MECH 471: Selected Topics I:

Introduction to Project Management

Session 1_1: Introduction

Shaligram Pokharel
Professor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
August 2023

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Agenda for this session

• Know basic rules

• Know what will you learn
• Know your professor
• Know your opportunity
• Know what project and project management means
• Know situations where projects are done
• Know how to define the project

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Basic rule! This class
is NOT
about mobile phones
or smart devices
Therefore, put your
mobile/smart devices on silent
mode

No SMS/Texting in class.

Please do not record the class

lecture
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 About me..
• Education
• Mechanical Engineer with Honors
• University of Kashmir, India
• Systems Design Engineer
• For Masters and PhD
• University of Waterloo, Canada
• Career
• Production Engineer
• Swiss Mechanical Engineering Factory/Nepal
• Energy Planning Engineer
• Government of Nepal
• Post Doctoral Fellow
• University of Waterloo, Canada
• Assistant/Associate Professor
• Nanyang Technological University
• Associate/Full Professor
• Qatar University
• Research
• Engineering Management
• Logistics and supply chain
• Project Management
• Systems Engineering
• Energy planning

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Global Volunteer: Project Management
• 2000- PMI volunteering
• 2001-2006 Hon Secretary, PMI Singapore Chapter
• 2007-2010 Vice President, PMI Singapore Chapter
• 2007-2009: Global Professional Awards Member Advisory Group member
• 2009-2013: Mentor, South East Asia PMI Country Chapters
• 2014-2015: Global Chapter Member Advisory Group member
• 2016-2018: Member, Leadership Institute Meeting Review Committee
• 2018-2019: Reviewer, Faculty-contributed Resources (PMITeach)
• 2018-2020: PMI Scholarship Reviewer
• 2021-2023: Global Academic Insight Team member
• Current member of Singapore Chapter
• You also can become a student member
• You can sign up by yourself.
• WWW.PMI.ORG

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Subject Matter Expert in Project Management Standard

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 About Project Management

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Your opportunities: Believe in yourself!

Apple.com
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 Companies are continuously looking for good people!
Where do you fit?

https://www.apple.com/job-creation/
August 2021

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Your value can be much more that what are you may be thinking now!

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 How is profession moving as per the project management institute?
PMI in 1997

95% Membership
93% PMPs
4% Membership
3% PMPs

0.25% Membership
0.75% Membership 3.5% PMPs
0.5% PMPs

31,333 Total Members | 6,119 Certification Holders | 96 Countries

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Opportunities: All About PMI: PMI Today: about 700,000 members in
more than 300 chapters worldwide

<60% Membership
<48% PMPs
>15% Membership
>13% PMPs

>17% Membership
~7% Membership >33% PMPs
~5% PMPs

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 General Class Focus

Book, Handout, lectures

Videos, class exercise, Case Examples, Experience
Quizzes, Exams, Project Work

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 What is expected to learn?- Course Outcomes

• The students will have the knowledge and skills to:

• Apply project management basic concepts to successfully launch and complete an
engineering project.
• Demonstrate an understanding of engineering project management and leadership
functions, theories and models and serve effectively as team leaders and
members.
• Use tools for selection, planning, leading, reporting, tracking and evaluating the
success of engineering projects.
• Explain and illustrate how projects are funded and how the cost is tracked and
managed throughout the project lifecycle.
• Acquire critical thinking and analytical decision-making capabilities to investigate
complex problems and to propose project-based solution
• Manage creative teams and project processes effectively and efficiently

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 The content - tentative
Topic Hours Week
1. Introduction to project management, importance of project management and leadership 6 1-2
2. Basic concepts of project management, history, fundamentals, difference between projects and 6 3-4
products/services, projects and operations management approach, types of projects, project
lifecycle, project classifications, project selection
3. Planning and initiating a project (project organizational structure and defining project scope); 9 5-7
concept of system approach in scoping
4. Project Estimating (cost and time): project estimation methods, precedence relations, concept of 12 8-11
activity and events, developing precedence network, forward and backward passes in network,
development of project network diagrams; Critical Path Method, PERT Method of analysis; class
exercises.
Lab Session would be held in one of these lecture weeks.
5. Concepts of Floats/Slacks in project networks, their importance in scheduling, 3 12
leads/lags/hammock in project activities
6. Project risk management project management such as inputs in teaming and organization 3 13

7. Project management standard 3 14

Course Review 3 15

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Assessment

Assessment How many? Marks allocated towards When?

the final mark

Homeworks Five 10 As given by the Professor: No copying:

homeworks Homeworks will be assigned Zero if found
copied (zero to all students who copied, even
from each other)
Quizzes – OPEN TWO 10 (5+5) Tentatively Week 3 and Week 6
TEXTBOOK

MID TERM Exams TWO 30 (15 + 15) Tentatively Week 5 and Week 9

LAB Sessions As given by 10 Assigned by TA

TA
FINAL EXAM ONE 40 As authorized by the University
TOTAL 100
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 General Class Philosophy

• Professor will lead you to the concepts in class and will help you to
understand it.
• Try asking question in class so that everybody gains. You work hard, you get more!

