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CONSULTANTS

PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
PROGRAMME

LEARNER’S GUIDE

1
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Solution

Explain fundamentals of project management

Title
Applied title Project Management Programme
Field Business, Commerce and Management Studies
Sub field Project Management
SGB Project Management
US ID 120372 level 4 credits 5 Notional 50
hours
Author

2
 Module one

Nature of
Projects

Learning outcomes
The characteristics of a project are explained with examples.

Differences between project and non-project work are explained with

examples of each.

A basic project life cycle is explained with examples of possible phases.

The reasons for undertaking projects are explained with practical examples.

A range of types of projects and their complexity are explained in simple

terms.

3
1.0 OVERVIEW OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Since 1990, membership of Project Management Institute has risen from 7,700 to
over 36,000 in 1998. Heavy engineering industries, in particular the construction
industry have traditionally used projects and project management systems. More
and more small industries have embarked on project-based operations such as
building a new facility. Projects are increasingly the common way organisations
plan, manage and implement change. Projects are today referred to as ‘strategic
management tools.

The concept of Project Management as a discipline was developed for managing

American space programme in the early 1960’s.

Project Management is about 40 years old. Project management has been viewed
and is still seen as a specialist discipline requiring special people who are difficult to
find and to retain. Project management skills have been highly utilised by
engineering-based companies. It is vital not to see project management as an
overhead.

Project Management differs from other management principles in two significant

ways. Firstly, it concentrates on a project with a starting and finishing life span.
Projects also require resources on a part time basis and can easily create unstability
in the organisation in terms of resources.

1.1. The characteristics of a projects.

4
WHAT IS A PROJECT
The following provide a definition of project:

1. “A project is a non-routine, non repetitive, one-off

undertaking which is carried out within the specified time
frame, budget and must meet technical specifications”

2. “A project is a finite piece of work, undertaken within defined

cost and time constraints, directed at achieving stated
business benefit”

4. “A project is an endeavour in which human, material and

financial resources are organised in a novel way, to undertake a
unique scope of work so as to achieve beneficial change defined
by quantitative and qualitative objectives”

WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

The following definitions capture the meaning of project management

“A project is a non-routine, non repetitive,

one-off undertaking which is carried out
Definition
within the specified time frame, budget and
must meet technical specifications”

A project is a finite piece of work, undertaken within defined cost and time
constraints, directed at achieving stated business benefit

A project is an endeavour in which human, material and financial resources are

organised in a novel way, to undertake a unique scope of work so as to achieve
beneficial change defined by quantitative and qualitative objectives

5
 1. “Project Management can be defined as
the application of knowledge, skills, tools
and techniques to project activities in
order to meet needs and expectations”
Definition

2. “Project management can be defined as

planning, organising, directing and
controlling resources for the achievement
of defined objectives”

6
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROJECT AS DEFINED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (SAMDI)
DEFINITION OF A PROJECT
 A project is finite
 A project is usually complex
 A project is homogeneous
 A project is unique
 A project is non-repetitive

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A PROJECT

 A project must:
- Be supportive by government/ organisational policy.
- Address a real problem or provide an opportunity for improvement within the
organisation.
- Result in clearly defined outcomes, which are discussed and agreed upon with
superiors.
- Be sufficiently broad to allow participants to apply what they have learnt from it.
- Be sufficiently concise so that it can be completed within specific time and cots

CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROJECT

Each project should be:

1. Non-routine

2. Non-repetitive

3. Finite (one-off undertaking/ has a beginning and an end)

4. Have specified resources (time, cost, human, etc)

5. Have quantitative and qualitative objective

6. Have an impact

7. Unique

8. Have technical specifications

Formative
What are the characteristics of projects? Give
Activity One
examples

7
1.2- Project and Non Project Work

1.2.
Differences between project and non-project work are explained with
examples of each.
2.3.
The differences between project management and general management are
explained with examples of each.

PROJECTS VS. OPERATIONS

There is a huge difference between projects and operations. Some organisations

and individuals have often used the two concepts interchangeable.

 Operations exist to perform repetitive tasks whereas projects are unique.

One scientist once said “human endeavour range from totally repetitive to totally
unique".

 Operations create a lasting stable environment whereas projects are designed

for a limited period.
For some organisations ‘policy making’ can be viewed as an ongoing process,
thus an operation. When does policymaking becomes a project?

 Operations are subject to mixed objectives and conflicting priorities.

