PRO4801/101/0/2021

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2021

Project Management
PRO4801

Year module

Department of Operations Management

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail account and
make sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module
website, PRO4801-2021-Y, as well as your group website.

Note: This is a fully online module. It is, therefore, only available on myUnisa.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Getting started .............................................................................................................................. 3
2 OVERVIEW OF PRO4801 ............................................................................................................ 3
2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2.2 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 3
3 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS................................................................................... 4
3.1 Lecturer(s) .................................................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Department ................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 University ...................................................................................................................................... 5
4 RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 5
4.1 Joining myUnisa ........................................................................................................................... 5
4.2 Prescribed book(s) ........................................................................................................................ 6
4.3 Recommended book(s) ................................................................................................................. 6
4.4 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) ................................................................................................... 6
4.5 Library services and resources ..................................................................................................... 6
5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ................................................................................................ 7
6 HOW TO STUDY ONLINE ............................................................................................................ 7
6.1 What does it mean to study fully online? ....................................................................................... 7
6.2 myUnisa tools ............................................................................................................................... 8
7 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................. 8
7.1 Assessment plan .......................................................................................................................... 8
7.2 Year mark and final examination/other options ............................................................................. 9
8 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................ 10
ANNEXURE: GLOSSARY OF TERMS ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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1 INTRODUCTION

Dear Student

Welcome to the Project Management module. We shall do our best to make your study of this
module interesting and rewarding. You will be well on your way to success if you start studying
early in the year and resolve to do your assignments properly.

Because this is a fully online module, you will need to use myUnisa to study and complete the
learning activities for this module. Visit the website for PRO4801 on myUnisa frequently. The
website for your module is PRO4801-2021-Y.

1.1 Getting started

Owing to the nature of this module, you can read about the module and find your study material
online. Go to the website https://my.unisa.ac.za and log in using your student number and
password. Click on “myModules” at the top of the web page and then on “Sites” in the top right
corner. In the new window, click on the grey star icon next to the modules you want displayed
on your navigation bar. Close the window in the top right corner. Then select the option
“Reload to see your updated favourite sites”. Now go to your navigation bar and click on the
module you want to open.

We wish you every success with your studies!

2 OVERVIEW OF PRO4801

2.1 Purpose

Students who have completed this module successfully will be able to acquire in-depth
understanding of the project management philosophy and profession, and project manager
competence. The module covers all the knowledge areas of project management (based on the
PMBOK); and the project management processes will help you to apply these skills to
successfully manage projects.

This module is delivered using myUnisa and the internet and peer group interaction; community
engagement is also included in some activities. Your lecturers will interact with you on myUnisa
and via e-mail.

2.2 Outcomes

For this module, you will have to master several outcomes:

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 Specific outcome 1: To provide an understanding of the project management philosophy
and the reasons why it is considered dynamic and different from other forms of ordinary
management.
 Specific outcome 2: To provide an understanding of the life cycle concepts, project
conception and the systems development cycle. Demonstrate an understanding of the
systems approach to project management and the distinction between project and system
definition.
 Specific outcome 3: To provide an understanding of project planning fundamentals, time
planning and network scheduling. Develop ability to construct basic charts and project
scheduling networks as a project function. Understand project finance, cost estimation and
budgeting as functions of project planning.
 Specific outcome 4: To develop an understanding of project quality management, quality
assurance and quality control. Comprehend risk management in the project context. Explain
project execution and demonstrate an understanding of project evaluation, communication,
implementation and closeout.
 Specific outcome 5: To develop an understanding of project organisational structures and
integration. Understand project management roles, responsibility and authority. Understand
project leadership and the human factor in projects and how to manage project
participation, teamwork and conflict.
 Specific outcome 6: To develop an understanding of the management of project
management. Understand project selection and portfolio management. Understand
international project management and leadership. Provide summative insights into the
foundations of project success.

3 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS

3.1 Lecturer(s)

The primary lecturer for this module is Mr Alfred Sithole and the secondary lecturer Ms Zainab
Aziz:
Department: Operations Management

E-mail: sithoa@unisa.ac.za

E-mail: azizz@unisa.ac.za

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3.2 Department

You can contact the Department of Operations Management as follows:

Telephone number: +27 12 429 4220 / 012 429 2689

E-mail: ops@unisa.ac.za / blosjp@unisa.ac.za

3.3 University

To contact the university, follow the instructions on the “Contact us” page on the Unisa website.
Remember to have your student number available whenever you contact the university.

Whenever you contact a lecturer via e-mail, please include your student number in the subject
line to enable the lecturer to help you more effectively.

