SC 420

Management of Construction Projects

 Lecture 1:
Introduction to
Project Management
Motivation for Studying Construction
Project Management
 Construction Industry is largest in the world,
offer employment, indicator to economic
growth
 Projects have a terrible track record in

Tanzania;
 Construction for example, projects take up

to about three times longer than the planned

duration;
 Budgets are not met;
 Quality is poor;
 Projects are becoming larger and more

complex.
What Is a Project?
 A project is a temporary endeavor
undertaken to accomplish a unique purpose
 Attributes of projects

◦ unique purpose
◦ temporary
◦ require resources, often from various areas
◦ should have a primary sponsor and/or customer
◦ involve uncertainty
 Types of Constructed Facilities
 Residential housing construction-includes houses
and high-rise apartments
 Institutional and commercial building-schools,

universities, medical centres and hospitals sports

facilities, shopping centers, warehouses and light
manufacturing plants, and skyscrapers for
offices;
 Specialized Industrial Construction-high degree

of technological complexity, such as oil

refineries, steel mills;
 Infrastructure and Heavy Construction-highways,

tunnels, bridges, pipelines, drainage systems and

sewage treatment plants
The Triple Constraint
 Every project is constrained in different ways
by its
◦ Scope goals
◦ Time goals
◦ Cost goals
 It is the project manager’s duty to balance
these three often competing goals
 Conflict between goals
 If time is to be minimised, then both scope
and cost may be negatively affected;
 If scope is to be increased, then both more

time and money may be needed;

 On the other hand, if one wishes to minimise

cost, then scope may have to be reduced and

it may not be possible to expedite the
project.
Figure 1-1. The Triple Constraint of
Project Management
 What is Project Management?
 Project management is “the application of
knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities in order to meet the project
requirements” (PMI*, Project Management Body
of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 2000, p. 6).
 It is accomplished through use of processes

such as: Initiating, planning, executing,

controlling and closing.
 It has always been practiced informally, but

began to emerge as a distinct profession in the

mid-20th century.
*The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international
professional society. Their web site is www.pmi.org.
 What is Project Management?
 The project team manages the works of the
project and typically involves;
◦ Competing demand for scope, time, costs and risks
◦ Stakeholders with different needs and expectations
◦ Identified requirements
Project Stakeholders
 Stakeholders are the people involved in or
affected by project activities
 Stakeholders include
◦ the project sponsor and project team
◦ support staff
◦ customers
◦ users
◦ suppliers
◦ opponents to the project
9 Project Management Knowledge
Areas
 Knowledge areas describe the key
competencies that project managers must
develop
◦ 4 core knowledge areas lead to specific project
objectives (scope, time, cost, and quality)
◦ 4 facilitating knowledge areas are the means through
which the project objectives are achieved (human
resources, communication, risk, and procurement
management)
◦ 1 knowledge area (project integration management)
affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge
areas
Figure 1-2. Project Management Framework

T
T
Project Management Tools and
Techniques
 Project management tools and techniques
assist project managers and their teams in
various aspects of project management
 Some specific ones include

◦ Project Charter and WBS (scope)

◦ Gantt charts, PERT charts, critical path analysis
(time)
◦ Cost estimates and Earned Value Analysis (cost)
Sample WBS for Road Project in Chart Form
Road Project

Concept Preliminary Detailed Design Tendering Implement Handover

Design

Feasibility Study Drainage Advertise Mobilise

Allignment Structures Evaluate Tenders Clear site

Gemetric Design Pavement Award Contract Set out

Tender Documents Earthworks

Structures

Pavement

Road furniture
Figure 1-4. Sample Gantt Chart*
WBS Gantt Chart

*This template file comes with MS Project

 Figure 1-5. Sample PERT Chart
A D H

1 1 day 4 4 days 8 6 days

Mon 8/3/98 Mon 8/3/98 Tue 8/4/98 Fri 8/7/98 Wed 8/12/98 Wed 8/19/98

5 5 days
Wed 8/5/98 Tue 8/11/98 J
START B
10 3 days

0 days 2 2 days Thu 8/20/98 Mon 8/24/98

Mon 8/3/98 Mon 8/3/98 Mon 8/3/98 Tue 8/4/98
F

6 4 days
Wed 8/5/98 Mon 8/10/98

C G I

3 3 days 7 6 days 9 2 days

Mon 8/3/98 Wed 8/5/98 Thu 8/6/98 Thu 8/13/98 Fri 8/14/98 Mon 8/17/98

Each box is a project task from the WBS. Arrows show

dependencies between tasks. The tasks in red are on the critical
path. If any tasks on the critical path take longer than planned, the
whole project will slip unless something is done.
 Sample Earned Value Chart
300
EAC

BAC
250

200

BCWS or Cumulative Plan

150 ACWP or Cumulative Actual
$

BCWP or Cumulative EV
BCWS
Cost Variance
100
ACWP

Schedule Variance
BWCP
50

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Month
 Advantages of Project Management
 Managers, customers, and other stakeholders
do not like surprises. Good project
management (PM) provides assurance and
reduces risk
 PM provides the tools and environment to
plan, monitor, track, and manage schedules,
resources, costs, and quality
 PM provides a history or metrics base for
future planning as well as good
documentation
 Project members learn and grow by working
in a cross-functional team environment
How Project Management (PM)
Relates to Other Disciplines
 Much of the knowledge needed to manage
projects is unique to PM
 However, project managers must also have

knowledge and experience in

◦ general management
◦ the application area of the project
 Project managers must focus on meeting
specific project objectives
Figure 1-3. Project Management and Other
Disciplines

Project
A good project
Management
Knowledge and manager
Practice

General Application
Management Knowledge and
Knowledge and Practice
Practice
Project Management Profession
 Modern project management began with
the Manhattan Project, which the U.S.
military led to develop the atomic bomb
 In 1917 Henry Gantt developed the

Gantt chart as a tool for scheduling

work in job shops
 By the 1990s, virtually every industry

was using some form of project

management
 By 2000 PM is a well established

academic discipline and profession

The Project Management Profession
 Authoritative authors (international) stress
that projects are what add value to
organizations
 Professional societies like the Project

Management Institute have grown

tremendously
Project Management Certification
 PMI provides certification as a Project
Management Professional (PMP)
 A PMP has documented sufficient project

experience, agreed to follow a code of

ethics, and passed the PMP exam
 The number of people earning PMP

certification is increasing quickly, and the

certification program department received
ISO approval in 1999
 2006 accepted almost worldwide.
Figure 1-6. Growth in PMP Certification,
1993-1999 (Revised)
20,000
18,000 18184

16,000
14,000
12,000
# PMPs

10,000 10086
8,000
6,000 6415

4,000 4400
2800
2,000 1900
1000
0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Year
Code of Ethics
 Number of PMP by 2005 almost 200,000;
 PMI developed a project management code of

ethics that all PMPs must agree to abide by;

 Conducting work in an ethical manner helps

the profession earn confidence

 Ethics are on the web at

www.pmi.org/certification/code.htm
Assignment
 Write a brief analysis (maximum of two
pages) of project management tools and
techniques (at least 3 of them). The report
should at least have the following contents;
◦ Brief History of each tool and technique
◦ Description of the tools
◦ functions and use of each tool in project
management
◦ Advantages and shortcomings of each tool
The assignment should be done in groups of 5-people
Dead line is on 30th November. BEFORE 1600 HOURS.
Thank You