MB0049 PROJECT MANAGEMENT Q1. Discuss the various steps of PMIS planning.

. Ans: The success of a PMIS (Project Management Information System) depends on its effective planning. The PMIS is used for many purposes by a project manager like budget estimation of costs, creating a schedule, define the scope, etc. Hence, these should be considered while planning for PMIS. The planning of PMIS includes the following steps: 1. Identify the information needed Identification of the information that is needed is necessary for improving the decision making and the structure of the PMIS. Information requirements of project stakeholders include the recipients of information, the type of information that is needed, which includes format, contents, and level of details, the time the information is required and how (by what media) will it be communicated to them. 2. Capture data Term Capture data is used to state a process of preparing and collecting data i.e., as element of a process improvement or similar project. The function of data collection is to attain information to maintain record, to make decisions for vital issues, and to pass information on to others. Data can come from actual observation or from records. Data collected from records is known as secondary data. Data collected from direct observation is known as primary data. It should be ensured that all relevant groups are represented in the data. A formal data collection process is essential as it makes certain that the gathered data are both defined and precise and that subsequent decisions based on opinion embodied in the findings are valid. Data possibly be arranged in tabular form, data array or frequency distribution. 3. Process data into information An organization, to achieve its aims, needs to process the data collected into meaningful information. It should be presented in its most useful formats. Data must be processed in a context to give it meaning. Data is transformed into information using

mathematical, statistical, or other tools including computer software. Information can be stored in electronic form or Hard copies represented in the most useful form. 4. Communicate information to stakeholders Communication is the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. To show the importance of communication, criteria for success.

Q2. What are the different phases of contract management? Ans; Contract management is the management of contracts which is entered with clients, sellers, partners, or employees. It comprises of negotiating the terms and conditions and ensuring the compliance with the terms and conditions, with documenting and approving on any changes or amendments that may occur during its implementation or execution. Contracting has three phases. They are: 1. Contract planning Contract planning should be done at the project schedule stage. The process of contract planning includes the preparation of resource plans. The following points should be considered for preparing the contract planning: Work Break down (WBS) and packaging Type and numbers of contracts to be awarded and approximate to whom. Technical, financial, and operational capabilities of the contractor Scope of work for each contractual job 2. Contract negotiations The negotiator brings the buyer and the seller face to face. All assumptions and parameters related to price are analyzed. Eventually, a more realistic picture emerges, which is agreed to by both the buyer and the seller. The following aspects should be kept in mind at the time of contract negotiations: Price-related terms: Price could be fixed or adjustable during the contract period. Fixed price is generally applicable under stable market conditions and in case of firm specifications and product schedule
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Payment terms: Any of the payment terms which include advance, credit for specified period, cash on delivery, and retiring document through bank may be selected mutually. Delivery conditions: These may include which mode to be used, how much quantity to be delivered, and when. Agency for inspection: It is to be agreed whether inspection is to be done by a third party or by buyers or supplier's own inspection. Cancellation: Cancellation of contract may be done due to default by the vendor in failing to perform as agreed in contract while making deliveries, convenience of the buyers, or mutual consent Quantity: Quantity may be fixed or variable in case of variable quantity; the lower and upper bound needs to be specified.

3. Contract administration Various problems may arise during the execution of the contract such as: Extra work including excess quantities of work, Deleted work including lower quantities of work,Non-compliance with specifications, Delays in time schedules, Late payments, Warranties, Contract close out. As and when the problems arise, they must be sorted out immediately based on the provisions of the agreed contract.

Q3. Describe the process of project performance evaluation Ans: Performance evaluation is an important tool for the assessment of a system or service according to the measurements specified. It can be define as the systematic process of assessment of effectiveness against predetermined norms, standards, or expressed goals. In management evaluation of any service, process or activity typically refers to "determining its worth". Process of project performance evaluation It is very useful tool to find out the reasons behind a failure to achieve intended outcomes. The modifications that need to be made to a project can be determined by following the below steps:

Project identification Identification of appropriate projects is the first and the most important stage in project management. This is done through appropriate type of opportunity studies. Opportunity studies are indicative rather than detailed ones and are based on macro parameters and rough estimates. Pre-feasibility studies After the identification stage, the project ideas are screened through prefeasibility studies. Pre-feasibility studies are the intermediate studies between the opportunity studies and detailed project report. This is basically carried out to check for the viability of the project and have a rough estimate of the cost of project and profitability. Detailed project report Preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) is a further step in examining the feasibility of the project from all angles: Technical, financial, economical, managerial, and also the Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA). This is a major proposal and is necessary as per government directives and is considered as a bankable report based on which banks can advance loans. Appraisal and evaluation Appraisal and evaluation are essential parts of good financial management. The general principles should apply to any proposal whether project, programme, or policy related with implications for expenditure/use of resources. The effort that should go into them and the detail to be considered, however, is a matter of judgment. For example, the proposals involving modest expenditure/use of resources may merit less detailed appraisal and evaluation.

