11/29/2012

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FOR BUSINESS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................1

LO1: UNDERSTAND PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES..............................................................1

LO 1.1 Background and Principles of Project Management.......................................................1

LO1.2 Viability of projects, developing success/failure criteria.................................................2

LO 1.3 Principles behind Project Management Systems & Procedures......................................3

LO1.4 Key Elements involved in Terminating projects..............................................................4

LO2: MANAGING A PROJECT’S HUMAN RESOURCES......................................................................5

LO2.1 Most appropriate organizational structure, roles and responsibilities of participants in a

project...........................................................................................................................................5

LO2.2 Controlling and Coordinating the Project.........................................................................7

LO2.3 Project Leadership Requirements and Quality.................................................................8

LO2.4 Human resources and requirements for the bridge building project.................................8

LO 3: APPLYING PROJECT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES................................................................9

LO 3.1 Preparing Project Plans and establishing project organization for the bridge.................9

LO3.3 Success or Failure of the project.....................................................................................11

LO 3.4 Project change control procedures and evaluation of the completed project................12

CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................12

REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................13
Table of Figures

Figure 1 Groundwork for post project appraisal..............................................................................4

Figure 2 Basic Team Structure........................................................................................................6
Figure 3 Appropriate Organizational structure................................................................................6
INTRODUCTION
Project management has mushroomed as an expedient tool to address the multifaceted
and intricate requirements of current business environment. Corporations all across the world are
turning to this tool for ratcheting up effectiveness and curtailing costs. This process provides
organizations with a mutual methodology and language which enables the management of
projects of all scales and sizes, particularly those having employees in various locations.
Enterprises that capitalize the power that accompanies project management often garner a
distinctive edge in a competitive and crowded international business environment (Kerzner,
2009). The following report takes into consideration the various underlying principles related to
project management in addition to comprehending the management of a bridge building project’s
human resources and applying project processes and procedures.

LO1: UNDERSTAND PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

Project management in simple terms can be defined as the process through which
management, allocation and timely availability of resources is facilitated in order to attain the
predetermined objectives of a project in the most efficient manner (Knutson, 2002). It is
primarily acknowledged as the pragmatic way of ascertaining that the project meets goals and
products are transmitted as per the precise quality specifications, within budget and on time
whilst maintaining or controlling the scale of the project.

LO 1.1 Background and Principles of Project Management

Project management evolved as a discipline from various facets of application which
included heavy defense activity and civil construction engineering. Henry Gantt, the father of
control and planning techniques and Henry Fayol are regarded as the forefathers of project
management (Kousholt, 2007). The era of 1950s manifested the commencement of the
contemporary project management period wherein major engineering areas collaborated to work
as one. Hence, project management went on to be acknowledged as a separate discipline
emerging from the management field with an engineering framework. There are several
approaches to project management to manage to project activities. This includes traditional
approach, PRINCE2, PRiSM, critical chain project management, event chain methodology,
process based management, agile project management, lean project management, extreme

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project management and benefits realization management (Kerzner, 2009). The underlying
principles of project management are as follows:
 Manage by exception – According to this principle, project sponsors must steer clear of
getting too engrossed in the routine operations of projects and permit the project manager
to emphasize on the core area. It is important for the project sponsors to demark specific
boundaries for time and cost within which the project manager must operate (Knutson,
2002).
 Business Justification – Each project must lead to meaningful and valuable return on the
capital employed. In simple terms this principle states that it is essential to recognize the
benefits pertaining to a specific project (Mauk, 2009).
 Learn from experience –It is important not to repeat the same mistakes made on earlier
projects and realize why some aspects went wrong or correct.
 Concentrate on Product – As per this principle, the clearer the requirements, the more
attainable and rational the plans which can be generated (Hartl, 2006).

