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Project Management Computing

Fakultas Program Studi Tatap Muka Kode MK Disusun Oleh

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Teknik Magister Teknik W571700006 Mawardi Amin
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Mata kuliah ini memberikan Mahasiswa mampu membuat dan
pemahaman bagi mahasiswa tentang menganalisis jadwal dengan project
Project Management Computing management computing
 A revolution has taken place in the field of project planning and control- up until the
1980s all the data processing was performed by either large mainframe computers or by hand,
but now with the introduction of powerful yet inexpensive personal computer hardware and
computer software, there is a dramatic shift of information processing power away from the
data processing department to the desk of the project manager or project team. This falling
cost of computer power is also driving a new age of experimentation with management
systems and how we do business.
The PMBOK says 'Project management software is widely used to assist with
schedule development. These products automate the calculation of mathematical analysis and
resource levelling and thus allow for rapid consideration of many schedule alternatives. They
are also widely used to print or display the outputs of schedule development.
There used to be discussion about the resistance to change caused by introducing
computer systems, but now computers have become an essential tool for the project manager
to plan and control their projects, and there is universal acceptance of this new technology.
Even small projects benefit from simple bar charts which clearly outline the scope of work,
the timing of the work, and who is responsible. Accurate information will always be a
prerequisite for good problem-solving and decision-making.
The use of computers is now a central component of the information and control
system, the focus should therefore not only include the hardware and software components,
but also the project office environment as the Centre of the project management system.

1. Project Office
The project office enshrines the project management approach as the central point for
managing projects. The project office provides a location for project management excellence,
particularly for the development of project management systems, their operation, reporting
and maintenance. The formation of the project office is often a recommendation from
closeout reports which have identified project failure associated with;
• Information delays
• Cost overruns
• Confusion caused by inconsistent standards.

The formation of the project office is also seen as a means to introduce a new (project
management) culture into the organization, particularly with the move to management by-
projects.
A common information and control system ensures uniformity and standardization of
management systems. This becomes increasingly important as companies grow and their
associated systems need to be supported. With standard systems collecting performance data,
processing, storing (filing and retrieval) and reporting become highly efficient and effective.
The project office also becomes the knowledge base and library of project management and
project specific information.
Projects are run by communication. The project office becomes the front door to the
project and hub for the project's communications. Clients are not passed around like a
football from functional manager to functional manager, now they have a single point of
responsibility and lines of communication to the project team, the contractors, the suppliers
and other key stakeholders.
The project office should provide a good working environment - comfortable and
quiet with few distractions. Whether it is open plan, many small offices or something in
between seems to depend on company culture. And with the growing power of the Internet
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the virtual office can connect the project team members electronically by email, video
conferencing and virtual reality. This enables the members team to develop a mobile office
approach where they can work from site, the Clients office or reduce their travelling and
work from home. It is as if we are experiencing the industrial revolution in reverse - the
steam age moved production from the home to the factory - now the Internet is moving
people back from the factory to their homes.

2. Education and Training

To make the most of your project management software you need to understand and
be able to apply the principles and techniques of project management. The software will not
tell you what decisions to make or how information should be interpreted, but it will speed up
data processing if the information system has been well designed.
Companies running planning software courses on packages like Microsoft Project,
invariably have to explain the project planning techniques before they can begin the computer
skills training. You need to beware of mistaking the tool for the solution. A project
management package alone, does not a project manager make - it is the difference between
teaching someone how to use a fishing rod and fishing.
This book has focused on the manual techniques of processing project information.
This is deliberate, because now you are in an excellent position to understand how the
software performs its calculations and make the computer system work for you. The
techniques covered in the text are the same as those used by the project management software
packages.
Feedback from lecturers running short courses suggests that many managers who are
moving into project management start by buying a project management software package in
the belief that the computer will manage the project for them - "Hey, look at these
professional bar charts" However, the managers soon find out that managing projects is a
little bit more complicated and enroll on a short course in project management, where they
receive a sound introduction to project management planning and control techniques. It
therefore makes sense if you are getting started to go for the locally supported software -this
way help is only a telephone call away.
As the world of project management continues to grow and develop, and incorporate
computer systems, so the project management profession requires more highly skilled and
better qualified managers. Hence education, industry and commerce continually work
together to establish internationally recognized standards and professional qualifications.
Project managers of the future are, therefore, more likely to follow an academic route to
enhance their career opportunities.

