Future university in Egypt

Department of Architectural Engineering

Project Management and feasibility Studies ARC 581

Assignment 3

Students Name:
Mazen rabia Ramdan 20171238
Haneya Mustafa 20173152 (Group No. 3)
Abdallah Fayed 20171762
Hazem Ahmed 20172523

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Table of Contents:

1. Introduction 3
2. Case study 9
3 Adaptability in phases progress 9
4 Breaking the project into parts 11
5 Practicing the scope changes 12
6 References 13

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Introduction:
1.1 What is Traditional Project Management?
Traditional project management is an established methodology where
projects are run in a sequential cycle: initiation, planning, execution,
monitoring, and closure. The traditional project management approach
emphasizes linear processes, documentation, upfront planning, and
prioritization. As per the conventional method, time and budget are
variable, and requirements are fixed, due to which it often faces budget
and timeline issues. The standard methodology PMBOK® defines tools
and techniques that project managers follow for every step.

Interestingly, it also includes other methodologies such as PRINCE2,

followed by various organizations under the UK government and private
companies like Vodafone, Siemens, and others. It is also called the
Waterfall model.

Benefits of traditional methodology

 Clearly defined objectives
 Ultimate control
 Clear documentation
 More accountability

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1.2 What is Agile Project Management:
While Agile is a general approach used for software development, it
relies heavily on teamwork, collaboration, time boxing tasks, and the
flexibility to respond to change as quickly as possible.
The agile manifesto has four essential values:
More focus on individuals and interactions than processes and tools
Working software is more important than comprehensive
documentation
Customer collaboration is more vital than negotiation
The process should respond to change rather than blindly following a
plan

Benefits of Agile project management:

 Flexible prioritization
 Early and predictable delivery
 Predictable costs and schedules
 Improves quality
 More transparency

Agile follows an iterative process where projects are divided into sprints of
a shorter span. Unlike the traditional approach, less time is spent on
upfront planning and prioritization as agile is more flexible in changes and
specifications developments.

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2. Difference between traditional and agile project
methodology
The table down below shows the major differences between
the traditional and agile project methodology:

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Why is Agile preferred not traditional PM approach?
Many developers and project managers prefer to use the agile
methodology for a variety of reasons. Some of them are discussed
below:

 More flexibility
When it comes to making changes in the product or a process, agile
methodology is much more flexible than the waterfall methodology.
While working, if team members feel that there is a need to experiment
and try something different than planned, the agile methodology easily
allows them to do so. The best thing about this methodology is that it
focuses more on the product than following a rigid structure.
Unlike the traditional approach, agile methodology isn’t linear or
follows a top-down approach. This way, all the last-minute changes can
be accommodated without affecting the result and disrupting the
project schedule.
 More Transparency
In agile methodology, everything is out there and transparent. The
clients and decision-makers are actively involved in the initiation,
planning, review, and testing. Whereas in the traditional approach, the
project manager holds the reins of the project, thus others don’t get to
make the major decisions.
he agile methodology facilitates team members to view the progress
right from the start to the end. This level of transparency plays a
significant role to constitute a healthy work environment.

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  Ownership and accountability
One of the striking differences in both project management approaches
is the level of ownership and accountability that each provides to team
members. In traditional project management, a project manager is the
person of the ship, which means that the entire ownership belongs to
them. Customers are also involved during the planning phase, but their
involvement ends there as soon as the execution starts.
In the agile methodology, every team member shares ownership of the
project. Each one of them plays an active role to complete the sprint
within the estimated time. Unlike traditional project management,
everyone involved in the project can easily see the progress from the
beginning to the end.

 Constructive feedback
In the traditional approach, every single process is clearly defined and
planned from the beginning of the project. The project has to be
completed within the estimated time and budget. So, any big change or
feedback that might push the deadline is skipped. At the same time, agile
management allows constant feedback that helps provide better output.
Due to high acceptance for feedback in agile methodology, it has
become the first choice for many project managers and software
developers. They can respond to customer requests as customers get to
validate each iteration to deliver a high-quality product or service within
the delivery time.

 Project completion

Traditional project management methodology is majorly used for small

or less complex projects owing to its linear nature. As discussed earlier,
this methodology isn’t a fan of sudden changes and avoids them strictly
as it would take the team back to square one.

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How to choose the correct approach
In reality, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ methodology suitable for every
project or organization. The choice to implement a method primarily
depends on factors such as the nature of the project, size, resources
involved, among others.
Most of the time, intelligent project managers decide which
methodology to adopt during the beginning or initiation of the project. 
He takes the final call in agreement with other project sponsors and
people involved in the project planning process. Mentioned below are
some factors you can take into consideration while choosing a suitable
methodology for your project.
 Take a look at the project requirements. Are the requirements clear?
If project requirements are unclear or tend to change, choose the
agile methodology. And, the traditional method fits best in a
situation where the conditions are clearly defined and well
understood from the first go.
 Consider the technology involved in the project. The traditional
project management methodology is more appropriate if no new
technology or tools are applied. Agile methods allow more space
for experimentation with the latest technology as it is more flexible
than the traditional approach.
 Is the project prone to unwanted risks and threats? Considering the
rigid nature of the traditional methodology, it’s not advisable to go
with this methodology. However, risks can be addressed sooner in
the agile approach, and it seems like a better option in terms of risk
management.
 Another critical factor is the availability of resources. The
traditional approach works best with significant and complex teams
and projects. Whereas an agile team usually consists of a limited
number of experienced team members.
 The criticality of an end product depends a lot on the nature of the
chosen project management methodology. As the traditional
method involves documentation, it is very much suitable for critical
products compared to the agile project management methodology

