Course Name: Project Management

Module 1: Introduction to Projects

Introduction
A project is a group of unique, interrelated activities that are planned and executed in a
certain sequence to create a unique product or service, within a specific time frame, budget
and the client’s specifications. Some of the characteristics of the tasks that qualify to be a
project are: uniqueness, specificity of goal, sequence of activities, specified time and
interrelatedness. Projects are carried out under many resource constraints and their success
depends on the ability of the manager to manage these constraints effectively. Project
management is the application of the knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations.
Every project has a set of activities that are unique, which means it is the first time that an
organization handles that type of activity. These activities do not repeat in the project under
similar circumstances i.e., there will be something different in every activity or even if the
activity is repeated, the variables influencing it change every time.

Definition of Project Management

Project management is the discipline of organizing and managing resources in such a way
that these resources deliver all the work required to complete a project within defined scope,
time, and cost constraints. A project is a temporary and one time endeavour undertaken to
create a unique product or service. This property of being a temporary and one time
undertaking contrasts with processes, or operations, which are permanent or semi-permanent
ongoing functional work to create the same product or service over-and-over again. The
management of these two systems is often very different and requires varying technical skills
and philosophy, hence requiring the development of project management first challenge of
project management is ensuring that a project is delivered within the defined constraints. The
second, more ambitious, challenge is the optimized allocation and integration of the inputs
needed to meet those predefined objectives. The project, therefore, is a carefully selected set
of activities chosen to use resources to meet the predefined objectives.
As a discipline, Project Management developed from several different fields of application,
including construction, mechanical engineering, military projects, etc. In the United States,
the forefather of project management is Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control
techniques, who is famously known for his use of the “bar” chart as a project management
tool, for being an associate of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theories of scientific management,
and for his study of the work and management of Navy ship building. His work is the
forerunner to many modern project management tools, including the work breakdown
structure and resource allocation. The 1950’s mark the beginning of the modern project
management era. Again, in the United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on
an ad hoc basis using mostly Gantt Charts, and informal techniques and tools. At that time,
two mathematical project scheduling models were developed:
1. The “Program Evaluation and Review Technique” or PERT, developed as part
of the United States Navy’s Polaris missile submarine program; and
2. The “Critical Path Method” (CPM) developed in a joint venture by both
DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant
maintenance projects.
In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed to serve the interest of the
project management industry. The premise of PMI is that the tools and techniques of project
management are common even among the widespread application of projects from the
software industry to the construction industry. In 1981, the PMI Board of Directors
authorized the development of what has become the Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge, containing the standards and guidelines of practice that are widely used
throughout the profession.

Various Definitions of Project Management

“Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad
range of activities in order to meet the requirements of the particular project. A project is a
temporary endeavour undertaken to achieve a particular aim. Project management knowledge
and practices are best described in terms of their component processes. These processes can
be placed into five Process Groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling and Closing.”
scrc.ncsu.edu/public/DEFINITIONS/P%20-%20R.html
“The leadership role which plans, budgets, coordinates, monitors and controls the operational
contributions of property professionals, and others, in a project involving the development of
land in accordance with a client’s objectives in terms of quality, cost and time.”
narains.com/glossary.htm
“A controlled process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project.”
www.cbu.edu/lschmitt/I351/glossary.htm
“Both a process and set of tools and techniques concerned with defining the project’s goal,
planning all the work to reach the goal, leading the project and support teams, monitoring
progress, and seeing to it that the project is completed in a satisfactory way.”
www.shapetomorrow.com/resources/p.html
“The application of modern management techniques and systems to the execution of a project
from start to finish, to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, quality, time and cost, to
the equal satisfaction of those involved.”
oit.osu.edu/projmanage/glossary.html
“Project management is concerned with the overall planning and coordination of a project
from inception to completion aimed at meeting the client’s requirements and ensuring
completion on time, within cost and to required quality standards. Project management is
typically carried out either by a private consultant or an employee of the project client.”
www.ecbp.org/glossary.htm
“Manages the production of projects with schedules and tasks associated with the project. It
often involves detailed expertise in many of the following areas: planning, cost management,
contract negotiations/procurement, technical writing (proposals, etc.), research, technical
development, information/computer management, business development, corporate/
administrative management, time management, and others.”
www.organized-living.com/industryterms.html
“The methods and disciplines used to define goals, plan and monitor tasks and resources,
identify and resolve issues, and control costs and budgets for a specific project.”
www.bridgefieldgroup.com/glos7.htm
“May be used in a project manufacturing environment for production scheduling or in a
variety of one off projects throughout all types of organisation.”
www.homercomputer.com.au/homer_software_guide/glossary.htm
“The action of managing a project. It can involve many activities, from scheduling to
communication. Project Management in TOC is outcomes based as opposed to activity based,
and TPACC software is an ideal tool used to measure the progress toward the financial
outcome.” www.tpacc.com/knowledge_base_dictionary.htm
“Approach used to manage work with the constraints of time, cost and performance targets.”
www.mccombs.utexas.edu/faculty/Linda.Bailey/glossary.htm
“This is managing the resources needed to ensure that a project is finished on time and within
budget and to the satisfaction of the end user. Project managers use tools such as PERT and
Gantt charts for scheduling all the tasks that need to be completed. They are conscious of
managing time, scope and resources for a project. To reduce time to complete a project the
manager might decide to employ more workers which would increase costs.”
michaelmnz.tripod.com/dictionary.htm
“The planning, control and coordination of all aspects of a project, and the motivation of all
those involved in it, in order to achieve the project objectives.”
www.ams.mod.uk/ams/content/docs/ils/ils_web/glossary.htm
“Project management is the discipline of defining and achieving targets while optimizing the
use of resources (time, money, people, space, etc.). Thus, it could be classified into several
models: time, cost, scope, and intangibles.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project management
Project Management