3. Planning Software
Project planning software isused in conjunction with word processing and
spreadsheets. Spreadsheets in particular offer simple control sheets. The planning software
can be broadly separated by the cost of the package. Although it is tempting to associate
higher prices with richer functions and better quality, some of the lower priced software
packages can offer similar capabilities. In general, the higher priced programs are able to
manage larger projects, define constraints in greater detail (more precision) and will produce

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more flexible reports. In contrast, the cheaper programs are easier to use, have better
designed screens, are more interactive and process the data much faster.
The higher priced programs tend to handle the project cost requirements more
effectively, offering more cost fields, earned value schedule cost integration and a wider
range of management reports. Reporting is another area of difference, with the higher priced
programs offering full report writers, which let the user generate almost any kind of
management report. The low budget packages usually have a restricted number of report
formats available with limited customization. However, if you are entering the market, I
would suggest that you use the market standard which can be locally supported with
computer skills training and hotline help.

4. Benefits of Using Project Management Software

In the past we may have had to substantiate why we need computers - now that they are part
of the project office, you may have to substantiate why you are not using a computer!
Consider the following benefits:
• Project management software offers fast calculations. This can be demonstrated on a
spreadsheet where changes are processed almost immediately, whereas hand
calculations would be very laborious.
• The calculations are always correct, the accuracy of the output being directly
dependent on the accuracy of the data input. Validation of data entry is also possible,
which will reduce human errors.
• Editing is very quick once the database has been established.
• The application packages typically offer well thought out information structures
which, if used, will help standardize methods and enforce a disciplined approach.
• The software has the capacity to process large projects with 10,000 +activities.
• Select and sort functions enable the operator to present the information in a structured
format.
• Management-by-exception and variance reports are easily obtained, e.g. where float =
zero, this will highlight the activities on the critical path.
• Once the database has been established, what-if analysis can be performed quickly.
• The project database can be linked to the corporate database.
• The software can offer centralized or distributed reporting which is flexible to suit the
organization structure.
• They have better quality reporting; the documents and graphics can be customized to
facilitate easier dissemination of information within the project team.
• Quicker calculations can lead to a shorter reporting period which gives greater control
and more accurate trend analysis. It will also be quicker to respond to a changing
situation.
• Reports can be structured by the work breakdown structure (WBS) or organization
breakdown structure (OBS).
• The software will release the managers from processing large amounts of data
manually, which should give them more time to concentrate on managing the project
and the people involved on it.
• It is relatively simple to make back-ups of the project data. This addresses the risk
management need for disaster recovery.
• Managers can type their own reports, faxes and emails.

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There are, however, a number of disadvantages which include:
• Additional costs associated with education and training, hardware and software
procurement and loss of production while implementing the new system.
• The additional cost of maintenance and up-grading.
• The organization may need to be restructured.
• The new system may cause a resistance to change which could affect company morale
and productivity.
• If the computer goes down this could stop the company's operation, especially if
effective back-up systems have not been established.
• If data safety precautions are not taken it is possible to lose vast amounts of data,
caused by; virus attack, hard disk crash, fire, or theft.

5. Planning Software Examples

Although there are over 200 software packages, there are only so many ways to present the
project management techniques. Here are a few examples from Microsoft Project and
Primavera. In figures 10.1 and 10.2 the activity boxes can be setup to display more
information and the links can also be setup diagonally. The network diagram can be
developed either on the screen in the PERT view or from the precedence table in the Gantt
view. Figures 10.3 and 10.4 show linked barcharts and resource histograms with activity
float, time now and progress. In both cases the resource is overloaded and would need to be
either increased to meet the end date, or rescheduled.

Figure 10.1: Network Diagram

Figure 10.2: Activity Boxes [Primavera]

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 Figure 10.3: Linked Barchart and Resource Histogram [Microsoft Project - Gantt view]

Figure 10.4: Linked Barchart and Resource Histogram [Primavera]

6. Vendor Selection
The computer supplier or vendor can play a very important part in the selection of your
computer hardware and software, making them work effectively for you. Consider the
following points:
• System design

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 • Training
• Getting the system up and running
• System compatibility
• Maintenance and repairs
• Upgrading.

