49522858 project management

8/6/2019 49522858 Project Management

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The starting point in discussing how projects should be properly managed is to first

understand what a project is and just as importantly what it is not.

People have been undertaking projects since the earliest days of organized

human activity. The hunting parties of our prehistoric ancestors were projects for

example; they were temporary undertakings directed at the goal of obtaining meatfor the community. Large complex projects have also been with us for a long time.

The pyramids and the Great Wall of China, were in their day of roughly the same

dimensions as the Apollo Project to send man to the moon. We use the term project

frequently in our daily conversations. A husband, for example may tell his wife, My

main project for this weekend is to straighten out the garage. Going hunting,

building pyramids, and fixing faucets all share certain features that make them

projects.

A project has distinctive attributes, which distinguish it from ongoing work or

business operations. Projects are temporary in nature. They are not an everyday

business process and have definitive start dates and end dates. This characteristic

is important because a large part of the project effort is dedicated to ensuring that

the project is completed at the appointed time. To do this, schedules are created

showing when tasks should begin and end. Projects can last minutes, hours, days,

weeks, months or years.

Projects exist to bring about a product or service that hasnt existed before. In

this sense, a project is unique. Unique means that this is new, this has never been

done before. Maybe its been done in a very similar fashion before but never exactly

in this way. For example, Ford Motor Company is in the business of designing and

assembling cars. Each model that Ford designs and produces can be considered a

project. The models differ from each other in their features and are marketed to

people with various needs. An SUV serves a different purpose and clientele than a

luxury model. The design and marketing of these two models are unique projects.

However the actual assembly of the cars is considered an operation, i.e., a

repetitive process that is followed for most makes and models.

In contrast with projects, operations are ongoing and repetitive. They involve

work that is continuous without an ending date and you often repeat the sameprocesses and produce the same results. The purpose of operations is to keep the

organization functioning while the purpose of a project is to meet its goals and to

conclude. Therefore, operations are ongoing while projects are unique and

temporary.

The project is completed when its goals and objectives are accomplished. It is

these goals that drive the project and all the planning and implementation efforts


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are undertaken to achieve them. Sometimes projects end when its determined that

the goals and objectives cannot be accomplished or when the product or service of

the project is no longer needed and the project is cancelled. A formal definition of a

projectThere are many written definitions of a project, however, all of them contain

the key elements described above. For those looking for a formal definition of a

project the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines a project as atemporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. The

temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end. The end is

reached when the projects objectives have been achieved or when the project is

terminated because its objectives will not or cannot be met, or when the need for

the project no longer exists.

What is a Project?Definition of a Project

Sequence of tasks

Planned from beginning to end Bounded by time, resources, & required

results

Defined outcome and "deliverables"

Deadline

Budget

limits number of people, supplies, and capital


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Tasks vs Projects Responding to email

Making coffee

Writing a letter to a prospect

Hooking up a printer

Producing a customer newsletter

Catering a party

Writing a book

Implementing a computer network


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Five Features of a Project Defined beginning, end, schedule, and approach

Use resources specifically allocated to the work

End results have specific goals (time, cost,

performance/quality)

Follows planned, organized approach

Usually involves a team of people

Resources (and Constraints) Time

People


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Money

Equipment

Facilities

What Makes a Project Successful Organized, well planned approach

Project Team Commitment

Balance among

Time

Resources


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Results

Customer Satisfaction

Program

A recurring project

Happens predictably

New plan

New end result

New set of resources


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Review of Project Elements Well defined goal

Expectation of time commitment

Underlying costs to achieve

Described plan of achievement

Listing of goals major sub-elements

Description of risks or unknown factors

Success measurement techniques

Additional Elements in Defining theProject

Funding sources and expectations


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Problem background information

Critical reference document

Project methodologies - management and

operation

Required capital equipment

Necessary computer hardware & software

Critical Project Factors Computer system as major technology component

New characteristic - requires research


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Narrow domain to fit imposed semester deadline

