Project Management Module 1 Script

Project Management Principles – Module 1
Topics:
1. What is a project?
2. What is project management?
3. Popular Project Management methodologies / standards
4. The Project Life cycle
5. Nine knowledge areas, starting with the 4 core
6. Nine knowledge areas continued: the four facilitating areas and Integrating.
7. Five Management Process Groups
8. Main project constraints
9. Benefits of Project Management
10. Quick Summary of Module 1.
Video1: What is a project?

• Welcome.
• Up front let you know my approach of educating is that I see myself as purely a
facilitator of knowledge… I’ll endeavour to provide you with meaningful information
in a variety of formats, thereby providing the right environment for you to learn about
Project Management, but it is only in your exploration of that information, in sharing
ideas through the forum and in utilising the suggested readings that you will enable
your own learning.
• I’d also like to point out that this subject is a brief overview of Project Management
only. It is not intended to cover all aspects, and nor could it in the limited time. Our
aim is to give you an overview of the discipline so that you can decide whether you
would like to pursue a career in project management and point out some possible
pathways for you to do so.
• Let’s start with today’s module, which has 10 topics, the first of which is:
“What is a project”?
• Most work we do fits into being either project work or ongoing operations
o So what is a project? Projects are:
 one-off, creating something unique, are temporary
 have specific start and end dates,
 have limited resources,
 involve uncertainty,
 and implement change.
• Ongoing operations are:
Principles of Project Management – Module 1 Page 1 of 28

o ongoing,
o repeat tasks staff are already familiar with,
o have resources permanently assigned to them
o and are the day to day duties of a workplace.
o An example of both would be the building of a prototype for a new product to be mass
produced by an organisation. The project would be conceiving, developing and creating
the prototype which, if accepted in the closure phase as delivering a product that would
benefit the organisation by being produced, could then transition from a project into the
ongoing operation of mass producing it.
• Doesn’t mean once transitioned from project to ongoing operations, it will stay in
ongoing operations. Development of a new version of the product will be a project.
• The Apple iPad is an example of this:
o transition from invention -> prototype (a project)
o Mass production of first release(Ongoing operations )
o Update of iPad to iPad 2 release (a project)
o …back to ongoing operations of mass production.
• Evidence of projects being run goes back centuries. The Pyramids, the Roman
aqueducts, the Great Wall of China. In the last century projects like the Hoover
Dam, the Panama Canal, the English Channel Tunnel and the International Space
Station are all famous examples. However projects aren’t just about building things.
• A project always creates something unique – that is why projects implement change,
but that something isn’t just a “product” such as a building, a roadway, a tunnel or a
computer.
• Projects can create: a product / an ability to perform a service / or a result.
• Examples of project outcomes that are not products include:
o Apollo program getting a man on the moon <result>
o sending the first ‘email’ between geographically separate computers (seen by
some as the birth of the Internet) <service>
o creating and getting legislation passed <result>
o establishing safety and health procedures for an organisation <service>
o running a research project <result>
o gaining ISO 9001:2008 Quality management systems accreditation <result
and service>
o writing a thesis<result>
• Many of us relate to projects not only because we become involved with them at
work, but because we can associate major life events as projects. Some examples
could be:
o Gaining a qualification <result>
o Organising and getting married <result – tho some may call a service>
o Planning and going on a holiday e.g. driving around Australia <result>

o Building or renovating a home <product>
o Renovating a car <product>
• These should all:
o Have distinct start and end dates meaning that they are temporary
endeavours
o Create something unique that implements change:
 Your degree which enables new career / job / remuneration choices,
 your holiday experience, increasing your life experience
 your home, providing a new plan to live
 your renovated car which provides a new mode for travelling.
o Involve uncertainty as each project is unique and so you cannot know
beforehand everything that will happen and be required (though project
planning helps you to try and think of everything you can)
o Use limited resources (funds, people, materials)
• Commonly the successful completion of a project will then be associated with the
‘deliverable’ requiring ‘ongoing operations’ to maintain it, though this is not always
true. However, with the personal goals above:
o We will need to continue learning in the field of our qualification to make it
meaningful, maintaining and updating our knowledge (commonly known as
Professional Development).
o On an ongoing basis we will need to maintain and clean our home if we want
to maintain its value and keep it habitable.
o Our newly renovated car will also need maintaining if we want it to stay at its
newly renovated condition and keep it roadworthy.
o The only example not requiring ongoing operations is our holiday driving
around Australia – in its closure phase there may be a caravan to be sold and
journals made up to document the journey and reflect on your experiences,
but there is no specific deliverable that needs maintenance (unless you count
maintaining your travel bug).
• So what we can confidently say is that a project
o will implement change,
o involve uncertainty,
o require limited resources,
o have a finite start and end
o and create something unique – whether it is a new product, a new service or a
result.
• You can also accurately say that many of the most exciting things that happen in
both your working life and your personal life are “projects”; so learning about project
management can give you useful information you can apply to and improve all areas
of your life with!
• Just because you or your organisation has made a decision to initiate a project does
not necessarily mean that effective management of the project will follow. In our own

personal projects too often we just ‘plunge in’ without careful thought, definition and
planning. Not surprisingly the same can be said of many organisations’ projects!
• So in the next topic we will discuss what managing a project effectively is about.
o Before progressing to the next topic encourage to look at the Readings Tab.
The You tube video of 40 years of great projects is especially worth looking at
for inspiration.
o Post into the Forum information about a Project you have been involved in.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IQK4QN-NqgM (40
years of great projects)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrJiDIvE-8s (2011 PMI Project of the Year
winner, a water supply project)
WEB:
• Project Management Institute (PMI) - the largest organisation of Project
Management professionals in the world, formed in 1969 and publishers of the
PMBOK guide.
• Max's Project Management Wisdom - Max Wideman was the author of the first
PMBOK guide and has dedicated a lot of his time and effort to creating a wealth of
information about Project Management, accessible for free from this site.
• Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) - the Australian organisation
representing Project Management professionals in Australia, formed in 1976.
• Projects at Work - American resource for Project Managers, founded 2001 and "The
online destination for leading-edge approaches and perspectives in program,
portfolio, and project management (their description)".
• Project Smart - British resource, free site launched 2000, with many Project
Management resources.
• http://www.maxwideman.com/pm_101/intro.htm is an easy to read overview by Max
Wideman about projects and project management.