LO1.2 Viability of projects, developing success/failure criteria -apply this to the bridge across the
forth
Project appraisal can be defined as the discipline which calculates and measures the
viability of a project. An element which offers a pedestal for appraising projects throughout its
life cycle is investment appraisal. Project viability is generally described in financial or economic
terms. There are some tools which help in evaluating the financial viability of a project wherein
investment is considered (The Power of Project Management, n.d). These tools are return on
investment, debt service coverage ratio, break-even point and debt equity ratio. The Scotland
bridge project was financially feasible as its ROI was greater than the cost incurred on its
investment. Likewise, if the Debt service coverage ratio of an investment is at least 2:1 then it is
considered financially practicable. The same was the case with building the new bridge in
Scotland. BEP signifies the amount of risk in a project. The rule of thumb here is to lower the
break even and improve the proposition (Assessing Financial Viability of the project, 2005).
Success factor for a project is the factor needed to guarantee the success of the project.
On the other hand, a project may fail due to certain failure factors inherent in the project or even
external to it. The main issues contributing to the success of the Scotland bridge project are
explained in the following table:

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Issues Description Activities
Proper Planning Engage in systematic and Planning and re-planning
detailed planning
Top management support Continuous
Using a time tested project Using standardized models to Identifying the most
life cycle make project plans appropriate life cycle
Sense of necessity Constrained money, time and Timely status monitoring,
other inputs reminders and meetings
Hire the best employees Getting the best qualified, Identifying the correct team
experienced and skilled people
Clear vision, mission and Establish criteria, strategies, Selecting the appropriate team
statement of requirements plan leader to avoid multi project
bottlenecks
User Involvement Meeting the requirements of Regular feedback and analysis
the users of user expectations

The critical failure factors for the Scotland bridge project were anticipated to be the following:
 Absence of input from user
 Changing specifications and requirements
 Implementation failure
 Human factors like untrained project managers (Sevigny, n.d)

LO 1.3 Principles behind Project Management Systems & Procedures

Following are the principles behind project management systems and procedures:
 Benchmarking principle is applied to assess and enhance the performance in project
management. It is an outward looking assessment tool which makes a comparison
between project management operations and project management performance of leading
benchmark counterparts (Ajelabi and Tang, 2010).
 Communications is also an important principle which facilitates the sharing of correct
information with the concerned parties at the correct time and in proper form.

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  Quality management principle ensures that every operation in project management has
been done keeping in mind all the specifications. It also ensures that suitable
development practices and standards have been followed to help the development squad
solve inconsistencies in requirements and actual production (Attarzade, 2008).
 Risk management principle is aimed at identifying and mitigating the negative impact of
any unforeseen event. A systematic approach towards risk management is followed.

LO1.4 Key Elements involved in Terminating projects-apply this to the bridge across the forth in
scotland
Terminating a project is as important as any other activity pertaining to a project. The
whole process of termination is so vital that it can decide whether finally the project is a success
or failure. The purpose behind proper termination of a project is to gain understanding from the
experiences of the project so as to enhance performance on prospective projects (Williams,
2008). The major elements involved in the termination of the Scotland bridge project have been
determined to be the following:
 Obtaining acceptance from client
 Implementing the delivery schedule
 Conducting the final project documentation
 Carrying out a post project appraisal
 Preparation of the final report (Sevigny, n.d)
It is the responsibility of the project manager to maintain all pertinent information and relevant
data related to the bridge project in records so that appraisal can be done.

Figure 1 Groundwork for post project appraisal

(Source: Williams, 2008)

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The post project appraisal consists of the following steps:
 Selection of Participants – It is essential to select people who possess sufficient
knowledge of various processes which were employed in the project. Managers must not
be participants in the review process. Most appropriate candidates are leaders (Rochon,
n.d).
 Declaring the intention – It is necessary to communicate at a meeting and thereafter in a
follow up letter to the participants the purpose of the post project appraisal. The letter
must also clearly define the objectives of the post project evaluation and add an
attachment describing the process (Sevigny, n.d)
 Preparing for Workshop –Every partaker is asked to reply to a series of topics before the
workshop meet. The reactions must be intended towards what went wrong and right and
where there is scope for improvement. The topics can be related to cost performance,
team relationships, technical performance, schedule performance, customer relationships,
problem identification and resolution, recommendations and etc. (Rochon, n.d).
 Conducting Workshop –This step involves development of proposals which addresses the
recognized problems.
 Presenting Results –Workshop results must be presented to the project’s leader and then
the final outcomes should be presented to other members (Reiss, 2007).
 Implementing Recommendations –This step entails completing the post project appraisal
report and acting on the proposed recommendations.

LO2: MANAGING A PROJECT’S HUMAN RESOURCES

It is quite imperative to have a proper organization structure and proficient leadership in
place to facilitate effective management of human resources involved in a project.

