CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT
 WHAT IS A PROJECT?

• Any series of activities and tasks that:

– have a specific objective to be completed within certain
specifications
– have defined start and end dates
– have funding limits (if applicable)
– consume resources (i.e., money, people, equipment).
CONT.

 A project is finite —having specific start and completion

dates—and is undertaken to create a unique product or
service which brings about beneficial change or added
value.
 Projects are delivered under certain constraints,
traditionally listed as "scope," "time," and "cost.”
CONT.

 Project is a temporary endeavor involving a

connected sequence of activities and a range of
resources, which is designed to achieve a specific and
unique outcome, which operates within time, scope,
cost constraints and which is often used to introduce
change.
 PROJECT VS OPERATION
From the stated reflections , it is understandable that
 Organizations may engaged in two types of work: project work
and operational work
 Operations are ongoing and repetitive while projects are
temporary and unique.
 The purpose of a project is to attain its objective and then
terminate whereas the objective of an ongoing operation is to
sustain the business.
PROJECT VS OPERATION
 WHAT IS A PROGRAMME?
• A “program” – a series of projects whose objectives
together contribute to a common Overall Objective, at
sector, country or even multi-country level.
• A program is an assortment of related/associated projects
that are managed together to achieve a number of
objectives.
• Programs may also contain elements of ongoing operations.
Since programs comprise multiple projects, they are larger
in scope than a single project.
PROJECT VS PROGRAM?
Project Program
Narrow in scope Wide in scope; can comprise many
projects as components.

Specific and detail Comprehensive and general

More precise and accurate in its Broader goal related to sectorial policy
objectives and features

Possible to calculate the costs and returns Difficult to calculate costs and returns
Always Time Bounded Not Necessarily Time Bounded
• Have purpose/ objectives
• Require input (financial, manpower, material)
• Generate output (goods and/or services)
• Operate over space and time
FEATURES OF A PROJECT
• Some features of project:
 Purpose- works with well defined set of desired end result
 Life Cycle-a project anatomy (life cycle) (a beginning and end, with a
number of distinct phases in between)
 Budget- a budget with an associated cash-flow
 Uniqueness-one-time undertaking; it will never again be done exactly
the same way, by the same people, and within the same environment.
 Non-repetitive

Team Work : Project is a team work and it normally consists

of diverse areas. There will be personnel specialized in their

respective areas and co-ordination among the diverse areas
calls for team work.
 Risk and uncertainty : Risk and uncertainty go hand in hand with
project. A risk-free, it only means that the element is not apparently
visible on the surface and it will be hidden underneath.
 Customer specific nature : A project is always customer specific. It is
the customer who decides upon the product to be produced or services
to be offered and hence it is the responsibility of any organization to go
for projects/services that are suited to customer needs.
 Change : Changes occur through out the life span of a project as a
natural outcome of many environmental factors. The changes may very
from minor changes, which may have very little impact on the project,
to major changes which may have a big impact or even may change the
very nature of the project.
 Optimality : A project is always aimed at optimum utilization
of resources for the overall development of the economy.
 Sub-contracting : A high level of work in a project is done
through contractors. The more the complexity of the project,
the more will be the extent of contracting.
 PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS
• Project stakeholder: Anyone who has a vested interest in a project. This
group ordinarily includes those who stand to gain or lose through the
success or failure of your project, those who participate in the execution
of your project, those who supply resources to your project, and those
who are affected by the outcome or outputs of your project.
• Project manager - the individual responsible for managing the project.
• Project beneficiaries/Customer - the individual or organization that
will use the project product.
• Performing organization—the enterprise whose employees are most
directly involved in doing the work of the project.
 PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

 Sponsor - the individual or group within or outside the

performing organization who provides the financial resources, in
cash or in kind, for the project.
 Suppliers and contractors – e.g. Construction companies, Skills
development and education and training organizations, legal
firms,;
 Project team members and their families;
 Government agencies – e.g. local municipality.
 Community representatives and organizations
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF PROJECTS
• Based on Ownership
– Private Sector projects
– Public Sector projects
– NGO’s developmental projects

• Based on Source of Finance

– Government Treasury-entirely financed by gov’t budgets
– Government Treasury & External Sources- financed by joint
partnership of government & donor funds

– External Sources – entirely financed by parties other than the

government
 Based on Forces Behind
 Demand/Need Driven- projects driven by the identified unsatisfied
demand or unsatisfied basic needs
 Donor Driven-donors influence the project to be established
 Political Driven –projects established in response to some political
situation
 Based on Purpose
 New Projects-designed to establish a new products
 Expansion Projects-involve expanding an existing activity
 Updating Projects –involve replacing or changing some elements in
an existing activity
• Based on Time Horizon
– Long Term Projects- Involves high risk and require large amounts of
resources. They impact overlong period of time. Proper feasibility study is
essential eg.Power construction
– Medium Term Projects- Involves moderate risk and require fair amounts
of resources. Feasibility study may be required eg. Factory construction
– Short Term Projects –are completed within one year, and are focused on
achieving tactical objectives. Require fewer resources and involve less or
no risk. Eg, exhibitions
 Based on Locality
 Regional-undertaken and benefit only a particular
region
 National-undertaken by federal gov’t and benefit
many regions
 International –Projects that involve many countries
• Based on Resource Use
– Capital Intensive Projects- Projects which largely use machinery in
manufacturing process eg.Beer factory
– Labour Intensive Projects- Projects which largely use human labor in
production process eg.Salt Production
– Energy Intensive Projects - Projects which largely consume
energy(eg. Electricity) in manufacturing process eg. Marble factory
• On the basis of speed required for execution of project
– Normal Projects- Projects for which adequate time is allowed for
implementation
– Crash Projects- Projects which require additional costs to gain time
& maximum overlapping of phases is encouraged
– Disaster Projects – Any thing needed to gain time in these projects
 Others
 Civil engineering , Construction , Petrochemical, mining, quarrying
Projects-

