WRITE – UP ASSIGNMENT 02

PROJECT MANAGEMENT – I
20ACM11

1ST Semester (M.Arch) Sanjana Cholke

1. Explain the terms in detail – Portfolio, Program, Project.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Portfolio - A portfolio refers to a collection of investment tools such as

stocks, shares, mutual funds, bonds, and cash and so on depending on
the investor’s income, budget and convenient time frame.
Portfolio means the total holding of securities belonging to any person.

Portfolio Management – Portfolio management is the art of selecting

the right investment policy for the individuals in terms of minimum risk
and maximum return.
 It refers to managing an individual’s investments in the form of
bonds, shares, cash, mutual funds etc., so that he earns the
maximum profits within the stipulated time frame.
 In plain terms, it is managing money of an individual under expert
guidance of portfolio managers.
 Portfolio management is a complex process which tries to make
investment activity more rewarding and less risky.

Need for Portfolio Management

 Portfolio management presents the best investment plan to the
individuals as per their income, budget, age and ability to undertake
risks.
 Portfolio management minimizes the risk involved in investing and also
increases the chance of making profits.
 Portfolio management enables the portfolio managers to provide
customized investment solutions to clients as per their needs and
requirements.

Objectives of Portfolio Management

 Stability of income
 Capital growth
 Liquidity
 Safety
 Tax incentives
 Convenience

Major Tasks Involved with Portfolio Management

 Taking decisions about investment mix and policy.
 Matching investments to objectives.
 Asset allocation for individuals and institution.
 Balancing risk against performance.
Portfolio Manager – Portfolio manager is any person who pursuant to a
contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on
behalf of the client the management or administration of a portfolio of
securities or funds.

Functions of a Portfolio Manager

 Study economic environment affecting the capital market and client’s
investments.
 Study securities market, price trends etc.
 Maintain complete and updated financial performance data of different
companies.
 Keep a track on the latest policies and guidelines of Government, RBI,
and SEBI.
 Study industries that affect investor sentiment and securities market.
 Study behavior of financial institutions and other players in the market.
 Counsel the prospective investors on share market and suggest on
investment matters.
 Buy and sell securities in order to attain maximum return with lesser
risk.

Advantages of Portfolio Management

Makes Right Investment Choice
Portfolio management is a tool that helps the investor in choosing the right
portfolio of assets. It enables in making more informed decisions regarding
investment plans in accordance with the goals and objectives.
Maximizes Return
Maximizing the return is one of the important roles played by portfolio
investment. It provides a structured framework for analyses and selecting the
best class of assets. Investors are able to earn high returns with limited funds.
Avoids Disaster
Portfolio management avoids the disaster of facing huge risks by investors. It
guides in investing among different classes of assets instead of investing only
in one type of asset. If an investor invests in only one type of security and
supposes it fails, then the investor will suffer huge losses which could be
avoided if he might have invested among different assets.
Track Performance
Portfolio management helps management in tracking the performance of their
portfolio of investments. A consolidated investment held within the portfolio
can be evaluated in a better way and any of its failures can be easily detected.
Manages Liquidity
Portfolio management enables investors in arranging their investment in a
systematic manner. Investors can choose assets in such a pattern where they
can sell some of them easily whenever they need funds.

Avoids Risk
Investment in securities is quite risky due to the volatility of the security
market which increases the chance of losses. Portfolio management helps in
reducing the risk through diversification of risk among large peoples.
Improves Financial Understanding
It helps in improving the financial knowledge of investors. While managing
their portfolio they came across numerous financial concepts and learn how a
financial market works which will enhance the overall financial
understanding.

Disadvantages of Portfolio Management

Risk Of Over Diversification
Sometimes portfolio managers invest funds among large categories of assets
whose control becomes impossible. In his efforts to diversify the risk it goes
beyond the limit to manage efficiently. Loss arising in such situations is quite
high and can bring serious repercussions.
No Downside Protection
Portfolio management only reduces the risk through diversification but does
not provide full protection. At times of market crash, the concept of portfolio
management becomes obsolete. 
Faulty Forecasting
Portfolio management uses historical data for evaluating the returns of
securities for investment purposes. Sometimes the historical data collected is
incorrect or unreliable which leads to wrong forecasts.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Program - A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated

manner to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them
individually.
Programs may include elements of related work outside of the scope of the
discreet projects in the program. Some projects within a program can deliver
useful incremental benefits to the organization before the program itself has
completed.

