Project Management Notes

Project management is the discipline of carefully projecting or planning, organizing, motivating and
controlling resources to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria. 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 primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals[5] and objectives while
honoring the preconceived constraints.[6] The primary constraints arescope, time, quality and budget.[7] The
secondary and more ambitious challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and
integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives

As a discipline, project management developed from several fields of application including civil
construction, engineering, and heavy defense activity.[10] Two forefathers of project management are Henry
Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques,[11] who is famous for his use of the Gantt
chart as a project management tool (alternatively Harmonogram first proposed by Karol Adamiecki[12]);
and Henri Fayol for his creation of the five management functions that form the foundation of the body of
knowledge associated with project and program management.[13] Both Gantt and Fayol were students
of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management.

The traditional approach[edit]

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional
approach",[19] five developmental components of a project can be distinguished (four stages plus control):

Typical development phases of an engineering project

1. initiation
2. planning and design
3. execution and construction
4. monitoring and controlling systems
5. completion and finish point

5 Basic Phases of Project Management

Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI) defines project management as "the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the
requirements of a particular project." The process of directing and controlling a project from
start to finish may be further divided into 5 basic phases:
1. Project conception and initiation

An idea for a project will be carefully examined to determine whether or not it benefits the
organization. During this phase, a decision making team will identify if the project can
realistically be completed.

2. Project definition and planning

A project plan, project charter and/or project scope may be put in writing, outlining the work
to be performed. During this phase, a team should prioritize the project, calculate a budget
and schedule, and determine what resources are needed.

3. Project launch or execution

Resources' tasks are distributed and teams are informed of responsibilities. This is a good
time to bring up important project related information.

4. Project performance and control

Project managers will compare project status and progress to the actual plan, as resources
perform the scheduled work. During this phase, project managers may need to adjust
schedules or do what is necessary to keep the project on track.

5. Project close

After project tasks are completed and the client has approved the outcome, an evaluation is
necessary to highlight project success and/or learn from project history.

Projects and project management processes vary from industry to industry; however, these
are more traditional elements of a project. The overarching goal is typically to offer a
product, change a process or to solve a problem in order to benefit the organization.

types/forms

The current types of organizational structure of project management are: functional organizational
structure, project-based organizational structure and matrix organizational structure.
1. Functional organizational structure.
Functional organizational structure is to be managed in the current organization hierarchical structure, once
the project begins operation, the various components of the project are taken by the functional units, each
unit is responsible for its charged component. If the the project established, a functional area play a
dominant role, functional areas on completion of the project, senior managers will be responsible for project
coordination.
Advantages of this structure: First, the use of personnel with greater flexibility, as long as the choice of a
suitable functional departments as the project supervisor, the department will be able to provide
professional and technical personnel required by the project, and technology experts can also be used by
different projects and after completion of the work can go back to his original work; Second, when the
project team members leave or leave the company, the functions can be used as the basis for maintaining
the continuity of the project; third, functional department can provide a normal career path for professionals.
The disadvantage of this structure is: First, projects often lack of focus, each unit has its own core
functions of general business, sometimes in order to meet their basic needs, responsibility for the project
will be ignored, especially when the interest taken in the project brought to the unit not the same
interest; Second, such organization has certain difficulties in the inter-departmental cooperation and
exchanges; Third motivation is not strong enough for project participants, they think the project is an
additional burden, and not directly related to their career development and upgrading; Fourth, in such
organizational structure, sometimes no one should assume full responsibility for the project, often the
project manager is only responsible for part of the project, others are responsible for the other parts of the
project, which leads to difficulties in coordination situation.
2. Project-based organizational structure.
Project organizational structure refers to the creation of an independent project team, the teams
management is separated from the parent organizations other units, have their own technical staff and
management, enterprise assigns certain resources to project team, and grant project manager of the
largest free implementation of the project .

The advantages of this structure: First, focus on this project team, project manager is solely responsible
for the project, the only task for project members is to complete the project, and they only report to the
project manager, avoiding the multiple leadership; Second, the project teams decision is developed within
the project, the reaction time is short; Third, in this project, members work with strong power, high
cohesion, participants shared the common goal of the project, and individual has clear responsibilities.
The disadvantage of this organizational structure: First, when a company has several projects, each
project has its own separate team, which will lead to duplication of efforts and the loss of scalable
economies; Second, the project team itself is an independent entity, prone to a condition known as Project
inflammatory disease, that is, there is a clear dividing line between the project team and the parent
organization, weakening the effective integration between project team and the parent organization; Third,
the project team members lack of a business continuity and security, once the project ended, return to their
original functions may be more difficult.
3. Matrix organizational structure.
Matrix organizational structure is a hybrid form, it loads a level of project management structure on the
functional hierarchical structure. According to the relative power of project managers and functional
managers, in practice there are different types of matrix systems, respectively,Functional Matrix: in this
matrix, functional managers have greater powers than project managers); Project Matrix: in this matrix,
project managers have greater powers than functional managers); Balance Matrix: in this matrix,
functional managers and project managers have the equal powers.