LO2.1 Most appropriate organizational structure, roles and responsibilities of participants in a

project –apply this to the bridge across the forth in scotland
The manner in which a team involved in the project is structured plays a significant part
in how it operates and functions. A project is usually terminated when their task is accomplished.
As the bridge building project is also transient hence a hierarchical organization structure is the
most appropriate for this purpose. Project roles, responsibilities are a part of the planning and
estimating procedure (Organizing for Project Management, n.d). A strongly powered team

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defines the business solutions which are delivered by a comparatively broader squad and then the
operational team plus the line management operates on it. There is a core team on this Scotland
bridge project which comprises of the senior executives providing business solution and who are
completely involved all through the project. However, the other people like contractual labourers
etc. are brought in as and when needed (Project Structure and Organization, 2007). The
following is a basic structure of the teams working on the bridge project.

Figure 2 Basic Team Structure

(Source: Project Structure and Organization, 2007)

The actual organizational structure of the Scotland bridge building project is illustrated below:

Figure 3 Appropriate Organizational structure

(Source: Source: Project Structure and Organization, 2007)

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 In the above figure the main functional areas related to Scotland bridge building project
have been indicated by the teams relating to these areas. The teams include an assortment of
people in order to facilitate requisite knowledge, skills and understanding in that particular area.
The Project manager has a Project office for its support. The Project Director of the bridge
building project is on the same pedestal as Steering Committee. The Project Manager directly
reports to this committee. The ultimate decisions are taken by the executive committee
(Organizing for Project Management, n.d). Following are the roles and responsibilities of some
key personnel involved in the bridge building project:

Roles Responsibilities
Project Director Full responsibility and accountability for the success of the project,
authority to take all decisions.
Executive Board of Directors who are responsible for designing business solutions.
Committee
Steering Vice Presidents, Departmental heads accountable for regular supervisions
Committee and oversight of the bridge building project.
Project Manager Person having control over all the resources of the project and responsible
for day-to-day operations for the success of the project.
Project Office This staff is responsible for providing supportive services to Project
Staff Manager and the entire Project Team. Controlling and trailing of detailed
plan, making reports, managing documentation work.
Accountant of Procurement, financial reporting, sub contractor expenses, tracking of
Project progress etc.
Team Leaders Managing, coaching and mentoring sub teams.

LO2.2 Controlling and Coordinating the Project

For controlling the bridge building process three types of control have been put in place
i.e. cost control, schedule control and quality control. In cost control, the budget control and
reporting measure has been put in place which develops realistic budgets and continuously
monitors it. Budget trends are also detected by it. The Program cost control measure uses
contemporary reviews which manages cost and identifies plus monitors regions where cost

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growth is anticipated (Project Controls Report, 2008). It also develops program and contract
level cost emergency procedures. Other measures in cost control are construction cost estimating
and contract cost management. Key performance indicators are defined for each measure. Design
phase schedule control requires the designers to create a comprehensive design schedule which
will be used to track and monitor design processes. For managing and controlling construction
quality, formal quality assurance procedures and programs have been implemented. These
programs develop and execute a formalized Construction Quality Control program which is
followed throughout the project (Nicholas and Steyn, 2008).

LO2.3 Project Leadership Requirements and Quality

The leadership skills of a project leader will be as follows:
 Good Communicator
 Inspires mutual vision
 Enthusiastic
 Integrity
 Competence
 Empathy
 Pressure handling capability
 Potential to delegate work
 Problem solving abilities, and
 Team building abilities (Barry, n.d)

LO2.4 Human resources and requirements for the bridge building project
Resources are means by which objectives of the project are accomplished. The main
resources are individuals with requisite competencies and skills. The other resources required are
capital, materials, equipments, information and facilities. Following human resourcesare required
for this project:
 Civil Engineer
 Bridge Designer
 Erection designers
 Quality manager (Hamilton, 2010)
 Facilities manager

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  Business Process Reengineering Specialist
 Solution Architect
 Technical Architect
 Labor (Lewis, 2007)

Following materials are required

 Steel
 New engineering compound materials that stand firm against corrosion
 Cement
 Paving machines
 Wood (Hamilton, 2010)

