Chapter 1

Introduction to Project Management

Dr. Mohammed Othman
Introduction

 Project management has found wide acceptance in industry

 It has many applications outside of construction
– Managing improvements of services
– Managing new product releases
 Main forces in driving the acceptance of project and other forms of
management:
1. The growing demand for a broad range of complex goods and
services
2. Increased worldwide competition
 All of these contribute to the need for organizations to do more and to do
it faster
 Project management is one way to do things more faster
 Project Characteristics

 Have a specific objective (which may be unique

or one-of-a-kind) to be completed within
certain specifications
 Have defined start and end dates
 Have funding limits (if applicable)
 Consume human and nonhuman resources (i.e.,
money, people, equipment)
 Be multifunctional (cut across several
functional lines)
Main Goals of Project Management

1. Time
2. Cost
3. Performance

 Time, cost, and performance are all related on a

project
Overview of Project Management

Co
e

st
Tim

Resources

Performance/
Technology
Project Management Institute (PMI)

 The Project Management Institute is the major

project management organization
 Founded in 1969
 Grew from 7,500 members in 1990 to over
260,000 in 2007
 The Project Management Journal and PM
Network are the leading project management
journals
What is Project Management?

 “Project management is the art of directing

and coordinating human and material
resources throughout the life of a project by
using modern management techniques to
achieve predetermined objectives of scope,
cost, time, quality and participation
satisfaction” . Ref. PMI
Benefits
 Identification of functional responsibilities to
ensure that all activities are accounted for,
regardless of personnel turnover.
 Minimizing the need for continuous reporting
 Identification of time limits for scheduling
 Identification of a methodology for trade-off
analysis
 Measurement of accomplishment against plans
Benefits (continued)
 Early identification of problems so that
corrective action may follow
 Improved estimating capability for future
planning
 Knowing when objectives cannot be met or
will be exceeded
Obstacles
 Project complexity
 Customer’s special requirements and scope
changes
 Organizational restructuring
 Project risks
 Changes in technology
 Forward planning and pricing
 Why IT Projects Fail

 Weak business case

 Lack of senior management commitment
 Inadequate project planning
(budget, schedule, scope, etc.)
 Absence of user involvement
 New or unfamiliar technology
 Lack of defined, clear, or concise requirements
 Project Necessities

 Complete task definitions

 Resource requirement definitions (and
possibly skill levels needed)
 Major timetable milestones
 Definition of end-item quality and reliability
requirements
 The basis for performance measurement
TOP OF THE THREE - LEGGED STOOL

Organizational Organizational
Structure Behavior

Tools and
Techniques
Maturity in Project Management is like
a Three –Legged Stool

The legs represent the:

 Project Manager
 Line Manager(s)
 Executive Management (i.e... Project Sponsor)

Maturity cannot exist without stability

 Multiple Boss Reporting

SPONSOR GM

P LM LM LM
M

APM

APM

PM = Project Manager The vertical flow of work is the responsibility of

APM = Assistant Project Manager the line managers.
LM = Line or Functional The horizontal flow of work is the responsibility
Manager of the project managers.
Project Manager

 Project manager is the key individual on a

project
 Project manager is like a mini-CEO
 While project manager always has
responsibility, may not have necessary
authority.
Discuss why????
Negotiating For Resources

Project managers may have increasing

responsibility, but very little authority. This
lack of authority can force them to “negotiate”
with upper-level management as well as
functional management for control of
company resources.
Why is a Project Management System Necessary?

The project manager’s

responsibility is to get
these islands to
communicate cross-
functionally toward
common goals and
objectives.
Classical Management

 Planning
 Organizing
 Staffing
 Controlling
 Directing

Which of the above is Usually NOT

performed by the project manager?
Successful Culture
 A good daily working relationship between
the project manager and those line managers
who directly assign resources to projects
 The ability of functional employees to
report vertically to their line manager at the
same time they report horizontally to one or
more project managers
Project Manager’s Role

The project manager is responsible for coordinating and

integrating activities across multiple, functional lines.