4 RESOURCES

4.1 Joining myUnisa

The myUnisa learning management system is the university’s online campus which will help you
communicate with your lecturers, other students, and the administrative departments within
Unisa. To claim your myUnisa account, please follow the steps below:

1. Visit the myUnisa website at https://my.unisa.ac.za/portal.

2. Click on the “Claim Unisa login” link on the top of the screen under the orange user ID box.
3. A new screen will load, prompting you to “Enter your student number”. Please enter your
student number and click “Continue”.
4. Enter your surname, full name, date of birth and South African ID number (for South African
citizens) OR your passport number (for foreign students). Then click “Continue”. Remember
to enter either an ID number or a passport number, NOT both.
5. Please read through the guidelines and click all the check boxes to acknowledge that you
have read all the information provided. Once you are done, click the “Acknowledge” button
to redirect you to the final page in the process.
6. The final page will display your myLife e-mail address, and your myLife AND myUnisa
password. This password will also be sent to the cellphone number displayed on the page
for safekeeping.
7. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for your myLife e-mail account to be created.

Remember, the password provided is your myUnisa AND myLife password.

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4.2 Prescribed book(s)

Note the prescribed book for this module is:

Nicholas, JM & Steyn, H. 2017. Project management for engineering, business and technology.
5th edition. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis (ISBN: 9781315676319)

4.3 Recommended book(s)

When completing assignments, you are expected to read more widely than the contents of the
prescribed textbook. In this regard, you may consult books from the list provided below.
However, you are not limited to consult this list of additional literature or under any obligation.
Please note that the Unisa library does not necessarily have all these books available.

■ Field, M & Keller, L. 1998. Project management. London: ITP.

■ Gray, CF & Larson, EW. 2000. Project management: the managerial process. USA:
McGraw-Hill.

■ Grundy, T & Brown, L. 2002. Strategic project management: creating organizational

breakthroughs. London: Thomson.

■ Kerzner, H. 2001. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling and

controlling. 7th edition. New York: Wiley.

■ Lewis, JP. 1997. Fundamentals of project management. New York: Amacom.

■ Mantel, SJ Jr, Meredith, JR, Shafer, SM & Sutton, MM. 2001. Project management: in
practice. New York: Wiley.

Recommended books can be requested online, via the library catalogue.

4.4 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

E-reserves can be downloaded from the library catalogue. More information is available at:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/request

4.5 Library services and resources

The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources:

 For detailed library information, go to https://unisa.ac.za/library.

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 For research support and services (e.g. personal librarians and literature search
services), go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-
services/Research-support.
 The library has created numerous library guides: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za

Recommended guides:

 Request and download recommended material:

https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request
 Postgraduate information services:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/postgrad
 Finding and using library resources and tools:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/research-support
 Frequently asked questions about the library:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask
 Services to students living with disabilities:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/disability
 Assistance with technical problems accessing the Unisa Library or resources:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/techsupport

You may also send an e-mail to Lib-help@unisa.ac.za (please add your student number in the
subject line).

5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa website is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies
This website has all the tips and information you need to succeed at Unisa.

6 HOW TO STUDY ONLINE

6.1 What does it mean to study fully online?
Studying fully online modules differs completely from studying some of your other modules at
Unisa.

 All your study material and learning activities for online modules are designed to be
delivered online on myUnisa.

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 All your assignments must be submitted online. This means that you will do all your
activities and submit all your assignments on myUnisa. In other words, you may NOT post
your assignments to Unisa using the South African Post Office.
 All communication between you and the university happens online. Lecturers will
communicate with you via e-mail and SMS, and will use the Announcements, the
Discussion Forums and the Questions and Answers options. You can also use all of
these platforms to ask questions and contact your lecturers.

6.2 myUnisa Options

The main option that we will use is the Lessons option. This option will provide the content of
and assessments for your module. At times, you will be directed to join discussions with fellow
students and complete activities and assessments before you can continue with the module.

It is very important that you log in to myUnisa regularly. We recommend that you log in at least
once a week to do the following:

 Check for new announcements. You can also set your myLife e-mail account so that you
receive the announcement e-mails on your cellphone.
 Do the Discussion Forum activities. When you do the activities for each learning unit, we
want you to share your answers with the other students in your group. You can read the
instructions and even prepare your answers offline, but you will need to go online to post
your messages.
 Do other online activities. For some of the learning unit activities you might need to post
something on the Blog option, take a quiz or complete a survey under the Self-
Assessment option. Do not skip these activities because they will help you complete the
assignments and the activities for the module.

