Chapter 1

Introduction to Project
Management

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 What Is a Project?
• A project is a temporary
endeavor undertaken to
accomplish a unique purpose

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 Attributes of projects
▪Unique purpose: Every project should have a well-
defined objective.
▪Temporary: It has a definite-beginning and a definite-
end.
▪Require resources, often from various areas:
Resources include people, hardware, software, or other
assets.
▪Should have a primary sponsor and/or customer: The
project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding
for the project.
▪Involve uncertainty: Because every project is unique, it
is sometimes difficult to clearly define the project’s
objectives, estimate how much it will cost, or how long it
will take to complete.

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 What is Project Management?

Project management is:

“The application of knowledge, skills, tools,
and techniques to project activities in order
to meet project requirements”

*The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international

professional society. Their web site is www.pmi.org.

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 Advantages of Using Formal
Project Management
• Better control of financial, physical, and human resources
• Improved customer relations
• Shorter development times
• Lower costs
• Higher quality and increased reliability
• Higher profit margins
• Improved productivity
• Better internal coordination
• Higher worker morale

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 The Triple Constraint

• Every project is constrained in different ways by its

✓Scope goals: What is the project trying to accomplish?
✓Time goals: How long should it take to complete?
✓Cost goals: What should it cost?
• It is the project manager’s duty to balance these
three competing goals

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Figure 1-1. The Triple Constraint
of Project Management

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 Project Stakeholders
• Stakeholders are the people involved in or
affected by project activities
• Stakeholders include
– the project sponsor and project team
– support staff
– customers
– users
– suppliers
– opponents to the project

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Figure 1-2. Project Management
Framework

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 9 Project Management
Knowledge Areas
❑Knowledge areas describe the key competencies
that project managers must develop
➢4 core knowledge areas lead to specific project
objectives (scope, time, cost, and quality)
➢4 facilitating knowledge areas are the means through
which the project objectives are achieved (human
resources, communication, risk, and procurement
management
➢1 knowledge area (project integration management)
affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge
areas

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 A new knowledge area added

• Recently one new knowledge are has been

added to 9 knowledge areas which is
Stakeholder Management.

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 Project Management Tools and
Techniques
• Project management tools and techniques assist
project managers and their teams in various
aspects of project management
• Some specific ones include
✓Project Charter and WBS (scope)
✓Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path
analysis, critical chain scheduling (time)
✓Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)

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 Sample WBS for Intranet Project
in Chart Form
Intranet Project

Concept Web Site Web Site Roll Out Support

Design Development

Design User Interface Develop Pages

and Links

Design Server Setup Develop

Functionality

Develop Server Content

Support Infrastructure Migration/Integration

Testing

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 Figure 1-3. Sample Gantt Chart

The WBS is on the left, and each task’s start and finish date
are shown on the right using a calendar timescale.
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 Figure 1-4. Sample Network Diagram

Each box is a project task from the WBS. Arrows show

dependencies between tasks. The bolded tasks are on the critical
path. If any tasks on the critical path take longer than planned,
the whole project will slip unless something is done.

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 More Advantages of Project
Management*
• Sponsors, customers, and other stakeholders do not
like surprises
• Good project management (PM) provides assurance
and reduces risk
• PM provides the tools and environment to plan,
monitor, track, and manage schedules, resources,
costs, and quality
• PM provides a history or metrics base for future
planning as well as good documentation
• Project members learn and grow by working in a
cross-functional team environment
*Knutson, Joan, PM Network, December 1997, p. 13

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 How Project Management (PM)
Relates to Other Disciplines
• Much of the knowledge needed to manage
projects is unique to PM
• However, project managers must also have
knowledge and experience in
– general management
– the application area of the project
• Project managers must focus on meeting
specific project objectives

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Figure 1-5. Project Management
and Other Disciplines

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 History of Project Management
• Modern project management began with the
Manhattan Project, which the U.S. military led to
develop the atomic bomb
• In 1917 Henry Gantt developed the Gantt chart as a
tool for scheduling work in job shops
• In 1958, the Navy developed PERT charts
• In the 1970s, the military began using project
management software, as did the construction
industry
• By the 1990s, virtually every industry was using
some form of project management

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 The Project Management Profession

• A 1996 Fortune article called project

management the “number one career choice”
• Professional societies like the Project
Management Institute (PMI) have grown
tremendously
• Average salaries for project managers are
over $81,000

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 Project Management Knowledge
Continues to Grow and Mature
• PMI hosted their first research conference
in June 2000 in Paris, France
• The PMBOK Guide – 2000 Edition is an
ANSI standard
• PMI’s certification department earned ISO
9000 certification
• Hundreds of new books, articles, and
presentations related to project management
have been written in recent years

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 Project Management Certification

• PMI provides certification as a Project

Management Professional (PMP)
• A PMP has documented sufficient project
experience, agreed to follow a code of ethics,
and passed the PMP exam
• The number of people earning PMP certification
is increasing quickly
• PMI and other organizations are offering new
certification programs (see Appendix B)

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Figure 1-6. Growth in PMP
Certification, 1993-2000

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 Project Management Software
• By 2001, there were hundreds of different products to
assist in performing project management
• Three main categories of tools:
– Low-end tools: Handle single or smaller projects well, cost
under $200 per user
– Midrange tools: Handle multiple projects and users, cost
$200-500 per user, Project 2000 most popular
– High-end tools: Also called enterprise project management
software, often licensed on a per-user basis

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 You Can Apply Project Management to
Many Areas

• Project management applies to work as well as

personal projects
• Project management applies to many different
disciplines (IT, construction, finance, sports,
event planning, etc.)
• Project management skills can help in everyday
life

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 Project Management and
General Management
✓There is overlap between project management and
general management, but each has its unique
characteristics.
✓Project management focuses on managing specific
projects. Since projects are unique, temporary, and
involve various resources, project managers must focus
on integrating all of the various activities required to
successfully complete the project.
✓Most of the tasks performed by a general manager or
operations manager are repetitive, ongoing, and done as
day-to-day activities.

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 Some examples of activities
that are projects
✓Picking a college,
✓Planning a wedding,
✓Buying a new car,
✓Building a new classroom,
✓Hiring a new faculty member,
✓Developing a new software program.

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 Some examples of activities
that are not projects

✓Getting dressed every morning (not unique),

✓Maintaining an information system (not
temporary),
✓Answering customer service calls.

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