PROJECT
MANAGEMENT:
INTRODUCTION
Definitions of Project
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product or service or result.
A project is a unique venture with a beginning and an end, conducted
by people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, schedule,
and quality.
Projects are goal-oriented, involve the coordinated undertaking of
interrelated activities, are of finite duration, and are all, to a degree
unique.
Project Definitions Summarized
A project can be considered any series of activities
and tasks that have:
Specific objectives to be completed within certain
specifications,
Defined start and end dates,
Funding limits,
Involve human and nonhuman resources, and
Multifunctional focus.
General Project Characteristics
Some characteristics will be listed that warrant classifying an activity
as a project.
They center on the purpose, complexity, uniqueness, unfamiliarity,
stake, impermanence/temporariness, and life cycle of the activity.
A project involves a single, definable purpose, end-item, or result, usually
specified in terms of cost, schedule, and performance requirements.
Every project is unique in that it requires doing something different than
was done previously.
Projects are temporary activities.
Projects cut across organizational lines
Given that a project differs from what was previously done, it also
involves unfamiliarity.
General Project
Characteristics…
The organization usually has something at stake
when doing a project.
Finally, a project is the process of working to
achieve a goal;
during the process, projects pass through several
distinct phases, called the project life cycle.
Examples of Project…
Examples of projects
Split the atom
Ethiopian Renaissance dam
Introduce Windows 10
Plan next Olympic games in Paris
Wedding
Moving to another house
“Projects, rather than repetitive tasks, are now the basis for
most value-added in business”
-Tom Peters
Process vs. Project Work
Process Project
• Ongoing, day-to-day Take place outside the
activities to produce goods normal, process-oriented
and services world
• Use existing systems, Unique and separate from
properties, and capabilities routine, process-driven
• Typically repetitive work
Continually evolving
Project – Program – Portfolio – their relationship
Portfolio : Collection of related programs
Program : Collection of related projects
Boeing 787 Dreamliner program
Several projects (cockpit, engine, cargo, passenger seat ..etc)
A series of coordinated, related, multiple projects that continue
over an extended time and are intended to achieve a goal.
A higher level group of projects targeted at a common goal.
Source : Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition,
Project Management Institute Inc., 2013)
Project – Program – Portfolio – their
relationship (cont’d)
Portfolio
Program Program Program
Subprogram Project Project Project
Project Project Project
Source : Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition,
Project Management Institute Inc., 2013, Figure 1-1, page 5).
Project – Program – Portfolio – their
relationship (cont’d)
Portfolio, program, and project management are aligned with or
driven by organizational strategies.
Portfolio, program, and project management differ in the way
each contributes to the achievement of strategic goals.
A program is defined as a group of related projects and
subprogram activities managed in a coordinated way to obtain
benefits not available from managing them individually.
Portfolio management refers to the centralized management of
one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.
Portfolio management focuses on ensuring that projects and
programs are reviewed to prioritize resource allocation, and that the
management of the portfolio is consistent with and aligned to
organizational strategies.
Project – Program – Portfolio – their relationship (cont’d)
Source: Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project
Management Institute Inc., 2013, Table 1-1, Page 8.
Relationship to Other Management Systems
Operation Management
Oversees, directs, and controls business operation and supports
the day to day business based on the strategic objective of the
organization
Changes in business operations may be the focus of a dedicated
project—especially if there are substantial changes to business
operations as a result of a new product or service delivery.
Organizational Strategy
Provides guidance and direction to the project management
team.
Defined as the sum of the actions a company intends to take to
achieve long-term goals.
Projects and Strategic Planning
Projects are often utilized as a means of directly or indirectly
achieving objectives within an organization’s strategic plan.