This can be particularly true for an organisation that has to deliver more services
with fewer resources. Time constraints, insufficient budgets are some of the
constraints facing the public service.

 Operations involve a variety of resources whereas a project operates on

allocated, planned resources.
This usually happens under the supervision of one manager. It is also common
where components rely on other components for their functioning.

 Operations usually carry less risks since the manager’s purpose is to maintain
equilibrium whereas projects carry considerable risk as the project leader
deliberately set out to disrupt the status quo
A good project leader is the one who will always try new ideas. Never put a lid
on new ideas, no matter how scary it can be. Usually projects are not based on
previous experience but operations are.

The outstanding parameter by which projects differ from operations is the level of
uniqueness. This also describes the needs of projects instead of daily operations.

8
 Divide a page into two. Discuss activities in your
Group Activity 1 organisations and categorise them as projects or
operations.

We generally categorize work performed in our organization as either Project

or Operational work.

Operations refers to work that is ongoing versus temporary and repetitive,

versus unique. While the purpose of a project is to achieve its objective and
end, the purpose of Operational Work is to sustain the business. They seem
to be opposites and so you may now be wondering how is it possible to
confuse the two? But it is quite common, mostly because they do share
characteristics.

Common characteristics:

They are performed by people,

They are constrained by limited resources and they are planned, executed
and controlled.

Opposing characteristics.

A project is temporary, unique and it ends, while Operational Work is

ongoing, repetitive and is meant to sustain a business.

Basically, Projects are means of executing those activities that cannot be

addressed within the organization’s normal operations limit.

We can appreciate the fundamental difference between Project work and

Operational work by listing down the differences & similarities of them.

Difference between Projects and Operations are:

Projects—————————————– Operations
* Temporary——————————— * Ongoing
* Output: Unique —————————— * Output: Repetitive
* Purpose: Attain its objective ——— * Purpose: Sustain the business
and then terminate
* Concludes when its specific ———– * Adopt a new set of objectives
objectives have been attained ———– and the work continues

Example of projects:
- Developing a new product or service

9
- Developing a new information system
- Build a dam

Examples of operations

 Managing performance
 Recording transactions

From what you have learnt so far what principles

Group Activity 2 do you think will be useful in your day to day
duties in your organisation?

Analysing Operations/ Projects

Study the following synopsis and state

Group Activity 3 whether they are operations or projects if
they are operations, how to change them
into projects, considering the characteristics
of a project. This must come from your
opinions.

1. You are tasked with the responsibility of co-coordinating the process of

Employment Equity Act in your organisation. As part B of your responsibility,
you have to ensure implementation of this policy throughout your company.
The process entails getting the necessary information, consultation with key
stakeholders, consultation with user groups, consulting with unions, drafting the
policy, training etc.

2. It’s a Saturday morning; you are planning to do house cleaning. You aren't sure
where to start.

3. You are instructed to organise a farewell party for your Chief executive Officer.
You have been given four staff members to assist you who must help you until
30 February. The party is on the 25th and you have been given R5443.oo

4. In a planning meeting of senior managers from your organisation it emerged

that the CEO of the hospital is intending to purchase new computers. As a
Purchasing Manager you feel that this is your responsibility. You then started
getting quotation and putting a plan in place.
10
 Explain the differences between projects
Formative
and operations with examples of each.
Activity 1.2
What is the difference between project
work and operations work?

11
1.3 The Project Management Life Cycle
A project has a definitive start and finish. The lifetime of a project is called the life
cycle of the project. The term cycle implies a developing process from start to
finish. This process is a deliberate and methodical step-by-step approach in
achieving the purpose of the project.

Project Life Cycle is integral part of a project management system. Each project
can be broken down into phases and/or stages. The first principle is the
authenticate - authorise process. Clear understanding by all stakeholders of the
purpose of the project ensures non-ambiguity of the deliverables. Each major step
is authenticated ensuring the deliverables are met and the next deliverable is
authorised to proceed.