Video 2: What is project management?
• In short - managing a project from its start to a successful outcome. In length – there
are various definitions we will look at.
• What is true is that just participating in or running a project is not necessarily project
managing it in the true sense of the term. While many people can claim to have run,
or helped run, a project there are not so many that can honestly say that the project
started with forming a clear description of its outcomes and after authorisation a
team was formed that built plans that helped guide execution and establish a
baseline to track performance against for every aspect of the project that may affect
its ability to be successfully completed. These are the sort of skills that formal
project management can teach you.
• Start with clear definition of goal, asses for feasibility and business case written,
formal authorisation to Project Manager to progress to developing project plans,
where extensive plans of all facets of project written with baselines established for
scope, time, cost and quality expected. Once developed move to execution where
constant monitoring and controlling against the baselines established in the plan.
When finished then move to finishing where handover is achieved, lessons learned
documented and all documentation is archived for use and reference by future
projects.
• Definitions of Project Management include:
o “The art and science of managing a project from inception to closure as
evidenced by successful product delivery and transfer.” PMIS, (1997)
o “The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the
motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time
and to specified cost, quality and performance.” British Standard BS6079
(1996)
o “….the application of knowledge, skills tools, and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements.” PMBoK, 4th Ed. (2008)
o “The controlled implementation of defined change.” APMP (2000)
o References:
 Wideman, M. (2002) Max Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project
Management Terms. V3.1 Retrieved from
http://maxwideman.com/pmglossary/
 PMI (2008) The guide to the Project Management Body Of Knowledge
(PMBoK), Fourth Ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, Inc.
• If we keep to the short definition of Project Management being the managing of a
project from its start to a successful outcome, obviously there will be a whole range
of considerations to make, and processes, tools and techniques to apply to achieve
this. Considerations are:
o Once an initial concept has been approved as being worth pursuing a clear
description must be formed of what the project outcome will be, that is agreed
to by the key stakeholders such as the Project Sponsor, Project Manager and
Project Customer or Client (if not also the Sponsor), also called the key
stakeholders. This clear description forms what is called the Project Scope.
Think of it as a description of the end deliverable or the goal of the project.

o There needs to be a clear allocation of resources, time and budget to enable
the project to be planned and executed. There also needs to be a clear line of
authority / responsibility that enables these to be managed appropriately.
Without clear allocation of authority it is impossible to effectively manage a
project. The document that is used to define this information and assign
authority is commonly called the Project Charter.
o A Project Management Plan must be written that outlines what will be built
(scope) in which sequence and time durations (time) using what resources
(cost and procurement) and by whom (human resources), to defined
standards (quality). It should also consider assumptions and constraints that
may affect the project (helping to identify potential project risks).The plan must
be constructed to enable execution to run smoothly, be managed effectively
and provide a means for measuring project progress against once the project
moves to the execution phase.
o Throughout the project a balance needs to be continuously maintained
between key constraints: scope, time, cost, resources and risk and quality, all
of which can affect each other and significantly impact the project’s success.
o Good communication must be maintained throughout the project to enable
stakeholders to have their requirements, concerns and expectations listened
to and addressed in ways that allow the project to progress as initially agreed.
Note that “Stakeholders” can be defined as anyone impacted by the running of
the project and its outcome (or who have a vested interest in the project
outcome). Some stakeholders are defined as being ‘key’ and should include
the Project Sponsor, Client and end users, Project Manager and his or her
team.
o Monitoring and controlling are important throughout execution to check the
execution of the project against the plans early agreed to.
o At the end there needs to be closing processes to make sure all work on the
project has been completed, the deliverables formally verified and handed
over, lessons learned documented and all documentation archived for use
and reference by future projects.
o Because projects involve uncertainty and are better understood as they
progress, it needs to be anticipated and planned for that changes will be
required so that changes can be requested, considered and implemented in
the most efficient ways. The continuous improvement of knowledge and
information regarding the project, and the resulting refinements to the plans
are referred to as “Progressive Elaboration”. This is achieved by having in
place an Integrated Change Control system to manage requested changes.
• PMBoK advocates that for a Project to be properly managed the Project Manager
must understand nine key knowledge management areas which are:
o Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communications,
Risk, Procurement. We will look at these in greater detail in Topics 5 and 6.
• Research has found key success factors for projects include:
o Processes:
 Having a clear project scope and objectives
 Using good project management processes
 Planning well and then tracking and reporting progress well

o People:
 Having well trained, experienced Project Managers
 Having Stakeholder & management support
 Involving end users at the concept and planning stages
o Attitude:
 Realistic expectations
 Communicating well
 Emotional Maturity
• Before progressing to the next topic encourage to look at the Readings Tab. I
particularly recommend exploring the Max Wideman website and reading his
explanation of projects and how to manage them.
• Make a post about stories of where you have experienced or seen project
management processes poorly used.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n0kVSxV8-8 (What is Project Management in
simple outline)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r5qFLd1u0XQ (An
Idiots Guide to Project Management) The basics.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcR-wpSzr4Y A simple 5 step process example
of how to manage a project: why, what, how, who, tracking.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LSnINglkQA Simple, cartoon overview of Project
Management.
WEB:
• Project Management Institute (PMI) - the largest organisation of Project
Management professionals in the world, formed in 1969 and publishers of the
PMBOK guide.
• Max's Project Management Wisdom - Max Wideman was the author of the first
PMBOK guide and has dedicated a lot of his time and effort to creating a wealth of
information about Project Management, accessible for free from this site.
• Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) - the Australian organisation
representing Project Management professionals in Australia, formed in 1976.
• Projects at Work - American resource for Project Managers, founded 2001 and "The
online destination for leading-edge approaches and perspectives in program,
portfolio, and project management. (their description)".
• Project Smart - British resource, free site launched 2000, with many Project
Management resources.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_project_management_topics
• http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/framework/intro.htm is a more sophisticated
explanation of project management by Mr Wideman.

