Project Management topic 1

What is management? Management is the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the work of organisational members and
of using all available organisational resources to reach specific organisational goals.

Brief history of management theory Pre-industrial management (prior to 1890 ° Ruling of empires, kingdoms, tribes, clans, etc . ° Gurus :
Niccolo Machiavelli, Confucius , Sun Tzu Scientific management (1890 – 1940) ° Industrial revolution era – management based on routinized,
mechanistic processes. Famous example: Ford’s Model T. ° Guru: Frederick Taylor Bureaucratic management (1930-1950) ° Hierarchical
organisation management – line of work/authority/control ° Guru: Max Weber Human relations (1930-today) ° Focus on managing human
resource (e.g. motivation, needs) ° Gurus : Frederick Herzberg, Abraham Maslow 1.4.6.2.

What is a project? ° Project is a unique process, consist of a set of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken
to achieve an objective confirming to specific requirements, including the constraints of time cost and resource. ° A project can be defined as a
temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. A project has a definite beginning and end, and can involve a
single person, a single organizational unit, or multiple organisational units. Typically, projects are multi-disciplinary, complex, dynamic, and are
delivered in a team environment. To senior management, a project must be important enough to justify setting up a special organisational unit
outside the routine organizational structure. A project can create: ° A product that can be either a component of another item or an end item
in itself ° A capability to perform a service (e.g. a business function that supports production) ° A result such as an outcome or document.

What is project management? Project management is “the application of management knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements” (PMI, 2008). Project management is a distinct area of management that helps in handling
projects. It has three key features to distinguish it from other forms of management and they include: a project manager, the project team and
the project management system. The project management system comprises organization structure, information processing and decision
making and the procedures that facilitate integration of horizontal and vertical elements of the project organization. The project management
system focuses on integrated planning and control. ° Define and execute everything necessary to complete a complex system of tasks °
Achieve project end results that might be unique and unfamiliar ° And do it - by target completion date - with constrained resources - with an
organisation that is cross-functional and newly-formed

Nature of projects ° Goal-oriented: aims at a specific end result or deliverables ° Somewhat unique: non-routine ° Time- and resource-
constrained: temporary (has a target completion date and target cost) ° Cross-functional: cross-disciplinary and cross-organisational °
Somewhat unfamiliar and risky: involves something new or different ° Something is at stake ° Follows logical sequence or progression of
phases or stages

Simply put, a project is a series of tasks that need to be completed in order to reach a specific outcome. A project can also be defined as a set
of inputs and outputs required to achieve a particular goal. Projects can range from simple to complex and can be managed by one person or a
hundred. Projects are often described and delegated by a manager or executive. They go over their expectations and goals and it's up to the
team to manage logistics and execute the project in a timely manner. Sometimes deadlines can be given or a time limitation. For good project
productivity, some teams break the project up into individual tasks so they can manage accountability and utilize team strengths.

How I Choose Projects 1. Step One: Gather Interesting Ideas. The first phase of choosing a project comes from cultivating interesting ideas. ...
2. Step Two: Incubate Those Ideas. The most successful projects I did, usually didn't start out as perfect ideas. ... 3. Step Three: Uncover Flaws
in Your Ideas. ... 4. Step Four: Commit to the Project. ...

5. Choosing Differently

Characteristics of Project Plans A project plan can be considered to have five key characteristics that have to be managed: Scope: defines what
will be covered in a project. Resource: what can be used to meet the scope. Time: what tasks are to be undertaken and when. Quality: the
spread or deviation allowed from a desired standard. Risk: defines in advance what may happen to drive the plan off course, and what will be
done to recover the situation.

A project is typically defined as a set of interrelated activities having a specific beginning and ending, and leading to a specific objective.
Probably the most important concept in this definition is that a project is intended as a temporary endeavour, unlike ongoing, steady state
operations.

A project is planned, organized and goal- oriented.

A project has a purpose, certain benefits that are targeted. In order to achieve the benefits, certain deliverables need to be produced during
the project. Both these goals and objectives should be defined early in the project.

Typology of projects A project can be classified with respect to the levels of complexity and uncertainty involved Figure 1-1: Typology of
projects (Nicholas & Steyn, 2008)

Three project objectives For every project, the common goal is to meet a three-dimensional target: complete the work for customer/client or
end-user in accordance with the budget, schedule and performance. These common project objectives are interrelated. A trade-off is required
if one of the objectives is increased or decreased. Figure 1-2

PROJECT, PROGRAM, PORTFOLIO

A Project in general refers to a new endeavour with specific objective and varies so widely that it is very difficult to precisely define it. A
portfolio is a collection of projects or programs and other work to facilitate effective management such that strategic business objectives can
be met. A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing
them individually.