Professional Documents
Culture Documents
JNU, Jaipur
First Edition 2013
JNU makes reasonable endeavours to ensure content is current and accurate. JNU reserves the right to alter the
content whenever the need arises, and to vary it at any time without prior notice.
Index
I. Content....................................................................... II
IV. Abbreviations.......................................................VIII
Book at a Glance
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Contents
Chapter I........................................................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction to Project Administration...................................................................................................... 1
Aim................................................................................................................................................................. 1
Objectives....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Learning outcome........................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Defining Project and Project Management............................................................................................... 2
1.3 Objectives of a Project.............................................................................................................................. 2
1.4 Project Administration ............................................................................................................................. 2
1.5 Importance of Project Administration....................................................................................................... 3
1.5.1 Benefits of Project Administration........................................................................................... 3
1.6 Project Manager........................................................................................................................................ 3
1.7 Project Administrator................................................................................................................................ 3
1.8 The Project Life Cycle.............................................................................................................................. 4
1.9 Importance of the Project Life Cycle Phases............................................................................................ 5
1.10 Project Management Triangle................................................................................................................. 5
1.11 Project Documentation............................................................................................................................ 6
Summary........................................................................................................................................................ 7
References...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Recommended Reading................................................................................................................................ 7
Self Assessment.............................................................................................................................................. 8
Chapter II.................................................................................................................................................... 10
Contract Management................................................................................................................................ 10
Aim............................................................................................................................................................... 10
Objectives..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Learning outcome......................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................................11
2.2 Contract . .............................................................................................................................................11
2.3 Contract Management............................................................................................................................. 12
2.4 Aim of Contract Management................................................................................................................. 13
2.5 Successful Contract Management . ........................................................................................................ 13
2.6 Contract Team......................................................................................................................................... 13
2.7 Types of Contract.................................................................................................................................... 13
2.7.1 Compensation Based Contracts ............................................................................................. 14
2.7.1.1 Fixed-Price Contracts . ............................................................................................ 15
2.7.1.2 Schedule of Rates Contracts..................................................................................... 15
2.7.1.3 Cost-Plus Contracts.................................................................................................. 16
2.7.1.4 Guaranteed-Maximum-Price Contracts................................................................... 16
2.7.2 Contract Packaging Based Contracts...................................................................................... 16
2.7.2.1 Turn-key Contract.................................................................................................... 17
2.7.2.2 Design-Build Contract............................................................................................. 18
2.7.2.3 Construction Contracts . .......................................................................................... 19
2.7.2.4 Professional Services Contracts .............................................................................. 19
2.8 Choosing the Type of Contract............................................................................................................... 20
Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 21
References.................................................................................................................................................... 21
Recommended Reading.............................................................................................................................. 21
Self Assessment............................................................................................................................................ 22
Chapter III................................................................................................................................................... 24
Contract Management Activities............................................................................................................... 24
Aim............................................................................................................................................................... 24
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Objectives..................................................................................................................................................... 24
Learning outcome......................................................................................................................................... 24
3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 25
3.2 Contract Management Activities............................................................................................................. 25
3.3 Contract Organisation and Planning ...................................................................................................... 26
3.3.1 Contract Organisation ............................................................................................................ 26
3.3.2 Contract Planning ................................................................................................................. 27
3.3.3 Decision: Make or Buy........................................................................................................... 27
3.3.4 Contract Packaging ................................................................................................................ 28
3.4 Contract Specification . ......................................................................................................................... 28
3.5 Obtaining and Evaluating Contract Bids............................................................................................... 29
3.5.1 Invitation to Bid...................................................................................................................... 29
3.5.1.1 Advertisement.......................................................................................................... 29
3.5.1.2 Direct Communication ............................................................................................ 31
3.5.2 Receiving and Opening Bids.................................................................................................. 31
3.5.3 Contractor Evaluation and Selection...................................................................................... 32
3.6 Contract Finalisation and Award............................................................................................................. 33
3.7 Contract Administration......................................................................................................................... 33
3.7.1 Contract Administration Planning.......................................................................................... 34
3.7.2 Contract Administration Process............................................................................................ 34
3.7.3 Project Audit Process.............................................................................................................. 34
3.8 Contact Closure....................................................................................................................................... 35
Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 36
References.................................................................................................................................................... 36
Recommended Reading.............................................................................................................................. 36
Self Assessment............................................................................................................................................ 37
Chapter IV................................................................................................................................................... 39
Risk Management....................................................................................................................................... 39
Aim............................................................................................................................................................... 39
Objectives..................................................................................................................................................... 39
Learning outcome......................................................................................................................................... 39
4.1 Introduction . .......................................................................................................................................... 40
4.2 Risk......................................................................................................................................................... 40
4.2.1 Theoretically Balanced Project............................................................................................... 40
4.3 Risk Management................................................................................................................................... 41
4.4 Principles of Risk Management.............................................................................................................. 43
4.5 Types of Risks......................................................................................................................................... 43
4.5.1 Macro Risk Levels.................................................................................................................. 44
4.6 Risk Management Process...................................................................................................................... 45
4.6.1 Establishing the Context......................................................................................................... 46
4.6.2 Risk Identification................................................................................................................... 46
4.6.3 Risk Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 48
4.6.4 Risk Evaluation....................................................................................................................... 53
4.6.5 Risk Reporting........................................................................................................................ 53
4.6.6 Risk Mitigation/Treatment...................................................................................................... 54
4.6.6.1 Potential Risk Treatments........................................................................................ 55
4.6.7 Risk Monitoring...................................................................................................................... 56
4.6.7.1 Risk Monitoring and Control: Inputs ...................................................................... 57
4.6.7.2 Tools and Techniques for Risk Monitoring and Control.......................................... 58
4.6.7.3 Outputs from Risk Monitoring and Control............................................................. 58
4.7 Roles and Responsibilities...................................................................................................................... 59
4.7.1 Management Plan................................................................................................................... 59
4.7.2 Role in Process Tasks.............................................................................................................. 60
4.8 Sample Risk List..................................................................................................................................... 60
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4.9 Risk Management Checklist................................................................................................................... 63
Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 65
References.................................................................................................................................................... 65
Recommended Reading.............................................................................................................................. 65
Self Assessment............................................................................................................................................ 67
Chapter V..................................................................................................................................................... 69
Project Closure............................................................................................................................................ 69
Aim............................................................................................................................................................... 69
Objectives..................................................................................................................................................... 69
Learning outcome......................................................................................................................................... 69
5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 70
5.2 Project Life Cycle Structure.................................................................................................................... 70
5.3 Project Closure........................................................................................................................................ 71
5.4 Project Management Framework: Constraints........................................................................................ 71
5.5 Reasons for Project Closure.................................................................................................................... 72
5.6 Project Termination . .............................................................................................................................. 73
5.6.1 Methods of Project Termination ............................................................................................ 73
5.7 Benefits of Complete Project Closure..................................................................................................... 73
5.8 Closure Planning . .................................................................................................................................. 74
5.9 Project Closure Process ......................................................................................................................... 75
5.9.1 Ensure an Orderly Close ........................................................................................................ 75
5.9.2 Identify Follow-on Actions and Plan the Post Project Review . ............................................ 75
5.9.3 Evaluate the Project ............................................................................................................... 77
5.10 Closing Unsuccessful Project .............................................................................................................. 78
5.11 Project Closure Report ......................................................................................................................... 78
5.12 Common Project Closing Issues .......................................................................................................... 79
5.13 Common Project Closing Challenges .................................................................................................. 80
5.14 Importance of Formal Project Termination Procedures........................................................................ 81
5.15 Project Closure Checklist...................................................................................................................... 81
5.16 Project End Checklist - 11 Important Steps ......................................................................................... 83
5.17 Template: Project Closure Report......................................................................................................... 83
Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 90
References.................................................................................................................................................... 90
Recommended Reading.............................................................................................................................. 90
Self Assessment............................................................................................................................................ 91
Chapter VI................................................................................................................................................... 93
Project Management Software.................................................................................................................. 93
Aim............................................................................................................................................................... 93
Objectives..................................................................................................................................................... 93
Learning outcome......................................................................................................................................... 93
6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 94
6.2 Project Management Software................................................................................................................ 94
6.2.1 Project Management Software: Features ............................................................................... 95
6.3 Implementation of Project Management Software................................................................................. 95
6.4 Benefits of Project Management Software ............................................................................................ 95
6.5 Project Management Software : Tasks . ................................................................................................. 96
6.5.1 Scheduling ............................................................................................................................. 96
6.5.2 Calculating Critical Path . ...................................................................................................... 97
6.5.3 Reporting................................................................................................................................ 97
6.5.4 Budgeting................................................................................................................................ 97
6.5.5 Asset Allocation...................................................................................................................... 98
6.6 Project Management Software: Approaches . ....................................................................................... 98
6.6.1 Desktop .................................................................................................................................. 98
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6.6.2 Web based .............................................................................................................................. 98
6.6.3 Personal . ................................................................................................................................ 98
6.6.4 Single user ............................................................................................................................. 98
6.6.5 Collaborative . ........................................................................................................................ 99
6.6.6 Integrated ............................................................................................................................... 99
6.6.7 Non-specialised Tools . .......................................................................................................... 99
6.7 Top Project Management Software Packages........................................................................................ 99
6.8 Features of Common Project Management Softwares.......................................................................... 100
6.8.1 Microsoft Project ................................................................................................................. 100
6.8.2 Primavera.............................................................................................................................. 100
6.8.3 OmniPlan.............................................................................................................................. 101
6.8.4 Project Administrator............................................................................................................ 101
6.9 Criticisms of Project Management Software........................................................................................ 103
6.10 Future Development .......................................................................................................................... 104
Summary.................................................................................................................................................... 105
References.................................................................................................................................................. 105
Recommended Reading............................................................................................................................ 105
Self Assessment.......................................................................................................................................... 106
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List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Project objectives............................................................................................................................... 2
Fig. 1.2 Project life cycle................................................................................................................................ 4
Fig. 1.3 Project management triangle............................................................................................................. 5
Fig. 1.4 Project reporting................................................................................................................................ 6
Fig. 2.1 Components of contract management..............................................................................................11
Fig. 2.2 Contract........................................................................................................................................... 12
Fig. 2.3 Types of contracting methods.......................................................................................................... 14
Fig. 2.4 Contracting methods (based on the method of compensation given to the contractor).................. 15
Fig. 2.5 Contracting methods (based on the way of contract packaging)..................................................... 17
Fig. 3.1 Contract management activities....................................................................................................... 26
Fig. 3.2 Steps in bidding process.................................................................................................................. 29
Fig. 3.3 An example of invitation bid........................................................................................................... 30
Fig. 3.4 Contract price bid............................................................................................................................ 32
Fig. 3.5 Project audit process........................................................................................................................ 34
Fig. 3.6 Contract closure............................................................................................................................... 35
Fig. 4.1(a) Example of ideal project plan ........................................................................................................
Fig. 4.1(b) Example of bad project plan....................................................................................................... 41
Fig. 4.2 Theoretical balanced project............................................................................................................ 42
Fig. 4.3 Relationship between constraint and uncertainty in project risk..................................................... 43
Fig. 4.4 External and internal project risks................................................................................................... 44
Fig. 4.5 Business risks.................................................................................................................................. 45
Fig. 4.6 Risk management process............................................................................................................... 47
Fig. 4.7 Relationships between probability and project stages..................................................................... 50
Fig. 4.8 Risk quantification matrix............................................................................................................... 52
Fig. 4.9 Relationship between impact and probability................................................................................. 52
Fig. 4.10 Risk and cost for project life cycle................................................................................................ 56
Fig. 5.1 Project life cycle structure............................................................................................................... 71
Fig. 5.2 Framework of project management................................................................................................. 72
Fig. 5.3 Framework of project management constraints............................................................................... 73
Fig. 6.1 Project workforce management ...................................................................................................... 97
Fig. 6.2 Project administrator .................................................................................................................... 103
Fig. 6.3 Project administrator menu............................................................................................................ 104
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Contents
Table 4.1 Risk statement............................................................................................................................... 47
Table 4.2 Risk description............................................................................................................................. 48
Table 4.3 Example of risk analysis............................................................................................................... 49
Table 4.4 Risk matrix for grading risks........................................................................................................ 50
Table 4.5 Risk matrix for grading risks for large/complex projects............................................................. 50
Table 4.6 Risk probability/impact matrix for the city of Philadelphia Pole Geodatabase Project................ 53
Table 4.7 Types of role in risk management tasks........................................................................................ 60
Table 4.8 Checklist 1 - framework for project plan...................................................................................... 63
Table 4.9 Checklist 2 - ongoing risk management monitoring for projects.................................................. 64
Table 5.1 Project closure checklist................................................................................................................ 82
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Project Administration
Abbreviations
CPM - Critical Path Method
ISO - International Organisation for Standardization
LAN - Local Area Network
PC - Personal Computers
PER - Project Evaluation Review
PIR - Post Implementation Review
PPR - Post Project Review
VBA - Visual Basic for Applications
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Chapter I
Introduction to Project Administration
Aim
The aim of this chapter is to:
Objectives
Learning outcome
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
• define project
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Project Administration
1.1 Introduction
The economy of India has been growing rapidly over the last few years. Many industries have surfaced in various
sectors leading to a kind of market boom. Huge amount of money is being invested in various projects from sources
across the globe. In this perspective, it has become very important for the managers to efficiently manage projects
in order to maximise returns and encourage more investment.