 Manufacturing Projects-

 Research Projects –

 Management Projects-
PLANS & PROJECTS
• Projects should be squarely related to the strategic plan
– The strategic plan delineates(explains) the broad areas or
types of investment planned to be done.
• Hence, it provides the framework which shapes , guides and circumscribes the
identification of project opportunities

• At the country level, governmental(developmental) projects may

be developed to support the national and sectoral development
strategic plans
– National Plan-
• Is the cross sectoral plan that address national issues and focus on a
single nation
• Include national developmental plans for a specified period & include
usually 5 year rolling plans
• Usually focus on increasing productivity, fiscal targets,
infrastructures, human resources development, public sector
enterprises, employment creation

– Sectoral plan
• Concentrates on specific sectors of the country’s economy such as
agricultural sector, industry sector, tourism sector etc
• Provides guidelines directed towards ensuring the orderly & efficient
development of the sector
 Similarly, at the firm or organizational level, projects should
fit to strategic plans of the firms.
 Projects are often utilized as a means of achieving an
organization’s strategic plan.
 They are originated when the need for change in

organization is acknowledged.
 Projects are typically authorized as a result of one or

more of the following strategic considerations:

 Market demand E.g Sugar projects

 Strategic opportunity/business need

 Customer request. E.g Road Projects

 Technological advancement.

 Legal requirements.
• Projects, within programs or portfolios, are means of
achieving organizational goals and objectives (often in the
context of a strategic plan).
– Although a group of projects within a program can have
discrete benefits, they can also contribute:
• to the benefits of the program
• to the objectives of the portfolio
• to the strategic plan of the organization
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Definition of Project Management

– The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities in order to meet stakeholders needs and expectations from a
project.
– The process by which projects are defined, planned, monitored,
controlled and delivered so that agreed benefits are realised.
• Knowledge, skills, tools & techniques = PM
– Knowledge – formal training outside organization/ within
organization
– Skills – developing from experience (PM practice)
– Tools – to facilitate process of making decision/or meeting
requirements
– Techniques – to help decision making process/balanced
reflection on project issues
 PM & PROJECT GOALS/ PARAMETERS
 PM should assure that the project outcome:
 Will be reached at a time,
 Will be reached with the resources of the project,

 Will have a predefined quality level.

 Using for outcome and quality combined a generalized term scope we can build
the PM Triangle

Cost
Time
Resources
Scope
 PM Triangle visualizes the fact that time, cost and scope of a
project are interdependent; changing one of them causes
changes in other two.
 Hence, PM can be considered as solving certain optimisation
task(balancing goals/parameters):
 Achieving in a certain time frame the best possible outcome with
limited amount of resources.
 This balancing goals/parameters would be made through
 Planning (defining work requirements, quantity and quality and
resources needed) &
 Monitoring (tracking progress, comparing outcome to predicted
outcome; analysing impact; and making adjustments)
 Hence, 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/User
 With minimum or mutually agreed upon scope changes.
ROLE OF PROJECT MANAGER
AS A PROJECT MANAGER - WHAT DO YOU
MANAGE?
Schedule
 The project timeline, identifying the dates (absolute or relative to a start

date) that project tasks will be started and completed, resources will be
required and upon which milestones will be reached.
Scope
 Project scope involves identifying and describing the work that is needed

to produce the deliverables of the project in sufficient detail to ensure

that:
 All the appropriate work is completed
 And only the appropriate work is completed

Resources
 Team Members who perform project work

 Executive Sponsor and Guiding Team expectations

ROLE OF PROJECT MANAGER
AS A PROJECT MANAGER - WHAT DO
YOU DO?
Lead

Define Plan Monitor Complete

Re-Plan

The role of the project manager is to direct, supervise and

control the project from beginning to end.
Generally:
 The primary responsibility of the project manager is to ensure that all
work is completed on time, within budget and scope, and at the correct
performance level.
 Project managers must understand the mission and vision of the
organization first, then they must see how the project they are
managing meshes(engages) with the organization’s mission, and they
must steer/direct the project to ensure that the interests of the
organization are met.
PROJECT ORGANIZATION
STRUCTURE
• In Project Management, the organization structure has to fulfill
the following tasks:
– how a project organization is embedded(fixed) within the
parent organization.
PROJECT ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE-
WITH IN ORGANIZATION
 A Project Management Office (PMO) is a separate office,
staffed with full time employees, to help coordinate all project
activities within the organization.
 Project sponsor: manager or executive who can
oversee(supervise) a project, delegate authority to the Project
Manager and can provide support as a trainer or coach to the
Project Manager
 The steering committee :
 is a group of senior managers responsible for
business issues affecting the project.
 They usually have budget approval authority, make
decisions about changes in goals and scope and are
the highest authority to resolve issues or disputes
 Both the project sponsor and the steering committee are
responsible for project governance.
 An advisory committee is a group of people that represents key
project stakeholders and provides advice to the project.
 The project manager is naturally the key person within the project
organization and has the overall responsibility for meeting project
requirements within the agreed to time, cost, scope and quality
constraints which form the framework of the project plan.
 A team leader is a person responsible for managing one part of a
project, or a “subproject.”
 Team member