Project Management Short Note

Introduction
What is a Project?
Projects have become the new way of accomplishing and managing activities. Projects
are the temporary assemblage of key personnel designed to accomplish specific
objectives with identifiable customers in mind. A project has a beginning and an end. The
project team dissolves once the objectives are met. It is fluid and driven by the specific
needs of that business. The project approach to managing activities embraces change
and complexity.
Projects can be defined in many different ways. However, there are some traits that all
projects have in common. Typically, these traits are used to identify what a project is. The
most distinguishing feature is a specific time frame. All projects have a beginning and an
end. Projects must have a clear, definitive goal or objective.
The objective is specific, identifiable, and can be accomplished. A project usually involves
varied activities, which produce quantifiable and qualifiable deliverables that when added
together, accomplish the overall objective.
 A project is a temporary process, which has a clearly defined start and end time, a
set of tasks, and a budget, that is developed to accomplish a well-defined goal or
objective.
 A project is a temporary effort of sequential activities designed to accomplish a
unique purpose.
 A project is a group of inter-related activities, constrained by time, cost, and scope,
designed to deliver a unique purpose.
 A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or
service. Temporary means that the project has an end date. Unique means that the
project‘s result is different from the results of other functions of the organization.
 An undertaking that encompasses a set of tasks or activities having a definable
starting point and well defined objectives. Usually each task has a planned
completion data (due date) and assigned resources‖.
 A clear set of activities with related inputs and outputs aimed to achieve objectives
and goals linked to anticipated (desired) effects and impacts in a target population
(sometimes called beneficiaries)
According to all these definitions
 A project has a beginning and an end.
 A project has limited resources.
 A project follows a planned, organized method to meet its objectives with specific
goals of quality and performance.
 Every project is unique
 A project has a manager responsible for its outcomes.
A project is a series of tasks directed towards a specific outcome/goal
 A project contains a well defined objective. The project objective is defined in terms
of scope (or requirements), schedule, and cost.
 A project is carried out via a set of interdependent tasks.
 A project uses various resources to carry out these tasks.
 A project has a definite start date and an expected completion date. The actual
completion date may not always be the same as the expected date.
Key Characteristics of Projects;
A project has boundaries, so its extent is defined.
A project is a one-time effort, usually requiring finite resources.
There are distinct start and end dates for projects.
You know when you have reached the end of the project.
 Project Plan
Project planning defines the project activities and end products that will be performed
and describes how the activities will be accomplished. The purpose of project planning is
to define each major task, estimate the time and resources required, and provide a
framework for management review and control. The project planning activities and goals
include defining:
 The specific work to be performed and goals that define and bind the project.
 Estimates to be documented for planning, tracking, and controlling the project.
 Commitments that are planned, documented, and agreed to by affected groups.
 Project alternatives, assumptions, and constraints.
The planning process includes steps to estimate the size of the project, estimate the
technical scope of the effort, estimate the resources required to complete the project,
produce a schedule, identify and assess risks, and negotiate commitments. Repetition of
these steps is necessary to establish the project plan. Typically, several iterations of the
planning process are performed before a plan is actually completed
What is a Project Plan?
A project plan is a formal, approved document that is used to manage and control a
project. The project plan forms the basis for all management efforts associated with the
project. It is a document that is also expected to change over time. The project plan
documents the pertinent information associated with the project; it is not a verbose
textual document. A template for a project plan is provided in this documentation. The
information associated with the plan evolves as the project moves through its various
stages and is to be updated as new information unfolds about the project. The planning
process consists of the following basic tasks:
Define the technical approach used to solve the problem.
Define and sequence the tasks to be performed and identify all deliverables
associated with the project.
Define the dependency relations between tasks.
Estimate the resources required to perform each task.
Schedule all tasks to be performed.
Define a budget for performing the tasks.
Define the organization used to execute the project.
Identify the known risks in executing the project.
Define the process used for ensuring quality.
Define the process used for specifying and controlling requirements.