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1.5 Importance of Project Administration
Project administration is necessary to:
• avoid wastage, as a project requires huge investments
• keep in check the loss in any project, as it will have direct and indirect impact on the society
• prevent failure in projects
• adjust with the changes of the project activity in future
• get acquainted with the changing technology during project execution
• control the consequences of negativity in problems related to the project, which could be very serious
• control the effects of changing economic conditions on the project
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Project Administration
Planning
The second phase should include a detailed identification and assignment of each task until the end of the project.
It is characterised by breaking down the project into smaller parts/tasks. It should also include a risk analysis and
a definition of criteria for the successful completion of each deliverable.
Closure
In this last stage, the project manager must ensure that the project is completed according to the desired outputs
and within scheduled time. The closure phase is characterised by a written formal project review report containing
the following components:
a formal acceptance of the final product by the client
Weighted critical measurements (matching the initial requirements specified by the client with the final
delivered product)
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rewarding the team
a list of lessons learned
releasing project resources
a formal project closure notification to higher management
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Project Administration
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Summary
• A project is a set of activities arranged in an ordered network for achieving the desired goals.
• A project consists of a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. Upon
completion of all these activities, the goals of the project are expected to be achieved.
• Project administration allows orderly and accurate purchase and procurement of equipment, payment of bills, and
preparation of financial reports. It helps in avoiding unnecessary breaks in the implementation of the project.
• A project administrator is an organisational unit or official, who has the power to receive and handle funds. He
checks the day-to-day operation of a project.
• Project activities must be grouped into phases and is known as the project life cycle. It refers to a logical
sequence of activities to accomplish the project’s goals or objectives. The four phases of a project lifecycle
include¬–initiation, planning, execution & controlling and closure. Project documentation is used to define the
way in which a project will be managed and the governance surrounding it.
• Documents range from feasibility studies, resource plans, financial plans and project plans, to supplier contracts,
post-implementation reviews, change request forms and project status reports.
References
• John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn (2008). Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology,
Butterworth-Heinemann Publication, 3rd edition.
• M. Williams (2008). The Principles of Project Management, Site Point Publications.
• Westland (2006). The Project Management Lifecycle, Kogan Page Limited.
Recommended Reading
• Stanley E. Portny (2010). Project Management for Dummies. Kindle Publication, 3rd edition.
• Harold Kerzner (2009). Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
New York, Van Nostrand Rienhold, 6th edition.
• Robert L. Kimmons, James H. Loweree (1989). Project Management: A Reference for Professionals. Dekker
Publications, New York.
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Project Administration
Self Assessment
2. __________ consists of a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
a. Project
b. Contract
c. Tender
d. Notice
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7. Which of the following is false?
a. A project administrator is an organisational unit or official, who has the power to receive and handle
funds.
b. Project administrators are responsible for managingoverall project resources.
c. A project administrator is responsible for owning the project management processes.
d. The project manager or director usually reports to a project administrator.
9. ___________ is the person responsible for implementing the proposal as planned and solving possible problems
that may arise.
a. Project manager
b. Project administrator
c. Stakeholder
d. Project sponsor
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Project Administration
Chapter II
Contract Management
Aim
The aim of this chapter is to:
• define contract
Objectives
The objectives of this chapter are to:
Learning outcome
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
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2.1 Introduction
Conventional business wisdom suggests that no business arrangement should be entered into unless a signed
contract is in place. Our society depends upon free exchange in the marketplace at every stage. The interactions
in the market all the times depend upon voluntary agreements between individuals or other "legal persons". Such
voluntary agreements can never become binding without a legal contract.
Contracts are signed between engineers, planners, companies and professionals for implementation of a project. The
contract management process is growing in importance as outsourcing continues to increase and suppliers become
virtual extensions of organisation’s competence and capability. Contract management have become an important
part of business.
There are three main components of contract management - people, process and technology. In order to award
and successfully manage effective contracts, organisations must have disciplined, capable, and updated contract
management processes in place.
PEOPLE
PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
Fig. 2.1 Components of contract management
(Source: http://www.matrikon.com/power/wind.aspx)
2.2 Contract
• A contract is a legally written or oral binding agreement between the parties identified in the agreement to fulfil
all the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement.
• Contracts are one of the most important documents in an enterprise.
• Contracting refers to the activities required for acquiring services of outside contractors to perform part or all
of the project tasks.
• Contracts are used for many different purposes from procurement to sales to employment and real estate.
Contracting is used by companies for operational as well as project activities.
• A good contract is:
precise
clear
well-documented
focused on the deliverables/outputs
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Project Administration
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2.4 Aim of Contract Management
• The central aim of contract management is to obtain the services as agreed in the contract and achieve value
for money.
• This means optimising the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the service or relationship described by the
contract, balancing costs against risks and actively managing the customer–supplier relationship.
• Contract management may also involve aiming for continuous improvement in performance over the life of
the contract.
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Project Administration
Based primarily on the method of agreeing on compensation to the contractor, the most common contract types for
projects are as follows:
• Fixed-price contract
• Schedule of rates contract
• Cost-plus contract
• Guaranteed-maximum-price contract
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Fig. 2.4 Contracting methods (based on the method of compensation given to the contractor)
Advantages
• The contractor takes most of the financial risk in the construction part of the project.
• The contractor is motivated to do the construction work economically and quickly, so the project is not likely
to drag out for a long time.
Disadvantages
• The contractors may bid higher prices to cover their risks of actual cost exceeding their estimates.
• The contractor can make the greatest possible profit by constructing the building for the least possible money.
• Changes made after the contract is signed, may add to the cost.
• One cannot make this type of contract until the design and construction drawings are complete.
• It is hard to use this type of contract if the plan is to build project in phases, because the different phases may
overlap, making it hard to divide each phase into a separate contract.
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Project Administration
Advantage
• It allows the payment of the actual work done by the contractor at the rates included by the contractor at the
bidding time.
Disadvantage
• The only disadvantage of this type of contracts is that, it is not suitable for contracts where there is no (detailed)
design available at the bidding time, either because the employer/contracting authority did not have time to issue
it, or because the employer/contracting authority does not have the expertise to issue such a design or wants to
allow the bidders to come with their own, innovative solutions for building the object of the contract.
Advantages
• It saves time, especially at the beginning of the project.
• It is easy to make design changes during construction, because there is no need to change contract.
• The contractor will be willing to work for a lower price, since he is not taking the financial risk.
• There is no pressure for choosing the contractor offering lowest price, but an opportunity to hire the best qualified
contractor.
Disadvantages
• The final cost of building a project is not known until it is finished.
• Cost of unexpected construction problems has to be considered.
Advantages
• limited cost
• contractor takes the financial risk
• starts execution before planning is completely finished
Disadvantages
• unusual
• it may be hard to find contractors willing to bid on it
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total work to be contracted out must be divided in contract packages.
• A contract package is the collection of all the work elements to be performed by a contractor as a part of a single
contract element. The total work to be contracted out may be performed as a single large contract, or as separate
multiple work packages forming separate contract packages.
• The choice of number of contract packages in a project and the way these are divided is based on three sets of
considerations – nature of project work, internal resources of the owner organisation, and types of contractors
available.
• These three sets of considerations interact to influence the time, cost, and quality performance of the project.
The final decision is aimed at achieving the optimum balance of the three.
Based primarily on the method of contract packaging, the most common contracting methods for projects are as
follows:
• Turn-key contract
• Design build contract
• Construction contract
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Project Administration
• Inspection of the contractor’s work at each major stage is necessary to ensure that the job is executed as per
the requirements.
• A turnkey contract can be a good contracting method when project involves high technology, the know-how is
not available with project owner and the contractor is fully conversant with the technology.
• There may be some project that involves integration of many areas, of which, project owner may be capable of
handling some and may depend on others for the rest of the tasks.
• A turnkey contract may also be used in the residential building industry. With a turnkey agreement, a builder or
developer completes both the construction and the finishing work before turning it over to the homeowner. The
homeowner is often offered a chance to select finishes, including curtains, paint colours and so on.
Advantages
• Offers many advantages over traditional building contracts. Because the developer still owns the building until
the project is complete, he has financial motivation to complete the job as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Provides more time for an owner to seek financing and investors before he is required to pay for a completed
project. These agreements also save inexperienced owners from making difficult construction decisions, leaving
these decisions in the hands of the developer or builder.
Disadvantages
• Lack of control that the owner maintains over design and construction decisions.
• Most difficult to compare with each other because the contractor is responsible for so many different parts of
project and each bidder wants to do the project.
Advantages
• Owner’s administrative and management responsibilities are reduced.
• Team-oriented atmosphere is maintained and reduction in claims and legal problems over the course of the
project.
• Can have more accurate budgets and estimates, as well as a faster project completion time.
• Saves time, since the same company is both designing and building the project.
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• Contracting process is easier than with other contracting methods as there is only one major contract.
• Communication is easier.
Disadvantages
• Lack of checks and balances associated with the delivery system.
• Cannot really compare the bids directly with each other. Since each bidder is offering a different design. This
makes it impossible to choose the best contractor on the basis of price alone.
• Increase the construction cost, such as low operation and maintenance costs because the contractor profits from
designing a building that is cheap to construct, and since he is designing the building, he may not include costly
features in the design .For example, an engineer working independently from the contractor is more likely to
work for the best interests.
• Bidders tend to bid high in order to protect themselves because without a completed design, bidders cannot
estimate very accurately the cost of building project. Thus, one may end up paying more for the project with
this contracting method.
• A lack of experience with this process on the owner's part may lead to project delays or increased expenses in
some situations.
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Project Administration
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Summary
• A contract is a legally written or oral binding agreement between the parties identified in the agreement to fulfil
all the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement. These are one of the most important documents in an
enterprise.
• A good contract is precise, clear, well-documented, focused on the deliverables/outputs.
• Contracting refers to the activities required for acquiring services of outside contractors to perform part or all
of the project tasks.
• Contract management is the process which ensures that both parties to a contract fully meet their respective
obligations as efficiently and effectively as possible, in order to meet the business and operational objectives
required from the contract and in particular to provide value for money. The central aim of contract management
is to obtain the services as agreed in the contract and achieve value for money.
• Contracts are divided into two groups based on the method of agreeing on compensation to the contractor and
contract packaging
• The compensation based contracts are - fixed-price, schedule of rates, cost-plus, guaranteed-maximum-price
contracts.
• Contract packaging based contracts are - turn-key contract, design build contract, construction contract,
professional services contract
References
• Contract Management. Available at: < http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-contract-management.htm> Last
accessed on 12th January, 2011.
• Project Management. Available at http://project-management-knowledge.com. Last assessed on January 11,
2010.
• Dennis Lock (1998) Gower Handbook of Project Management. Gower Publishing, Hampshire. 2nd edition.
• Harold Kerzner (2009) Project Management–A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
Van Nostrand Rienhold, New York, 6th edition.
• K. Nagarajan, 2004. Project Management. New Age International, New Delhi, 2nd edition.
Recommended Reading
• J. Rodney Turner (2003) Contracting for Project Management. Gower Publishing Company, 176 pages.
• John Butler (1904) Engineering Contracts and Specifications. Johnson Engineering News Publishing co., 560
pages.
• Arthur A. Bel (2007) HVAC Equations, Data, and Rules of Thumb. McGraw-Hill Professional, 290 pages.
• Anuj Saxena (2008) Enterprise Contract Management: A Practical Guide to Successfully Implementing an
ECM Solution. J Ross Publishing, 344 pages.
