6.
1 AREAS OF GROWTH
· Initiation of Projects
· Planning of Projects
· Execution of Project
· Evaluation of Project Success
6.2 OBJECTIVES
· Explain the principles and practices required to succeed in project management.
· Efficiently and effectively scope a project, allocate resources, work towards a
deadline, and budget throughout the various stages of the project.
· Confidently identify potential risks and conflicts requiring resolution when
managing a team to successfully deliver projects.
· Demonstrate the understanding and implementation of new techniques to approach
new projects.
· Effectively communicate, motivate and influence others to reach a desirable
outcome
6.3 LEARNING OUTCOMES
· Systematic planning and execution of planned project
· Improved success rate of project both at micro and macro level
· Optimum utilisation of resources mobilised for project implementation
· Improved project impact on the intended beneficiaries
6.4 INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
4.1 What is a Project?
A project is an idea or goal that is carried out over a period of time. A project can be starting
a new product or service to an entire business plan. Stages of a project include planning,
implementation, and evaluation. These stages are not inclined to a specific service or type of
product. Generally, a group /team of people with various skills carry out a project, In this case
the skills may include marketing, merchandising, finance management, or design.
4.2 Characteristics of a project:
• The client or the team members define the scope of work;
• Has an end goal;
• It is time framed;
• It has budget;
• A plan for achieving milestones and the final goal is used;
• Has some delegated tasks; and
• The team may be diverse or specialised
4.3 What is Project Management?
Project management is a process that helps in planning, organizing, executing and controlling
projects. It includes allocating resources and managing progress. It is a systematic approach
that makes it possible to complete a project using the given budget and time.
It is the duty of project managers to manage resources and to oversee progress of every aspect
of the project. This will involve workflow and major tasks organisation and allocation of
resources to all parties involved for successful execution of their duties (Jawahar, Gary &
McLaughlin, 2001)
With good project management in place there is greater control over resources and this prevents
wastage of time and money.
Project managers view all aspects of their projects like, finances, timelines, and risks and they
also coordinate different teams working on different parts of the same project.
Project management styles combine different business models, personal preference and
industry trends and these are engaged depending on the discipline. Agile and Waterfall are the
most popular project management styles in use.
a) Agile Project Management
Agile project management depends on iterative and incremental development. Successful Agile
teams use short iteration cycles for success, and each phase has a fixed duration. To meet
milestones members work at their own pace and they review their progress and adapt to what
they have learned so far on a daily base.
b) Waterfall Project Management
Waterfall project management’s sequential steps focus on detailed plans that outline the
business process before completion of each step. It defines specific tasks at the beginning of
any work. Every task is well executed before going on to the next step.
The long iterative cycles, make the end product unknown at the beginning of each phase. In
between the phases are weekly or monthly reviews to ensure progress and that each phase lasts
for months or years.
Agile style has problems with meeting deadlines since teams work in a flexible environment
and may require frequent changes in plans and at the same time. On the other hand, waterfall
project styles have fewr changes with each iteration and are more formal.
4.4 What is a Project Life Cycle?
Project managers are guided by 4-step framework for their project’s success. A project life
cycle creates an easy to follow framework to guide projects activities.
Project Life Cycle
project life cycle
Figure 1: Project Life Cycle: [Link]
8f3ab343-255e-4d50-b974-2c6dfd040c32
4.4.1 Importance of a Project Management Life Cycle
· Project stakeholders and teams have ease of communication
· Project goals are achieved with the available resources
· Ensure risk mitigation to keep projects on track
· Assisting in management, organization, and planning for project to avoid hitches.
6.5 PROJECT MANAGEMENT STEPS
4.2 Project Management Steps
4.2.1 Project Initiation
The initiation phase encompasses all the steps you must take before a project is approved and
any planning begins. The project initiator should be able to answer two questions:
· Why are you doing this project?
· What is the business value you expect to deliver?
This promotes feasibility of the project. A lot of research, discovery, and discussion, but very
little detailed planning in this phase takes place.
The project initiator identifies project needs and creates an initial plan. This starts with project
vision establishment and defining of its objectives. It includes creating an outline to establish
goals, milestones, and deliverables for team members as well as timeline set up for the entire
process.
4.2.2 Project Planning
A project team is assembled, resources are allocated, tasks identified resources are allocated to
tasks. Planning for any possible risks or contingency is done at this stage.
A Gantt chart, created by the manager, is used to show how long it will take to complete the
project. This chart is used to visually show a task's progress over time. It shows the start date,
duration, and end date for each task on the horizontal axis with bars that represent individual
activities or sub-tasks on the vertical axis. The Gantt chart was created by Henry Gantt in 1917.
4.2.3 Execution
This is where planning, organizing, and controlling of the project are done. All necessary
information and materials are gathered, stakeholder meetings are prepared, previous step data
is analysed, risks identified, and decisions about how to proceed are made. This phase of the
execution process ends by completing and delivering the final product to the client.
4.2.4 Monitoring and controlling
At this stage managers and teams jointly keep track of what has been done and what is to be
done. They project time, money, and effort spent and what resources are left to complete the
project. This enables the project manager to ensure that the project is on track and that all tasks
are being completed successfully.
