Chapter 1

Project Management
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The application of knowledge, tools and techniques to execute projects

effectively and efficiently
A strategic competency for organizations, enabling them to link the
project results to business goals, thus better compete in their markets

What is a project?
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A project is a temporary endeavor to create a unique product, service

or result
Major goal of a project is to satisfy a customers need
Characteristics of a project:
o An established objective
o A defined life span with a beginning and an end
o Across-the-organization participation
o Something that has never been done before
o Specific requirements / constraints (time, cost, performance)

What a project is not

-

A project is not routine, repetitive work

Ordinary daily work requires doing the same or similar work over and
over, while a project is done only once

Routine, Repetitive work

Taking class notes
Responding to a purchasing request
Routine manufacture of an apple
ipod

Projects
Writing a term paper
Setting up a sales kiosk for an
accounting meeting
Designing an ipod that is
approximately 2 x 4 inches,
interfaces with PC, and store 10,000
songs

Program vs Project
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Program
o A series of coordinated, related, multiple projects that continue
over an extended time and are intended to achieve a goal
o A higher level group of projects targeted at a common goal
o A group of related projects designed to accomplish a common
goal over an extended period of time

Eg.
o Project: completion of a required course in project management
o Program: completion of all courses required for a business major

The Project life Cycle

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Recognizes that projects have a limited life span and that there are
predictable changes in level of effort and focus over the life of the
project
1. Defining stage
o Goals
o Specifications
o Tasks
o Responsibilities
2. Planning
o Schedules
o Budgets
o Resources
o Risks
o Staffing
3. Executing
o Status reports
o Changes
o Quality
o Forecasts
4. Closing
o Train Customer
o Transfer documents
o Release resources
o Release staff
o Lessons learned

The Project Manager

-

Plan, schedule, motivate and control

Manages temporary, non-repetitive activities to complete a fixed life
project
Arranges resources for the project and creates the project team

Is linked directly to the customer

Provides direction, coordination, and integration to the project team
Must induce the right people at the right time to address the right
issues and make the right decisions
Is responsible for the performance and success of the project

Importance of project management

Factors leading the the increased use of project management:
-

Compression of the product life cycle

Knowledge explosion
Environment consciousness (Triple bottom line {Planet, people, profit})
Corporate downsizing / business-process-re-engineering
Increased customer focus
Small projects represent big problems

Benefits of an integrative approach to project management

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Integration (centralization, governance) of project management

provides senior management with:
o An overview of all project management activities
o A big picture of how organizational resources are used
o A risk assessment of their portfolio of projects
o A rough metric of the forms improvement in managing projects
relative to others in the industry
o Linkages of senior management with actual project execution
management

Major functions of portfolio management

-

Oversee project selection

Monitor aggregate resource levels and skills
Encourage use of best practices
Balance projects in the portfolio in order to represent a risk level
appropriate to the organization
Improve communication among all stakeholders
Create a total organization perspective that goes beyond silo thinking
Improve overall management of projects over time

Two dimensions within executing a project

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Technical
o Scope
o WBS
o Schedules
o Resource allocation
o Baseline budgets
o Status reports

Sociocultural
o Leadership
o Problem solving
o Teamwork
o Negotiation
o Politics
o Customer expectations