• There is a three axis of learning in my courses.

• Brings (reviews) notes, gives attention in class and scribbles notes in the class,
interacts in class.
• Review of notes/book at home
• Gets immersed in the project

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Make sure you attend the classes and assigned activities

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Let us go to the Core of subject

Who decides on the project?

Who pays for the project?
Who are involved in the project?
What is required to complete a project?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Situation, objective was there, but realization was difficult

• Day 1, Sunday
• We might want to go to camping
• Place is fixed
• Who will go?
• Can we go/are all members available?
• What is the weather like?
• What is the crowd like?
• Does the team has boat rowing experience?
• What items to take (food/non-food)?
• What time to leave?
• The place is three hours drive from Toronto
• There is time estimation to arrive
• We cannot arrive later than 5 PM at the camping site
• We may not get the camping site
• Then we have to drive back home

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Goal does not change, but path can change

Three hours

S
i
About 4 KM t
e

https://allofalgonquin.com/campsite-reviews/joe-lake-western-narrows-site-4/

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Tent
Fire

https://allofalgonquin.com/campsite-reviews/joe-lake-
western-narrows-site-4/
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 https://algonquinbeyond.com/blog/how-to-
properly-hang-your-food-in-algonquin-park/
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 Lesson learned

• Plan early
• Have a knowledgeable person in the team
• Prepare for the risk
• It is sometimes very windy
• Balance the in the boat (project task) is important
• Have insurance/Help Call ready
• Have continuous energy (physical)
• Depend on yourself, help is far away

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 • What is project here?
• What value does it
bring?
• What happens if the
project is not done?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 What is project here? and what is the scope of the work (what do you
deliver here)?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 M
Why do we have to study project
engineering?
• There must be a problem (or opportunity) to start a project… we need to think
first.
• Then there must be a business case
• What is the need to do this project?
• What is the value the project going to bring to its stakeholders?
• What happens if the project is not done?
• Projects are one time activity to generate an end product, which can be a
product, service, or a report (document).
• What examples of products can you give?
• What about the construction of highways in Qatar?
• What about the development of Apple i‐pad?
• What about 5G capacity development by Ooredoo?
• What about COVID-19 testing, isolation, quarantine and treatment by Qatar Government?
• What are the common features that you can extract in these examples?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Different situations can lead to a project

Or making a new iphone, a new fridge Sharp smart refrigerator: 2017 : 21” screen display:
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/sharp-4lifehub-preview/
 Who are involved in a project?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Who are involved in the project? Somebody or Something!

• Stakeholders are those who impact or get impacted by the project.

• For Sharq Bridge
• The initiator (for the bridge)
• The implementer and operator (Ashghal)
• The financier (Ministry of finance)
• The architecture (Designing the bridge- we focus on the chosen one here)
• The Engineering Designer (detailed design)
• Constructing Contractor(s)
• Constructing Subcontractors
• Labor permit (Ministry of Interior and friendly countries)
• Labor
• Material/equipment supplier
• Public
• Anybody else?
• That somebody is called a stakeholder
• They impact the project and they are impacted by the project
• The impacted by the project can be positive and negative

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Let us see an example: Gharaffa Interchange

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 So project starts with..
• Thinking of what should be done to
resolve a problem or to enhance a
situation?
• So first is to know if there is a need to
develop the project?
• For this we need to understand
• What happens if the project is done (benefits
obtained)
• Business case: What overall value does it
bring (if done) or what happens if the project
is not done?
• Is it going to increase branding when we
produce a new product?
• Are we going to lose brand value if we do not
do this project?
• Is the company lose competition if the project
is not done?
• Are the people going to suffer more if the
project is not done?
• Ashghal is developing stormwater pipeline in
different areas
• If this project is not done, the area will be
flooded again during rainy season

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 So project starts with..

• What is needed (in the short term and long term) and possible (in terms of
technology, skills, money..)?
• Can we do it (or start with what we have)?
• Can we do it properly (as per the objective of the project)?
• Do we have enough money to do it?
• Budgets are always limited that what we need
• Can we finish the project in a given time frame?
• If possible, all projects should be finished yesterday or at least today

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Project begins due to future expectations !

• Do we need to have extra Natural Gas production capacity?

• Why is it necessary to build this project now?
• What is the business case, what are the benefits?
• How long will the project take to finish?
• How much investment needed?
• Is there a long term market?
• Where is the market?
• How should we sell?
• Through pipeline or through liquefaction and shipping?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Project starts due to future expectation
• A specific final task that needs to be
achieved..
• In 2010, Qatar produced 77 million MT of
liquefied natural gas and exported to the
world
• In order to be able to export we need a
few things
• First is to extract gas from the seabed so
equipment and installations are needed for
that.
• There are facilities as pipes (to bring gas
from sea to the shore), equipment (to
compress gas) and a terminal to load
liquefied gas into the tanker. This is a very
specific (unique) requirement
• Specific—terminal
• Specific—terminal is for liquefied natural gas
• Specific‐ terminal is for liquefied natural gas
and it is for export
• Where is project here?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Expansion until 2024: What will be different?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Why are projects taken up?

