Computer Applications in Project

Management
Lect#1

Overview and Concepts of Project

Management
 Objective of this Course
This course is especially designed for technical managers of all
levels involved in Project Management dealing in today’s
engineering and construction market which is highly
competitive, driving profit margins down as risks increase. It
only takes one failed project to wipe out an entire year’s profit.
As a project-based organization that depends upon the
accuracy of decisions made every day, one needs best-in-class
project management solutions that build a competitive
advantage for the field and office. Primavera offers the most-
specified project management solutions in the industry to help
you profitably manage the business of engineering and
construction. The course will provide the fundamental training
on Primavera and MS Project software to handle different
complex project management activities.
 Grade Distribution

Mid Term Exam 20 Percent

Final Exam 30 Percent
Assignments/Quizzes 25 Percent (Lect-Summaries
for DLs)

Research Paper/Project 25 Percent

 Misc. Instructions
All classes are Smoke and Mobile Free. Timely
submission of Homework /Assignments is mandatory
and if not turned in when due, the student will be
graded negatively. Individual homework means
individual effort.

Homework may be submitted via E-Mail and

Fax in case individual is out of town/country.

Important: There will be surprise quizzes.

 OUT LINE FOR TODAY
• What is a project?
• What is Project Management?
• The Context for Project Management
• The Project Management Process
• Knowledge areas for project
management
 What is a Project?
“A project is a sequence of temporary, unique,
complex and connected activities having one goal
or purpose and that must be completed by a
specific time, within budget, and according to
specifications.”

“A project is a group of activities that are to be

undertaken with limited resources to yield
specific objectives in a specific time in a specific
locality. A project has a specific starting point,
and a specific ending point.”
Contd…
• An investment on which resources are used
to create assets that will produce benefits
over an extended period of time.

• PMI has defined the project as single effort

undertaken in order to create unique project
or service.

• ISO 10006 Standard defines the project as,

“unique processes, consisting of a set of
coordinated and controlled activities with
start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve
an objective conforming to specific
requirements, including the constraints of
time, cost and resources”.
 Time & Cost Limits
Project Inputs Project Output(s)

Scope Constraint
 What is a Project (Contd)
• Unique Activities
– The project has never happened before and will
never happen again under the same conditions.
• Complex Activities
– Not simple, repetitive acts, such as mowing the
lawn, running the weekly payroll, washing the car, or
loading the delivery truck
• Connected Activities
– There is some order or sequence
– Output from one activity is input to another.
• Temporary Activities
– Start and Finish Dates
 What is a Project (Contd)
• One Goal
– Projects must have a single goal.

• Specified Time
– Projects have a specified completion date

• Within Budget
– Projects also have resource limits (people, money,
machines)

• According to Specification
– The customer or recipient expectation
– Self-imposed
 What is a Program & Program
Management?
– A program is different from a project. Programs are larger in scope
and comprise multiple inter-related projects.

– A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated

way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing
them individually.

In contrast with project management, program management is the

centralized, coordinated management of a group of projects to achieve
the program's strategic objectives and benefits.
 What is a Program & Program
Management?
– There are two different views of how programs differ from projects.

– On one view, projects deliver outputs; programs create outcomes. On this view,
a project might deliver a new factory, hospital or IT system. By combining these
projects with other deliverables and changes, their programs might deliver
increased income from a new product, shorter waiting lists at the hospital or
reduced operating costs due to improved technology.
– The other view is that a program is nothing more than either a large project or a
set of projects. On this second view, the point of having a program is to reduce
coordination costs and risks.
 What is a Program & Program
Management?
– Successful projects deliver on time, to budget and to specification,
whereas successful programs deliver long term improvements to
an organization.

– Many electronics firms have program managers who are

responsible for both individual product releases (projects) and the
coordination of multiple releases over a period of time (an ongoing
operation).

For example,
Publishing a newspaper or magazine is also a program with each

individual issue managed as a project.

 What is a Project (Contd)
What is a Portfolio & Portfolio Management?
• A portfolio is a collection of programs and/or projects and/or other work
that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of that work
to meet strategic business objectives.

• The projects and programs in the portfolio may not necessarily be

interdependent or directly related.

• Organizations manage their portfolios based on specific goals. One goal

of portfolio management is to maximize the value of the portfolio by
careful examination of candidate projects and programs for inclusion in
the portfolio and the timely exclusion of projects not meeting the
portfolio’s strategic objectives.
 Portfolio Management Vs. Program
Management
• Portfolio Management:
A portfolio comprises a number of programs and/or projects, that are not
necessarily linked by common objectives (other than at highest level), but
rather are grouped together to enable better control to be exercised over
time.