Projects are typically authorized as a result of one or more of the
following strategic considerations:
Market demand (e.g., a car company authorizing a project to build more fuel-
efficient cars in response to gasoline shortages);
Strategic opportunity/business need (e.g., a training company authorizing a
project to create a new course to increase its revenues);
Social need (e.g., a nongovernmental organization in a developing country
authorizing a project to provide potable water systems, latrines, and sanitation
education to communities);
Environmental consideration (e.g., a public company authorizing a project
to create a new service for electric car sharing to reduce pollution);
Customer request (e.g., an electric utility authorizing a project to build a new
substation to serve a new industrial park)
Projects Reflect Strategy
Strategy Project
Technical or operating initiatives (such as new Construction of new plants or
distribution strategies or decentralized plant operations) modernization of facilities
Development of products for greater market penetration New product development projects
and acceptance
New business processes for greater streamlining and Reengineering projects
efficiency
Changes in strategic direction or product portfolio New product lines
reconfiguration
Creation of new strategic alliances Negotiation with supply chain
members
(including suppliers and distributors)
Matching or improving on competitors’ products and Reverse engineering projects
services
Improvement of cross-organizational communication and Enterprise I T efforts
efficiency in supply chain relationships
Promotion of cross-functional interaction, streamlining Concurrent engineering projects
of new product or service introduction, and improvement
of departmental coordination
What is project Management?
The PMBOK definition of project management is “. . .
application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to
project activities to achieve project requirements. Project
management is accomplished through the application and
integration of the project management processes of
initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling,
and closing.”
PM can also be defined as ‘the application of a
collection of tools and techniques to direct the use of
diverse resources toward the accomplishment of a
unique, complex, one time task within time, cost and
quality constraints’.
Project Management
Project management involves five processes:
Project initiation
Project planning
Project execution
Project monitoring and control, and
Project closure
Project Management
Successful project management can then be defined
as having achieved the project objectives:
Within time
Within cost
At the desired performance/technology level
While utilizing the assigned resources effectively and
efficiently
Accepted by the customer
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: THE NEED
Many modern projects involve great technical
complexity and require much diversity of skills.
Managers are faced with the problem of putting
together and directing large temporary organizations
while being subjected to constrained resources,
limited time schedules, and environmental
uncertainty.
To cope with complex kinds of activities and great
uncertainty, new forms of project organization and
new practices of management have evolved.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: THE NEED…
Today’s complex activities and environmental
uncertainties defy traditional management
approaches for planning, organization, and control.
Complex activities are representative of activities
that require modern methods of project
management and organization to fulfill difficult
technological or market-related performance goals
in spite of severe limitations on time and resources.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: THE NEED…
PM arose in response to the need for a managerial approach
which could deal with the problems of modern society.
Three salient characteristics distinguish modern society from
earlier periods of history:
interdependency,
complexity, and
rapid, radical change.
The challenges and problems of modern society involve risk and
uncertainty arising from numerous interacting forces and
variables, rapidly changing technology, rising costs, increasing
competition, frequent resource shortages, and numerous
interest groups and their opposing views about the best course
of action.
PROJECT GOALS
Virtually every project has three overriding goals: to
accomplish work for a client or end-user in
accordance with:
budget,
schedule, and
performance requirements.
PROJECT GOALS…
The budget is the specified or allowable cost for the
project; it is the target cost of the work to be done.
The schedule includes the time period over which the
work will be done and the target date for when it will be
completed.
The performance requirements specify what is to be
done to reach the end-item or final result.
They include required features of the final product or
service, technological specifications, and quality and
quantity measures, whatever is important to the client or
end-user.
WHERE IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT
APPROPRIATE?
Project management can be applied to any ad hoc
undertaking.
Generally, there are two conditions suggesting when
project management should be used:
first, the more unfamiliar or unique the undertaking, the
greater the need for project management to ensure
nothing gets overlooked;
second, the more numerous, interdisciplinary, and
interdependent the activities in the undertaking, the
greater the need for a project manager to ensure
everything is coordinated, integrated, and completed.
WHERE IS PROJECTMANAGEMENT
APPROPRIATE?
Cleland and King suggest five general criteria to
help decide when to use project management
techniques and organization:
1. Unfamiliarity
By definition, a project is something different from the
ordinary and routine.
A project always requires that different things be done,
that the same things be done differently, or both.
WHERE IS PROJECTMANAGEMENT
APPROPRIATE?
