Project Management Methodologies

Motivations for Project Management

• Weak PM practices are still present, especially in construction organizations
• Poorly managed projects cost an estimated $122 million for every $1 billion invested
• Management schools are now preparing well-rounded PM professionals in project management.
• PM professional codes and standards exist

Observations on Project Management

• Some organizations don't know how their PM practices compare to best practices
• Some organizations are unconvinced of the value of PM practices

Methodological selection process

• The process Includes selecting global PM standards, followed by the use of those PM standards within the construction industry
• You have to then list the best PM practices from selected standards (processes, competences, and tools)
• The next step is to map and then finally to integrate the best PM Practices

Project Management Standards Used in Construction

• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by the Project Management Institute(PMBOK/PMI)
• COMPETENCE BASELINE-3 by the International Project Management Association (IPMA)
• PRINCE2 (Project in a Controlled Environment by the UK Government)
• ISO 9000 (International Association for Standardization)

Project Scope Management

• Integrated Framework and Mapping for Project Scope Management utilizes the PMBOK Guide, ICB3, PRINCE2, and ISO 9001:2008

Project Management Definitions

• Project: A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result with a start and finish date
• Project Management: Applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
• Project Manager: The person assigned to lead the project team and achieve project objectives
• Leadership: The attitude, talent, character, and behavior to influence individuals for desired outcomes (PMI, 2021)
• Construction Operations: Any activity supporting construction, demolition, erection, remodeling, or structural repair on land
• Stakeholder: Anyone affected by a project's decisions or outcomes

Project Coordinator

• An assistant to the Project Manager in estimating work scope, requesting subcontractor quotations, document control, processing shop drawings, and preparing subcontracts/POs
• They measure/quantify changes, process RFIs, Sls, CCOs, COS & CDS, and create/maintain project schedules
• The coordinator role can evolve into Junior Project Manager, then Project Manager and eventually, VP of Construction or a contractor

Project Management Principles

• Be a diligent, respectful, and caring steward
• Create a collaborative project team environment
• Effectively engage with stakeholders
• Focus on value
• Recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions
• Demonstrate leadership behaviours
• Tailor based on context
• Build quality into processes and deliverables
• Navigate complexity
• Optimize risk responses
• Embrace adaptability and resiliency
• Enable change to achieve the envisioned future state

Project Performance Domains

• Stakeholders
• Team
• Development Approach and Life Cycle
• Planning
• Project Work
• Delivery
• Measurement
• Uncertainty

Stakeholders Performance Domain

• Desired outcomes involves stakeholders maintaining productive relationships
• There must be stakeholder agreement with project objectives
• The project needs to support satisfied project beneficiaries, and mitigate negativity from opposing stakeholders

Stakeholder Engagement

• Key aspects include identifying, understanding, and analyzing factors like power, impact, attitude, expectations, influence, proximity, and interest
• Its important to prioritize, engage and monitor stakeholders

Team Performance Domain

• Teams must have shared ownership
• Teams need to be high-performing
• Applicated includes leadership plus interpersonal skills

Interpersonal Skills of Project Management Teams

• Emotional Intelligence is about self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills
• Decision Making skills are essential
• Conflict Management is important for respectful communication, focusing on issues not people, future focus, and exploring all options

Development Approach and Life Cycle

• Predictive Approach: Utilized when project requirements are well-defined at the outset
• Adaptive Approach: It is best suited for volatile project requirements that often change
• Hybrid Approach: Combines adaptive and predictive approaches when projects face uncertainty and risk

Life Cycle Phases

• Feasibility
• Design
• Build
• Test/Deploy/Owner Takeover
• Close

Planning Performance Domain

• The project progresses in an organized, coordinated, and deliberate manner
• A holistic approach is used to deliver outcomes
• Planning ensures efficient elaboration and use of evolving information
• Also ensures time and information are optimized to manage stakeholder exceptions
• A process needs to be put in place to effectively adapt plans based on conditions and emerging project requirements

Project Work Performance Domain

• The desired outcomes are efficient and effective project performance.
• There should be a project that is appropriate for, and respectful of, the environament
• Communication with stakeholders needs to be prioritised
• Efficient management of physical resources is essential
• The project team must have capability due to conitnuous learning and progress/process improvements

Delivery Performance Domain

• Projects contribute to business strategy advancement; deliver realized outcomes within planned timeframes
• Deliverables are understood and stakeholders are accepting, satisfied of them

Measurement Performance Domain

• A reliable understanding of the status of the project
• Actionable data to facilitate decision making
• Timely and appropriate actions including keeping project performance on track
• Targets should be achieved to generate value by making informed forecasts

Uncertainty Performance Domain

• An awareness of the environment is required, including political, technological, social, market, and economic factors
• The project team must proactively explore/respond to the nature of the environment
• A project needs the capacity to anticipate threats, opportunities, and their issues
• Projects need to keep in mind little or no project effects from unforeseen/external conditions
• Cost and schedule reserves are utilized and aligned with project objectives to maintain balance

Critical Success Factors Definition(CSF)

• A CSF is an element that greatly impacts stakeholder perception of a project's outcome
• An integrated PM framework identifies best practices; weighting based on construction literature analysis

Seven Critical Success Factors in Construction

• Project success hinges on a multidisciplinary/competent project team, time performance, clear objectives/scope, formal contractor selection, competent project management and communication
• 89 research papers reviewed; Nguyen, L., et al. (2004) - studied multidisciplinary/competent project teams and interviewed 109 project managers

Project Management

• High PM implementation correlates with better project results; PM assessment tools were developed to explore best practices
• Strong correlation exists between effective PM implementation and: cost, time and client satisfaction