The successful project management is all about structure, control, sufficient attention to detail
and continuously driving action. The role of the project manager is to understand enough
project management to apply its structure and ensure that project is successfully completed
within the time and cost required. The things you must do as a project manager are:
1. Ensure there is a clear understanding why a project is being done, and what it will
produce.
2. Plan the project – to understand how long it will take and how much it will cost.
3. Manage the project – to ensure that as the project progresses, it achieves the
objectives you have defined within the time and cost specified.
4. Complete the project properly – to make sure everything produced by the project is of
the quality expected and works as required.
Project Management has emerged because the characteristics of our turn-of-the-century
society demand the development of the new methods of management. Of the many forces
involved, three are paramount:
1. The exponential expansion of the human knowledge;
2. The growing demand for a broad range of complex, sophistically, customized goods
and services; and
3. The evolution of worldwide competitive markets for the production and consumption
of Notes goods and services.
All three forces combine to mandate the use of terms to solve problems that used to be
solvable by individuals. These three forces combine to increase greatly the complexity of
goods and services produced plus the complexity of the process used to produced them and
all this in turn leads to the need for more sophisticated systems to control both outcomes and
processes.
As the techniques of project management were developed, the use of project organization
began to spread. Private construction firms found that project organization was helpful on
smaller projects, such as the building of a warehouse or an apartment complex. Automotive
companies used project organization to develop new automobile models. Both General
Electric and Pratt & Whitney used project organization to develop new jet aircraft engines for
airlines, as well as the Air Force. Project management has even been used to develop new
models of shoes and ships.
More recently, the use of project management by international organizations, and especially
organizations producing services rather than products, has grown rapidly. Advertising
campaigns, global mergers, and capital acquisitions are often handled as projects, and the
methods have spread to the non-profit sector. Functions, weddings, fund drives, election
campaigns, parties, recitals etc. all make use of the principles of project management. Most
striking has been the widespread adoption of project management techniques for the
development of computer software.
Project Manager and his Responsibilities
According to Project Management Institute (PMI): “Project Management is the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed
stakeholder needs and expectations”.
Project Management is quite often the province and responsibility of an individual project
manager. This individual seldom participates directly in the activities that produce the end
result, but rather strives to maintain the progress and productive mutual interaction of various
parties in such a way that overall risk of failure is reduced.
A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the
exact needs of the client based on knowledge of the firm he/she is representing. The ability to
adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with
the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality
and above all client satisfaction, can be realized. Any type of product or service - buildings,
vehicles, electronics, computer software, financial services, etc. - may have its
implementation overseen by a project manager and its operations by a product manager.
The project manager needs to be an HRD expert who can motivate the workforce by training
and promoting leadership among them, and boost their morale by incentives and promotions.
He has to be conversant with the principles of organisation, and be a good judge of people
who has the ability to place the right man in the right job at the right time.
Social issues: A project can only be successful when there is no conflict between the
management and the local populace. Right from the acquisition of the project land to
recruitment to organisation to infrastructural facilities, the management has to interact with
the social fabric of the locale. It can only ensure a smooth functioning at the project site if
there is a ‘co operational’, and not a ‘confrontational’ environment. The management can
display its cordiality to the locals by, for instance, recruiting ‘the sons of the soil’ in the
workforce, which will not only be conducive to reciprocal cordiality of the populace, but
might actually make good business sense in employing labour that is familiar with the locale
and the conditions prevalent at the project site.