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Project Administration
Self Assessment
1. A ___________ is a legally written or oral binding agreement between the parties identified in the agreement
to fulfil all the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement.
a. contract
b. project
c. tender
d. document
4. A _______ contract is an agreement to build the project for a certain price, regardless of the cost to the
contractor.
a. fixed-price
b. cost plus
c. schedule of rates
d. turnkey
5. A _______ contract is an agreement to pay a contractor the actual cost of constructing a building, plus a
contractor’s fee.
a. fixed-price
b. cost plus
c. schedule of rates
d. turnkey
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7. Which contract is preferred when project involves high application of technology?
a. Fixed-price contract
b. Cost plus contract
c. Schedule of rates contract
d. Turnkey contract
10. A ________ contract is a business arrangement in which a project is delivered in a completed state.
a. fixed-price
b. cost plus
c. schedule of rates
d. turnkey
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Project Administration
Chapter III
Contract Management Activities
Aim
The aim of this chapter is to:
Objectives
The objectives of this chapter are to:
Learning outcome
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
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3.1 Introduction
In modern business, contracts plays a vital role in every organisation with the increased demands from work force
managers, IT managers, project managers, negotiators, legal departments and employees, mis-management of
contracts may easily happen.
Contracts are the support system of every organisation – they secure key staff, guarantee third-party supply and
tie clients into profitable deals. But contracts are also a real problem area. The sheer number and complexity of
documents can cause headaches across the business because despite having a huge investment, contract management
is typically poor. Most of the times, the incompetency to track payments, terms renewal, budgets and volume
discounts leads to increased cost.
Contracts must be adequately managed from start to finish ensuring funds are spent wisely. Thorough assessment
of contracts is needed to identify wasteful or inefficient contracts. Contract management is the process that enables
both parties to a contract to meet their obligations in order to deliver the objectives required from the contract. It also
involves building a good working relationship between customer and provider. It continues throughout the life of a
contract and involves managing proactively to anticipate future needs as well as reacting to situations that arise.
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Project Administration
An important requirement of successful contract management is professional handling of the commercial and legal
aspects of the relationship with the contracts. The terms and conditions of the contract need to be carefully decided,
negotiated, and drafted during the entire process of finalising and awarding of contracts.
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3.3.2 Contract Planning
The contract management plan sets out how this is to be achieved, by addressing following issues:
• Types of contracts to be used. Choice of contract type depends on the nature of service/product purchased and
choices on the division of risk between the owner and contractor.
• Who will estimate the expected contract price?
• Who will develop the scope of work statement for the contract?
• Use of standardised procurement documents and any special documents needed.
• Integration of procurement lead times into the project schedule.
• Incorporating contractual delivery dates into contracts that coordinate with the project schedule.
• Use of performance bonds and/or insurance contracts to meet the project’s risk management objectives, including
liability and insurance conditions and minimum limits to be met by the contractor.
• Establishing evaluation criteria to assess the selection of contractors.
• Definition of the procurement procedures for - preparation of procurement documents, advertising, bidder
conferences, any bidder prequalification, receipt of proposals/bids, bidder interviews, selection, contract price
negotiation, contract award and handling of protests. (In many instances, the procedures used for project
procurements will be those the agency already has in place.)
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the work is of standard nature for which capable contractors are readily available
where internal capacity for the work is not available. This can happen for two reasons. First, internal resources
are available, but cannot be spared from operational activities and other projects. The resources required
are of specialised nature with limited use in the company and therefore it is not worthwhile to acquire these
resources on permanent basis
company will have to create additional set up for the project, resulting in extra overhead costs. For example,
a company may find it economical to undertake a project at a location where it already has a set-up, but
will have to incur extra expense for a similar project at another location where no such set up is available.
the contractor has specialised skills, knowledge, or other resources which cannot be acquired by the company
easily. For example, large, fast-moving-consumer-goods companies spend large amount of money every
year for advertising, rather than creating their advertisements in-house because of the creative skill available
with advertising companies
there is no fear of leaking out confidential information due to use of contractors
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• For example, construction specifications will usually provide a number of lists as well, including the materials
that are to be used, where they are to be used, and how much should be used.
• In contracts for professional services, where it is not possible to determine with reasonable degree of certainty
the scope of contract or the specification of the contract output, the contract specification are replaced by a
request for proposal (RFP) or tender document.
• The request for proposal gives some information on the objective to be achieved by the contract and major
factors affecting contract performance.
• Once the specifications or the request for proposal are finalised these are passed on to contract group for obtaining
bids from prospective contractors, evaluating them, and awarding the contract.
3.5.1.1 Advertisement
Company may release advertisement in a suitable publication requesting prospective contractors to give their offers.
Generally, the advertisement carries only a brief description of the work to be contracted out, and the contractors
are invited to obtain detailed contract specifications from the company and bid for the contract.
• Different companies may use different terms for bid. One fairly common practice is to use the term “bid”
for responses which are straight forward, and in very large and complex contracts, and professional services
contracts, contractor responses are often called “offer”.
• The advertisement can be released in printed publication and/or in the electronic media. Usually, it is done by
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3.5.1.2 Direct Communication
• Direct communication to a list of contractors implies the existence of a list of contractors suitable to perform
the contract.
• The ways of compiling and preparing such a list includes issue of advertisement inviting contractors to get listed
as approved contractors in the company.
• The contractor lists maintained by companies contains names, addressees and some other related information
in brief.
• These lists are of two types, simple lists and registered contractor’s list.
• A simple list contains names of any and every contractor that the company gets to know about, and who is in
a particular type of business.
• The registered list is a more selective one. Contractors are included in this only when they show a desire to do
business with the company and are considered to have sufficient resource and capability to undertake a particular
type and size of contract. The assessment of contractor’s capability for inclusion in the contractor’s list is done
on the basis of information furnished by them.
• The advantages of contractor’s list method are:
economical and fast
when the lists are properly compiled, it ensures that only good contractors are able to bid
reduces the time and effort of evaluating too many worthless bids
• The limitation of contractor’s list method is that there is a possibility that some good contractors may not get
the chance to bid at all. This limitation of list method can be overcome by releasing advertisement to invite
contractors to register with the company rather than make a bid.
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• In last few years, with the increasing use of the internet, a system of reverse auction is also becoming
popular.
• In this system, the contractors give their bids in an auction like environment where they give successively lower
price bids.
• The last bid which is not mended by another lower bid is accepted and the contract is awarded to that bidder.
• This system can be used only for simple contracts where the contract requirement can be specified clearly and
ability of contractors, participating in the auction, to perform the contract can be established in advance.
• If any changes are made to the bid document after issue, it must be notified to everyone who has received a
bid document. So it is important to keep an accurate list of the names and mailing addresses of all interested
contractors.
• At times, bidders may seek additional information and clarification on the project requirements and bid evaluation
process.
• To ensure that all bidders have the same information, bidder conferences may be arranged for releasing such
additional information and clarifications.
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3.6 Contract Finalisation and Award
• The objective of award cycle is to negotiate a contract type and price that will result in reasonable contractor
risk and provide the contractor with the greatest incentive for efficient and economic performance.
• A contract negotiation is any discussion, either in person or through electronic means, that has as its primary
goal to come to a written agreement concerning a business matter. It handles issues such as cost, timeframe,
and whether there are any special considerations to take into account.
• Contract provisions that should be prepared for inclusion in proposals and contracts, are the following:
Scope of services and description of deliverables: a detailed description of the work the contractor.
A specific schedule for inspections, progress reports, and payments including details of what the contractor
must do to get each payment.
Changes and extras: procedures for changing or adding project tasks and for inspecting the work.
Explanation of the lines of authority and responsibility in the project team, job description for each of the
main people working on the project.
Owner obligation and supplied items: the information, facilities and other facilities that will be provided
by the project owner.
Confidential information: suitable clauses should be inserted to ensure that the contractor maintains the
confidentiality of sensitive information made available during the course of contract execution.
All documents referred to in the contract, such as maps, specifications, or parts lists
Time of completion and schedule of major milestones
A list of insurance and bonding requirements
Indemnity, including patent indemnity
Delays
Contract administration
Terms of payment
Rates and taxes
Termination and arbitration
Project closure requirements
• The final result is a signed contract.
• Bid protest: A bid protest is a procedure in which an interested party files protest against the awarding of a
government contract. Bid protests must follow a very specific procedure, and the government is obligated to
respond to them as long as they are procedurally correct.
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• The notification will also inform the project members of the audit team’s objective and what compliance issues
the team will be examining.
• After sending project members notification of the impending audit, the audit team will schedule and conduct a
face-to-face meeting with the project head and any administrators.
• The audit team will examine the project’s records and data files ahead of the full audit.
Reporting schedule
• After the formality of the initial inquiry is over, the audit team begins a full-fledged inquiry into the project.
• The team will attempt to glean a further idea of how the project is functioning by going over the project’s
background documents and conducting interviews with the project head and the project’s sponsor.
• The audit team will also conduct a series of interviews with members of the project, mapping out their individual
roles in the project, to get a more detailed idea of the project’s hierarchy and the validity of each member’s
role.
• During the inquiry and reporting phase of the audit, the audit team will periodically report its finding back to
the project’s sponsor.
• The audit team will also examine the project members’ efficiency in following their set timelines and will record
any inconsistencies in the project’s goals and individual project member’s performance.
Final report
• After sufficient data has been gleaned from the project’s data files and group member interviews and the audit
team has a firm idea of how the project is supposed to be carried out, the audit team will create a formal draft
of its report.
• After the management team presiding over the audit team has reviewed the formal report and decided whether to
recommend any amendments or further inquires into the project, the audit team will construct the final draft.
• The final draft of the audit report will contain a summary, list background and key issues raised, and provide an
assessment of the quality of the project members’ performance in carrying out its said goals.
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Summary
• Contract management is a very important function for success of a project.
• The central aim of contract management is to obtain the services as agreed in the contract and achieve value
for money.
• This means optimising the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the service or relationship described by the
contract, balancing costs against risks and actively managing the customer–provider relationship.
• Contract management may also involve aiming for continuous improvement in performance over the life of
the contract.
• The methods and procedures of project contracting includes preparing contract specifications, obtaining and
evaluating contract bids, contractor selection, and provisions of contract agreement.
• Supervision, control and other actions is essential to ensure to meet contractual requirements.
• The methods of contract closure include covering final settlement of project contracts, acceptance of contract
deliverables, collection of contract documents and records, and approval of final payments.
References
• What is contract management? Available at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-contract-management.htm. Last
accessed on January 12, 2011.
• Success Planning in Project Management. Available at http://project-management-knowledge.com/. Last accessed
on January 12, 2011.
• Dennis Lock, 1998. Gower Handbook of Project Management. Gower Publishing, Hampshire. 2nd edition.
• Harold Kerzner (2009). Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling,
Van Nostrand Rienhold, New York, 6th edition.
• K. Nagarajan (2004). Project Management. New Delhi, New Age International, 2nd edition.
Recommended Reading
• J. Rodney Turner (2003). Contracting for Project Management, Gower Publishing Company. 176 pages.
• John Butler (1904). Engineering Contracts and Specifications, Johnson Engineering News Publishing co. 560
pages.
• Arthur A. Bel (2007). HVAC Equations, Data, and Rules of Thumb. McGraw-Hill Professional. 290 pages.
• Anuj Saxena (2008). Enterprise Contract Management: A Practical Guide to Successfully Implementing an
ECM Solution, J Ross Publishing. 344 pages.
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Self Assessment
1. A ____________is the collection of all the work elements to be performed by a contractor as a part of a single
contract element.
a. contract package
b. contract specification
c. contract
d. tender
2. A ________ is a procedure in which an interested party files protest against the awarding of a government
contract.
a. bid protest
b. invitation to bid
c. bid evaluation
d. negotiation
3. In which of the following is advertisement is used for soliciting responses from prospective contractors?
a. Bid protest
b. Invitation to bid
c. Bid evaluation
d. Negotiation
6. The method of _________ includes covering final settlement of project contracts, acceptance of contract
deliverables, collection of contract documents and records and approval of final payments.
a. Contract organisation
b. Contract planning
c. Contract closure
d. Contract packaging
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8. _________ is an official notice containing a description of the proposed work and stating the time and place
for submitting bids.
a. Invitation to bid
b. Evaluation of bid
c. Bid protest
d. Closing of bid
10. Which of the following is involved in the methods and procedures of project contracting?
a. Preparing contract specifications
b. Obtaining and evaluating contract bids
c. Contractor selection
d. Mitigation of risks
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Chapter IV
Risk Management
Aim
The aim of this chapter is to:
Objectives
The objectives of this chapter are to:
Learning outcome
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
• understand the concept of risk planning and types of risks in project management
• know how to overcome the risks and lead the project successfully
• identify the risk, evaluate and monitor the project risks properly
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4.1 Introduction
One tends to stay away from those things that involve high risk. When risk cannot be avoided, one looks for ways
to reduce the risk or the impact of risk. But even with careful planning and preparation, risks cannot be completely
eliminated because they cannot be identified beforehand. The opportunity to succeed also carries the opportunity
to fail. It is necessary to learn to balance the possible negative consequences of risk with the potential benefits of
its associated opportunity.
