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ENGG461: Managing Engineering Projects

Autumn 2016

Teaching Staff: contact details

Subject Coordinator and Lecturer

MS Project Labs/Tutorials

Dr Senevi Kiridena
Office: Building 8, Room 104
Telephone: 02 4221 5849
Email: skiriden@uow.edu.au

A/Prof John Montagner

Office: Building 8, Room 102
Email: gjm@uowmail.edu.au

Consultation times:
Wednesday; 1.30pm 3.30pm,
Thursday; 10.30am 12.30pm
or by appointment

Mr Horacio Rodrigues
Office: Building 8, Room 120
Email: hftrodrigues@gmail.com

Note: Tutorial staff are not full-time employees of the university, thus appointments can
only be made via email (no regular consultation time).

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Lecture plan
Introduction: projects; managing projects;
project management (PM) competence
Key concepts: project life cycle; PM
knowledge areas and PM processes
(continued in week 1 tutorials)

Subject details: structure/objectives;

delivery format; and assessment
(continued in week 1 tutorials)

Westlink-M7 Project
Four traffic lanes, a wide central median, shoulders,
cuttings and embankments
17 interchanges

38 overpasses and underpasses to

maintain local access for pedestrians,
cyclists and motorists
An off-road pedestrian and cycle path of almost 40 km
1.5 billion dollars, 200 designers, 200 earth moving
machines, 400,000 tones of concrete
12,500 workers; 3 years (2003-2005) duration-completed
ahead of schedule!
Built to motorway standard, the Westlink M7 provides safe
travel at variable speeds of up to 100km/h.

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Source: http://thewarrencentre.org.au/urbanreform/connectivity-case-study/the-m7-motorway/

Cross-City Tunnel!
Twin 2.1km two lane tunnels running east-west under the
city between Darling Harbour and Kings Cross, linking the
Western Distributor to New South Head Road
A total of 680,000 cubic metres
has been excavated across the project

$680 million dollars, 546 electronic

signs 300 static signs 08 emergency
phones 133 CCTV cameras

1,600 direct jobs and 3,600 indirect jobs, 4.5 million work
hours, more than 5,200 people have undergone strict
safety induction courses
3 years (2003-2005)
One of the most technically challenging road tunnel
projects ever undertaken in Australia

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Toll of misery as tunnel goes under

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Cross_City_Tunnel_entrance,_Harbour_Street,_Sydney,_New_South
_Wales_(2010-10-16)_01.jpg

Sydney Opera House Project

Size: 1.8Hectares of land, 4.5 hectares of office space, power supplyequivalent to a town of 25000 people, 645km of electrical cable.

Time: concept (1940), call for designs (1954)-230entires, construction

began (1957), completed (1973)

Many problems and changes en-route: original design

structurally impossible to build, re-design after 4 years of
research, many delays, cost overruns, disputes with
designer (Jorn Utzon), government pressure.

Cost: $A102 million substantial part of construction bill was paid off in
1975

Quality/Performance (current): busiest performing art centre in the

world-annual audience of 2 million

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBBR2KWrfTg

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Other examples!

Organisation restructure
New product launch
Campus clean-up: community project
Organising a wedding reception
Buying a new house
Vacation trip
Buying a lap top
Group assignment

Types of projects
(domains of project management practice)

Architecture; engineering; and construction

Facility expansion; plant upgrade; and planned
maintenance

Research & development; new product development;

and process improvement

Information technology; information systems; and

software development

System implementation; organisational design; and

change management

Event management; humanitarian; and disaster recovery

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What is a project?
JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

Build A
A Done
Build B
B Done
Build C
C Done
Build D

On time!

Ship

[One] Definition: a unique, one-time

undertaking aimed to accomplish a specific set
of objectives within a limited time frame.

Key attributes of projects

Has a well-defined (???) objective(s)
Consists of a series of interdependent (and
interacting?) tasks
Utilises various resources (constrained?)
Has a specific time frame (variations???)
Has a customer/sponsor/client (and many other
stakeholders!)
Involves a degree(?) of uncertainty (unpredictability)

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Comparison of routine work with projects

Routine, Repetitive Work

Projects

Taking class notes

Writing a term paper

Attaching tags on a
manufactured product

Introducing a RFID bar-coding

system for a product line

Entering of sales receipts

into the accounting ledger

Upgrading an accounting
information system

Processing standard
insurance claims

Implementing a new claims

processing system

Routine
manufacture/assembly of
an Apple iPod

Designing an iPod that,

interfaces with PC, and
stores 10,000 songs

Source: Gray and Larson (2011; p. 6)

Strategic significance of (successfully)

managing projects!

Source: http://www.versionone.com/assets/img/files/CHAOSManifesto2013.pdf

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Source: http://delimiter.com.au/2010/12/02/railcorps-it-projects-41m-over-budget/

Source: http://delimiter.com.au/2011/11/23/vic-government-it-in-flames-1-4-billion-over-budget-all-projects-late-or-failed/

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Source: http://delimiter.com.au/2010/06/29/all-of-qlds-it-consolidation-projects-are-late/

Source: http://delimiter.com.au/2011/04/20/shining-a-light-in-victorias-major-it-projects-under-review/

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Managing projects?
Involves:
discharging (performing) the general management
functions of Planning, Leading, Organising and
Controlling [PLOC]

Relates to:
defining, initiating, executing, coordinating,
communicating and monitoring the activities, resources
and performance (etc.) of a project

Requires:
application of knowledge, skills and appropriate tools
and techniques, as well as the possession of a
desirable set of personal attributes

Managing projects?
How are they different?
limited time frame (one-off vs. ongoing)
narrower focus, specific objectives
less bureaucratic?

