Project Management

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Project Management

• Summary Lecture 1
• Summary Chapter 1
• Summary Chapter 2

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Introduction

• What is a Project?
• A project is any sort of planned undertaking.
• All of us have been involved in projects, whether
  they be our personal projects or in business and
  industry.
• Examples of typical projects are
• write a report
• plan a wedding
• plant a garden
• build a house extension

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Other Examples of Projects

• Industrial projects
• construct a building
• rewire premises
• provide a gas supply to an commercial building
• build a highway
• design a new car

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Other Examples of Projects

• Business projects
• develop a computer system
• introduce a new product
• prepare an annual report
• set up a new office
• Projects can be of any size and duration.

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Characteristics of Projects

• Projects can be simple, like planning a party, or
  complex like launching a space shuttle.
• Generally projects are made up of
• a defined beginning point
• multiple activities which are performed to a
  plan / schedule (and have)
• a defined ending point.

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Therefore a project may be defined as a means of
moving from a problem to a solution via a series
of planned activities.
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Summary

• Two essential features are present in every
  project no matter how simple or complicated they
  are.
• In the first place, all projects must be planned
  out in advance if they are to be successfully
  executed.
• Secondly, the execution of the project must be
  controlled to ensure that the desired results are
  achieved.

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Activities Relationships

• On most projects it is possible to carry out
  multiple activities simultaneously.
• Usually it is possible to perform several
  activities at the same time, however there will
  be activities which cannot begin until a
  preceding activity has been completed.
• These relationships are referred to as
  dependencies or precedencies, and when planning a
  project it is important to establish the order of
  precedence of dependent activities, and to
  establish those activities which can be performed
  in parallel with other activities.

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Regardless of the nature or size of your project
a successful outcome can only be achieved by
using sound project management techniques.
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Summary of Projects

• Projects are typically
• Complex and numerous activities
• Unique - a one-time set of events
• Finite - with a begin and end date
• Involve limited resources and budget
• Involve many people, usually across several
  functional areas in the organizations
• Sequenced activities
• Goal-oriented
• End product / service oriented

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Ten Major Causes of Project Failure

1. Lack of interest beyond the project team
2. Solution in search of a problem
3. No one in charge
4. Project plan lacks structure
5. Project plan lacks detail
6. Project is under budgeted
7. Insufficient resources allocated to project
8. Project not tracked to the plan
9. Poor Communication on team
10. Project strays from original goals

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Other Underlying Subtle Factors for Project
Failures

• Inadequate project manager skills, influence, and
  authority
• Poor coordination and rapport with the client
• Lack of project team participation and team
  spirit
• Unrealistic schedules
• Project is of a different type or more complex
  than handled previously by manager / team

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Other Underlying Subtle Factors for Project
Failures (2)

• Plans were based upon insufficient data
• No attempt was made to systematize the planning
  process
• No one knows or understands the ultimate
  objective of the project
• Project estimates are best guesses, and are not
  based upon standards or history
• No one bothered to see if there would be
  personnel available with the necessary skills

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Most Difficult Issue to Overcome - People working
to meet their own objectives / ends, not those
defined in the project specifications
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The Project Overview

• State the Problem
• What is the Problem/Opportunity?
• What is to be done?
• Who is responsible for the project?
• When must the project be completed?
• Type - Business, Functional, Technical

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The Project Overview (Continued)

• Identify Project Goals
• Define project end product or service
• Define to settle misunderstandings
• Establish a methodology to accomplish objectives
  that is
• Action orientated
• Short
• Simple
• Straightforward
• Understandable

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The Project Overview (Continued)

• Develop Project Objectives (Critical success
  factors or Milestones)
• Sub-goals that direct work activity
• Must be completed to achieve project goal
• Objective statement should be (SMART)
• Specific
• Measurable
• Assignable
• Realistic
• Time-related

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Basic Definitions (1)

• A project is an interrelated set of activities
  that has a definite starting and ending point and
  results in the accomplishment of a unique, often
  major outcome. "Project management" is,
  therefore, the planning and control of events
  that, together, comprise the project. Project
  management aims to ensure the effective use of
  resources and delivery of the project objectives
  on time and within cost constraints.

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Basic Definitions (2)

• An activity or task is the smallest unit of work
  effort within the project and consumes both time
  and resources which are under the control of the
  project manager. A project is a sequence of
  activities that has a definite start and finish,
  an identifiable goal and an integrated system of
  complex but interdependent relationships.

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Basic Definitions (3)

• A schedule allocates resources to accomplish the
  activities within a timeframe. The schedule sets
  priorities, start times and finish times.

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Basic Definitions (4)

• Project management is
• the adept use of techniques and skills (hard and
  soft) in planning and controlling tasks and
  resources needed for the project, from both
  inside and outside of organisation, to achieve
  results.

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The Purpose Of Project Management

• The purpose of project management is to achieve
  successful project completion with the resources
  available. A successful project is one which
• has been finished on time
• is within its cost budget
• performs to a technical/performance standard
  which satisfies the end user.

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The Attributes of Successful Project Management

• The effectiveness of project management is
  critical in assuring the success of any
  substantial undertaking.
• Areas of responsibility for the project manager
  include planning, control and implementation.
• A project should be initiated with a feasibility
  study, where a clear definition of the goals and
  ultimate benefits need to be established.
• Senior managers' support for projects is
  important so as to ensure authority and direction
  throughout the project's progress and, also to
  ensure that the goals of the organization are
  effectively achieved within this process.

