CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT

SHAHNAZ ZARIN HAQUE

Text Books and

References
1. Project Management ( A Managerial
Approach-8th Edition)
By Jack Meredith & Samuel Mantel
2. Practical Project Management
By R.G. Ghattas & Sandra L. Mckee
3. Operations Management
By William Stevenson

Project
A project is a temporary endeavor

undertaken to create a unique product,

service, or result.
Temporary means that every project has a

definite beginning and a definite end.

Unique means that the product or service is
different in some distinguishing way from all
similar products and services.

Project
Projects are unique characteristics are

progressively elaborated

Progressively: proceeding in steps

Elaborated: worked with care and detail

Scope of project should remain constant even

as characteristics are progressively

elaborated

Examples of projects:
Engineering projects: construction, software development
Industrial projects: factory expansion, new business
Infrastructure projects: sub way, sky train
Organizational projects: ISO9000,
Development projects: drug eradication, admin reform
Small and personal projects: BBA study, wedding party
Characteristics of a Project

Purpose
Temporary
Uniqueness
Dynamic
High Pressure and risks
Progressive elaboration

Examples of Project
Developing a new product or service
Constructing a building or facility
Running a product or awareness campaign
Developing or acquiring a new information system
Implementing a new business procedure or

process
Effecting a change in structure, staffing of an
organization
Building a water system for a community
Academic Projects (Semester Projects)

Project Management
Project:
Project is a unique, one time operational activity for a
system to be build.
Management:
Planning and action to manage some things to be done
with the schedule time at a minimum budget.
Project Management:
To manage a project with aiming to complete it within a
given budget and scheduled time.

Project Management
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools,

and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.

Project delivery needs:
On time
Within budget
To specifications
Managing a project includes:
Identifying requirements (specifications)
Establishing clear and achievable objectives (scope)
Balancing the competing demands for scope, time, cost and quality
Adapting the specifications, plans, approaches and meeting the
expectations of the various stakeholders.

Importance of Project Management:

Compression of the product life cycle
Global competition
Knowledge explosion
Increased customer focus
Rapid development of third world economy

Comparing with general management:

GM is committed to the continuation of the business whereas PM
is committed to the completion of the business
GM involves more repetitive activities, with lessons learned reapplied
GM teams are more stable, while project teams frequently
change

Project Management and the

Project Manager
The Functional Manager
Manager

vs. The Project

Functional

managers are usually specialists,

analytically oriented and they know the details of
each operation for which they are responsible

Project managers must be generalists that can

oversee many functional areas and have the

ability to put the pieces of a task together to form
a coherent whole

Project Management and Project Manager

The Functional Manager
Analytical Approach
Direct, technical supervisor
The Project Manager
Systems Approach
Facilitator and generalist

BENEFITS OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

Better Control Better Customer Relations

Shorter Development Costs
Lower Costs
Higher Quality & Reliability
Higher Profit
Higher Morale
Better Intercompany Coordination

Difference Between PM and OM

Project Management
Has a start and end date
Unique and separate work
One time resource configuration
Focus on change
Should have a primary sponsor

Operations Management
Repetitive work
Existing Systems
Reliance on standard procedure
Focus on maintaining
Efficiency and effectiveness

Project Management Framework

Project Management Processes
Initiating processes
Planning processes
Executing processes
Monitoring and controlling processes
Closing processes

PM Process Group

Guideline for Time Spent on each

Process Group
The best or alpha project managers spend more

time on every process group than their

counterparts except for execution, as follows:
Initiating: 2% vs. 1%
Planning: 21% vs. 11%
Executing: 69% vs. 82%
Controlling: 5% vs. 4%
Closing: 3% vs. 2%1*

*Andy Crowe, Alpha Project Managers: What the Top 2% Know That Everyone Else Does Not,
Velociteach Press(2006).

Project Strategic Need

A market demand (e.g., an oil company authorizes a project to build a

new refinery in response to chronic gasoline shortages)

An organizational need (e.g., a training company authorizes a project

to create a new course in order to increase its revenues)

A customer request (e.g., an electric utility authorizes a project to

build a new substation to serve a new industrial park)

A technological advance (e.g., a software firm authorizes a new

project to develop a new generation of video games after the

introduction of new game- playing equipment by electronics firms)
A legal requirement (e.g., a paint manufacturer authorizes a project

to establish guidelines for the handling of a new toxic material).