Program Management – It is the process of managing several related

projects, often with the intention of improving an organization’s performance.
 Program management is the management of all the coordinated projects
within a program.
 Program management is the centralized management of a program to
achieve strategic benefits and objectives.
  Program management for external programs is more vertical/client
organization benefit oriented project management, which is more output
delivery oriented.
 Managing multiple projects by means of a program enables
optimized/integrated cost/schedules and efforts towards outcome
achievement.

Aspects of Program Management

 Governance – Defining roles and responsibilities and providing
oversight.
 Management – Planning and administering both projects and the overall
program.
 Financial management – Implementation of specific fiscal practices and
controls.
 Infrastructure – The program office, technology, and other factors in the
work environment supporting the program effort.
 Planning – Activities that take place at multiple levels, with different
goals. The program plan is not a traditional plan.

Objectives of Program Management

Managing Interrelated Projects - Perhaps the main program manager
objective is to manage a variety of related projects. As such, projects may be
scheduled at the same time or at different time intervals. A program
management office is responsible for linking strategies for each of the
projects into actions that will enable continuous improvement in the field of
program management, as well as a consistency in its practices and
procedures.

Providing direction in program management is very important in the

administration of programs. For this reason, the Project Management
Institute focuses on governance of the field of program management.

Managing Resources Efficiently - A second object in program management

is to efficiently and effectively manage resources. This includes resources
that are both internal and external to a program. According to the Project
Management Institute, stakeholder management is integral in the program
management resources. Stakeholders are program management authorities,
managers and end-users or customers. Without total participation of
stakeholders, program management will be unsuccessful.

Management of resources is required because programs may be global and

comprised of complex activities or tasks, often involving different cultures
and geographic regions.
Controlling Risks and Project Costs - Other objectives of program
management include controlling project risks and project costs by conducting
a risk analysis. A risk analysis consists of identifying, analyzing and
prioritizing risks to provide realization of benefits in a program.
Identification of risks requires documentation of known, current events that
affect a project's cost, schedule or overall performance and also
documentation of events that may occur in the near future, during the life
cycle of a project.

Analysis of risks enables a plan to mitigate strategies by describing how risks

can be minimized, eliminated, avoided or transferred to another source. Once
risks are prioritized, costs of each project within a program are configured to
ensure that projects are within an organization's budget.

Program Manager - A program manager is a Program Management

Professional that specializes in the strategic management of a group of related
projects and attempts to create efficiencies and achieve the strategic goals and
objectives of the organization they work for.

Program managers will work across multiple projects to build on

interdependencies, direct the project managers who manage the individual
projects in the program and facilitate communication between cross-functional
teams.

A program manager is responsible for overseeing the life cycle of a program

by working with different teams, project managers, portfolio managers and
stakeholders.

Responsibilities of a Program Manager

  Daily program management throughout the program life cycle;
 Defining the program governance (controls);
 Planning the overall program and monitoring the progress;
 Managing the program’s budget;
 Managing risks and issues and taking corrective measurements;
 Coordinating the projects and their interdependencies;
 Managing and utilizing resources across projects;
 Managing stakeholders’ communication;
 Aligning the deliverables (outputs) to the program’s “outcome” with the
aid of the business change manager; and
 Managing the main program documentations such as the program
initiation document.

Advantages of a Program Management

 Achieving the overall strategic goals of an organization.

 Improve management of projects interdependencies and impact on the
business as usual.
 Effectively managing resources among projects within a programme.
 Manage risks, issues and changes across the programme efficiently.
 Focus on definition and management of strategic benefits.

