Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment

and Information Technology

MRPV301 - Research and Project Management – Trevor Stroud

Chapter 1b – What is a Project?

 Prescribed Text Book:

Project Management
A practical guide
Karl van der Merwe
Second Edition

ISBN 978-0-620-72457-9

K van der Merwe © 2017

Introduction
The world is changing rapidly. How
we deal with change will determine
our success! Technology Renewable Energy

Satellite Communication

Change

Solar Power

Project
Management

Defence Technology
Battery Technology
 High speed
Three gorges
transportation
dam

Technology

Change

Project
Management
Modern City
Infrastructure
Sporting
Stadiums
Project Management is the
leading methodology for
dealing with change
Need/Request

Change

Project
Management
Typical Engineering Projects
What is a project?
A project is a unique endeavour undertaken to
solve a problem or seize an opportunity, which
utilises limited resources, often from various
sources, in a coordinated and
controlled manner with the
ultimate aim of reaching a
collaborative goal in a
predetermined timeframe.
What is a project?
unique Only one (or very few) of them.

resources Manpower, money or equipment.

sources Where we will get the resources from.

coordinated Integrated and timed to happen in sequence.

controlled Occurring according to plan.

collaborative Agreed by all stakeholders.

goal The desired outcome.

predetermined Decided during initial phase.

timeframe Definite start and end.

 Project Characteristics
Characteristic Explained Example
Motive The reason for doing the project such as Building new roads to alleviate traffic congestion or
solving a problem, seizing an opportunity or introducing a new product to increase sales.
simply being mandated to carry out a project.

Goal The desired outcome or deliverable. Planning and building a new manufacturing line capable of
producing the required amount of units at acceptable
quality standards.
Magnitude The size of the project, usually a function of Designing and developing vehicle assembly facility with a
the amount of resources to be consumed. capacity of 500 000 units per annum as opposed to 50 000
units.
Complexity Normally a function of the amount of sources Multinational projects such as the Airbus A380 project that
from which the resources are drawn or the involved about four countries and sixteen sites aimed at
technological aspects of the project. building the largest passenger plane in the world.
Critical

Risk The likelihood of things going wrong and the High technology projects conducted in countries with poor
consequences thereof. infrastructure – such as the MOZAL smelter.
Uncertainty The degree to which we are unsure of the The exceptionally complicated Hadron large particle
consequences of our actions. collider project.
Cost Quite simply the amount of money to be Compare a wedding planning project to a new vehicle
spent. assembly facility.
Duration The amount of time the project is expected to Short duration projects measured in weeks vs long
take. Generally referred to as the schedule. duration projects measured in years such as the Panama
Canal.
Is it a Project or an Operation?
PROJECTS
High
Space station

New part development

Vehicle assembly

OPERATIONS

Uniqueness
Oil refinery

Low
One Many

Number of units
Project Success Criteria
Time

Cost Performance

Project execution quality

OUTPUT/INPUT
PM
500
______ = 0.001
200
0.0004
success
500 000
Factors for Successful Projects
How do we know if a project was
successful? Cost (under budget?)

Time (on schedule?)

Performance (functional?)
 Success or Failure?

K van der Merwe © 2017 Source: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons, 2016
Project Success Factors
How can we ensure the success of a project?
✓ Develop a clear goal that has buy-in from all the stakeholders.

✓ Spend sufficient time on planning activities to prevent unforeseen problems later.

✓ Identify risks and develop a risk management plan.

✓ Avoid scope creep.
✓ Select a strong team with clear reporting lines.
✓ Measure actual progress regularly against the plan and adjust when necessary.

✓ Communicate effectively with the stakeholders.

✓ Formally close the project when complete.
✓ Review project performance.
 Project Management Benefits
Why we need good Project Management Principles:

✓ Allows for faster and more cost effective project

completion.
✓ Projects become more predictable with less
unforeseen problems.
✓ Easier to manage.

✓ Doing it right – the first time.

✓ Intangible benefits such as a better working

environment for the team.
✓ Ultimately: a satisfied customer!
K van der Merwe © 2017
 Evolution of Project Management

Pyramids of Giza Great Wall of China

2500 BC 200 BC
20 YEARS – 100 000 WORKERS 200 YEARS – 800 000 WORKERS

K van der Merwe © 2017

 Venice Arsenal
Mass-production of a
fleet of warships around
1100AD

K van der Merwe © 2017

 Project Management Milestones
International Standard for
Project Management

Work-Breakdown Structure (Tree)

Program Evaluation and ISO

Review Technique WBS 21500
PERT 1962 2012
Critical Path 1958
Method
CPM
1957
Arranging
activities Gantt
logically chart
1917
K van der Merwe © 2017
 Project Management Software
e.g. Microsoft Project:

K van der Merwe © 2017

Future Trends in Project Management
• Projects of the future will include many that are very large and complex –
these projects will be difficult to manage.
• Due to globalisation we will see more international projects and more
diverse project teams.
• Economic factors will result in projects being run in low-cost nations.
• The proliferation of project management software packages will result in
shortened life-cycles and improved more user-friendly versions.
• Cyber security issues will be important especially with complex and
sensitive projects.
• The demand for entrepreneurial project managers will rise as innovation
and agile become more important.
Summary
• A project is a unique undertaking linked to time, resources and the
deliverable that requires the application of project management
techniques in order to have any significant chance of a successful outcome.
• Although projects have been around for many hundreds of years, the world
is seeing a proliferation of projects and standards have been developed to
guide the discipline into the future.
• Project management software continues to advance rapidly in its ability to
assist the project manager with planning and control.
• Project management, like everything else in the world, will continue to
evolve in order to meet new challenges and better address old ones!