Video 3: Popular Project Management methodologies /
standards
Important to recognise there are a range of standards, guides and methodologies for helping
you to successfully manage projects. There are also a number of methodologies that apply to
only some aspects of managing a project. In this topic I’ve selected a few to discuss and you
can do a lot more research on each of them on the internet, as well as investigate other
methods of managing projects. The readings at the end of the topic will help you find more
information.
• The four we will discuss are:
o PMBoK by PMI
o Prince2
o Critical Chain Project Management
o ISO 21500
• PMBoK by PMI
o Stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge and is a recognised
standard (ANSI/PMI 99-001-2008 and IEEE 1490-2011)
o Originated by the Project Management Institute, which is a not-for-profit
professional institute formed back in 1969 in the U.S.A. PMBOK was first
published as a white paper in 1983 and the first edition was published in 1996.
o The latest edition was released as A Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) Fourth Edition on December 21, 2008 with the
fifth edition due to be released in 2013.
o It is a process based management standard that sees a project as being
managed by 42 processes that are grouped into five groups (initiate, plan,
execute, monitor and control and lastly closing). Each process has inputs (e.g.
plans, documents) and uses tools and techniques (mechanisms applied to the
inputs) to produce outputs (documents, plans etc.).
o It identifies nine knowledge areas that are applicable to the majority of
projects and that we will look at in greater detail in the following topics. They
are: Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources,
Communication, Risk and Procurement and we will look at them in further
detail in Topics 5 and 6.
o It is expected that progressive elaboration throughout the project’s life will
continuously improve the project plan, iterating required processes so that
greater detail and accuracy will be attained.
o Widely used in the USA, with PMI chapters set up in 180+ countries and the
Project Management Institute boasts 650 000+ members.
• PRINCE2
o Stands for Projects IN Controlled Environments and is a methodology rather
than a standard
o Originated in the UK Government’s Central Computer and
Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in 1989 (incorrectly stated as 1986 in
video). Grew in popularity outside this Agency and across other environments

and so was released in 1996 as a generic project management methodology
called PRINCE2 which was widely adopted.
o The latest version was released as PRINCE2:2009 Refresh in 2009 with
significant changes made to adapt it to newer business environments.
o It is a process driven management method that uses 4 integrated elements: 7
principles, 7 themes, 7 processes and project environment.
o The 7 processes are applied across a life cycle of pre-project, initiating,
delivery, and final delivery stage.
o The 7 processes are starting, initiating, directing, controlling, managing stage
boundaries and product delivery as well as closing the project.
o The 7 principles are continued business justification, learn from experience,
defined roles and responsibilities, manage by stages, manage by exception,
focus on products, and tailor to suit project environment.
o The 7 themes are business case, organisation, quality, plans, risk, change
and progress.
o Widely used in the UK, Western Europe and Australia.
• Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
o Developed by Dr Eli Goldratt and first described in his 1997 “Theory of
Constraints” book. Provides a method of planning and managing projects
rather than providing a whole of life-cycle guide.
o Developed as a response to the number of projects suffering from poor
performance. Described as “a methodology for planning, executing and
managing projects in single and multi-project environments” GOLDRATT UK
(2007)
o Reverses the traditional method of project planning by emphasising estimating
of durations and task sequencing to instead place emphasis on resource
estimation and planning.
o Works by calculating a critical chain for the project, which is “the longest chain
[not path] of dependant resources” GOLDRATT UK(2007) – as opposed to
the Critical Path which is the longest path through the project’ work packages,
that if any were to run late, would push the project end date out.
o Uses a system of “safety buffers” for the project (at its end), feeding buffers
and resource buffers to allow for change and absorb variations or
uncertainties allowing teams to attempt to achieve work in the shortest
possible times but allowing padding to reduce the risk of overruns.
o Can be adopted by organisations already using other project management
methodologies with the intention of further improving performance by
shortening time taken to run projects.
• ISO 21500:2012
o ISO 21500:2012, Guidance on project management is a new standard
published on the 3rd September 2012 that has been worked on since 2007.
The standard was built with a desire to produce a universal interpretation (and
terminology) of project management that would suite any size or type of
project in any organisation, recognising that previously there has been a
number of methodologies that have become popular in different geographic
regions.

o The Chair of the ISO project committee that developed the new standard,
Miles Shepherd says: “ISO 21500 enables people in any organization to
understand how the discipline fits into a business environment. It is also
intended to be used as a basic guide, aimed at the informed reader without an
in-depth knowledge of project management.”
o Benefits listed by ISO include encouraging transfer of project knowledge
between projects and organisations to improve delivery, assisting efficient
tendering processes by using consistent terminology, enabling greater
flexibility for project management employees allowing them to work on
international projects and providing universal principles and processes.
o There is a close alignment with PMBOK, as PMI played a leadership role in its
formation, being the secretariat for that ISO committee that developed it, and
with sections of PMBoK used as its foundation.
o Similarly to PMBOK ISO 21500 is process based with five groupings of
processes titled Initiating, planning, implementing, controlling and closing.
• NOTE that all these standards and methodologies are relatively new – the oldest of
the ones listed above is the PMBOK published in 1983 as a white paper! In fact it
wasn’t really until the 1950s that people started talking about “project management”.
Up until then projects were certainly being conceived and executed, but a
systematic method of running projects had not been formed. Some founding
principles had been laid by people like Henry Gantt (you’ll learn about Gantt charts
later) back at the end of the 19th Century but not until the 50s were scheduling
techniques such as Critical Part Method and "Program Evaluation and Review
Technique” – or PERT invented and used. That is why we talk about “modern
project management”. This term recognises projects have been happening for a
very long term, but formal ways of managing them have been quite recently
developed – in only the last 60 to 70 years! NOTE also that the advent of increasing
numbers of mass projects being run around the world by global companies has also
coincided with the advent and development of modern PM.
• While we have listed a few examples in this topic, many organisations actually adapt
from one or more of these methodologies or standards to develop their own versions
to suit their own organisational environment and discipline. If you search the Internet
you will find organisations such as NASA and many Government bodies set up web
pages to provide Project Management advice, templates and procedures for their
employees.
• Most important is adopting and then following a structured and well defined
methodology/standard throughout the project lifecycle – regardless of which one it
is.
• In this Subject we will most closely follow the standard defined by PMI – the PMBoK,
4th Edition.
• Before progressing to the next topic encourage to look at the Readings Tab. It is
interesting to look at the various government agencies that have published
methodologies adapted for their specific needs, especially as they often provide
useful templates and guides that anyone can take advantage of.
• Try a forum post about the method/standard your organisation uses, and if you
know, why they made that choice.

