SIM335 Managing Projects

Unit 1: Project Concepts

 Structure
• Module learning outcomes
• Unit learning outcomes
• Introduction to Project Management
– What is a Project
– Types of Project
– Examples of Projects
– What is Project Management?
– The role of the Project Manager and the Project Team
– References
 Module Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to;

Knowledge
1. Evaluate and apply a range of skills and techniques associated with
the management of projects.
2. Demonstrate capability to evaluate projects from a financial, human
resource and time related perspective.
3. Appreciate the requirements for control and the application of control
mechanisms.
4. Evaluate the relationship between time, cost and quality and
understand the alternate approaches available for managing them.

Skills
a) Ability to apply and evaluate tools and techniques associated with the
management of projects.
b) Conduct reporting and diagnostic skills.
 Unit 1 – Project Concepts
Unit Learning Outcome
Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

– Understand the factors that make up a project in today’s

business
– environment.
– Be able to analyse and understand the different types of
project.
– Examine and understand some of the general concepts
involved in
– project management and be able to explain the role of the
project
– manager, and the skills needed to practise project
management.
 What is a Project?
• A series of planned (but sometimes unplanned) activities leading to
a specific goal that ideally has to be completed given the resources
allocated.
• A unique venture with a beginning and an end; conducted by people
to meet established goals, schedule and quality (Buchaanan and
Boddy (1992).
• An endeavour in which human (or machine), material and financial
resources are organised in a novel way, to undertake a unique
scope of work, of given specification, within constraints of cost and
time, so as to deliver beneficial change defined by quantitative and
qualitative objectives (Turner, 1993).
• A unique set of coordinated activities, with a definite start and
finishing point, undertaken by an individual or organization to meet
specific objectives within defined, scheduled cost and performance
parameters (BS 6079-1,200:2).
 Characteristics of a Project
• A project is always unique on:
– Its beginning and end (schedule)
– Resources allocation (budget)
– Specification (quality)
– Given targets (objectives)

• (Activity) What other characteristics of a

Project can you think of?
 Types of Projects
Projects are usually categorized into one of three types:
• Change driven: the need to change operations to match
the environment.
• Market driven: developing and producing a new product
in response to market needs. For example, BMW uses
project management techniques to deliver its new
models.
• Crisis driven: usually in response to an urgent situation.
Example: A pharmaceutical company may start a project
to manage the re-call of a defective product, and
introduce the replacement and the following public
relations campaign.
 Projects and Programme
Sometimes a number of related projects are done together.
This is usually called a programme. Programme
management is often a very large project that will be
broken down into a number of smaller projects.

As Field and Keller (1998) highlight:

“Sometimes the work needed to achieve a major
organisational objective will be far greater than can
easily be organized and carried out in a single project.
This may mean that the organisation will undertake a
programme that consists of a number of interrelated
projects“.
 Examples of Projects
• The research and development department of a pharmaceutical
company bringing new drugs to market will use project management
techniques.
• The marketing department of a household products company will
use project management to help with market research, arranging
promotional events and press releases.
• A telecommunications company wishes to improve its Customer
Services by rationalising its customer repair and maintenance
offices by creating a more flexible structure able to cope with future
growth, and move to Enquiry Desks dealing with all customer
needs.
• A research and development department in a chemical firm may be
asked to devote time to exploring the possibilities of developing new
products using a new polymer (Field and Keller, section 1.1).
• (Activity) How would you decide if a project is successful or not?
 What is Project Management?
• It is a structured approach to planning and
controlling projects.
• It is the application of knowledge, skills, tools
and techniques to project activities in order
to meet or exceed stakeholders needs and
expectations from a project.
 Why Project Management?
In today’s business world there have been several trends
that have made companies concentrate more on
project management concepts:
• Today the focus is on high quality, quick to market and
first class customer satisfaction.
• Jobs that do the same tasks every day are is
appearing. The new focus is on projects and teams
assigned to specific tasks or problems.
• Companies offer less job security than before.
• The introduction of the PC in the late seventies (Apple
11) and the IBM PC (1981) in the early eighties with
accompanying business software encouraged the
growth of project planning software and the use of
project management techniques (Burke, 2003)
 Key People to Success of Project
Field and Keller (1998) define six key people critical to the success of
all projects:
• Sponsor: The person who ensures that the project is successful
at the company level.
• Champion: The chief promoter of the project.
• Client: The person who pays for contractual services. For inter-
company projects, the contract may be an informal one.
• Customer: Very similar to the client; could be the person who
buys or pays for the projects, but more normally it is the person
whom one is concerned with.
• Owner: Again very similar to client and customer. Think of it more
in the sense of someone with a strong attachment to the project.
• Stakeholder: Everyone who has an interest in the project
success.
The role of the Project Manager
• The project manager is the person assigned to
manage a specific project and is expected to meet
the approved objectives of a project, including
project scope, budget and schedule.
• Project manager leads the project and provides
vision, direction and encouragement
• Project manager takes lead in project planning to
determine the schedule and budgets
• Project manager responsible for delivering the
project
 Basic Project Management Skills
• People skills: the project manager needs to be an expert at communication. He also
needs to be able to manage change and conflict, as well as motivate others to achieve
project goals. He also needs to understand how to use authority and persuasive skills.
Authority can be defined as the ability to get another person to accept responsibility and
produce the desired result. Persuasion is the ability to convince another person to accept
your values and take on responsibility.
• Project management skills: these skills include being able to estimate costs and
prepare budget plans, to be able to analyse reports, conduct project audits and analyse
progress information. Other skills include being able to plan and execute a project.
• Knowledge of the organisation: the project manager will need to understand he
organisation inside out. He will need to negotiate with many people inside the organisation
and he will need to understand
• their needs, personalities and desires. The more he knows about the organisation the
more he will be able to negotiate around problems and unforeseen challenges that crop
up and resolve them successfully.
• Technical skills: Project managers need to have skills in the technical area of the
project. The greater the technical knowledge the greater the chance of success in the
project. The project manager is also responsible for the integration phase of the project;
this is where technical experience is essential.
• Integration skills: The project manager might have to understand technical drawing
relating to a building; he might also have to understand functional drawings from a civil
engineer and co-ordinate various other factors relating to the project. All these things are
integration issues that need to be properly co-ordinated.
 The Project Team
• It is vital that for each project to identify all the team
members and clearly define their roles and
responsibilities.
• Team members can have various roles; roles such as
engineers, technicians, planners or software
specialists.
• Just as each project is unique so are the roles of the
people performing the work.
• (Activity) How do the project manager and the project
team work together? Think of an example.
 References
• Boddy, D. and Buchanan, D. A. (1992)
Take the Lead. Prentice Hall
• Burke, R. (2003) Project Management,
Planning and Control Techniques. John
Wiley and Sons.
• Field, M., Keller, L. (1998) Project
Management. Open University
• Turner, R. (1993) Handbook of Project-
Based Management. McGraw Hill