Project Management

What is a Project?
A task or set of tasks aimed at achieving a particular goal or outcome. Example,
completing the production of a good or service.

Project Management is the process of planning, organizing, executing, and controlling

resources, tasks, and activities to achieve specific goals within a defined timeline,
budget, and scope.

Description:

-​ It involves applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project

requirements.
-​ Ensures effective coordination of tasks and resources to achieve objectives.
-​ Balances constraints such as time, cost, quality, and scope.

Key Dimensions of Project Management

Cost: Refers to the budget required to complete the project.

-​ Effective cost management ensures the project stays within the allocated budget.

Quality:

-​ Ensures the project’s output meets the desired standards and satisfies
stakeholders.
-​ Involves quality control and assurance during project execution.

Time: Refers to the schedule within which the project must be completed.

-​ Proper time management ensures timely delivery of project milestones.

Phases of Project Management (Project Life Cycle)

Initiation (starting):

-​ Define project objectives, scope (the areas it will cover), and feasibility (it’s
possibility).
-​ Identify stakeholders and secure approval to proceed.

Planning:
 -​ Develop a detailed plan, including timelines, budgets, resource allocation, and
risk management.

Execution:

-​ Implement the project plan, allocate tasks, and monitor progress.

Monitoring and Controlling:

-​ Track performance, manage risks, and ensure the project stays on schedule and
budget.

Closure:

-​ Finalize deliverables, release resources, and evaluate project performance.

Challenges Faced in Managing a Project

Resource Constraints: Limited budget, staff, or materials.

Time Management: Tight deadlines can affect quality.

Stakeholder Management: Conflicting interests or expectations.

Risk Management: Unforeseen events, such as delays or budget overruns.

Communication Issues: Lack of clarity or coordination among team members.

Scope Creep: Uncontrolled changes or expansions in project scope.

Critical Path Analysis/Arrow Method/Critical Path Method (CPM)

A technique for planning and scheduling project tasks. It Identifies the longest sequence
of tasks (critical path) that must be completed on time to ensure the project’s timely
delivery.

Steps to Create a Simple Network Diagram:

1.​ List all activities and their durations.

2.​ Identify dependencies between activities.
3.​ Draw the network diagram using arrows to represent activities.
4.​ Calculate the earliest start, latest start, and slack for each activity.
 5.​ Identify the critical path (no slack).

A critical path node: these are used to create the network diagram. They are used at the start or
end of an activity.

EST or Earliest Start Time refers

to the earliest time that the next task can begin.

LFT or Latest Finish Time looks at the latest time possible that the previous task can end
without delaying the next task.

In between each node, there are arrows, which indicate the order in which the tasks take place.

Floats/Slack – Floats are periods which indicate the possibility of pushing back the start time
without delaying the overall completion of the entire project. These are usually tasks which do
not lie on the critical path.

Total float – is the amount of time a path of activities can be delayed without affecting the
overall project completion.

Total Float = LFT – EST - Duration

Free float – is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the beginning of
the next activity at its EST. There can only be free float when two or more activities share a
common successor. On a network diagram, this is where activities meet.
Free Float = EST at end of activity – Duration – EST at beginning of activity

Independent Float – is the amount of time an activity can be delayed when all preceding
activities have been completed as late as possible and all succeeding activities are started as early
as possible. It does not affect the float on preceding or subsequent activities.

Independent Float = EST at end of activity – LFT – Duration.

●​ Critical tasks have zero float, which means their dates are set. Tasks with positive float
numbers belong in the non-critical path, meaning they may be delayed without
affecting the project completion date. If you are short on time or resources, non-critical
tasks may be skipped.

Dummy activities – these are activities that take up zero time, seen by a dotted line. It is an
imaginary activity designed to show a clear logical dependency between activities and applies to
network diagrams.

Successor - all work-related activities that follow (come after) a particular task.

Predecessor - tasks that must be finished before the next task in the sequence can begin.

The Forward Pass or Backward Pass techniques may be used to do key calculations on a
network diagram.

Forward pass: This is used to calculate early start (ES) and early finish (EF) dates by using a
previously specified start date.

*EST = immediate predecessor - highest EF value

* EFT = EST + duration.

The calculation starts with 0 at the ES of the first activity and proceeds through the schedule.
Determining ES and EF dates allows for early allocation of resources to the project.

Backward pass: This is used to calculate late start (LS) and late finish (LF) dates.

*LS = LF - duration,
* LF = immediate successors - lowest LF value.
The calculation starts with the last scheduled activity and proceeds backward through the entire
schedule.
The early and late start and end dates can then be used to calculate float, or scheduling flexibility
of each activity.