4.2 Risk
• Risk is defined as uncertainty of outcome, whether positive opportunity or negative threat.
• It is the combination of the probability of an event and its consequences. It is something that may happen and
if it does, will have an adverse impact on the project.
• Risk is a major factor to be considered during the management of a project. In the area of contract management,
the term ‘management of risk’ incorporates all the activities required to identify and control risks that may have
an impact on a contract being fulfilled.
• Risk may be defined as the possibility to suffer damage or loss. The possibility is characterised by the factors:
probability that loss or damage will occur
expected time of occurrence
magnitude of the negative impact
Fig. 4.1(a) Example of ideal project plan Fig. 4.1(b) Example of bad project plan
(Source: http://www.coleyconsulting.co.uk/projplan.htm)
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Specification
Cost
Effort
Time Resources
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Minimizing Risk in
Projects
C
o
n
s
t
r
a
i
n
t
Uncertainty
Fig. 4.3 Relationship between constraint and uncertainty in project risk
(Source: http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~rtusler/project/principl.html)
• The illustration plots uncertainty against constraint. The curved line indicates the ‘acceptable level of risk’,
whatever that may be in the individual case. The risk may be reduced to an acceptable level by reducing either
or both, uncertainty and constraint.
• In practice, few have the opportunity to reduce constraint, so focus is mostly on the reduction of uncertainty. It
is also worth noting from the diagram that total elimination of risk is rarely achieved. So it has to be considered
to manage remaining risk most effectively.
• The risks in an organisation and its operations can result from factors both, external and internal to the
organisation.
• The diagram given below summarises examples of key risks in these areas and shows that some specific risks
can have both, external and internal drivers and therefore may overlap the two areas.
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External Factors
Leg
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Supp tion
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Business risk
• It is the uncertainty of income caused by the nature of business measured by a ratio of operating earnings
(income flows of the firm).
• This means that the less certain one is about the income flows of a firm, the less certain the income will flow
back to the investor.
• The sources of business risk mainly arises from a company products/services, ownership support, industry
environment, market position, management quality etc.
• An example of business risk could include a ‘garbage’ company that typically would experience stable income
and growth over time and would have a low business risk compared to a steel company where sales and earnings
fluctuate according to need for steel products and typically would have a higher business risk.
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Financial risk
• It is the risk borne by equity holders due to a firm’s use of debt.
• If the company raises capital by borrowing money, it must pay back this money at some future date plus the
financing charges (interest, etc., charged for borrowing the money).
• This increases the degree of uncertainty about the company because it must have enough income to pay back
this amount at some time in the future.
Political risk
• It is the risk of investing funds in country where a major change in the political or economic environment could
occur.
• This could devalue investment and reduce its overall return.
• This type of risk is usually restricted to emerging or developing countries that do not have stable economic or
political arenas.
Market risk
• The price fluctuations or volatility increases and decreases in the day-to-day market.
• This type of risk mainly applies to stocks and tends to perform well in increasing market and poorly in a
decreasing market.
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• The processes are iterative throughout the life of the project and should be built into the project management
planning and activities.
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analysis of the work breakdown structure
analysis of historical data
• When identifying a risk it is essential to do so in a clear and concise statement. It should include three
components:
Condition: A sentence or phrase briefly describing the situation or circumstances that may have caused
concern, anxiety or uncertainty.
Consequence: A sentence describing the key negative outcomes that may result from the condition.
Context: Additional information about the risk to ensure others can understand its nature, especially after
the passage of time.
• Risk identification sets out to identify an organisation’s exposure to uncertainty.
• This requires an intimate knowledge of the organisation, the market in which it operates, the legal, social,
political and cultural environment in which it exists, as well as the development of a sound understanding of
its strategic and operational objectives, including factors critical to its success and the threats and opportunities
related to the achievement of these objectives.
Condition End users submit requirements changes even though we’re in the design phase
and the requirements have been base lined.
Consequence Changes could extend system design cycle and reduce available coding time.
Probability and impact 80%. $2 million
Mitigation actions Who, what and when?
Risk description
• The objective of risk description is to display the identified risks in a structured format, for example, by using
a table.
• The risk description table can be used to facilitate the description and assessment. The use of a well designed
structure is necessary to ensure a comprehensive risk identification, description and assessment process.
• Risks also can be categorised, for example in terms of type (i.e., corporate risks, business risks, project risks
and system risks). These categories can be broken down into other categories, including diseases, economic,
environmental, financial, human, information and physical security, natural hazards, occupational health and
safety, public liability etc., establishing categories can assist in ensuring all relevant risks are identified.
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Risk treatment and • Primary means by which the risk is currently managed
control mechanisms • Levels of confidence in existing control
• Identification of protocols for monitoring and review
Potential action for Recommendations to reduce risk
improvement
Strategy and policy Identification of function responsible for developing strategy and policy
developments
Risk estimation
• Risk estimation can be quantitative, semi-quantitative or qualitative in terms of the probability of occurrence
and the possible consequence.
• By considering the consequence and probability of each of the risks set out in the table, it should be possible
to prioritise the key risks that need to be analysed in more detail.
Probability of risk
• A risk is an event that “may” occur. The probability of it occurring can range anywhere from just above 0% to
just below 100%.
• It can’t be exactly 100%, because then it would be a certainty, not a risk. And it can’t be exactly 0% or it
wouldn’t be a risk.
• The relationship of risks and their probability across the project life-cycle process is illustrated in the following
figure.
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Fig. 4.7 Relationships between probability and project stages
• Risks can be analysed according to the likelihood they will be realised and the level of seriousness/impact they
will have if they do occur.
• From this classification, a priority listing for evaluation and action can be developed, separating the acceptable
risks from the unacceptable ones.
• Examples of possible risks might include a loss of funding (the effect of which is a lack of resources), an influenza
epidemic (crucial project team members may fall sick) or that crucial stakeholders are not interested in the project
(the effect of which is they do not provide important input into the project or take responsibility for it).
• Table 4.3 below illustrates, at a simple level, how this analysis can be done using the examples above. Assessing
the likelihood and seriousness of risks to a project provides a good indication of the project risk exposure.
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Seriousness
Low Medium High
(Insignificant (Reasonable adverse (Will have
adverse impact, note impact, needs significant adverse
only) monitoring ) impact)
Low E D C
Likelihood (Unlikely to occur
during project)
Medium D C B
(May occur at some
stage in project)
High C B A
(Probably will occur
during project)
Seriousness
Low Medium High Extreme
(Major adverse
impact on
project or
Likelihood business owner
operations)
Low E D C A
Medium D C B A
High C B A A
Table 4.5 Risk matrix for grading risks for large/complex projects
Risk quantification
• Risk need to be quantified in two dimensions. The impact and probability of the risk needs to be assessed. For
simplicity, rate each on a 1 to 4 scale. The larger the number, the larger the impact or probability. By using a
matrix, a priority can be established.
• If probability is high and impact is low, it is a medium risk. On the other hand, if impact is high and probability
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low, it is high priority.
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From this activity, two risks stood out as the most important to plan to monitor. Budget and time overruns are a real
likelihood given the nature of this project, but impacts can be mitigated with extensive pre-planning as well as by
performing routine updates of resource allocation and future trends. Project scope requirements changes can occur,
though their negative impacts can be diminished with research, knowledge and most important, communication
between the consultant and City of Philadelphia.
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Risk Probability/Impact Matrix
Probability High 1 6, 7
Medium 3, 17, 20
Low 9 2, 4, 5, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18 8, 11, 12, 13, 19
Low Medium High
Impact
Table 4.6 Risk probability/impact matrix for the city of Philadelphia Pole Geodatabase Project
(Risk numbers correspond to those provided in Table 4.6)
4.6.4 Risk Evaluation
• Once risks have been analysed and graded in terms of likelihood and seriousness, they have to be evaluated.
• The risk evaluation process includes:
ranking the risks according to management priorities, by risk category and rated by likelihood and possible
cost or consequence
determining inherent levels of risk
• Risk analysis helps those people involved with a project to evaluate and prioritise the most significant risks for
careful management.
• Risk evaluation involves assessing the risks in order to prioritise those risks that should be addressed by treatment
or mitigation plans.
• Risk evaluation involves monitoring and understanding the factors that can reduce project success and determining
what is an acceptable or unacceptable risk based on agreed criteria.
• Risks can result in four types of consequences:
benefits are delayed or reduced
timeframes are extended
costs are advanced or increased
output quality (fitness-for-purpose) is reduced
• Once this evaluation has been undertaken, then decisions can be made. For example, if a risk is acceptable in
terms of extended timeframes, the project is not tied strictly to set deadlines, but is not acceptable if it reduces
the planned benefits or affects output quality.
• If on the other hand, a project has fixed deadlines, the decision might be made that the level of risk is acceptable
in terms of reducing the quality of the outputs, with a view to enhancing quality after the initial deadline has
been achieved.
• Once priorities are agreed upon, mitigation strategies must be developed and implemented for all unacceptable
risks.
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• However, it should be recognised that some losses will be uninsurable e.g., the uninsured costs associated with
work-related health, safety or environmental incidents, which may include damage to employee morale and
the organisation’s reputation.
• Recovery actions are those subsequent actions that allow moving on after a risk has occurred. They include
management of residual risks.
• Hopefully, the seriousness of a risk’s impact on the project shall have been reduced due to the planned
contingencies being implemented. In other words - what should be done and when.
• A good example is disaster recovery planning in the case of a new IT system or, in the case of the previous
example, the client organisation hired people with technical expertise as the ongoing IT support did not provide
a final solution.
Avoidance
• This includes not performing an activity that could carry risk.
• The team changes the project plan to eliminate the risk or to protect the project objectives from its impact.
• The team might achieve this by changing scope, adding time or adding resources (thus relaxing the so-called
“triple constraint”).
• An example would be not buying a property or business in order to not take on the legal liability that comes
with it.
• But, avoidance of risks also means losing out on the potential gain that accepting (retaining) the risk may have
allowed.
Transference or sharing
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• Briefly defined as, “sharing with another party the burden of loss or the benefit of gain, from a risk and the
measures to reduce a risk.”
• The team transfers the financial impact of risk by contracting out some aspect of the work.
• Transference reduces the risk only if the contractor is more capable of taking steps to reduce the risk and does
so.
Reduction or optimisation
• Risk reduction or “optimisation” involves reducing the severity of the loss or the likelihood of the loss from
occurring.
• The team seeks to reduce the probability or consequences of a risk event to an acceptable threshold. They
accomplish this via many different means that are specific to the project and the risk. Mitigation steps, although
costly and time consuming, may still be preferable for going forward with the unmitigated risk.
• For example, sprinklers are designed to put out a fire to reduce the risk of loss by fire. This method may cause
a greater loss by water damage and therefore may not be suitable. Halon fire suppression systems may mitigate
that risk, but the cost may be prohibitive as a strategy
Retention or acceptance
• This involves accepting the loss or benefit of gain, from a risk when it occurs.
• Risk retention is a viable strategy for small risks where the cost of insuring against the risk would be greater
over time than the total losses sustained. All risks that are not avoided or transferred are retained by default.
• The project manager and the project team decide to accept certain risks. They do not change the project plan to
deal with a risk or identify any response strategy other than agreeing to address the risk if and when it occurs.
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response planning to control the risk.
• The functional manager assigned to each risk reports periodically to the project manager and the risk team leader
on the effectiveness of the plan, any unanticipated effects and any mid-course corrections.
• Risk response planning focuses on the high-risk items evaluated in the qualitative and/or quantitative risk
analysis. It identifies and assigns parties to take responsibility for each risk response.
• Any monitoring and review process should also determine whether:
the measures adopted have resulted in what was intended
the procedures adopted and information gathered for undertaking the assessment were appropriate
improved knowledge would have helped to reach better decisions and identify what lessons could be learned
for future assessments and management of risks
Risk register
• contains the comprehensive risk listing for the project
• listing the key inputs into risk monitoring
• useful tool for outlining all the risks identified before and during the project, for keeping a record of their
grading in terms of likelihood and seriousness and a record of the proposed mitigation strategies, costs and
responsibilities
• forms the basis for the risk management plan
• In small projects, the risk register is the risk management plan. In large and/or more complex projects, a more
detailed risk management plan should be developed for approval by the Steering Committee.
