University of Hong Kong

Faculty of Engineering

MEBS6003

Project Management

This set of lecture material is mostly adopted from “Project Management –

achieving competitive advantage” by Jeffrey K. Pinto, “Project Management” by
Dennis Lock, and from lecture material of Ir. C.S. Ho
K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 1

Before 1900 . . .
❑ Wonderful projects

❑ People cheap, plentiful, even expendable

❑ ( project a big success, NOT MANY KILLED! )
❑ Urgency not driven by the ‘rat-race’

❑ No management scientists!

❑ No recognized profession of project manager

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 1

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

1900 - 1949

❑ Emergence of management science

❑ Experts begin to study work and people at work
❑ Henry Gantt introduces his famous chart
❑ Early development of critical path networks

1950 - 1970
US defence projects exploit network analysis
Big mainframe computers can run project
management software
Project management becomes a recognized
profession
More concern for

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 2

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

1970 - 1980
Two meanings for project management:
❑ 1 management of industrial projects
❑ 2 management of IT projects
Development of professional associations
More project management software
Protective legislation for people
❑ - anti-discrimination and health and safety laws

1980 - 1990
❑ Desktop PCs run project management software
❑ Project managers less dependent on IT experts
❑ Wider acceptance of project management as a
profession

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 3

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

1990 – 2000+
PCs and notebooks can run all applications
More interest in project risk management
IT and industrial project management no longer
regarded so differently
Project management is a respected profession
Professional associations flourish
Communications by satellites and the Internet

What is a project

◼ BS6079 – 2:2000
“unique process, consisting of a set of
coordinated and controlled activities with
start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve
an objective conforming to specific
requirements, including the constraints of
time, cost and resources”

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 8

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 4

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

What is a project

PRoject management IN Controlled

Environment PRINCE 2:2009 :
“A management environment that is created for
the purpose of delivering one or more
business products according to a specified
business case. AND A temporary
organization that is needed to produce a
unique and predefined outcome or result at a
given time using predetermined resources”

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 9

What is a project

APM:
“Projects are unique, transient endeavours
undertaken to achieve a desired outcome”

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 5

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

What is a project

The Project Management Institute:

“A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken
to create a unique product, service or result”

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Major characteristics of a project

Adopted from MAYLOR, Harvey Project Management 4th Ed Pearson NJ (2010)

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 6

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

What a project is not

◼ Projects should not be confused with

everyday work. A project is not routine,
repetitive work. Ordinary daily work requires
doing the same or similar work over and over,
while a project is done only once; a new
product or service exists when the project is
completed.

Adopted from LARSON, GRAY Project management – The managerial process 5th Ed.
McGraw Hill

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Some types of projects

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 7

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

1 Civil or chemical engineering and

construction projects
- construction
- land reclamation
- tunnels and bridges
- mining and quarrying
- petrochemical plant
- oil and gas

Shaft sinking at an Australian nickel mine

15

2 Manufacturing projects
(the outcome is a product)
- new product development
- equipment manufacture
- shipbuilding
- heavy engineering
- aircraft construction
- pharmaceuticals
- food processing

Ingersoll milling machine

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 8

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

3 Management projects
(often in-house)

- organize an exhibition or stage

play
- relocate a company
- quality improvement project
- marketing project
- new production or IT facility
- disaster recovery
17

4 Projects for pure scientific research

- high risk of failure

- also possibility of high rewards
- possible public apprehension
- outcome often unpredictable

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 9

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Comparison of Routine Work with Project Work

Routine, Repetitive Work Projects

Taking class notes
Daily entering sales receipts into
the accounting ledger
Responding to a supply-chain
request
Practicing scales on the piano
Routine manufacture of an Apple
iPod
Attaching tags on a manufactured
product
Writing a term paper
Setting up a sales kiosk for a
professional accounting meeting
Developing a supply-chain
information system
Writing a new piano piece
Designing an iPod that is
approximately 2 X 4 inches,
interfaces with PC, and
stores 10,000 songs
Wireless-tag projects for GE and
Wal-Mart

Adopted from LARSON, GRAY Project management – The managerial process 5th Ed.
K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 19
McGraw Hill

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Program

Adopted from PMBOK Guide 6th Edition

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 10

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Program
❑ A series of coordinated, related, multiple projects
that continue over an extended time and are
intended to achieve a goal.
❑ A higher level group of projects targeted
at a common goal.
❑ Example:
◼ Project: completion of a required course
in project management.
◼ Program: completion of all courses required
for a business major.