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Case Study: Burj Khalifa
The Dubai Burj Khalif Tower Project was a construction project that
involved the building of the tallest skyscraper in the world, a project
that was overseen by Emaar Properties whose Chairman Mohamed Ali
Alabbar, also a member of the Dubai Executive Council, played a most
important part not only in its development but also in the growth of
Dubai’s real estate sector as a whole. Emaar Properties, a Joint Stock
Company owned by the public, is one of the leading global real estate
companies and the biggest Construction and Development Company.
1. Adaptability in phases progress
Burj Khalifa is the largest skyscraper in the world with a height of
2722feet. construction of the project began in 2004 and the exterior of
the building was completed in 2009.It is a reinforced concrete
structure. The building was opened for the general public in 2010 The
country's aim with this project was to gain international popularity and
diversify their economy. the buildings accompanied by a fountain which
is also the world’s largest fountain costing. Designing building to
withstand the wind pressure, funding of the project, designing
thee2ective sewerage system were the major issues related to this
project. This was a huge iconic project that re3uired to face massive
challenges. the other main motive was to bring urban engineering into
the construction sector. one of the unique features of this building is its
architectural work that adopted the y shape. The reason behind the y
shape building was to prevent it from the massive wind pressure and to
increase the factor of safety against another load. The project was
constructed in order to serve commercial, hotel, residential, fun
environment, water fountain along with shopping mall. hence, it can be
concluded that the overall objective was not only to construct the
world’s tallest building but to become a symbol of inspiration. The Burj
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Khalifa tower resembles the shape of flower located on a desert. It
resembles the sense of nationality. Burj Khalifa also utilized the most
recent developments in air current engineering, mechanical
engineering, structural schemes, building supplies and procedures.
Other features that also result in a project’s undertaking are the legal
need and a social requirement. The Burj Khalifa Project was an
undertaking that had never been performed before; it also ended with
the precise achievements it set out to meet. It engaged the services of
other partners as well as individuals on an ad hoc agreement plan and
all its stages and undertakings were sequenced. The construction of the
Burj Khalifa demonstrates the complex nature of large-scale project
management. First, the company Emaar needed to have an
organizational structure in place that could support these ventures. A
heavy-weighted matrix project organizational model best fits the
nature of Emaar’s projects. Emaar also utilizes organizational structure
models of management in both hierarchical and flat structure, with
project management being the foundation to all functional entities in
their project process. The building of the Burj Khalifa showed the world
the cooperative ventures of architecture, engineering, construction,
and follow through that is required for a venture of this scope. The five-
stage process given in the diagram presented earlier in this report was
generally followed by the Emaar in getting from implementation to
closing.

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2. Breaking the project into parts

1. Idea formation of the Burj Khalifa project

2. Choosing the building site and running assessment on all variables
(codes, politicians, risks, financials, human resources, building
materials).
3. Choosing contractors for architecture, engineering, and
construction.
4. Hiring workers for the project.
5. Planning purchase and delivery of materials.
6. Choosing subcontractors for inner construction work on pools and
aesthetics.
7. Using EVM as a method of assessing and tracking project
management.

This work breakdown structure is very general, and WBS’s can and
should be very specific, being 100% exhaustive and 100% mutually
exclusive in capturing all the relevant elements of the project. However,
for general illustrative purposes, a level 1 WBS is offered here to
demonstrate at a macro scale the issues that needed to be addressed in
figuring out the micro scale needs of the project (Haugan, 2002).
Assessing risk in a project such as the Burj Khalifa is paramount in
managing this scope of a project. Risk in project management relates to
the potential harm that may arise from some activity, on the future
progress of the project. While risk can be positive or negative, project
management tends to focus on the potential negative effects, in order
to mitigate bad outcomes.

3. Practicing the scope changes

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_ The main scope of the project was to develop the world tallest
skyscraper along with the shift of country economy to tourism. not only
this, Dubai government planned to create the business hub for world

-Time
The project was started in 2004 A.D and was supposed to be completed
in 2008 A.D. The project took 9 month of extra time to complete and
was finished in 2009 A.D. Burj Khalifa was officially opened to general
public in 2010 A.D. The cost of the project was increased with the
inflation and change in design. The delay of time can be linked with
Dubai shock” which was caused by massive change in real estate
investments. The construction was stopped for month in 2008 A.D

- Cost of the project

the initial plan cost of the project was 879 million dollars. In the end the
initial total cost of the project was 1.5 billion dollar. the main reasons
behind the increase in the cost were inflation downturn of global
economy in 2008. the inflation 2008 causes the increase of iron by 75%.
prices of cements and other commodities were the main factor behind
the increased cost
of construction. the other factor that lead to cost increase was change
in the design. the height of the project was increased to 110m than the
original design.

References:
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 1. https://www.proofhub.com/articles/traditional-vs-agile-project-
management
2. https://premium-papers.com/burj-khalifa-project-management/
3. https://bohatala.com/burj-khalifa-project-management-case-
study-analysis/
4. https://www.academia.edu/28774707/
Burj_Khlaifa_Management_analysis

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