Project Management Methodology and Project Management

Software ( P L M T 525)
What is management?
Management is achieving goals in a way that makes the best use of all resources

This involves the following activities:

1. Planning – It is the basic function of management. ―Planning is deciding in advance - what

to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we
want to be‖.―deciding what is to be done‖
2. Organizing – It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human
resources and developing productive relationship amongst them for achievement
of organizational goals.―making arrangements‖
3. Staffing – It is the function of manning the organization structure and keeping it
manned.
4. Directing – Supervision, Motivation, Leadership, Communication. ―giving
instructions
5. Controlling –The purpose of controlling is to ensure that everything occurs in
conformities with the standards
6. Monitoring – checking on progress
a. Innovating – coming up with solutions when problems emerge
7. Representing – liaising with clients, users, developers and other stakeholders
What is a project?
 A project is a temporary effort to create a unique product or service.
 Projects usually include constraints and risks regarding cost, schedule or
performance outcome.

 A project is planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed

period and within certain cost and other limitations.

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What is Project Management?

 Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, motivating, and

controlling resources to achieve specific goals
 A project is a temporary effort to create a unique product or service. Projects
usually include constraints and risks regarding cost, schedule or performance
outcome.
 A project is planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and
within certain cost and other limitations.
Why Project Management?

• Project management is important because it helps every part of the business run more efficiently
and effectively.
• When done correctly, it enables leadership to plan and manage projects so that every objective and
deliverable is completed on time and within budget.
o Better control of financial,physical,and human resources
o Improved customer relations
o Shorter development times
o Lower costs
o Higher quality and increased reliability
o Improved productivity
o Better internal coordination
Characteristics of projects
 Non-routine
 Planned
 Aiming at a specific target
 Work carried out for a customer
 Involving several specializes
 Made up of several different phases
 Constrained by time and resources
 Large and/or complex

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Activities covered by project management
1. Scope Management 5.Control and validation
2. Initiation 6.Evaluation and closure
3. Planning
4. Excision
Project Management Methodologies

• There are several P M methodologies & all have pros and cons. Some
of them work better in particular projects, so you’ll need to learn about
project management methodologies to decide which one works best for you.
What is a Project Management Methodology?
 A project management methodology is a set of principles, tools and
techniques that are used to plan, execute and manage projects.
 Project management methodologies help project managers lead team
members and manage work while facilitating team collaboration.
The most commonly used project management methods that you can
use include:
1. Waterfall Methodology
 This may be the most straightforward and linear of all the project
management methods in this list, as well as the most traditional
approach.
 The name is apt, as the waterfall methodology is a process in
which the phases of the project flow downward.
 The waterfall model requires that you move from one project
phase to another only once that phase has been successfully
completed.

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  When to use it: The waterfall approach is great for manufacturing
and construction projects, which are highly structured, and when
it’s too expensive to pivot or change anything after the fact.
 The waterfall method makes use of Gantt charts for planning and
scheduling
2. Agile Methodology
 What it is: It’s an iterative and flexible approach to project management
that focuses on delivering incremental value throughout the project's
duration.
 It emphasizes adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
The Agile approach divides the project into small, manageable work
units called sprints or iterations, typically lasting two to four weeks.
 Each sprint involves planning, executing, reviewing, and adapting the
project deliverables. As its name suggests,―agile‖ means moving fast
and managing shifting priorities.

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2. Agile Methodology…
 When to use it: The practice originated in software development and
works well in that culture.
 It’s also being used in other types of projects that need a more
responsive and fast-paced production schedule, such as marketing.
3. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

 What it is: This is the granddaddy of methodologies if it’s a

methodology at all. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a not-
for-profit membership association, project management certification
and standards organization.
 This organization produces a book called the ―Project Management
Body of Knowledge‖ or PMBOK.
 The PMBOK provides definitions and guidelines for project planning,
scheduling, executing and controlling.
 For example, the project management process groups describe the
project life cycle, while the 10 project management knowledge areas
 When to use it: Almost any project can benefit from PMBOK, as all
projects big and small are going to go through the various stages of the
project life cycle outlined in the book.
 It’s a great way to keep everyone on the same page, so to speak, and
offers a clear definition of how a project is managed explain how to
manage a project.