Useful Links
VIDEO:
• http://www.simplilearn.com/free-resources/prince2-structure - Video explaining how
PRINCE2 works
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRMDCRPGYBE Video outlining briefly CCPM
by Dr Lisa Lang
• http://www.pmi.org/About-Us.aspx Has PMI Overview video outlining the value of
PMI’s work
WEB:
• http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_050.html - “The Origins of
Modern Project Management” by Patrick Weaver PMP, FAICD, FCIOB
• http://www.prince-officialsite.com/
• http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/history-of-prince2.html - The History of PRINCE2 by
Duncan Haughey.
• http://www.goldratt.co.uk/resources/critical_chain/index.html
• http://www.pmi.org/
• http://www.iso.org/iso/home/news_index/news_archive/news.htm?refid=Ref1662
• http://www.egovernment.tas.gov.au/project_management
• http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oce/appel/
• http://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-
management/project-management/policy-and-guidance
• http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/best-practice-and-methodology-
projects-programmes-and-portfolios
• http://www.pomsmeetings.org/ConfProceedings/011/FullPapers/011-0754.pdf
Paper on Critical Chain Project Management Theory and Practice presented at
POMS 20th Annual Conference.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince2
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Guide_to_the_Project_Management_Body_of_Knowle
dge
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_chain_project_management
• http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=50
003
• http://www.sybena.pl/dokumenty/ISO-21500-and-PMBoK-Guide.pdf provides a
comparison between the 2011 draft of ISO 21500 and PMBOK 4th Edition.
• http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/history-of-project-management.html a hyperlinked
article that covers the subject title “History of Project Management: How Project
Management Developed” by Sandro Azzopardi.
•

Video 4: The Project Life cycle
• This term is used to refer to the progression of a project through a number of phases
from its inception to its close. While called a ‘life cycle’ project management, like life,
is actually linear – you don’t want your projects going in circles. However it is
worthwhile distinguishing the major phases a project progresses through as different
processes are appropriate to them and by delineating the boundaries between the
phases useful milestones can be formed where the key project stakeholders can
reflect on the project’s progress, continuing relevance to its original business case
and form a considered position on whether the project should be allowed to continue
or should be closed. As research illustrates both a great deal of time and money has
been wasted on projects that are eventually closed, practitioners need to become
not only better at running projects – they also need to get better at recognising when
it is appropriate to close them.
o PMBoK refers to a project life cycle as having four main phases: Starting >
Operating & preparing > Carrying out work and Closing.
o Prince uses pre-project, initiating, delivery, and final delivery stage
o Different names but they all mean similar things:
Concept>Develop>Execute>Finish is an easy to remember naming system
we will use in this SUBJECT because you just need to remember C-D-E-F.
o Concept is where the project is conceived, investigated for feasibility, a
business case formally proposed and a commitment made by the key
stakeholders to progress to Developing a plan. At the end of the Concept
stage there needs to be a formal document that is appraised and approved if
the project is judged worth progressing to development. A Project Charter is
the name of the document PMBoK espouses is signed off on at the end of the
Concept phase – but it may also be a business case or contract, or have
another name. What is important is that there is a document that describes
the project and which agreement to will provide a formal authority to the
project manager to begin the development stage of the Project.
o Develop is where the agreed project outline from the Charter is fleshed out
into firm plans, further developing the project’s scope, time, cost, quality,
resources, communication, risk and required procurement procedures and
resulting in a formal Project Management Plan which will be the “go-to”
document for the entire project once execution begins. The plan not only
directs execution, without it would be impossible to track progress. Again, at
the end of developing the Project Management Plan it is worthwhile key
stakeholders reassessing the project’s value now much more detail is known
about it and approval granted to proceed if it still meets its objectives.
o Execute is where the Project Management Plan is put into action. It is where
the actual work of creating the project deliverables is kicked-off and done.
During this phase work is not only performed but measured at regular
intervals and compared back to the baseline documents in the Project
Management Plan. Variance analysis examines any variance between the
plans and the actual progress and can act as a trigger for action to be taken to
either agree to changes being made or to actions being taken to bring the
project execution back into alignment with the plan. If careful monitoring of
progress and steps to control any variations are not taken the danger is that
the project will become stuck in the execution phase, dragging out to longer

and longer timelines and consuming more and more money, so monitoring
and controlling processes are vital through this phase of the project.
o Finishing is not just a single act. It is the winding up of all processes and areas
employed by the Project Team to carry out the work of the project. It involves
the formal verification and acceptance of the project goal (hand-over to the
end client, who may also be the Sponsor). It also includes formal
documentation of the Team’s reflections, identifying lessons learned
throughout the project and noting recommendations for future projects for
possible improved processes. It also involves closing procurements,
redeploying staff if needed and archiving all project documentation in a way
that can be easily accessed for informing future projects. Post-project reviews
may also be held sometime after hand-over to determine customer
acceptance and satisfaction as the success of some projects will not be able
to be assessed until their results have been in use for some time. Very
important that all documentation for the project be archived (and are easily
accessible), to act as a reference for similar projects run by the organisation in
the future.
o In moving through this life cycle there should have been the 42 PMBoK (Ed.
4) processes applied to manage the project, 2 in the Concept phase, 20
during Development (where the Plan is built), 18 during Execution and a final
2 during finishing.
o The closure or finishing stage is too often overlooked or simplified to just a
handover of the main project goal. However, if closure is correctly managed it
will also provide opportunity for the Project Manager and their team to reflect
on the project and the processes used to manage it, and draw from these
reflections documented “lessons learned” that can then inform future projects,
thereby adding to the continuous improvement of project management within
the organisation that the project has been run in. It’s also a good excuse for a
celebration!
• Before progressing to the next topic encourage to look at the Readings Tab. Have a
look at the YouTube videos on project life cycles – the first explains PMBoK’s life
cycle and the second one looks at how they may vary between industries.
USEFUL LINKS
VIDEO:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVSXB7mMfpw Project life cycle, phases and
process groups
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Xu1QupXY4 Project life cycle phases, differing
on discipline
WEB:
• http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/managing/lifecycle.htm article on four phases
of project life cycle
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_project_management_topics - Lists all the topics
Wikipedia has on project management
• http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/framework/intro.htm is a more sophisticated
explanation on the same website.

Video 5: Nine knowledge areas: Part 1: Core areas: Scope,
Time, Cost, Quality
• Knowledge areas are the areas identified by PMBoK as being necessary for a
project manager to understand and be able to manage projects effectively.
• There are 9 knowledge areas in total:
Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communication, Risk
and Procurement.
• Core knowledge areas are the main functions of project management and also
represent the main constraints of managing a project – the scope, the time, budget
(cost) and agreed quality.
• Core areas are what you must define and plan as soon as possible for effective
management as each has a direct effect on the others.
• Scope management
o Where primarily both what work is required to achieve the project goal as well
as what work is not required is firstly defined and then controlled throughout.
o Both product and project scope should be identified – the product scope being
the specifications / features for the project’s key deliverable, the project scope
being the work required to create the product to its agreed scope.
o Five management processes are used in scope management according to
PMBoK Edition 4. They are:
o To start off: collecting requirements (which is working out what the
stakeholders need the project to deliver), defining the scope (by building as
clear and unambiguous description as possible that is agreed to by key
stakeholders), creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – which is a
hierarchical listing that breaks the main project goal down into the work
packages (or sub-deliverables) required to accomplish the end objective,
verifying scope by making sure that the project sponsor / customer signs off
on deliverables as completed and controlling scope by monitoring and
managing changes where required to keep the project ‘on scope’. When
defining the scope both PRODUCT and PROJECT scope should be
considered. PRODUCT scope is the description (or specifications) of the
project deliverables where PROJECT scope is the work required to create
them. As an example, if baking a cake, the product scope would be the
specifics such as ingredients list, size and type, where the project scope
would be the recipe method, as this provides the description of the work for
how to bake the cake.
• Time management
o Focuses on setting up a timeline for the project and managing activities to
keep them on schedule.
o There are six processes PMBoK Ed. 4 recommends be used for managing
time.
o Processes include defining activities, where the WBS created for the Scope
is broken down further to individual work activities (or tasks), sequencing
activities in the most efficient way based on their relationships to each other
(for instance does one activity need to end before the next starts or can they
be done in parallel), followed by estimating resources and durations so that