The Project Management Phases

DEFINE/ PLAN EXECUTE/

INITIATION IMPLEMENTATION

CLOSE-OUT

Figure 1.1 Standard Project Life Cycle

12
COST AND STAFFING

INITIAL PHASE INTERMEDIATE PHASE FINAL PHASE

PROJECT START PROJECT FINISH

13
Project Life Cycle

Definition The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical

sequence of activities to accomplish
the project’s goals or objectives

Regardless of scope or complexity, any project goes through a series of

stages during its life. There is first an Initiation or Birth phase, in which the
outputs and critical success factors are defined, followed by a Planning
phase, characterized by breaking down the project into smaller parts/tasks,
an Execution phase, in which the project plan is executed, and lastly a
Closure or Exit phase, that marks the completion of the project. Project
activities must be grouped into phases because by doing so, the project
manager and the core team can efficiently plan and organize resources for
each activity, and also objectively measure achievement of goals and justify
their decisions to move ahead, correct, or terminate. It is of great
importance to organize project phases into industry-specific project cycles.
Why? Not only because each industry sector involves specific requirements,
tasks, and procedures when it comes to projects, but also because different
industry sectors have different needs for life cycle management
methodology. And paying close attention to such details is the difference
between doing things well and excelling as project managers.

Diverse project management tools and methodologies prevail in the different

project cycle phases. Let’s take a closer look at what’s important in each one
of these stages:

1) Initiation
In this first stage, the scope of the project is defined along with the
approach to be taken to deliver the desired outputs. The project manager is
appointed and in turn, he selects the team members based on their skills
and experience. The most common tools or methodologies used in the
initiation stage are Project Charter, Business Plan, Project Framework (or
Overview), Business Case Justification, and Milestones Reviews.

2) Planning
The second phase should include a detailed identification and assignment of
each task until the end of the project. It should also include a risk analysis
and a definition of a criteria for the successful completion of each
deliverable. The governance process is defined, stake holders identified and
reporting frequency and channels agreed. The most common tools or
14
methodologies used in the planning stage are Business Plan and Milestones
Reviews.

3) Execution and controlling

The most important issue in this phase is to ensure project activities are
properly executed and controlled. During the execution phase, the planned
solution is implemented to solve the problem specified in the project's
requirements. In product and system development, a design resulting in a
specific set of product requirements is created. This convergence is
measured by prototypes, testing, and reviews. As the execution phase
progresses, groups across the organization become more deeply involved in
planning for the final testing, production, and support. The most common
tools or methodologies used in the execution phase are an update of Risk
Analysis and Score Cards, in addition to Business Plan and Milestones
Reviews.

4) Closure
In this last stage, the project manager must ensure that the project is
brought to its proper completion. The closure phase is characterized by a
written formal project review report containing the following components: a
formal acceptance of the final product by the client, Weighted Critical
Measurements (matching the initial requirements specified by the client with
the final delivered product), rewarding the team, a list of lessons learned,
releasing project resources, and a formal project closure notification to
higher management.

Group Activity 4

Identify different projects and they life cycle stages in that are currently
running in your organisations

Formative
Explain the basic project life cycle with examples
Activity 1.3
for each phases

15
1.4.
The reasons for undertaking projects
Project origination

In Project Origination an individual proposes a project to create a product or develop a

service that can solve a problem or address a need in the Organization. The
organisation then submits the proposal to an evaluation and selection process. If
selected, a budget or further management commitment for the project may also be
required before a Project Manager is actually assigned and the project is authorized to
progress to Project Initiation. Depending upon the standards and practices of the
organisation, a time delay between the project’s proposal and selection and its actual
initiation may occur.

Reasons for initiating projects

Projects are initiated for different reasons in organisations. The following are some
of the reasons which wee will look at
a. To solve problems .e.g. There has been a problem of water in a certain
community. The solution is a project to construct a dam.
Give own examples

b. To pursue opportunities
A company embarks on a project to Flag making project before the Soccer world
Cup
Own examples

c. As directives from national government

A department school starts a feeding project funded by government as because
of drought
Own examples

16
 d. to fulfill a specific mandate- A municipality embarks on a grass cutting
project along local roads.
Own examples

e. To pursue strategic objectives. A goal of an organisation is to increase skills

and knowledge so it starts a training project.
Own examples

Analyze the projects that you are

Group Activity 5
running and explain why they were
initiated.

Formative
Explain with examples why organisations
Activity
undertake projects?

1.5.
17
Projects ranges and their complexity

TYPES OF PROJECTS

Project types refer to ‘What you need to achieve and How you will achieve it’

Don’t Know how Know how

Know

What QUEST PAINTING

BY NUMBERS

Don’t FOG MOVIE

Know

What

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PAINTING BY NUMBERS

The projects have clear goals and objectives. The project leader and key
stakeholders are sure of what to do and how to do it. They have clear defined set
of activities to be completed. Who are you investigating and why , what is the
expected results. How clear are some of the cases you investigate?

