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Introduction to Project Management

ByKanchana Wimalasurendre

Senior Lecturer / Head of The Department (QS)ICBT Kandy Campus

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Introduction

• Many people and organizations today have a new or renewed interest in project management

• Until 1980s, project management primarily focused on providing schedule and resource data to top management in the military and construction industries.

• Today the project management involves much more, and people in every industry and every country manage projects.

• New technologies have become a significant factor in many businesses.

• Computer hardware, software, networks, and the use of interdisciplinary and global work teams have radically changed the work environment.

In which industries that we can see projects?

In which industries that we can see projects?

• Aerospace• Automobile• Telecommunication• Apparel• Software• Entertainment• Education• Agriculture

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What are the main outcomes of a project?What are the main outcomes of a project?

• Product• Service

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Advantages of Using Formal Project Management

• Better control of financial, physical, and human resources• Improved customer relations• Shorter development times• Lower costs• Higher quality and increased reliability• Higher profit margins• Improved productivity• Better internal coordination• Higher worker morale

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What Is a Project?• A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken

to accomplish a unique product or service”

• Attributes of projects– unique purpose– temporary– require resources, often from various areas– should have a primary sponsor and/or customer– involve uncertainty

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What are IT Projects?“IT projects” refers to projects involving hardware, software, and networks

Sample IT projects –

•Developing a new reservation system for a airline service•Many organizations upgrade hardware, software, and networks via projects •Organizations develop new software or enhance existing systems to perform many business functions

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The Triple Constraint

• Every project is constrained in different ways by its scope goal, time and cost goal.– Scope goals: What work will be done as part of the project?

What unique product, service, or result does the customer or sponsor expect from the project?

– Time goals: How long should it take to complete?

– Cost goals: What should it cost?

• It is the project manager’s duty to balance these three often competing goals

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The Triple Constraint of Project Management

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What is Project Management?

-Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools,

and techniques that use to manage project activities in order to meet

project requirements”

-The project managers must facilitates the entire process to meet the

needs and expectations of the people involved in or affected by

project activities.

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Project Management Framework

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Project Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities

• Stakeholders include– the project sponsor– Project team– support staff– customers– users– suppliers– opponents to the project (A neighbor, employee in the

company as an example)

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Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management

• Some specific ones include– Integration Management– Scope Management– Time management– Cost Management– Quality Management– Human Resource Management– Communication Management– Procurement Management– Risk Management

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How Project Management Relates to Other Disciplines

• Much of the knowledge needed to manage projects is unique to the discipline of project management

• Project mangers must also have knowledge and experience in– general management– the application area of the project

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Project Success Factors

Why do some project success and some fail?

Can organization provide a better environment to help improve project success rate?

What helps project succeeded?

•Executive support

•User involvement

•Experienced project manager

•Clear business objectives

•Minimize scope

•Standard software infrastructure

•Firm basic requirements•Formal methodology•Reliable estimates

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The Project Management Profession

• The job of IT Project Manager is in the list of the top ten most in demand IT skills

• Professional societies like the Project Management Institute (PMI) have grown tremendously

• Project management research and certification programs continue to grow

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The role of the project manager

Project managers must work closely with the other stakeholders on project especially sponsor and the project team.

They have to be familiar with the 9 project management knowledge arias and various tools and techniques.

Job Description of a project manager

The job description of a project manager can vary by industry to industry.

A common job description is,

•Plans •Business analysis

•Schedules and Controls •Budget estimation

•Manages •Testing

•Develops •Prepares and executes projects

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Sample Gantt Chart

The WBS is on the left, and each task’s start and finish dateare shown on the right using a calendar timescale. Early GanttCharts, first used in 1917, were drawn by hand.

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Sample Network Diagram

Each box is a project task from the WBS. Arrows show dependencies

between tasks. The bolded tasks are on the critical path. If any tasks on thecritical path take longer than planned, the whole project will slip unless something is done. Network diagrams were first used in 1958 on the Navy Polaris project, before project management software was available.

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Sample Enterprise Project Management Tool

In recent years, organizations have been taking advantage of softwareto help manage their projects throughout the enterprise.

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Project Management Certification

• PMI (Project Management Institute) provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP)

• A PMP has documented sufficient project experience, agreed to follow a code of ethics, and passed the PMP exam

• The number of people earning PMP certification is increasing quickly

• PMI and other organizations are offering new certification programs

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Growth in PMP Certification, 1993-2002

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Ethics in Project Management

• Ethics is an important part of all professions

• Project managers often face ethical dilemmas

• In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must agree to the PMP code of professional conduct

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The Technical and Sociocultural

Dimensionsof the Project Management

Process

The Technical and Sociocultural

Dimensionsof the Project Management

Process

FIGURE 1.3