Project Management Introduction

Introduction to Projects and Project Management

• Businesses face numerous opportunities and threats in today's complex environment requiring them to spot opportunities and use their strengths effectively.
• The inability to recognize and utilize opportunities can lead to failure.
• Projects, along with project management, allow businesses to develop ideas into products improving the business.
• Project management emerged to cater to the dynamic needs of customers through continuous product development.

Defining a Project

• Project definitions vary among project management scholars, and are distinct from processes.
• Processes refer to ongoing, routine activities within an organization.
• Projects are defined as planned works, executed by people with resources, and are usually planned and controlled with a defined beginning and end.
• Jeffrey Pinto defines a project as a unique venture with a clear start and end.
• Projects are conducted by people to achieve goals related to cost, schedule and quality.
• Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) guide or the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as a temporary endeavor to create a product or service.
• Projects distinguish themselves from processes by taking place outside normal routine procedures and aim to complete specific objectives within defined specifications.
• Projects are complex and time-bound, requiring coordinated efforts from various members of an organization and having a beginning and end date.
• Projects are undertaken to fulfill an objective, such as building a stadium, and dissolve once the objective is met.
• Constrained by budget, time constraints, and resources, projects operate on budgets and are designed for a stated period.
• This requires members to operate within limitations to financials, human and other resources for the duration of the project.
• J.K Pinto describes projects as “resource-constrained” activities
• Projects are made to achieve a clearly stated goal, activities without a purpose are not projects.
• Projects also have a specific purpose and tangible results to achieve, like building a stadium, road etc

Projects Are Customer-Oriented

• Projects are carried out to satisfy stakeholders, whether they are customers buying products or citizens being served by their governments.
• Customer satisfaction is now seen as a primary goal for projects.
• Neglecting customer satisfaction risks commercial failure even if technical specifications and other requirements are met.

Project Characteristics

• Projects are generally not traditional.
• They are usually initiated for a specified time period and are temporary.
• Projects are building blocks for implementing organizational strategies.
• They deliver the newest products and offer a philosophy for change management.
• Project management goes beyond functional and organizational limits.
• Projects involve teams from different functional departments sometimes across organizations.
• Organizations adopt projects to gain benefits.

Why Projects Are Important

• Projects and project management are vital for organizations and nations because they enable organizations to respond to threats, while taking advantage of opportunities.
• The importance of project management stems from the threats organizations face.
• The product lifecycles are constantly shortening which means organizations must efficiently launch new products.
• The product launch-windows are continually narrowing which means knowing when to introduce a new product is vital.
• An increasing demand of complex products puts pressure on companies to keep developing more and higher performing products.
• Globalization has lead to emergence of global markets.
• Intense competition in markets requires firms to improve products, processes and reduce costs, which is achieved using the project management approach.
• Project management offers tools to recognize opportunities, and mitigate global business environment threats.
• Low inflation offers a great opportunity for companies to introduce new products as it helps to maximize profits. Slow price increase means a price can be obtained that covers the production cost.

Projects Vs. Processes

• Projects should be separated from organizational processes to fully benefit from project management.
• Projects often fail or are delayed when they intertwine with organizational processes.
• Projects are different to processes which are ongoing and produces the daily output.
• Project processes are often affected by a culture of apathy, red tapism that slows things down
• Projects are one-time activity to achieve a specific goal that when achieved is terminated.
• Projects should take place outside the process world and should not be subjected to ongoing day-to-day activities

Project Elements

• Projects are initiated for a specific reason with issues/problems varying in features.
• No two projects are the same, they may be similar but are complex, and differ in land, condition etc.
• Projects are one-time, they serve a specific purpose that when achieved are terminated
• Projects are limited in their budget, schedule and resources. They also don't have unlimited budgets
• A project should be developed to solve a clear problem, deliverable or a set of problems
• Projects are customer-focused

Project Characteristics

• Projects are temporary, ad hoc endeavors that are operationalized to provide a means for companies to meet company goals through organizational strategies
• Projects are non-traditional, initiated only as needed for a specific period with a well-known development cycle.
• Projects help companies innovate on services, products and organizational processes

Philosophy and Strategy

• Projects provide both a philosophy and a strategy for managing change in an organization.
• Change is hard but implementing a temporary changes through organization projects makes things easier.
• People will be more accepting of change using a project by showcasing its benefits and success
• Since projects are temporary, the organization can introduce the change as temporary then if successful promote the employees to follow with the changes
• Project management crosses functional and organizational boundaries improving team structure
• Executing a project requires engineers, finance, marketing personnel to successfully develop a product.
• Project structure consists of customer satisfaction, scheduled constraints, and technical cost

Project Life Cycle

• Projects go through 4 stages: conceptualization, planning, execution and termination
• Goal defined at conceptualization, technical specifics, resources used and organizational contributors are determined
• During the planning state, details are worked out and developed. The specifics of specifications, project management plan, procurement, HR plan are done.
• Project work is executed during execution stage through the labor of the project team and personnel. Most of the budget is used at this point
• Project Termination occurs after completion once handed over, resources are released and the project is formally closed
• The man-hours needed create a near normal distribution curve at the conceptualization, gradually pick up, peak during execution and taper off towards the end

Pinto's Project Evaluation

• Pinnacle (2010) identified project lifecycle as a useful mechanism for visualizing activities and challenges during the project.
• Pinnacle identified 5 components that can change over the course of the project: Customer interest, project stake, resources, creativity and uncertainty
• An intended customer/client expresses the level of concern or enthusiasm can be internal or external to the organization, and falls through as the client sees what started as an idea became reality

Project Stake

• The project stake is the amount of corporate investment in the project.
• The longer the project, the greater the investment.