The integration activities performed by the project manager

include:
•Integrating the activities necessary to develop a project plan
•Integrating the activities necessary to execute the plan
•Integrating the activities necessary to make changes to the
plan
The Functional Role

 The functional manager has the responsibility to

define how the task will be done and where the task
will be done (i.e., the technical criteria)
 The functional manager has the responsibility to
provide sufficient resources to accomplish the
objective within the project’s constraints (i.e., who
will get the job done).
Functional Obstacles
 Predetermined deadlines
 All requests having a high priority
 Limited number of resources
 Limited availability of resources
 Unscheduled changes in the project plan
 Unpredicted lack of progress
Functional Obstacles
(continued)

Unplanned absence of resources

Unplanned breakdown of resources
Unplanned loss of resources
Unplanned turnover of personnel
Why Project Management?

 The main purpose for initiating a project is to

accomplish some goal
 Project management increases the likelihood of
accomplishing that goal
 Project management gives us someone (the
project manager) to spearhead the project and to
hold accountable for its completion
The Project Life Cycle

Figure 1-3
Time Distribution of Project Effort

Figure 1-4
Another Possible Project Life Cycle
(crash)

Figure 1-5
Risk During the Life Cycle (at start)

Figure 1-6
Risk During the Life Cycle (at time t)

Figure 1-7
Project Management Processes
 Project Management
 Project initiation
 Selection of the best project
 Recognizing the benefits of the project
 Assigning of project manager

 Project Planning
 Definition of work requirements
 Definition of quantity and quality of work
 Definition of resources needed
 Scheduling the activities
 Project Management

 Project execution
– Negotiating for the project team members
– Directing and managing the work
– Working with the team members to help them improve
 Project monitoring and control
– Tracking progress
– Comparing actual outcome to predicted outcome
– Analyzing variances and impacts
– Making adjustments
Project Management

 Project closure
– Verifying that all the work has been
accomplished
– Contractual closure of the contract
– Financial closure of the charge members
– Administrative closure of the paperwork
Project Management in Non-Project-
Driven Groups

Project management is difficult for the following reasons:

Projects may be few and far between
Not all projects have the same project management requirements,
and therefore they cannot be managed identically. This difficulty
results from poor understanding of project management and a
reluctance of companies to invest in proper training.
Executives do not have sufficient time to manage projects
themselves, yet refuse to delegate authority.
Project Management in Non-Project-
Driven Groups (Continued)

 Projects tend to be delayed because approvals most

often follow the vertical chain of command. As a
result, project work stays too long in functional
departments.
 Because project staffing is on a “local” basis, only a
portion of the organization understands project
management and sees the system in action.
 There exists heavy dependence on subcontractors and
outside agencies for project management expertise.
 THE TIP-OF-THE-ICEBERG SYNDROME

DELEGATION
OF AUTHORITY TO
PROJECT MANAGER

EXECUTIVE
MEDDLING

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PROJECT

MANAGEMENT SHOULD WORK

LACK OF TRAINING IN COMMUNICATIONS /

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

MANY OF THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT WILL

SURFACE MUCH LATER IN THE PROJECT AND RESULT IN MUCH HIGHER COSTS
 Review
1. The triple constraints on a project are:
A. Time, cost, and profitability
B. Resources required, sponsorship involvement, and funding
C. Time, cost, and quality and/or scope
D. Calendar dates, facilities available, and funding

2. Which of the following is not part of the definition of a project?

A. Repetitive activities
B. Constraints
C. Consumption of resources
D. A well-defined objective

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Review
3. Which of the following is generally not a benefit achieved
from using project management?
A. Flexibility in the project’s end date
B. Improved risk management
C. Improved estimating
D. Tracking of projects

4. The person responsible for assigning the resources to a project

is most often:
A. The project manager
B. The Human Resources Department
C. The line manager
D. The executive sponsor

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Review

5. Your company does only projects. If the projects performed by

your company are for customers external to your company and a profit criterion
exists on the project, then your organization is most likely:
A. Project-driven
B. Non–project-driven
C. A hybrid
D. All of the above are possible based upon the size of the profit margin.

6. In which life cycle phase do project sponsors become most actively

involved in the project?
A. Initiation
B. Execution
C. Monitor and control
D. Closure