• The risk register should cover:
a unique identifier for each risk
a description of each risk and how it will affect the project
an assessment of the likelihood it will occur and the possible seriousness if it does occur (low, medium,
high)
a grading of each risk according to a risk assessment table
a description of the mitigation strategies, which can include preventative (to reduce the likelihood) and
contingency actions (to reduce the seriousness)
the person who has been allocated the responsibility
in large and/or more complex projects, cost of each mitigation strategy
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• One can identify if new risk are appearing or if identified risks are dropping.
Performance reports
• Painting a picture of the project’s performance with respect to cost, scope, schedule, resources, quality and
risk.
• Comparing actual performance against baseline plans may unveil risks which may cause problems in the
future.
• Performance reports using bar charts, S-curves, tables and histograms, to organise and summarise information
such as earned value analysis and project work progress.
Corrective action
• Corrective action consists of performing the contingency plan or workaround.
• Workarounds are previously unplanned responses to emerging risks and must be properly documented and
incorporated into the project plan and risk response plan.
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Recommended preventive actions
• Used to direct project towards compliance with the project management plan.
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• Other project team members are some of the people who can assist with the identification, analysis and evaluation
of risks and can assist in the development of the risk management plan. They can also be responsible for risk
mitigation actions.
• Project stakeholders, Steering Committee, reference groups, external consultants and importantly, the business
owner(s) should provide input into the risk management plan, especially assessment of potential risks and risk
mitigation actions. They may also be allocated responsibility for some risk mitigation actions.
• It is important to remember risk management cannot be the responsibility of one person entirely and that it is
a communal activity involving a range of people associated with the project.
Role
Sponsor District Project Assistant Functional Task
Division Manager Project Manager Manager
Chief for manager/
Program Project
and Project Management
Management Support Unit
Risk S S R S S S
management
Risk S S A S R R
identification
Qualitative R S S S
risk analysis
Quantitative A S R R
risk analysis
(performed
only as part
of Value
Analysis)
Risk S S R, A S
response
planning
Risk R R R, A S R R
Monitoring
and control
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risk response plans
organised lessons learned
the experience of project stakeholders or others in the organisation
published information such as commercial databases or academic studies
• 0Technical risks inlcudes:
incomplete design
incomplete environmental analysis or an error
unexpected geotechnical issues
change requests because of errors
inaccurate assumptions on technical issues in planning stage
surveys late and/or surveys in error
materials/geotechnical/foundation in error
structural designs incomplete or in error
hazardous waste site analysis incomplete or in error
consultant design not up to department standards
• External risks include:
landowners unwilling to sell
priorities change on existing program
inconsistent cost, time, scope and quality objectives
local communities pose objections
funding changes for fiscal year
political factors change
stakeholders request late changes
new stakeholders emerge and demand new work
threat of lawsuits
stakeholders choose time and/or cost over quality
• Environmental risks include:
permits or agency actions delayed or take longer than expected
environmental regulations change
reviewing agency requires higher-level review than assumed
lack of specialised staff (biology, anthropology, archaeology)
historic site, endangered species, wetlands present
environmental impact assessment required
controversy on environmental grounds expected
environmental analysis on new alignments is required
project in an area of high sensitivity for palaeontology
project in the coastal zone
project on a scenic highway
project near a wild and scenic river
project in a floodplain or a regulatory floodway
water quality issues
hazardous waste preliminary site investigation required
• Organisational risks include:
inexperienced staff assigned
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4.9 Risk Management Checklist
• To ensure effective monitoring of their risk management efforts, project managers should establish systematic
reviews and specifically include them in the project schedule, assess the effectiveness of actions taken and
identify the status of actions to be taken.
• Below are the two checklists:
Checklist 1 provides a framework of project plan.
Checklist 2, ongoing risk management monitoring for projects, provides a useful framework for ongoing
risk management monitoring of individual projects.
Project:
Responsible official:
Mission Articulate clearly the mission or goal/vision for the project
Objectives Ensure that the project is feasible and will achieve the project mission. Clearly define
what you hope to achieve by executing the project and make sure project objectives
are clear and measurable.
Scope Ensure that an adequate scope statement is prepared that documents all the work of
the project.
Deliverables Ensure that all deliverables are clearly defined and measurable.
Milestones/costs Ensure that realistic milestones are established and costs are properly supported.
Compliance Ensure that the project meets legislative requirements and that all relevant laws and
regulations have been reviewed and considered.
Stakeholders Identify team members, project sponsor and other stakeholders. Encourage senior
management support and buy-in from all stakeholders.
Roles and responsibilities Clarify and document roles and responsibilities of the project manager and other
team members.
Work breakdown Make sure that key project steps and responsibilities are specified for management
structure and staff.
Assumptions Articulate clearly any important assumptions about the project.
Communications Establish main channels of communications and plan for ways of dealing with
problems.
Risks Identify high-level risks and project constraints and prepare a risk management
strategy to deal with them.
Documentation Ensure that project documentation will be kept and is up-to-date.
Boundaries Document specific items that are not within the scope of the project and any outside
constraints to achieving goals and objectives.
Decision-making process Ensure that the decision-making process or processes for the project are
documented.
Signatures Key staff signature sign off.
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1
2
3
4
*Managers should establish time frames for periodic reviews in addition to ongoing monitoring of program data.
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Summary
• Risk is defined as uncertainty of outcome, whether positive opportunity or negative threat. It is the combination
of the probability of an event and its consequences. It is something that may happen and if it does, will have
an adverse impact on the project.
• It is a major factor to be considered during the management of a project. In the area of contract management,
the term ‘management of risk’ incorporates all the activities required to identify and control risks that may have
an impact on a contract being fulfilled.
• Risk management is the systematic process of planning for, identifying, analysing, responding to and monitoring
project risk.
• It involves processes, tools and techniques that will help the project manager maximize the probability and
consequences of positive events and minimize the probability and consequences of adverse events.
• The purpose of risk management is to ensure levels of risk and uncertainty are properly managed, so that the
project is completed successfully.
• Major elements of risk management process are identifying, assessing, analysing and evaluating risks, action
to mitigate risks, monitoring and control on ongoing basis. Use of concept of probability made for quantifying
risk. Use of check lists provided in the end aims at helping in identification, analysis and mitigation of risk
thereby better management of risk.
• Effective risk management involves the entire project team, as well as outside experts in critical risk areas (e.g.,
technology, manufacturing, logistics, etc.)
• The risk management process includes several steps such as– establishing the context, identification, analysis,
reporting, treatment and monitoring.
• The project scope, including outcomes/benefits, customers, outputs, work and resources, also forms part of the
context and can help highlight potential sources of risk.
• Risk identification usually is done initially by involving key stakeholders, including committee members. Risk
identification continues throughout the life of the project.
• Risk analysis decides whether the level of each risk is acceptable or not and, if not, what actions can be taken
to make it more acceptable. This is the process of examining each risk to refine the risk description, isolate the
cause, quantify the probability of occurrence and determine the nature and impact of possible effects.
• The task of risk identification produces a project risk list.
• The project team puts the risks into categories and assigns each risk to a team member. The project team members
may use this sample risk checklist to develop a specific project risk list.
• To ensure effective monitoring of their risk management efforts, project managers should establish systematic
reviews and specifically include them in the project schedule, assess the effectiveness of actions taken and
identify the status of actions to be taken.
References
• Risk Management. Available at: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_management> Last assessed 11th January,
2011.
• Risk Management. Available at: < http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/resources/tech_docs/gsam4/chap5.pdf> Last
assessed 11th January, 2011.
• Risk monitoring and Control. Available at: < http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/CEM/alkhalil/PDF_CEM_516/L07%20
Risk%20Monitoring%20&%20%20Control.pdf> Last assessed 11th January, 2011.
• Risk Monitoring and Control. Available at: < http://www.anticlue.net/archives/000821.htm> Last assessed 11th
January, 2011.
• Risk Monitoring and Control: Inputs. Available at: < http://www.super-business.net/Project-Management/
Knowledge/2467.html> Last assessed 11th January, 2011.
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• Understanding Public Sector Procurement Processes: A Supplier’s Guide to the Procurement of ICT Goods
and Services, Booklet 6. Available at: <http://www.icn.govt.nz/contentimages/ict%20procurement%20-%20
booklet%206.pdf> Last assessed 11th January, 2011.
Recommended Reading
• M. Frenkel, U. Hommel, G. Dufey, M. Rudolf (2005). Risk Management: Challenge and Opportunity. 838
pages
• Marco Alexander Caiza Andresen (2007). The Process of Risk Management for Projects, GRIN Verlag. 36
pages.
• Reto R. Gallati (2003). Risk Management and Capital Adequacy. McGraw-Hill Professional. 550 pages.
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Self Assessment
3. ____________is the one that cannot be reduced or predicted in any manner and it is almost impossible to protect
against this type of risk.
a. Business risk
b. Market risk
c. Systematic risk
d. Political risk
5. What decides whether the level of each risk is acceptable or not and, if not, what actions can be taken to make
it more acceptable?
a. Risk identification
b. Risk estimation
c. Risk evaluation
d. Risk description
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10. A sentence describing the key negative outcomes that may result from the condition is _________.
a. context
b. condition
c. consequence
d. commitment
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Chapter V
Project Closure
Aim
The aim of this chapter is to:
Objectives
The objectives of this chapter are to:
Learning outcome
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:
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5.1 Introduction
All things, good and bad, eventually come to an end. Similarly, all projects must come to an end, one way or
another. While some projects may come to an untimely end through cancellation, most projects reach their planned
conclusion. In an industry, we seem to have exquisitely intricate plans for starting new things: projects, applications,
users, policies. Yet we seem to always forget to plan for their eventual end: the closure of projects, the removal of
applications, the retirement of servers and the departure of users. Why do we find it so hard to achieve closure?
The lack of closure can be costly.
Projects are designed to produce a specific, unique outcome and when that outcome is delivered, the project should
end. This “end” can be a process in and of itself, normally referred to as project closure.
• Cost and staffing level are low at the start, at peak as the work is carried out and drop rapidly as the project
draws to a close.
• Stakeholder influences, risk and uncertainty are greatest at the start of the project. These factors decrease over
the life of the project.
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• Ability to influence the final characteristics of the project’s product, without significantly impacting cost, is
highest at the start of the project and decreases as the project progresses toward completion.
• A project involves a group of inter-related activities that are planned and then executed in a certain sequence to
create a unique product or service, within a specific timeframe, to realise the outcomes/benefits.
• It means that all projects have an ‘end’ date by which time all of the inter-related activities are completed.
• Projects that are not formally closed often ‘drift on’. Usually it is a sign that there has been a loss of control
of the project and symptoms, such as continually changing scope, a continued demand for resources and an
indeterminate final delivery date, are displayed.
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addressing the various needs, concerns and expectations of the stakeholders as the project is planned and
carried out
Constraints - balancing the competing constraints including Scope, Quality, Schedule, Budget, Resources
and Risk.
Scope
Less More
Less More
changes,
at least
Budget one other
Less More
factor is
Resources likely to be
Less More
affected!
Risk Less More
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Which projects need closure?
• Every project requires closure. For large or complex projects, it’s a good idea to close out each major project
phase (for example, design, code and test, or training) individually.
• The closure process can also help by identifying lessons learned on projects that are cancelled or deferred before
completion.
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Following points should be considered:
• Project staff: What steps are being taken to manage the movement of project staff from the project to other
roles, including the timing of their move and the capture of their project knowledge? There should be plans for
releasing resources before the project is to be finalised and project teams should be gradually wound down. It
should be done compassionately, as people often have put a great deal of effort into the project and it will create
bad feelings for both, this project and the next one if they feel they are treated unfairly at this stage.
• Issues management: Identify any outstanding issues and who will continue to resolve the issues.
• Risk management: Identify any risks that will be transferred to an operational area and who will take on
responsibility for monitoring them.
• Financial management: Outline the final financial position and what will happen to any excess funds or how
any deficit will be funded.
• Asset management: Describe any assets that were required by the project and who will manage them on
completion of the project.
• Records management: Identify what arrangements have been put in place for the storage, security and backup
of hard copy and soft (electronic) copy records and project documents.
5.9.2 Identify Follow-on Actions and Plan the Post Project Review
• This involves essentially picking up and documenting any loose ends that remain at the conclusion of the project
and planning for a future review of the project.