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 4. PRINCE2
 PRINCE2 is a popular project management methodology used in over
150 countries. It's a process-based approach that focuses on
organization and control throughout the entire project.
 The acronym PRINCE stands for "PRojects IN Controlled
Environments." This project management framework is linear and
process-based, focusing on moving initiatives through predefined
stages.
 PRINCE2 also includes core project management principles like
outlining your project scope and budget, which makes it a good option
for beginners.
The History Of PRINCE2
 This project management methodology was first established in 1989
by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA).
 It was originally based on a methodology used by the United
Kingdom’s government, known as Project Resource Organization
Management Planning Technique (PROMPT). The UK government
used PROMPT primarily for information system projects.
 PRINCE2 started out as just PRINCE, and this first iteration focused
 on managing IT projects.
6 Key Aspects of A PRINCE2 Project
• Every PRINCE2 project hasthese six characteristics, which the project manager tracks as the project
progresses.
o Project scope: This clearly outlines what goals, deadlines, and project deliverables your
project is working towards.
o Costs: This is how much money your project will cost.
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 o The goal is to calculate this asclose asyou canto prevent going over your project budget.
o Timescales: This is the amount of time your project will take to complete.
o PRINCE2 projects typically have aset deadline created by the project board.
o Timescales help team members by giving them an estimated timeline to complete each
task.
The characteristics
 Risk: There’s inherent risk with every project because we can’t control
everything. Part of PRINCE2 includes establishing a risk management process
to proactively identify what risks your team may encounter and mitigate any
issues.
 Quality: In PRINCE2, it's necessary to create a quality register, or something
that clearly defines the standards of production for all deliverables. This ensures
that the final deliverable meets your team’s highest standards and satisfies
customer expectations.
 Benefits: PRINCE2 requires that every project has a clear business justification.
This is similar to a project charter, but the requirements all depend on what
your project board wants to see before approving the project.
5. Critical Path Method (CPM)
 What it is: In the critical path method (CPM), you build a model of the
project, including all the activities listed in a work breakdown structure, the
duration of those tasks, what if any task dependencies there are and marking
off milestones to indicated larger phases of the project or points in which your
project deliverables are due.
 CPM revolves around discovering the most important tasks in the project
timeline, identifying task dependencies, and calculating task durations.
 CPM was developed in the late 1950s as a methodology to resolve the issue of
increased costs due to inefficient scheduling. Since then, CPM has become
popular for planning projects and prioritizing tasks.

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  Building out a project roadmap can help you visualize what needs to be done
to reach your end goal.
 CPA can provide valuable insight on how to plan projects, allocate resources,
pace towards milestones, and schedule tasks.
Why you should use the critical path method:

 Improves future planning: CPM can be used to compare expectations with actual
progress.The data used from current projects can inform future project plans.
 Facilitates more effective resource management: CPM helps project managers
prioritize tasks, giving them a better idea of how to avoid resource constraints.
 Helps avoid bottlenecks: Bottlenecks in projects can result in lost valuable time.
Plotting out project dependencies using a network diagram will give you a better
idea of which activities can and can’t run in parallel, allowing you to schedule work
accordingly.
1. Finding the critical path:
 It involves identifying the longest path between the start and end of the project
by comparing the duration of critical and non-critical tasks. Below is a
breakdown of the steps, with examples

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 The steps of a project's critical path…………
2. Identify dependencies: Based on your work breakdown structure, determine the
tasks that are dependent on one another.
This will also help you identify any work that can be done in parallel
with other tasks.
Here are the task dependencies based on the example above:
 Task B is dependent on A
 Task C is dependent on B
 Tasks C and D can run in parallel
 Task E is dependent on D
 Task F is dependent on C, D, and E
 The list of dependent tasks is referred to as an activity sequence, which will be
used to determine the critical path.
3. Create a network diagram:
 The next step is to turn the work breakdown structure into a network diagram,
which is a flowchart displaying the chronology of critical path activities.
Create a box for each task and use arrows to depict task dependencies. You’ll add other
time-bound components to the network diagram until you have the general project
schedule figured out.
4. Estimate task duration: To calculate the critical path, the longest sequenceof tasks, you first need
to estimate the duration of each activity.
To estimate the duration,try:

 Making educated guesses based on experience and knowledge

 Estimating based on previous project data
 Estimating based on industry standards
5. Calculate the critical path:
 Calculating the critical path can be done manually, but you can save time by using acritical
path algorithm instead.

