Project Management - Introduction

Project & Project Management - Introduction, Characterstics, Objectives, Need, Importance Limitations, Principles, Tools & Techniqes, Project life Cycle, Classification, Project Selection Methods, Identification, Idea Generation.

 Project

·        A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim.

·        A project is a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations".

·        A project may be a temporary (rather than permanent) social system (work system), possibly staffed by teams (within or across organizations) to accomplish particular tasks under time constraints.

·        A project may form a part of wider programme management or function as an ad hoc system.

·        Based on the Project Management Institute, a project can be defined as a "temporary endeavor" aimed to drive changes in teams, organizations, or societies. The output of a project is normally a unique product, service, or result.

 

All projects are a temporary effort to create value through a unique product, service or result. All projects have a beginning and an end. They have a team, a budget, a schedule and a set of expectations the team needs to meet. Each project is unique and differs from routine operations—the ongoing activities of an organization—because projects reach a conclusion once the goal is achieved.

 

 

More About Project

A project consists of a concrete and organized effort motivated by a perceived opportunity when facing a problem, a need, a desire or a source of discomfort (e.g., lack of proper ventilation in a building). It seeks the realization of a unique and innovative deliverable, such as a product, a service, a process, or in some cases, a scientific research. Each project has a beginning and an end, and as such is considered a closed dynamic system. 

·        It is developed along the 4 Ps of project management: Plan, Processes, People, and Power (e.g., line of authority). 

·        It is bound by the triple constraints that are calendar, costs and norms of quality,  each of which can be determined and measured objectively along the project lifecycle Some projects produce some level of formal documentation, the deliverable(s), and some impacts, which can be positive and/or negative.

 

 

What is Project Management?

 

·        Project management is the use of specific knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to deliver something of value to people.

·        Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process.

a.      The primary constraints are scope, time, and budget.

b.      The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary     inputs and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives.

 

History:

As a discipline, project management developed from several fields of application including civil construction, engineering, and heavy defense activity.

 

Two forefathers of project management are

1.      Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques who is famous for his use of the Gantt chart as a project management tool and

2.      Henri Fayol for his creation of the five management functions that form the foundation of the body of knowledge associated with project and program management.

 Both Gantt and Fayol were students of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characteristics of projects

 

There are five important characteristics of a project:

 

(i) It should always have specific start and end dates.

 

(ii) They are performed and completed by a group of people.

 

(iii) The output is the delivery of a unique product or service.

 

(iv) They are temporary in nature.

 

(v) It is progressively elaborated.

 

 

What Are the Types of Project Objectives? 

There are 6 types of project management objectives, and each of them should be taken care of properly for guaranteed project success.

1. Financial Objectives

Financial objectives are related to the company’s bottom line and are gauged for the sake of economic benefits. Financial objectives play a key role during the project management journey, as they help you stay away from budget overrun and uplift profit levels. 

In addition, both financial objectives and client relationships go hand in hand. How so?

Well, if you don’t track and measure project expenses, you may not be able to deliver expected deliverables due to uncontrolled money-flow. Besides affecting client relationships negatively, this leads to low ROI, which means less profit. 

In the worst scenarios, you may end up asking more capital to clients for successful project delivery. This will definitely break the bond of trust you’ve had established after a lot of hard work. 

2. Quality Objectives

You can keep clients’ trust and loyalty as long as you deliver quality deliverables. It is imperative to note that the negative aftereffects of compromised quality can make a big dent in the brand image. Therefore, having quality objectives is instrumental.

Through such objectives, you can meet certain internal and external quality standards. Plus, the odds of leaving loopholes in a project will go down and the chances of achieving client satisfaction will snowball.

So, discuss quality objectives with your team, which you want to accomplish during the project development process

3. Technical Objectives

The technical objectives are all about technology-related activities and efforts, which must be done for successful project closure. During the project life cycle, different equipment and technology get used to attain the desired deliverables.

Thus, having the required hardware and software at disposal is fundamental because your project can go off the track otherwise.

