Project Management: A

Managerial Approach
Chapter 1 Projects in
Contemporary Organizations

Overview

Project Management Growth Factors

Project Aspects
Project Criteria
Project Life Cycle
Project Management Profession

Introduction
Much of project management developed by the military
Navys Polaris program
NASAs space program
Strategic defense initiative
Project management has found wide acceptance in
industry
External vs internal to organisation
It has many applications outside of construction
Managing legal cases
Managing new product releases

Forces Of Project Management

Forces driving Project Management:

1. exponential expansion of human knowledge dev, prod & dist.

2. growing demand for a broad range of complex, sophisticated, customized
goods and services product design an integ. & inherent part of prod and dist
3. evolution of worldwide competitive markets for the production and
consumption of goods and services what, when and how to distribute output
4. Expansion of global markets

Team-based problem solving v. individual

All of these contribute to the need for organizations to do more and to
do it faster
Project management is one way to do more faster

Projects Tend to be Large

Projects tend to be large

The Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel

Denver International Airport
Panama Canal expansion project
Three Gorges Dam, China

Projects are getting larger over time

Flying: balloons planes jets rockets reusable
rockets

The more we can do, the more we try to do

Project Management Also Getting

Smaller

1. More people are seeing the advantages of project

management techniques
2. The tools are become cheaper
3. The techniques are becoming more widely taught
and written about

The Professionalism of Project

Management

Complexity of problems facing the project manager

Growth in number of project oriented organizations
The Project Management Institute (PMI) was established in
1969
By 1990 it had 7,500 members
1995, over 17,000 members
1998--exploded to over 44,000 members
This exponential growth is indicative of the rapid growth in the
use of projects
Importance of PMI as a force in the development of project
management as a profession

Project Manager
Project manager is the key individual on a project
Project manager is like a mini-CEO
While project manager always has responsibility, may
not have necessary authority

Trends in Project Management

Achieving strategic goals

Achieving routine goals
Improving project effectiveness
Virtual projects
Quasi-projects

Organizational Imperatives

Traditional hierarchical management declining

Consensual management increasing
Increasing reliance on systems engineering
Projects integral to organizational strategy

The Definition of a Project

Must make a distinction between terms:
Program - an exceptionally large, long-range
objective that is broken down into a set of projects
Task - set of activities comprising a project
Work Packages - division of tasks
Work Units - division of work packages
A specific, finite task to be accomplished

The Definition of a Project

Definition used by
PMI:
A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product or service

Project Management
A Working Definition
Project:
A problem with a known solution scheduled for
completionunique and non-routine activities

Project Management:
The science and art of solving the problem
within predetermined time and resource
parameters

Characteristics of a Project

Temporary
Have a supported purpose/importance
Performance specifications (form, fit, function)
Have a life cycle with finite due date
Interdependencies
Uniqueness
Resource requirements and tradeoffs
Stakeholder Conflict

Quasi-Projects and Fuzzy Goals

Tasks without Specific Targets
No Who, What, When, Where, How Much

Implied Performance, Cost, Time Constraints

Projects to Determine Project Scope
Warning: If these Become Projects, Expect
Delays, Cost Overruns, Dissatisfied
Customers

Objectives of a Project
Project Objectives:
Performance
Time
Cost

Expectations of clients inherent part of the project

specifications
There are ancillary (process) goals:
Improving the organisations project management competency &
methods
Individual managerial experience gained
The health of the project team and the organisation
Environment

Objectives of a Project
3 Project Objectives:

Why Project Management?

The main purpose for initiating a project is
to accomplish some goal
Project management increases the
likelihood of accomplishing that goal
Project management gives us someone (the
project manager) to spearhead the project
and to hold accountable for its completion

Why Project Management?

Companies have experienced:

Better customer relations

Shorter overall delivery times
Lower costs and higher profit margins
Higher quality and reliability
Higher worker morale

Why (not) Project Management?

Companies have also experienced some negatives:

Greater organizational complexity

Increased likelihood of organizational policy violations
Higher costs
More management difficulties
Low personnel utilization
Says managers cannot accomplish the desired outcome
Conflict

The Project Life Cycle

Stages of a Conventional Project:

Slow beginning
Buildup of size
Peak
Begin a decline
Termination

The Project Life Cycle

The Project Life Cycle

Time distribution of project effort is characterized by slowrapid-slow

Project Management Life Cycle

Planning

Implementation

Delivery

Level of effort

Definition

1. Goals
2. Specifications
3. Scope
4. Responsibilities
5. Teams

1. WBS
2. Budgets
3. Resources
4. Risks
5. Schedule

1. Status reports
2. Change Orders
3. Quality Audits
4. Contingencies

1. Train user
2. Transfer documents
3. Release resources
4. Reassign staff
5. Lessons learned

Proactive Project Life Cycle

High
Level
of
Value
of
Effort

Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities

Change Management System
Closed-Loop Planning-Monitor-Control System
Project Evaluation (Audit) Process

Low
Define
Scope
Tradeoffs

Plan

Implement

Delivery

WBS/OBS/Schedule Resource (Re)allocation Learn Curve

Detailed Budget
Cost Containment
Final Report

The Project Life Cycle

Projects also exist which do not follow the
conventional project life cycle
Comprised of subunits that have little use as a
stand alone unit, yet become useful when put
together

The Project Life Cycle

Unlike the more conventional life cycle, continued inputs of effort at the
end of the project produce significant gains in returns (eg. Baking a cake,
software project, chemical reaction project, writing a book/thesis)

The Project Life Cycle

Risk during project life cycle
With most projects there is some uncertainty
about the ability to meet project goals
Uncertainty of outcome is greatest at the start
of a project
Uncertainty decreases as the project moves
toward completion

Project Life Cycle:

Reduce Uncertainty of Cost Estimate

END