Chapter 13:

Project Management

Prepared: Daud
Ref: W.P Nel, METS 2nd ed
Project
▪ A project is a unique and temporary process performed to create
a specific result – product or service, within a specified schedule
and limited resource.
▪ A project has two characteristics:
▪ A beginning and an end.
▪ Production of a unique product or service
▪ A project has three constraints: objective, time (schedule) and
budget.
▪ A project brief states the customer problem. A project brief also
identifies the project constraints, and also an opportunity.
▪ Only the customer determines whether or not the project is
successful.
▪ A project will only be successful when delivered on time, on
budget and produced a high quality product that meets its
functions and performance.
Project Stakeholders
▪ A stakeholder is anyone who has interest in the project or
is impacted by the project directly or indirectly.
▪ A successful project has to meet stakeholder expectations.
Stakeholders make all important decisions during the
concept stages of the project.
▪ The primary duty of the project is to identify project
stakeholders.
▪ Someone becomes a stakeholder through free choice.
▪ Stakeholder involvement in a project can be constructive
due to the essential contribution the stakeholder has to
make.
▪ To be able to manage stakeholders, they have to be
engaged in the project deliberations and allow their
concerns to influence the project.
Project Life Cycle – Project
Phases
▪ The project life cycle symbolises the linear development of the
project.
▪ The four generic project life cycle or phases are: concept,
definition, implementation and close out phases.
▪ The iron law of a life cycle: problems downstream are symptoms
of neglect upstream
▪ The project is launched with a project brief that is transformed
into the solution specification which is developed into a detailed
implementation plan to be executed.
▪ More uncertainty means more risk in a project.
▪ Different projects use different names for the different project
phases.
▪ The table summarises the activities in a project life cycle.
Concept Definition Implementati Close out
on
•Clarify customer •Develop work •Contract out each task, •Acceptance test
requirements breakdown structures •Monitor project, all deliverables,
•Identify all •Determine which •Control project, •Transfer project
stakeholders contractor will •Launch corrective to owner,
•Finalise project perform each task. actions whenever •Close project
objectives •Obtain costs and needed. accounts,
•Define key schedule estimates, •Reassign project
performance •Develop a detailed team,
indicators plan for •Conduct a
•Generate and implementation, project post-
evaluate alternative •Prepare baselines mortem.
solutions for the next baseline
•Determine best meetings
solution and assess
risks
•Develop detailed
plan for the next
phase
•Prepare provisional
baselines for
decision-making
milestone meetings.
Milestones and Baseline
▪ A milestone is a demarcation for decision-making where
the customer makes some crucial decisions at each
phase.
▪ Customer makes two decisions at each milestone:
▪ Authenticate: accept recommendations of previous project phase,
▪ Authorise: permits the next phase to start
▪ The decision at each milestone has one of three possible
effects:
▪ Stop or continue the project,
▪ Repeat the previous phase,
▪ Subject to constraints or hold
▪ A baseline is a point of departure for performance and
change control. Any changes to be made to the project
plan needs to be approved by all parties concerned.
▪ Each milestone corresponds with a baseline
Work Breakdown Structures
▪ A Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool for breaking down a project into
work activities for execution.
▪ A WBS exhaustively identifies all the task in a project.
▪ WBS as a project management tool if done well can be used to:
▪ Monitor project progress,
▪ Generate accurate costs and schedule estimates,
▪ Provide a detailed task list of the project,
▪ Report on project,
▪ Create project work teams,
▪ Defines and organises the work required,
▪ Defines all work tasks needed to complete the project
▪ Assigns responsibility for performing each task,
▪ Defines the deliverables and receivable for each task,
▪ Plans and manages cost and time
▪ Measures cost
▪ Reports and summarises task and overall project progress
Work Breakdown Structure
▪ A WBS must meet the following requirements:

▪ Action oriented where each task starts with a verb.

▪ Should be exhaustive by listing all tasks required must appear

▪ Should be mutually exclusive

▪ Tasks need not be in specific sequence

What a WBS is not

▪ A WBS merely defines all work tasks
▪ A WBS is constructed before a PBS

▪ A WBS is not a time-phased schedule of tasks

▪ A WBS is not an organisation chart of project people
Project Deliverables
▪ A deliverable is measurable, tangible and verifiable item that the project
manager must provide to the customer.
▪ The deliverables list can be used as a checklist for determining the delivery
status of the project.
▪ Deliverables of the project are often subjected to the approval of the
customer and are prerequisite for payment. Deliverables usually contain the
following:
▪ A specification for the deliverable
▪ The quantity to be delivered
▪ A delivery date
▪ A delivery address
Project Time Management
▪ Major processes of project time management:
▪ Activity definition: define specific activities to be
accomplished.
▪ Activity sequencing: identify dependencies among
activities (logical relationship).
▪ Duration estimation: estimate the time required to
finish each activity.
▪ Schedule development: analyse activity
sequences and duration so as to develop a realistic
and achievable schedule
▪ Schedule control: maintain the project schedule
Activity Sequencing
▪ Define dependent activities.
▪ Use blocks for activities and arrows to show
logical relationships between them.
▪ The more activities in parallel, the sooner the
project will be finished.
▪ An activity-on-the-node network may have
four types of logical relationships:
▪ Finish-to-start
▪ Finish-to-finish
▪ Start-to-start
▪ Start-to-finish
 Forward and Backward pass
Terminologies
▪ Early Finish = Early Start + Activity duration
▪ Late Start = Late Finish – Activity duration
▪ Slack = Late Finish – Early Finish
▪ Slack = Late Start – Early Start
▪ END