An

Industrial Training Report

On

Initiating and Planning Projects

on COURSERA

Submitted By
PRASANNA DHANANJAY
THAWARE
(BE18F02F057)

In partial fulfilment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering

(MECHANICAL)

Under Guidance of
Prof. Madhavi Harne

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

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Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad.

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 Year: 2021-2022

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that, the industrial report on “Initiating and
Planning Projects on COURSERA” submitted by
PRASANNA DHANANJAY THAWARE (BE18F02F057) is a
Bonafide work completed under my supervision and guidance in
partial fulfilment for degree of Bachelor Engineering
(Mechanical) of Government College of Engineering,
Aurangabad.

Place : Aurangabad

Date :

Prof. Madhavi Harne Dr. S.B. Chikalthankar

Guide Head of Mechanical Engg. Department

Principal
Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Any achievement, be it scholastic or other, does not depend

solely on the individual efforts but on the guidance, encouragement and
cooperation of intellectuals, elders and friends. A number of personalities, in
their own capacities have helped me in carrying out this seminar work. I would
like to take this opportunity to thank them all.

First of all, I would like to express my hearty gratitude to

Dr.P.B. Murnal, Principal, and Government College of Engineering,
Aurangabad for giving me this opportunity to enrich our knowledge.

I would like to express my hearty gratitude to Dr.S.B.

Chikalthankar, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, for
providing permission and facilities to conduct the seminar in a systematic way.

I express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Madhavi Harne,

seminar guide, Department of Mechanical Engineering for inspiring and
sincere guidance throughout the seminar.

Last but not the least, I wish to thank my parents for financing my studies in this
college as well as for constantly encouraging us to learn and providing us this
opportunity.

PRASANNA DHANANJAY THAWARE

(BE18F02F057)

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 ABSTRACT
Today’s professional environment is highly competitive,
continuously changing, and difficult to manage.
Employees rarely reach positions of leadership without
managing one or more projects or a project segment
early in their career. The goal of this Specialization is to
give you the tools to more effectively and successfully
manage projects; to give you a solid foundation of
knowledge, skills, and confidence that sets you apart
and gives you a competitive edge as you move toward
leadership positions.

This Project Management for Engineering Professionals

Specialization is designed as an introduction to Project
Management. It is targeted for engineers who are
interested in improving their project management skills
in a new leadership position or in advance of their first
leadership position. As part of the Specialization, we will
prepare key Project Execution Plan documents based
on available templates.

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 INDEX
------------------------------------------------
----------------------Contents
Page No.
Certificate………………………………………………….………………..2
Coursera Certificate…………………………………………………………3
Acknowledgement……………………………………….………………….4
Abstract……………………………………….………….………………….5
1. Introduction………………………………………….……...……………7

2. What is Project Management? .....……..….….. ……….…….…....…8

3. What is a Project ……………………….……………………...…………9
4. The Five Phases of the Project Life Cycle ……………………....………9
5. The Triple Constraint ……………………................................................12
6. What Is a Project Manager? ………..………….………………….....…..13
7. Get to Know your Stakeholders …….………….……………...……..….16
8. Stakeholders Management…………………………………….………....17
9. Project Organization Structures……………………….…………...….....20
10. Project Management Software and Tools ………………………….….30
11. The Project Management Phases: How to Manage a Project …….……35
12. Project Management Roles……………………………………………..41
13. Project Management Processes………………………………..……......42

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14. Conclusion……………………….……………………………..………46

1.INTRODUCTION

In this course, I have learned the key principles of project

initiating and planning, which will include mapping
stakeholders, the scope of work, and the project Work
Breakdown Structure. Successful projects require careful
upfront planning. In this course, I learn the key roles and
responsibilities of the project manager and project team. I also
learnt to answer some key questions upfront to help us meet
project objectives: What will this project accomplish? Why is
this project important? Who benefits from this project? How
will we plan for successful outcomes?