Deploying reliable project management software like ProProfs Project should be part of your technical objective. It is so because you can achieve project goals with the help of unrivaled PM software. The below-listed features will help you understand why I am in favor of using a project management tool:

4. Performance Objectives

Performance objectives are pretty much self-explanatory. It means you have to set some objectives revolving around the performance aspect because clients shower their wrath on you if the delivered project doesn’t function in an expected manner.

So, always look for improvement areas so that performance objectives are met without any trouble.

Tip: Track performance-related metrics during the project development cycle to avert potential functioning-related complaints.

5. Compliance Objectives

Every project complies with something, no matter whether it concerns a particular rule, procedure, or policy.

Therefore, having compliance objectives in project management is fundamental. However, meeting them could be some sort of challenge, let’s say, you need to comply with local regulations while working on a project. 

Never take compliance objectives lightly, because it can put your business in legal trouble if you dare to do so.

6. Business Objectives

Last but not least, business objectives are directly related to success and profit. It shouldn’t be surprising because you develop a project by keeping clients’ business requirements in mind, right? And those requirements are simply your objectives to meet.

Business objectives comprise strategies to save time, avoid rework, etc. And they should be defined clearly so that the end result matches your expectations. 

I hope this info has addressed your question: ‘What are the objectives of project management?’ Let’s take our discussion one step further:

How to Set Effective Project Management Objectives

Well, we have defined project management objectives and brought a spotlight on their types, but the question that could possibly be making rounds in your mind is, ‘How can I set effective project management objectives?’ 

Honestly, you don’t have to break a sweat while setting project management objectives if you have taken SMART criteria into consideration. Let’s elaborate it for better understanding: 

  • Specific

You have to be specific if you want to attain the objectives of project management. It is extremely important, as vague goals only result in delays and affect your project management journey negatively. 

So, define your project objectives clearly and get one step closer to success, consequently. Also, ensure who will work on what and by when, so no problems take place during the project development process. 

  • Measurable

Your objectives must be measurable, as that’s the only way to know when you have to switch to other project activities. Don’t take the importance of quantifying project objectives for granted, because your project progress is likely to hamper if you do so.

Besides using project management software to keep a tab on set objectives, you can also track PM metrics like cost performance, ROI, etc.

  • Achievable

Mapping out achievable project objectives is crucial for a smooth development process. Generally, business owners struggle during their project management journey because they accept clients’ change requests without considering the impact on the current workflow. 

Due to this, their achievable objectives get turned into infeasible ones, and that takes their projects off the track one by one. 

So, talk freely to clients and explain how change requests in project activities can affect the development process. This will definitely get you an extension in the preset timelines and empower you to deliver expected deliverables later on.  

  • Realistic

Both project failure and unrealistic objectives go well with each other because hypothetical targets put employees under the pump. This leads to mistakes, which further results in rework. 

In short, the project triangle gets affected badly, and you bite the dust. So, set objectives by keeping the triple constraints of the project in mind. 

  • Time-Bound

The factor that decides whether you will get immersive or exasperating experience during your project management journey is how well you have set start and end dates for each objective. 

Sometimes, business owners give a tight time window and want their project executives to complete a horde of objectives to satiate their desire of exceeding clients’ expectations. However, this brings opposite results, as their project team falls on its face in the process. 

So, set your team’s mind at ease by giving proper time and enjoy the perks of quality deliverables, consequently.

 

 

https://blog.planview.com/objectives-of-project-management/

https://edukedar.com/what-is-project-management/

 

OBJECTIVES OF Project Mngt

project management objectives are the successful development of the project’s procedures of initiation, planning, execution, regulation and closure as well as the guidance of the project team’s operations towards achieving all the agreed upon goals within the set scope, time, quality and budget standards.

 

·  The successful development and implementation of all project’s procedures. A project, regardless of its size, generally involves five distinctive project life cycle phases of equal importance: Initiation, Planning and Design, Construction and Execution, Monitoring and Control, Completion. The smooth and uninterrupted development and execution of all the above phases ensures the success of a project.

 

·  Productive guidance, efficient communication and apt supervision of the project’s team. Always keep in mind that the success or failure of a project is highly dependent on teamwork, thus, the key to success is always in project collaboration. To this end, the establishment of good communication is of major importance. On one hand, information needs to be articulated in a clear, unambiguous and complete way, so everything is comprehended fully by everyone and on the other hand, is the ability to be able listen and receive constructive feedback.

 

·  The achievement of the project’s main goal within the given constraints. The most important project constraints are, Scope in that the main goal of the project is completed within the estimated Time, while being of the expected Quality and within the estimated Budget. Staying within the agreed limitations always feeds back into the measurement of a project’s performance and success.

 

·  Optimization of the allocated necessary inputs and their application to meeting the project’s pre-defined objectives, is a matter where is always space for improvement. All processes and procedures can be reformed and upgraded to enhance the sustainability of a project and to lead the team through the strategic change process. 

 

·  Production of a complete project which follows the client’s exclusive needs and objectives. This might mean that you need to shape and reform the client’s vision or to negotiate with them as regards the project’s objectives, to modify them into feasible goals. Once the client’s aims are clearly defined they usually impact on all decisions made by the project’s stakeholders. Meeting the client’s expectations and keeping them happy not only leads to a successful collaboration which might help to eliminate surprises during project execution, but also ensures the sustainability of your professional status in the future.

 

The following are the objective of the project mgmt:

 

To develop and implement the procedures.

To have collaboration, effective communication, and productive guidance.

To achieve the goal of the project within the estimated time with high quality.

To optimize and allocate the necessary resources to meet project goals.

To meet the exclusive needs and requirements of the clients.

Need / Importance of Project Management

The following are the need and importance of the project mgmt:

1.      It creates a focus.

2.      It controls quality.

3.      It minimizes risks.

4.      It reduces project costs.

5.      It encourages teamwork.

6.      It maximizes resources.

7.      It encourages learning.

 1. Create a Focus

·         Projects can be challenging for companies to manage especially ones that last months or years.

·         Project management depends on defining a scope for projects that follow specific deadlines for each task.

·         With a clear scope, guidelines, and strict deadlines, companies can stay focused on the objective and complete goals successfully.

 2. Controls Quality

·         Most importantly, project management must deliver a quality project on time and in full.

·         A project manager closely monitors the progress and quality of work of their teams so they can deliver a satisfactory project.

·         By monitoring and controlling, A project manager identifies any obstacles that could affect the quality, and take corrective actions and solutions.

 3. Minimizes Risks

·         The first phase of project management involves evaluating the risks and benefits of the project, and whether the risks of a project outweigh the benefits.

·         If a company chooses to continue with a project, project managers will continually assess potential risks and formulate plans to minimize them.

·         Fewer risks increase the chances of completion of the project timely and make it a successful project.

 4. Reduces Project Costs

·         Project managers and stakeholders need to define a budget for the project during the planning phase.

·         The project managers reduce costs by knowing exactly how much they can spend on resources with the help of a budget.

·         Further, once a company completed a project successfully, it can reuse the processes in future projects.

 5. Encourages teamwork

·         Collaboration of teams is crucial to completing tasks on time during a project.

·         Effective teamwork allows groups to utilize the skills and strengths of each individual, making workflows more efficient.

 6. Maximizes resources

·         It is essential for a company to make the best use of its resources to reduce project time and cost so they can stay within a budget.

·         Resources can be time or costs spent on such as travel, tools, and materials.

·         In Project management, the resources are necessary to complete a project and the project manager forms an effective plan to use them correctly.

·         Team members can start work on other projects quickly by completing a project on time, which maximizes the use of resources of the company.

 7. Encourages learning

·         During the closing phase, project management teams evaluate and reflect on the project.

·         They take post-project meetings called retrospectives where they discuss the learnings, processes, successes, and setbacks.

·         Retrospectives are an ideal time for team members to document their strengths and weaknesses in areas where they can improve.

