ENGR 510

1
Engineering Project Management
Chapter 1: Overview

Dr. Rana Z. Haj Chhade

What is a Project? 2

A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that

Have a specific Consume human Are

objective to be Have defined Have funding and nonhuman multifunctional
completed start and end limits (if resources (i.e., (i.e., cut across
within certain dates; applicable); money, people, several
specifications; equipment); functional lines).
Project Deliverables 3

Hardware Deliverables: These are hardware items, such as a table, a

prototype, or a piece of equipment.

Software Deliverables: These items are similar to hardware deliverables

Types of project but are usually paper products, such as reports, studies, handouts, or
deliverables documentation.

Interim Deliverables: These items can be either hardware or software

deliverables and progressively evolve as the project proceeds. An example
might be a series of interim reports leading up to the final report.
Project Process Groups 4

A project management involves five process groups:

Project
Project Project Project Project
Monitoring
Initiation Planning Execution Closure
and Control
Project Process Groups (Cont’d) 5

Selection of the best project given resource limits.

Recognizing the benefits of the project.

Project Initiation
Preparation of the documents to sanction the
project.

Assigning of the project manager.

Project Process Groups (Cont’d) 6

Definition of the work requirements.

Definition of the quality and quantity of work.

Project Planning Definition of the resources needed.

Scheduling the activities.

Evaluation of the various risks.

Project Process Groups (Cont’d) 7

Negotiating for the project team members.

Project Execution Directing and managing the work.

Working with the team members to help them improve.

Project Process Groups (Cont’d) 8

Tracking progress.

Comparing actual outcome to predicted outcome.

Project Monitoring and
control
Analyzing variances and impacts.

Making adjustments.
Project Process Groups (Cont’d) 9

Verifying that all of the work has been

accomplished.

Contractual closure of the contract.

Project Closure

Financial closure of the charge numbers.

Administrative closure of the paperwork.

Project Management Definition 10

Project management is the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of company

resources for a relatively short-term objective that has been established to complete
specific goals and objectives.

Furthermore, project management utilizes the systems approach to management by

having functional personnel (the vertical hierarchy) assigned to a specific project (the
horizontal hierarchy).
Project Management Definition (Cont’d) 11

Vertical hierarchy:
There are gaps
between the different
management levels.
Project Management Definition (Cont’d) 12

Horizontal hierarchy: The horizontal hierarchy

represents the different
functional units (professional
responsibilities, departments)
of the organization.
Project Management Definition (Cont’d) 13

Horizontal hierarchy
(Cont’d): In construction projects, these
functional classes are:
architectural, structural,
mechanical, electrical …
Project Management Definition (Cont’d) 14

Horizontal hierarchy
(Cont’d):

There are also gaps between

the different functional units.
Project Management Definition (Cont’d) 15

If we superimpose the management gaps on top of the functional gaps, we find that
companies are made up of small operational islands that refuse to communicate with one
another for fear that giving up information may strengthen their opponents.

The project manager’s responsibility is to get these islands to communicate cross-

functionally toward common goals and objectives.
Project Management Definition (Cont’d) 16
The Project Manager as the Planning Agent 17
The major responsibility of the project manager is planning. The project manager must provide:

Complete task definitions;

Resource requirement definition;

Major timetable milestones;

Definition of end-item quality and reliability requirements;

The basis for performance measurement.

Project Manager’s Role 18

The project manager is responsible for coordinating and integrating activities across multiple,
functional lines. The integration activities performed by the project manager include:

Integrating the activities necessary to develop a project plan;

Integrating the activities necessary to execute the plan;

Integrating the activities necessary to make changes to the plan.