Functions of Project Manager

The functions are as follows:
1. Developing a unique product or process and manage change.
2. Identification of the need for project.
3. Finding different alternatives of the project.
4. Developing a plan of action.
5. Training operators.
6. Establishment of quality assurance cell to control quality.
7. Incorporation of changes as and when needed while implementing project.
8. Selection of suitable equipment.
 9. Finding suitable financial resources.
10. Assessment of alternatives and obtaining approval to proceed.
11. Measuring performance of the project.
12. Transfer of material, funds and settling all accounts after completion of project.
13. Monitoring progress and reporting to higher authorities.
14. Closing all records, submission of final report and transfer of responsibility after
completion of specified project.

PM as a Profession
Not all project managers are equally competent. Not all project managers have the ability to
run programs, establish PMOs, strategically align project portfolio’s, recover big projects, or
manage risk effectively. Not every doctor is capable of heart surgery. But doctor’s get paid
for being Notes doctors, have demonstrated considerable training and understanding, have
spent thousands of hours mastering their jobs. Doctor’s are professionals.
By any definition, Project Management is a profession.
It should be obvious to the reader that project management is a demanding job. Planning and
controlling the complexities of a project’s activities, schedule, and budget would be difficult
even if the project had the highest claim on the parent organization’s knowledge and
resources, and if the PM had full authority to take any action required to keep the project on
course for successful completion. Such is never the case, but all is not lost because there are
tools available to bring some order to the chaos of life as a PM—to cope with the difficulties
of planning and the uncertainties that affect budgets and schedules. Also, as we have
indicated, it is possible to compensate for missing authority through negotiation. Mastering
the use of project management tools requires specialized knowledge that is often acquired
through academic preparation, which is to say that project management is a profession. The
profession comes complete with career paths and an excellent professional organization.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) was founded in 1969. By 1990, the PMI had 7500
members. It grew to 17,000 by 1995, but five years later membership had exploded to more
than 64,000. By November 2009, the PMI had more than 300,000 members worldwide. The
exponential growth of the PMI is the result of the exponential growth in the use of projects
and PMs as a way of getting things done.
Example: A senior vice president of an international chemical firm installed project
management as a way of controlling the workloads on his technical specialists and on a few
overloaded facilities—project management having tools to handle the allocation of scarce
resources. In another instance, a new CEO of a large hospital mandated that all non-routine,
one time operations be managed as projects so that she could have information on the nature
and status of all such activities.

Selection of a Project Manager

The Selection of Project Manager depends on following points:
Problem Solving Skills
1. Does this person have a history of being able to solve complex problems?
2. Does this person have the attitude that a problem is an opportunity to learn?
Personal Leadership Style
1. Does this person have the communications and people skills appropriate for the mix
of people who will be required on this project?
2. Will this person encourage project team members to bring up problems rather than
play the blame game?
3. Does this person have excellent time management skills?
Organizational Experience
1. Does this person know how work gets done in this organization?
2. Is this person experienced in working in similar organizations and is that experience
transferable to this project?
3. Does this person know the politics of our organization and have the savvy to navigate
these situations?
Skills and Knowledge
1. Does this person have adequate knowledge about the subject of this project?
2. If some of these skills are weak is there support available in the organization to offset
the problem?
3. Does this person have adequate technical skills for this project?
4. Does this person have the skills understand the root causes of potential problems and
keep them from reoccurring?
Project Management Experience
1. Has this person led projects of similar scope, size, length and priority?
2. Is this person on a growth track to lead more complex projects?