materials, people, equipment and supplies required can be worked out
followed by the duration to perform each work activity given the availability of
the resources. From this information a schedule will be developed that can
then be used to control schedule by tracking and monitoring against, and
managing changes throughout.
o Resources are estimated under Time Management because they do have an
impact on how long it will take to do tasks, so you need to know them before
estimating durations. Resources fall into main categories of people,
equipment, materials or supplies.
o For example, knowing the type of oven you have available to bake a cake can
have a direct impact on how long it takes to bake it.
• Cost management
o The main focus is to create a budget from authorised estimates that can then
be used to control costs throughout.
• There are three processes described for managing project cost.
• Processes involved start with estimating costs, which often happens in an iterative
fashion from rough order of magnitude (or ROM) estimates, followed by the
determining of the budget which can be most accurately derived by adding up the
estimated costs of the individual work activities to set up an agreed and authorised
cost baseline, which sets the baseline from which to control the costs throughout
the project’s execution by monitoring and making changes where required.
• An effective way to determine a budget is to work out the cost of every activity that
you worked out under Time Management (including resources and time duration
estimates) and add them all up to get a total cost for the budget.
• Quality management
o Where the requirements for quality of both processes and products are
defined as early as possible in the project’s life so that they can be planned for
and controlled throughout. Central to modern quality management is the aim
to continuously improve processes ensuring the right environment and
organisational culture to attain quality outcomes.
• There are three processes used for quality management.
• Quality is very important because there is a direct correlation between quality
outcomes and customer satisfaction.
o Processes used start by planning quality by identifying requirements and
formalising them into a quality management plan that documents how
compliance will be demonstrated, followed by performing quality assurance
to audit that the results from quality control measurements match
requirements and appropriate standards are being followed, as well as
performing quality control which is where results of quality activities are
recorded and monitored to check performance and recommend any
necessary changes to improve quality outcomes.
o Plan as early as possible in the project for both the quality of the product
produced and the quality of the processes to use while building it so you can
assure during execution the standards are being met.
• In the next topic we will look at the four knowledge areas that help facilitate – or
enable - the four core areas we have just looked at. Max Wideman suggests the four
core areas as being the areas that a project planning should start with (being Scope,

Quality, Time , Cost) and the four facilitating areas of Communication, Procurement,
H/R and Risk as being the order it should be managed in, finishing with the core
areas.
• Before progressing to the next topic encourage to look at the Readings Tab. The
Project Management Knowledge website is worth bookmarking as it has a great
catalogue of Project Management terms in relation to PMBoK that provides good
clear definitions usefully hyperlinked to further information.
• Do a Forum post of your observations of the importance of quality within a project.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4l2clRCrmo Knowledge Areas and Process
Groups is a fairly dry but accurate explanation of these.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKFQgCxGmh0 Overview of process groups and
knowledge areas.
WEB:
• http://blog.simcrest.com/introduction-to-the-nine-project-management-knowledge-
areas/ Good introduction to all 9.
• http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/framework/intro.htm discussed Max
Wideman’s take on project management, including the 9 knowledge areas and how
they are applied.
• http://project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/p/project-management-
knowledge-area/ An index to information on each knowledge area. A useful site for
PM terms with brief explanations.

Video 6: Nine knowledge areas: Part 2: Four facilitating
areas + Integrating.
Facilitating knowledge areas enable the core functions to be managed effectively. For
instance, to get the work of the project done you will need a team assigned. To get all
stakeholders understanding each other and coming to agreement on core project
specifications good communication will be required, to obtain external resources
procurement will be needed and to keep the project running smoothly, risk assessment is
important.
• The four core areas we discussed in Topic 5 of Scope, Cost, Time and Quality are
the main four constraints all projects operate within. Balancing them is a key
function of the Project Manager and to be able to do so the PM will need to
understand communication, human resource, procurement and risk management
knowledge areas also.
• Human Resources management
o Where you organise, manage and lead the project team.
o There are four processes identified for managing human resources in a
project.
o The processes for managing HR are developing an HR Plan (which identifies
project roles, responsibilities, needed skills, reporting relationships and
includes the staff management plan), acquiring the project team,
developing the team (including improving the team environment) and finally
managing the Project team by tracking performance, providing feedback,
resolving issues and managing changes where required to improve project
performance.
o Everyone knows that having the right people for the job increases the
likelihood of it being properly performed, but managing people is a lot more
than simply choosing the right people. You also need to build a team culture
that will help you get the best possible performance from a group of
individuals.
• Communication management
• In business as in life much misunderstanding and conflict can be generated by poor
communication, just as good communicators tend to be able to keep both their life
and jobs running smoothly by being able to keep stakeholders correctly informed
and by being able to effectively explain their decisions and actions. For this reason
any of us should be able to recognise good communication management as being
an important tool for a Project Manager!
• Communication Management is where you aim to generate, collect, distribute, store,
retrieve and archive project information.
• There are five described processes for managing communication according to
PMBoK Edition 4.
o Processes for managing communication are identifying the stakeholders
(so you know who to communicate to), planning communications (working
out how you will approach communication), distributing information
(relevant information to the right people in the agreed manner), managing
stakeholder expectations (communicating with relevant stakeholders
throughout project execution and dealing with any issues as they arise) and
finally reporting performance (so stakeholders are kept informed of project

