Introduction

to Project
Management
Thilini Amarasooriya (B.Sc. Electrical and Control Systems, M.Sc.Eng. Engineering Management)

Project Management sections of Engineering Management –ME3081

[email protected]
E515
Outline for today
 Engineering Management
 Engineering Manager
 Projects
 Project management
 Key project terms
 Project management office
 Project Manager
 PM methodology
 Project life cyle
 PM process groups
 Project phases
 Ten knowledge areas
What is
Engineering
Management?
 What is Engineering
TheManagement?
engineering management discipline bridges the gap between management and
engineering.

“Engineering management covers the gap between engineering and business

management, namely the combination of technical and economic decision-making with
analytical skills, optimization capabilities, and technical product development” – Rice
University, USA

“An art and science of planning, organising, allocating resources, and directing and
controlling activities that have a technological component.”
American Society for Engineering Management
 The large majority of your Rather, this unit prepares you to It can help translate your discipline
engineering course is about work as an engineer, in engineering into the world of business and
learning technical skills. teams and as a future engineering industry.
manager.

Why Engineering Management?

Engineering Management helps Engineers to
“Speak Business”
Who is an
Engineering
Manager?
 Who is an Engineering
Manager
The engineering manager is distinguished from other
managers because they possess an ability to apply
engineering principles and skill in organising and
directing people and projects.
They are uniquely qualified for two types of jobs:
 the management of technical functions (such as design or
production) in almost any enterprise,
 or the management of broader functions (such as
marketing or top management)
in a high technology enterprise.

Source:
Daniel L. Batcock and Lucy C. Morse
Managing Engineering and Technology,
 What does the
engineering manager do?
Planning
Organizing
Allocating resources
Directing
Controlling activities
These are from our earlier definition as below
“An art and science of planning, organising, allocating resources, and directing and
controlling activities that have a technological component.”
American Society for Engineering Management
 Planning

Planning - Thinking through the

activities required to achieve a
desired goal.

Planning can be at 3 levels:

 Strategic
 Tactical
 Operational
Planning

Strategic – highest level and involves senior management to set the vision and
mission, as well as the approach taken to achieve these.

Tactical – concerned with activating the strategy to make it work. Tactical plans
are shorter time-frame and involve lower-level units within each division. This is
often the job of middle-management, to convert strategy into action.

Operational – involves managers at middle and lower levels. Managers and

directors work with supervisors, team leaders, and facilitators to break down the
company goals into short-term objectives for easy implementation.
 Organizing

Arranging and relating work so that it can be done

efficiently by the appropriate people (Galbraith,
2014).

Three types of organisational

structures:
 Functional organisation
 Project-based organisation
 Matrix organisation
Functional Organisation
Functional Organisation

 Traditional structure, employees grouped by functional types to perform

specialised tasks.
 One boss

Typical companies that follow this structure are:

 Manufacturing operations, process industries, organisations with limited product
diversity and stable workflow.
 New companies, such as startups.
 Companies with a narrow product range, simple marketing pattern, few sites.
Functional Organisation

Advantages
Clear lines of communication within each functional area.
Well defined roles and specialty.
Enhanced efficiency and economies of scale.

Disadvantages
Poor integration across functional areas.
Complexity in coordinating tasks across functions.
Slow decision making process.
Limitations to employee growth.
Project Based Organisation
Project Based Organisation

More common in firms where projects are the dominant form of business such as
consulting and construction firms.
Advantages
Efficiency in getting projects completed.
Involvement of a cross-functional team.
Complete line of authority to the project manager.
Dedicated teams.
Disadvantages
High cost of maintaining this structure (redundancy between teams).
No home for team members once project is complete.
Difficulty in transferring knowledge between projects.
Matrix Organisation
Matrix Organisation

Combination of functional and project based organisations.

Two chains of command! Must report to functional manager and project manager.
Advantages
Optimised use of resources
Dynamic project team
Project members have a home after a project.
Disadvantages
Dual reporting system
Slow decision making and conflict between managers
Team members end up doing project work on top of their normal functional duties.
 Allocating Resources
 Resources can be in the form of capital, equipment
and people.

 Engineering managers assign resources to a task,

assigning roles and responsibilities to individuals
they manage.

 An economical and balanced approach should be

taken.

 Resource levelling = maximise the use of

resources and balancing ones that are over-
allocated.
 Directing
 Motivating,supervising, and
influencing people so as to achieve
the strategic goals of the organisation.