Commercial competition

Acceptable risk factors

Phases of a Project Conceptualization

Feasibility

Preliminary planning

Detailed planning

Execution


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Testing

Termination

Phase 1: Initiating Recognize the project should be done

Determine what the project should accomplish

Define the overall project goal

Define general expectations of customers,management,or other stakeholders as appropriate

Define the general project scope

Select initial members of the project team


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Phase 2: Planning Refining the project scope

Listing tasks and activities

Optimally Sequencing activities

Developing a working schedule and budget for

assigning resources

Getting the plan approved by stakeholders

Phase 3 - Executing


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Leading the team

Meeting with team members

Communicating with stakeholders

Fire-fighting to resolve problems

Securing necessary resources to complete the

project plan

Phase 4 - Controlling Monitoring deviation from the plan

Taking corrective action to match actual progress

with the plan


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Receiving and evaluating project changes

requested

Rescheduling the project as necessary

Adapting resource levels as necessary

Changing the project scope

Returning to the planning stage

Phase 5 - Closing Acknowledging achievement and results

Shutting down the operations and disbanding theteam

Learning from the project experience


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Reviewing the project process and outcomes

Writing a final project report

Q1. What are the various characterstics of a Project? What is the importance of each characterstics? Give Examples. Ans.1 Characterstics of Project Mindset Some of the characterstics of Project mindset are the

following:- 1.Time:- It is possible to improve the pace of the Project by reducing the time frame of the process. The mindset is

normally to work a comfort mode by stretching the timelimits.

2.Responsiveness:- It refers to quickness of response of an individual . The vibrancy and liveliness of an individual or an

organization are proportional to its capability of evolvingprocesses and structure for superior responsiveness time

constant. 3.Information Sharing:- Information is power. Information is the master key to todays business. Information sharing is the characterstic of the project mindset today. 4.Processes:- Project management lays emphasis on flexible processes. The major difference is a process and a system is

in its capabilities of providing flexibility to differentsituational encounters. Flexible process greater capabilities

of adaptability. 5.Structured Planning:- Structured Planning based on project management life cycle enables one to easily and

conveniently work according to the Plan. It also involves efficientuse of project resources and prioritization of the activities based onresource planning.


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The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities toaccomplish the projects goals or objectives. Regardless of scope or

complexity, any project goes through a series of stages during its life. There is firstan Initiation or Birth phase, in which the outputs and critical success factors aredefined, followed by a Planning phase, characterized by breaking down the projectinto smaller parts/tasks, an Execution phase, in which the project plan is executed,and lastly a Closure or Exit phase, that marks the completion of the project. Projectactivities must be grouped into phases because by doing so, the project managerand the core team can efficiently plan and organize resources for each activity, andalso objectively measure achievement of goals and justify their decisions to moveahead, correct, or terminate. It is of great importance to organize project phasesinto industry-specific project cycles. Why? Not only because each industry sectorinvolves specific requirements, tasks, and procedures when it comes to projects,but also because different industry sectors have different needs for life cycle

management methodology. And paying close attention to such details is thedifference between doing things well and excelling as project managers.

Diverse project management tools and methodologies prevail in the differentproject cycle phases. Lets take a closer look at whats important in each one ofthese stages:

1)InitiationIn this first stage, the scope of the project is defined along with the approach to betaken to deliver the desired outputs. The project manager is appointed and in turn,he selects the team members based on their skills and experience. The most

common tools or methodologies used in the initiation stage are Project Charter,Business Plan, Project Framework (or Overview), Business Case Justification, andMilestones Reviews.

2)PlanningThe second phase should include a detailed identification and assignment of eachtask until the end of the project. It should also include a risk analysis and adefinition of a criteria for the successful completion of each deliverable. Thegovernance process is defined, stake holders identified and reporting frequency andchannels agreed. The most common tools or methodologies used in the planningstage are Business Plan and Milestones Reviews.