 Project Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 19

Briefly, the project manager

must convert the inputs (i.e.,
resources) into outputs of
products, services, and
ultimately profits, as seen in
the figure.
Project Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 20

needs strong communicative and interpersonal

skills;

In order to do this, the must become familiar with the operations of each
project manager line organization;

must have knowledge of the technology being

used.
 Project Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 21
The term “interface management” is often used for describing the project manager’s role,
which can be described as managing relationships:

Within the project team;

Between the project team and the functional organizations;

Between the project team and senior management;

Between the project team and the customer’s organization, whether an

internal or external organization.
Project Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 22

NOTE

The customer is the client who has established a need for a specific project to be
executed.
❖ The client might be an individual or an organization.
NOTE 23

• To be effective as a project manager, an individual must have management as well as technical

skills.
• Because engineers often consider their careers limited in the functional disciplines, they look
toward project management and project engineering as career path opportunities.
• But becoming a manager entails learning about psychology, human behavior, organizational
behavior, interpersonal relations, and communications.
• MBA (Master of Business Administration) programs have come to the rescue of individuals
desiring the background to be effective project managers.
Successful Project Management? 24

Successful project management can then be defined as having achieved the project

objectives:

While utilizing
At the desired
the assigned
performance/ Accepted by the
Within time; Within cost; resources
technology customer.
effectively and
level;
efficiently;
Why Project Management? 25

Project Management and productivity are related!

Why Project Management? (Cont’d) 26

The potential benefits of project management are

Identification of functional responsibilities to ensure that all activities

are accounted for, regardless of personnel turnover;

Minimizing the need for continuous reporting;

Identification of time limits for scheduling;

Identification of a methodology for trade-off analysis;

Why Project Management? (Cont’d) 27

The potential benefits of project management are (Cont’d)

Measurement of accomplishment against plans;

Early identification of problems so that corrective action may

follow;

Improved estimating capability for future planning;

Knowing when objectives cannot be met or will be exceeded.

Why Project Management? (Cont’d) 28

NOTE

Trade-off analysis:
In the management of a construction project, the project duration can often be
compressed by accelerating some of its activities at an additional expense.
❖ This is the so-called time-cost trade-off (TCT) problem, which has been
studied extensively in the project management literature.
Why Project Management? (Cont’d) 29

Unfortunately, the benefits cannot be achieved without overcoming obstacles such as:

Project complexity; Project risks;

Customer’s special requirements

Changes in technology;
and scope changes;

Forward planning and

Organizational restructuring;
pricing.
Project Manager vs. Line Manager 30

As previously mentioned, project management is the planning, organizing, directing,

and controlling of company resources for a relatively short-term objective that has been
established to complete specific goals and objectives.

However, classical management is usually considered to have five functions or

principles: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling.
Project Manager vs. Line Manager (Cont’d) 31

So why was the “staffing” function omitted from the

project management definition?

Because the project manager does not staff the

project. Staffing is a line responsibility.
Project Manager vs. Line Manager (Cont’d) 32

As previously mentioned, project

management is designed to manage
or control company resources on a
given activity, within time, within
cost, and within performance.
Project Manager vs. Line Manager (Cont’d) 33

So what are these resources?

Information
Money Manpower Equipment Facilities Materials
Technology
Project Manager vs. Line Manager (Cont’d) 34

Actually, the project manager does not control any of these resources
directly, except perhaps money (i.e., the project budget).

Resources are controlled by the line managers (functional managers, or, as

they are often called, resources managers).
 Project Manager vs. Line Manager (Cont’d) 35

Project managers must, therefore, negotiate with line managers for all project resources.

When we say that project managers control project resources, we really mean that they control those
resources (which are temporarily loaned to them) through line managers.

The project manager has the right to request specific resources, but the final decision of what resources will
be committed rests with the line managers.

Project managers depend on line managers. When the project manager gets in trouble, the only place he can
go is to the line manager because additional resources are almost always required to alleviate the problems.
Functional Manager’s Role 36

As previously mentioned, all resources (including personnel) are controlled by the line or functional
manager.

The main difference between a project manager and a line or functional manager is that a Project
Manager manages the work taken up by a single project whereas the Line Manager will be managing the
work taken up by a line of projects.
Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 37

Example

If a line manager has to assign resources to six projects, one of which is under his direct
control, he might save the best resources for his project.
In this case, his project will be a success at the expense of all of the other projects.
 Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 38
Assuming that the project and functional managers are not the same person, we can identify a
specific role for the functional manager. There are three elements to this role:

The responsibility to define how the task will be done and where the task
will be done (i.e., the technical criteria);

The responsibility to provide sufficient resources to accomplish the objective

within the project’s constraints (i.e., who will get the job done);

The responsibility for the deliverable.

Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 39

The line manager’s obstacles:

1) Unlimited work requests (especially 6) Unscheduled changes in the project plan.

during competitive bidding). 7) Unpredicted lack of progress.
2) Predetermined deadlines. 8) Unplanned absence of resources.
3) All requests having a high priority. 9) Unplanned breakdown of resources.
4) Limited number of resources. 10) Unplanned loss of resources.
5) Limited availability of resources. 11) Unplanned turnover of personnel.
Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 40

Only in a very few industries will the line manager be able to identify to the project
manager in advance exactly what resources will be available when the project is scheduled
to begin.

Functional managers should not commit to certain people’s availability. Rather, the
functional manager should commit to achieving his portion of the objective within time,
cost, and performance even if he has to use average or below-average personnel.
Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 41

It is not important for the project manager to have the best available resources.

If the project manager is unhappy with the assigned functional resources, then the project manager
should closely track that portion of the project.

Only if and when the project manager is convinced by the evidence that the assigned resources are
unacceptable should he confront the line manager and demand better resources.
Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 42

The fact that a project manager is assigned does not relieve the line manager of
his functional responsibility to perform.

If a functional manager assigns resources such that the constraints are not met,
then both the project and functional managers will be blamed.
Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 43

NOTE

Some companies consider evaluating line managers for merit increases and
promotion based on how often they have lived up to their commitments to the
project managers.
Functional Manager’s Role (Cont’d) 44

Example

In one automotive company, the tension between the project and line managers became so
combative that it was having a serious impact on the performance and constraints of the project.
▪ The project managers argued that the line managers were not fulfilling their promises whereas
the line managers were arguing that the project managers’ requirements were poorly defined.
▪ To alleviate the problem, a new form was created which served as a contractual agreement
between the project and the line managers who had to commit to the deliverables.
▪ This resulted in “shared accountability” for the project’s deliverables.
Functional Employee’s Role 45

Once the line managers commit to the deliverables, it is the responsibility of the
assigned functional employees to achieve the functional deliverables.
Functional Employee’s Role (Cont’d) 46
The functional employee is expected to accomplish the following activities when assigned to projects:

Accept responsibility for accomplishing the assigned deliverables within the

project’s constraints;

Complete the work at the earliest possible time;

Periodically inform both the project and line manager of the project’s status;

Bring problems to the surface quickly for resolution;

Share information with the rest of the project team.

Executive’s Role 47

Executives are expected to interface a project as follows::

In project planning and objective-setting;

In conflict resolution;

In priority setting;

As project sponsor.
Executive’s Role (Cont’d) 48

Executives are expected to interface with projects very closely at project initiation and
planning, but to remain at a distance during execution unless needed for priority-
setting and conflict resolution.

One reason why executives “meddle” during project execution is that they are not getting
accurate information from the project manager as to project status.
Sponsorship 49

Most projects also have a project sponsor who may or may not reside at the executive
levels of management.

Sponsorship is the position or function of a person or group who supports, advises, or helps
fund another person or an organization or project.
Sponsorship (Cont’d) 50

NOTE

Sponsorship does not always target a tangible profit.

❖ For example, a company might sponsor a non-profit event by providing certain
fund, however, the gained profit is not tangible (money); it might be simply for
advertising the company’s name.
Success in Project Management 51

Success in project management is like a three-legged stool:

The first leg is the The second leg is the The third leg is senior
project manager; line manager; management.

If any of the three legs fail, then even delicate balancing may not prevent the stool from
toppling.
Success in Project Management (Cont’d) 52

The critical node in project management is the project manager – line manager interface.

At this interface, the project and line managers must view each other as equals and be willing to
share authority, responsibility, and accountability.
Success in Project Management (Cont’d) 53

Since the project and line managers are “equals,” senior management involvement is necessary to
provide advice and guidance to the project manager, as well as to provide encouragement to the
line managers to keep their promises.