• Program Mgmt Vs. Portfolio Mgmt:

Program Management Portfolio Management
Consist of series of projects Consists of number of programs and/or
projects

That are linked by common objectives That are not necessarily linked by
common objectives (other than at highest
level)
 What is a Project (Contd)
What is a SubProject?
Projects are frequently divided into more manageable
components or subprojects, although the individual
subprojects can be referred to as projects and managed
as such. Subprojects are often contracted to an external
enterprise or to another functional unit in the performing
organization.

 Subprojects according to human resource skill requirements,

such as plumbers or electricians needed on a construction
project.

 Subprojects involving specialized technology, such as the

automated testing of computer programs in a software
development project.
Project Parameters (Constraints)

• Cost

• Time

• Scope
 What is a Project (Contd)
Triple Constraint: Trade-off between Time, Cost and Scope

The triple constraint is often depicted as

a triangle where one of the sides or one
of the corners represent one of the
parameters being managed by the
project team.
 
Project managers often talk of a “triple
constraint”—project scope, time and
Cost cost—in managing competing project
Quality Time requirements. Project quality is affected
by balancing these three factors. High
quality projects deliver the required
product, service within scope, on time,
and within budget. The relationship
Scope among these factors is such that if any
one of the three factors changes, at
least one other factor is likely to be
affected.
 What is a Project (Contd)
Triple Constraint: Trade-off between Time, Cost and Scope

• If the duration (time) of your project schedule decreases, you might

need to increase budget (cost) because you must hire more resources
to do the same work in less time. If you can’t increase the budget, you
might need to reduce the scope because the resources you have can’t
do all of the planned work in less time.

If you must decrease a project’s duration, make sure that overall project
quality is not unintentionally lowered. For example, testing and quality
control often occur last in a software development project; if the project
duration is decreased late in the project, those tasks might be the ones
cut back. You must weigh the benefits of decreasing the project duration
against the potential downside of a deliverable with poorer quality.
 What is a Project (Contd)
Triple Constraint: Trade-off between Time, Cost and Scope

• If the budget (cost) of your project decreases, you might need more time
because you can’t pay for as many resources or for resources of the
same efficiency. If you can’t increase the time, you might need to reduce
project scope because fewer resources can’t do all of the planned work
in the time you have.

• Reducing project costs can lead to a poorer quality deliverable.

However, as a project manager, you must consider the benefits versus
the risks of reducing costs.
 What is a Project (Contd)
Triple Constraint: Trade-off between Time, Cost and Scope

• If your project scope increases, you might need more time or more
resources (cost) to do the additional work.

• If the project scope increases after the project has started, it’s called
scope creep. Changing project scope midway through a project is not
necessarily a bad thing.

• Changing project scope is a bad thing only if the project manager

doesn’t recognize and plan for the new requirements—that is, when
other constraints (cost, time) are not correspondingly examined and, if
necessary, adjusted.
 Project Management
• Project Management is an organized venture of managing
projects

• Project management is the application of knowledge,

skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to
meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a
project

• Meeting stakeholder needs and expectations involves

balancing competing demands among:

– Scope, time, cost, and quality.

– Stakeholders with differing needs and expectations.
– Identified requirements (needs) and unidentified
requirements (expectations).
 Modern Tools - Technique
• PERT/CPM (Program Eval & Review Tech)
• Linear Responsibility Charts
• Gantt Charts and Milestone Charts
• Work Breakdown Structures
• Project Action Plans
• Computers
 Operations and Projects
Two may overlap yet they share many characteristics like:

• Performed by people.
• Constrained by limited resources.
• Planned, executed, and controlled.

Operations are ongoing and repetitive while projects are

temporary and unique.

The objectives of projects and operations are fundamentally

different. The purpose of a project is to attain its objective
and then terminate. Conversely, the objective of an
ongoing operation is to sustain the business.
 Operations and Projects (Contd..)
Operations may include activities such
as:
– Financial management and control
– Continuous manufacture
– Product distribution

• Projects may include activities such as:

– Developing a new product or service.
– Effecting a change in structure, staffing, or style
of an organization.
– Developing or acquiring a new or modified
information system.
 1. Projects are Temporary
• A project can thus be defined in terms of its distinctive
characteristics-a project is a temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product or service.
• Temporary means that every project has a definite
beginning and a definite end.
• The end is reached:
– When the project’s objectives have been achieved, or
– When it becomes clear that the project objectives will not or
cannot be met and the project is terminated.
• Temporary does not necessarily mean short in
duration:
– many projects last for several years.
• The duration of a project is finite:
– projects are not ongoing efforts.
2. Product of a Project is unique

• Projects involve doing something that has not been

done before and which is, therefore, unique.