We hope that giving you extra ways to study the material and practise all the activities will help
you succeed in the online module. To get the most out of the online module, you MUST go
online regularly to complete the activities and assignments on time.

7 ASSESSMENT
7.1 Assessment plan
The following is a breakdown of the formal assessment activities as they become due during the
year:

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ASSIGNMENT UNIQUE DUE DATE TYPE

NUMBER

ASSIGNMENT 01 DO NOT SUBMIT SELF-ASSESSMENT

ASSIGNMENT 02 857369 31 MAY 2021 COMPULSORY

ASSIGNMENT 03 802022 2 SEPTEMBER 2021 COMPULSORY

ASSIGNMENT 04 DO NOT SUBMIT SELF-ASSESSMENT

General remarks on your assignments (see annexure A):

 The compulsory assignments (Assignments 02 and 03) must be submitted on or before the
due date. You will receive feedback on both the assignments in Tutorial Letters 202 and
203.
 It is in your own interest to retain a copy of proof that compulsory Assignments 02 and 03
were submitted so that you can produce this in the event of there being any dispute
concerning whether or not the assignment was received.

Technical specifications for your essays: Use Arial 12, 1.5 line spacing, with a total of
between 12 and 14 pages when answering questions. Students should submit assignments on
or before the due date. The following are very important: (1) number the answers according to
the question numbers and (2) when submitting the assignment using MyUnisa, it must be in
PDF format.

7.2 Year mark and final examination/other options

Your year mark for this module is as follows:

A year mark of 20% will contribute to your final mark. This year mark will be calculated as an
average of the marks obtained or Assignment 02 and Assignment 03 (if you obtain at least 40%
in the examination).

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8 CONCLUSION
Do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail if you are experiencing problems with the content of this
tutorial letter or with any academic aspect of the module.

We wish you a fascinating and satisfying journey through the learning material, and trust that
you will complete the module successfully.

Enjoy the journey!

A Sithole – Lecturer for PRO4801

DEPARTMENT OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

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ANNEXURE A: ASSIGNMENTS

ASSIGNMENT 01

DO NOT SUBMIT (SELF-ASSESSMENT)

LEARNI LEARNING OUTCOME:

The aim of this assignment is to test your general orientation to project management and
your knowledge of and insight into the project management philosophy and the systems
approach (topics 1 and 2 and lessons 1–4).

1.1 Obtain a macro-perspective of the PRO4801 module. Explain the framework of this
module (the six topics and 19 lessons in the study guide) in your own words. It is very
important to remember and indicate the operations management context or perspective
of projects. (12)

1.2 Before a project manager takes action, he or she must understand the system and its
relationship to the environment. Describe the system’s viewpoint of management and
distinguish between this viewpoint and the classical and behavioural viewpoints or
approaches. (8)

1.3 Managers should be familiar with the viewpoints of management. They should
understand and diagnose each situation and then select the most appropriate leadership
style. In view of the extensive nature of different projects, no prescriptions exist for all
situations.

You have been asked by top management to prepare a lecture on project management
dynamics. The following aspects should be covered:

■ The definition and goals of a project

■ The need for and principal components of project management

■ The characteristics of projects and project management

■ The application criteria and different forms of project management

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 ■ The different project environments where project management may be applied

Provide a summary of the reasons why you think project management is dynamic.
(40)

1.4 Explain the following comment:

“There is so much talk about the system. And so little understanding” (Robert M Pirsig).

Also list the various system types that apply to project management (the system and the
solution). Therefore, you must be able to distinguish between a project solution and a
project management system on the one hand and a project management system for the
purpose of creating systems on the other hand. Use the ten most common system terms
(principles and concepts) in your discussion. (20)

1.5 Explain the systems approach to management and how this approach relates to the
systems view of a project. Also provide the following information:

■ The main characteristics of systems management

■ An evaluation of the project manager’s role in systems engineering

■ Reasons why a project is divided into lifecycle phases (the systems development
cycle) (20)

TOTAL [100]

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ASSIGNMENT 02 DUE DATE: 31 MAY 2021

UNIQUE ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: 857369 (COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT)

LEARNI LEARNING OUTCOME:

The aim of this assignment is to test your knowledge of and insight into project integration and
the systems development cycle (topic 2), project forms, the role of the informal organisation in
project management, and the role and qualifications of the project manager (topic 5).

