Project Management Fundamentals

What is a Project?

• A project involves a set of activities aimed at creating original products, services, or results within a specific timeframe.
• Projects create an original product, service, or result.
• They have a specific start and end date.
• Goals and objectives are clearly defined in projects.
• Projects are typically accomplished with limited resources.
• They progress through initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closing.

What is a Successful Project?

• Success is achieving the predetermined scope within the determined quality.
• Success is achieving the predetermined scope within the determined time.
• Success is achieving the predetermined scope within the determined budget.

Conditions for an Unsuccessful Project

• Not working as a cohesive team.
• Poor communication with stakeholders.
• Inadequate planning.
• Having an unsuccessful manager.
• Misunderstanding the project's scope.
• Having insufficient resources.
• Failure in risk management.
• Lack of authorization.
• Absence of change management.
• Unclear goals and priorities.
• Lack of defined roles and responsibilities.

Project Constraints

• Time (Schedule): The project's duration.
• Cost (Resources): The financial resources allocated to the project.
• Scope (Targeted Results): The project's goals and deliverables.
• Quality (Performance): The standard of excellence expected from the project outcomes.

Why is a Project Done?

• To meet the demands of the market.
• To capitalize on strategic opportunities and address business needs.
• To respond to customer needs.
• To incorporate technological developments. Examples include making a more economical tool using technology.
• To comply with legal obligations, such as establishing a toxin removal system in the chemical industry.

What is Project Management?

• Project Management involves planning, organizing, and monitoring resources (workforce, cost, time, tools).
• Project Management takes necessary precautions to achieve the desired targets and outputs.
• Project Management operates within a specified time and budget.

Project Management Explained

• Projects are undertaken to achieve specific goals.
• Projects have a start and end date, with some flexibility.
• The purpose is to create beneficial change or add value.
• The main goal of project management is to stay within project constraints while meeting objectives.
• Typical project constraints: scope, time, and budget.

Traditional Project Management Approaches

• Project completion requires a series of steps.
• Project Initiation Phase: the process of starting a new project.
• Project Planning and Design Phase: involves creating a roadmap for the project.
• Project Execution and Construction Phase: puts the plan intro action.
• Project Monitoring and Control Phase: tracking and correcting the project's progress.

Roles in Project Management

• Project Financier: Provides or releases resources for the project.
  • Often a general manager or director.
  • Responsible for feasibility research and validation.
• Project Manager: Responsible for the project from start to end.
  • Leads the project management team.
  • Skills: leadership, planning, communication, and diplomacy.
• Project Leader: A chief expert in a specific area of the project. In some cases this will be the Project Manager themselves.
• Project Team: people working on the project.

Responsibilities of the Project Manager

• Identifying and providing necessary resources.
• Managing the project in accordance with objectives/purposes, satisfying stakeholders.
• Preparing a detailed project plan.
• Organizing the team and maintaining motivation.
• Identifying and managing potential risks by preparing mitigation plans.
• Monitoring operating times, costs, and quality, taking corrective action as needed.
• Establishing and executing the reporting system to keep stakeholders informed.
• Creating comprehensive documentation and test mechanisms.
• Establishing clear communication channels with stakeholders.
• Managing changes effectively and efficiently.

PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) Guide

• PMI (Project Management Institute) methodology examines project management.
• PMI methodology examines project management in 10 knowledge areas.
• The PMBOK guide promotes effective project management and project success.
• Integration Management: Includes the processes and activities to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various project management processes.
• Scope: Ensures the project includes all the work required and only the work required to complete the project successfully.
• Schedule: Includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of the project.
• Cost: Includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget.
• Resource: Includes the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the project.
• Quality: Includes the processes for incorporating the organization's quality policy regarding planning, managing, and controlling project and product quality requirements to meet stakeholders' expectations.
• Risk: Includes the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, response implementation, and monitoring risk on a project.
• Communication: Includes the processes required to define, manage, and control the project communications needs as defined by the stakeholders.
• Stakeholder: Includes the processes required to identify all people or organizations impacted by the project, analyzing their expectations and their impact on the project, and developing appropriate management strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project decisions and execution.
• Procurement: Includes the processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the project team.