management Techniques

This section covers Chapter 1 of Burke (2021). It is important to understand the 4Ps of project
management techniques.

PH A S E S PRO C E S S E S PLA N S PE O PLE

The project life cycle explains how the project timeline can be subdivided into a number of phases with different deliverables, and how the level of
effort, level of influence and costs vary over the project’s life cycle.

PH A S E S PRO C E S S E S PLA N S PE O PLE

The project management process explains how the project phases can be subdivided into a number of management process groups to initiate,
plan, execute and close the phase.
 PH A S E S PRO C E S S E S PLA N S PE O PLE

The project plan explains how the management processes can be subdivided into a number of
individual plans that combine to form the baseline plan.

PH A S E S PRO C E S S E S PLA N S PE O PLE

The project organisation structure explains how the leadership and management of the project
personnel, and other interested stakeholders can be subdivided into the project organisation structure.

Burke (2021), p.17, Figure 1.1 shows the relationship between each of the 4P’s of project
management techniques.

The starting point for any project management course is to define ‘what is a project?’

The definitions form the PMI as well as the APM both highlight that projects are done for a reason, are
unique and temporary in nature (p18 and p19 in the textbook).

These are the factors that separate projects from “non-projects”. Work through Table 1.1 on pp. 18-
19 and make sure that you understand the complete set of attributes of a project.

You may be wondering what are the different types of projects?

Not all projects are the same and vary on a number of different elements that make each project
individual. These factors must be taken into consideration so that projects can be managed
efficiently and effectively regarding each project type. Example of different types of projects are
explained in your prescribed textbook in Table 1.2 on pp. 20-23. Work through these types of
projects and make sure that you understand the benefits of using project management techniques
in these different types of projects.

Project management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements. It has always been practiced informally, but began to
emerge as a distinct profession in the mid-20th century. PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) identifies ten knowledge areas that are used to structure
most project management courses. See Table 1.4 on p. 25 for an explanation of these ten
knowledge areas.

Projects are synonymous with change – sustainability requires persistence, ingenuity and the ability
to inspire others. In the business world, sustainability starts with a shared value system and a
principled approach to doing business. This means operating in ways that, at a minimum, meet
fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
Table 1.6 on p.27 highlights some of the areas that a project manager can influence to achieve
sustainable project outcomes.

Agile project management is a value-driven approach that allows project managers to deliver high-
priority, high-quality work and look like rock stars to their stakeholders.

Agile project management is about embracing change, even late in the development stage. It’s about
delivering the features with the greatest business value first, and having the real-time information to
manage cost, time and scope tightly.

Table 1.7 on pp. 27-39 explains agile project management in an easy understandable manner.

It is important to understand the role of a project manager. The project manager is a key
appointment that can have a direct influence on the success or failure of a project. It is important to
understand the attributes and duties of a project manager that can lead to project success, as
summarised in the prescribed textbook on pp. 30 - 31.

Principle based project management focuses on outcomes rather than outputs. Table 1.5 on pg. 32
– 37 provides a description of each of the 12 Project Delivery Principles that are used in conjunction
with regular Project Management Techniques.

Project Management AI is introduced on pg. 38 & 39 of the textbook.

 Can you answer the following questions?

A project is a planned set of __________ tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other

limitations.

Type your answer here

SUBMIT

Match the following project management knowledge areas to their functions.

 SUBMIT

Click h ere to view th e co rrect an s wer

“ The knowledge area which is devoted to identify and define the work in the project is known as
the integration management. This knowledge area deals also with efficiently integrating changes
into the project. ”

- Project integration management

“ This knowledge area deals with defining the project scope, project requirement scope, project
work, making the work breakdown structure, making the scope baselines and managing the scope
of the project. This is one point where you can plan the ways of keeping the project within the
established boundaries. ”

- Project scope management

“ The project managers estimate the duration of the tasks in this knowledge area. This is where
he/she sequences the tasks and chooses the number of resources required to achieve the
objective of the project. Schedule is monitored and managed here in this area to keep the project
on the track. ”

- Project time management

 “ Budget baseline is established and costs are estimated in this knowledge area. The plan to
manage the costs is categorised in the cost management knowledge area too.”