The advantages of this organizational structure: First, it is the same as functional structure that
resources can be shared in multiple projects, which can significantly reduces the problem of redundant
staff; Second, project is the focus of work, with a formal designated project manager will make him give
more attention to the project, and responsible for the coordination and integration work between different
units; Third, when there are multiple projects simultaneously, the company can balance the resources to
ensure that all the projects can progress to complete their respective costs and quality
requirements; Fourth, the anxiety of project members is reduced greatly after the end of the project, while
they are strongly associated with the project, on the other hand, they have a home feeling about their
functions.
The disadvantage is that this organizational structure: First, the matrix structure has exacerbated the
tensions between functional manager and project manager; Second, under any circumstances, sharing
equipment, resources and personnel among different projects will lead to conflict and competition for
scarce resources; Third, in the process of project implementation, the project manager must negotiate and
consult with the department managers on various issues, which leads to the delay in decision
making; Fourth, matrix management is not according to the principles of unified management, project
members have two bosses, the project manager and functional managers, when their commands are
divided, it will make members at a loss.
Three different forms of the matrix organizational structure does not necessarily have the advantages and
disadvantages described above: Project Matrix can increase the projects integration, reduce internal power
struggle, its weakness is poor control of their functional areas and prone to project inflammation;
Functional Matrix can provide a better system for managing the conflict between different projects, but
maintaining the control of functions is at the cost of inefficient integration of projects; Balanced Matrix can
achieve the balance between technology and project requirements better, but its establishment and
management is very subtle, is likely to encounter many problems related to matrix organization.