Compliance types of Operational/Strategic

projects- MUST DO type of projects

Operational types Strategic types of

of projects projects
This is not project strategy

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Why are projects taken up?

• Strategic type projects

• To capture larger market share
• That means, does the product or service capture the market share or would it expand beyond
the normal market share?
• To make it difficult for competitors to enter the market
• Do I have new technology or new material or new idea that makes it difficult for competitor to
produce similar product/service?
• To develop an enabler product, which by its introduction will increase sales in more
profitable products
• To develop core technology that will be used in next-generation products
• To develop the rail project in Qatar—it was not there and it is not easy.
• Operational
• To redesign some part of the product or process to increase the efficiency of
energy use

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Why are projects taken up?

• Operational/strategic
• To reduce dependency on unreliable suppliers
• Can we make it ourselves?
• Compliance projects
• To install a new technology to meet the government requirement on the reduction
of emissions from oil industry refinery.
• Compliance projects can also be considered as strategic, but in compliance, it must
be done immediately.

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Why are projects taken up?
• Strategic
• It can come due to the development of new technology
• Developing non-stick pans for cooking
• It can come due to the need to develop a better products
that the ones available in the market!
• Lexus? 1983 (the idea began)
• 1985 rented place in Laguna Beach California- 1989 launch
• What about wedding planners? (first time for the company?)
• Catering service? (first time for the company?)
• Operational
• It can come from the staff working in an organization!
• 3M Post-It® pad.
• It can be something that can be done as projects as a means
of operational enhancements
• Strategic/operational
• It can come from the customer
• Example- BYS for branch Pruner
• But then we need to follow a process for the selection
of the right project

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Now we learn what happens in a project

So, we would define it by using its attributes (characteristics)

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 What we know!

• To define a project!
• We need to know what the project is and what is its purpose and what objectives the
project is going to meet? What happens if the project is not done or what part is
highlighted due to the project (business case)?
• Was it done because of legal, strategic or operational need? Or compliance?
• What makes this project unique?
• What is the scope of the project? And what are the deliverables?
• What about the timeline?
• What about the involvement?
• What about the resources?
• What about the risks?
• What about the money?
• What about the purchases to be made?
• How to know the project is successful? What should I measure and how should I measure?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 This is how we have to define a project
• Follows a strategy as to why they are being developed
(strategic, compliance, operational,
strategic/operational)
• Has a business case (What happens when it is done
and what happens when it is not done?)
• Has an established objective—what is the outcome?
• There is scope of the project and there are
deliverables
• Is something that has not done before-unique
• Has a budgeted cost
• Has a defined life span (the time it takes) with a
beginning and an end and milestones
• Has requirements for resources
• participation of different types (number and skills) of
people,
• Use of different types of methods/processes
• Use of different types of equipment
• Use of different type of materials
• Following of different types of rules, templates, and policies
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
Look at Chapter 1 (specifically pages 6-8 and onwards).
F
• Involves many stakeholders
• Has identified known risks and plans to
mitigate/eliminate them
• Potential unknowns and plans to manage those.
• Meets performance requirements (performance
measures)
• Usually during the project phases
• Cost performance, time performance
• Technical performance- what was the project
outcome (product/service/document) specifications
• Client acceptance (customer satisfaction), customer
must be satisfied in all aspects of the project
• After project phase
• Business success (it achieves the intended
commercial success)
• Develops new concept for future potential
 Projects have uncertainties and it brings risks..

Person Hours

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Operational type and project type
Project Type
Writing a course project paper
Setting up a sales booth for a Monoprix in
a Qatar Mall.
Developing a supply-chain information
system
Installing a new screening technology in
Hamad airport
Installing Close Circuit TV to watch
customer behavior in Carrefour
Unique product or service, or document is
developed every time
Performed by people, requires resources,
budget and time, and meets
organizational objectives
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
Operational type
Taking class notes
Daily entering sales receipts into the
accounting ledger
Responding to a supplier request
Using and maintaining the screening
system at Hamad airport
Watching and analyzing customer
behavior in Carrefour.
Same product, service or document
developed every time/ of course, there
might be small changes
Performed by people, requires resources,
budget and time and meets organizational
objectives
 Is project management right for you?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Project management may/may not be interesting

Project management could be Project management may not

good for you, if be good for you, if

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel

 Project management could be Project management may not
good for you, if be good for you, if

You contribute and learn from others You do not care about learning/contribution
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 A case: Home
Assignment 1

Write each
question given in
the next page and
answer it by
providing bullet
points and some
explanations.

Maximum two
pages.

Submit in
Blackboard.
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 Submit by Saturday
Questions (explain; you can give points in bullets and then describe each bullet). Write the question first and then answer:
1. What the need of the project and what value the project will bring?
2. Mention what happens if the project is not done?
3. Who decided on the project and why?
4. What resources were used in the project?
5. How was the performance of project measured (this is during the project)
Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel
 That is all for this session!

• Questions?

Notes orientation, ©Shaligram Pokharel