- Project cost management

“There are three processes in project quality management, the knowledge area where the quality requirements for project
deliverables are planned and tracked. In this area, all the quality issues are monitored and fixed.”

- Project quality management

“ This knowledge area, which is the HR management of the project, comprises of the processes
very essential to define the ways human resources will be utilised, developed, acquired and
managed. ”

- Project human resources management

“ Communications management is the knowledge area that defines how communications within
the project will work. In these processes, the project manager makes the communication
management plan, ensures the plan is followed, and controls information flow within the project.”

- Project communications management

“ Project risk management consists of identifying risks, planning risk management,

conducting risk assessments, and controlling risks. This knowledge area has six processes
in it. The area concentrates on identifying, analysing, planning responses to both ‘threat
risks’ (negative) and ‘opportunity risks’ (positive).”

- Project risk management

“ This knowledge area deals with the processes which project managers usually follow to acquire
required material for the successful completion of the project. In this knowledge area, project
managers come up with the plan for conducting procurements, controlling the procurements and
closing out the procurements. ”

- Project procurement management

“ Project stakeholder management area encompasses all the processes which is used by a project
manager for recognising and satisfying the ones who are affected by the project. The affected
party can either be internal or external in nature. You can pay close attention to those
stakeholders who can have a powerful positive or negative impact on the project. ”

- Project stakeholder management

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 6 of 9

3. Project Management - AI

Industry 4.0 and the ongoing introduction of Artificial

Intelligence (AI) is leading to many changes around the
globe

02:04

Voice over: Project management - AI

Project Management - AI
Industry 4.0 and the ongoing introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is leading to many changes
around the globe. AI is also going to revolutionise the way in which projects are managed so it is
important for project managers to keep this in mind and adopt relevant technology as the need
arises and the technology matures. Project Management – AI is a “new” area of interest for project
managers and its inclusion in Burke (2021) is timeous. Since the 1970s leading project managers
have been at the forefront of technology and the application of the technology of the day to
projects.

The 3rd Industrial Revolution was mainly about computer software and automation. This resulted
in global changes. From a project management perspective, both new types of projects and new
project management techniques arise. Project Managers required new competencies such as
mastering project management software, communicating digitally with project teams and working
with geographically dispersed teams. The 3rd Industrial Revolution continues to be the main source
of change (and hence projects to be managed) however there are increasingly 4th Industrial
Revolution projects emerging.

YOUTUBE

What If There Was a 3rd Industrial Revolution?

What If There Was a 3rd Industrial Revolution?

What are the ingredients for an industrial revolution? It's simple! Take some new energy sources, add a dash of
cutting-edge communications technology, and t...

VIEW ON YOUTUBE 

There is much talk about the 4th Industrial Revolution. It may seem to most of us that it is
something that might happen in the future however it is here already and we need to understand it
as project managers.

Burke (2021) table 2.2. pp. 46 – 49 gives an overview of the main elements of the 4th Industrial
Revolution. Artificial Intelligence, search engines, learning machines, cloud computing, bigdata,
BIM, speech recognition, dashboards and cyber security and their relationship with project
management are all discussed.

Emerging technology including the Internet of Things (IoT), AI Software applications, AI Cyber-
physical devices (drones and robots), 3D printing and Augmented Reality (AR) are already finding
their way into projects. The development and deployment of these technologies will in themselves
kickstart numerous projects around the globe. Project managers need to stay at the forefront and
develop a level of understanding of each of these technologies and the implications for project
management (positive and negative).
 Whether or not to include each of the technologies discussed in Burke (2021) pp. 50 – 63 should be
considered in terms of the impact on time, costs or quality as well as strategic reasons such as
corporate reputation, skills development opportunities and the like.

