PROJECT

QUALITY

4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Our aim in this chapter is to discuss project management. We will cover the basic
aspects related to projects and their management, their planning and the project life
cycle in order to provide an insight into every stage of the project.

4.1 PROJECTS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT

A project can be defined as a “planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a

fixed period and within a certain cost and other limitations.”

In relation to this definition, we must point out the following defining characteristics of
the project:

- Projects involve changes, both simple and complex.

- As we have said, projects have an objective.

- Projects consist of processes, defined as sequences of interdependent

and linked procedures.

From this definition and, in general terms, we can say that project management
involves designing a project and its activities, and supervising and controlling that our
previous design is implemented as established. However, here we will not deal with
how to manage our project, as we will cover this in the next chapter on the basis of the
ISO 21500 standard and the three main methodologies: PMBOK, Prince2 and Agile.

Before addressing project management, we will cover some basic principles of project
management that we need to know to achieve good management.

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4.1.1 Basic principles of project management

Principles to consider:

- Business principles

- Management and control principles

- Human resources management principles

Let us now move on to see what these three types of basic principles include.

▪ Business principles

Regarding business principles, we should take into consideration:

- Projects support business. It is important that any project is aligned

with our business strategy. That is, there should be coherence between
the organisation and the project. In other words, the project should
have a positive impact on the company resulting in benefits.

- Work planning. To develop and successfully manage a project, it is

essential to divide it into tasks that can be delegated and managed
individually. As we shall see in the next section, a key element for the
success in project management is its planning. Everything we do to
achieve objectives should be previously planned.

- Active risk management. As seen in the previous chapter, risk

management is key to the success or failure of a project, since it allows
us to detect potential problems and solve them before they become a
crisis. Thus, we should identify potential problems and determine
possible solutions. We should emphasise the importance of supervising
and controlling risks throughout the development of the project, since
this will help us to detect possible deviations and correct them quickly.

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▪ Management and control principles.

We should consider the basic principles of management and control:

- Working according to the plan. As we have said, planning is essential

for the proper development of the project. Its implementation should
be measured in relation to the establishment of the plan. This plan
should include all the activities to carry out, identifying aspects such as
duration, budget, resources, both human and material, and the
expected results. Working according to the plan means verifying that
what we have determined corresponds to reality and, if that is not the
case, correcting the situation, either from a reformulation of the plan or
from the correction of the activities. Planning can never be closed, since
the development of the activities can lead to unforeseen results that
may represent an opportunity for the company and, in that case,
modifications have to be made to adapt the plan to the new reality.

- Reporting. It is important to document project development with

reports about development, achievements or problems. This will help
us, not only to document the process and have references, but also to
keep all the areas and all project participants informed.

- Managing relationships between cost, time and scope. The project

must be managed to maintain the correct balance between scope, time
and cost.

▪ Human resources management principles

To finish off, some basic principles regarding human resources should be considered in
project management. These principles are:

- Getting the right skills. One of the success factors of the project is to
have the necessary human resources. That means we must ensure that
we have trained staff to carry out the programmed activities. If we have

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new processes, we will have to train employees to implement them
adequately. We must not forget that workers are the real driving force
of companies, so we must take care of them and offer them everything
they need to perform their jobs properly and successfully.

- Two-way communication. From management to employees and from

employees to management. It is a truly essential element with added
value, since it enables the company to know the opinions, needs and
expectations of its employees.

- SMART goal setting. It is very important that objectives follow the

SMART criteria. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant
and time-bound.

- Responsibility with authority. As we have said, work should be

organised in such a way that tasks that can be delegated. Delegating
responsibility is also connected to delegating authority. This way, the
necessary decisions, leading to the achievement of the established
objective, can be made.

Here it is important to underline the importance and need to delegate

responsibility to the team members, because the project manager will
not have enough time or all the necessary skills to make every decision
throughout the complete project.

Regarding delegation, the establishment of the project team is very

important and it should consist of reliable and skilled individuals.

- Team orientation. It is of vital importance that the members of the

project team really feel that they are part of a team and feel
appreciated and useful. It is also essential that they are compatible, as
this will contribute to the proper development and implementation of
the project.