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 2. What is Project Management?
Project management is the discipline of planning and
executing projects. Project management seeks to achieve
defined goals by using plans, schedules and resources to execute
project activities within a set timeframe. The discipline of project
management consists of:

 Project management processes

 Project management phases

 Project management roles

 Project management tools

 Project management methodologies

Project goals and objectives are defined by the client or

stakeholders, and a project manager applies project management
methodologies to create a plan that establishes the resources,
tasks, milestones and deliverables necessary to meet stakeholder
requirements. This plan must also account for the triple
constraint, which refers to the limitations of time, cost and scope
that apply to every project.

In order to balance constraints, requirements and schedules,

managers often use project management software to execute
projects. Online software can keep projects on track and teams
productive.

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 3. What is a Project ?

A project is a series of tasks with a specific objective (or

deliverable) to be completed within a set timeline, and upon
completion, a product or service is created. Projects are unique
because they end, unlike other business functions that repeat or
continue regularly.

4. The Five Phases of the Project Life Cycle

Every project goes through the project life cycle, which is made
up of five project management stages: initiation, planning,
execution, monitoring and control and closure.

Phase 1: Project Initiation

This is the starting phase where the project manager must prove
that the project has value and is feasible. This includes creating a
business case that justifies the need for the project, and a
feasibility study to prove it can be executed within a reasonable
time and cost.

Then a project charter, which is a document that conveys what

the project is going to deliver, is created. A project brief serves a
similar purpose. Their main difference is that a project charter is
part of the PMBOK framework, while a project brief aligns with
the PRINCE2 methodology.

This project management stage culminates in a project kickoff

meeting, where the team, stakeholders and other relevant parties

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are brought together to lay out the project goals, schedule,
processes and the chain of communication.

Phase 2: Project Planning

After the project has been approved, the project moves into the
second project management phase: project planning. The goal of
this phase is the creation of the project plan, which will be the
guide for the next two phases. The project plan must include
every component associated with the execution of the project,
including the costs, risks, resources and timeline.

During this phase, the project scope (the work required to

complete the project) is defined using a work breakdown
structure (WBS). The WBS breaks the project down into activities,
milestones and deliverables, making it easy for project managers
to create schedules and assign tasks to their team members.

Project managers often lay out their project plan using a Gantt
chart, which provides a visual representation of the entire
project. This provides a roadmap for the work until the project
reaches its conclusion.

Phase 3: Project Execution

The third project management phase is project execution, which

is when the tasks and milestones outlined in the plan are tackled
to produce the deliverable to the client’s or stakeholder’s
satisfaction.

Along the way, the project manager will reallocate resources as

needed to keep the team working. In addition, they will identify

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and mitigate risks, deal with problems and incorporate any
changes.

Phase 4: Project Monitoring and Control

The fourth project management phase, project monitoring and

control, takes place concurrently with the execution phase of the
project. It involves monitoring the progress and performance of
the project to ensure it stays on schedule and within budget.
Quality control procedures are applied to guarantee quality
assurance.

The biggest issues in a project are typically related to three

factors—time, cost and scope, which collectively are referred to
as the triple constraint. The main goal of this phase is to set firm
controls on the project to ensure those three factors don’t go off
track.

Phase 5: Project Closure

The fifth project management phase is project closure, in which

the final deliverables are presented to the client or stakeholder.
Once approved, resources are released, documentation is
completed and everything is signed off on. At this point the
project manager and team can conduct a post-mortem to
evaluate the lessons learned from the project.

Depending on the project, the closure phase may include handing

over control to a different team, such as an operations
management team. In this case, it is the job of the project
manager to ensure such a transition occurs smoothly.

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 5. The Triple Constraint
The triple constraint, also known as the project management
triangle, refers to the boundaries of time, scope and cost that
apply to every project. This concept is a cornerstone of project
management, and therefore managers must pay special attention
to the schedule, budget and work breakdown structure during the
planning phase. Let’s look at how time, scope and cost are
managed with the help of project management processes.

Time

Project managers must estimate the time required to complete a

project. To do so, they use tools such as PERT charts or
the critical path method. This must be done during the initiation
and planning phases of the project life cycle to develop a
schedule covering the duration of all the activities. Once the
execution phase begins, the status of the project must be
monitored to make changes to the schedule baseline. The project
management process responsible for this constraint is schedule
management.

