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The Elements of a Project

Justin Hall

Arizona State University

OGL 321: Project Leadership

Dr. Christen Mann

July 26, 2020

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There are three main elements that greatly impact the result of a project; those include

scope, schedule, and budget. A successful project requires that these three elements be properly

planned, executed, and maintained. It is ultimately the Project Manager’s role to ensure these

three elements stay on track, starting with the estimation and planning of the project. According

to the 5 Phases of Project Management, “One way to organize a project is to sort it into 5

phases.” (Pathak, 2020) The 5 phases of project management identified are project initiation

phase, project planning phase, project execution phase, project monitoring and control phase, and

project closure phase.

After the project initiation phase comes the project planning phase. You can look at

almost anything you do as a project, from mowing your yard to actual projects for work, such as

fabricating and installing a new pipeline. During the project planning phase, documents are

created for areas such as scope, budget, schedule, quality, and several more. This is the start of

the project and a critical pivot point. “Schedule risks are associated with elements such as

incorrect estimates, unqualified personnel, and lack of resources.” (Heldman, 2005) If the project

is not properly budgeted and planned, it will be hard to ensure the success of that project. I have

experienced the weight of a project not being properly estimated and planned. The company

ended up losing $1.5 million dollars on a $1.6 million dollar project.

The company did not have the proper personnel in the appropriate roles to ensure that the

project had a sound budget and was planned out properly. “Low performers risk wasting 14

times more money on project than high performers.” (PMI, 2013) Proper management and high

performance of the scope, budget and schedule greatly decreases the risk a company has when

taking on projects. “Organizations with high performance in these three measures risk only US

$20 million per US $1 billion spent, while their less successful peers jeopardize US $280 million
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for the same US $1 billion spent.” (PMI, 2013) I have learned that the estimation of a project sets

the standard on how the project will turn out. If you take the time and energy to look at every

avenue of the project and ensure you have every possible area covered, then you increase the

chance your project will be successful.

With a sound budget in place and the project properly planned, the success rate of the

project drastically increases. One area that I have seen become a drastic hinderance within an

organization is not having standardized practices. When you have multiple project managers

working on different projects with varying practices, then you jeopardize the projects in the case

that something happens to one of the project managers. If something happens to one of the

project managers, such as they decide to switch companies, it is critical for another project

manager to be able to pick up exactly where their predecessor left off. This will ensure that there

is no lull during the project execution and project monitoring and control phases. “High-

performing organizations are almost three times more likely than low-performing organizations

(36 percent vs. 13 percent) to use standardized practices throughout the organization and have

better project outcomes as a result.” (PMI, 2013)

Any Project Manager should be able to walk onto a job for their company and pick up

where a previous Project Manager left off. This includes being able to properly identify the scope

requirements and any changes that have been made to the scope up to the point of them taking

over. “Scope defines elements such as goals, deliverables, and requirements of the project.”

(Heldman, 2005) During the project monitoring and control phase, “scope verification and

control occur to check and monitor for scope creep and change of control to track and manage

changes to project requirement.” (Pathak, 2020) A project manager must be diligent with their

projects to ensure that they do not experience project failure. Even though failure is sometime
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inevitable, ensuring that you stay on top of any shifts or changes made to your project, you will

be able to communicate these changes with the rest of the team early and have a better possibility

to correct them.

The one phase that I feel has a significant role in the success or failure of a project is the

project closure phase. If a project manager has successfully estimated and planned the project,

executed the project with minimum delays or changes and is able to successfully complete the

project with meeting the requirements of the budget, scope and schedule, they have had a

successful project. However, this can quickly change during the project closure phase. As I am

experiencing right now, a project was completed approximately six months ago, however, the

company is still spending money and resources to try and close the project out. The project

manager for the project did not ensure that the documentation they were keeping during the

project was to the client specifications and standards. When they went to close out the project,

the client sent the documentation back to the company and told them to fix it. However, the

Project Manager had taken employment elsewhere at this point, leaving the company in a bind.

There are many stipulations that play a role in the success of a project. From hiring the

right Project Manager for the job, accurately estimating, and planning the project, all the way to

closing out the project, each phase is critical to the success or failure. The main three elements

that you hear Project Managers discuss is that of scope, budget, and schedule. When looking at

these three elements within the five phases listed, everything has it’s place, and with the proper

personnel, you can help increase the chances of a successful project.

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References:

Heldman, K. (2005) Preventing Scope and Schedule Risks. Project Manager’s Spotlight on Risk

Management. Sybex Inc.

PMI (2013). The High Cost of Low Performance 2013

Pathak, R. (2020, July 9). 5 Phases of Project Management. Project-management.com.

https://project-management.com/project-management-phases/