What is Project Management?
 Project Management is the process of achieving project objectives (schedule,
budget and performance) through a set of activities that start and end at certain
points in time and produce quantifiable and qualifiable deliverables.
 Project Management is a set of principles, methods and techniques for effective
planning of objective-oriented work, thereby establishing a sound basis for effective
scheduling, controlling and re-planning in the management of programs and
projects.
 Project management is the process of combining systems, techniques, and
knowledge to complete a project within established goals of time, budget and
scope.
 Project management is a process of leading a team of capable people in planning
and implementing a series of related activities that need to be accomplished on a
specific date with a limited budget.
 Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholders‘needs and expectations.
 Successful project management is the art of bringing together the tasks, resources
and people necessary to accomplish the business goals and objectives within the
specified time constraints and within the monetary allowance. Projects and
Programs are linked directly to the strategic goals and initiatives of the organization
supported. In other words, it provides an organization with powerful tools that
improve the organization's ability to plan, organize, implement and control its
activities and the ways it uses its people and resources. A project is a non-repetitive
one-of-a-kind activity normally with discrete time, financial and technical
performance goals. Normally a complex effort, usually less than 3 years in duration
and it is made up of interrelated tasks performed by various organizations. The
project management tools and principles provide the means for:
 project breakdown into tasks and sub-tasks
 finding interdependencies between the tasks
 allocating resources, human and material and smoothing resources
 estimation for total project duration and budget
 monitoring more efficiently project progress
The basic purpose for initiating a project is to accomplish some goals. The reason for
organizing the task as a project is to focus the responsibility and authority for the
attainment of the goals on an individual (project manager) or a small group
(projectteam). Project Management is a means by which to fit the many complex pieces
of the project puzzle together, both human and technical, by use of:
 Schedules
 Budgets, including resource allocation
 Scope (product) definition
Project Management fulfills two purposes:
 Technical: Documentation techniques to communicate
 The 'plan'
 Status which compares 'planned' versus 'actual' performance
 Human: Managerial skills to be a better 'manager' of people as well as the project
Key Steps of Project Management
1. Assessing needs
2. Planning the project
3. Implementing and monitoring the project
4. Evaluating the project
5. Learning from the project and evolving
Project Manager: The project manager is responsible for managing the project‘s scope,
schedule, and cost to support the owner‘s expectations for the successful completion of
the project. Typical duties include:
 Managing the development of the scope definition and project plans.
 Providing team leadership for problem resolution by working with the lowest
organizational levels possible and escalating, as necessary.
 Monitoring schedule and costs versus project progress to identify problems that
could potentially extend the schedule or overrun costs.
 Taking, directing, or recommending corrective action when scope, schedule, or cost
variances threaten the project.
 Serving as the central point of contact for the project and communicating project
status to the project owner and other stakeholders.
 Providing input to the performance reviews of the project team members.
 Negotiating a resolution to team member resource conflicts with their functional
managers.
A project manager must have a range of skills including:
• Leadership • Influencing • Negotiation
• Conflict Management • Planning • Contract management
• Estimating • Problem solving • Creative thinking
• Time Management
• People management (customers, suppliers, functional managers and project team)
• Effective Communication (verbal and written)
Project Owner/Sponsor: The project owner or sponsor should be a director or higher-
level member of the department who is the largest stakeholder in the project or who will
receive the greatest benefit by the project‘s successful completion. The owner assumes
the overall responsibility for the entire project. The project owner will appoint a project
manager to manage and control the project. The project owner may provide the project
manager the expectations of the end product or results, the minimum success criteria,
and the level of interface expected during the project life cycle. The project owner is
responsible for the following:
 Maintaining enough involvement with the project to ensure that the desired
outcome is attained.
 Granting a sufficient level of authority to the project manager required for the
project‘s success.
 Providing or negotiating support when the project manager is unable to resolve
problems at a lower level.
 Providing ongoing performance feedback to the project manager as well as
providing input to the project manager‘s performance review.