Scope

The scope refers to all the work necessary to complete a project.

It must be identified during the planning stage by using a work
breakdown structure. If the scope is not properly defined early in
the project, it can expand during the execution phase due to
unplanned activities. This is known as scope creep, and might
cause projects to fail. The scope management process helps keep
this constraint in check.

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Cost

There are many costs associated with a project. Project managers

are responsible for estimating, budgeting and controlling costs so
the project can be completed within the approved budget. All of
this falls under the process known as cost management.

The Importance of the Triple Constraint

Clearly, the triple constraint is crucial to any project. And it’s

critical to remember that the three points of this triangle are
always influencing one another. If there is a setback in time, then
there will have to be an adjustment in either scope or cost. The
same being true for the other points. It’s the duty of the project
manager to always keep these constraints in check.

6. What Is a Project Manager?

A project manager is the individual tasked with planning and
executing the project: this is the person responsible for leading
the team and organizing the work. In more formal, structured
organizations and on larger, more complex projects, the project
manager is usually a certified project management professional
(PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

In more informal organizations, such as a small business, the

project manager does not require certification. Project managers
are responsible for all the different project management
processes taking place throughout the project life cycle, such as

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risk management, task management, resource management,
among others. In simple terms, they supervise the planning,
execution, monitoring and closure of the project.

However, most project managers share common roles and

responsibilities. Some of the more traditional duties of a project
manager include the following:

 Scope Management: Defining the work needed to complete

the project activities

 Task Management: Planning tasks and defining their

deliverables

 Resource Management: Using people, capital, materials and

all other resources efficiently

 Team Management: Assembling and leading a team

 Schedule Management: Analyzing the duration of activities

to create a project schedule. Once the execution phase
begins, the project status must be monitored to update the
schedule baseline

 Quality Management: Establishing a quality policy for the

project’s deliverables and implementing quality assurance and
quality control procedures

 Cost Management: Estimating costs and creating a budget

 Stakeholder Management: Satisfying stakeholders

expectations and communicating with them throughout the
project life cycle

 Risk management: Identifying, monitoring and minimizing

project risk

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 Status Reporting: Monitoring and tracking progress and
performance by generating reports and other documentation

Project managers learn and receive certification from the Project

Management Institute (PMI), which has codified standards in the
Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). The Project
Management Professional certification (PMP) is standard for
project managers, but the PMI offers more specialized training
choices such as the program management professional (PgMP)
and Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP).

Armed with their knowledge and skills, project managers rely on

project management software to execute all of the tasks
necessary for a successful project.

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 7. Get to Know your Stakeholders

A stakeholder is any individual, group, or party that has an interest in an

organization and the outcomes of its actions. Common examples of
stakeholders include employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers,
communities, and governments. Different stakeholders have different
interests, and companies often face trade-offs in trying to please all of
them.

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8. Stakeholders Management

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Power v/s Interest Grid

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 9. Project Organization Structures

1. Organic or Simple Organization

This type of organization is very flexible and able to adapt well to

market changes. 

This structure is characterized by having few rules, regulations and

management layers and a decentralized decision making a layout.

The organic organization's design deals well with a rapidly changing

environment. People work side-by-side to communicate quickly and
often solving unforeseen problems, issues and requirements.

Here, the project manager has very little or no authority, and may or
may not have a designated job role.

2. Line Organization

This is the simplest form of organizational structure commonly adopted

by small companies. It has well-defined authority levels in the
hierarchical structure. Power flows from the top down to different
operational levels or workers.

The hierarchical structure clearly defines authority, responsibility, and

accountability at each level.

Due to its simplicity, authority and responsibilities are transparent and

easily traceable. Communication is fast and easy because employees
get quick feedback and respond fast.

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The project manager performs duties based on position or authority in
the hierarchy. Some organizations don’t have this position, but when
they do, they may have little or nothing to do.

3. Line and Staff Organization

The Line and Staff Organization is a modification of the Line

Organization. Here, functional specialists work with line managers to
guide and advise them.

This structure is more common in present-day, and most of the larger

enterprises adopt this type of set up.