 Engineering managers are given

authority and power to make
decisions, and these should be made
in a timely manner
You can't manage
what you don't
measure.
Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker (1909-2005) was one of the

most widely-known and influential thinkers
on management, whose work continues to
be used by managers worldwide.
Controlling
(Measuring)
Measuring performance and comparing
results with established standards to ensure
that the work confirms to the requirements
and brings the desired outcome.

This can be done by:

 Setting a baseline standard.
 Measuring progress and performance.
 Comparing the baseline standard against
actual performance.
 Taking appropriate corrective action.
Projects
 What is a project?
A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken
to create a unique product, service or result.

The outputs of a project are called

“deliverables”.

A project has a beginning and an end (unlike

operations).
A project typically begins when an organisation
identifies a need and develops a project charter.
A project ends when the objectives are met or
when the project is terminated.
What is a project?
A project is temporary, but the outputs of the project
typically are not.

A project is unique, in that the results of the project are

not routine.

“A temporary endeavour undertaken to

create a unique product, service or result”
What is a project?
 Projects are in contrast with operations, which are permanent or
semi-permanent ongoing work to create the same or similar
products repeatedly.
 Definite beginning and a definite end
 Does not mean short duration
 Produce a product or artifact, quantifiable, an end item or a
component item
 A capability to perform a service, such as call center
 A result, such as research results or documents
 An improvement in an existing product or service
Attributes of a Project
 An agreed and measurable need, project objective and
deliverable/s.
 An agreed and sufficient budget.
 An organisational management structure.
 Multiple stakeholders and vested interest groups.
 Temporary in both time and performance.
 Shared, available and committed resources.
 Agreed start and finish dates.
 An agreed (written, detailed and perhaps contractual) specification.
 Logical, flexible task dependencies.
 Project initiated and managed to through to success.
What is project
management?
Project management is the
use of specific knowledge,
skills, tools and techniques to
deliver something of value to
people.

-PMI
The Iron Triangle of Project
Management

Scope relates to the requirements of the project.

Mapping the Iron Triangle in 3 dimensions
Examples of Projects
 New technology development  Creating a methodology
  Developing policy
Systems upgrade
 Implementing policy changes
 Building construction
 Establishing new plant
 Conducting an audit  Retooling for new products
 House renovations  Reorganising production layout
 Property development  Leading an investigation
 Software development  Decommissioning an industrial
plant
 Managing an event

Most of the work done in an organisation is operational. Projects are often

“special”, in the sense that they are custom, require allocation of resources,
and are for a limited time. Operations and Projects are often confused as they
have many of the same features and use the same tools.
Operations
 Operations are an organizational function
performing an
ongoing execution of activities.
 Examples: Production, manufacturing, and
accounting
operations.
 Projects help achieve the organizational goals
when they are aligned with the organization’s
strategy.
 Projects require project management while
operations require business process management
(BPM) or operations management.
Project Complexity

1.Minor (Simple) Project 2. Major (Complex)

• $10,000 - $50,000; AND Project
•
• 50 – 500 person hours; AND >$50,000; OR

• No significant risk. • >500 person hours;

OR
• Has significant risk.
Actual figures will depend on the organisation.
Key project terms

Processes

Goal
Objective

Output
Deliverable
Outcome
Benefit
Processes
 Processes transform one or more inputs into one or more
outputs by the application of tools or techniques.

 This applies to production processes used in the creation of

deliverables. It also applies to project management
processes used to manage the work of the project.

 Production Processes – used in the creation of deliverables.

 Project Management Processes – used in the management of the

work of a project.
Project Goals and Project Objectives
 Project goals describe an outcome or end goal for which
the project was created. They tend to be broad, longer-term
and related to the expectations of senior managers, clients
or the project sponsor.

A project objective is shorter term and defines a specific

task that needs to be achieved in a set time-frame.

 One goal would normally require multiple objectives.

 Thetwo terms are often used in unison when working on a
project.
 Project Goal Project Objectives

Expand access to Replace the library’s web server and

library and electronic software. Then, form a web committee
information resources that consists of representatives from
among the general every department, to develop marketing
public and staff materials to promote the site and aim to
members. increase website traffic.
Project
Strengthen food
security in rural
Build warehouses within a specific date
and ensure every person in rural areas
Goals and
communities. has access to food stored in a particular
warehouse. Categorise warehouses and
spread awareness about access to these.
Objectives
Reduce traffic road Educate people and make sure they are
accidents. aware of traffic rules. Deploy more police
officers on intersections to regulate traffic.
Compare data and see if this approaches
reduces road accidents.
Outputs, Deliverables and Benefits
 The output may be in the form of a tangible component, product or
document. Or an intangible service or result.
Most outputs are inputs to successor processes.