 

 

 

Advantages of Project Management (Benefits)

The following are the benefits or advantages of the project mgmt:

·         Better control of financial, physical, and human resources.

·         Improved customer relations.

·         Shorter development times.

·         Lower costs

·         Higher quality and increased reliability.

·         Higher profit margin.

·         Improved productivity.

·         Better internal coordination.

·         Higher worker morale (less stress).

 

 

 

 

Limitations of Project Management (Disadvantages)

The following are the limitation or disadvantages of the project mgmt:

·         No customers focus point.

·         The project is slow.

·         The central authority is absent.

·         No proper time management.

·         Lack of coordination.

·         Lack of intuitiveness.

·         Local optimizations.

·         There are no easy changes.

·         Risks are involved in challenging development.

 

 

 

 

Principles in Project Management

1.      Setting Goals & Objectives

2.      Formalized Structure

3.      Get a strong Sponsor

4.      Organizational Alignment

5.      Roles and Responsibilities

6.      Initiation and Execution Strategy

7.      Budgeting and Scheduling

8.      Set your priorities and milestones

9.      Sense of Responsibility & Accountability

10. No-Gap in Communication

11. Transparency

12. Risk Assessment

13. Monitoring & Measuring of Progress

 1. Setting Goals & Objectives:

  • Setting targets and goals plays a very crucial role in the success of any project.
  • The goals and objectives of your project must be well-defined so that there is no ambiguity and project planning will take place accordingly.
  • The goals set should be clear, realistic & measurable.
  • Goals & objectives are the foundation of any project management plan.

 2. Formalized Structure:

  • If there is no formalized structure for the project, then the project might go in any direction due to a lack of proper control.
  • Hence, a project should have a formal structure, proper planning, and a designated team.
  • All this ensures that the project is prioritized and managed well.

 3. Get a strong Sponsor:

  • A potent sponsor helps to beat the various obstacles such as the loss of key resources.
  • Communication of progress, escalation of issues, and decision making become easier if the project sponsor is effective & engaged.

 4. Organizational Alignment:

  • How can we create and maintain organizational alignment? There are two ways by which Organizational alignment can be done.

1.      Organizational Focused View: Here we ensure that all the various major components of the organization assist each other. For example, an organization’s purpose, strategy, systems, and structures all should work simultaneously.

2.      Employee Focused View: In this method, employees are evaluated on how good they are at achieving individual goals or professional goals. However, to bring change, a project manager should support more organizational alignment techniques for a successful project.

 5. Roles and Responsibilities:

  • The roles and responsibilities of each member involved in the project must be clearly defined.
  • If there is a lack of clarity about their respective roles then conflict will arise which will hamper productivity.
  • Hence, as a project manager, you are accountable to ensure that each of the team members is aware of their respective roles which will ease the team coordination and team functioning.

 6. Initiation and Execution Strategy:

  • Creating a strategy for project initiation and execution is a must.
  • Project initiation includes the preliminary work and this can be categorized into 4 phases developing a business case for the project, conducting feasibility reports, ensuring project stakeholder’s involvement, and preparing a project initiation document.
  • Project Execution starts with a project kickoff meeting. This meeting is done to share the vision and plan, delegate the tasks, etc. Documenting all the errors, corrections and changes are must during the execution phase.

 7. Budgeting and Scheduling:

  • The biggest challenge faced while managing a project is dealing with limited resources.
  • Hence, careful budgeting is very crucial.
  • Budgeting is directly linked with scheduling; if the timeline of the project is disturbed then of course your budget will also get wrecked.

 8. Set your priorities and milestones:

  • If a project manager doesn’t understand what are the priorities? then they would easily get distracted by things that are not so important.
  • Also setting priorities will help you channel your team’s energy in the right direction.
  • When you set milestones in the project planning phase, it works as a reminder and helps you to know whether you are on schedule.
  • A milestone achievement motivates the team as it gives them a tangible sense of progress on the project.