Traditional projects tend to be this kind. They tend to be large, involved and
complex. This kind is also known as closed projects. The challenge facing the public
service is to do more with less resources and public service projects have to fall
within this category.

Give own examples

QUEST

These are usually semi-closed projects and the project team is clear on ‘What’
needs to be done but not on ‘How’. There is a need for a strong project
management team to provide direction when it comes to the How. We need to get
information from the suspects but how?

MOVIES

The making of a Movie type of projects is formally known as a semi-open project.

Both the project leader and the key stakeholders are very sure of how the project is
to be conducted but not of what is to be done. The ‘How’ is very clear but there are
no definite ideas on the ‘What.’

We are going to use closed security cameras to investigate the cases but
what should we do to role out the project

FOG

Walking or lost in the Fog type of project is formally known as open project. The
project leader and the key stakeholders are unsure of what is to be done and
unsure of how it is to be carried out.

Other types of projects

Technical projects- These are projects or technical nature for a example
designing a dam

Business projects – these are business related projects, for example opening
a new office in another country
Community based projects- These are community focused projects
undertaken by NGO and municipalities to uplift the lives of the communities,
for example vegetable projects.

19
Research and product development projects- These are aimed on
researching and coming up with new or improved products and services e.g.
in the auto and computer industries

Formative
What are the different types and complexity of
Activity
projects. Give examples of such projects.

20
 Module two

Project
Management
Application
Module Outcomes
Project management is defined and its application is explained according to recognised published
standards.

The major project management processes are described and explained according to recognised best
practice.

The differences between project management and general management are explained with examples
of each.

The difference between project management processes and technical (end product related) processes
is explained with examples of each.

The difference between a project team member and the project manager is explained in accordance
with role descriptions.

21
2.1. Project management is defined and its application is explained according to recognised
published standards.
“Project management can be defined as
planning, organising, directing and controlling
Definition
resources for the achievement of defined
objectives”

The definition according to the “PMBOK” is “Project Management is the

application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in
order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project.
Meeting or exceeding stakeholder needs and expectations invariably involves
balancing competing demands among:
 Scope, Time, Cost and Quality
Stakeholders with differing needs and expectations. Identified requirements
(needs) and unidentified requirements (expectations).
Another factor is that a project has to be carefully balanced between time,
cost and quality:

In groups take turns to define project

management- Eventually come up the a group
definition of project management-
Group Activity
2.1
Compare this to the PMBOK definition.

22
 Formative
Explain project management according to
Activity
recognized standards

2.2.
Project management processes.

Project management has universal processes that one need to understand

and apply. These processes have been adopted internationally as key for any
project large or small.

Project Management Processes

Project Management Process
Time Management Process
Cost Management Process
Quality Management Process
Change Management Process
Risk Management Process
Issue Management Process
Tender Management Process
Procurement Management Process
Acceptance Management Process
Communications Management Process

Each project process describes the procedures you would take as a Project
Manager, to manage an element of the project. For instance, the Risk
Management Process will tell you how to identify, review, mitigate and
monitor project risks more effectively. It also describes the roles and
responsibilities of each team member, when taking part in project risk
management.

In addition to providing a comprehensive set of project procedures, for every

project management process you will find an Example which gives you a
complete practical example of that project process, for a sample project.

Time Management Process

By using the Time Management Process included in, you can easily monitor
and control time spent on a project. You will be able to create procedures for
23
completing timesheets, recording timesheet information and gaining an
overall view of the status of your project.

Individual activity
Why is time management important in projects?

Cost Management Process

The Cost Management Process helps you manage your project expenditure.
It explains how to document your expenses through the use of Expense
Forms and then implement an expense approval process. It also tells you
how you can update your Project Plan with your expense information, to help
you to keep an eye on your overall project expenditure.

Group Activity
Why is cost management important in projects? Give examples

Quality Management Process

To help you make sure that your deliverables meet the requirements of your
customer, include a Quality Management Process. By using this process, you
can implement Quality Assurance and Quality Control techniques to monitor
and improve the level of quality within your project. You can set quality
targets, undertake quality reviews and implement measures to improve the
level of quality of your deliverables.

Group activity
What happens when projects do not meet their quality objectives?