The staff consists of two categories; the general and the specialized
team.

General Staff

The general staff consists of the ordinary employees that assist the top
management. These staff aren’t experts
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Specialized Staff

This team consists of experts that offer services to the organization.

Their roles can be advisory, control (as in quality control), or service
(such as maintenance).

The Line and Staff Organization uses the expertise of specialists. So the
line managers become better in several fields.

 
Advantages

 Staff can make quality decisions, get support from specialists, and enjoy better coordination.
 Get training to enhance skills, get an opportunity to work in research & development.

Disadvantages

 Increased confusion and conflicts among the staff

 Higher costs on hiring specialist
 A tendency to develop personal image within the group

4. Functional Organization

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The Functional Organization groups workers based on their area of
specialization. This structure is an extension of the Line Organization.
The functional manager leads the team and manages all the operations
or businesses.

The Functional Organization manager enforces directives within a

clearly defined scope of authority. This concept originated with Fredrick
W. Taylor.

Here you classify workers according to their functional roles and

department. Some of the general departments under this are

    - Finance

    - HR

    - Sales

    - Customer service

    - Supply Chain, etc.,

The organization's head is the president, followed by the vice president,

and the chain goes on. Furthermore, the leaders of departments
foresee their departmental performance. So they collectively help the
organization control quality and uniformity.

The structure positions departments vertically and disconnected from

others. Hence the name “silos.” The department heads manage
communication between the top management and his subordinates.

The project manager has a minimal role to play or may not have a
designated position. Generally, you'll play the role of an expediter or
work as a coordinator. While as a functional manager, you'll deal with

    - Budget allocation

    - Resource allocation, and

    - Decision making.

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This type of organization is suitable for manufacturing or engineering
companies. It supports ongoing operations and practices for producing
standard products.

 
Advantages

Some of the main benefits of this type of organization are:

 It groups employees based on functional skills for a higher degree of performance.

 Employees have experience in the same field, resulting in higher output. Also, they deliver high-qual
 Accountability is evident, as the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined.
 Hierarchy is visible and no need for multiple reporting
 No duplication of work as each department is different. Also, the job description is clear.
 Career path for the staff is clear and visible

Disadvantages

 Employees get bored from the routine and lose enthusiasm.

 It limits the management skills of functional managers. Hence, they face restrictions on their growth
management posts.
 Departments are more concerned with their departmental goals. Hence may be less responsive to t
 Hiring costs are too high as high-skilled employees cost more.
 It causes conflicts in making critical decisions as a result of bureaucratic hierarchy. Functional mana

5. Divisional Organization

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This type of organization often resembles a Functional Organization.
The team members work in different departments. This setup splits the
employees into segments based on products, markets, or services.

Albeit, the divisional organization's segments or division are

autonomous. Functional units that support this structure include:

    - Operations,

    - Marketing,

    - R & D department, and

    - Personnel, etc.

This design focuses on service lines like products, customers, area, and
time. Since they operate as small organizations, they're called “self-
contained structures.”

So they work independently on divisional goals. But all divisions

collectively meet the organizational policies and business objectives.

This type of organization is suitable for companies that

    - Operate in different geographical locations,

    - Have chain stores with subsidiaries, and

    - Banking and insurance business

Here, the project managers may or may not exist or may be hired on

temporary assignments.

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Advantages

 People work in different geographical locations and enjoy different work environments
 Share ideas and enhance skills, thereby creating a collaborative work culture. Thus enhancing overa

Disadvantages

 This structure affects the integration of the organization as a whole.

 The autonomous nature often results in duplication of functions and resources.
 Segmentation creates boundaries among divisions and may lead to poor inter-unit coordination

6. Project Organization

Project organization is a temporary setup formed for specific projects.

It's also called “projectized organizational structure.” The project
manager assigned for the project is the head of this structure.

Once the project is complete, you may choose to dismantle this setup
or move it to form a new project. In the case of a new project, the
project manager might have to reshuffle the staff to fit the new plan.
You’ll hire resources or specialists from different functional
departments.

