Chapter 1-Project Management Concepts

Chapter 1 (Project Management Concepts)
INTRODUCTION
 Culture is a way of thinking that distinguishes one group of people from other groups of
people. Behavior and attitudes are influenced by culture.
* Organization’s culture of innovation - is the support for new ideas, risk, and failure
- increases the efficiency for solving problems or
Preventing problems in the teams’ projects.
Three factors most related to changes in corporate innovation culture
*Assertiveness- confident and forceful behavior, taking initiatives and rewards for
performance
* Collectivism – giving a group priority over each individual in it, expressed pride, loyalty,
and cohesiveness (unity or togetherness) with others in their group or organization.
* Humane Orientation – degree to which to an organization or society encourages and
rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others
- Culture influences how a project manager makes decisions related to managing a project
and project team members
 Companies with a high innovation culture also had workers who showed high levels of
analytical behaviors and a high problem-solving orientation
1. Definition of a project and its attributes
 Project – an endeavor to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated
activities and the effective utilization of resources.
Attributes (OIRSUSD)
o Objective – establishes what is to be accomplished. The tangible end product that
the project team must produce and deliver
- defined in terms of end product or deliverable, schedule, and budget
- may also include a statement of the expected benefits or outcomes that

will be achieved from implementing the project.
o Interdependent Activities (Tasks) – number of nonrepetitive activities that need to

be accomplished in a certain sequence in order to achieve the project objective
o Resources – can include different people, organizations, equipment, materials, and
facilities.
o Specific Time Frame or Finite Life Span – it has a start time and a date by which the
objective must be accomplished.
o Maybe Unique or One time endeavor – some have never been attempted before or
unique because of the customization they require
o Sponsor or customer – provides the funds necessary to accomplish the project
o Degree of uncertainty – a plan is prepared based on certain assumptions and
estimates
2. Key constraints within which a project must be managed

Balancing Project Constraints (SQSBRRCS)
 Scope – all the work that must be done in order to produce all the project deliverables
 Quality – quality expectations must be defined from the onset of the project. Work scope
must be accomplished in a quality manner and meet specifications. Mechanisms such as
standards, inspections, audits, and so forth must be put in place to assure quality
expectations are being met throughout the project.
 Schedule – timetable that specifies when each activity should start and finish. It indicated
the dates when specific activities must be started and finished in order to meet the project
completion date
 Budget – the amount of the sponsor or the customer has agreed to pay for acceptable
project deliverables. It is based on estimated costs associated with the quantities of various
resources that will be used to perform the project.
 Resources – needed to perform the project activities, produce the project deliverables, and
accomplish the project objective.
 Risks – adversely affect accomplishing the project objective. A risk management plan must
be developed that identifies and assesses potential risks and their likelihood of occurrence
and potential impact, and delineates responses for dealing with risks if they do occur.
 Customer satisfaction – it means not only meeting the customer’s expectations but also
developing and maintaining an excellent working relationship throughout the project.
Regularly scheduled meetings or progress reports, phone discussions, and e-mail are
examples of ways to accomplish such communication.
 Stakeholders- who may influence or may be affected by the project, in order to gain their
support
To help ensure the project objective, it is important to develop a plan before starting the project
work.
3. Life cycle of a project

Project Life Cycle
1. Initiating – projects are identified and selected
2. Planning – includes defining the scope, identifying the resources, developing a schedule and
budget, and identifying risks. All of which make up the baseline plan for doing the project
work.
3. Performing – project plan is executed, and activities are carried out to produce all the
project deliverables and to accomplish the project objective.
4. Closing the Project – project evaluations are conducted, lessons learned are identified and
documented to help improve performance on future projects, and project documents are
organized and archived.
INITIATING
- First phase of the project life cycle involves the identification of a need, problem or
opportunity and can result in the sponsor authorizing a project to address the identified
need or solve the problem.
PLANNING
- It is necessary to lay out a road-map, or game plan, that shows how the project scope will be
accomplished within budget and on schedule.
PERFORMING
- Once the baseline plan has been developed, work can proceed. The project team, led by the
project manager, will execute the plan and perform the activities to produce all the
deliverables and to accomplish the project objective. While the project work is being
performed, it is necessary to monitor and control the progress of the project work to ensure
that everything is going according to plan and the project objective will be accomplished.
The key to effective project control is measuring actual progress and comparing it to
planned progress on a timely and regular basis throughout the performing phase and taking
any needed corrective action immediately.
- A change control system needs to be established for the process and procedures that define
how changes will be documented, approves, and communicated.
- This phase ends when the sponsor or customer is satisfied that the project objective has
been accomplished and that the requirements have been met, and accepts the project
deliverables.
CLOSING
- Involves various actions, including collecting and making final payments, evaluating and
recognizing staff, conducting a post project evaluation, documenting lessons learned, and
archiving project documents.
- An important task during this phase is evaluating performance of the project.
DOCUMENTS
Project Charter – document used to authorize projects after selected. It may include the rationale or
justification for the project; project objective and expected benefits; general requirements and
conditions such as amount of funds authorized, required completion date, major deliverables, and
required reviews and approvals; and key assumptions.
Request for Proposal – document used if the organization decides to use external resources to
perform the project. It defines the project requirements and is used to solicit proposals from
potential contractors to do the project.
Baseline Plan – a set of integrated documents that show how a project scope will be accomplished
within budget and on schedule and is used as benchmark to which actual performance can be
compared.
4. Definition of Project Management