Change Management Process

One of the greatest risks in a project is "scope creep". It happens when

uncontrolled changes are implemented without formal approval, and it often
leads to delays, over-spending and poor deliverable quality. To help you
avoid scope-creep, implement the Change Management Process. This
process helps you identify project changes and control their approval and
implementation.

Individual Activity
What impact does change have on project scope?
24
Risk Management Process

Every project entails a certain degree of risk. The reason is that you will
have a fixed amount of time, budget and resources to achieve a set task.
How you manage this risk will determine your level of success. By
implementing the Risk Management Process, you can manage your risks
through formal risk identification, quantification and mitigation.

Issue Management Process

Throughout the project, you will encounter a number of project issues.

These issues will have the ability to impact on your delivery deadlines, so
you need to manage them carefully. If you implement the Issue
Management Process then you can put in place formal procedures for
recording and resolving issues before they impact on your project timelines.

Group Activity
Why do we need to manage issues in projects?

Tender Management Process

If you need to appoint suppliers to your project, then you will need a Tender
Management Process. This project process allows you to select and appoint
external suppliers, through the issue of tender documentation. This process
helps you select one or more preferred suppliers, by issuing 3 documents; a
Statement of Work (SOW), a Request for Information (RFI) and a Request
for Proposal (RFP).

Procurement Management Process

It's one thing to find and hire the best supplier, it's another thing to then
manage that supplier and ensure that they deliver everything that you have
contracted them to provide. By using the Procurement Management Process,
you can formally receive, inspect and approve every product and service
that your supplier provides you with. You can then use that information to
approve the payment of supplier invoices.

Group Activity
What are the consequences of poor tender and procurement management process?

25
Acceptance Management Process

The determinant of project success is whether or not your customer signs off
the project as complete and satisfactory. You will only gain complete
satisfaction from your customer if you allow them to inspect and accept
every project deliverable that you produce. By using the Acceptance
Management Process, you can request that your customer reviews each
deliverable produced by your project and signs it off as meeting their
requirements. Your deliverables will then be 100% complete.

Communications Management Process

To help you communicate the right message to the right project

stakeholders at the right time. You can use the communications planning
and process templates and examples to keep your stakeholders informed of
the progress of the project at all times.

Group activity
What happens when there is poor communication in projects? Give examples

Formative
Explain the major project management processes
Activity 2.2
according to best practice

2.4.
Project management processes and technical processes.

Project management processes are those associated with the management

of a project and technical processes are those required to produce the
required deliverables to satisfy the objectives of the project. Management
processes basically include but are not limited to
 Initiating the projects
 Evaluating the project
 Implementing the project
 Monitoring the project
 Controlling the project
 All the PMBOK processes

26
Technical processes are the technical processes required to deliver the end
product. Technical processes are minute and more detailed. Technical
processes include
Analysing and changing the temperature of metal
Observing the environmental aspects and adjusting temperature

Formative Explain the difference between project

Activity 4.4 management processes and technical
processes.

2.5.
Project team member and the project manager
4.3 Project responsibilities

Introduction
The need for effective working relationships in the organisation can never be
overemphasized. To effectively implement project management in the organisation we need
to first identify the roles that each member must play in the team. Already you have worked
in teams and you understand the importance of openness and trust in the organisation.
Exercise
What roles do you currently play in your teams? What are some of the challenges that you
meet? What do you think needs to be done to improve the situation?

27
Identifying Roles and Responsibilities

Project Project
Project Manager/
Leader/
Supervisor
Sponsor

THE PROJECT
Co-opted team Project
members Team

External Other Internal

Communities Stakeholder

Project Project
Originator Champion

28
 The Originator

In certain cases this may be the person who will not lead nor champion the
project. This is the person who:

 Conceived an idea for the project

 Published the idea

The Champion

Quite often the project requires high-level championship. Unfortunately

senior official do not always have the time to carry the project through. It is
important that someone is delegated to champion the project. A project
champion is someone who is:

 Deeply committed to the project

 Act as a project sponsor who will ensure that funds are available
 In most cases, a person who does not take administrative decisions

The Project Sponsor

Sponsor (Executive Sponsor and Project Sponsor). This is the person who
has ultimate authority over the project. The Executive Sponsor provides
project funding, resolves issues and scope changes, approves major
deliverables and provides high-level direction. They also champion the
project within their organization. Depending on the project, and the
organizational level of the Executive Sponsor, they may delegate day-to-day
tactical management to a Project Sponsor. If assigned, the Project Sponsor
represents the Executive Sponsor on a day-to-day basis, and makes most of
the decisions requiring sponsor approval. If the decision is large enough, the
Project Sponsor will take it to the Executive Sponsor for resolution.