The main disadvantage of Program Management is that it could become too

bureaucratic and impose too many constraints on the project process. Rather
than assisting the process it could be seen as merely placing a series of hurdles
in the way of effective change and associated project management.
 Relationship between Portfolio Management & Program Management

Relationship between Program Management & Project Management

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project – The word ‘project’ came from the Latin word projectum from the
Latin verb proicese (to throw something forwards) which in turn comes from
‘pro’ which denote something that proceeds the action of the next part of the
word.
A project is a combination of interrelated activities with well-defined
objectives to be completed in a specific time period. Project is something
special which is different from routine and regular activities.

Project Management – Project management is the application of knowledge,

skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
This application of knowledge requires the effective management of
appropriate processes.

Project Management Plan– The key to a successful project is on the

planning. All the detailed planning work for different aspects of the project is
integrated into one single plan is known as Project Management Plan.

Need for Project Management

Strategic Alignment

Project management is important because it ensures what is being delivered,

is right, and will deliver real value against the business opportunity.

Leadership

Project management is important because it brings leadership and direction

to projects.

Clear Focus & Objectives

Project management is important because it ensures there’s a proper plan for
executing on strategic goals.

Realistic Project Planning

Project management is important because it ensures proper expectations

are set around what can be delivered, by when, and for how much.

Quality Control

Project management is important because it ensures the quality of whatever

is being delivered, consistently hits the mark.

Project Manager – A project manager is a professional who organizes, plans,

and executes projects while working within restraints like budgets and
schedules. Project managers are in charge of leading teams, defining goals,
communicating with stakeholders, and seeing a project through to its closure.
Whether running a marketing campaign, constructing a building, developing a
computer system, or launching a new product, the project manager is
responsible for the success or failure of the project.
Functions of a Project Manager

Planning: A project manager is responsible for formulating a plan to meet the

project’s objectives while adhering to an approved budget and timeline. This
blueprint will guide the project from ideation to fruition. It will include the
project’s scope, the resources necessary, the anticipated time and financial
requirements, the communication strategy, a plan for execution and
documentation, and a proposal for follow-up and maintenance. If the project
has not yet gained approval, this plan will serve as a critical part of the pitch
to key decision-makers.
Leading: An essential part of any project manager’s role is to assemble and
lead the project team. This requires excellent communication, people, and
leadership skills, as well as a keen eye for others’ strengths and weaknesses.
Once the team has been created, the project manager assigns tasks, sets
deadlines, provides necessary resources, and meets regularly with the
members. An ability to speak openly and frequently with all stakeholders is
critical.

Execution: The project manager participates in and supervises the successful

execution of each stage of the project. Again, this requires frequent, open
communication with the project team members and stakeholders.

Time management: Staying on schedule is crucial to completing any project,

and time management is one of the key responsibilities of a project manager.
Project managers are responsible for resolving derailments and
communicating effectively with team members and other stakeholders to
ensure the project gets back on track. Project managers should be experts at
risk management and contingency planning to continue moving forward even
when roadblocks occur.

Budget: Project managers devise a budget for a project and stick to it as

closely as possible. If certain parts of the project end up costing more (or, in a
perfect world, less) than anticipated, project managers moderate the spend and
re-allocate funds when necessary.

Documentation: A project manager must develop effective ways to measure

and analyze the project’s progress. Common strategies for documenting a
project include data collection and verbal and written status reports. It’s also a
project manager’s job to ensure that all relevant actions are approved and that
these documents are archived for future reference.
Maintenance: The work doesn’t end once a project has been completed.
There needs to be a plan for ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting. The
project manager devises methods for properly supporting the final deliverable
going forward, even if they are not directly overseeing its day-to-day
operations.

Advantages of Project Management

 Improve your chances of achieving the desired result

 Gain a fresh perspective on your project, and how it fits with your
business strategy
 Prioritize your business' resources and ensure their efficient use
 Set the scope, schedule and budget accurately from the start
 Stay on schedule and keep costs and resources to budget
 Improve productivity and quality of work
 Encourage consistent communications amongst staff, suppliers and
clients
 Satisfy the various needs of the project's stakeholders
 Mitigate risks of a project failing
 Increase customer satisfaction
 Gain a competitive advantage and boost your bottom line.