If you have purchased the market standard hardware and software then many of the above
will be widely available from a range of supporting companies, but if you have purchased one
of the 200 lesser known planning packages, then you will be reliant on the vendor for the
above. If they are situated in another country, the software may become self-limiting. In fact
some practitioners argue that you should select the vendor first and let them chose the
hardware and software they are prepared to support. When selecting your vendor consider the
following points:
• Expert Hot Line: This is a telephone service where problems can be discussed.
Some of the international companies will redirect your local call to offer a
worldwide 24/7 hour service.
• Training: The training should cover a range of courses, particularly hands-on
computer skills, but also project management training to help setup the
information and control system.
• Vendor Stability: Will the vendor be in business next month, or next year when
you may urgently need them?
• Cost of Service: Determine what is included in the one to three year warranty,
what is not included, and how much any additional service will cost?

As the management systems have become more complicated it is important to ensure that the
well chosen hardware will support the equally well chosen software. Again the vendor's
assistance here is invaluable. The vendor must confirm that their product is compatible with
your existing and proposed management systems.

7. Implementation
Implementing a new project management system is always a dilemma, "Do I use the old
system I'm familiar with?", or "Do I risk using the new more powerful system that I've just
bought?" Ideally you want to get up to speed without production pressure, however the live
situation does accelerate learning. This is where a small pilot project is ideal to develop and
test new equipment or systems. There are four basic implementation methods which can be
used on their own or in combination:

Pilot System: A pilot system is essentially a mini version of a large project's management
system. The pilot project is used to carry out a heuristic development process, to
progressively develop, implement and iron out all the teething troubles. Ideally it should be
used on a small project alongside the old computer system or manual system, so that if there
are any problems the manager can quickly switch back to the old system.

Parallel Systems: Parallel systems operate the new management system and old management
system at the same time. This effectively doubles the management work load, but if there are
problems with the new system then the old system (computer or manual) is always available
as a backup. This method would be preferable for a company who could not risk having a
system down for an unknown period of time, e.g. emergency services, hospitals, power
stations or even the daily newspapers.
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Phase-in / Phase-out: This method uses a slice by slice approach, implementing the new
management system one section at a time - getting each section up and running before
moving on to the next part. This method has the advantage of allowing the project team to set
their own pace and keep control of the changes so that, if there are any problems, they will
only have to address a small area of the new management system rather than the whole
system.

Cut Off: The cut off or big bang approach is to change from the old management system
(computer or manual) to the new management system overnight. The advantage here is that
the extra cost of running parallel systems is removed and the new management system is up
and running quicker, but of course you do run the risk of the new management system failing
with all its associated lost production costs. Only use this method if you are confident the
new management system will work first time without any significant debugging. The London
stock exchange used this method in the 1980s, and although they were very confident and had
spent years planning the new system, the news for months after the 'big bang' was of
interrupted service and frustrated dealers.

In reality implementation tends to be most effectively achieved by combining all the different
methods and using the one that is most appropriate to the management system and your
management style.

Key Points:
• The computer has become an integral part of the project office's information and
control system.
• The vendor could be the key person to make your computer system work effectively.
• To make the most of project management software you need to fully understand and
be able to apply the principles and techniques of project management

References
• Rory Burke, 2003, Project Management Planning and Control Techniques, Fourth
Edition, John Wiley & Sons.
• Newitt, Jay S, 2009, “Construction Scheduling Principles and Practices”, 2nd Edition,
Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Columbus, Ohio
• Gibson, C.P., and Nolan, R.L., Managing the Four Stages of EDP Growth, Harvard
Business Review
• Catapult, Microsoft Project 98 Step by Step (Step by Step Series)
• Davidson Frame, J., The Project Office (Best Management Practices), Crisp
• Drigani, Fulvio, Computerized Project Control
• Johnston, Andrew, A Hacker s Guide to Project Management, Computer Weekly
• Palfreman, J., and Swade, D., The Dream Machine, BBC Books

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