progress and it is able to be measured against the planned performance).
Reporting performance accurately to the correct stakeholders will allow them
to “keep the pulse” of the project and interject and follow up where any serious
variances are identified. As we discussed in an earlier topic being able to
identify projects that should be closed as also an important skill to develop,
and getting a project correctly closed is unlikely to happen if the sponsor and
client are unaware of how project performance is progressing!
• Risk management
o Focuses on seeking to increase the likelihood and impact of positive events
and reduce the likelihood and impact of negative events.
o Many of us associate RISK with negative connotations – risk takers are
people that take unacceptable risks! However a bit more thought should tell
you that many of the world’s best business people are inherently risk takers!
Running a project itself represents a risk – the project may fail. So risks may
be just as positive as they may be negative. In the spirit of nothing ventured
nothing gained, when running a project anything uncertain that may occur in
the future of the project should be assessed for its likelihood and ways
determined to decrease impact – if it eventuates – for negative risks, or
enhance impact if a potential positive risk.
o There are six processes that are outlined for managing risks in a project.
o Process for managing risk start with planning risk management (working out
how risk management will be directed), identifying risks (listing unplanned
events of both potential positive and negative affect), performing qualitative
assessment (working out probability and impact and using to prioritize for
further action), performing quantitative analysis (numerically analysing
effect of risks on the project), planning responses (working out options to
use to enhance opportunities and reduce threats) and finally monitor and
control risks (during project execution implementing risk responses and
tracking, monitoring, evaluating as well as identifying any new risks
throughout).
• Procurement management
o Where you purchase or acquire externally to the team: services, results and/or
products and manage contracts if required for the project. As part of Time
management you will work out what resources are required for your project
and during Human resource management you will acquire a team that has the
skills identified as being required for the project work. Both these areas will
need to be determined before you plan procurements, as this is where you will
control outsourcing and manage supplier contracts, and you can’t do that until
there is a clear picture of what needs to be procured.
o There are four processes identified in PMBoK 4th Edition for managing
procurements.
o Processes for managing procurement include planning procurements
(identifying suppliers and documenting how purchases will be performed and
decided on), conducting procurements (getting seller responses, selecting
seller(s) and awarding contracts), administering procurements, including
managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance and
changing / correcting if required. Finally you need to close procurements.
o Because the effectiveness of contracts – which are legally binding documents
– is so vital to procuring the correct products and / or services, and in large

multi-faceted projects many sub-sections of the project work may need to be
outsourced by the organisation running the project, procurement management
requires its own skill sets and management processes to ensure procuring is
properly performed.
• Integration management
o The final knowledge area we will examine is Integration management, which
is not described as either a core or facilitating knowledge area because it is an
overarching knowledge area and coordinates the other 8.
o This is where the main work of the Project Manager lies, as it is where all the
8 separate threads of knowledge are drawn together in a cohesive manner
and documentation created to manage the project.
o Often listed as the first knowledge area but this denotes importance – not the
order to learn about first, as to perform effective integration management you
will need a sound understanding of the other eight!
o Consists of six management processes. Key processes include developing
the project charter, which is the document that formally authorises the
project and contains the initial requirements of key stakeholders, followed by
development of the Project Management Plan. This is an overarching
document that outlines how all the subsidiary plans created for each of the
other knowledge areas will be defined, prepared, integrated and co-ordinated.
Once the plan is completed execution may begin which requires the directing
and managing of project execution according to the Project Management
Plan, including the monitoring and controlling of project work which tracks,
reviews and regulates the project progress as defined in the PM plan and
performing integrated change control where requests for changes to the
project are reviewed. Finally the project phase and/or project is closed
resulting in the handover of the final product, service or result to its intended
recipient(s).
o The Project Manager may not have been appointed at the time the Project
Charter is drawn up but it is always preferable that they are, as it is this initial
definition of the Project that they will have to manage, and so their input to it
can greatly increase the buy-in of the PM and the team they will lead.
According to PMBoK the Sponsor will either create the Charter or delegate its
creation to the PM. What is most important is that the signatories to it include
the person that has the correct authority to fund the project (which should be
the Project Sponsor).
o Developing the charter and management plan means the PM will have a great
understanding of everything required for the project to successfully run, and
performing integrated change control ensures any alterations to the plan are
also understood and managed effectively by the PM. The other processes
ensure that at all times of the project the PM is effectively in charge and
overseeing the progress of the project through to an organised handover and
close-down of the project.
• So, in short, being informed about the nine knowledge areas of: scope, time, cost,
quality, HR, communications, risks and procurement will make sure every area of a
project is investigated, planned for and executed, monitored and controlled over the
entire project life cycle of concept > develop > execute and finishing! For project
team members they may only require in depth knowledge of a few of these
knowledge areas and may only be involved for a number of project phases, not
necessarily the entire project. The Project Manager however, will need a sound

understanding of all nine and should be involved throughout the entire project life
cycle!
look at the SimCrest ERP Round Table Blog – it is a nice overview of all nine areas
and links to some more in depth explanations of five of the areas.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
knowledge areas.
WEB:
• http://blog.simcrest.com/introduction-to-the-nine-project-management-knowledge-
areas/ Good introduction to all 9.
• http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/framework/intro.htm discussed Max Wideman’s
take on project management, including the 9 knowledge areas and how they are
applied.
• http://project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/p/project-management-
knowledge-area/ An index to information on each knowledge area. A useful site for
PM terms with brief explanations.

Video 7: Five Management Process Groups:
Firstly you need to recognise that there are actually 42 management processes that are
recommended by PMBoK for use in managing a project. For simplicity these 42 processes
are ‘bracketed’ into five groups. These five groups can be seen as managing your project
throughout its entire life cycle (CDEF). However, they are can also be repeated across
phases of your project as well. They are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitor & Controlling
and lastly Closing.
• In the topics on the nine knowledge areas we have briefly mentioned all 42
processes used for each knowledge area. These are all processes belonging to the
five process groups.
o Initiating: these processes are used to define a new project or a new phase
of a project. They help you to get authorisation to proceed. If proper
authorisation has not been granted there will be no authority for resources and
funds to be expended by the project, so initiating a project properly is very
important.
 Specific initiating processes identified by PMBoK 4th Edition are:
developing the project charter (from Integration management) and
Identifying Stakeholders from the Communication management
knowledge area.
• Planning: this group of processes is all to do with planning the project or project
phase, including defining the project’s exact scope (work to be done), refining
objectives and defining the course of action to take to enable the project to deliver
the results it was undertaken for.
o There are 20 specific planning processes identified by PMBoK 4th that belong
to every knowledge area. Too numerous to list here but we will cover them in
Module 3 in more detail, which looks at the Planning phase of the project life
cycle.
• Executing: are processes to do with getting the actual project work done as defined
in the project management plan in a way that meets the agreed project
specifications.
o Executing includes 8 processes identified by PMBoK 4th Edition which are
divided between the Integration, Quality, HR, Communication and
Procurement management knowledge areas. We will look at them during the
last Module which examines the Executing and Finishing phases of a project’s
life.
• Monitoring & Controlling: processes are – in the words of PMBoK - ones that are
needed to “track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project;
identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the
corresponding changes”. In other words while performing work on a project check
what is being performed and control any necessary changes to keep the work on
plan.
o Monitoring and controlling processes identified by PMBoK 4th Edition are
required for every knowledge area except Human Resources and total 10
separate processes that we will cover in Module Four.
• Closing: Specific closing processes identified by PMBoK 4th Edition are: closing the
project – or phase (from Integration management) and Closing Procurements from
the Procurement management knowledge area.