 Deliverables are the final outputs that are transferred to the

customer or the performing organisation.
Example deliverables for the client – product, service, result
Example deliverables for the performing organisation =
close-out project report

 Benefits describe an advantage accruing from an outcome of the

project.
Deliverables,
Outcomes,
Benefits
Deliverabl
e Outcome Benefit
Example:
A new hospital An additional Reduced waiting
Deliverables,
building hospital is now
operational and
times for hip
operations to an
Outcomes,
serving regional
demand for
average of three
weeks from ten
Benefits
hospital care, weeks.
reducing waiting
lists.
Key Terms Defined
Project - A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.

Process - transforms one or more inputs into one or more outputs using tools and techniques.

Goal - Describes the overarching purpose for which the project was created.

Objectives – Descriptions of how to undertake the project work to achieve the project goals.

Output - A tangible component or product, a document, or an intangible service or result.

Deliverable - The final outputs that are transferred to the customer (the product, service or result) or to
the organisation (such as a project close-out report).

Outcome - The desired operational result achieved from the deliverables.

Benefit - Describes an advantage accruing from an outcome of the project.

Outcomes, Benefits vary between stakeholders

 Each stakeholder may have different outcomes and benefits.

Example for a watch product.

For the Business
Deliverable: New watch product line
Outcome: able to service customers world wide with a new product, generating
$1M in revenue for the company.
Benefit: The product has lead to a gain of 5% market share.

For the End User

Deliverable: New watch
Outcome: The user is able to tell time conveniently 24/7.
Benefit: User is now on time to work 50% of the time.
Projects, Portfolios and Programs
 A project is the lowest level in the hierarchy of project, program,
portfolio, and organization.
 Program – a group of interrelated projects.
 Portfolio is a collection of projects, programs, and sub-portfolios
managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

These relate to positions of project manager, program manager,

portfolio manager.
 Portfolio Manager – selects projects to meet the strategic objectives of the organisation.
Typically, a senior role.
 Program Manager – manages multiple dependent projects. They source and prioritise resources
across projects, coordinate schedules, deliverables and stakeholder issues.
 Program Manager - the lowest level manager in the hierarchy managing each small project
 Projects,
Portfolios,
Programs

Source:
https://www.henricodolfing.com/2020/12/pr
oject-program-portfolio-strategy.html
Strategy leads
projects

Source:
https://www.henricodolfing.com/2020/12/pr
oject-program-portfolio-strategy.html
A project team within an organisation
 A management structure that
standardizes the project-related
governance processes and facilitates the
sharing of resources, methodologies, tools
and techniques.

Project Provides dedicated training, enterprise-

wide project management software,
Management Coordinates overall project quality
standards.

Office (PMO)
PMO may have the authority to act as an
integral stakeholder and a key decision
maker through the life of the project
The Role of Project
Manager
The project manager is responsible to satisfy
needs: task needs, team needs and individual
needs to achieve project goals.
Project managers need interpersonal skills such
as:
 Leadership
 Team Building
 Motivation
 Communication
 Influencing
 Decision making
 Political and culture awareness
 Negotiation
 Trust Building
 Conflict Management
 Coaching
Projects have:
 Many parts.

 Many people implementing the

parts.

 Many possibilities for mistakes.

 The possibility of costly mistakes.

Standardised and structured project

management is critical.
Project Management (PM) Methodology

A framework that defines the life cycle, terminology,

systems and tools to plan and execute a project.

EXECUTIO CLOSE-
INITIATION PLANNING
N OUT

CONTROLLING AND
MONITORING
Project
Life
Cycle
Project Management
Methodologies

 Project management has become a vital skill

for most companies.
 It’s now in the process of becoming its own
profession.

Recognised Standard
A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK). Pronounced “pimbock”.
Published by the Project Management Institute
(PMI) for the first time in 1996.
Five project
management
process groups

PMBOK
 Initiating
 Planning
 Executing
 Monitoring
 Controlling and Closing
Five project management process groups
PMBOK
Process Group Interaction
Process groups do not have a definitive beginning and end. Rather than interact
through-out a project as shown in the figure below.
Project Phases

Divides the project into phases that

provide better management control and
the appropriate links to the operations of
the organization
Project Governance Across the Life Cycle
Phase-to-Phase Relationship
Project Phases
Ten knowledge areas -
PMBOK
 Scope Management
 Integration management
 Time management
 Quality management
 Risk management
 Procurement management
 Human resource management
 Communications management
 Cost management
 Stakeholder management
PMBOK 10 Knowledge Areas
PMBOK 10 Knowledge Areas
Thank you!