When executives act in this capacity, they assume the role of project sponsors which shows that
sponsorship need not always be at the executive levels.
Success in Project Management (Cont’d) 54
Success in Project Management (Cont’d) 55

The ultimate objective of the project sponsor is to provide behind-the-scenes assistance to project
personnel for projects both “internal” to the company, as well as “external”.

When an executive is required to act as a project sponsor, then the executive has the responsibility
to make effective and timely project decisions. To accomplish this, the executive needs timely,
accurate, and complete data for such decisions.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations 56

On the micro level, virtually all organizations are either marketing-, engineering-, or
manufacturing-driven.

But on the macro level, organizations are either project- or non–project-driven (also called
operational-driven).
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 57

In a project-driven organization, such as construction or aerospace, all work is characterized

through projects, with each project as a separate cost center having its own profit-and-loss
statement.

The total profit to the corporation is simply the summation of the profits on all projects.

In a project-driven organization, everything centers around the projects.

Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 58

Example of a project-driven organization

• As mentioned previously, construction is a project-driven organization.

• In construction projects, a client will first recognize the need for a certain facility to be
constructed (for example, a school, a hospital, a residential building …).
• The client will then choose a construction company to execute the desired project. In
general, this is done through bidding.
• This means that the client has already purchased the project before its execution.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 59

In the non–project-driven organization, such as low-technology manufacturing, profit and loss

are measured on vertical or functional lines.

In this type of organization, projects exist merely to support the product lines or functional lines.

Priority resources are assigned to the revenue-producing functional line activities rather than the
projects.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 60

Example of a non-project driven organization

• As mentioned previously, low technology manufacturing is a non-project driven

organization.
• One example is the manufacturing of bicycle.
• In such case, bicycles are manufactured (based on a market analysis), then distributed to
vendors, where potential clients can purchase the desired product.
• This means that in the case of bicycles manufacturing, the final product is available for
inspection before it is purchased, unlike the case of construction projects.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 61

In general, project management is important in project-driven organizations.

WHY?
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 62

Let’s go back to the construction project example.

A project is initiated by a client who recognizes the need for a facility to be constructed. Then, he
will choose a construction company to execute the desired project, generally through bidding.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 63

The phases of winning new contracts in project-oriented businesses (bidding process) is as follows:

The client will

The bidders The client will
invite several The winner must
(construction revise the
construction execute the
companies who submitted
companies to project up to the
entered the bid) proposals and
submit their expectations of
will submit their choose a winning
proposals for the the client.
proposals. bidder.
desired project.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 64

How does the client choose the winning bidder?

The client will choose the bidder who shows a potential for executing the
project within a desired budget, a desired duration and at a satisfactory level
of performance.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 65

Accordingly, each construction company that has entered a bid to win a construction project needs
a project manager.

When preparing the proposal, the project manager will be responsible of planning and scheduling
the project, given the available resources, as well as setting up the project budget.

If the construction company wins the bid, the project manager will have to monitor the execution
of the project to make sure it is implemented within time and budget, and at the desired
performance level.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 66

On the other side, project management in a non–project-driven organization is generally

more difficult.
WHY?
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 67

Let’s go back to the bicycles manufacturing example. This type of project is a simple manufacturing
process and was called previously a “low-technology manufacturing”.

In “low-technology manufacturing”, project management is not actually a necessity. In fact, project

management might be needed in case of an enhanced manufacturing operations; for example, in case
the manufacturer modifies the design of the bicycle to make it suitable for rough roads.

In such case, project management might be needed to plan and set-up a new budget for the
“enhancement project”, knowing that such a modification of the design requires rigorous testing to
ensure the quality of the product.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 68

Note that these enhanced manufacturing operations are not frequent, so enhancement projects may
be few and far between.

In addition, not all projects have the same project management requirements and therefore they
cannot be managed identically.
Project – Driven Vs. Non-Project – Driven
Organizations (Cont’d) 69

So why was the aerospace industry considered as a project-driven organization?

• Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles.
In addition, they create and test prototypes to make sure that they function according to
design.
• Accordingly, aerospace manufacturing is a high-technology industry, unlike bicycle
manufacturing which is considered a low-technology manufacturing.
• This means that the aerospace industry is always in development and innovation stages,
therefore, requiring project management.