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As a project manager, you can use allotted resources until completion
and closeout. Albeit you're accountable for all the activities and timely
completion of the project. In other words, you must spend based on
the project budget.

The manager assigns clearly defined tasks to each of the team

members, along with the complete schedule.

These types of organizations are useful when:

    - The project scope is complete, and objectives are clearly defined

    - Project is unique and independent

 
Advantages

 Easy to communicate, hence can stay up to date

 The team can have a strong sense of identity as all are working together to achieve a common goal
 Manage resources efficiently and effectively

Disadvantages

 No clear growth path for the team once the project gets completed

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  It's expensive because the organization dedicates all the specialists for one single project.

7. Matrix Organization

This one is the combination of a projectized and functional

organization. This hybrid organization overcomes the limitations of
each organization. Here, both the functional and project managers
share their respective authorities.

Project managers are generally responsible for

    - Overall integration

    - Project planning

    - Execution of the project, and

    - Completion of project activities.

All activities must be done using the assigned resources.

The functional managers are concerned with the operational aspects of

the project. They’re also responsible for providing technical guidance.

The functional staff specializes in the skills required for the project.
Though project managers manage the project staff, functional
managers control the process.

This type of organization is most useful when workers must share

available resources. The combination achieves high efficiency and
better usage of available resources. Also, they adapt better to the
changing trends.

You can further classify the Matrix Organization into

    - Balanced

    - Strong and

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    - Weak

The authority level that both functional and project managers share
determines its strength.

 
Advantages

 It helps in sharing resources efficiently

 Decision making is balanced and flexible
 Staff members can communicate with each other across boundaries
 Pleasant environment
 It has a clear career graph and job security; hence, members would be more loyal to the organizatio

Disadvantages

 The dual reporting structure add confusion and results in conflicts

 Create issues when there is no coordination between functional and project managers
 Resources may be under-utilized if you don't assign them with skill-related tasks
 Costly to maintain as it has many managers
 You need to maintain resources throughout the project, no matter how long it takes

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8. Virtual Organization

A virtual organization is a recent development that involves different

locations. When your team executes a project in one area, you can
manage it from any other place. So you can distribute resources to your
project team regardless of location.

You can connect all the locations virtually. The other names for this
organizational structure are:

    - Digital organization

    - Network organization, or

    - Modular organization

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ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is the backbone of
virtual organizations. This organization is a social network without
vertical and horizontal boundaries.

Resources aren't tied to a particular workstation (desk). Also, you can

work from any mobile device. You can manage every project activity,
including meetings, virtually.

The team reports digitally except on a few occasions that need physical
meetings. Hence, it's common to hear of virtual offices, virtual teams,
and virtual leadership

This setup is most suitable for software or IT companies.

Advantages

 Faster and cost-effective as there are no boundaries to work and communication.

 Lower operating costs as no permanent set up required (no need for office premises)
 Have several options like flexitime, part-time work, job-sharing, and home-based working, hence inc
 Employee satisfaction and efficiency
 Can have a larger talent pool

Disadvantages

 No physical contact or communication, thus, lacks team integrity

 Difficult to restrict information sharing as your locations are different
 You have to spread resources across various locations and time zones
 Resources require training for virtual interaction
 Different time zones cause delayed responses

10. Project Management Software and

Tools

Project management software is a platform for managers to plan,

monitor and report on projects; it lets teams manage their work
and collaborate, too. Good project management software

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empowers teams, so they can manage all the details crucial for a
successful project. Watch the video below to see project
management software in action: There are a wide range of
project management tools, both online and mobile, available to
manage projects:

Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are an interactive and collaborative tool which

display a project as a spreadsheet to the left and a timeline to the
right. Tasks are listed to the left and populate the timeline, with a
status bar stretching from the start date to the end date. They
are used to plan and schedule projects.

But there is much more a Gantt chart can do, such as set
milestones, assign and link dependent tasks, so that if one task’s
date changes, all downstream tasks will adjust as well. Editing is
easily done by dragging and dropping.

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Dashboard

A project dashboard is a widget that displays project data points

such as budget, task status, team workload and overall plan
status. It provides a high-level view of the project and its
progress as mapped by several metrics.

