Information Technology

Project Management History

Project Management History Even before the time of the Pyramids humankind has had to devise
plans for completing set projects. Project Management is not a new concept. Even in the time of
the Ancient Egyptians a form of project management was needed to coordinate the construction
of the great pyramids. Modern project management tools were, however, not developed until the
early 1900s with the creation of the GANTT chart method. Further refinement in project
management tools came about in the 1950s with the development of the Critical Path Method
(CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). These three tools form the basis
for documenting and managing the progress of projects. All of these tools produce graphical
representations of projects, and all current project management software includes these
components.
Interviews with Project Managers
Interviews with Project Managers Clarke Stevenson coordinated the development of a resource
for international students at Monash University. He answered some questions about his role as a
Project Manager. Vanessa Duis, 29, works as a Project Manager coordinating CD-ROM and
Internet content. She works to extremely tight deadlines within a multimedia organization
alongside a variety of developers, designers, film-makers, authors and editors. Read her
comments about how Project Management techniques are used within the multimedia industry.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT READING MATERIAL: PART 1

Project Management
To study Project Management, we have to define what projects are and describe how they arise.
This reading material will concentrate on describing what a project is, and how it can arise as a part
of a planning process, as a response to a changing environment, as a business opportunity, as a
problem or as a newly identified requirement.
Projects are very diverse, and may range from one or two people making an effort over a few days
or weeks to dozens or even hundreds of people working over a period of years.
Click on the links below to download and read extra material on project management. This material
will open in a new tab/window beside this one.

Test your understanding. Print out the following summary sheet then fill in the blank
spaces to complete the document. Answers are provided on page two.
A. Introduction to Project Management
Project Management requires the organization of three things: (1). , (2). and
(3). . Project managers are concerned with how to get a particular job done. The jobs, or
projects, coordinated by project managers have set activities that are required to meet stated
(4). . The first documented Project Management techniques were in the early 1900s with the
development of the (5). chart method. The principles of Project Management were refined
further in the 1950s with the development of the (6). Path Method (CPM) and the Program
(7). and (8). Technique (PERT).
B. The Phases of Project Management
Project management is characterised by four specific stages. These distinct steps are: (1).,
Planning and (2)., (3). and, lastly, Monitoring and (4). . During the

Investigation phase the initial (5). of the project takes place and goals and (6) .
are identified. At the end of this phase a project
(7) . is given to the project team or project manager. During the Planning and Design phase
milestones and key time markers are identified to keep the project on
(8) . . It is also important during this phase to break the project into tasks or activities and to
define the (9).of each. The Production phase should provide a (10). project,
ready to be 'handed over to clients. In the final phase of Project Management, the Evaluation and
Monitoring phase, the (11). of the project is assessed. The project is assessed based on
(12).and (13) .factors.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Questions
1. What is the role of a Project Manager?
2. Why are project management techniques used by organisations?
3. When were the first project management techniques documented?
4. Project management methodology has four distinct phases. What are they?
5. What does Phase 1, the Investigation phase of project management, involve? Who undertakes this
phase?
6. List four steps in Phase 2, the Planning and Design Phase of project management.
7. What does Phase 3, the Production Phase of project management involve?
8. In the Evaluation and Monitoring phase of project management what questions might a Project
Manager address?

Answers
1. Project Managers concern themselves with how to get a particular job done. They organise people,
equipment and procedures in an appropriate way to get a project completed in time and within budget.
2. Project Management techniques ensure that organisational objectives and system objectives are met in
a timely, accurate, relevant and complete way. They provide the adequate control of people, resources and
procedures and clearly identify tasks that must be completed and the desired completion time.
3. The first documented techniques were in the early 1900s with the development of the GANTT chart
method.
4. Phase 1: Investigation
Phase 2: Planning and Design
Phase 3: Production
Phases 4: Monitoring and Evaluation
5. This phase involves the initial commissioning of the project, the identification of initial aims and goals
and investigation into the possible way the project can be completed. The Investigation phase is
undertaken by top-level management or strategic planners.
6. Choose from any of the following:
Defining the exact purpose of the project and clearly defining goals
Breaking the project into tasks or activities and defining the purpose of each

 Estimating the shortest and longest possible time required for each activity
Identifying milestones and key time markers in the project that keep the project on schedule
Determining the sequence of each activity and any constraints affecting the sequence
Deciding which activities should be completed before others can commence
Identifying activities that can be done simultaneously
Assigning resources, people, materials and equipment to activities
Costing of resources
Drawing up a calendar of events
7. This phases involves: providing resources, completing the set activities, monitoring, controlling and
recording the progress of the project on a GANTT chart, comparing current progress to the planned
schedule, updating and refining the schedule as required and monitoring resources to ensure there are no
problems meeting the budget.
8. The Project Manager might address issues of quality asking questions such as: How well it has the
project met the objectives? Is the final quality of the product satisfactory? The Manager might also
address issues of cost: Did the project stay within the budget specified? Lastly issues of time would be
considered: Did the project finish on or before the specified date? Was it the shortest possible time for the
project?