2.1 Projects go through many uncertainties. Therefore, projects must be able to adjust.
Traditional organisations are ineffective in the face of rapid change. In contrast, project
organisations should be organic. Explain what is meant by 'organic' and distinguish how
the different kinds of integrators can enhance interaction, coordination and mutual
adjustments. (25)

2.2 The South African Satellite (SAS) project for the installation of two very advanced
satellite systems has been assigned to the board. Explain the specific content, typical
activities and different management approaches of the board, referring to each of the four
phases in the SAS systems development cycle. (25)

2.3 Defend the selection of a project structure (form of organisation) by referring to the
importance of organisational structure for projects. (20)

2.4 Differentiate between the formal and informal organisational structures and explain the
informal organisation’s role in project management. (5)

2.5 Illustrate the different focal points of a project manager’s role. Explain the effect of a
project manager’s 'umbrella' responsibility in projects. (15)

2.6 Distinguish between and explain the different categories of qualifications for a successful
project manager. (10)

TOTAL [100]

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 ASSIGNMENT 03 DUE DATE: 2 SEPTEMBER 2021

UNIQUE ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: 802022 (COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT)

LEARNI LEARNING OUTCOME:

The aim of this assignment is to test your knowledge of and insight into project planning,
project scheduling and network techniques (topic 3).

3.1 Distinguish between the different steps in the project planning process and explain the
purpose of typical questions to be answered in each step. (20)

3.2 The scheduling of work elements (work packages) is a crucial aspect in planning, since
scheduling determines the basis for resources allocation, cost estimates and project
performance. Explain how the following are utilised:

■ Project master schedule and project activities

■ Task schedules, Gantt charts and milestone schedules

■ Network scheduling (20)

3.3 Explain the different planning tools and documents (WBS and SOW) and elaborate on
the significance of each. (20)

3.4 The Taxi Recapitalisation Project (TRP) was identified, introduced and developed by the
minister of transport to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of transforming the taxi
industry. The TRP specifies 11 activities that can be accomplished either by one person
working alone or by several people working together. The activities, precedence
constraints and time estimates are shown in the following table:

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Preceding Person-days
Activities
activities required

A - 15
B A 8
C A 5
D B 6
E D 8
F C 7
G E, F 4
H F 2
I F 3
J H, I 3
K J, G 2

NOTES:

- You have five people who can be assigned on any given day.

- A person must work full days on each activity.

- The number of people working on an activity can vary from day to day.

REQUIRED:

■ Prepare a network diagram (use the AON format) and calculate the critical path(s), the early
start and finish times, the late start and finish times, and the total slack of each activity.
Assume that only one person is working on each activity. Indicate how many person-days
would be needed to complete this project.

■ Prepare a time chart (Gantt chart) for all the activities.

■ Use the time chart to prepare a daily personnel assignment sheet to complete the project
within the shortest possible time. Also mention by how many days the project could be
compressed if unlimited personnel resources were available.

■ Will the company have to pay penalties if activities H and I are delayed by nine days? How
can the slack at activity J be used to overcome this problem?
(40)

TOTAL [100]

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ASSIGNMENT 04

DO NOT SUBMIT (SELF-ASSESSMENT)

LEARNING OUTCOME:

The aim of this assignment is to test your knowledge of and insight into project management
in general, cost control, project control and successful project management.

4.1 Develop a project management model. You must only use the prescribed book as
reference to arrange the themes. Use 10–15 main categories or components. Illustrate
(draw) the model as a self-explanatory figure. (20)

4.2 Projects that are completed at exorbitantly high expense or are terminated due to a lack
of funds are relatively commonplace. What are the four major reasons for this? Should
cost control, budgeting and cost estimating be the exclusive concern of accountants or
should it be the concern of everyone? Justify your answer. (20)

4.3 Clarify the importance of project control and illustrate the different phases of the project
control process. (10)

4.4 The top management of Laboratory Bell Systems (LBS) have just received an enquiry
from the company’s board of directors concerning the project status and the progress
made on Project Alfa.

As project manager of Project Alfa you must attend an information meeting tomorrow to
give feedback on the project’s progress. The following information is at your disposal:

Project Alfa involves a contract for the installation of 400 new shade-net parking bays.
The fixed-sum contract totals R800 000 and the contract period (term) is 100 working
days. LBS intends to install four shade nets per day.

Today is day 50 since the beginning of the contract term and 210 shade nets have
already been completed. The financial section of the company calculates that the actual
cost spent on the project to date amounts to R440 000.

Prepare a report in which you indicate what the schedule, cost, time and accounting
variances are for the board of directors to assess the project’s progress at this point in

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time. Also indicate what the implications for the eventual profitability of the project will be
should the present rate of progress be maintained. (30)

4.5 Describe project failure and success and then evaluate the primary project management
causes which might lead to such failure or success. (20)

Total [100]

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