Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management
1.1. WHAT IS A PROJECT?
A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”.
Operations, on the other hand, is work done in organizations to sustain the business. Projects
are different from operations in that they end when their objectives have been reached or the
project has been terminated.
Examples of Information Technology (IT ) Projects.
A team of students creates a smart phone application and sells it online.
A small software development team adds a new feature to an internal software application
for the finance department.
A college upgrades its technology infrastructure to provide wireless Internet access across
the whole campus.
A company develops a new system to increase sales force productivity and customer
relationship management that will work on various laptops, smart phones, and tablets.
Project Attributes
As you can see, projects come in all shapes and sizes. The following attributes help to define a
project further:
A project has a unique purpose. Every project should have a well-defined objective.
A project is temporary. A project has a definite beginning and end.
A project is developed using progressive elaboration. Projects are often defined broadly when
they begin, and as time passes, the specific details of the project become clearer.
A project requires resources, often from various areas. Resources include people, hardware,
software, and other assets.
A project requires resources, often from various areas. Resources include people, hardware,
software, and other assets.
A project involves uncertainty. Because every project is unique, it is sometimes difficult to
define its objectives clearly, estimate how long it will take to complete, or determine how much
it will cost.
An effective project manager is crucial to a project’s success. Project managers work with the
project sponsors, the project team, and the other people involved to meet project goals.
Project Constraints
Every project is constrained in different ways, often by its scope, time, and cost goals. These
limitations are sometimes referred to in project management as the triple constraint. To create
a successful project, a project manager must consider scope, time, and cost and balance these
three often-competing goals:
Scope: 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? How will the scope be verified?
Time: How long should it take to complete the project? What is the project’s schedule? How
will the team track actual schedule performance? Who can approve changes to the schedule?
1
Compiled By: Mesfin A. summer 2022
Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management
Cost: What should it cost to complete the project? What is the project’s budget? How will costs
be tracked? Who can authorize changes to the budget?
Fig. 1.1. The Triple Constraints of project management
Managing the triple constraint involves making trade-offs between scope, time, and cost goals
for a project. For example, you might need to increase the budget for a project to meet scope
and time goals. Alternatively, you might have to reduce the scope of a project to meet time and
cost goals. Experienced project managers know that you must decide which aspect of the triple
constraint is most important. If time is most important, you must often change the initial scope
and cost goals to meet the schedule. If scope goals are most important, you may need to adjust
time and cost goals.
1.2. WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities to meet project requirements.”13 Project managers must strive not only to meet
specific scope, time, cost, and quality goals of projects, they must also facilitate the entire
process to meet the needs and expectations of people involved in project activities or affected
by them.
Fig. 1.2. The Project Management Framework
2
Compiled By: Mesfin A. summer 2022
Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management
1.3. Project Management Knowledge Areas
Project management knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers
must develop. The center of Figure 1-2 shows the 10 knowledge areas of project management.
1. Project scope management: involves defining and managing all the work required to
complete the project successfully.
2. Project time management: includes estimating how long it will take to complete the work,
developing an acceptable project schedule, and ensuring timely completion of the project.
3. Project cost management consists of preparing and managing the budget for the project.
4. Project quality management: ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs
for which it was undertaken.
5. Project human resource management: is concerned with making effective use of the people
involved with the project.
6. Project communications management: involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and
storing project information.
7. Project risk management: includes identifying, analyzing, and responding to risks related to
the project.
8. Project procurement management: involves acquiring or procuring goods and services for a
project from outside the performing organization.
9. Project stakeholder management: includes identifying and analyzing stakeholder needs
while managing and controlling their engagement throughout the life of the project.
10. Project integration management: is an overarching function that affects and is affected by
all of the other knowledge areas.
1.4. Project Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities, and include the :
project sponsor,
project team,
support staff,
customers,
users,
suppliers, and even
Opponents of the project.
1.5 Project Management Tools and techniques
Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in carrying
out work in all knowledge areas.
3
Compiled By: Mesfin A. summer 2022
Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management
1.6. Project Success
How do you define the success or failure of a project? The list that follows outlines a few
common criteria for measuring the success of a project.
1. The project met scope, time, and cost goals.
2. The project satisfied the customer/sponsor.
3. The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount
of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy.
Why do some IT projects succeed and others fail? The Table below lists the factors that
contribute to the success of IT projects in the order of their importance.
1.7: Program and Project Portfolio Management
Two important concepts that help projects meet enterprise goals are the use of programs and
project portfolio management.
Programs
A program is “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and
control not available from managing them individually.
4
Compiled By: Mesfin A. summer 2022
Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management
The following are examples of common programs in the IT field.
Infrastructure: An IT department often has a program for IT infrastructure projects. This
program could encompass several projects, such as providing more wireless Internet access,
upgrading hardware and software, and developing and maintaining corporate standards for IT.
Applications development: This program could include several projects, such as updating an
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, purchasing a new off-the-shelf billing system, or
developing a new capability for a customer relationship management system.
User support: In addition to the many operational tasks related to user support, many IT
departments have several projects to support users. For example, a project might provide a
better e-mail system or develop technical training for users.
A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the
projects within a program. Program managers also coordinate the efforts of project teams,
functional groups, suppliers, and operations staff supporting the projects to ensure that
products and processes are implemented to maximize benefits. Program managers are
responsible for more than the delivery of project results; they are change agents responsible
for the success of products and processes developed by those projects.
Project Portfolio Management
Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to
select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective.
Fig. 1.3: Portfolio management VS Project Management
1.7. Suggested Skills for Project Managers
Project managers need to have a wide variety of skills and be able to decide which skills are
more important in different situations. Some of the required skill are :
The Project Management Body of Knowledge
• Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations
• Project environment knowledge
• General management knowledge and skills
• Soft skills or human relations skills
5
Compiled By: Mesfin A. summer 2022