Some dashboards are created taking disparate project reports

and compiling them in an external program. Most project
management tools have a feature that automatically creates a
project dashboard from your project data.

The dashboard is an ideal tool to keep stakeholders updated on

the project, as they usually don’t want to get into great detail.

Task List

A task list is used to manage, assign and track tasks over the
course of the project to make sure they’re meeting the demands
of the project schedule.

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A good task management tool gives teams control over their
tasks and managers more transparency into the process.

Kanban Board

A kanban board is a board (either physical or digital) with

columns representing the production cycle and cards under those
columns representing the tasks. Cards are moved from column to
column as tasks are scheduled, executed and completed.

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Kanban provides transparency and keeps teams focused on the
work at hand.

Project Reports

Project reports are used to compile and share data on key

performance indicators of a project, such as actual progress vs.
the baseline, costs, time, workload and much more.

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 Keeping track of the project’s progress and performance is critical
to meeting milestones and delivering a successful project.
Reports should be easy to share, as they’re a communication tool
for updating stakeholders.

11. The Project Management Phases: How

to Manage a Project
Initiation Phase

1. Documentation: Every project has documentation that must be

completed before the project can begin in earnest, such as a
business case, which lists the reasons why the project is needed,
the project objectives and what the return on investment will be.
There’s a feasibility study to determine if the project is even

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 possible with consideration to an organization’s resources and
business goals.

2. Assemble Project Team: Resources are needed to execute any

project. Before a project schedule can be made, a project team
must be created to cover the skill sets and experience the project
demands. This includes creating job descriptions, what the
objective is and what their responsibilities will be in the project.
All this information can be later put into a team charter.

3. Set Up Project Office: The project management office is usually

a physical space set up for the project manager. Determining
where this will be is part of the initiation phase of a project. Not
only the project manager, but any support staff will be located in
this space. So, the infrastructure for the project management
office needs to be set up, which includes having project
management software and any equipment needed for the project.

Planning Phase

1. Create Task List: Tasks are the smaller activities that build up

to the final deliverable in a project. They are in essence tiny
projects and identifying them is a critical project planning step.
Develop a task list by putting the final project deliverable on the
top of a work breakdown structure, which is a tree diagram that
maps the path to completing the project without missing any vital
steps along the way.

2. Make a Budget: Tasks cost money. They require team members

to execute and other resources, which can include materials,
tools, etc. The budget is a way to estimate the cost of the project.

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3. Risk Management Plan: If only the project would conform to
the plan. But there are always changes; some within your control
and others outside of it. Before starting a project, you need to try
and identify risks and have a risk management plan to monitor
and respond quickly to them.

4. Communications Plan: Good communications means a

successful project. A clear communication plan ensures the
people who need to be kept informed will be, along with the level
of information they require, the frequency and how they will get
it.

5. Make a Project Schedule: The Gantt chart is the preferred

method used by project managers to schedule their projects.
Some tasks are dependent on others before they can start or
end, and these task dependencies can create bottlenecks later on
in the project. By linking them on a Gantt, a head’s up is created
to avoid slowing down the schedule. Projects can be divided by
milestones, diamond symbols, which indicate the end of one
phase and the beginning of the next.

6. Assign Tasks Tasks: are only ideas until they’re given to a team

member to complete. All the preparation you’ve put into planning
is dependent on getting that assignment out to the team, so they
can do what they were hired to do.

Execution Phase

1. Task Management: To make sure a task is done right, it has to

be managed each step on the way, from planning to completion.
This involves monitoring and reporting to make sure the task is
being executed within the timeframe of the planned schedule.
Project managers and team members need to manage their

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 tasks. Task lists and kanban boards are two popular tools for task
management.

2. Schedule Management: Once a schedule is created, it must be

monitored through the project execution to make sure it stays on
track. Proper schedule management charts a path to keep task
progress, goals, priorities and deadlines matching with the
schedule. Effective schedule management means greater
productivity. Project management software should have time
tracking features to help with this process.

3. Cost Management: Just as a schedule is planned, so too is the

budget. But that doesn’t mean the job is done. As anyone with a
wallet knows, money has a tendency to disappear. Project costs
must be controlled to keep them within the agreed budget.