Project Management – planning, organizing, coordinating, leading, and controlling resources to
accomplish the project objective. The project management process involves planning the work
and then working the plan.
5. Elements of the project management process
Planning process includes the following steps:

1. Establish Project Objective
2. Define Scope
3. Create a work breakdown structure
4. Assign Responsibility
5. Define Specific Activities
6. Sequence Activities
7. Estimate Activity Resources
8. Estimate Activity durations
9. Develop Project Schedule
10. Estimate Activity Costs
11. Determine Budget
Performing Process includes the following elements

1. Perform the work
2. Monitor and control progress
3. Control Changes
6. Identification and engagement of stakeholders

Project Stakeholders – are individuals or entities involved in, or who may influence, or may be
affected by a project, such as the customer/sponsor; project team, including the project
manager, subcontractors, and consultants; end users or consumers; and advocacy groups.
It is important to identify a project’s stakeholders as early as possible in the project life cycle.
Stakeholder engagement and support are important to the successful performance of a
project and accomplishment of the project objective. Regular and open communication, trust,
respect, open-mindedness, and a positive win-win attitude are keys to successful stakeholder
engagement.
Documents
Stakeholder Register – a list that includes potential stakeholders’ key contact information, role
or specific topics of interest, expectations, any known issues, and areas of potential influence for
each stakeholder. It is a convenient tool to keep all stakeholder information consolidated and
up-to-date.
Issue Log – should be created of specific issues or concerns or questions that various
stakeholders identify so that the project manager, project team, or sponsor/ customer can address them
and make sure they are not forgotten or dismissed without an adequate follow-up and response.
7. Implications of global project management
Globalization adds a unique dimension to managing projects. It changes the dynamics of

the project and adds a layer of complexity that can adversely affect the project outcome
if the project participants are not aware of what they might encounter regarding
cultural differences and multinational economic transactions.
Factors external to the project itself, or to the project or customer organizations, can
create a dynamic and perhaps unstable environment over the life of the project,
introduce sources of risk, and affect the success of the project. Such influencing factors
include:
- Currency fluctuations and exchange rates
- Country-specific work codes and regulations, such as hours per day,
holidays, and religious observances
- Corporate joint ventures and partnerships creating entities with a
presence and facilities in multiple countries
- Political relations between countries
- Availability of high-demand workforce skills
8. Project Management Institute

Project Management Institute – is a premier world wide not-for -profit association for
practitioners in the project management profession and individuals who want to learn more
about the profession.
- Founded in 1969, PMI has about 500,000 members in over 200
countries and has about 280 chapters in more that 90 countries.
9. Benefits of project management
The ultimate benefit of implementing project management techniques is having a satisfied

customer – whether you are the customer of your own project, such as remodeling your
basement.

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Chapter 1 (Project Management Concepts)

Preventing problems in the teams’ projects.

Three factors most related to changes in corporate innovation culture

and project team members

- defined in terms of end product or deliverable, schedule, and budget

- may also include a statement of the expected benefits or outcomes that

o Interdependent Activities (Tasks) – number of nonrepetitive activities that need to

2. Key constraints within which a project must be managed

3. Life cycle of a project

4. Definition of Project Management

5. Elements of the project management process

Planning process includes the following steps:

Performing Process includes the following elements

6. Identification and engagement of stakeholders

7. Implications of global project management

Globalization adds a unique dimension to managing projects. It changes the dynamics of

8. Project Management Institute

The ultimate benefit of implementing project management techniques is having a satisfied

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