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Here are the steps to calculate the critical path manually:
• Step 1: Write down the start and end time next to each sequence of activities to calculate the
sequence's "duration.
• Step 2: Determine the number of dependencies along each sequence.
• Step 3: The sequence of activities with the longest duration (end of sequence date - beginning of
sequence date) is the critical path.
If multiple sequencesof activities have the same duration, the sequence with the greater number of
dependencies is the critical path.

Using the same example above, here’s what the critical path diagram might
look

6. Calculate the float:

 Float, or slack, refers to the amount of flexibility of a given task. It
indicates how much the task can be delayed without impacting
subsequent tasks or the project end date.

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  Finding the float is useful in gauging how much flexibility the project
has. Float is a resource that should be used to cover project risks or
unexpected issues that come up.
 When to use it: CPM works better with smaller or mid-sized projects.
The larger the project, the more difficult it can be to take all the data
you need to diagram and make sense of it without project management
software.
Project Management
 a method for organizing tasks
 a structured framework to help a group work productively
 a tools to aid in task sequencing, dependency analysis, resource allocation,
scheduling, etc.
 tools to track progress relative to plan
Why Need Project Management?

Complex project needs coordination of:

 Multiple people
 Multiple resources (labs, equipment, material, HR, etc.)
 Multiple tasks – some must precede others
 Multiple decision points – approvals
 Phased expenditure of funds
 Matching of people/resources to tasks
Task Dependencies and the Critical Path
 Sometimes task B cannot be started before task A is completed
 Other types of constraints – calendar, lags, etc.
 Critical path – any slippage slips whole project
 Helpful to know what tasks are on the critical path
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  Useful to try to shorten the critical path
Suggested Steps in Project Management
 Generate a formal definition of the project, with logical goals/objectives/output,
constraints, assumptions
 Identify project start/end dates, any mandatory milestones,
 including reports, signoffs, deliverables, etc.
 List constraints – money, equipment availability, holidays, etc.
 Identify tasks to be accomplished – high level (i.e., by categories), then details
within each, using brainstorming method – green light
 Refine detailed task list, dropping/ combining, adding things omitted.
 Then, for each task in list:
 Estimate time (person hours, calendar period)
 Identify dependencies among tasks
 Identify resources (people, money, parts, etc.)
Project Management Using Microsoft Project
 Allows many different ways of entering and observing information
 Includes many features to help identify problems with a plan
 Regular use can help a group refine plans to make meeting targets more
realistic
What is Microsoft Project?
 Microsoft Project is a project management software program developed and
sold by Microsoft
 Designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to
tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads
 The application creates critical path schedules, and critical chain which can be
visualized in a Gantt chart
 Available currently in to editions, Standard and Professional

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 Short History of MS Project
 The first version of Microsoft Project was released for DOS (Disk Operating
Systems) in 1984 by a company working for Microsoft. Microsoft bought all
rights to the software in 1985
 During 1980’s couple of versions for DOS were released.
 The first Windows version in 1990.
 During 1990’s there were also versions for Mac
The purpose of program MS Project
 List each task necessary to complete a project in the order they
should be performed
 Assign start and finish dates to tasks or let the program set them for
you by specifying the duration of the task
 Display the tasks graphically over a time line to get an overall view of
the project
 List each task necessary to complete a project in the order they
should be performed
 Assign start and finish dates to tasks or let the program set them for
you by specifying the duration of the task
 Display the tasks graphically over a time line to get an overall view of
the project
MS Project Offers
 MSP enables you to stay informed and control:
o Project work
o Schedules
o Finances
 And to keep project teams aligned
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 Scheduling Techniques
 PERT
 CPM
 Gantt Chart
 Milestone Chart
PERT
 Program Evaluation and Review Technique
CPM
 Critical Path Method
Gantt Chart
All are models using network diagrams
What is CPM?
 The first step in creating a schedule is an assessment of the critical path or
the shortest period in which the project can be completed.
 Commonly used with all forms of projects, including construction, software
dev't, research projects, product dev't, engineering, and plant maintenance,
among others
o Any project with interdependent activities can apply this method of
scheduling

