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BELGIUM CAMPUS

Project management PMM261

Introduction to project management

© BELGIUM CAMPUS 2024

§ What’s involved
in a project?
A company wants to build a new mall. What
and who is involved in this project?
 What is a project?
What kind of projects have you been involved in? Have you ever
helped to plan something? How would you define a project?

A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to

create a unique product, service, or result.
 A project must achieve a specific objective.
Normally unique and “novel”

A project is temporary.
It should have a start and end date.

A project requires various resources.

Money and human resources are the 2 most common resources.

A project can be deemed either successful or not.

Project attributes This is why mass manufacturing is not seen as a project.

The definition for a project is quite precise. You might A project is a coordinated venture.
be faced with a situation where you are unsure Often a project manager is appointed, or a team is assembled.
whether a project manager is needed. Using these
criteria, we can identify a project. A project provides deliverables
Often several reports, products, prototypes, etc., are required.
 Building a bridge

Launching a new mobile app

Routine website maintenance

Project attributes
Hosting a Company Picnic

Look at the examples on the right and decide whether

they are projects that fit the definition and attributes. Implementing a New HR Software System
Traditional
projects vs
software
projects
The product is intangible.
Every software project is essentially new.
Possible rapid changes e.g. API updates to
Google Maps
Internet-based projects have global
considerations in terms of law and culture.
Compliance e.g. software for a Boeing.
Scalability – ready for growth
Obsolescence – software changes much
faster than hardware or other sectors.
Case Study:
Facebook
How did Facebook have to
change as it grew from a small
company to Meta, an
international company?
What
happened to
this project?
What does Murphy’s Law state?
What about Finagle’s law of
dynamic negatives?
The unfinished
highway
This highway is in Cape Town
and has been unfinished for
more than 50 years.

What happened?
SMART Success Criteria
Success
criteria
Evaluate these criteria according
to SMART.
Major projects that failed
See if you can find out why these failed:

• Wonderland Park China

• McDonald's Arch Deluxe Burger
• Crystal Pepsi

Why do projects fail? They generally run out of time or

money. There are usually additional factors that also play a
role.
Saving a project: case study
A milk producing company in Nicaragua had a
project: triple their revenue.

Through analysis they discovered that almost half their

milk had to be thrown out due to contamination. Their
problem was quality. What could they do?

They brought in an expert from Parmalat who steadily

helped improve their quality. Soon their milk was of good
quality but a new problem surfaced that threatened the
project. They weren’t throwing milk away anymore which
meant they were running out of storage. This was easily
solved by simply increasing the number of deliveries they
make.
Saving a project: case study
A milk producing company in Nicaragua had a
project: triple their revenue.

Through analysis they discovered that almost half their

milk had to be thrown out due to contamination. Their
problem was quality. What could they do?

They brought in an expert from Parmalat who steadily

helped improve their quality. Soon their milk was of good
quality but a new problem surfaced that threatened the
project. They weren’t throwing milk away anymore which
meant they were running out of storage. This was easily
solved by simply increasing the number of deliveries they
make.
Project Constraints
A project does not have unlimited funding or time.
There are several constraints within which a project
has to be completed.

SCOPE

TIME

BUDGET

QUALITY

RESOURCES

RISK
Project Constraints
A project does not have unlimited funding or time. SCOPE
There are several constraints within which a project
has to be completed. Project scope highlights the required functions
and features and helps to distinguish what is and
SCOPE is not involved in the project. It also controls
what is allowed or removed as it is executed.

TIME It is in essence the common understanding

among stakeholders about what goes into a
project and the factors that define its success
BUDGET

Read up on what is mean by Scope tolerance

QUALITY

RESOURCES

RISK
Project Constraints
TIME
A project does not have unlimited funding or time.
There are several constraints within which a project Time management is a critical aspect of project
has to be completed. management as it involves managing and utilizing
time effectively to ensure that project tasks are
SCOPE completed on time, within budget, and to the
desired level of quality.

TIME

BUDGET

QUALITY

RESOURCES

RISK
Project Constraints
BUDGET
A project does not have unlimited funding or time.
There are several constraints within which a project The financial aspect is one of the most important
has to be completed. components of any project. How much money is
the project initiator/client/sponsor willing to
SCOPE spend? How much extra will they spend in case
something goes wrong? What exactly will the
money be spent on? Will any flexibility be allowed?
TIME

BUDGET

QUALITY

RESOURCES

RISK
Project Constraints
RESOURCES
A project does not have unlimited funding or time.
There are several constraints within which a project Which resource is most important? While all
has to be completed. resources are important, a common argument is
that the people are most important since they can
SCOPE adjust their approach should any of the other
resources become constrained.

TIME
Other resources include time, money, and
materials.
BUDGET

QUALITY

RESOURCES

RISK
Project Constraints
QUALITY
A project does not have unlimited funding or time.
There are several constraints within which a project There needs to be a lot of work done to ensure
has to be completed. quality. Quality = a careful balance between cost,
resources, and time.
SCOPE
In general, high-quality work takes time and
money and the project owner needs to specify how
TIME
important quality is.