Disadvantages of Project Management

 The biggest disadvantage of project management is that sometimes it

leads to overlapping of authority and responsibility between the top
management and project management where they have different plans in
mind which leads to confusion among the team members of project and
further project suffering.
 Another con of project management is that it may be possible that there
is no competent staff to carry the responsibility of project manager and if
 management selects incompetent staff then project will be a failure
leading to losses for the company.
 Another limitation of project management is that suppose the company
is working on 10 projects simultaneously then it will require 10 project
managers to handle those projects which is not possible if the company
is small and ultimately all projects are handled by either single project
manager or top management itself and thus limiting the use of project
management.
 Overhead. Project Management presents 3 types of overhead: cost
overhead, communication overhead, and time overhead. Cost overhead:
Project Management (that includes hiring, training, etc.) costs money.
Communication overhead: Instead of having the information flow
directly from functional managers down to the team members and back
up, it’s all funneled through the Project Manager. Time Overhead: The
communication overhead stated above is one cause of time overhead.
For example, once the requirements are discovered to be false, the team
members have to scrap the implemented part based on the wrong
requirements, the Project Manager has to re-gather the requirements, and
finally pass them again to team members for implementation.
Additionally Project Managers can never accurately assess the length of
any task, and pad their estimates so that they won’t wind up with a late
project.
 Obsession. Methodology obsession: Instead of just “getting the project
done”, some Project Managers become so closed and so protective their
own methodology that they refuse to experiment with another one that
might be faster and better for their current project. Process obsession:
Quite a few Project Managers hinder the progress of the project with
their obsession for sticking to the process because of Insecurity and Fear
of loss of control. Stakeholder obsession: Instead of managing the
stakeholders’ expectations, requests, and interference, and focusing on
getting their support, these Project Managers try their best to
accommodate the stakeholders that is costly and needless.
 Lackluster Creativity. Strict project management can discourage outside
the box thinking and hamper creative efforts. Project teams that
 experience collective creative block can slow progress, employ cost
overages and generally take a project off-track. Intervention and
creativity-generating approaches, like brainstorming sessions, may be
necessary to refocus the group.

Inter-relationship of Portfolio Management, Program Management, and

Project Management to Drive Strategic Objectives
Difference between Program Management &Portfolio Management
Difference between Project Management &Portfolio Management
Difference between Project Management & Program Management
2. Define and discuss in detail the important knowledge areas.

Project Management Knowledge Area- Project management

knowledge areas coincide with the process groups, which are project
initiation, project planning, project execution, monitoring and
controlling, and project closing. These are the chronological phases that
every project goes through.

Project Management Knowledge Areas

1. Project Integration Management
Unlike the meaning of the word integration, which is to combine one
thing with another to form a whole, Project Integration Management
withholds the project and combines it as a unified project. 
This knowledge area is used in all the five phases - initiation,
Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. This
Knowledge Area holds together the processes and tasks and converts
them into one single project with defined deliverables.
Project Initiation Management has seven processes included in it:
 Develop Project Charter
 Develop Project Management Plan
 Direct and Manage Project Work
 Manage Project Knowledge
 Monitor and Control Project Work
 Perform Integrated Change Control
 Close Project or Phase
2. Project Scope Management:
There is a thin difference between what the stakeholders want and
what they need. Initially many projects are started on the knowledge
of what is wanted by the stakeholders. 
After a while, changes are to be made to target the deliverables to the
wants of the stakeholders instead of the needs, which creates extra
work and tasks, which is obviously frustrating and tiring.  
Therefore, Project Scope Management relates to the work that is
included in doing the project and involves the Project Scope. 
Project Scope Management includes six processes:
 Plan Scope Management
 Collect Requirements
 Define Scope
 Create WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
 Validate Scope
 Control Scope