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4.2. PROJECT PLANNING

The key to a successful project is in the planning. We should determine what should be
done to achieve the established objectives, taking into account aspects such as who
should do it, when and what the necessary resources will be.

It is one of the most important parts of the project management. Planning results in
the project plan, which will be our guide for developing our project as well as for
supervision and control.

Planning is not only about deciding what we are going to do, but it is a process of
seven essential stages that should not be neglected.

Before moving on to the different stages to be considered in planning, we would like

to mention that this subject will only be discussed briefly, since all the information
related to project planning can be found in the manual about Project Planning.

4.1.2 Planning process

The seven stages of the planning process can be summarised in the following seven
activities:

- Identifying customer requirements. Before planning, it is very

important to know customer requirements and needs. Otherwise, the
project will not be successful. As in quality management, customers are
an essential element for the company so we need to go to great lengths
to meet their requirements.

- Identifying needs and strategies. Once we have determined customer

requirements, we should define the possible options for the
development of the project. That is, to establish the different ways to
implement the project based on customer requirements and needs.

- Defining project objectives. The first two steps will help us define the
project. Once it is defined, the objectives to be achieved should be

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determined. As we have said, it is very important that the objectives are
defined according to the SMART criteria, so they must be specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

- Dividing tasks. At this fourth stage, activities and tasks aimed at

achieving the established objectives should be determined. It is very
important to divide work into tasks and activities that are as small as
possible.

Work decomposition should be done as diligently as possible because it

will provide the basis for all the activities to be carried out during the
planning process.

- Create a work programme or plan. Programming refers to the division

of the project into sequential stages that will group together the
activities of the previous stage. This task will help us to organise
activities and identify the necessary resources to make the budget.

In order to create good work plans, it is important to identify the most

important activities, design a detailed sequence of tasks and their
interaction network, calculate the duration of each activity to establish
the maximum project duration, allow additional time for unforeseen
events and determine the necessary resources, both human and
material.

Once the plan is developed, the project will be implemented.

- Monitoring and reviewing. Monitoring ongoing project activities.

Information about time, resources, cost and achievements should be
collected to track actual developments and compare them to the
established plan.

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The project should be monitored regularly to ensure that it is on track
with regard to achieving its objectives. This will help us to identify issues
that may arise and need to be addressed.

As we have already mentioned, the plan should not be closed since new
problems or opportunities mean changing the established programme.
This refers to the last stage of the planning process, reprogramming,
focused on making all the changes that are needed in planning for the
success of the project.

It is also important to note that to make this task as efficient as possible

a number of tools for project monitoring are available to companies:

- Flow chart

- Process chart

- Control sheet

- Control chart

- Cause and effect diagram

- Gantt chart

- PERT chart

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4.3. PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

To conclude this chapter, this section will cover project life cycle phases.

As we have already mentioned, projects are divided into sequential phases of different
tasks and activities which are known as project life cycle.

Before moving on to discussing each of these phases, it is interesting to present

several defining characteristics of this cycle. These are:

- The project life cycle defines the phases that connect the beginning and
the end of the project.

- The project life cycle is usually divided into four phases: initiation,
planning, implementation and closure.

- The project life cycle defines aspects such as technical work to

undertake, when the deliverables should be generated, who is involved
in each phase and how to control and validate work.

- Project life cycle phases are usually sequential and defined by some
type of technical transfer.

After these considerations, project life cycle phases will be briefly discussed. As every
project is different, they all have their own cycles, making it virtually impossible to find
two completely identical cycles.

▪ Initiation

This can also be referred to as the ‘Conceptualisation Phase’. This is the starting point
of any project, and the goal of this phase is to identify the need and define the project.

The Project Initiation Phase may seem simple and irrelevant, but it is a crucial phase in
the Project Life Cycle, as the rest of the phases will be established on its basis.

This phase helps the company:

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- Determine if the issue is worth being handled as a project.

- Understand initial user requirements so that they can be used as

measurements to determine the achievements of the project once it is
completed.

- Identify the stakeholders who will be involved in the project.

- Compare the potential costs and benefits of project execution.

- Conduct feasibility studies to find out which is the best option to

address the project.