Fitting Projects into Parent Organisation

Earlier in this unit we referred several times to problems caused by the way projects are
organized and fit in as a part of the parent organization. It is now time to deal with this
subject. It would be most unusual for a PM to have any influence over the interface
between the project and the parent organization. This arrangement is a matter of
company policy and usually is decided by senior management. The nature of the
interface, however, has a major impact on the PM’s life, and it is necessary that the PM
understand why senior managers make what appears to be the worst of all possible
choices for the interface.
More on “Why Projects?”
Before examining the alternative ways in which a project can interface with the
organization, it is useful to add to our understanding of just why organizations choose to
 conduct so much of their work as projects. We spoke above of project-oriented firms. In
addition to the managerial reasons that caused the rapid spread of such organizations,
there were also strong economic reasons. First, devising product development programs
by integrating product design, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing functions in
one team not only improved the product, it also allowed significant cuts in the time-to-
market for the product.
Example: In the 1990s, Chrysler Motors (now owned by Fiat) cut almost 18 months
from the new product development time required for design-to-street and produced
designs that were widely rated as outstanding. This brought new Chrysler models to
market much faster than normal in the automotive industry. Quite apart from the value
of good design, the economic value of the time saved is immense and derives from both
reduced design labour and overhead, plus earlier sales and return on the investment— in
this case amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. The same methods were used to
enable General Motors to redesign and reimage their Cadillac and Buick models in
response to the sharp decline in demand during the steep business downturn of 2008.
This same process also allows a firm to tailor special versions of standard products for
individual clients.

Project Management Team

We have mentioned the project team several times in the foregoing sections. Effective team
members have some characteristics in common. Only the first of these is usually taken into
account:
1. They must be technically competent. This is so obvious that it is often the only
criterion applied. While the functional departments will always remain the ultimate
source of technological problem solving for the project, it requires a technically
competent person to know exactly when additional technical knowledge may be
required by the project.
2. Senior members of the project team must be politically sensitive. It is rarely possible
to complete a project of reasonable size and complexity without incurring problems
that require aid from the upper echelons of executive row; that is, from a project
champion (Pinto and Slevin, 1989). Getting such aid depends on the PM’s ability to
proceed without threatening, insulting, or bullying important people in the functional
groups. To ensure cooperation and assistance, there is a delicate balance of power that
must be maintained between the project and the functional departments, and between
one project and others.
3. Members of the project team need a strong problem orientation. This characteristic
will be explained in more detail shortly. For now, take the phrase to mean that the
team’s members should be concerned about solving any problems posed by the
project, not merely about those sub problems that concern their individual academic
or technical training.
4. Team members need a strong goal orientation. Projects are uncomfortable
environments for people with a 9 to 5 view of work. In particular, neither project
 teams nor PMs can succeed if their focus is on activity rather than results. On the
other hand, the project will not be successful if the project team dies from overwork.
One project team member of our acquaintance was bemoaning a series of 60+ hour
weeks. “They told me that I would work about 50 hours in an average week. I’ve been
on this project almost 18 months, and we haven’t had an average week yet.”
5. Project workers need high self-esteem. Project members who hide mistakes and
failure are disasters waiting to happen. Team members must be sufficiently self-
confident and have sufficient trust in their fellow team members (Lencioni, 2002) that
they can immediately acknowledge their own errors and point out problems caused by
the errors of others. PMs should note that “shooting the messenger” who brings bad
news will instantly stop the flow of negative information. The result is that the golden
rule we stated above, “Never let the boss be surprised,” will be violated, too.
Did u know? Are you doing a project? A project is a temporary endeavour with a specific
result or objective. If your project has no end in sight and/or no clear scope, then whatever it
is you’re doing may be important, but it’s not a project. You’ll have a hard time showing
your team that they’re being successful.