4. Quality Management: Deliverables should be produced on time

and within budget, but if the quality is lacking then the project
isn’t successful. Therefore, make sure whatever success criteria
and quality requirements have been set by stakeholders is being
met.

5. Change Management: Broadly, change management is a

process for improving business processes, budget allocation and
operations in an organization. However, when applied to project
management, the focus is narrowed to the project itself and
controlling changes in scope during the execution phase.

6. Procurement Management: Few is the project that can be

done without having to purchase, rent or contract with outside
resources. This process is called procurement. Managing
relationships with vendors and suppliers is what procurement
management is all about.

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7. Resource Management: Resources are anything needed to get
the project done. That includes the team, supplies, equipment,
materials, etc. Resource planning includes the roles and
responsibilities for the team, what they’ll need and where they’ll
be working.

8. Collaboration: Once the execution of the project begins, the

planning leads the way, but team members need to have tools to
work together so they can stay in close communications. This
leads to greater productivity. Collaboration can be facilitated by
team-building exercises and tools that connect team members,
whether they’re in the same office or working remotely.

Monitor & Control Phase

1. Monitor the Process: When executing a project, one is

constantly monitoring its progress from every angle and doing
the best to control the process to maintain the schedule and
budget of the project plan. This technique can be summed up as
constantly checking the actual performance of the project against
its planned performance. When anomalies occur, this offers a
chance to catch them quickly and fix them fast to maintain
control. There are many project controls, such as project
strategy, methodology, risk management, quality and resources,
to name a few.

2. Reporting: Reporting has a twofold impact on the project. One is

that it allows project managers to track progress, and two, it
provides data for stakeholders during presentations to keep them
in the loop. Project reports can vary from task progress to
variance and cost. There are reports on project and portfolio

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 status, timesheets, workload, allocation and expenses. All the
reports can be customized to get the data needed.

Closing Phase

1. Transfer Deliverables: The project is about producing a

deliverable. That marks the end of the project execution and the
beginning of the project close. Therefore, make sure all
deliverables are identified, complete and handed off to the proper
party.

2. Confirm Completion: At this stage, confirmation is needed from

all stakeholders, clients, even the team. That means sign-offs, so
there is no confusion and last-minute change requests.

3. Review Documentation: Usually, the project manager is

responsible for going over all contracts and documentation to
make sure everything has been okay and signed off on.
Sometimes in larger organizations there is a dedicated admin for
this job. Whoever does it, the importances of making sure every i
is dotted and t crossed cannot be overstated.

4. Release Resources: Before a project is completed, the team,

any contract workers, rentals, etc. must be officially released.
Have a process in place to notify and make sure everyone is paid
up.

5. Do a Post-Mortem: A post-mortem is when the finished project

is analyzed to note what worked and what didn’t. This is a great
way to repeat successes and repair mistakes for the next project.
Don’t forget to celebrate with the team! They deserve it.

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By implementing Six Sigma methodology, the business can reduce
the variation in the process. With Six Sigma in the process, the
business can focus clearly on customer requirement. It can adhere to
customer requirements. By adhering to the customers’ requirement
the business can improve its customer satisfaction. Highly satisfied
customers bring more profits to the business. With the help of Six
Sigma, the operation cost is reduced and it is converted to profit. It
also improves the morale of the employees and comfortness of the
workplace, this creates a happy and efficient workplace. This gives
more productivity and quality to the product.

12. Project Management Roles

A project works best when project management roles are well-

defined. While there are methods of project management
allowing for more fluidity, these are the main roles on a project:

 Project Sponsor: This is the person accountable for the

outcome. The project sponsor are often the senior manager
who has come up with the idea for the project and their team
will get the benefit. Ultimately, they represent the customer of
the project. Depending on the organization, there can be
different levels of project sponsors, such as an executive
project sponsor.