YOUTUBE

What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution? | CNBC Explains

What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution? | CNBC Explains

The "Fourth Industrial Revolution" is a common phrase at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in
Davos, Switzerland. But what exactly does it mean? CNBC...

VIEW ON YOUTUBE 

Can you answer the following question?

A project to develop a new game controller may benefit from the following technologies. Choose the three options that

will be most useful.

3 D printing

Search engines

Robots

Digital communication tools

 SUBMIT

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 7 of 9

4. Project Organisation Structures

This section will focus on the four main types of project

organisation structures

00:04

Voice over: Project organisation structures

Project Organisation Structures

This section will focus on the four main types of project organisation structures. This is also
covered in some detail in Chapter 30 of Burke (2021).
 Introduction

00:15

Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure

The way your organisation is structured influences how you manage and run projects. It can also influence how much
authority and reach you have to do your job as a project manager.

There are four common organisational structures.

Project managers may work in all of them.

 Step 1

Functional

00:16

How Apple Is Organized for Innovation: The Functional Organization

 How Apple Is Organized for Innovation: The Functional Organization

In a functional organisation structure, the project manager and all the resources work in the same
company division, such as the sales and marketing department. Generally, the functional manager has
more authority than the project manager.

Advantages

The functional structure gives you the least power as a project manager, but offers plenty of other
advantages:

It works well for small teams and small projects because the function has full control over the team
members and other resources required.

You can easily access the experts you need because they are in the same functional area.

It’s quick to get everyone together to resolve problems related to the project.

You can limit the project communications tools you need to use because the team is relatively small
and simple.

You often get enthusiastic team members who are keen to work on the project because it provides
them with career opportunities. Project work can be a great way to motivate your team.

If you are handing the project over to a functional team, it’s going to be the functional team you work
in, which can make closing a project easier.

Disadvantages

Although this structure has plenty of advantages, also consider some downsides:

Work takes place in a silo, which might mean that you don’t have access to people outside your
functional division.

People on the project team might be more loyal to their department or team manager than to their
work on the project, which can create conflicts.

A large project can end up with a functional project manager for each function. It can result in work
falling through the cracks if all project managers don’t work harmoniously together.

Functional work can be isolating in that you don’t have an opportunity to network widely with the
company. Maintaining a strategic focus can be harder.
 Organisational structure 2

Pure Project

00:28

Dedicated teams are put together to work on projects in a pure project organisational structure. The
project manager has line management responsibility for the project team members. Examples of this
would include large construction builds, but also corporate initiatives that require a dedicated team. The
project manager has ultimate authority, reporting to the project sponsor and the project board. The
individuals on the team work directly for the project manager.

Advantages

The obvious advantage of a project structure is that you have more control over the team, but other
advantages are in place, too.

Teams can have a strong sense of identity. It is the easiest structure within which to create a strong
team culture.

The whole team is focused on the team’s goals, so no conflict of loyalty exists with the day job for the
people working on the project. Their day job is the project.

Resources are dedicated to the project, so it’s much easier to schedule work. You’ll know when the
team members are available and there’s no risk that they’ll be pulled off at short notice to business-
as-usual work for another manager.

Projects run in this structure are great environments for improving your project management skills
as well as more technical leadership skills.

Disadvantages

The project structure is the easiest to work with but still has some drawbacks.

Having a team dedicated to one project is an expensive commitment. It tends to be an option only on
big projects.

If you remove people from their functional jobs, they might find it difficult to go back, especially if the
project is long. Project work is stretching, and returning to what you did before after a period working
in a multidisciplinary environment on a new, challenging project isn’t an appealing prospect for many
people. Managing the transition of the team when you close a project becomes even more
important.

Sometimes closing a project can mean losing your job if the business has moved on and another role
isn’t available for you.