2. Magnitude of the Effort
When a job requires substantially more resources (people,
capital, equipment, etc.) than are normally employed by a
department or organization, project management techniques
may be necessary.
3. Changing Environment
Changing environments present new opportunities that
organizations must move swiftly to capture.
To survive and succeed, organizations must be creative,
innovative, flexible, and capable of rapid response.
Project management provides the flexibility and diversity
needed to deal with changing goals and new opportunities.
WHERE IS PROJECTMANAGEMENT
APPROPRIATE?
4. Interrelatedness
When a joint effort is required, project management builds
lateral relationships between areas to expedite work and
reconcile the conflicts inherent in multifunctional
undertakings.
5. Reputation of the Organization
The risk of the undertaking may determine the need for
project management.
If failure to satisfactorily complete the project will result in
financial ruin, loss of market share, a damaged reputation, or
loss of future contracts, there is a strong case for project
management.
Project Manager Roles
1. Developing project objectives and a plan for execution
2. Selecting a team
3. Performing risk management activities
4. Cost estimating and budgeting
5. Scheduling
6. Managing resources
Project Manager…
Essentially, a project manager has to fulfill four roles.
He or she has to be:
A planner
A controller
A leader
A communicator.
The Project Manager’s Role
Responsibility and Competencies of a PM
Other critical skills
Interpersonal skills
Stress tolerance
Leadership
Emotional Intelligence
Negotiation skills
Decision making
Influencing
Teambuilding
Source: Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) –
Fifth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2013, Table 1-1, Page 513.
Project Stakeholders
Stakeholder analysis is a useful tool for demonstrating some of
the seemingly irresolvable conflicts that occur through the
planned creation and introduction of new projects.
Project stakeholders are defined as all individuals or groups
who have an active stake in the project and can potentially
impact, either positively or negatively, its development.
Identifying Project Stakeholders
Internal Stakeholders External Stakeholders
• Top management • Clients
• Accountant • Competitors
• Other functional managers • Suppliers
• Project team members • Environmental, political,
consumer, and other
intervener groups
Project Stakeholder Relationships
Managing Stakeholders
1. Assess the environment.
2. Identify the goals of the principal actors.
3. Assess your own capabilities.
4. Define the problem.
5. Develop solutions.
6. Test and refine the solutions.
Project Teams
The project team includes the project manager and the group of
individuals who act together in performing the work of the
project to achieve its objectives.
This team is comprised of individuals from different groups
with specific subject matter knowledge or with a specific skill
set to carry out the work of the project
Effective project teams have the following characteristics:
Clear Sense of Mission
Productive Interdependency
Cohesiveness
Trust
Enthusiasm
Results Orientation
Reasons Why Teams Fail
Poorly developed or unclear goals
Poorly defined project team roles and interdependencies
Lack of project team motivation
Poor communication
Poor leadership
Turnover among project team members
Dysfunctional behavior
Project Life Cycles
Every project is different/unique
Some are small and others are large and complex
However they all have certain attributes in common
Similar life cycle
Start with initiation and progresses through Planning (development)
and completion ( closure)
Project Life Cycle
Project management is about acquiring or achieving
the project goal
Most projects need to be broken down into a logical
sequence of ‘phases’, known as the project life
cycle.
Phases of a Project
Organisations normally break a project
down into several project phases for
better management control
Collectively, the project phases are How do you
known as the project life cycle eat an
elephant?
Each project phase is marked by the
completion of one or more deliverables.
4 Phases of a Project
project initiation
project planning
project execution and
control
project closure
Collectively these four phases represent the
‘project life cycle.’