Phases of Project Management

Dividing a project into phases makes it possible to lead it in the best possible direction.
Through this organisation into phases, the total work load of a project is divided into smaller
Components, thus making it easier to monitor. The following paragraphs describe a phasing
model that has been useful in practice. It includes six phases:

Initiation Phase
The initiation phase is the beginning of the project. In this phase, the idea for the project is
explored and elaborated. The goal of this phase is to examine the feasibility of the project. In
addition, decisions are made concerning who is to carry out the project, which party (or
parties) will be involved and whether the project has an adequate base of support among
those who are involved.
In this phase, the current or prospective project leader writes a proposal, which contains a
description of the above-mentioned matters. Examples of this type of project proposal include
business plans and grant applications. The prospective sponsors of the project evaluate the
proposal and, upon approval, provide the necessary financing. The project officially begins at
the time of approval. Questions to be answered in the initiation phase include the following:
 (a) Why this project?
(b) Is it feasible?
(c) Who are possible partners in this project?
(d) What should the results be?
(e) What are the boundaries of this project (what is outside the scope of the project)?
In the initiation phase, the project partners enter a (temporary) relationship with each other.
To prevent the development of false expectations concerning the results of the project; it
makes sense to explicitly agree on the type of project that is being started:
(a) A research and development project;
(b) A project that will deliver a prototype or ‘proof of concept’; and
(c) A project that will deliver a working product.
The choice for a particular type of project largely determines its results.
Example: A research and development project delivers a report that examines the
technological feasibility of an application. A project in which a prototype is developed
delivers all of the functionalities of an application, but they need not be suitable for use in a
particular context (e.g. by hundreds of users). A project that delivers a working product must
also consider matters of maintenance, instructions and the operational management of the
application.
Definition Phase
After the project plan (which was developed in the initiation phase) has been approved, the
project enters the second phase: the definition phase. In this phase, the requirements that are
associated with a project result are specified as clearly as possible. This involves identifying
the expectations that all of the involved parties have with regard to the project result. How
many files are to be archived? Should the metadata conform to the Data Documentation
Initiative format, or will the Dublin Core (DC) format suffice? May files be deposited in their
original format, or will only those that conform to the Preferred Standards be accepted? Must
the depositor of a dataset ensure that it has been processed adequately in the archive, or is this
the responsibility of the archivist? Which guarantees will be made on the results of the
project? The list of questions goes on and on.

Design Phase
The list of requirements that is developed in the definition phase can be used to make design
choices. In the design phase, one or more designs are developed, with which the project result
can apparently be achieved. Depending on the subject of the project, the products of the
design phase can include dioramas, sketches, flow charts, site trees, HTML screen designs,
prototypes, photo impressions and UML schemas. The project supervisors use these designs
to choose the definitive design that will be produced in the project. This is followed by the
development phase. As in the definition phase, once the design has been chosen, it cannot be
changed in a later stage of the project.
In a young, very informal company, the design department was run by an artist. The term
design department was not accurate in this case; it was more a group of designers who were
working together. In addition, everyone was much too busy, including the head of the
department.
One project involved producing a number of designs, which were quite important to the
success of the project. A young designer on the project team created the designs. Although
the head of the design department had ultimate responsibility for the designs, he never
attended the meetings of the project team when the designs were to be discussed. The project
leader always invited him, and sent him e-mails containing his young colleague’s sketches,
but the e-mails remained unanswered. The project leader and the young designer erroneously
assumed that the department head had approved the designs. The implementation phase
began. When the project was nearly finished, the result was presented to the department head,
which became furious and demanded that it be completely redone. The budget, however, was
almost exhausted.

Development Phase
During the development phase, everything that will be needed to implement the project is
arranged. Potential suppliers or subcontractors are brought in, a schedule is made, materials
and tools are ordered, and instructions are given to the personnel and so forth. The
development phase is complete when implementation is ready to start. All matters must be
clear for the parties that will carry out the implementation.
In some projects, particularly smaller ones, a formal development phase is probably not
necessary. The important point is that it must be clear what must be done in the
implementation phase, by whom and when.

Implementation Phase
The project takes shape during the implementation phase. This phase involves the
construction of the actual project result. Programmers are occupied with encoding, designers
are involved in developing graphic material, contractors are building, and the actual
reorganization takes place. It is during this phase that the project becomes visible to outsiders,
to whom it may appear that the project has just begun. The implementation phase is the doing
phase, and it is important to maintain the momentum.
In one project, it had escaped the project teams’ attention that one of the most important team
members was expecting to become a father at any moment and would thereafter be
completely unavailable for about a month. When the time came, an external specialist was
brought in to take over his work, in order to keep the team from grinding to a halt. Although
the team was able to proceed, the external expertise put a considerable dent in the budget.
At the end of the implementation phase, the result is evaluated according to the list of
requirements that was created in the definition phase. It is also evaluated according to the
designs.
Example: Tests may be conducted to determine whether the web application does indeed
support Explorer 5 and Firefox 1.0 and higher. It may be determined whether the trim on the
building has been made according to the agreement, or whether the materials that were used
were indeed those that had been specified in the definition phase. This phase is complete
when all of the requirements have been met and when the result corresponds to the design.