By their nature, dedicated teams suck up resources to work on just one thing. They can limit the
number of projects the company can do at any one time, especially when different projects require
the same skills.

Project managers in this type of structure do line management for their teams, too, which means
spending time and effort on human resource tasks that you wouldn’t have to do in other structures. If
you enjoy this element of working with people, this factor could be an advantage.
 Step 3

Matrix Organisational Structure

00:32

The Matrix Organization Model

What is the Matrix Organization Model?

The third option is a matrix structure. Resources are shared across both business-as-usual work and
project work. It might mean having two managers or ‘dotted-line’ responsibility to a project manager as
well as to the team manager. The functional management line structure is normally in place first, and the
project manager takes the dotted line.

This structure splits power and authority between the functional or division team manager and the
project manager. You’ll need to use your negotiating skills to their full power.

Advantages

Matrix structures are very common because they allow managers to make flexible choices with how
people spend their time. You’ll likely work in a matrix environment at some point in your career. The
advantages of this structure are as follows:

Resources are used efficiently and can move around between projects as needed.

You can work on lots of different things, sometimes in parallel – although this point can be argued as
a disadvantage as well.

Teams and individuals can be very responsive. If a new project comes along that has to take priority,
it’s easy enough to pivot and suddenly focus on something else. You can’t do that easily in a project
structure, which takes longer to disband and regroup.

The structure requires that everyone use the same project management life cycle and methodology,
so moving between projects is easy. People can join a project team with relatively little onboarding
required when the terminology and processes are common.
Disadvantages

As with all setups, this one has its pitfalls, too. Despite it being a common structure, not many modern
workplaces have cracked the problems of overload. Giving individuals too much to do can be easy if you
don’t have systems in place to manage and monitor the entirety of their workload. Other disadvantages
are as follows:

The conflict between projects is common because you might be fighting for the same resources as
another project.

The other project might have ring-fenced the best resources – the most appropriate people with the
right skills – or their line manager might not make them available for project work.

There can be some conflict between business-as-usual tasks and project work for individuals,
especially when both managers are giving them different priorities.

Resources might have a conflict about what development path they take for their future careers.
Although you might know that you want to stay in project management, you may have the option of
progressing into a more senior functional role or a more project-orientated role. But having lots of
career options is a good thing, even if it does make for difficult decisions.
 Organisational structure 4

Programme

00:22

This organisation structure integrates and interlinks all the people working on the programme (internal
and external parties included). A programme is subdivided into subprojects and the organisation
structure features project managers reporting to the programme manager. Roles, responsibilities and
communication lines are outlined on the programme charter.

Advantages

Resources may be shared across related projects

The organisation has a view of multiple related projects

Administration costs may be lower for example a project administrator may be shared across
projects, there may be a program management office instead of multiple project management
offices

Disadvantages

The project managers will need to communicate with the programme manager so an additional line
of a reporting is introduced

The programme manager may re-allocate resources to other projects based on the needs of the
programme which could impact you negatively as a project manager of an individual project
 Summary

00:34

An organisational structure that works perfectly for all the business-as-usual work doesn’t always work for
projects, and you have to manage within the environment in which you work. Getting some experience in
each of these structures is a good idea so that you can experience them firsthand. It will help you decide
which environment suits you best and fits your skills and preferences. Then you can make an informed
choice if you have the chance to decide your future job environment.

Understanding the pros and cons of each project organisational structure gives you a chance to work out
where best to spend your time and influence to get the most out of your team and help your project
conclude successfully.

Work through Chapter 30, pp. 402 - 412 in your prescribed text book to ensure that you understand the
differences between these four organisation structures.

Can you answer the following questions?

The functional organisation structure is also known as the _____________ organisation structure, because this structure is

based on the subdivision of product lines or disciplines into separate departments, together with a vertical hierarchy of
responsibility and authority.

