Chapter 2 Project Management Fundamentals PDF

CHAPTER 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS ENGR. MARK ANDREW M. ALINGOG What is a project? The Project Management Institute (PMI) provides the following definition of a project: “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”...

CHAPTER 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS ENGR. MARK ANDREW M. ALINGOG What is a project? The Project Management Institute (PMI) provides the following definition of a project: “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.” - Like most organizational effort, the major goal of a project is to satisfy a customer’s need. The major characteristics of a project Project are as follows: 1. An established objective. - 2. A defined life span with a beginning and an end. 3. Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals. 4. Typically, doing something that has never been done before. 5. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements. What a Project Is Not Projects should not be confused with everyday work. A project is not routine, repetitive work! Ordinary daily work typically requires doing the same or similar work over and over, while a project is done only once; a new product or service exists when the project is completed. - Project - Program versus Project In practice, the terms project and program cause confusion. They are often used synonymously. A program is a group of related projects designed to accomplish a common goal over an extended period of time. Each project within a program has a project manager. The major differences lie in scale and time - span. Program management is the process of managing a group of Project ongoing, interdependent, related projects in a coordinated way to achieve strategic objectives. - According to the PMBOK Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge) by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a - project management life cycle consists of 5 distinct phases including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure Project that combine to turn a project idea into a working product. Lifecycle and Phases -  Project Management Body of Knowledge’s (PMBOK) Schedule Management knowledge area contains the following 6 processes: - 1. Plan Schedule Project Management 2. Define Activities Schedule 3. Sequence Activities 4. Estimate Activity - Durations 5. Develop Schedule 6. Control Schedule Plan Schedule Management is the process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how the project schedule will be managed throughout the project. This process is performed once or at predefined points in the project Define Activities is the process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables. The key benefit of this process is that it decomposes work packages into schedule activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling the project work. This process is performed throughout the project. Sequence Activities is the process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. The key benefit of this process is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints. This process is performed throughout the project. Sequence Activities is the process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. The key benefit of this process is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints. This process is performed throughout the project. Estimate Activity Durations is the process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources. The key benefit of this process is that it provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete. This process is performed throughout the project. Develop Schedule is the process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create a schedule model for project execution and monitoring and controlling. The key benefit of this process is that it generates a schedule model with planned dates for completing project activities. This process is performed throughout the project. Control Schedule is the process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project schedule and managing changes to the schedule baseline. The key benefit of this process is that the schedule baseline is maintained throughout the project. This process is performed throughout the project. Scheduling Tools Task lists This is the simplest scheduling technique and works for small projects without a lot of interdependencies. However, for larger projects, it may not be the right choice as tracking the progress can become a major challenge. The task list contains the list of tasks and subtasks along with the team members assigned to do them. An online project management software can come in handy when you’re using task lists. Scheduling Tools Calendar The calendar can be used to depict the project timelines of all the tasks throughout the course of the project. It’s a decent approach to view overlaps between activities. But, this approach suffers from an inability to assign tasks and view dependencies. Scheduling Tools Gantt charts A Gantt chart is the most common tool used by project managers to visualize the timelines and dependencies in a project. You can get a quick estimate of the time required to complete every task. The chart shows all the tasks, represented by bars, when they’re set to start and end, how long each task will last, task dependencies, and where there are overlaps.