• The follow-on actions will be presented to the project board as recommendations. The project board will be
responsible for directing these recommendations to the appropriate audience for attention.
• It is also at this point that a post project review plan will be created which will be used to set up a future review
of whether the business benefits identified at the outset of the project have been achieved.
• It is not a project activity to carry out the post- project review, only to plan it. This plan will make use of the
information contained in the Business Case. The plan should include:
A date for the Post Project Review (PPR).
What benefit achievements are to be measured?
When benefit achievement can be measured?
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Project manager
Role of the project manager during closure includes:
• verifying project scope and stakeholder acceptance
• formally terminating activities of the project
• closing project finances, administration and contracts
• articulating and completing a handover strategy
• reporting to donors
• promoting learning
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Some of the most valuable knowledge one can capture is in the form of lessons learned. One can gather this
information from several sources:
• Schedule a meeting with the project’s sponsor and key stakeholders to get their final signoff on the project and
to capture their thoughts. A formal signoff documents that the sponsor is satisfied, objectives have been met
and the project is truly complete.
• Survey team members about what worked and what didn’t.
• Ask consultants and vendors for objective feedback, both about the organisation and about the project’s
execution.
• Provide a summary of results to team members, either as a presentation at a meeting or as a formal document.
• An ‘end project report’ has been prepared for sign-off by the project board.
Project library
To store all key documents those are accessible to future project teams. Possible document categories include:
• project planning documents
• status reports
• design documents
test cases and test results
issues and resolutions
risk documentation
change requests
presentations
important communications (both those sent and those received)
time and expense reports
contracts and invoices
• Ideally, the project library is set up at the beginning of the project and team members add documents as they
produce them.
• It’s a good idea to maintain the library in an electronic format that is backed up at regular intervals—something
as simple as a set of folders on the LAN or as robust as a knowledge management system.
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• It should include:
Achievement of the project’s objectives, summarizing whether the project was successful or not.
Performance against the planned target time and cost.
The effect on the original project plan and business case of any changes that were approved.
Final analysis on change issues received during the project.
The total impact of approved changes.
A description of any abnormal events causing deviations from plans.
An assessment of technical methods and tools used.
Recommendations for future enhancement or modification of the project management method.
Useful measurements on how much effort was required to create the various products.
Notes on effective and ineffective quality reviews and other tests, including reasons why they worked well
or badly.
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appear at first. A major activity here involves having the customer who is signing the acceptance now accept
full responsibility for managing the new product or service. This customer may:
lack confidence
be getting negative feedback from users
realise that what has been delivered is not what is really needed because of their inability to define the scope
correctly during project initiation
• Lessons learned: The object of the lessons learned review is to reflect on the events that took place in the course
of the project and to consider what might have been done differently to improve the results obtained.
• Documenting: Completing the documentation and archiving the project records are probably the most
monotonous and least exciting parts of the project closeout management.
• Team dispersing: The final element of project closeout management is disbanding the project team and ending
relationships in an orderly way.
• Payment: Getting paid, drives out many closeout actions. Unresolved issues and incomplete tasks that frustrate
customers and end users drag on, meanwhile, the project manager hopes.
• Acrimony: Acceptance becomes acrimonious, with the project team doing the minimum they have to, to get
the signature - the customer signing an acceptance only grudgingly.
• Extra costs: Closeout activities cost money. The project team is busy on the next urgent project and there just
never seems to be the time to fit the meeting into a crowded schedule.
• Archiving: The task of completing project records is assigned a low priority.
• Lessons learned: Lessons learned may be noted, discussed and documented, but they aren’t learned.
• Knowledge management: Knowledge management is a hot management topic these days. It is about capturing
and leveraging an organisation’s knowledge to achieve or maintain competitive advantage. Learning lessons
on a project is much more about the knowledge than it is about information and hence can be characterised as
knowledge management. The learning lessons element of project closeout management needs to be seen not
as a part of the bundle of activities associated with completing the project, but as an input to the knowledge
management process. As organisations seek to reduce the social and economic impact of poor project performance,
project closeout management will emerge as the gateway to an organisation’s knowledge about what constitutes
excellence in project management practice.
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5.14 Importance of Formal Project Termination Procedures
• As projects are near completion, there is a natural tendency to minimise costs by transferring people as soon
as possible and by closing out work orders. This is the stage where it becomes the responsibility of the project
manager to devise project termination activities into the project work-plan. These should be seen as vital parts
of the project and not just an afterthought.
• If however, the value of effective project termination activities is not banked then the opportunity to tie up the
loose ends, do staff evaluations and document vital learning is lost. Thus it should be ensured that final reports
are well written and an effective transfer of raw materials to other programs takes place on time. For this purpose,
many projects may even require one to two months after work completion simply for administrative reporting
and final cost summary.
• Just like every other phase, the project termination can also be summarised with the help of a few guidelines. The
first one pertains to the ‘project audit’ which includes the status, forecasts, risk assessments and recommendations
for the project. The next activity concerns the ‘evaluation’ phase which deals with the scope accomplished,
technical objectives met and projection of historical data. Other close-out items may consist of final measurements,
final reports, client feedback and testimonials.
• Project termination can not even be disregarded for an unsuccessful project. Even in such a case, there are
key learnings, team evaluations and other wrap-up activities to make the most of what has been done in the
project.
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All user acceptance testing criteria have been met and all components of the project
implemented, with final acceptance of the project signed off by the customer.
Resources are no longer working on the project, no further deliverables are being created and
no further costs will be incurred.
Documentation and Archiving
Documentation of the solutions delivered by the project has been completed and
distributed to the appropriate areas of the business and support functions.
A historical store of all project records including documentation has been created and
storage of project records have been arranged in accordance with statutory and CSU
guidelines.
Handover
All equipment used by the project has been accounted for. Any equipment rented or
loaned has been returned.
Responsibilities for operating the delivered solution have been handed over to the
relevant divisions of the organisation.
Support arrangements have been implemented, including support contracts.
Any current warranty arrangements for items produced by the project have been
handed over to the appropriate division of the organisation.
A benefits realisation register has been created and a follow-up plan to measure
benefits has been put in place.
Human Resource
Human resource requirements have been fulfilled for personnel on the project (e.g.,
performance appraisals, timesheets).
Project personnel have been advised of any obligations (e.g., confidentiality, privacy,
security) that remain in force following the completion of the project.
Project personnel reassignment has been planned, organised, communicated and in
action to ensure smooth transition to their next assignment.
End of project celebration for the team has been held.
Contractual and Financial
All deliveries to the project specified in the contract have been made in accordance
with the terms of the contract.
All financial payments specified in the contracts have been made or, where they
pertain to current warranty arrangements, have been re-assigned to the appropriate
division of the organisation.
All contractual obligations of the project have been fulfilled or, where agreed to kept
open. These have been handed over to the appropriate division of the organisation and
formal acceptance of this has been obtained from the project sponsor.
Supplier performance reports have been completed, evaluating the deliverables
supplied for use in future selection processes.
Post Implementation Review (PIR)
PIR workshops/interviews have been held to gather information about the project.
Customer assessment of the project has been received.
The project team has reviewed (as part of the PIR) the project effectiveness and
identified successes to retain and improvements required.
Lessons learned from the PIR have been documented.
Table 5.1 Project closure checklist
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5.16 Project End Checklist - 11 Important Steps
The 11 steps included in the project end checklist will ensure that a complete project close is performed and leave
the stakeholders with a positive lasting impression of project management abilities.
• gain client acceptance
• transition deliverables to owner
• close out contract obligations
• capture lessons learned
• update organisation’s central information repository
• issue final financials
• close accounts and charge codes
• update resource schedules
• conduct performance evaluation
• market project accomplishments
• ask for referrals/references
________________________________________
Project Name:
Department:
Focus Area:
Product/Process:
________________________________________
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Prepared by
Note: For standard sections of the project closure report template that have been excluded from the present
document, the section headings have been moved to the ‘Project Closure Report Sections Omitted’ list at the end.
Table of Contents
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Project Closure Report Goals
[Replace this text with your own statement of goals, or use the following sample.]
Best Practices:
• [Best practice]
• [Best practice]
[Replace this text with a brief description of why the project is being closed.]
• Is it being closed because all project objectives and deliverables have been met?
• Or is it being closed for other reasons (loss of funding, shift in strategy, etc.)?
[Replace this text with details of project performance in terms of targeted success criteria.]
• Were all criteria achieved? To what level of success?
• If some criteria were not achieved, what were the reasons?
Is achievement anticipated at a later date?
• Who is responsible for measuring continued progress?
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[Replace this text with an outline of actual performance of project milestones and corresponding
deliverables.]
• Were all deliverables achieved with high quality and customer acceptance?
• If not, what were the reasons?
• Is achievement anticipated at a later date?
Schedule Performance
Budget Performance
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Project Closure Tasks
Resource Management
• [Replace this text with an explanation of how resources were managed.]
• What resource needs changed during the project?
• Outline the steps to be taken in shifting project resources to other projects.
• Explain how project knowledge (IP) from project team members will be captured and retained for
future projects.
Issue Management
[Replace this text with a list of any issues still outstanding at the end of the project.]
• Will each issue be resolved?
• Who will continue to report on each issue’s progress?
Risk Management
Quality Management
[Replace this text with a description of how quality management processes were used and integrated into the
project and how quality control measures provided quality assurance.]
Communication Management
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Asset Management
[Replace this text with a list of assets remaining at the end of the project.]
• How will those assets be dispositional?
• Who will manage the disposition process?
Lessons Learned
[Replace this text with a list of successes and shortcomings to remember for the future.]
• Which activities and processes worked well?
• Which could have been improved and how?
[Replace this text with a list of outstanding issues for this project.]
• What actions are not yet completed? Who is responsible for them?
• Which success criteria are not yet met? Which deliverables are not yet achieved?
• Which training requirements are still outstanding?
• This information can be summarized from details in the preceding sections.
[Replace this text with a list of recommendations arising from review of closure tasks.]
• The main recommendation would usually be to gain project closure approval from the Project Sponsor,
including agreement that the project has fulfilled all of the requirements as documented and that the Project
Sponsor is satisfied that all outstanding items have been satisfactorily addressed.
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Project Closure Report Approvals
Prepared by __________________________________
([Job Title])
Approved by __________________________________
([Job Title])
__________________________________
([Job Title])
__________________________________
([Job Title])
________________________________________
Appendices
________________________________________
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Summary
• Project closure phase is the last phase of the project life cycle. It is just as important as the other project phases
of initiating, planning and monitoring. It is the formal ‘ending’ or termination of a project.
• Usually it will occur once all of the work of the project is finished, all of the outputs have been delivered and
accepted by the business owner(s) and the target outcomes have been generated or secured.
• The steps involved in closing a project should be planned and documented at the beginning of the project, but
the process may vary from project to project.
• Formal project closure ensures that the team has met its objectives, satisfied the customer, gained important
knowledge and been rewarded for their efforts.
• Terminating a project satisfactorily is nearly as difficult as starting a project because panic sets in towards the
end of the second term as client realises, in many cases, the vast amount of work still before him .
• It is important to recognise that projects can be closed at any point during their project life cycle. Closing a
successfully completed project can be challenging at the best of times, but closing (or stopping) a project that
probably did not achieve its objectives can be seriously difficult, especially if considerable resources have
already been expended on it.
• Therefore, every project must be brought to an orderly close, ensuring that the customer is satisfied with the
outcome and demonstrating this by providing a ‘customer acceptance’ sign-off.
• Assurance that arrangements are in place for ongoing support and maintenance must be achieved together with
a proper audit trail for project documentation, should it be needed in the future.
• A project checklist should be maintained to keep a record of all the tasks performed and to ensure that no
important job is skipped. A detailed project report should be prepared with details from the initiation, execution
and closure phase. This report is a documentation of project experiences, facts, lessons learned and so on.
References
• Project Closure & Termination Phase. Available at: <http://www.suite101.com/content/project-closure-a129630>
Last accessed 12th January, 2011.
• Project Closure and Termination Phase: Activity Checklist for Proper Project Completion. Available at: <http://
www.suite101.com/content/project-closure-a129630#ixzz1AtWq30O1> Last accessed 12th January, 2011.
• Project Closure. Available at: http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Project-closure> Last accessed 12th January, 2011.
• Project Life Cycle - Project Cycle Management. Available at: <http//www.visitask.com/project-life-cycle.asp>
Last accessed 12th January 2011.