project planning and control

1. 1. Project Planning and Control

2. 2. What is a project plan? A project plan is a model of the process that the project team intends
to follow to realise the project objectives. It brings together a number of important aspects of this
process including its scope, timing, cost, and associated risks. The project plan can be viewed as
a type of contract between the project team members and other stakeholders. It defines the
process by which the objectives will be achieved, and the responsibilities in carrying out this
process. Project plans also underpin a number of other key project management functions
including estimating and forecasting, options analysis and decision- making, and performance
monitoring and control.
3. 3. Who is responsible for planning? Everyone in the project team should be involved in
developing the plan. It should be a collaborative effort. The project manager should provide
leadership in this area but may delegate some of the administrative aspects and detailed analysis
to a project support role. On larger projects there may be one or more dedicated planners.
4. 4. What are the benefits of planning? It is more likely to lead to success and is more cost-
effective than a just do it approach. It develops greater mutual understanding and more
commitment to achieving the objectives within the project team. It provides an early warning
system so that problems are identified while there is still time to do something about them.
5. 5. Key elements of a plan Products What products must the project
deliver? What are the quality requirements associated with the products? Activities
What activities are needed to deliver the products? Resources What resources are needed to
carry out the activities? Schedule In what sequence should we carry
out the activities? How long will the activities take to complete? Are the required resources
available? How long will the project take overall?
6. 6. Budget What are the time-phased resource requirements and financial
costs? How much will the project cost overall? Risks Are we taking unnecessary risks?
Is the level of risk exposure commensurate with the risk appetite? Are
there any opportunities that could be exploited? Assumptions What are the underlying
assumptions associated with the plan?
7. 7. The planning process: What is the process for developing a plan?
There are four key stages in developing a robust plan:
8. 8. STAGE 1 Identify, structure and define the products
needed to achieve the project objectives. Break down the work needed to deliver
the products into discrete work packages. Define the responsibilities of the
individuals or teams who will deliver the work packages.
9. 9. STAGE 2 Identify the activities and resources needed to deliver the work packages.
Construct a schedule that takes account of the logical dependencies between
activities, and the availability of resources. STAGE 3 Estimate the quantity of resources and
financial costs associated with each work package, and use this information in
conjunction with the schedule to develop time-phased budgets.
10. 10. STAGE 4 Identify and analyse the risks associated with each work package and evaluate a
range of options for handling them. Select the most cost-effective combination of risk
management actions and incorporate them into the plan.
11. 11. Stage 1 Defining scope and responsibilities
12. 12. Objectives To ensure that all the work and products
needed to achieve the project objectives are included in the plan.
To develop a hierarchical framework for integrating the key planning and control
functions (scope, quality, cost, time, risk) at different levels of management.
 To specify the organisation and responsibilities for managing the work and
delivering the products.
13. 13. Fundamental principles: Break down the project work into cohesive work packages
Define the required results (i.e., the products) before considering how to achieve them.
Encourage collaborative planning and commitment to achieving results by
negotiating and agreeing responsibilities at an early stage.
14. 14. Process description Identify and structure the products needed to achieve the
project objectives using a Product Breakdown Structure
(PBS). Define the products and specify their purpose,
quality requirements and acceptance criteria, using Product Descriptions (PD).
Break down the work needed to deliver the products into
discrete work packages using a Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS). Define the work packages and specify
their products, quality requirements, acceptance criteria,
assumptions, risks, and opportunities, using Work Package Descriptions (WPD).
Specify the organisation that will carry out and manage
the work contained in the WBS, using an Organisational
Breakdown Structure (OBS). Define the responsibilities
of individuals or teams in the OBS (with respect to
elements of the WBS) using a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM).
15. 15. Stage 2 Scheduling and time/resource analysis
16. 16. Objectives To identify the activities needed to deliver
each work package, and sequence them according to their logical dependencies.
To estimate the time and resources needed to carry out the activities in the specified sequence.
To construct a schedule that takes account of logical dependencies and resource availability.
17. 17. Fundamental principles: The time and resources needed to
complete each activity usually depend on the sequence in which the activities are carried out.
Since the time and resources needed to complete an activity are usually
interdependent, it makes sense to estimate both of these at the same time.
Scheduling must take account of resource availability.
18. 18. Process description Identify the activities needed to deliver each work
package. Also identify any key events (milestones)
associated with the delivery of products, important
decisions, or external dependencies. Sequence the
activities and milestones according to their logical dependencies, to create an activity network.
Estimate the time and resources needed to complete
each activity and record the underlying assumptions as a Basis of Estimate (BoE).
Develop an initial schedule that takes account of the
logical dependencies between activities. Calculate the
Total Float for each activity and identify the Critical
Path(s). If the initial schedule does not meet the required
timescales then investigate alternative schedules or consider making tradeoffs. Analyse the time-
phased resource requirements and, if necessary, adjust the
schedule to take account of resource availability or to improve resource utilisation.
19. 19. Stage 3 Cost estimating and budgeting
20. 20. Objectives To develop a hierarchical framework for planning and controlling resource
consumption and financial costs. To estimate the quantities and financial
costs of the resources needed to deliver each work package. To develop time-
phased budgets as a basis for performance monitoring and control.
21. 21. Fundamental principles Since budgets are normally constrained,
we need to monitor actual costs against planned costs on a regular basis to ensure
that timely corrective action can be taken if there is a significant variance.
Making good progress against the schedule is often not enough to guarantee
success. It is also important to monitor the planned and actual resource consumption
(or financial costs) in relation to the progress made.
22. 22. Stage 4 Risk analysis and response planning
23. 23. Objectives To identify the risks associated with each work package.
To determine the overall risk exposure and the contribution of individual risks.
To prioritise risks for further management. To develop cost-effective risk
management actions (responses) and incorporate them into the plan.
24. 24. Fundamental principles: Once the plan has been developed it
should still be considered a draft until its risk content has been analysed. This
analysis may lead to the plan being modified to include risk management actions.
 Plans should be risk-efficient (i.e., should include no more risk than is necessary to
provide a given level of return), and the risk exposure should be commensurate
with the risk appetite.
25. 25. Monitoring and control
26. 26. Objectives - Fundamental principles
27. 27. To inform decision-making processes at all levels in the organisation.
Apply the principles of closed-loop control to monitor project in the organisation, and to take
any corrective action. To review the performance against the plan at regular
intervals, and needed corrective actions to ensure that objectives are achieved. Take any
corrective action needed to achieve the plan
28. 28. To identify problems and emergent risks early enough objectives while there is still
time to do something about them. Monitor trends in performance over a
period of time as the project progresses To communicate regular progress to the
project team and other stakeholders as well as the spot performance with
respect to an activity in order that confidence and baseline is maintained.
This allows us to distinguish between commitment and reality and the focus
towards the project is maintained
29. 29. Project control cycle
30. 30. Identify the objectives and constraints, and develop a
plan. Review and baseline the plan. Obtain authorisation to proceed. Do some work.
Measure performance and update the original estimates
and forecasts. Update the schedule and budget forecasts
to take account of the latest information. Investigate the causes of any significant variations with
respect to the baseline. Review the associated risks and
assumptions. If necessary, develop options for taking corrective action.
Agree on any corrective action that is required and
update the plans (via Change Control if the baseline is changed).
Confirm that the objectives have been achieved and that
the required products have been delivered. Obtain formal sign-off if appropriate.
31. 31. Performance monitoring techniques Schedule analysis
Monitor variations in the forecast schedule
with respect to the baseline, as well as changes to the critical
path(s) and remaining float of activities. Budget analysis
Monitor variations in the forecast budget with respect to the baseline. Milestone trend charts
Monitor the forecast dates and actual dates of key milestones as a function of time. Earned
Value Management (EVM) Monitor earned - value and actual cost against planned value/cost
Risk analysis Monitor confidence values or probability
distributions associated with key elements of the schedule or budget, as a function of time.
Buffer management fever charts Monitor the consumption of
schedule and budget contingency buffers as a function of time.
32. 32. Techniques for planning larger projects Staged planning
The project is split into a number of discrete stages. An outline plan is developed for the
project as a whole, together with more detailed plans for
each stage. The plans for each stage are usually
developed towards the end of the preceding stage. This
approach is a useful way of limiting risk exposure when
there is uncertainty about the requirements, the work to
be performed, the available resources, or the project environment. Hierarchical planning
Planning and control is carried out in a hierarchical fashion so that lower level plans and
their associated control systems are nested within elements of the higher-level plans. Rolling
Wave planning Only the near-term work packages are planned in detail, while the far-term work
packages (sometimes called Planning Packages) are planned in outline only.
33. 33. Principles of effective planning and control Divide-and-conquer
Manage complexity by breaking down the various elements of the plan in a structured
way. But dont forget to keep track of the dependencies between elements as you go. Integrated
approach Dont plan and control the various project functions in isolation (e.g., scope, quality,
cost, time, risk), as they are all interdependent. Instead,
adopt a more integrated approach by bringing them
together at key control points on the WBS (e.g., work packages or control accounts). Keep it
simple, systematically Only add more detail
to the plan where the cost of doing so and the increased
complexity it brings with it is justified by the amount of information it provides. Team
collaboration Dont forget that the plan represents the teams vision for achieving the objectives.
 So make sure they are involved in its development and
any subsequent changes during the monitoring and control process.
34. 34. RECAP Activity A task, operation, or process consuming time
and possibly other resources. Baseline A snapshot of a plan (or element of a plan)
that is used as a point of reference. Budget The agreed cost or quantification of resources
needed to complete an activity by a set time. Critical Path A sequence of activities through an
activity network where each activity in the sequence has zero or negative total float. Duration
The estimated or actual time required to complete an activity. Milestone
A key event selected for its importance in the project. Product
The measurable output of an activity. Resource Anything other than time that is necessary
for carrying out an activity.

