Overview of Project Management and its related Topics

By Illango

Introduction of Project Management

• Project Management is evolved from early days of systems Management. The growth and acceptance of project Management has changed significantly over the past 50 years are so..and it is expected to continue and grow into coming centuries especially in Multinational Project Management.

• Why Project Management? The decision on whether or not to set up a separate project management division is subjective as it depends upon various factors some of them are: Interactions or interdependencies between various departments. Sharing of common resources The importance of the project to the organization Size of the project Degree of unfamiliarity with the work involved and its complexity Changes in the market and The reputation of the organization

Why Project Management

Definition of Project Management • Project management is the process and activity of planning, organizing,

motivating, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations),which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

• According to Project Management institute a Project is defined as “ A Temporary Endeavor undertaken to create a unique Product or service “ A British standard defines “ A unique set of coordinated activities ,with definite starting and finishing Points ,undertaken by an individual or organization to meet the specific objectives within the defined schedule ,cost and performance parameters “

Project and PM process

Project is considered to be any series of activities having below Qualities

• Have specific objective• Have defined start and end date• Have fund limits and fund planning• consume human or non human resources• Work across Multifunctional (depts.)

Project vs Program

Process of Project Management• Project initiation – This includes prelimnary evaluation of

idea, analysis of risk involved, time ,cost and performances.• Project planning-Identification of resources ,developing

realistic time and perdormance parameter.• Project execution- integrates the project’s product and

services into organization and establishment of marketable product or services.

• Project Monitoring and control – checking the progress compared with targets , correction if any and ensuring smooth flow for progress.

• Project closure-Reallocation of resources for new project , an end is means new beginning of life cycle.

Flow of Process of PM

Phase of Project Management

Benefits of Project Management• To complete Projects within stipulated period• Within budget cost• Appropriate performance• Customer satisfaction or acceptance• Mutual Scope changes• Better corporate culture or multidisciplinary.Demerits of PM:In flexible , rushing on schedule may harm quality,

need more skilled staff and delayed decesion..etc

Constraints of Project Management • Like any human undertaking, project Mangement need to be

performed and delivered under certain constraints. Traditionally, these constraints have been listed as "scope," "time," and "cost"

• As per above PM triangle represents constraints , One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.

Project Managers

• A project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the constraints of the Project Management triangle, which are cost, time, scope, and quality.

• 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 they are representing. A project manager is the bridging gap between the production team and client. So s/he must have a fair knowledge of the industry they are in so that they are capable of understanding and discussing the problems with either party.

• Most companies have mainly five resources namely Money, Manpower ,Machine ,Methodology ,Materials ..Actually Project Manager does not control any of these resource directly except Perhaps Money (budget) and directly controlled by Functional Managers , PM must negotiate with Functional manager for controlling all Resources .

Responsibility of Project Manger

• The specific responsibilities of the Project Manager may vary depending on the industry, the company size, the company maturity, and the company culture. However, there are some responsibilities that are common to all Project Managers Developing the project plan

• Managing the project stakeholders• Managing Communication• Managing the project team• Managing the project risk• Managing the project schedule• Managing the project budget• Managing the project conflicts• Managing the project delivery

Project Manager vs Line Manager

• Who should be the Project Manager? In any organization we find two types of people: 1. Those who give excellent ideas from their knowledge and experience but are not very good at getting things done and 2. Those whose are good at handling men and matters, but are not as sound as the former in technical matters. People who have great ideas are not necessarily good implementers. The manager of a project should be one who can work effectively with different groups of people, interact with various departmental heads, and integrate all the functions to get the project move. Harold Kerzner calls the first type of people ‘ Project Champions’ and the Second ‘Project Manager”.

• Project Manager Vs Line Managers There is always a constant tussle between the line managers and the project manager to share the organizations resources like; Money, Manpower, Equipment, Facilities and Information Technology. Manpower is controlled by Line Managers. Allocation of manpower will be done by Line Managers based on the request made by Project Manager. Employees provided to Project Manager continue to report to Line Manager and give preference to the commands of the Line Manager over the Project Manager. Success of Project depends on good working relationship between PM and LM

Management of international Projects• Management of International Projects Globalization has a

significant impact on the way the projects are managed. According t Rudd Lubbers, Globalization is a process of minimizing the significance of geographical distance, in developing and maintaining international economic, political and socio-cultural relations. There are 3 basic models of project management based on the project management styles in different geographic locations. The European Model- Fully structured and systematic procedure for handling technical issues The North American Model : The system is not as formal and rigid as it is in Europe. The Japanese Model : They believe that superior technology brings in superior core competency.

Some of International Projects