Therefore this process is about making sure that everyone is

concerned with the deliverables of the project and is satisfied with
the process so that there is no need for making any changes in
future. 
3. Project Time Management:
While making a project plan, tasks will be assigned with deadlines
and budget would be estimated to complete them. Now a project
depends on its timeline to be completed and the time management of
the manager and various members doing the tasks.
Now, it is possible that some members would overestimate the time to
complete the task to have some room and not feel hurried. Others
might underestimate the time. And some unexpected problem would
always come to consume your time. 
Because of these variables, Time Management is necessary. Time
Management includes six processes:
 Plan Schedule Management
 Define Activities
 Sequence Activities
 Estimate Activity Duration
 Develop Schedule
 Control Schedule
Thus, this Knowledge area is essential for the successful and timely
delivery of the project. 

4. Project Cost Management:

In simple words, it is the process of preparing a budget and tracking if
the whole project is going as per the Project Baseline Budget or not. If
not, then taking up necessary steps to move it back on the track. 
It includes activities such as Planning, Budgeting, estimating,
funding, financing, managing and monitoring. 
Project Cost Management includes four processes:
 Plan Cost Management
 Estimate Costs
 Determine Budget
 Control Costs
5. Project Quality Management:
You are getting paid to deliver what was needed. You have promised
to deliver a quality project and if you deliver anything less than that,
then it is a failure to you and to the stakeholders too.
Quality is the only thing which differs you from the competition, thus
maintaining it is the main thing, or else if you are delivering less than
the proposed thing, how can one trust you?  Quality is the criteria for
the value of your project. 

Therefore, Project Quality Management ensures that the project is

progressing according to the standards.  Project Quality Management
includes three processes:
 Plan Quality Management
 Manage Quality
 Control Quality
6. Project Resource Management:
The Manager has to manage and consider which resources would be
used to complete the project. i.e. People, Equipment, facilities,
Fundings. All these have to be managed and organized to execute the
work involved.
In Project resource Management, the focus is on using the required
resources to attain the planned outcome. Project Resource
Management includes six processes:
 Plan Resource Management
 Estimate Activity Resources
 Acquire Resources
 Develop Team
 Manage Team
 Control resources

7. Project Communication Management:

Project Communication Management is mostly about communication
since 80% of Project Management is communication. In fact,
according to the Project Management’s Institute’s Pulse of the
Profession™ In-Depth Report, highly effective communicators are
more likely to deliver projects on time and within budget.
Various Communication Tools could be used for effective
communication. 
Communication is essential between the Project Manager, team
members and the stakeholders, as the absence of it can have negative
effects on the project.
Project Communication Management includes three processes:
 Project Communication Management
 Manage Communications
 Monitor Communications
8. Project Risk Management:
All the Projects are like Indian roads. I.e. Speed breakers and Potholes
are must, likewise, the risk is inevitable in the project. 
In Project Risk Management, Project Manager should first lookout for
possible risks and should work towards avoiding or solving them, and
once the project is started, they should solve any risk that pops up. 
Project Risk Management Process includes seven processes:
 Plan Risk Management
 Identify Risks
 Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
 Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
 Plan Risk Responses
 Implement Risk Responses
 Monitor Risks

9. Project Procurement Management:

Project Procurement management refers to purchasing or acquiring
products, services or results from outside. 
This Knowledge Area is not applicable to all the projects. We know
what we can do from the planning stage only and what we have to get
done from outside. Thus, from planning to acquire to delivering the
final product, Project Procurement Management is used.
Project Procurement Management includes three processes:
 Plan Procurement Management
 Counduct Procurements 
 Control Procurements
10. Project Stakeholder Management:
Project Stakeholder Management refers to involving the stakeholders
in the project management, from the initial stage and finalizing the
products quality, steps, and the deliverables.
If a Project Manager fails to involve the stakeholders in the initial
stage, they will make you change the tasks later on to meet their
wants, which will just hamper the project’s scope and value. 
Project Stakeholder Management includes four processes:
 Identifying Stakeholders 
 Plan Stakeholder Management
 Manage Stakeholder Management
 Monitor Stakeholder Engagement.