 Supplier: Someone is doing the work, and that might be an

internal supplier such as a development team or an external
contractor. The supplier is represented on the project team by
their main point of contact who might be their technical
expert, an account manager or a project manager.
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 Team Member: This is a person tasked with completing a
part of the project. Team members are skilled professionals,
who work to contribute to the process of achieving the project
objectives and goals. Often they are tasked with documenting
the process, as well.

 Stakeholder: This is a person or a group who has a vested

interest or “stake” in the project. It might be an internal
group or agency within an organization or it might be the
public at large for a public works project. The project manager
communicates project progress to stakeholders throughout
the lifecycle of the project and seeks feedback on project
deliverables and performance.

 Clients: This is a group or a person for whom the project or a

key component of the project is delivered.

13. Project Management Processes

Each of the project management processes has a specific purpose
through the project life cycle and when done right, they
guarantee the successful completion of projects.

Scope Management

The scope refers to all the work required to complete a project

which is defined by a work breakdown structure during the
planning phase. In simple terms, scope management consists in
including all the activities, and clarifying what won’t be done. This
is the base for scheduling, budgeting, and task management.

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Task Management

This process begins with careful planning. Once the work

breakdown structure is constructed, one can know every task
needed to complete the project. Then, tasks can be assigned to
team members. It is important to understand the task
dependencies so that tasks are laid out in the order in which they
need to be completed.

Resource Management

This process consists in effectively identifying, acquiring

and allocating resources such as people, capital, equipment and
materials to complete tasks and produce deliverables. Once the
project scope is defined, the resources that will be needed for
each activity can be determined. As the project progresses, the
use of resources must be controlled.

Schedule Management

The schedule management process can be divided in 3 sub

processes: estimating, scheduling and controlling. First, estimate
the time for each activity, milestone and deliverable.
Then develop schedules based on those time estimates. Once the
execution phase begins, monitor the project schedule regularly.

Risk Management

The risk management process identifies what might happen to

throw the project off track and then define a response so there
are contingency plans in place.

This is usually done on larger projects, rather than smaller.

Although even for small teams, a short sync up with the team to

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identify potential problems in the plan would be useful to guard
against the unexpected and have plans of action in case it does.
There are several types of risks, but the most important are those
that affect the triple constraint.

Quality Management

During the initiation phase, the stakeholders express their quality

requirements for the project deliverables. Based on that, project
managers develop a quality policy which defines the quality
control procedures that will guarantee quality assurance.

Stakeholder Management

Stakeholders are the soul of a project. By understanding their

needs and frequently communicating with them throughout the
project life cycle, their requirements can be more easily met.

Cost Management

This process is applied to every stage of the project life cycle. It

involves cost estimation, establishing budgets and cost control.
Begin by estimating the cost associated with each task, and then
create a budget to cover those expenses. Once the execution
phase begins, monitor the cost of the project as it progresses.

Issue Management

A risk is a problem affecting the project. Issue management is

how problems are dealt with when they turn up on the project
and it’s worth working out what this is going to look like because
something is bound to go wrong.

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The process will cover who needs to be notified, how to make
decisions about what to do next, and who has the authority to
take action.

Change Management

Every project has changes. Sometimes that’s because the

objective wasn’t defined particularly well at the outset. Or
because the business strategy has changed and the project needs
to be updated accordingly. A change management plan must be
made, which will include the project’s change management
procedures and forms.

Procurement Management

Many projects involve working with suppliers and there is

normally a process around how to engage and contract with them
so everyone knows what to expect and what they are getting for
their money.

Communications

Yes, communication is a process! Identify who needs to get which

message when and which method of communication is most
appropriate. A communication plan does this.

These are the most common project management processes, but

teams can create in-house bespoke processes to deal with the
quirks of their organization. The key thing is avoiding starting
from scratch every time, and that there is a level of
standardization into how projects are managed as much as
possible.

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 14. Conclusion
Project management is very important for the organization to
govern the project. A team leader needs to understand project
lifecycle, risk and risk management in order to create the
strategy for the project to be successful. Moreover, applying
the proper tool during the process duration estimation by
considering the iron triangle can lead to reach the goal of the
project.
However, team project need to keep in mind that when the
project seems to not achieve the goal, they need to know when
to stop it before they are going to spend beyond the budget.

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