Q4. Discuss the various elements of project control Ans: Project control: The term control has several meanings. Those new to project management are initially dismayed by the use of the term control, because they mistakenly equate it with the concept of authority. In the world of project management, control has very little to do with telling people what to do, dictating their actions or thoughts, or trying to force them to behave in a certain way all of which are common interpretations of control. In project management, the term control is much more
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analogous to steering a ship. Its about continually making course adjustments with one main objective in mindbringing the ship into safe harbor, as promised at the start of the voyage. And the successful project voyage includes identifying a specific destination, carefully charting a course to get there, evaluating your location throughout the voyage, and keeping a watchful eye on what lies ahead. Elements of project control 1. Manpower-related control it is lay-off/fire any under-performing staff, Hire staff with needed skills and Assign staff with specific skills to specific activities. Issues comes under this are: 1) PM may be seen as a stern disciplinarian, 2) PM must avoid heavy handed actions, and 3) Fix problems without blaming people 2. Machinery-related control- It is decommission any under-performing equipment, Bring in equipment with appropriate capabilities and Re-assign specific equipment to specific activities. Issues comes under this are: 1) equipment decisions may involve some economic analysis, 2) Equipment-based control easier than manpower- based

control and 3) Some trade-off may exist between manpower and equipment utilization. 3. Money-related control - How much money should be spent? , How should it be spent? And PM assisted by: Project accountant and Project Finance Manager 4. Material-related control - Discontinue use of sub-standard material and Seek new sources of superior material.

Q5.a.What could be the reasons for project termination? Ans: Project termination is one of the most serious decisions of a project management team and its control board. The decision of project termination affects all the stakeholders of the project and can put some negative impact on the organizations growth. So it is important to critically evaluate all the aspects before taking the decision. The project manager and his or her team Members will feel that they personally failed. It can also put a negative impact on the team members motivation level and their productivity. The following are the key reasons to terminate a project:
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a. Technological reasons b. Results of project requirements or specifications are not clear or impractical c. Fundamental change in project requirements or specifications, so that the underlying contract cannot be changed accordingly d. Lack of project planning, especially risk management e. The planned result or products of the project turn into obsolete, is not any longer needed f. Sufficient human resources, tools, or material are not accessible g. The increase in project cost leads lower profit than expected h. The parent organization do not exist longer i. The change in strategy of parent organization, leads towards the project does not support the new strategy j. Essential conditions disappear

k. Lack of management support l. Insufficient customer support

m. Damaging cost growth n. Change in competitive factors/market needs o. Un resolvable technical problems p. Higher priority of competing projects q. Schedule delays

b. Write a note on project follow up Ans: The stage of follow up is considered as a part of project completion phase but now it is considered as a separate phase of project life cycle. This is particularly so in very political environments, and/or where project benefits have relatively low visibility and meaning to stakeholders (staff, customers, investors, etc), especially if the project also has very high costs. For example, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) projects often are like this low visibility of benefits but very high costs, and also very high stress and risk levels too.

After delivery or completion of the project, the staff performance has to be evaluated. The tasks involved in this phase are: a. Documenting the lessons learnt from the project b. Analyzing project feedback c. Preparing project execution report d. Analyzing the problems encountered during the project Follow up keeps consistent the various stages of the system life cycle. At each stage, the follow up checks that: All what was asked at the previous stage has been performed and no function outside of the scope has been introduced. Q6. Discuss the advantages of using PM software package. What are the common features available in PM software packages? Ans: The following are the key advantages of using project management software: 1. Speed, effort, and accuracy: For a large project, manually carrying out activities like drawing a network, carrying out time analysis, reporting project progress, generation of various types of reports, updating network, and maintaining records is quite time and effort consuming. Accuracy level is also below par. Use of the software package greatly reduces the time and effort needed for these activities and at the same time enhances accuracy. 2. Ability to carry out special functions: The software has the ability to carry out some special functions like resource scheduling, what if experiment, and export and import of data with ease and within reasonable time. Manually carrying out these functions is extremely difficult or not feasible. 3. Affordability: The price of PC-based software is under $500 which is affordable for an organization. 4. Easy to use: Over the years, the project management software packages have become easy to use. The package can be handled with minimum training. 5. Maintenance of record: A project generates a lot of data, reports, documents, etc. Manually archiving and retrieving these are time and effort consuming. The software package can handle these functions with relatively less time, effort, and cost.

Common Features available in Most of the Project These generic features include: 1. Project data and calendar: A project start date is specified. A calendar can be used to define the working days and hours for each individual resource on a project. The calendar is used in calculating the schedule for the project. Most systems provide a default for the standard working period, such as Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 AM, with an hour for lunch. The calendar can be modified for each resource. For example, work hours can be modified, company holidays can be entered as nonworking days, and various shifts can be entered. 2. Human resources: Suppose a particular activity needs 2 unskilled person and 1 skilled person to complete the task. These two resources may be entered separately and will appear as 2L and 1Son activity description in network. 3. Graphics: For a project involving a large number of activities, drawing a correct network, manually takes a lot of time and effort. One of the important features of PM software is its ability to generate a variety of charts including network diagram, activitylinked Gantt chart, and Gantt chart quickly. 4. Time analysis: If there is unlimited and flexible resource or if resource can be outsourced, the network may be prepared at the earliest start time of activities. In the real world, many projects are managed on this basis. PM packages carry out time analysis which includes calculation of early start, early finish, late start, and late finish; free slack and total slack with ease. Manually carrying out time analysis is tedious. 5. Output reports: Most PM software packages have extensive report generation capabilities. They can generate a range of reports in various forms (graphical, tabular, or textual). The reports are standard or customized.