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  Project managers create a project plan by setting task dependencies
(relationships).
 The critical path consists of tasks that must be completed on time in
order for a project to stay on track and come to a successful
completion.
 Creating task dependencies changes the start and finish dates of tasks.
 Creating task dependencies also creates the project’s critical path.
 The critical path consists of tasks (or a single task) that determine the
project’s finish date (or start date).
What is PERT?
 Program (Project) Evaluation and Review Technique
(PERT) is a project management tool used to schedule, organize,
and coordinate tasks within a project.
 It is basically a method to analyze the tasks involved in completing a
given project, especially the time needed to complete each task, and
to identify the minimum time needed to complete the total project.

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 C r itical path method vs. P E RT
 CPM and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) were both
developed in the 1950s.
 PERT is used to estimate uncertainty around project activities by applying a
weighted average of optimistic and pessimistic factors.
 It evaluates the amount of time needed to complete an activity. PERT uses three
time estimates to find a range for the duration of an activity:
 Most likely estimate (M)
 Optimistic (O)
 Pessimistic (P)
 The calculation for PERT is: Estimated time = (O + 4M + P) / 6
 PERT is a project management technique used to measure uncertain activities in a
project and focuses on time planning and control.
 In contrast, CPM is a statistical project management technique that manages the
well-defined activities of a project, such as time and cost management.
What is Gantt chart?
 A GANTT chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule.
 After the PERT/CPM analysis is completed, the following phase is to construct
the GANTT chart and then to re- allocate resources and re-schedule if
necessary.
 GANTT charts have become a common technique for representing the phases
and activities of a project work breakdown structure.
Advantages and Disadvantages MSP
Advantages
 Simple
 Good visual communication to others
 Task durations can be compared easily
 Good for scheduling resources
Disadvantages
 Dependencies are more difficult to visualise
 Minor changes in data can cause major changes in the chart
Our “Flyover” of Project 98
o Adding tasks, durations
o Setting dependencies
o Seeing critical path, etc.
o “Rolling up” subtasks
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 o Assigning resources
o Adjusting durations, time assignments, etc.
o Adding tasks, durations
o Setting dependencies
o Seeing critical path, etc.
o “Rolling up” subtasks
o Assigning resources
o Adjusting durations, time assignments, etc.
Categorizes dependencies into 4 types.
They are based on when a successor task follows a predecessor task. The four
types are as follows:

 Adding tasks, durations

 Setting dependencies
 Seeing critical path, etc…
 “Rolling up” subtasks
 Assigning resources
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  Adjusting durations, time assignments, etc.
Management of Your Project
 With your team members
 Create a plan for the entire project
 Set milestones for tracking progress
 Provide more detail for near-term tasks
 Use with your facilitator to report progress and revise/add
 detail to plan
 Assign specific tasks to team members
 Revise plan and activities as required to achieve objectives
Prepare Case: Road Corridor Development Project (Phase2)
The next corridor development project is a continuation of
 reform plans to transform Addis into a smart and modern city.
 This project aims to build bicycle routes, pedestrian walkways, parks, toilets, and
entertaining area.
 The project also aims to upgrade the out-dated drainage systems, upgrade utility
networks such as power and internet.
Now you’re asked to develop a more detailed project plan by creating a Work
Breakdown Structure for this project and assigning resources to individual tasks.

Microsoft Project 2016

Objectives
1. Identify the critical path
2. Create a Work Breakdown Structure
3. Create and assign project resources
4. Change task durations by adding resources
5. View resource assignments in the Team Planner view
6. Enhance a project schedule with elapsed duration and recurring tasks
7. Share project information
8. Copy and paste project information to other applications
9. Share project information with Microsoft Excel
10. Use and create Project templates
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