3)Execution and controllingThe most important issue in this phase is to ensure project activities are properlyexecuted and controlled. During the execution phase, the planned solution isimplemented to solve the problem specified in the project's requirements. Inproduct and system development, a design resulting in a specific set of productrequirements is created. This convergence is measured by prototypes, testing, and
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reviews. As the execution phase progresses, groups across the organization becomemore deeply involved in planning for the final testing, production, and support. Themost common tools or methodologies used in the execution phase are an update ofRisk Analysis and Score Cards, in addition to Business Plan and Milestones Reviews.

4)ClosureIn this last stage, the project manager must ensure that the project is brought to itsproper completion. The closure phase is characterized by a written formal projectreview report containing the following components: a formal acceptance of the finalproduct by the client, Weighted Critical Measurements (matching the initialrequirements specified by the client with the final delivered product), rewarding theteam, a list of lessons learned, releasing project resources, and a formal projectclosure notification to higher management. No special tool or methodology isneeded during the closure phase.

Common Barriers to Successful Projects - #22-27By Raymond Posch

In this series, I am writing briefly about some barriers to project successthat arefairly common in my experience.Here is the last set in my list:

22.Lack of resource management in the organization Of course there is some

kind of resource management in place, but if the organization has notstepped up to managing specialized people resources in effective ways forcompeting projects, there will be many issues like several mentioned in thislist.

23.Not identifying and managing risks All large and complex projects have

risks which must be taken into account. Risks are known (identified) or

unknown (unidentified) events that can have an impact. (They are usuallynegative impacts, although positive events/impacts can happen too, and

theyre called opportunities.) Consideration must be given in the planningprocess to the events that are most likely to occur and/or that would have

the largest impact. For those, the team should spend some time, based onprobability of occurrence, of how to deal with the risk either beforehand orwhen the event occurs. Some of these risks, if appropriate, might justifybringing in some people (executives or specialists) from outside the core

team to make recommendations.

24.Uncontrolled scope creep This one is a classic, but it is a true and common

problem. There is often a tendency of the requesters of projects thecustomers, or possibly more often, the users of the product being developed

to realize during development that there are other features that should beadded. The features might be absolute necessities, or they might be nice to
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have. But allowing more features to be added almost always expands thework, the schedule, and the cost.

25.Not informing management promptly when help is needed If the project

runs into problems that will definitely or potentially put it behind schedule

and over budget by a significant amount, or at risk of not meeting the goals,then the PM must bring the matter to management attention. This isespecially true, if the PM does not quickly identify a solution that can bringthe project back on track, because then escalation and requests for help

may be required, depending on exact circumstances. Failure to informmanagement (or the PMO if it is a point of control) that there is a problem is

a serious mistake. Senior management needs to know when any importantproject is in trouble.

26.Lack of management response when help is requested Just as serious, is

the case where a project manager informs management that a project is in

trouble and nothing is done. At the very least, there should be a meeting (orreview) to determine 1) if the PM has correctly explored the options, and 2)whether any other solutions are possible from a higher, cross-project

perspective. Of course, there are situations where the project in trouble isthe lowest priority, or the factors involved are outside of the organizationsimmediate control. But in any case, the PM should be given advice on how to

proceed.27.No monitoring (project reviews) and control outside of team Monitoring and

control means checking whether the project is staying reasonably on plan,and taking steps to adjust if necessary. It should be done at two levels: by

the project manager and team, and by someone with appropriate authorityoutside of the team usually executive management or a PMO (if oneexists). Large complex projects should typically have formal outside reviewsscheduled at certain key points in the project timeline.

The full list of 27 barriers to success outlines a number of things that can negativelyimpact projects, resulting in schedule and budget overruns and potentially not

achieving the expected or desired business value. So, studying these barriers tosuccess may help you avoid the potential problems. Again, not all of the identifiedproblems are controllable by the project manager, but the large majority of themare. The project manager must step up to the challenge.

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