Test your understanding. Print out the following summary sheet then fill in the blank
spaces to complete the document.

A. Project Management Tools

A GANTT chart displays tasks along a (1).. time scale. GANTT charts should show the best
possible way to complete the task in the (2).. time. Activities can be done in (3).. or
sequentially, and the GANTT chart shows this clearly. PERT diagrams or critical path networks, on the
other hand, use a graphical form to show relationships between (4).. and (5)... . On
a PERT diagram network .. show the interdependence of events and the (6).. path is
used to show the sequence of events that have the sum of the longest duration. To allow for uncertainty
when organizations are estimating activity times, three estimates are provided, the (7) .. time,
the most (8) .. time and the (9).. time.

Answers

A. Project Management Tools

(1) horizontal
(2) shortest
(3) parallel
(4) activities
(5) time frame
(6) critical
(7) pessimistic
(8) probable
(9) optimistic

User
Novice

Documentation required by the user

Intermediate

Expert

User

Define this user group and give an example of an employee with

this level of involvement with the system

Experts

Specialists

Adjunct

Incidentals

Test your understanding. Print out the following summary sheet then fill in the blank
spaces to complete the document. Answers are provided on page two.
Documentation is essential for the success of any (1) .. system. It helps those that interact with
the system by providing (2) .. or acting as a reference. Documentation (3) .. all the
details that will help current developers and users plus any futures ones. The software product should be
fully supported with technical documentation so that any programmer in the future can understand the
process and the (4) .. that was developed.

(5).. documentation involves developing and documenting all the process of system
development and includes such things as data dictionaries, data flow diagrams and all other design
documentation that occur throughout development. All equipment will be logged and all the technical
parts of the system must be documented for future reference, this would include things like a network (6)
. .
(7) ..documentation involves developing a set of (8) ..that assist the user to use the
system, software or hardware being implemented. It would usually include items such as (9) ..
manuals, (10) .. guides, (11) .. cards, frequently asked questions, etc.
(12) .. based documentation is the traditional form of user documentation.
(13) .. manuals are the most common form of paper based documentation as they go through, in
simple steps, the tasks that the end user would perform on a daily basis. However, over the last few years,
(14) .. documentation has become a popular way to give employees and/or end users the help
and assistance they require.
When documenting processes it is important to identify the each users documentation requirements.
Users are normally categorised by their level of knowledge into one of three groups: (15) ..,
(16).. and (17) .. . Users can also be categorized by their level of involvement with the
system into the following four groups: expert, specialists, (18) .. and (19)

DOCUMENTATION
Questions
1. Why is documentation essential to the success of any information system?
2. Explain at least three types of documentation.

Answers
1. Documentation informs and explains the system. It helps those that interact with the system by
providing training or acting as a reference guide.
2. System and Technical Documentation: involves developing and documenting all the processes of
system development and includes such things as data dictionaries, data flow diagrams and all other design
documentation that produced throughout development.
User documentation: involves developing a set of documents that assist the user use the system, software
or hardware being implemented. It normally consists of a set of paper-based and online facilities to train
or help the user.
Paper-based documentation: is the traditional form of user documentation. It consists of manuals and
reference guides that are usually available in the computer section of local bookstores or libraries. It
includes in-house documents. User manuals are the most common form of paper-based documentation.
Online documentation: is usually a help manual in electronic form that takes advantage of hypertext and
other multimedia elements.
Other forms of documentation include: videos, web sites and multimedia packages that provide the end
users with the help they need.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT READING MATERIAL: PART 2

Project Feasibility
Undertaking a full assessment of whether a proposal is feasible or not is a substantial piece of work
and may even become a project in its own right. In the early days, a project manager may be
involved but sometimes is not. However, it is important for any project manager to understand the
processes by which proposals are evaluated and assessed.
At this point, let us assume that we have a project proposal, or quite probably several proposals, to
consider. We need to decide next whether any of them are worth pursuing further. We need
to assess their feasibility.
Click on the links below to download and read extra material on project feasibility. This material will
open in a new tab/window beside this one.

2-1 The Feasibility Study

2-2 Technical Feasibility
2-3 Financial Feasibility
2-4 Risk and Uncertainity
2-5 Summary
References and Acknowledgements

PROJECT MANAGEMENT READING MATERIAL: PART 3

Making decisions
Given a set of proposals for which the feasibility has been assessed, management must now decide
which proposals to pursue. What decision makers are looking for is the best option available.
Decisions are too often made on the basis of personal inclination and interest, for political reasons
enhancing the power or prestige of an individual or a group within the organisational hierarchy or
for better reasons but in the absence of full information about the possible risks and outcomes of the
decision. We now describe some factors to be considered and some methods that aid decision
making.
Click on the links below to download and read extra material on decision making in Project
Management. This material will open in a new tab/window beside this one.

3-1 A Model for Decision Making

3-2 Aids to Decision Making
3-3 Summary
References and Acknowledgements