• Project Management, Lecture 11- Project Closure. Available at: <http://www.halifax.ac/Download/PgD%20
SBIT/PgD%20SBIT%20New/712_PM/PM%20-%20Lecture%2011%20-%20Project%20Closure.pdf> Last
accessed 12th January, 2011.
Recommended Reading
• Harold Kerzner (2009). Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
New York, Van Nostrand Rienhold, 6th edition.
• Joseph Phillips (2010). IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish. McGraw Hill Professional, 3rd
edition, 640 pages.
• Stanley E. Portny (2010) Project Management for Dummies. Kindle Publication, 3rd edition.
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Self Assessment
2. Project management is accomplished through the appropriate application and integration of five process groups,
of which, ________ is the final stage.
a. project initiating
b. project execution
c. project monitoring
d. project closing
5. There are six methods of project termination. Which of the following is not one of them?
a. Dispersion
b. Completion
c. Cancelled
d. Absorption
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Chapter VI
Project Management Software
Aim
The aim of this chapter is to:
Objectives
The objectives of this chapter are to:
Learning outcome
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
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6.1 Introduction
When the size of project increases it becomes difficult and at times even impossible, to manage projects effectively
using manual techniques. Implementing technology is a key part of improving an organisation’s project management
capability.
Beyond the traditional functionality of early project scheduling tools, project management software has now evolved
to include quite sophisticated multi-project functionality that supports standardised project operations across an
entire portfolio of projects.
This type of technology provides a number of benefits in its ability to automate the processes and improving both
productivity and delivery effectiveness. It also allows managing complex projects, do things that can’t be done easily
on a piece of paper such as analyse and search data across projects. The technology allows enhanced knowledge
sharing, virtual teaming, information exchange and automating workflow.
Technology should be seen as an enabler of capability, reliant on people and process to support project. However,
while project management software will help organisations manage projects faster, more easily and potentially more
cheaply, it does not provide best practice capability in itself. Because project management software is tangible and
easier to visualise as a component of organisational project management, it is often seen as representing the same.
Indeed different types of tools and/or functionality should be implemented at different levels of organisational
project management maturity.
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6.2.1 Project Management Software: Features
Project management software has following main five features:
• project management
• resource management
• planning and scheduling
• output analysis
• program management
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• Communication: Project management software facilitates communication among project team members
regardless of their geographical location. At any time, members can log in to the system to communicate with
each other.
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6.5.1 Scheduling
• One of the most common tasks is to schedule a series of events and the complexity of this task can vary,
considerably depending on how the tool is used.
• Some common challenges include:
events which depend on one another in different ways
scheduling people to work on and resources required by the various tasks
dealing with uncertainties in the estimates of the duration of each task
arranging tasks to meet a plethora of deadlines
juggling multiple projects simultaneously to meet a variety of requirements
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6.5.2 Calculating Critical Path
• In 1957, DuPont developed a project management method designed to address the challenge of shutting down
chemical plants for maintenance and then restarting the plants once the maintenance had been completed. Given
the complexity of the process, they developed the Critical Path Method (CPM) for managing such projects.
• A benefit of project management software is the ease of creating a visualisation of a critical path. In project
management terminology, a critical path is the process by which tasks and milestones feed into future tasks.
This critical path is defined in the software through dependencies and linkage from one milestone to another.
• The critical path method is an algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. It is an important tool for
effective project management.
• The essential technique for using critical path method is to construct a model of the project that includes the
following:
A list of all activities required to complete the project (typically categorised within a work breakdown
structure).
The time (duration) that each activity will take to completion.
The dependencies between the activities.
• Critical path method provides the following benefits:
a graphical view of the project
predicts the time required to complete the project
shows which activities are critical to maintaining the schedule and which are not
• Using these values, it calculates the longest path of planned activities to the end of the project and the earliest
and latest that each activity can start and finish without making the project longer.
• This process determines which activities are “critical” (i.e., on the longest path) and which have “total float”
(i.e., can be delayed without making the project longer). In project management, a critical path is the sequence
of project network activities which add up to the longest overall duration.
• This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay of an activity on the critical path
directly impacts the planned project completion date (i.e., there is no float on the critical path).
6.5.3 Reporting
• Reporting is a way of communicating information about a project to the different participants so that the
participants share a common view and understanding of the status of the project.
• Project planning software needs to provide a lot of information to various people, to justify the time spent using
it.
• Typical requirements might include:
tasks lists for people and allocation schedules for resources
overview information on how long tasks will take to complete
early warning of any risks to the project
information on workload, for planning holidays
historical information on how projects have progressed and in particular, how actual and planned performance
is related
6.5.4 Budgeting
• Project management software tracks the amount of time that personnel spend on a task and the amount and
types of physical resources required completing each task.
• The software can therefore calculate the costs incurred to date for each project. Similarly, project management
software can show the differences between the forecasted costs and the actual costs of the project at any point
in the project up to the current date.
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6.6.1 Desktop
• Project management software can be implemented as a program which runs on the desktop of each user.
• This typically gives the most responsive and graphically-intense style of interface.
• Desktop applications typically store their data in a file, although some have the ability to collaborate with other
users or to store their data in a central database.
• Even a file-based project plan can be shared between users if it’s on a networked drive and no two people want
to access it at once.
• Desktop applications can be written to run in a heterogeneous environment of multiple operating systems,
although it’s unusual.
• Many such programs only run on a particular system, typically Microsoft Windows.
6.6.3 Personal
• A personal project management application is one used at home, typically to manage a lifestyle or home
projects.
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6.6.5 Collaborative
• A collaborative system is designed to support multiple users modifying different sections of the plan at once,
for example, updating the areas they personally are responsible for such that those estimates get integrated into
the overall plan.
• Web-based tools, including extranets, generally fall into this category, but have the limitation that they can only
be used when the user has live internet access.
• To address this limitation, client-server-based software tools exist that provide a Rich Client that runs on users’
desktop computer and replicate project and task information to other project team members through a central
server when users connect periodically to the network.
6.6.6 Integrated
• An integrated system combines project management or project planning, with many other aspects of company
life. For example, PHProjekt projects have bug tracking issues assigned to each project, the list of project
customers becomes a customer relationship management module and each person on the project plan has their
own task lists, calendars and messaging functionality associated with their projects.
• Similarly, specialised tools like SourceForge integrate project management software with source control software
and bug-tracking software, so that each piece of information can be integrated into the same system.
The following list of project management software packages was selected based on a combination of ranking votes
and frequency of visits.
• Microsoft Project is the most popular among the currently available project management software.
• Primavera is a project management software program that is mostly used for bigger projects such as construction
or renovations.
• OmniPlan is another easy-to-use software program designed to assist managers in creating logical and manageable
projects.
• Project Administrator ™ is a project management software tool that complements a scheduling tool such as
Microsoft Project.
• AceProject - Project Management: Offers web-based project management, bug tracking and timesheet
software
• ActiveProject® Project Management: It is web based project management and collaboration software
• BiLL -The Simplified Project Management Tool: It manages projects from anywhere, allows checking the
progress of projects in real time, evaluate the cost-effectiveness of projects with a single click
• BillQuick: An affordable, easy to use time tracking, project management and billing solution. BillQuick handles
any billing arrangement: T&M, Fixed Fee, Recurring, Retainers and more.
• BugBox -Deliver Projects on Time: It helps in delivering projects on time.
• BUGTrack : BUGTrack is reliable, convenient, secure and completely web-based issue tracking system.
• Celoxis Project Management: Celoxis offers project management, document management, workforce
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management, time/expense, client collaboration, custom forms, knowledge management and certified email.
• Copper Project: Copper Project is a web-based project management tool that allows teams to manage themselves
more effectively. It is designed especially for team-based consultancies including software developers, design
studios and other internet-connected businesses.
• CS Project: It is a project scheduling and management software for manufacturing and mining.
• Elementool Bug Tracking: Elementool enables software developers to track new bugs, prioritise and assign
bugs to team members, generate bug reports, send email messages between users, attach files, type notes in a
message board, etc.
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6.8.3 OmniPlan
• OmniPlan is another easy-to-use software program designed to assist managers in creating logical and manageable
projects.
• OmniPlan helps to manage complex projects without requiring you to learn a complex software program.
This means that all project team members can start managing and scheduling their project objectives almost
immediately. This ensures an effective way to meet or precede the deadline.
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Home
– Project Overview
Project
Program
Phases
Quality Assurance
Budget
Benchmarks
Benefits
Project Roles
Distribution List
– Daily Management
Issues
Action Items
Risks
Assumptions
Dairy Notes
Project Docu-
ments
Time Sheets
Progress Report
Change Control
Schedule
Expenditure
All Tasks
All Milestones
Meetings
– Phase Planning
Roles
Phase Tasks
Phase Milestones
– Library
Reference Docs
Checklists
Glossary
Inspections
Function Points
The screen shot above shows the parts of a project that Project Administrator can help with. It is arranged into four
streams:
• Project Overview: Setting up a project and creating the structure of the project - Planning the project and how
it will be undertaken.
• Daily Management: Managing the project on a day to day basis including managing issues
• Phase Planning: If one wants to view it by phase.
• Library: Storing useful information in a library to be used across all projects
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• Focuses primarily on the planning phase and does not offer enough functionality for project tracking, control
and in particular plan-adjustment. Good management software should not only facilitate this, but assist with
impact assessment and communication of plan changes.
• Does not make a clear distinction between the planning phase and post planning phase, leading to user confusion
and frustration when the software does not behave as expected. For example, shortening the duration of a task
when an additional human resource is assigned to it while the project is still being planned.
• Offer complicated features to meet the needs of project management or project scheduling professionals, which
must be understood in order to effectively use the product. Additional features may be so complicated as to be
of no use to anyone. Complex task prioritisation and resource levelling algorithms for example can produce
results that make no intuitive sense and over allocation is often more simply resolved manually.
• Some people may achieve better results using simpler technique, (e.g. pen and paper), yet feel pressured into
using project management software by company policy (discussion).
• Similar to PowerPoint, project management software might shield the manager from important interpersonal
contact.
• New types of software are challenging the traditional definition of project management. Frequently, users of
project management software are not actually managing a discrete project.
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Summary
• Technology should be seen as an enabler of capability, reliant on people and process to support project. However,
while project management software will help organisations manage projects faster, more easily and potentially
more cheaply, it does not provide best practice capability in itself.
• Complex projects can take many years to complete. By their very nature, these projects are expensive and
time-consuming, which requires strict organisational skills to ensure delivery of the final objective. Project
management software is a tool to assist in the management and communication of the risks and tasks necessary
to complete a project.
• Project management software is a term covering many types of software, including scheduling, resource
allocation, collaboration software, communication and documentation systems, which are used to deal with
the complexity of large projects. These applications allow organisations to plan, resource, manage and report,
project cost, work and time.
• Project management software encapsulates the work flow management of a project plan into a software
application that can be used as a tool to explain the objectives, delivery milestone dates and dependencies
within a project.
• The software can therefore calculate the costs incurred to date for each project. Similarly, project management
software can show the differences between the forecasted costs and the actual costs of the project at any point
in the project up to the current date.
• Thus, software can be used to assist the project team and other stakeholders in their project execution and
management tasks. There are major tasks of project management software and features of project management
software.
• Project management software will continue to enhance functionalities, which allow for manager’s greater control
of project. To choose a Project management system, managers should choose the software wisely basing their
decision on the adaptability to the environment and scalability to increase or decrease the scope.
References
• Benefits of Project Management Software, Available at: <http://civilengineerblog.com/benefits-project-
management-software/> Last accessed 12th January 2011.
• CPM - Critical Path Method. Available at: <http://www.netmba.com/strategy/> Last accessed 12th January
2011.
• Project Management Software. Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_software>
Last accessed 12th January 2011.
• Project Management Software Directory. Available at: <http://infogoal.com/pmc/pmcswr.htm> Last accessed
12th January 2011.
• The Advantages of Project Management Software. Available at: <http://www.ehow.com/facts_5315849_
advantages-project-management-software.html#ixzz1B08Bdwtx> Last accessed 12th January 2011.
Recommended Reading
• Project Management Institute (2003). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Project
Management Institute. ISBN 1-930699-45-X. 3rd edition.
• Kerzner, Harold (2003). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
ISBN 0-471-22577-0. 8th edition.
• Robert L. Kimmons, James H. Loweree (1989). Project Management: A Reference for Professionals, Dekker
Publications, New York.