PM Knowledge Area

Nine knowledge areas including Project Integration Management

Scope Management
Project Scope Management is the process to

ensure that the project is inclusive of all the work

required, and only the work require, for successful
completion.
Primarily it is the definition and control of what IS

and IS NOT included in the project

This component is used to communicate
How the scope was defined
How the project scope will be managed
Who will manage the scope (e.g., PM, QA)
Change Control

Time Management
Completing the project within given time
Sequencing
Scheduling
Time estimation
Project progress with time monitoring

Cost Management
The processes required to ensure the project is

completed within the approved budget and

includes:
Resource Planning - The physical resources
required (people, equipment, materials) and
what quantities are necessary for the project

Full Time Employees, Professional Services, Cost,

and Contingency

Budget

Budget estimates
Project Actuals

Quality Management
Quality Management is the processes that

insure the project will meet the needs via:

Quality Planning, Quality Assurance, and

Quality Control
Clearly Defined Quality Performance Standards
How those Quality and Performance Standards are
measured and satisfied
How Testing and Quality Assurance Processes will
ensure standards are satisfied
Continuous ongoing quality control

Communications
Management
The processes necessary to ensure timely

and appropriate generation, collection,

dissemination, and storage of project
information using:

Communications planning: Determining the

needs (who needs what information, when they

need it, and how it will be delivered)
Information Distribution: Defining who and how
information will flow to the project stakeholders
and the frequency
Performance Reporting: Providing project
performance updates

Risk Management
Risk identification and mitigation strategy
When\if new risks arise
Risk update and tracking

HR Management
Procuring human resource to complete
the project

Project Integration
Management
Coordination process of planning,
implementing and controlling change

Procurement
Management
Procuring equipment and material
with cost and time efficient
manner

Tools and Techniques

Project management tools and techniques assist project

managers and their teams in various aspects of project

management
Note that a tool or technique is more than just a software

package
Specific tools and techniques include:
Project charters, scope statements (scope)
WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
Gantt charts, Network Diagrams, Critical Path Analyses (time)
Cost Estimate, Cost Budgeting (cost)
Quality Checklist (quality)
Status Report (Communication)

Skill Sets Needed by A

Project Manager
Effective communication
The exchange of information
Influencing the organization
The ability to 'get things done'
Leadership
Developing a vision and strategy, and Motivating people to achieve
that vision and strategy
Motivation
Energizing people to achieve high levels of performance and to
overcome barriers to change
Negotiation and conflict management
Conferring with others to come to terms with them or to reach an
agreement
Problem solving
The combination of problem definition, alternatives identification and
analysis, and decision-making.

The Vital Dozen for Project Managers

1.UNDERSTAND the context of project management.
2 .RECOGNIZE project team conflict as progress. Conflict is

unavoidable when dealing with a diverse group of people.

3. UNDERSTAND who the stakeholders are and what they want.

Be proactive and build good relationships with the stakeholders.

4 .ACCEPT the political nature of the organizations and use it to

your advantage.
5 .LEAD from the front. Good leaders know their limitations and

use their subordinates strengths. Asking them questions and

giving them confidence to give managers exact and definite
answers, no guessing, no vague answers.
6. UNDERSTAND what success means. The satisfaction of the

client is what determines if the project was a success or not.

The Vital Dozen for Project Managers

7. BUILD and maintain a cohesive team.
8. ENTHUSIASM and despair are both infectious.
9. ONE look forward is worth two looks back. Always

ask "What if?" Use preventative methods and

constantly be looking for set backs or issues with the
development of the project at its current state.
10. REMEMBER what you are trying to do.
11. USE time carefully or it will use you.
12 .ABOVE all, plan, plan, plan.