6.6 KEY STEPS TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT AT INITIATION STAGE
· Identification of project objectives and deliverables
· Project risks, dependencies, priorities and constraints outlining
· Establishment of project scope considering deadlines and available resources
· Submission of a project proposal for approval.
4.3.1 The Project Initiation Phase
· Create a Project Charter
Once the initiation phase is underway, green light has been given , there is need to create a
requirements of the project. project charter, or project initiation document (PID) that provides
the purpose.
o Business needs,
o key participants and stakeholders,
o scope,
o objectives, and
o overall goals are the details to be outlined in the charter. The project charter builds a
foundation for defining project decisions and helps to ensure the decisions are in line with
company goals
The project charter should have:
o Title
o Brief Description
o Background
o Goals/Deliverables
o Scope
o Impact on Other Business Systems and Units
o Stakeholders
o Roles and Responsibilities
o Milestones
o Budget
o Constraints, Assumptions, Dependencies, and Risks
o Success Measurements
o Project Approval
· Determine Scope
There is need to identify the project’s goals, deliverables, budget, and schedule of the project.
It is important to define scope early on to set expectations with all stakeholders though it can
change over time,
Note that a successful project is measured by its ability to complete the stated requirements on
time and on budget, so the requirements must be clearly defined at the onset.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI) the following are six phases of defining
scope:
o Plan Scope: Decide to define, monitor, and control the scope.
o Control Scope: Manage stakeholder expectations continuously.
o Collect Requirements: Define requirements for the project.
o Define Scope: Define scope of what is in and also what is out of scope.
· Create Work Breakdown Structures (WBS): Provide hierarchy of tasks for all
team members.
o Validate Scope: Get internal and external stakeholders formally sign off on the proposed
project scope and deliverables.
o Identify Project Objectives: to help avoid risks and steer a course to project success. An
objective is specific and measurable and time framed attainable and realistic. One way to create
concise objectives is using the S.M.A.R.T. method:
Figure 2: Characteristics of good project objectives
o Specific: Objectives should be clearly defined and in detail, leaving no room for
interpretation.
o Measurable: Identify key performance indicators to determine if objectives have been
achieved.
o Attainable: Avoid being over ambitious for the team to successfully complete the set
objectives
o Realistic: Set objectives that the project team believes can be achieved.
o Time-Bound: Set a date or specific duration for completion of the project.
The set objectives should be C.L.E.A.R. The acronym C.L.E.A.R. stands for
Figure 3 Characteristics of project objectives
‘C.L.E.A.R’ goals help to cater for a modern workplace that is dynamic in nature. Today’s
fast-paced businesses must be flexible and produce immediate results.
· Invite the Right Stakeholders
Early involvement of the right stakeholders help to produce a successful project, thus it is
essential to consider everyone that may be impacted by or has interest in the project plan,
deliverables, and outcome.
To maintain transparency throughout, stakeholders can be internal or external. Ensure the
availability of the right tools and processes in place to communicate effectively with all
stakeholders.
For maximum involvement and communication of each stakeholder consider the following five
factors:
1. The stakeholders with the most influence
2. The stakeholders to be mostly affected by the project
3. Handling of important non-stakeholders
4. Resources controllers
5. Determine the top motivations and interests of the stakeholders
· Set Expectations
One key to the success of a project is setting clear expectations of its objectives and goals,
deliverable, timelines, resources required, and budgets
Factors to consider when setting expectations:
· A complete and well-thought-out charter.
· Risks and potential hiccups plan.
· Estimation of realistic timelines and budgets, allowing for some padding.
· Sharing of project plans with all internal and external stakeholders.
· Setting milestones throughout the project timeline to show incremental progress.
· Providing regular updates and real-time status reports.
· Being honest even if things go wrong.
6.7 PROJECT PLANNING
4.4.1 What is Project Planning?
The planning process starts with an estimation of a proposal. A great proposal plan is a sure
way to provide the executing team with the best shot for project success. A proposal estimate
consists of a scope, a schedule, and a cost. The first step is to understand the scope. Utilizing a
statement of work (SOW) or any document from your customer with the work required will
establish the scope to be bid. Missing aspects may lead to delays of schedule and cost overruns.
Scope comprehension is difficult when timelines to submit proposals are short. The when and
who make up the schedule and the cost portion of the estimate.
4.4.2 Steps for completing the project proposal estimate:
1. Scope understanding and comprehension is important to accurate estimating
2. Utilize the project template to clone or populate the project information, the past
estimates, and the timelines for the tasks
3. Work breakdown structure (WBS) establishment
4. Estimation of the resources needed to complete the tasks
5. Understand the timing of needed resources
6. Availability of all materials, services, and travel required
7. Time phase estimates
8. Availability of the right skill set when needed
9. Use To Be Determined (TBDs) if the name of the resource is not available on time
10. Gain buy-in from the proposal team and the functional departments before submission to
the customer.
11. Once the proposal is sent to the customer and negotiated, the project is worn. The project
manager is given the proposal for execution.