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The Attributes of Successful Project Management
(2)

• The particular form of support given can
  influence the degree of resistance the project
  encounters.
• Knowledge, skills, goals and personalities are
  all factors that need to be considered within
  project management.
• The project manager and his/her team should
  collectively possess the necessary and requisite
  interpersonal and technical skills to facilitate
  control over the various activities within the
  project.

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The Attributes of Successful Project Management
(3)

• Projects normally involve the introduction of a
  new system of some kind and, in almost all cases,
  new methods and ways of doing things. This
  impacts upon the work of others the "users".
• User consultation is an important factor in the
  success of projects and, indeed, the degree of
  user involvement can influence the extent of
  support for the project or its implementation
  plan.
• An essential quality of the project manager is
  that of being a good communicator, not just
  within the project team itself, but with the rest
  of the organization and outside bodies as well
  (the users may be internal or external).

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Features Of Projects

• Projects are often carried out by a team of
  people who have been assembled for that specific
  purpose. The activities of this team may be
  co-ordinated by a project manager.

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Features Of Projects (2)

• Project teams may consist of people from
  different backgrounds and different parts of the
  organisation. In some cases project teams may
  consist of people from different organisations.

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Features Of Projects (3)

• Project teams may be inter-disciplinary groups
  and are likely to lie outside the normal
  organisation hierarchies.

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Features Of Projects (4)

• The project team will be responsible for delivery
  of the project end product to some sponsor within
  or outside the organisation. The full benefit of
  any project will not become available until the
  project has been completed.

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Responsibilities of the Project Manager

1. To plan thoroughly all aspects of the project,
   soliciting the active involvement of all
   functional areas involved, in order to obtain and
   maintain a realistic plan that satisfies their
   commitment for performance.

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Responsibilities of the Project Manager (2)

1. To control the organization of manpower needed by
   the project.

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Responsibilities of the Project Manager (3)

1. To control the basic technical definition of the
   project, ensuring that "technical" versus "cost"
   trade-offs determine the specific areas where
   optimisation is necessary.

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Responsibilities of the Project Manager (4)

1. To lead the people and organizations assigned to
   the project at any given point in time. Strong
   positive leadership must be exercised in order to
   keep the many disparate elements moving in the
   same direction in a co-operative.

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Responsibilities of the Project Manager (5)

1. To monitor performance, costs and efficiency of
   all elements of the project and the project as a
   whole, exercising judgement and leadership in
   determining the causes of problems and
   facilitating solutions.

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Responsibilities of the Project Manager (6)

1. To complete the project on schedule and within
   costs, and on time - these being the overall
   standards by which performance of the project
   manager is evaluated.

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The Project Life Cycle

• Projects are born when a need is identified by
  the customer.
• Project life cycles vary in length, from a few
  weeks to several years.
• Not all projects formally go through all four
  phases of the project life cycle.

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Phases of the Project Life Cycle (1)

• The first phase involves the identification of a
  need, problem, or opportunity.
• The need and requirements are usually written by
  the customer into a document called a request for
  proposal (RFP).

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Phases of the Project Life Cycle (2)

• The second phase is the development of a proposed
  solution to the need or problem.
• This phase results in the submission of a
  proposal.
• The customer and the winning contractor negotiate
  and sign a contract (agreement).

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Phases of the Project Life Cycle (3)

• The third phase is performing the project.
• Different types of resources are utilized
• Results in the accomplishment of the project
  objective

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Phases of the Project Life Cycle (4)

• The final phase is terminating the project.
• Perform close-out activities
• Evaluate performance
• Invite customer feedback

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Benefits of Project Management

• Satisfied customers
• Additional business
• Expansion of career opportunities
• Satisfaction of being on a winning team
• Improved knowledge and skills
• When projects are successful, everybody WINS

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Needs Identification

• Recognize a need, problem, or opportunity
• Clearly define the problem or need
• Quantify the problem
• Determine the budget
• Prepare a request for proposal
• Select the project(s) with the greatest benefit
  for the cost expended

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Preparing a Request for Proposal

• State, comprehensively and in detail, what is
  required, from the customers point of view
• Enable contractors or a project team to
  understand what the customer expects so that they
  can prepare a thorough proposal
• The need may be communicated informallyand
  sometimes only orally

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Preparing a Request for Proposal (2)

• Guidelines for drafting a formal RFP to external
  contractors
• statement of work (SOW)
• customer requirements
• deliverables
• customer-supplied items
• approvals required by the customer
• type of contract

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Preparing a Request for Proposal (3)

• Payment terms
• Required schedule for completion
• Instructions for the format and content of the
  contractor proposals
• Due date for proposals
• Evaluation criteria
• Occasionally will indicate the funds the customer
  has available

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Soliciting Proposals

• Methods
• Identify a selected group of contractors in
  advance and sending each an RFP
• Advertise in certain business newspapers
• Process considered a competitive situation

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Soliciting Proposals (Cont.)

• Dont provide information that is not provided to
  all contractors
• May hold a bidders meeting to explain the RFP
  and answer questions
• Not all use RFP