Resources

• Resources are the financial, human and technical commitment over the life of the project.
• Conditions change so some additional resources are needed.

Creativity

• Creativity refers to the degree of innovation required by the project especially during certain development phases.

Uncertainty

• Uncertainty is the degree of risk associated with projects that becomes reduced as the projects travel and are identified or countered.

Project Success Factors

• Determinants of project success refer to the factors with which project success can be judged. It is an elusive thing.
• The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) identified that project is successful when time, cost and scope is within budget.
• The success of the project is when it’s finished within the estimated time.
• The success of the project is when any project must meet the amount of budgeted allowances used
• The success of the project is when the activities are carried out before a project can be described.

The Triple Constraint

• It was once the standard assessed for project success. Time Schedule, Scope and Cost and can be represented by an equilateral triangle.
• The constraints are what need to be in place from start to finish in order for the project and team to stay on schedule.

Client Acceptance

• The idea of client acceptance is the addition to having determinants of project successes, and is understanding for the project to satisfy the customers needs.

Quadruple Constriant

• The new quadruple represents that the constraints affect each other. The categories can be looked at as internal and "external" and the internal constraints would be the project and or the time used.

Project Success Dimentions

• Project success measured extent of what project meets for different facits of project.
• That project meets/better existing product, introduce something and induce the activity.
• The four commonly referred to for success are efficiency, impact, success and potential.
• Meeting triple constraints is project efficiency.
• Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is the project's impact.
• A good business objective is the business success of the company.
• Future potential is referring to determining the impact, opportunities and how they will imply helping the organization

Benefits of Project Management Approach

• Effective project management requires intensive planning and coordination between the different functional groups.
• Employing coordination and workflow to generate effectiviness, productivity, and efficiency
• The PM approach uses horizontal management. Which means extensive planning leads to more organized, productivity, more effectiveness
• Improving team and internal operations with different views (horizontally and vertically) helps make internal operations flow smoother
• Businesses become aware of external opportunities more rapidly, using what makes them remain profitable. Effective coordination and planning which are cornerstones of the PM approach,
• Using tools allows breaking new ground, with technology being useful for breaking through, and that can help in product and activities
• Project Management streamline product development that ensure effective planning.

Management Needs

• Efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability are associated w/ project management, which will lead to competition, quality, financials and social
• PM help in business survive as they can see and advantages before others
• Sophisticated customers want good products as cost reduction, project helps, that is made better in companies as efficiency and collaboration increase
• Projects use efficient methods, reduce idleness and use team work
• Projects look at enviromental impacts as they coordinate all social engagements and plan.

Project Management Framework

• The Project Management Framework is project management basic discipline describing where a project is operating
• It contains the concept of the triple constraint (which has already been talk about briefly), the project life cycles in detail, the influence curve, and the project management organizational structure.

The Triple Constraint

• Projects are are preformed under many constraints like time, cost and scope
• They require trade-offs/ altering some decisions to fulfill the project objectives, it help determine success
• Those 3 requirements help in knowing project’s increased perforce may hurt other areas
• The constraints are shown on an equaliteral Triangle
• Time, increased for project=more money spent to complete
• Additional scope= more sources or time to complete

The Influence Curve

• The Influence curve describes the ability if stakeholders to bring change in the project's lifetime
• A projects progress and the degree of stakeholders influence are inversely proportional
• The influence curve describes how the impact or cost of change grows and begins smaller

Organizational Structure Forms

• In Smooth Operation the Org. Structure has big influence of culture. Project management is is adopted depends on ease of facility as resources.
• 4 org structures used today are Functional, Weak, Project / Projectized, strong

Functional Organizational Structure

• It's more of hierarchical Nature, with each eployees are in Functional depts with administration
• Hierarchies mean clear superviors, reporting and more
• Members that identified still stay in their functional area
• Project Managers typically have to get authority to engage in a member from any unit. So, It's like a subordinate
• The Project has ultimate authority but use PC a staff of assistant to the executive. Normal this area shouldn't be project front

Projectize Organizational Structure

• Project Team in Colatted in subunit is a management office called PMP.
• Structures of Most organizations adapt Exclusive and aiming running project
• Firm Assigns resources to projects for a given time being

Matrix Organizational

• Its a combination of functional and projectized structure with the focus time is balanced
• Resources assigned/time by function. But, in Project has dual hierarchy and the most with project and supervisor

Weak Matrix Structure

• Under resources assigned is weak resources is under functional more than office
• Control over resources and maintain components
• A weak structure can lead schedule, update and functional with administrators etc

Project vs Strong Matrix

• Stronger resources in project the power shift
• Under control as project is assigned with some control.

Project Management Process

• The (PMI) has produced the standard with many processing for managing projects, but, PM or PMT don't have to use always
• The processes should be applied in projects
• the defined outcome can be achieved by related activities
• The Process groups is nine which can be located in the Project Body of Knowledge

Processes

• PMBOK has 44 processes and 5 broad processes documented which can be used to control the quality or manage project.

Project Management Processes

• Initiating is to clearly define the project for authorization after resources required
• Planning occurs when objectives are clear and refined
• The Stage in acquiring human resources, manage, and direct projects
• Progress is measured and necessary for VACANCIES
• This process involves activities the project ends with an orderly fashion