Human aspect of project management"

1. 1. HUMAN ASPECT OF PROTECT MANAGEMENTFor the successful execution of a project, a
satisfactory human relation is mustwithout such a system other systems of project management do
not work well. Toachieve satisfactory human relations in the project setting, the project manager
mustsuccessfully handle problems and challenges related to: Authority Orientation Motivation
Group functioningAuthority: In project management, the project manager whose activities cut
acrossfunctional lines of command, lacks the desired formal authority. While the managerhas
formal control emanating from contracts and agreement:" as far as outsideagencies involved in
project work are concerned, in his own organisation he has tocontacted with split authority, and
dual subordination. His effecti ve authority wouldstem from his ability to develop rapport with the
project personnel, his skill mprofessional reputation and stature, his skill in communication and
persuasion.Orie1Jration;. Most of the managers, working for a project are engineers ortechnologist
when an engineer assumes managerial responsibility, he faces somedifferent type of problems,
which he is supposed to: Perform the task of planning, organising, directing and controlling the
resources of the firm in the world of uncertainty. Adopt a more creative approach to solve non
programme and unstructured problems. Attach greater importance to efficient utilisation of
resources and resolution of human relation problem. Thus, for achieving the task he must himself
be an accomplished engineer turned manager.Motivation: The project manager works within the
boundaries of a socio-technicalsystem. The principal behavioral factor, which he can influence, is
the motivation ofthe project personnel. In order to succeed in motivating project personnel, the
project manager must be a perceptive observer of human beings must have the ability to
appreciate the variable needs of human being, must have a skill in several styles of management
suitable to different situations. Group Functioning: For building. an effective group the company
must presume agenuinely participative style of management. With the managerial philosophy
theproject manager can facilitate the development of mutual trust and acceptance, open
communication, co-operation and project attitude. In this task the needs leadership capabilities,
sensitivity to human nature, perceptiveness, concern for welfare of others, maturity and impartial
approach. Actually this is difficult and challenging task.