Follow-up Phase
Although it is extremely important, the follow-up phase is often neglected. During this phase,
everything is arranged that is necessary to bring the project to a successful completion.
Examples of activities in the follow-up phase include writing handbooks, providing
instruction and training for users, setting up a help desk, maintaining the result, evaluating the
project itself, writing the project report, holding a party to celebrate the result that has been
achieved, transferring to the directors and dismantling the project team.
The central question in the follow-up phase concerns when and where the project ends.
Project leaders often joke among themselves that the first ninety per cent of a project
proceeds quickly and that the final ten per cent can take years. The boundaries of the project
should be considered in the beginning of a project, so that the project can be closed in the
follow-up phase, once it has reached these boundaries.
It is sometimes unclear for those concerned whether the project result is to be a prototype or a
working product. This is particularly common in innovative projects in which the outcome is
not certain. Customers may expect to receive a product, while the project team assumes that it
is building a prototype. Such situations are particularly likely to manifest themselves in the
follow-up phase. Consider the case of a software project to test a very new concept.
There was some anxiety concerning whether any results would be produced at all. The
project eventually produced good results. The team delivered a piece of software that worked
well, at least within the testing context. The customer, who did not know much about IT,
thought that he had received a working product. After all, it had worked on his office
computer. The software did indeed work, but when it was installed on the computers of fifty
employees, the prototype began to have problems, and it was sometimes instable.

Project Environment
Today, there is a growing awareness and concern for the impact of infrastructure and facility
construction on the physical environment. Fortunately, today’s technological disciplines
responsible for such work are becoming attuned to the idea of mitigating the adverse impacts
of their projects. Certainly the project manager needs to be similarly concerned about the
project’s technology, and manage accordingly. This applies to both the implementation and
shorter term practical construction impacts of the project as well as its conceptual
development and consequent long term impacts. However, today’s project manager also
needs to be attuned to the cultural, organizational and social environments of the project.
Understanding this environment includes identifying the project stakeholders and their ability
to affect its successful outcome. This means working with people to achieve the best results,
especially in the highly technical and complex environments such as those involving modern
day construction projects. Therefore, it is essential that the project manager and his or her
project team are comfortable with, and sympathetic towards, their cultural, organizational and
social surroundings.
This leads to the possibility of influencing the project environment in a positive way, for the
better reception of the change which the project is designed to introduce.
Example: Peoples’ typical resistance to change will no doubt be evident amongst some of the
stakeholders. Others may have vested interests or personal or group agendas which are only
indirectly related to the project. If these can be identified in good time, they may be dealt
with proactively and in such a way that the corresponding risks, which are otherwise likely to
undermine the success of the project, can be significantly reduced. Failure to take such an
approach will inevitably lead to a less than optimum project outcome.

Dimensions of the Project Environment

For convenience, and working outwards, the project environment may be thought of in terms
of the project time environment, the internal project culture, the original corporate culture,
and the external social surroundings. For those who have not had experience of a construction
project “in the trenches” so to speak, it is sometimes difficult to capture the feeling of
pressure, stress and ultimate satisfaction of a project well.
Did u know Gantt Charts have been around for over a hundred years? The discipline of
project management has evolved and been refined for longer than you might suspect.
The 7S Notes of Project Management
A recent (2008) update on the McKinsey 7S model is a short podcast on the creation
of McKinsey 7S model by Lowell Bryan, a director in McKinsey’s New York office,
involved in creating and applying the 7S framework. He describes how it was introduced in
the late 1970s to address the critical role of coordination, rather than structure, in
organizational effectiveness.

We reference the McKinsey 7S model in the E-consultancy managing an E-commerce team

report as a method of reviewing the internal capabilities of an organisation to manage digital
channels. Some of the key issues that require management are shown in the table below: