Understanding Project Management Basics
Understanding Project Management Basics
1
2 3 THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT MANAGER
to represent the structure of project activities. a complete and concise guide to the standards and of-
During theSecond World Warand in the period- the essential guidelines for project management practices
Management. TheInternational Project Management Association
In the following, the first true and proper ones [Link]
structured according to a modern conception of the project tion(IPMA), founded in Europe in 1967, has undertaken
a similar direction by establishing the IPMA Competence Ba-
management. HeManhattan Projectlaunched by the government
seline (ICB). Both organizations are participating
no of [Link] the aim of being the first to achieve
Now he is working on the development of a standardISOfor the project
nuclear weapons ahead of ongoing efforts by
management.
part of the Nazi government, it is recognizable as the first
large project organized according to a scientific model
scientifically similar to the large current projects. The physi-
withRobert Oppenheimerhe was appointed director 2 Project Objectives
in 1942, leveraging his organizational skills (as well as
obviously his deep theoretical knowledge of ar- The project's objectives define the results to be achieved.
treated subjects) managed to provide an organizational form and to reach the end of the project, necessary results for the
a deep motivation for the entire project team achievement of the expected benefits by the clients. The
about 700 people worked for several years). In addition to the objectives can be formulated in the best way you
Gantt chartsand other techniques and tools inform- reaffirming adherence to the requirements indicated by theacrostic
In the years following 1950, other developments were [Link] from English as 'intelligent',
important techniques: thePERT(Program Evaluation and sly
Review Techniquedeveloped by the companyBooz Allen
Hamiltonfor the development project ofPolaris missileyes
part of theUnited States marina(in collaboration with the •Specific/Simple (that is, well-defined and clear)
you understandable)
Lockheed Corporation) and theCPM(Critical Path Method)
jointly developed byDuPont Corporationand
Measurable (or at least assessable) in its
Remington Rand Corporationto manage the projects of ma- accessibility
maintenance of industrial plants. In the following years-
These techniques spread widely and quickly. Acceptable (in the sense of 'considered achievable')
in the industrial world. from the people involved in the project
Modern project management is aculturethat comes
especially from the experience gained from the management of pro- Relevant (i.e. important for the client, to the
to give a clear and strong mandate to those
complex issues. Among the first to highlight this approach-
both as Project Manager and as a consultant of the who have responsibilities in the project
major Companies, Businesses, and Clients has beenRussell Timed/Traceable (in the sense that it must be
D. Archibald. achieved by a certain date and being able to be
Themanagement engineeringit evolved and, thanks to the pioneering work tracked in its progress
artistic ofHans Langand others, technologies were developed
for the estimation of project costs and for cost management. The measurement (or evaluation) of the achievement of a
In the1956the "American Association of Co- The objective can/should be verified at the end of the project.
st Engineers” (orAACE InternationalAssociation for However, continuous active monitoring of progress towards
the Advancement of Cost Engineering”) from the pri- each objective should be monitored and evaluated
my practitioners of project management and related practices periodically during the course of the project.
(planning, cost estimateproject co-control
(sti/planning). AACE has continued its activities. Theproject communication, not to be confused with
of the development of technological standards and in the2006it is necessary
the communication to the client of the project results
let out theTotal Cost Management Framework" (version it is a process aimed at understanding the objectives
PDF of the bookdeveloped by John Hollman . [4] and enhance project content to a quantity
of different and differentiated publics. For example, promote the
In the1969was founded in theProject Management Institute project, its purposes and the organization that implements it,
(PMI) with the aim of spreading and strengthening the practices
at the Media (press office), at internal targets (top
if project management through the assertion of one management, financing, corporate communication, etc.) or
standard, based on the belief that different cam- use their values for corporate marketing[5].
the application of project management, from theConstruction
everyoneSoftware engineeringthey had a wide base co-
myself in technologies and management methodologies of
projects. In the1981the PMI Steering Committee authorizes
The role of the Project Manager
the development of theGuide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge(also known asPMBOK The management of a project is usually entrusted to a
project manager, which sometimes participates directly in the
4.2 Project variables: the project constraint triangle 3
activities that make it up, but mainly focuses on value the amount of work needed (the so-called-
lizza in the coordination and control of the various com- to complete each task, determining
components and the different actors involved with the aim of of the type of resources (human and non) needed
minimize the probability of failure. to their realization;
Upon completion of theprojectusually the product or ser- calculate the completion times for each task in
realized goals are taken over by a figure operating based on the number of resources assigned to them;
different narrative, typically theProduct Manageror theService
Manager. determine personnel costs for implementation
ne of each task by multiplying the amount of work-
In large-scale projects, the activity of project mana-
Management can be delegated to multiple people: it is realized
Estimated effort for the average costs of the types
of identified resources; add the costs of the others
so a project management group. Commonly
materials and/or services needed;
within the group there is a leader who is still called
to the project manager, this is accompanied by other people determine thecritical pathbased on the dependencies
that are involved in the management activities of parts of the of those existing within the WBS;
project according to a view for system components
or for specific areas. These are sometimes referred totask calculate the total time (the so-called elapsed)
manager. I am sending the times of all the tasks that are inside.
of the critical path;
Considering that both internationally and in Italy there are This procedure is made much simpler by the
a considerable amount of methodologies and techniques available planning control tools, which
that correlate to the theory and practice of project management allow you to represent the structure of the associated tasks
there are fundamental concepts and techniques to allWBS, view theGantt charte cer-
recurring in most existing approaches. which is the best plan setup that optimizes usage
of resources and minimizes the risks present in the planning
action, with the constraint of staying within the time of
4.1 Project estimation realization requested by the client.
represent the decomposition of the task in a 4.2 Project variables: the triangle of
Gantt charthighlighting the inter- project constraints
relations between the different elements of the project (macro-
activities or work packages, task outputs) on a scale Just like any other human effort, projects also
storm made and released in a context subject to de-
4 4 BASIC CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES
a negotiation process between the parties that reflects 16. Quality assurance (minimization
in the initial contract (whether formal or informal). of non-conformities)
A good project manager, in addition to deep knowledge Identification, management and control of variations
of these variables, usually has a good experience an- of purpose (change request to change control)
in the processes of integration, communication, management
of human resources, quality assurance (Qua- 18. Project closure and resource disallocation
Quality Assurance), planning and management of purchases
Procurement 19. Management of the acceptance of produced results
Cesare,On the Gallic WarIV, 17 Antonello [Link], Project management: the method-
Logia of the 12 Steps, 1st edition, Hoepli Publisher, 2008
[3] F.W. TaylorThe scientific organization of work,
ISBN978-88-203-3970-8.
Milan, Etas Kompass, 1967.
[4] John HollmannTotal Cost Management Framework Sergio Gerosa, Roberto Somma, Techniques and Me-
methodologies of Project Management: the management of
Morgantown WV, AACE International, 2006.
complex programs with particular reference
In various cases, communication proceeds through the in the space sector, Aracne Editrice, 2011,ISBN
disseminationthat is the process of disseminating the results 978-88-548-4049-2.
and the benefits of a project (especially if it is about re-
search) in the academic and scientific world and directed
to thetechnology transfer. 11.2 Books in English
[6]The PRINCE2 Guide - A to Z, FAQ and 1000+ Exam
Questions Scott Berkun, Art of Project Management, Cam-
Bridge, MA, O'Reilly Media, 2005ISBN0-596-
The division into 5 phases is common to many methodologies00786-8.
and corresponding to the 5 macroprocesses indicated by thePMBOK
IEEE Std 1490-2003. Fred Brooks, The Mythical Man-Month, 20th An-
Anniversary Edition, Addison Wesley, 1995,ISBN
0-201-83595-9.
11 Bibliography Frigenti E Comninos D &, The Practice of Project
Management - a guide to the business-focused ap-
11.1 Books in Italian proach, Kogan Page, 2002,ISBN0-7494-3694-8,
* Flyvbjerg, Bent, (2006). “From Nobel Prize to
Russel D. Archibald, Project Management - The ge- Project Management: Getting Risks [Link]
Question of Complex Projects and Programs, 3rd ed. Management Journal, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 5-15..
Franco Angeli, 2004,ISBN978-88-464-5179-8.
•Gary Heerkens, Project Management (The Brie-
Project Management Institute, Guide to Project fcase Book Series), McGraw-Hill, 2001, ISBN
Management Body of Knowledge, 3rd ed., Project 0-07-137952-5.
Management Institute, 2003,ISBN1-930699-22-0.
Yamal Chamoun, Professional Project Manager
Harold Kerzner, Project management. Planning ment, THE GUIDE, 1st Edition, Monterrey, NL
yes, scheduling and project control, 1st ed. (8th MEXICO, McGraw Hill, 2006,ISBN970-10-
English edition), Hoepli, 2005,ISBN88-203-3426-7. 5922-0.
Lucio Bianco, Massimiliano Caramia, Quantitative methods James Lewis, Fundamentals of Project Management
Titatives for project management, 1st ed., Alpha ment, 2nd ed., American Management Association,
Test, 2006,ISBN88-203-3666-9. 2002ISBN0-8144-7132-3.
Brizio Leonardo Tommasi, Massimiliano Caramia Meredith, Jack R. and Mantel, Samuel J., Project
Project management and human resources, 1st ed. Management: A Managerial Approach, 5th ed.
Franco Angeli, 2009,ISBN978-88-568-0675-5. Wiley, 2002,ISBN0-471-07323-7.
Brizio Leonardo Tommasi, Massimiliano Cara •Stellman, Andrew and Greene, Jennifer, Applied
mia, Maturity metrics in Project mana- Software Project Management, Cambridge, MA,
Management, 1st ed., Franco Angeli, 2012,ISBN O'Reilly Media, 2005,ISBN0-596-00948-8.
978-88-204-0795-7.
Thayer, Richard H. and Yourdon, Edward, Software
Marion E. Haynes, Project management: from the idea Engineering Project Management, 2nd Ed., Wiley-
on implementation. A practical guide to success., 7th IEEE Computer Society Press, 2000,ISBN0-8186-
edition, Franco Angeli, 2004,ISBN88-204-7462-X. 7992.
•ISIPM - Edited by E. Mastrofini and E. Rambaldi, S. Jonathan WhittyA Memetic Paradigm of Pro-
Guide to Basic Project Management Certification Project Management(PDFInternational Journal of
Management, 1st ed., Franco Angeli, 2008ISBN Project Management, 23 (8) 575-583, 2005.
88-464-9706-6.
Whitty, S.J. and Schulz, [Link] impact of Puritan
•Sebastian Nokes, Sean Kelly, The project mana- ideology on aspects of project management(PDF),
Management: techniques and processes, 2nd ed., Pearson International Journal of Project Management, 25 (1)
Education Italy, 2008,ISBN978-88-7192-500-4. October 20, 2007
8 14 EXTERNAL LINKS
12 Related Voices
13 Other projects
14 External links
• Project Management Institute – North Italy Chapter,
PMI Rome Italy Chapter, PMI South Italy
15.2 Images
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