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Program vs. Projects

◼ A program is a group of related projects

designed to accomplish a common goal over
an extended period of time.
◼ Each project within a program has a project
manager.
◼ The major differences lie in scale and time
span.

Adopted from LARSON, GRAY Project management – The managerial process 5th Ed.
McGraw Hill

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 11

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

The project life cycle

◼ 4 stages
1. Initiation (defining, conceptualization)
2. Planning (developing)
3. Execution + monitoring & controlling
4. Closing

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Project Life Cycle

Adopted from PMBOK Guide 6th Edition

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 12

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Risk Vs Amount at Stake

Total Project Life Cycle
Plan Produce
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Conceive (C) Develop (D) Execute (E) Finish (F)

(initiation) (planning) (closing)

Period of
Opportunity and risk highest risk
Increasing Risk

impact

$ Value
Amount at stake

Time
MEBS6003 25

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Project management

◼ Project management can mean different

things to different people.

Adopted from Kernzer, Harold, “Project Management” 10th Edition

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 13

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Project management

Jeffrey K. Pinto “Project Management –

achieving competitive advantage:
“The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques to project activities to meet the
project requirements.”

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Project management

Adopted from Kernzer, Harold, “Project Management” 10th Edition

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 14

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Project Management

BS6079-2:2000
“planning, monitoring and control of all aspects
of a project and the motivation of all those
involved in it to achieve the project
objectives on time and to the specified cost,
quality and performance.”

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Project management

◼ Project management is the planning,

organizing, directing and controlling of
company resources for a relatively short-term
objective that has been established to
complete specific goals and objectives.
◼ Furthermore, project management utilizes the
systems approach to management by having
function personnel (vertical hierarchy)
assigned to a specific project (horizontal
hierarchy)

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 15

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Project management

◼ Project management may be defined as the

process of achieving project objectives
through the traditional organizational
structure and over the specialties of the
individuals concerned.

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The triple constraints of project management

Adopted from Kerzner, Harold, “Project Management” 10th Edition

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 16

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

◼ It is very interesting to note that the concept

of “quality, cost and time” is also key
attributes that a CEng, MIMechE should
manage as stated in the IMechE application
form.

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General management Project management

Responsible for managing the status
quo
Repetitive tasks
Authority defined by management
structure
Consistent set of tasks
Responsibility limited to their own
function
Works in ‘permanent’ organizational
structures
Tasks described as ‘maintenance’
Main task is optimization
Success determined by achievement of Success determined by achievement of
interim targets
Responsible for overseeing change
Unique tasks
Lines of authority ‘fuzzy’
Ever-changing set of tasks
Responsibility for cross-functional
activities
Operates within structures which exist
only for the life of the project
Predominantly concerned with
innovation
Main task is the resolution of conflict
stated end-goals

Adopted from MAYLOR, Harvey Project Management 4th Ed Pearson NJ (2010)

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 17

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Why Project Management?

◼ Length of a product life cycle is getting shorter and

shorter. Businesses are under pressure to produce
new and improved products at an increasingly rapid
past – shortening “time to market”.
◼ Growing global markets, consumer tastes, and
competition demand that products constantly be
improved to be better, faster, sleeker, and offer more
features. Most organizations are planning their next
product or product improvement as their latest
innovation is just on its way out the door.
◼ Project management offers companies a manner in
which to become more innovative and to develop
products at a faster pace.

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Why Project Management?

◼ Projects bridge the gap between where we are

and where we want to be
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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 18

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Project manager

◼ The person assigned by the performing

organization to achieve the project objectives.

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Project manager

◼ The success of a project is highly correlated

with the qualities and skills of the project
manager.
◼ It is often the case that the project manager
has most of the responsibilities of a general
manager but almost none of the authority!

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 19

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Concerns of Project (fuzzy) and

Functional (line) Managers

Adopted from “Project Management – Processes, Methodologies, and

Economics” 2nd Edition by Avraham Shtub, Jonathan F. Bard, Shlomo Goberson.
Pearson (2009)

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Project manager

Adopted from “Project Management – Processes, Methodologies, and Economics”

2nd Edition by Avraham Shtub, Jonathan F. Bard, Shlomo Goberson. Pearson (2009)

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 20

 University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Engineering

Project manager
In order to complete a task, a project manager
must:
◼ Set objectives

◼ Establish plans

◼ Organize resources

◼ Provide staffing

◼ Set up controls

◼ Issue directives

◼ Motivate personnel

◼ Apply innovation for alternative actions

◼ Remain flexible
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