• Don’t confuse the five process groups with the four life-cycle phases (Concept,
Develop, Execute, Finish). The life-cycle covers the period of time from the very
start of the project (its inception) through to its eventual close. The five process
groups are how you manage the project, and can be iterative and may be repeated
and actually applied across phases of the project rather than its entire lifecycle.
• Planning, executing and monitoring & controlling are usually iterative as the
progress of the project is likely to coincide with better understanding of requirements
which then need incorporating into the overall plan, executed and monitor &
controlled. This means that as more detail is understood planning, executing and
monitoring & controlling processes may need to be repeated to properly integrate
the better understood definition. This assists in progressive elaboration of the project
management plan, which is a recognition that while plans must be created as
accurately as possible before the project executes, as the project evolves more
details will become apparent that will require further detail to be added to them.
• The five process groups can also be run more than once in a project. In complex
projects, for effective management, there may be a decision made to split the
project into several phases – you may think of these as sub-projects if you like. If
you have broken a large project into a number of sub-projects it then makes sense
that the initiating, planning, executing, monitor and controlling and closing process
groups should be run for each phase. This also provides ideal opportunity for key
stakeholders to assess each sub-project as a standalone project as well as re-
assessing the overall project, allowing for a greater level of scrutiny and more
checks and balances to be built in. Again, this will assist in projects that are no
longer appropriate to the needs of the organisation, or which can no longer meet
their requirements, being re-assessed and formally closed before unnecessary time
and money is spent on them.
• To return to our question of “What is Project Management?” We could also say it is
the proficient initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing of
a project!
look at the Slideshare shows – they overview the five process groups well.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
knowledge areas.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoFFCnYMPbc process groups for single-phase
project
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U03o3zA0r-w preparation for PMP Certification.
Covers 5 project process groups.
WEB:
• http://www.slideshare.net/guestfe6ad/project-management-process-groups-and-
knowledge-areas#btnNext useful display of process groups and knowledge areas.
• http://www.slideshare.net/trumpetinteractive/pmbok4-processesccsanc#btnNext
visualisation of processes and their knowledge areas and path through project.

Video 8: Main project constraints
• What is a constraint? It is something that limits the running of the project, whether it
be by creating a bottleneck a limitation or a restriction.
• All projects are constrained by multiple factors that also have an impact on each
other. Remember in the topic on the nine knowledge areas we discussed how the
four core knowledge areas of scope, cost, time, and quality are also constraints on
how the project runs? The balancing of these constraints is an important part of
managing a project correctly, as letting one constraint have too much attention
means that you will create problems for the project in others. If a project has gone
off target, either in scope, time, cost or quality there is a fair chance that it has been
impacted by one of these constraints.
• Traditionally projects have been referred to as having a “Triple Constraint” of scope,
time, and cost.
• They are seen as a ‘triple constraint’ because any change in scope, time allowed, or
budget will have a reflective effect on the other two. For instance it is not sensible to
believe that the scope of work / specifications for a project, if changed significantly,
won’t also require an outlay of more time and cost. Similarly a significant reduction
in the time allowed for a project is going to directly affect the amount of work the
team will be able to produce which may reduce costs as less work is done, or
possibly increase costs as more work is outsourced or purchased. If the agreed
budget is suddenly lessened there is a fair chance that the scope of the project will
need to be reduced which may then also reduce the time spent on the project.
Alternatively less money may need that services that were initially going to be
contracted out are changed to be done in house by lesser paid team members, who
may then end up taking more time because their skills are not as good, or they are
having to perform an automated function in a manual way.
• If you take some time out to think of projects you have been involved in, and think
about either the scope, time or cost being increased or decreased you should be
able to think of plenty of ways that the triple constraints affect each other. Chances
are you will also recognise that Quality is likely to be affected too – more money
could equal better quality (more expensive) materials and/or services, just as less
time means that not as much quality assurance may be performed, thereby reducing
quality outcomes. For a number of years many people have preferred to refer to a
‘tetrad’ or four constraints of project management as being ‘scope, time, cost,
quality’. Commonly this is shown as the triangle with ‘quality’ in the middle, signifying
that changes to scope, time and cost are likely to have an overall impact on quality.
In a perfect world equal emphasis would be placed on all four of these.
• However newer definitions, such as in PMBoK Ed 4, it is recognised that there are
other common constraints such as quality, risk, resources increasing the triple
constraint to equal six, being scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources and risk.
• The constraints can be used as a tool to explain to project sponsors how a change
they (or the client or end user) believes necessary may have unintended
consequences elsewhere. Having made an initial agreement in the Concept stage of
what the project encompasses it is very important to consider how any requested
changes to that initial agreement will alter the project constraints. Explaining how a
change in scope may then require more money or time- or both may well make your
sponsor reconsider the importance of the change. If it is still deemed important to
alter the scope then your work arguing for additional money / time or both will have

already been partially done, as the sponsor will already have been made aware of
this likely impact.
• While balancing constraints evenly may be the objective of the PM, the nature of the
project can also have a bearing. Often the balancing of constraints will be
determined by. For instance for a project that a flaw in the key deliverable could
directly result in a loss or impairment of life, there should be more emphasis place
on the Quality and Risk constraints, to the possible detriment of project expenditure
(budget blowout), resources (more needed) and schedule (time overrun). However,
if the project goal is to improve the administrative work processes of a work place,
getting the changes in place quickly may mean more emphasis is placed on the
Time constraint as it is deemed acceptable that any issues with quality may be
ironed out by enhancements after implementation. Software companies are often
singled out as being prone to sacrificing quality for reduced time (for instance on
new software releases) because they rely on ‘bug fixes’ and ‘user feedback’ to
enhance quality and functionality after release. However, this can be a dangerous
game to play as breaching the invisible line between customer acceptance and
rejection of a product can result in loss of market share and ultimate oblivion – so
when weighing up your project’s constraints try to keep them evenly balanced. If you
decide to go outside this rational, have a justifiable reason for doing so!
two YouTube movies give a good overview of both the original triple constraint and
how it has been extended.
• Try making a forum post about a project that has been impacted by one of these
constraints, and what affect it had, if you are aware of a good example.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4NkfM8G7PI shows triple and other 3 (total of 6)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nQNtAJmDAY shows triple with quality
expanding to 6
WEB:
• http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/framework/tetrad.htm
• http://www.enterprise-pm.com/pmbasics/triple-constraint
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