Why are they used?

special needs
pressures for new or improved products or
services
tightening time frames (faster delivery)

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Managing projects
What are the Key Metrics (KPIs)
Time
Cost
Scope
Quality

What are the Key Success Factors?

top-down commitment and bottom-up buy-in
having a capable (?) project manager
having time to plan (front end effort)
careful tracking and control
good communication and coordination

Iron Triangle

Source: http://msproject2010primer.com/task-driven-project-management-with-ms-project-2010/

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Triple Constraints
Performance
(quality)

Cost

Time

Managing projects
What are the Major Administrative Issues?
Executive responsibilities
Project selection
Project manager selection
Organizational structure

Organizational alternatives
Manage within functional unit
Assign a coordinator
Use a matrix organization with a project leader

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Project management competence

Source: Crawford et al. (2005)

Input competencies?
Knowledge and Skills
technical expertise applicable to particular domains of
professional practice e.g. engineering, construction,
defence, pharmaceutical and information technology
knowledge and understanding of PM concepts,
methods and tools; the ability to apply them in practice
human and behavioural skills, e.g. communication,
negotiation, conflict resolution, change management
ENGG461 content, delivery and assessment have been
carefully designed to help develop these competencies!

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Project life cycle

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Bodies of PM Knowledge (BOK)

PMBOK Guide (Project Management Institute)
Other BoKs
AIPM Competency Standards (Australian Institute of
Project Management)
ICB Eye of Competence (International Project
Management Association)
PRINCE2 (UK Office of Government Commerce)
P2M (Project Management Association of Japan)

PMBOK Guide (5th Edition)

10 knowledge areas
5 process groups
47 processes
What are the benefits of following a framework?
What are the pitfalls of following a framework?

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PM knowledge areas (PMBOK)

Source: http://stevbros.com/consultancy/methodology-competency-and-best-practices.html

PMBOK PM process groups

Source: Sherrer (2009; p. 53)

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PM processes (e.g. integration mgmt.)

Develop the project charter: compile a document that authorises the project
or a project phase

Develop the project management plan: develop the initial high level
framework for integrating and incorporating all subsidiary project plans

Direct and manage the project execution: provide the overall direction and
guidance for performing the project work to ensure that the planned project
outcomes are delivered

Monitor and control project work: endeavour to maintain the project

performance targets, by way of monitoring progress while dealing with
variations.

Perform integrated change control: track and review all changes requested
and incorporated into the project and evaluate their effect on the desired
project outcomes

Close project or phase: ensure the orderly completion of all project activities

PMBOK PM Knowledge areas vs. process groups (mapping)

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Summary
Project-based approaches to conducting business are
increasingly being used across industry sectors
Projects are unique, one-time endeavours intended to
achieve a desired end-result they consist of a large
number of varied and inter-dependent activities
Projects go through phases of a life cycle (as living entities)
Successfully managing project requires certain
competencies (knowledge, skills and personal attributes)
Bodies of PM knowledge may be of some use to ensure
a systematic approach is followed

Subject structure/objectives
Content, delivery format and assessment tasks
have been designed to develop:
knowledge of PM concepts, tools and techniques
managerial skills: e.g. interpersonal; communication;
negotiation; and cognitive (analytical & problem solving)
personal attributes: e.g. self-aware; reflective; learningoriented; relate to people and context
demonstrable performance: application of knowledge,
skills and personal attributes to achieve desired results
(mainly through the group project)

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Delivery format
(effectiveness depends on your participation!)
Lectures (large class): largely, dissemination of
information; raise awareness and interest
Tutorials (smaller groups): hands-on activities;
opportunity for collaborative/peer-to-peer learning
Lab classes: use of technology (software tools)
for decision support; analytics
Moodle: comprehensive course material;
engaging delivery format; self-paced learning;
may also be used as a platform for collaborative learning

Assessment tasks
1. Moodle quizzes: to encourage and recognise
preparation for lectures and tutorials
2. MS Project exercise: to assess proficiency with
application of tools and techniques
3. Group project: application of knowledge, skills
and personal attributes to demonstrate
performance (to some extent, competence)
4. Final exam: overall achievement, to meet formal
academic standards/award requirement

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Assessment outline
Assessment Item Activity/Deliverables
1

Moodle Quizzes Best 5 quizzes out of the 7 available to complete

(individual)
2% per quiz (10 MCP questions each)

weekly

10%

4 pm
15 April

10%

4 pm
25 March

5%

Part B
Group Presentation + Executive Summary

Weeks
9 12

20%

Part C
Group Project Report + Reflective Report

4 pm
27 May

15%

MS Project
2 Exercise
(Individual)

MS Project-based solutions and interpretation of

results (schedule, cost and resources levelling)

3 Group Project

Part A
Project Proposal

Final Exam*
(individual)

Due Date Percentage

3 hours; closed-book
4 questions (numerical + short essay/descriptive)

Uni Exam
Period

60%

40%
100%

Total**
* should attain 40% to avoid a technical fail
** marks are not normally scaled, but the university reserves the right to do so

Subject Moodle Site

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Text book (recommended)

Text books (supplementary)

Covers only Topics 16 of the subject program

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Text books (secondary)

Food for thought!

Read and understand assessment guidelines/details
and marking criteria seek clarifications early on!
Note due dates for submission of assignments
Retain copies of all assignments submitted
Comply with relevant UOW/EIS Faculty policies
Take ownership of learning: pre-reading; participation;
ask questions and seek clarifications
Make use of collaborative learning: teamwork (peerassessment tool SPARK Plus will be used)

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