- Plan the project thoroughly considering aspects such as time, costs and
resources.

- Identify potential risk to determine which problems should be

addressed.

- Write the Project Initiation Documentation (PID), presenting arguments

in favour of the project, as well as its definition and planning.

This first phase basically defines what we want to do and how we want to do it, thus
serving as a basis for the subsequent planning once the project has been approved.

A number of elements should be considered in this definition phase. However, the

main activity of this phase is to identify the global objectives and the scope of the
project. User requirements should also be included. The following elements should be
included when identifying these objectives and requirements:

- Project results, specifying the activities that should be carried out to

obtain the desired results, as well as the necessary resources and
factors for their achievement.

- System interfaces, referring to how the necessary factors for the

project results will be obtained.

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- System constraints, identifying limitations to be considered for the
project implementation, considering aspects such as time, quantity of
material required or resource availability.

- Implementation, specifying the way the project will be implemented.

- User related issues, as it is a product or service offered to our users, it is

very important to consider aspects such as their technical knowledge,
language or expectations.

- Project dependencies, establishing if the project is dependent on

another to offer results.

Once objectives and user requirements are identified, scope should be identified too.
Here, we should not only define where we want to be, but also where we do not want
to be.

Thanks to this first identification of objectives and scope, a first project plan can be
developed. In this first identification phase, we will also establish aspects such as the
tasks and activities necessary to achieve the objectives, the division of the project in
phases, the temporary space that it will cover and its cost.

Along with project identification and planning, a business case will also be necessary.
This document should capture the economic reasoning for initiating a project or task
considering aspects such as income, costs, break-even point, and net present value,
among other financial elements seen in Project Funding.

The elaboration of these three documents will result in what is known as the Project
Initiation Documentation or PID that refers to the documents that define the entire
project.

▪ Planning

Once we have the PID and the project is approved, we move on to the planning phase
that focuses on designing and planning the project.

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This second phase is used to:

- Design the project.

- Create a strategy.

- Produce an updated and confirmed plan, based on the requirements of

the PID.

In this phase, we break down the larger project into smaller tasks, prepare a schedule
for the completion of assignments, estimate a budget and create a financial plan and
build our team.

Risk management is very important in this phase. In addition to planning the tasks for
the implementation of our project, we should also consider those problems or risks
that may arise from these activities and think of solutions.

▪ Implementation (Execution)

Once the plan is designed, we will proceed to its implementation. However, depending
on the type of product or service, a simulation should be carried out in order to ensure
that the planning is correct.

In this phase, we will not only have to implement the project, but we will have to
initiate the monitoring and control phase simultaneously, so that we can verify
whether the results correspond to what we had previously planned.

As we have already mentioned, the monitoring and control phase during the
implementation is very important, since it allows us to identify discrepancies, so that
they can be corrected in time.

For monitoring and control to be successful, risk management should have been
performed adequately. Otherwise, if we have not foreseen potential problems,
monitoring and control are useless as we will not have any solutions if problems arise.

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For example, if part of the implementation of our project has to be done outdoors
during the winter months, we should have foreseen that weather conditions may not
be favourable during the whole process. For this reason, and in case predictions were
correct, we should have established several possible solutions.

As we have seen, planning may have to be modified and that translates into the need
of keeping a written record of all changes and updates and informing all team
members.

During this phase, in addition to monitoring the implementation and development of

the project, it is very important to implement an information and communication
process among all the team members. By doing so, the different groups involved will
be kept informed of any achievement, modification or problem. We must not forget
that the project consists of interrelated activities and tasks, so communication should
not be neglected.

▪ Closure

Once the team has completed work on a project, we enter the closure phase. In the
closure phase, final deliverables are provided, project resources are released, and the
success of the project is determined. Just because the major project work is over does
not mean the job is done; there are still important things to do, including evaluating
what did and did not work with the project.

This step in the project lifecycle should document the project and provide reports to
stakeholders, considering activities, achievements, problems, modifications and costs.
Through this type of analysis, the wisdom of experience is transferred back to the
project organisation, which will help future project teams.

Having considered aspects regarding project management, we will now discuss the
tools that will help us achieve excellent project management.

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