Project Management

Project Management

An undertaking that has a beginning and an end and is carried out to meet established goals within cost, schedule and quality objectives

Characteristics Defined beginning and end Resources allocated Undertaken once To achieve an end Cuts across organization functions

Examples: New product, service or object Changing organizational structure Developing or modifying IS Implementing a new business procedure or

process

Project Management Is the combination of systems, techniques,

and people used to control and monitor activities undertaken within the project

The objective of project management is a successful project meaning that the project is completed at the specified level of quality, on time and within budget.

Challenges Team building Expected problems Unexpected problems Delayed benefit Specialists Potential for conflict

Project & Strategy Strategic project management envisages

strategy as a stream of projects intended to achieve organizational breakthroughs

Many projects are undertaken as consequences of the overall strategic planning process

Projects arise on a bottom-up basis. Need to be congruent to overall strategy

PM as core competence Construction Consultancy Continuous improvement approach should be taken

to developing and consolidating the methodology Kerzner (PMMM) Level 1: common knowledge Level 2: common processes Level 3: singular methodology Level 4: benchmarking Level 5: continuous improvement

Breakthrough project Is a project that will have a material impact on

either the business’s external competitive edge, its internal capabilities or its financial performance

Advantages: Resources are concentrated where they will

do the most good Projects of marginal value are avoided Managerial attention remains focussed

The Project Life Cycles Project definition Project design Project delivery Project development

Analyses Fish bone Determining performance drivers Gap From - to

Initiating a project Resource limitation Appointment of a project manager Assessing suitability Risk/return analysis Weighted scoring Organizational priority Feasibility studies SWOT

Project constraints Risk management Stakeholders analysis Preparation of a business case1. Why the project is needed2. What it will achieve3. How it will proceedNecessary to prevent mission creep and maintain

focus

Business case Contents Background Objectives Important assumptions and constraints Summary risk analysis Summary budget Time estimate Project scope

Project charter: authorization – resources Strategic aspects of the project plan Careful planning Time & cost overruns POC

Why projects fails Realistic timescales Use of shared resources Sequencing of work Unproven technology Changing client specifications Politics

Force field analysis: degree of difficultyEnablers and Constraints

Practical aspect of Project Planning WBS Dependencies & interactions Project budget (top-down, bottom-up) Gantt charts Network analysis (CPA) PERT Resource histogram (planning tool for

determining time and amount required)

Project Manager Takes the responsibility for ensuring the desired

result is achieved on time and within budget Responsibilities Effective and efficient use of resource utilization Keep management informed Manage project to the best of his/her ability Behave ethically Maintain customer orientation Monitor progress of the project Ensure project team has the required resources Help new team members settle down

Leaderships style and team management Project needs, group needs, individual needs Stages of team formation Membership: co-ordinator, plant, resource

investigator, team worker, specialist, shaper, monitor evaluator, implementer, finisher

Teams: work organization, control, knowledge generation, decision making, communication, social needs, size, cohesion-synergy

Team problems: Adherence to group norms Disagreements Personality problems Rigid leadership Difference of opinion Too much harmony (group think) Reward system Too many meetings Powerlessness Risk averse

Controlling projects Progress report: shows the current status of the

project, usually in relation to the planned status. The report should monitor progress towards key milestones

Dealing with slippage: Do nothing Add resources Work smarter Re-plan Re-schedule Introduce incentive Briefings & motivation Change the specifications

Fast tracking Crashing Risk management: what could go wrong Stages Plan the risk management approach Identify and record risks Asses the risks Plan and respond Implement risk management strategies Review the risk management approach

Project completion Project outcomes/contingencies issues Report – gain client sign off

Post completion audit Lessons learnt – used for the benefits of future

projects Summary Review of the end result Cost benefit review recommendations

Benefits realization Establish the benefits measurement Refining the benefits profile Monitoring benefits Transition management Support for benefits realization Measuring the benefits

Project management software MS Project / SmartDraw Planning Estimating Monitoring Reporting Ads: enables quick re-planning, document quality,

encourages constant progress tracking, what if analysis

Disads: difficult to use for some people, pressure due to co policy, too much focus on software