Type your answer here

SUBMIT

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 8 of 9

5. Project Plan

This section will explain how to develop a project plan to

plan and control the project’s work to achieve its objectives

02:09

Voice over: Project organisation structures

Project organisation structures

This section is covered in Chapter 12 of Burke (2021). This section will explain how to develop a
project plan to plan and control the project’s work to achieve its objectives. The key to a successful
project is in the planning. Once the project has been initiated, creating a project plan is the first
thing you should do when undertaking any project.

Often, project planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the work. However, many people fail
to realise the value of a project plan for saving time, money and avoid many problems during
execution and beyond. The challenge for any project manager is to develop a project plan that
integrates and optimises all the individual plans and through a process of trade-offs and
compromises, converges on an optimum arrangement for the whole project.

Figure 12.1 on p. 147 shows the position of all the individual project plans on a project flow chart.
This shows all the individual plans that are integrated to form the project plan, also known as the
baseline plan. Work through pp. 122-173 to understand the components of a project plan (baseline
plan) and how to present it on a flowchart.

Keep in mind that on a flowchart which shows the logical sequence of individual plans, the
impression is created that each of the individual plans must be completed before the next
individual plan can start. However, in practice each individual plan is developed separately and
incrementally. Then they are integrated progressively with the other knowledge areas. Burke (2021)
suggests that this might be more accurately presented as an iterative spiral. See the explanation on
p. 174 and in Figure 12.2 on p. 175.

In any project there will be trade-offs between individual plans. The main trade-off is between time,
cost and quality. This trade-off is referred to as the triple constraint or “Iron Triangle” of project
management. Depending on the scope of the project called “preferences” in Burke (2021) pp. 176,
figure 12.3 the project manager will need to adjust the project plan to keep the preferences in mind.
Usually, the preference is related to time “we need to finish this project by XYZ date” although there
are projects where the preference is for low cost or high quality and time is not as important “the
client wants the highest quality and is prepared to wait for as long as it takes to obtain such quality”
or “the clients budget is XYZ we need to deliver what we can within that budget”.

For example, half way through a project a client wants to add an additional feature. This will impact
time, cost and quality. It will increase all three. The client wants the feature to be added within the
original schedule and to a similar quality standard as the other features. That is only possible if cost
increases because you will need to allocate additional resources to this task.

This is the 5 steps when using the project spiral method:

 STEP 1: The scope of work is developed to define the
Step 1 deliverables required, as outlined in the project charter and
business case.

STEP 2: The project build-method and CPM analysis are

Step 2 developed to produce the project schedule Gantt chart and
meet the project completion date.
 STEP 3: The procurement process checks the materials
Step 3 and components can be delivered to meet the early start of
all the activities.

STEP 4: The resource process analyses the resource

Step 4
histograms using the project schedule.
 STEP 5: The project cash flow analyses the availability of
Step 5
funds to match the project expenditure.

C O NT I NU E
Lesson 9 of 9

Progress Check

Progress check

00:17

Voice over: Progress check

Progress Check
Tick the following boxes before moving on.

Did you read through each study unit outcome?

Did you go through all the learning material?

Did you complete all the relevant revision exercises and check your answers against
the answers provided?

Can you do the following?

Define a project.

Define project management.

Explain the role of the project manager.

Understand the definition of agile project management.

 Understand the definition of sustainable project management.

Understand the definition of principle-based project management.

Understand the definition of project management - AI.

Discuss project management software

Discuss Artificial Intelligence Technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT), AI

Software applications, AI Cyber-physical applications, 3D printing, and Augmented
reality

Indicate how the project management process is subdivided into a number of sub
processes.

Understand what is a project organisation structure.

Explain what is a functional organisational structure.

Explain what is a matrix organisational structure.

Explain what is a pure project organisational structure.

Explain what is a programme organisational structure.

Present the project plan as a flow chart.

Understand the trade-off process to enable conflicting requirements to converge

on an optimum arrangement.

Complete the content above before moving on.

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