LO 3: APPLYING PROJECT PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES

LO 3.1 Preparing Project Plans and establishing project organization for the bridge
The project plan of the bridge will entail the following steps:
a. Development of vision and mission statement of the bridge building project. The vision
of the project is to build a strong and beautiful bridge which will facilitate smooth
transportation. Mission of the project is to build a new bridge across the Firth of Forth,
west of the existing suspension road crossing in Scotland to enable passengers to
commute conveniently and reduce the traffic on the road (Meredith and Mantel, 2011).
b. The intention of building this bridge was to ease out traffic on the existing suspension
road and curb down the accident rate.
c. The project will be authorized by the Government of Scotland. The Project manager has
been assigned full accountability and responsibility to oversee the day to day operations
necessary for the building and success of the bridge (Munch, 2001).
d. The main resources required for this project include individuals with requisite
competencies and skills. The other resources required are capital, materials, equipments,
information and facilities. Personnel will be segregated in different teams as per their
skills and experience.
e. The reporting relationships will be hierarchical. The Project manager has a Project office
for its support (Nicholas and Steyn, 2008). The Project Director of the bridge building

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 project is on the same pedestal as Steering Committee. The Project Manager directly
reports to this committee. The ultimate decisions are taken by the executive committee.
There are functional team leaders who are responsible of managing and training the staff
and who report to the project manager. Under the direct supervision of team leaders are
team members (McGheeand McAliney, 2007)

LO3.2 Outline a Project Schedule

The schedule for the proposed bridge is 10 months i.e. from November 2012 to August 2012
Activities Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June July Aug
Developing
vision &
mission
statement
Selecting &
Orienting
Project Team
Specifying Key
Project
Milestones
Brainstorming
project action
events
Assigning
priorities to
actions
Sequencing
action items
and distributing
responsibilities
Scheduling and
charting action

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activities
Coordinating
Implementatio
n activities
Completion of
project
Evaluating
project
management
process

The estimated cost for the construction of bridge in US Dollars will be $39 million. The
cost control techniques applied are budget control and reporting measure which develops
realistic budgets and continuously monitors it. The Program cost control measure uses
contemporary reviews which manages cost and identifies plus monitors regions where cost
growth is anticipated. It also develops program and contract level cost emergency procedures.
Other measures in cost control are construction cost estimating and contract cost management
(Callahanand Brooks, 2004).

LO3.3 Success or Failure of the project

It is believed that the project of constructing a bridge will be successful due to presence
of its critical success factors and absence of major failure factors. The team involved in building
the bridge is exceptionally skilled and experienced. The planning and controlling activities are
very effective. There is complete support from the top management (Lock, 2007). In addition to
this, the objectives, specifications and requirements have been clearly laid down and
communicated at every level.Time tested project life cycle has been used and the project is
intrusted hands. There is no inadequacy of funds and the critical failure factors are not applicable
in this case. The inputs and materials used are of premium quality and quality assurance
mechanisms are executed at all stages. Hence, it can be said that the project will be a success
(Reiss, 2007).

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LO 3.4 Project change control procedures and evaluation of the completed project
The change control procedure is very basic to the fruitful delivery of the project. The
change control procedure of the current project ascertains that every change introduced in the
environment is properly characterized, assessed and consented before its implementation. Any
change is to be supported by a change request which is reviewed and whether or not the change
is feasible is identified. The change is then implemented and there is change in roles and
responsibilities as well (Thomsett, 2002). In the bridge building project, the Change Control
Board authorizes all change requests.
Evaluation of completed project is done on the basis of user’s feedback i.e. whether the
Government’s requirements have been fulfilled or not after construction of bridge are seen. The
objectives for which the bridge was built if are completely fulfilled then the project is a success
(Roberts, 2011).

CONCLUSION
Hence, it can be concluded that construction of bridge entails a long process which must
be regularly controlled and monitored to ensure its success. Using project management
techniques have helped the company in augmenting effectiveness and curtailing costs.

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REFERENCES
Books, Journals and Articles
Callahan, J. R. and Brooks, L. M., 2004. Essentials of Strategic Project Management. John
Wiley and Sons
Hamilton, A., 2010. Art and Practice of Managing Projects. London: Thomas Telford.
Kerzner, H., 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and
Controlling. 10th ed. John Wiley & Sons.
Knutson, J., 2002. Project Management for Business Professionals: A Comprehensive Guide.
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Lewis, P. J., 2007. Fundamentals of Project Management. 3rd ed. AMACOM Div American
Mgmt Assn.
Lock, D., 2007. The Essentials of Project Management. 3rd ed. Gower Publishing
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Meredith, J. R. and Mantel, S. J., 2011. Project Management: A Managerial Approach. 8th ed.
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