Selecting the Project

Manager
Some of the most popular attributes, skills,

and qualities that have been sought in

project managers are:
Strong technical background
Hard-nosed manager
A mature individual
Someone who is currently available
Someone on good terms with senior executives
A person who can keep the project team happy
One who has worked in several different

departments
A person who can walk on (or part) the waters

Selecting the Project

Manager
Four major categories of skills that are

required for the project manager and serve as

the key criteria for selection:
Credibility
Sensitivity
Leadership and management style
Ability to handle stress

Credibility
The project manager needs two kinds of

credibility:
Technical credibility - perceived by the client,

senior executives, the functional departments,

and the project team as possessing sufficient
technical knowledge to direct the project
Administrative credibility - keeping the
project on schedule and within costs and making
sure reports are accurate and timely. Must also
make sure the project team has material,
equipment, and labor when needed.

Sensitivity
There are several ways for project managers to

display sensitivity:
Understanding the organizations political structure
Sense interpersonal conflict on the project team or

between team members and outsiders

Does not avoid conflict, but confronts it and deals with it

before it escalates
Keeps team members cool
Sensitive set of technical sensors - ability to sense when

team members may try to sweep things under the rug

Leadership and Management Style

Leadership has been defined as:
interpersonal influence, exercised in situation and directed
through the communication process, toward the attainment of a
specified goal or goals.

Other attributes may include:

enthusiasm
optimism
energy
tenacity
courage
personal maturity

Ethical Issues
A project manager must also have a strong sense of

ethics. Some common ethical missteps are listed

below:
wired bids and contracts (the winner has been

predetermined)
buy-in (bidding low with the intention of cutting corners or
forcing subsequent contract changes)
kickbacks
covering for team members (group cohesiveness)
taking shortcuts (to meet deadlines or budgets)
using marginal (substandard) materials
compromising on safety
violating standards

Ability to Handle Stress

Four major causes of stress associated with the

management of projects:
1. Never developing a consistent set of procedures and

techniques with which to manage their work

2. Many project managers have too much on their plates
3. Some project managers have a high need to achieve
that is consistently frustrated
4. The parent organization is in the middle of major
change

Project Lifecycle
A collection of generally sequential project phases

whose name and number are determined by the control

needs of the organization or organization involved in the
project

Project life cycle definition determines the boundaries

of the project

It also determines about the transitional actions

Time Distribution of Project Effort

1-39
Figure
1-4

Projects in Contemporary
Organizations
Project Initiation
Project Planning
Project Execution

1-40

Projects in Contemporary
Organizations

Part I: Project Initiation

1-41

Projects in Contemporary Organizations

Strategic Management and Project Selection
The Project Manager
Managing Conflict and the Art of Negotiation
The Project in the Organizational Structure

Projects in Contemporary Organizations

Part II: Project Planning

1-42

Project Activity and Risk Planning

Budgeting: Estimating Costs and Risks
Scheduling
Resource Allocation

Project components:
Project team,
Project planning,
Project control.
Project team :
Skilled manpower/Human resources need to complete the project work in
scheduled time and budget. It is one of the key resources need to
operate the project.
Project planning:
It is the planning of work to be done within the scope of project work.
The empirical formula of project planning
PP= (DO,ID,WR,ET,PCO,CPSO,RR)
Where,
DO- Define project objective
ID- Identify project objective
WR- Relation among the work
ET- Estimated working time for each step
PCOProject schedule objective
CPSO -Compare project schedule objective
RR- Identify requirement of Resources

Projects in Contemporary Organizations

Part III: Project Execution

1-44

Monitoring and Information Systems

Project Control
Project Auditing
Project Termination

Project control:
The main parameters of project control are;
To be identify whether all components are included in the
planning
Whether require resources are identified
To be checked whether all components of work are moving
as per scheduled time and budget within the available
resources.

Project management tools:

1. Gantt chart
2. CPM-Critical Path Methods
3. PERT Project Evaluation and Review Technique.

DISCUSSION MALADROIT
COSMATIC COMPANY
The plant manager must replace several machines
as they became obsolete. He is about to take a
delivery of six machines at total cost of 4 mil dollar.
These must be installed to start operation in six
months. The project is very important but he is
currently engaged in several projects. He has three
choices
He can handle the project informally outside the
office
He can assign the project to a member of his staff
The manufacturing company can handle the
project at a fee close to installation cost

46

Questions are...
Which of these choices you recommend and

why?
If the project was one small machine with a
total cost of 4000 dollar, would your answer
be different?

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