– For example, many thousands of office buildings

have been developed, but each individual facility
is unique—different owner, different design,
different location, different contractors, and so
on.
 The Context for Project
Management
• The Project Life Cycle
• Project Stakeholders
• Organizational Influences
• Key General Management Skills
 The Project Life Cycle
• The project life cycle serves to define the beginning
and the end of a project
• The life cycle is normally divided into a number of
phases, to provide better management control with
appropriate links to the ongoing operations of the
performing organization.
• Each project phase is marked by completion of one
or more deliverables
• A deliverable is a tangible, verifiable work product
such as a
– feasibility study or a detailed design
 A Generic Life Cycle

The level of uncertainty is highest and, hence, risk of

failing to achieve the objectives is greatest at the start of
the project. The certainty of completion generally gets
progressively better as the project continues.
 Project Stakeholders
• Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations
who are actively involved in the project, or whose
interests may be positively or negatively affected as a
result of project execution or successful project
completion.

• The project management team must identify the

stakeholders, determine what their needs and
expectations are, and then manage and influence those
expectations to ensure a successful project.
 Key Stakeholders
• Key stakeholders on every project include:
• Project manager
• the individual responsible for managing the project.
• Customer
• the individual or organization who will use the project product
• Performing organization
• the enterprise whose employees are most directly involved in
doing the work of the project.
• Sponsor
• the individual or group who provides the financial resources, in
cash or in kind, for the project.
• Project team members
• the people doing the work on the project
 Organizational Influences
• Conduct of Projects is influenced by:

 Organizational Systems
The organizations tend to have management systems in place to
facilitate project management. For example, their financial systems
are often specifically designed for accounting, tracking, and
reporting on multiple, simultaneous projects.

 Organizational Culture
 Conservative or Aggressive
 Participative or Authoritarian

A project manager with a highly participative style is appropriate to

encounter problems in a rigidly hierarchical organization, while a
project manager with an authoritarian style will be equally
challenged in a participative organization.

 Organizational Structure
Range from fully functional to totally project oriented.
 Key General Management Skills
• General management encompasses planning, organizing, staffing,
executing, and controlling the operations of an ongoing enterprise.

• Some general management skills are critical for successful project

management:

– • Leading
– • Communicating
– • Negotiating
– • Problem Solving
 Leadership
• Leadership is about integrity
– Transformation leaders interact with team members in a
positive and inspiring manner.

– A leader has a vision that is fueled by an overall

confidence and willingness to take risks.

– Sharpens and utilizes people’s skills, intelligence, and

talents to attain a goal, create an excellent product,
accomplish a task or mission, or reach goals and
objectives
 Communicating
• Exchange of information
– Internal & external
– Formal & informal
– Vertical and horizontal
 Negotiating
• Negotiating involves conferring with others
to come to terms with them to reach an
agreement. Negotiations can be on the
following:
– Scope, cost and schedule
– Changes to scope ,cost and schedule
– Contract terms and conditions
– Assignments and resources
 Problem solving
• A combination of problem definition and
decision making

• Problem definition requires distinguishing

between causes and symptoms

• Decision making includes analyzing the

problem to identify viable solution
 Assignment #1
• Select the organization of your own choice (may be your own) and
develop:
– • Organization Chart

• And Identify its:

– • Organizational Structure with proper justification

– (For example, if your organization is a matrix org then you would

specify which type of matrix org with proper reasoning)
 Project Management Process

• The purpose of the Project

Management process is to identify,
establish, coordinate and monitor
activities, tasks and resources
necessary for a project to produce a
product and/or service meeting the
agreed requirements.
 Project Management Process
Initiating Planning
Processes Processes

Controlling Executing
Processes Processes

Closing
Processes
• Planning provides documented executing plans and
the updates as the project progresses.
 Knowledge Areas for Project
Management
• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Quality Management
• Project Human Resource Management
• Project Communications Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement Management
 Mapping of the Project Management Processes to the
Project Management Process Groups and the Knowledge
Areas

Click to view
A Framework for Project
Management
 Outcomes of Project
Management
• As a result of successful implementation of the process:
– the scope of the work for the project will be defined;

– the feasibility of achieving the goals of the project with available

resources and constraints will be evaluated;

– the tasks and resources necessary to complete the work will be

sized and estimated;

– plans for execution of the project will be developed and

implemented;

– progress of the project will be monitored and reported;

– actions to correct deviations from the plan and to prevent

recurrence of problems identified in the project, will be taken when
project targets are not achieved.
 Results of Poor Project Management

 Original objectives not met

 Project cost overruns
 Schedule overruns
 Project may not be completed
 Personal misunderstandings and
differences, often resulting in
conflict PAIN
 Poor quality project outputs
 Failure to deliver anticipated
business benefits, leading to
dissatisfied management and
project members
 Insufficient resources