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Self Assessment
1. Project management doe not require stringent organisation skills and oversight on _______
a. tasks
b. resources
c. delivery dates
d. qualification of staff
2. Paperwork for a project and having them proofread prior to sending them is __________.
a. time-consuming
b. easy
c. fast
d. trouble-free
3. _____________ is a way of communicating information about a project to the different participants so that the
participants share a common view and understanding of the status of the project.
a. Reporting
b. Budgeting
c. Asset allocation
d. Documentation
4. _________ enables software developers to track new bugs, prioritise and assign bugs to team members, generate
bug reports, send email messages between users, attach files, type notes in a message board, etc.
a. Celoxis
b. BiLL
c. AceProject
d. Elementool
5. __________ offers web-based project management, bug tracking and timesheet software.
a. Celoxis
b. BiLL
c. AceProject
d. Elementool
6. ___________ is a web-based project management tool that is designed especially for team-based consultancies
including software developers, design studios and other internet-connected businesses.
a. Copper Project
b. Celoxis
c. BiLL
d. AceProject
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7. Which is the category of project management software?
a. Project management
b. Resource management
c. Planning and scheduling
d. Recruitment
9. Which software program is designed to assist managers in creating logical and manageable projects?
a. OmniPlan
b. Copper Project
c. Celoxis
d. BiLL
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Case Study I
The Delhi Metro Project: Effective Project Management in the Indian Public Sector
The Delhi Metro project gave Delhi a world-class mass rapid transit system. More importantly, it stood out from
most other public sector projects in India in that it was completed on schedule and within the budgeted cost. The
case describes the organization and planning of the project and highlights the steps taken by the DMRC (Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation Ltd.) to ensure the successful completion of the project. It also explains how the DMRC managed
the various stakeholders like the central and state governments, the contractors, and the citizens of Delhi, to ensure
that the project was implemented smoothly.
Project implementation
Construction work on the project was commenced on October 1, 1998. The entire project was divided into three
lines.
Project Evaluation
The successful completion of the project effectively silenced the critics who had been doubtful about the ability
of an Indian public sector organization to complete any project, let alone one as complex and costly as the Delhi
Metro, on time and within the budget.
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Outlook
The Delhi Metro was expected to play a major role in relieving the transport problems faced by the city's residents.
Moreover, with the GoI planning extensions to the Metro, it appeared that the benefits of an efficient transport system
would be enjoyed by people living in a wider geographical area than originally planned. The GoI and the GNTCD
prepared a comprehensive plan to extend the Delhi Metro to 244 km by 2021 in three subsequent phases.
Questions:
1. Who had set up the Delhi Metro Project?
Answers
In order to implement the Delhi Metro project, the Government of India and the GNCTD (Government of National
Capital Territory of Delhi (India) set up a 50:50 joint venture company called the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
Ltd. (DMRC). The company was incorporated under the Companies Act in May 1995. The DMRC was to complete
Phase I of the project within 10 years, i.e., by the end of 2005.
3. How the funds were raised for the Delhi Metro Project?
Answer
In the case of the Delhi Metro project too, the Government of India and the GNCTD bore the capital costs. The total
cost of the first phase of the project was initially estimated at Rs. 60 billion, at April 1996 prices. Later in 2002, with
the cost of the project rising by approximately 10% per year, the estimate was revised to Rs. 89.27 billion.
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Case Study II
Volvo Group
The Volvo Group is a leading supplier of commercial and consumer transport solutions and customer financial
services. The Volvo Group produces commercial vehicles—such as Renault and Mack trucks and Volvo buses—and
construction equipment. It also includes companies responsible for marine and aeronautical technologies, logistics,
and financial services. With headquarters in Goteborg, Sweden, the Group has more than 90,000 global employees,
production facilities in 19 countries, and sales activities in 180 countries. It had 2009 revenues of about SEK218
billion (U.S. $29 billion).
Volvo IT, a global company that is part of the Group, develops new technologies and business solutions for Volvo
companies, and it works for external clients. Volvo IT provides solutions that manage many different types of
projects. The Volvo Group has sophisticated, well-developed project management processes that provide control
and visibility. To support those processes,
Volvo IT was using Microsoft Office Project Server 2003 and Microsoft Office Project Server 2007. Although
the Volvo Group was generally satisfied with the Microsoft software, Office Project Server 2007 did not have the
flexibility to adapt to the Group’s time-reporting processes. For that reason, only about half of the Group’s 2,200
users had upgraded to Office Project Server 2007.
The Volvo Group was interested in improving its resource management. Some internal software applications did
not interact successfully with Project Server 2003 and Office Project Server 2007, which sometimes resulted in
employees having to enter duplicate information. The group also wanted to streamline some of its project management
procedures. For example, managers sometimes struggled to successfully publish information in simple and clear
reports. Some employees had problems with the speed of the Web client.
Finally, the Volvo Group was always seeking to use employees’ time in meetings most effectively. Thus, the Volvo
Group wanted project management software that could more flexibly work with its time-reporting processes and
support efforts to improve resource management, portfolio management, and employee effectiveness.
The Volvo Group participated in the Technology Adoption Program for Microsoft Project 2010 so that it would be
able to provide pre-release feedback on process flexibility. Microsoft Project Server 2010 would offer better ways of
planning resource deployment, more features in its Web client, and close interoperation with Microsoft SharePoint
Server 2010.
In February 2010, the Volvo Group implemented a pilot project with 50 users. It worked with Teamsquare, a Microsoft
Certified Partner based in France, which specialises in project management.
Volvo IT runs Project Server 2010 on a mixture of virtual servers and quad-core physical servers featuring 4 gigabytes
of RAM. All employees can perform their work with the Web client, Microsoft Project Web App. Because users can
edit project data through Project Web App, the Volvo Group is significantly reducing the number of project managers
who need Microsoft Project Professional 2010. And also, it responds more quickly to user commands.
For the project managers who are responsible for completing project plans, reporting is important. Those managers
can use the new Timeline view in Project Professional 2010 to easily create a high-level view of a project plan. They
can drag tasks into the timeline and paste the timeline into presentations or e-mail messages. Furthermore, Volvo IT
has made several customizations to help Project Server 2010 interact with other software packages.
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Benefits
The Volvo Group uses Microsoft Project Server 2010 to make better capacity-planning decisions. It also saves time
for employees through automated processes and a simple user interface, gains more visibility into projects, and
improves resource management.
• Time savings: By automating more of the collection and dissemination of project management data, Project
Server 2010 is saving employee’s time. At the same time, the reduced risk of mistakes has improved quality. Most
important, Project Server 2010 performs the data collection function that too often takes place in meetings.
• Simple user interface: Volvo Group employees appreciate the simple user interface of Project Server 2010.
The rich feature set in Project Web App makes it easier for managers to perform their work.
• Quicker Routes to Visibility and Control: The result of these improvements in information and communication
is a better understanding of projects, and thus more control over them. This gives us the opportunity to shape
future contracting and distribution strategies.
• Clarified, Transparent Resource Management: With Project Server 2010, the Volvo Group gains a better view of
its resourcing needs. With that anticipation, the Group can better manage staff and contractors. For example, if you
have to stop a project, Project Server 2010 makes it much easier to reassign people, because you know where they are
and what they’re doing. Furthermore, the Volvo Group can more effectively communicate with members of the team.
Questions:
1. How Microsoft Project Server 2010 benefited the Volvo Group?
2. What were the disadvantages of Microsoft Office Project Server 2003 and Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
faced by Volvo IT?
3. How Microsoft Project Server 2010 helped the Volvo Group in improving its resource management?
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Indian Railways is the largest rail network in Asia and is the world's second largest under one management, with
a workforce of 2 million. The Indian Railways is one of the largest railway systems in the world under a single
management. It runs 11,000 trains every day. Spread across 67 divisions, it covers 104,000 km of rail track, has over
7,000 railway stations and ferries around 17 million passengers daily. Planning the movement of trains, deciding on
precedence and crossings, forecasting train arrivals and providing this information to all the concerned within the
system, is a critical element of day-to-day operations for the railways, in order to achieve efficiency, ensure safety,
and provide customer satisfaction.
The Ahmedabad Division manages various construction projects for the region. They needed an integrated application
that can help them manage the project estimation, tendering, procurement and tender evaluation process. The
application managed project monitoring, financing and bill tracking and integration with billing and accounting
systems. The application generates various project status reports for submission to other authorities and for internal
MIS (Management Information system).
Indusa is a Chicago-based IT consulting company providing services since 1989. Indusa has a strong presence in the
US market and operates in all the 50 states. It has strength of around more than 150 full time software engineering
professionals, with multi-disciplinary skills in business analysis, consulting and application development and
management and a track record of completing several projects across a diverse range of technology platforms.
Indusa's global IT services, business solutions, and subject matter expertise backed with on-time, within budget
delivery, perfect quality, greater efficiency and tremendous responsiveness gives the confidence of an outsourcing
partner one can rely on. With two decades of industry experience and unmatched technical expertise and insights,
it gives the strategic advantage needed.
The company designed, developed, and implemented an Integrated Project Management System (IPMS)
application. Integrated Project Management (IPM) is a methodology that incorporates a singular centralised
data structure to support not only reporting criteria but also an actual decision-support process. It relies
on an Integrated Project Team made up of the complete range of stake holders and provides for the added
value practices.
A project can be completed on schedule under cost and still not deliver what was originally prescribed. Integrated
Project Management System includes technical performance and accounting data that are the 'missing links' in many
project management systems. Without these key elements, the project manager may not get what is expected.
IPMS provides project management, facilities tendering/bidding process, procurement assistance, tender evaluation,
contract management including project tracking and billing and it produces custom reports. Another important part
of the application is managing and tracking actual project expenses, approving bills and overall project accounting.
The technologies used are: VB 6.0, MS Access 2000, Adobe Photoshop 5.0, and Crystal Reports 8.0.
Questions:
1. Why the Ahmedabad Division of Indian railways needed an integrated application?
2. Who helped Ahmedabad Division of Indian railways in project management and how?
3. Which technologies were used for project management?
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Bibliography
References
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Recommended Reading
• Anuj Saxena (2008) Enterprise Contract Management: A Practical Guide to Successfully Implementing an
ECM Solution. J Ross Publishing, 344 pages.
• Arthur A. Bel (2007) HVAC Equations, Data, and Rules of Thumb. McGraw-Hill Professional, 290 pages.
• Dennis Lock, 1998. Gower Handbook of Project Management. Gower Publishing, Hampshire. 2nd
edition.
• Harold Kerzner (2009). Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
New York, Van Nostrand Rienhold, 6th edition.
• Harold Kerzner (2009). Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
New York, Van Nostrand Rienhold, 6th edition.
• J. Rodney Turner (2003) Contracting for Project Management. Gower Publishing Company, 176 pages.
• John Butler (1904) Engineering Contracts and Specifications. Johnson Engineering News Publishing co., 560
pages.
• Joseph Phillips (2010). IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish. McGraw Hill Professional, 3rd
edition, 640 pages.
• K. Nagarajan (2004). Project Management. New Delhi, New Age International, 2nd edition.
• Kerzner, Harold (2003). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling.
ISBN 0-471-22577-0. 8th edition.
• M. Frenkel, U. Hommel, G. Dufey, M. Rudolf (2005). Risk Management: Challenge and Opportunity.
838 pages
• Marco Alexander Caiza Andresen (2007). The Process of Risk Management for Projects, GRIN Verlag.
36 pages.
• Project Management Institute (2003). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Project
Management Institute. ISBN 1-930699-45-X. 3rd edition.
• Reto R. Gallati (2003). Risk Management and Capital Adequacy. McGraw-Hill Professional. 550 pages.
• Robert L. Kimmons, James H. Loweree (1989). Project Management: A Reference for Professionals. Dekker
Publications, New York.
• Stanley E. Portny (2010) Project Management for Dummies. Kindle Publication, 3rd edition.
• Success Planning in Project Management. Available at http://project-management-knowledge.com/. Last accessed
on January 12, 2011.
• What is contract management? Available at http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-contract-management.htm. Last
accessed on January 12, 2011.
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Self Assessment Answers
Chapter I
1. b
2. a
3. d
4. b
5. a
6. b
7. d
8. c
9. a
10. b
Chapter II
1. a
2. b
3. b
4. a
5. b
6. d
7. d
8. c
9. d
10. d
Chapter III
1. a
2. a
3. b
4. c
5. c
6. c
7. a
8. a
9. d
10. d
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Chapter IV
1. d
2. c
3. c
4. c
5. c
6. b
7. c
8. d
9. b
10. c
Chapter V
1. b
2. d
3. d
4. d
5. a
6. b
7. d
8. c
9. c
10. b
Chapter VI
1. d
2. a
3. a
4. d
5. c
6. a
7. d
8. d
9. a
10. d
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