 9. Sense of Responsibility & Accountability:

  • Micro–management is not only monotonous but it also affects productivity.
  • Empowering workers with a sense of responsibility and accountability will not only motivate and guide them but will also encourage them to be on auto-pilot mode.
  • It will reduce the burden of continuous supervising and the project manager can focus on other important things.

 10. No-Gap in Communication:

  • To ensure that there is no gap in communication, it is important to implement strong communication guidelines.
  • It is essential to set expectations and targets for the teams with regards to what kind of information needs to be communicated & whom they should be notified in certain circumstances.

 11. Transparency:

  • There must be a system wherein all the important information regarding the project can be accessed by the team members easily.
  • One can achieve project transparency through various ways like making project data available to the entire team, providing tools for collaboration, sharing calendars with team members, etc.
  • Having project transparency will give the team members a sense of belonging which will eventually generate better outcomes.

 12. Risk Assessment:

  • Risk assessment means identifying all the potential project risks.
  • It is carried out with an intention to diminish all the potential project risks at the initial phase of the project.
  • However, one cannot eliminate all the possible risks but what can save your project from failure is being prepared

 13. Monitoring & Measuring of Progress:

  • Maintaining a regular track of the key performance indicators i.e. budget, timelines & quality will help to identify the weak areas.
  • It also ensures corrective measures can be taken in no time.

 

 

 

 

► Tools & Techniques of Project Management

 

 

 

First, we have discussed techniques of Project Management and then we have shared tools of project management in Process Modeling.

Techniques of Project Management

Here are the popular techniques used in project management;

1.      Project Selection techniques

2.      Project Execution planning techniques

3.      Project Scheduling and coordinating techniques

4.      Project Monitoring and production control techniques

5.      Project Cost productivity control techniques

6.      Project Communication and clean-up techniques

 1. Project Selection techniques

·         Cost-benefit analysis

·         Risk and sensitivity analysis

 2. Project Execution planning techniques

·         Work breakdown structure (WBS)

·         Project Execution Plan (PEP)

·         Project responsibility matrix

·         Project Mgmt. manual

 3. Project Scheduling and coordinating techniques

·         Bar charts

·         Life cycle curves

·         Line of balance (LOB)

·         Networking techniques (PERT/CPM)

 4. Project Monitoring and production control techniques

·         Progress measurement technique (PROMPT)

·         Performance monitoring technique (PERMIT)

·         Updating, reviewing, and reporting technique (URT)

 5. Project Cost productivity control techniques

·         Productivity budgeting techniques

·         Value engineering (VE)

·         COST/WBS

 6. Project Communication and clean-up techniques

·         Control room

·         Computerized information systems

► Process Modeling

·         Process modeling simply means modeling software processes for project management.

·         At first, developers need to fully understand the process and work of software, then only they can be able to model the process.

·         This tool represents key elements of the process that are important. So, it makes it easier to perform work tasks in an efficient and proper manner.

Project Management Tools

There are various tools that are used in Project Management and these tools are specifically designed to facilitate tasks of the Project. Some of them are as follows;

·         Project Planning tools

·         Risk Analysis tools

·         Project Management tools

·         Quality Assurance tools

 Project Planning Tools:

Project planning simply means planning and setting up a project for successful development within the timeframe.

It includes defined stages or steps to define the objectives of the project with designated resources. It clarifies the scope of what should be done, and then develop a checklist of tasks that need to be done to complete it.

·         The most popular project planning tools are CPM (Critical Path Method) and PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique).

·         Both of them are used for finding parallelism, eliminating bottlenecks in projects, and scheduling activities of projects.

 Risk Analysis Tools:

Risk analysis simply means to identify and analyze errors or defects or any issue that can cause a negative impact and result in the changed outcome and objectives of the project.

The analysis is done so that organization can fix issues or remove errors to avoid effects caused by them. These tools help in identifying risks and are useful for binding risk tables.

·         These provide proper guidance for the identification and analysis of risks. These risks can be categorized into categories such as catastrophic, critical, marginal, or negligible.