4.4.3 Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
A WBS is a hierarchy of the tasks to be accomplished on a project. It is typically results or
product based and should make the management of scope, schedule, and cost much easier.
The advantages of using a WBS are:
• Work is broken apart, into workable tasks that can be allocated or spread out among the
project team
• Gives a conspicuous representation of the project
• Enables scheduling, costing, and reporting on the project
• Gives a repeatable backbone for future projects
• Helps with scope management—comprehension in initiation phase and minimizes
scope creep in the execution
4.4.4 Scope, Schedule, and Budget
Scope understanding is one of the toughest activities that both a proposal team and a project
team must tackle. Scope goes with the resources needed to execute and their availability. Scope
is tracked in a document called a statement of work (SOW). The SOW gives the teams the
spine of the project and it has a reference number with each requirement. The reference number
is used to make it easy to track activities. The SOW reference number can be attached to a task,
sub-task, or work package so that with a simple report, you can cross reference to ensure all
scope is covered.
Updating management policies and procedures and team role-based training to make them
understand their part in the process makes a project successful.
A proposal and a project schedule must be available. The task need-by dates establish the
schedule that provides the basis of the cost. In a professional services company, the budget and
resultant cost are driven by PEOPLE so our next section is on planning your resources.
6.8 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND BASIC INFORMATION
Proper resource management comes with the factors below:
1. Utilization needed to be profitable
2. Utilization aimed at avoiding burnout
3. Actual billable and non-billable utilization
4. Up-to-date Project probability so that people forecast on the most likely billable
revenue and utilization?
4.5.1 Resource Planning
Where people are the primary drivers of revenue, and the primary contributors to cost in
professional services firms there should be the “Right People, Right Time, Right Task.”
At any given company, people are the most important asset yet so many companies struggle to
truly manage this resource. Resource planning should not be done too late. Even if proposal
and project managers want to plan their resources, the reality is that most resource planning is
done ad-hoc with Excel files at the project level. Planners do not consider skills or what other
projects need, and there is no clue what new work will require from a resource perspective.
Some simple tips to help increase the efficiency of managing resources across the enterprise
are given below:
1. Use of a centralized repository for all resource plans which is accessible to all
stakeholders
2. A skills catalogue will help to access the right resources- when (and where) they are
needed.
3. Forecast resources throughout the project life cycle.
4. The company should have a single pool or resources, not on one project or portfolio.
5. Planning to be at the project level and roll-up to the enterprise—no forecast by
department only.
6. Provide stakeholders real-time resource demand and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
reports as well as role-based dashboards.
7. Avoid planning your most important resources on disparate Excel spread sheets.
6.9 PROJECT CONTROLS
4.6.1 What are Project Controls?
Project Controls are professional functions which in their own right are not widely taken as a
set of specialised skills. Their importance is to assist to achieve successful programme
outcomes and project. This involves delivering required benefits to cost, time and performance.
Project Controls are the data gathering, management and analytical processes used to forecast,
understand and constructively influence the time and cost outcomes of a project or programme:
through the communication of information in formats that assist effective management and
decision making." “Source – Pat Weaver’s White Paper”
The above definition embraces all the stages of a project life cycle which
are initiating planning
execution closure
-
Figure 1: Stages of Project Cycle
Where does Project Controls sit?
Project Control professionals are part of the Project Team who work for and report to the
Project Manager. They are the central part of the Project Team. Project Management deals with
informed and accountable decisions making whilst Project Controls are concerned with
informing, monitoring and analysing of the activities to do with the control [Link]
Control professionals do the generation and maintenance of the information which brings
awareness to the Project Manager and Senior Managers and enables control exercise.
4.6.1 Project Controls Component Elements
Project Controls enable initial baseline performance metrics estimation, current status of the
project determination, estimation of project future, variances and their recovery. Time and cost
aspects of Project Controls are to do with measuring, monitoring and controlling.
Key attributes of Project Controls
· Planning and Scheduling
· Risk Management (includes identification & assessment)
· Cost estimating and management
· Scope and Change Management
· Earned Value Management
· Document Control
· Supplier Performance
· Maintaining the project baseline
· Reporting
· BIM and Information Management
These encompass the key important attributes of Project Controls hence are not an exhaustive
list.
6.10 PROJECT STRUCTURE FROM A CONTROLS PERSPECTIVE
A project that successfully delivers a required benefit has an agreed project schedule that
follows a few basic rules in its development that also benefit from a robust and complete Project
Management Plan at its core. Description of the project scope, the Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) and the Organisational Breakdown Structure (OBS) are also important elements. The
WBS ties together the scope, schedule and costs of the project. It is output orientated and breaks
down the project scope into deliverable items. The OBS defines the Organisational structure
and the roles required within the project team to enable successful delivery. OBS helps to
identify specific accountability and responsibilities for delivery within the team.
5.1 Importance of Project Controls:
The execution of a project is based on a robust project plan and can only be achieved through
an effective schedule control methodology.
· If dedicated Project Controls’ systems are in place Project performance can be
improved
· Project Control can improve cost effectiveness
· Good project control practices result in good cost and schedule outcomes.