BUDGET

QUALITY

RESOURCES

RISK
Project Constraints
Risk
A project does not have unlimited funding or time.
There are several constraints within which a project Risk refers to any uncertain event or condition that, if it
has to be completed. occurs, could have a positive or negative impact on a
project's objectives.

SCOPE
These uncertainties can arise from various sources,
including:
TIME • technological factors,
• market changes,
• environmental issues, and
BUDGET • human error.

Risk management involves identifying, assessing,

QUALITY prioritizing, and mitigating these risks to minimize their
potential impact and increase the likelihood of project
success.
RESOURCES

RISK
The project environment
What is the project environment?

What do you need to consider? What outside factors will play a role in a
project?

The environment within which the project takes place is crucial. The local
environment as well as the larger culture can have a significant impact. A
South African contractor who builds an apartment building in the
Philippines will need to have a clear understanding of the working culture
there.

What factors can you think of regarding the environment within which the
project will be created.
Project planning
Planning is defined as the act of deciding how to do something.
Project Planning is probably the most time-consuming project
management activity.

It is a continuous activity from initial concept through to system

delivery. Plans must be regularly revised as new information
becomes available.

Project planning can be divided into:

• Business Plans - concentrate on the relationship with the customer
• Technical Plans - are used internally in the development group
What does a project manager do?
What does a project manager do? They will manage:

• effective use of resources

• tracking of deadlines
• monitoring the project
• adapt to unexpected events

• Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and

techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements”
Project manager roles

Leader – organise team towards success

Liaison - link between client, project team and upper management
Mentor – provide guidance and advice
Project manager skills
Now that we have a better idea of what a project
is, what skills do you think a project manager
should have?

• Effective communicator
• Negotiation
• Leadership
• Able to manage risks
• Critical thinking
• Time management
Changing nature of IT projects
What’s the difference between standard
construction/manufacturing projects and IT?

Business needs remain relatively consistent over time. Construction

project? Just lots of ways to build a building.

IT Project? It ranges from software that checks if a driver is awake to

a wearable that automatically calls an emergency contact if you fall.
New programming languages, AI changing everything, etc.
Stakeholders

Who is involved in a project? It’s

not only the people who will
actually be working on the project.
Companies and government
agencies can also be seen as
“people”.

These are stakeholders.

 Stakeholders
Here are some examples of stakeholders:
• Project Sponsor: The project sponsor in project management is a person or
group that provides financial, strategic, or other resources and support for a
project.
• Project Team: The group of individuals responsible for executing project tasks
and delivering the project objectives.
• Support Staff: Personnel who provide administrative, technical, or operational
assistance to facilitate project execution.
• Customers: Individuals or organizations that receive and benefit from the final
product or service of the project.
• Users: End-users who directly interact with and utilize the project’s deliverables
or outcomes.
• Suppliers: External entities that provide materials, services, or resources
necessary for the project's completion.
 Stakeholders
Opponents of the project: In project management, opponents of a project can
refer to anyone who opposes or is against the project. This can include internal or
external stakeholders who have different goals, interests, or concerns that conflict
with the project's objectives.
• Internal opponents may include individuals or departments within the
organization that see the project as a threat to their own interests, resources, or
power. For example, a project to streamline processes and reduce redundancies
may face opposition from employees who fear job loss or department leaders
who are protective of their team's responsibilities.
• External opponents may include competitors, customers, regulators, or other
stakeholders who may be impacted by the project's outcomes. For example, a
project to introduce a new product in the market may face opposition from
existing competitors who see it as a threat to their market share.
Gold Plating
Doing unnecessary work in this way is usually
referred to as ‘gold plating’ and it is a very bad idea
because it always brings with it additional risk and
cost beyond what has been agreed. Anyone who
wishes to impress their superiors by over-delivering
should realize that it is far better to deliver early or
under budget than to deliver more than was
originally specified.
Scope Creep
Project managers must always be aware that stakeholders are almost
always tempted to increase the project scope via the back door once the
project gets underway. They can justify this to themselves by believing that
these changes are relatively small and yet will add a great deal of value to
the completed project. Unfortunately, this tends to prevent them from being
totally objective when considering the additional resources required
implementing these incremental improvements. This phenomenon is known
as ‘scope creep’ and is endemic in project work to the extent that it is a
major cause of project failure.
Scope Creep
Scope creep leads to problems in one of two ways:

1. The suggestion is accepted and the project is committed to do things

that were not in the plan, which inevitably leads to cost and time
overruns.

2. The suggestion is automatically rejected and this has implications for

project team morale.
How do I know if a project is
successful?
There are several ways to define project success.
1. The project met scope, time, and cost goals.
2. The project satisfied the customer/sponsor
3. The results of the project met its main objective

Whether or not a project is successful also depends on who you ask;

• The very happy project manager that implemented the SAP project as scoped on time
and below budget
• The end users who absolutely hate the complexity and slowness of the new system.
• The COO that has seen IT costs double whilst none of the expected savings
materialized.