·         A cost is always associated with each risk that can be calculated at each stage of development. There are tools and techniques to cater to these risks i.e Delphi technique, Information gathering technique, Checklist analysis, etc.

 Project Management Tools:

Project management simply means tracking or controlling the progress and tasks of the project. These tools are extensions of project planning tools.

·         These tools are generally used to update pans if require and schedule projects.

·         These tools make Project Management more effective and efficient.

·         Some tools are the Gantt chart, mind map, WBS chart (Work Breakdown Structure), etc.

 Quality Assurance Tools:

Quality assurance means maintaining a level of quality of the product by focusing on each step of the process of development or production and delivery.

·         It prevents mistakes and any defects or errors in manufactured products.

·         Some tools that are used for both Quality management plans and to control quality processes are Pareto Diagrams, control charts, histograms and scatter diagrams, etc.

 

 

What is meant by a project team?

 

What is a project team? The project team is the group of people responsible for executing the tasks and producing deliverables outlined in the project plan and schedule, as directed by the project manager, at whatever level of effort or participation defined for them.

 

In a project, a project team or team is defined as "an interdependent collection of individuals who work together towards a common goal and who share responsibility for specific outcomes of their organizations".

 

Most project teams require involvement from more than one department, therefore most project teams can be classified as cross-functional teams. The project team usually consists of a variety of members often working under the direction of a project manager or of a senior member of the organization.

The central characteristic of project teams in modern organizations is the autonomy and flexibility availed in the process.

Their time commitment can change throughout the project depending on the project development stage.

Project teams need to have the right combination of skills, abilities and personality types to achieve collaborative tension.

Each member is responsible to give constructive feedback, recognize, value and utilize unique strengths of each other.

 

Project Manager

What Are the Responsibilities of a Project Manager?

  • Plan and Develop the Project Idea.
  • Create and Lead Your Dream Team.
  • Monitor Project Progress and Set Deadlines.
  • Solve Issues That Arise.
  • Manage the Money.
  • Ensure Stakeholder Satisfaction.
  • Evaluate Project Performance.
  • Planning , organizing & directing the completion of specific projects.

 

Alternate Answer

Activity & resource planning

Organising and motivating a project team.

Controlling by Time Management

1.      Define activity

2.      Sequence Activity

3.      Estimate the duration of Activities

4.      Develop Schedule

5.      Maintain Schedule

Cost Estimating and Budgeting

Ensure Customer Satisfaction

Analysing & managing project risk

Monitoring Progress

Managing reports and necessary documentation

 

Skill Set  of Project Manager

1.      Strategic Vision

2.      Communication and interpersonal Skills

3.      Spoting and retaining talent

4.      Delegation of responsibility

5.      Leading by example

6.      Asking advice from experts

7.      Negotiating and solve conflict

8.      Building commitment

9.      Time management

 

 

 

Determinants of Project Success

 

1.      Experienced PM & Professional Team Player

2.      Methodical approach

3.      Proper Planning

4.      Adherence to best Practices

a.      Ensure all stakeholders

b.      Create Risk response team

c.       Detailed work plan

d.      Effective communication

e.      Develop Competencies

5.      Monitoring and control

6.      Use a professional software

7.      Effective communication

8.      Work with committed people

9.      Participation of all members

10. Ensure : Cost Performance, Quality Performance, Time Performance, Quantity Performance

11. IRON TRIANGLE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

 

                                      Scope


 


                        Schedule                                                                        Cost

 

Success depends on the management of the three

a.      Scope – Total amount of planned work

b.      Schedule – Management of Time

c.       Cost – Sum of all resources

 

Phases of Project Life Cycle

1.     Initiating

2.     Planning

3.     Executing

4.     Monitoring / Controlling

5.     Closing

 

 




For details of Project Management Process

( It is same as Phases of Project Life Cycle, according to most writers)

https://www.ntaskmanager.com/blog/project-management-process/

 

Classification of Projects

 





 

Project Selection Methods


Project selection Criteria


Idea Generation









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