PROJECT MANAGEMENT

PROFESSOR W. B. OLIVER
To undertake a project as the word's derivation indicates, means to cast an idea out ahead of oneself so
that it gains autonomy and is fulfilled not only by the efforts of its originator but, indeed, independent of
him as well
Czelaw Milosz
CONCISE OXFORD DEFINITION
"PROJECT" - (N) plan, scheme, planned undertaking
"PLAN" - (N) formulated or organised method by which a thing is to be done
"PLAN" - (V) to arrange beforehand
KEY PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Identify primary project objectives 1.
Provide a clear project execution plan and strategy 2.
Establish project organisation structure to support working relationships and communications 3.
PLANNING
If Project Management is about managing risk,
then
Planning is reducing the uncertainties to an acceptable level.
THE RANDOM APPROACH
Do the wrong thing wrong 1.
Do the wrong thing right 2.
Do the right thing wrong 3.
Do the right thing right 4.
PLANNING - NODDY BOOK OF RULES
Managers plan - not Planners
Work backwards from Objectives
Bite-sized chunks, please
Establish inter-dependencies
Plan the work - work the plan
Ask regularly - "is it working?"
Commit to the plan as a team
EACH PLANNING ACTIVITY IS:
Who does which task with what by when
MAKE IT SMART
S pecific
M easurable
A chievable
R esults orientated
T ime based
There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you
do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to do something, you accept no excuses, only
results.
Kenneth Blanchard
PLANNING IS IMPORTANT
You can discover this in two ways:
You can make the effort G
You can get it wrong G
The choice is yours
PLANNING: What might be required for:
A. Your Stage III Project (4 people)
B. AMEC's Agip-Tiffany Project (5000 people)
Compare and contrast!
SOME WISE WORDS
You can let it happen, make it happen, or wonder what happened.
Tommy Lasorda
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result
Rita May Brown