Phases of a Project
Project Project Project Project
Initiation Planning execution closing
and control
Scope WBS Network Hand over
identification OBS diagrams Commission
Team set up Scheduling Reporting
Project
definition
Project life cycle
Project Life Cycle
Cost and staffing level
Initiation Planning Execution and control Closing
time
Project Life Cycle - Ideal v Typical
Cost and staffing level
Initiation Planning Execution and control Closing
time
Common characteristics of Project Life Cycles
Cost and staff levels low in early phases of the project
Probability of failure, risk and uncertainty are highest in the
early phases
Ability of stakeholders to influence the outcome of the project
are highest at the beginning of the project
Although many projects have similar phase names, with
similar work requirements, few are identical
Sub-projects within a project also have distinct project life
cycles
Project Management Processes
A process is a set of interrelated actions and activities
performed to create a pre-specified product, service, or
result.
Each process is characterized by its inputs, the tools and
techniques that can be applied, and the resulting outputs.
Project management is an integrative undertaking that
requires each project and product process to be
appropriately aligned and connected with the other
processes to facilitate coordination.
Actions taken during one process typically affect that
process and other related processes.
Project Management Processes
Project management processes are grouped into five categories
known as Project Management Process Groups (or Process
Groups):
Initiating Process Group. Those processes performed to define a new project or a
new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or
phase.
Planning Process Group. Those processes required to establish the scope of the
project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the
objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.
Executing Process Group. Those processes performed to complete the work
defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group. Those processes required to track,
review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas
in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.
Closing Process Group. Those processes performed to finalize all activities across
all Process Groups to formally close the project or phase.
Common PM Process Interaction
Every process is designed as a discrete element with well-defined
interactions.
Could overlap.
Could be iterative as the monitoring and controlling process interact
with other process groups.
Source: Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2013, Figure 3-1, Page 50.
PM Process Groups
Project Management Process Groups:
Initiation process group
Planning process group
Executing process group
Monitoring and controlling process group
Closing process group
Initiating Process Group
The first process group where:
Idea is defined, vision is conceived
Authorization to start the project is received
Initial high level scope is defined
Initial financial resource is committed
Project manager is assigned
Project charter and stakeholder register is created
Project boundary is defined
Stakeholder’s expectations are aligned with the objective of
the project
Only two of the 47 processes are grouped here.
Planning Process Group
The second and important process group where:
Objectives are refined.
Project management plan and other documents are
completed.
Progress elaborated – to further refine the requirements.
14 of the 47 processes are performed in this process group
including: collecting requirements, define scope, create
WBS, define and sequence activities, estimate cost, plan
quality communication, risk, procurement, and stakeholders
management.
Source: Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2013, Table 3-1, Page 61.
Executing Process Group
The third process group is where:
Coordination of people and resources are undertaken.
Stakeholder expectations are managed.
The project is executed.
Various documents created in the planning phase including
risk, quality, and communication plans are updated.
Eight of the 47 processes are performed in this process
group including: direct and manage project work, perform
quality assurance, acquire/develop/manage project team,
manage communications, conduct procurements, and
manage stakeholder engagement.
Monitoring Process Group
The fourth process group where we:
Control changes and recommend corrective or preventative
action in anticipation of problems.
Monitor ongoing project activities against the project
management plan and the performance measurement baseline.
Ensure the health of the project by performing review of the
initial plan and issues resulting during the execution of the
project.
11 of the 47 processes are performed here including: monitor
and control project work, perform integrated change control,
validate and control scope, schedule, cost, quality,
communication, risk procurement and stakeholder engagement.
Closing Process Group
The fifth process group where we:
Verify the defined processes are completed with all of
the process groups.
Formally establish the premature closure of the project.
Tasks in this group include:
Obtain acceptance by the customer
Conduct post-project review, document lessons
learned, update organizational process, close all
procurement activities
Two of the 47 processes are performed including:
close project or phase and close procurements.
Project Success
Project Success Rates
Only 30% of technology-based projects and programs are a
success.
Only 2.5% of global businesses achieve 100% project success
and over 50% of global business projects fail,
Average success of business-critical application development
projects is 32%, and
Approximately 42% of the 1,200 Iraq reconstruction projects
were eventually terminated due to mismanagement or shoddy
construction
A project case: Sydney Opera House
Good or bad project?
Sydney Opera House
Planned - 1959 to 1963 (4 years)
- $7 million
Actual - 1959 to 1973 (14 years)
- $100 million