Video 9: Benefits of Project Management
• Modern project management requires us to learn new and structured ways of
working on projects. It requires team leaders as Project Managers that have vision,
technical and people skills and an ability to work effectively under pressure. It
introduces many new levels of documentation and measuring and tracking than
ordinary workplaces are familiar with. To take on the challenge of implementing
modern project management practises in an organisation there needs to be a
willingness to spend time and effort on training, up-skilling and recruiting and an
organisational acceptance that not all projects managed will succeed if success is
measured as completing the project on-time, within budget and to the agreed scope
and quality, particularly when putting project management practises in place.
However, both the requirements of our modern workplaces to enable more people to
be managed consecutively on larger projects, plus the research showing that
implementing formal project management practises does reward organisations,
practitioners and stakeholders means that project management is a science that is
rapidly expanding in importance.
o Commonly listed benefits of PM include:
 Improved customer relations
 Shorter development times
 Lower costs
 Higher quality and dependability
 Better control of internal resources
 Higher worker morale
 Provides a competitive advantage in the market place
• The PMI have released a white paper that argues the Global Financial Crisis has
helped companies take up project management practices more effectively as their
bottom line has tightened, requiring them to work faster and smarter. They provide
examples in their White Paper (listed on the readings tab) of how companies like
Intel are running more projects successfully in a tougher financial environment than
before the GFC. Figures are listed showing they moved in 2007 from running 402
projects successfully to 454 projects successfully run in 2009. Basically financial
constraints have caused businesses to seek ways to run projects more efficiently,
and the best way to do that is to implement modern project management practices.
• As listed earlier in Topic Two on Project Management factors such as lack of User
involvement, executive management support, planning properly and having realistic
expectations all are major contributors to project management failures which means,
in inverse, that having good user input, executive support, realistic expectations and
planning properly all are going to increase project success rates, and thereby
contribute to the benefits we’ve listed above.
• Many companies are now setting up Project Management Offices to coordinate and
support effective project management.
• According to a 2010 survey run by PM Solutions in May 2010, the difference having
a Project Management Office (PMO) in an organisation made was that ( among
other benefits) failed projects reduced by 31% and in the U.S. alone this saved
companies on average $567 000 US per project!

• Ref: State of the PMO 2010, PM Solutions, May 2010. Results based on a survey of 291
management employees.
• So the main message is, if you want more productive workplaces, happier clients
and more successful projects run in less time and with less money resulting in more
reliable project deliverables and you don’t currently use formal project management
processes, start doing so NOW!
• A word of warning – simply taking on the burden of documenting projects without
being prepared to spend the time on proper up front analysis and planning of
projects will make it “look” like you are using modern project management practises
but it won’t produce the benefits.
PMI White Paper titled “The Value of Project Management” provides a very up to
date analysis of employing Project Management practices. You may also like to read
the article about 2012 growth in demand and salaries for trained project managers.
Useful Links
VIDEO:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IQK4QN-NqgM (40
years of great projects)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icmvn23EvO4 (Harnessing the Power of Project
Management by University of Texas Professional Development Center).
WEB:
• http://www.tenstep.com/open/A1ValueofPM.html Article titled “The Value of Project
Management” by TenStep
• http://www.brighthubpm.com/project-planning/2350-the-top-ten-benefits-of-project-
management/ Gary Picariello (2010) The Top Ten Benefits of Project Management
• http://www.westwindconsulting.com/Benefits%20of%20Project%20Management.htm
l Westwind Consulting Services Inc., The Benefits of Project Management. Provides
a method for putting a figure to project management cost saving.
• http://files.asme.org/Divisions/Management/15918.pdf David V. Tennant, Project
Management: A Competitive Advantage?
• http://www.pmi.org/business-solutions/~/media/PDF/Business-
Solutions/Value%20of%20Project%20Management_FINAL.ashx PMI Inc,. The
Value of Project Management White Paper.
• http://www.egovernment.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/78187/Why_Project
_Management_Fact_Sheet.pdf Tasmanian Government Project Management
Framework, (2008). Project Management Fact Sheet: Why Project Management?
• http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/history-of-project-management.html a hyperlinked
article that covers the subject title “History of Project Management: How Project
Management Developed” by Sandro Azzopardi.
• http://www.slideshare.net/pys0209/chaos-project-management Slideshare
presentation on “Project Management A recipe for success” that draws from the
renown Standish Group CHAOS reports into IT project management success – and
otherwise.

• http://www.maxwideman.com/guests/chaos_report/intro.htm Guest article by Jim
Highsmith titled “The CHAOS Report – Reality Challenged” that challenges the
CHAOS report’s methodology.
• http://www.cio.com/article/699312/Project_Management_Salaries_Show_Earnings_
Growth_Career_Potential Meredith Levinson (2012) Project Management Salaries
Show Earnings Growth, Career Potential.
• http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/eb/Oracle_Project_Man_WEB.pdf Closing the gap:
The link between project management excellence and long-term success (2009) A
report from the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by Oracle.
• http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/eb/Oracle_Ind_Man_WEBr.pdf Industrial
manufacturing: Managing for success, Economist Intelligence Unit, May 2010.

Video 10: Quick Summary
In today’s Module we have:
1. Started by identifying what a project is:
• Defined as: a project will implement change, involve uncertainty, require limited
resources, have a finite start and end and create something unique – whether it is a
product, a new service or a result.
2. We then asked what project management was:
• While obviously project management is managing a project a more complete
definition is: “The controlled implementation of defined change.”
3. Popular Project Management methodologies / standards
• PMBOK by PMI, Prince2, Critical Chain Project Management, ISO 21500:2012
4. The Project Life cycle
• Concept > Develop > Execute > Finish
5. Nine knowledge areas, starting with the 4 core;
• Scope, Time, Cost, Quality
6. The four facilitating knowledge areas and Integrating all 8.
• H/R, Communication, Risk, Procurement and Integration
7. Five Management Process Groups
• Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitor & controlling, Closing
8. Main project constraints
• Scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources and risk
• Benefits of Project Management
• Faster, cheaper, more reliable, better quality, happier staff, happier customers a
competitive edge!

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Project Management Principles – Module 1

Video1: What is a project?

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