Quite often the project requires high-level championship. Unfortunately

senior official do not always have the time to carry the project through. A
project sponsor is someone who is:

 Is deeply committed to the project

 Act as a project sponsor who will ensure that funds are available
 In most cases, a person who does not take administrative decisions
 Resolves issues that cannot be resolved by a project
Leader (overall projects)
 Accountable for the overall quality of deliverables.

The Project Team Members

Team members are the ‘doers’ and are accountable to the project leader.
Project teams often comprise of the Core Team that is full-time on the
project and reports directly to the project leader. The second part is the

29
Extended Team that reports to the core team. It is important to clarify the
different roles of these teams right at the beginning. The responsibilities of
the project teams are:

 To be accountable for such deliverables as delegated to them.

 To meet regularly and work with other team members.
 To manage and monitor progress on their delegated work.
 To manage the resolution of issues.
 To monitor changes in their work scope and inform project leader
of any changes.
 To advice appropriate team and/or project leader.
 Provide concise written progress reports every designated report
period and submit to Project Leader
 Refer issues that cannot be resolved to the Project Leader

The Project Manager

This is the person with authority to manage a project. This includes

leading the planning and the development of all project deliverables.
The project manager is responsible for managing the budget and
schedule and all project management procedures

The project leader plays a vital role. The leader has more responsibilities and
accountabilities than anyone else involved with the project. He/she is
accountable to the project champion and/or senior management. The key
roles are:

 To manage the project on a day-to-day basis

 To advice stakeholders, especially customers and managers of the
impact and benefit of the project
 To plan, organise, co-ordinate, control, lead the project
 To ensure that the culture is conducive for project implementation
 To assemble groups and turn them into teams
 Be responsible for regular feedback to Project Sponsor and Manco
as well as communicating and resolving issues timeously
 Refer issues that cannot be resolved to the Project Sponsor
 To assist with the development of project plans for the sub-projects
 To consolidate project leaders reports and report and report
progress to Project leader
 To deliver the project deliverables on time and to budget
 Refer issues that cannot be resolved to the Project leader

Project Leader

The three sets of skills required by strategic project leaders are:

1) Strategic management interpretation
2) Invisible leadership
3) Managing a project portfolio

30
 The project leader should have the skills of being able to understand the
organisation’s strategy and being capable of contributing to its development
in an economic, financial and marketing context. The leader should avoid
being ensnared in the political system of the organisation. The key functions
of the project leader are:

 To provide project leadership to colleagues, senior managers,

external stakeholders.
 To have ability to solve problems at a senior level.
 To define and discover gaps between current realities and future
vision.
 To decide source of future constraints and design control and co-
ordination systems and measurements.
 To define objectives to be addressed by strategic project or
programme.
 To break down the strategic project/ programme into a portfolio of
projects.
 To select appropriate project managers or supervisors
 To co-ordinate and monitor progress of the portfolio of projects
 To effectively mentor and coach a number of project managers.

Project Team. The project team consists of the full-time and part-time
resources assigned to work on the deliverables of the project. This includes
the analysts, designers, programmers, etc. They are responsible for.
 Understanding the work to be completed
 Planning out the assigned activities in more detail if needed
 Completing assigned work within the budget, timeline and quality
expectations
 Informing the project manager of issues, scope changes, risk and
quality concerns
 Proactively communicating status and managing expectations
The project team can consist of human resources within one functional
organization, or it can consist of members from many different functional
organizations. A cross-functional team has members from multiple
organizations. Having a cross-functional team is usually a sign of your
organization utilizing matrix management.

Co-opted Team Members

 Participate in the activities of the sub-project for the period agreed

to between line manager and project leader
 Take responsibility for the execution of specified tasks allocated
within the project plan within stated deadlines

31
  Provide concise written report upon completion of task. If the
period of co-option is longer that 3 weeks, written progress reports
should be provided every 2 weeks

Project Officer

 Keep project files up to date

 Keep project documentation up to date on weekly basis
 Act as secretary for Project Team meetings (take and distribute
minutes, schedule and co-ordinate meetings)
 Update overall project plan on a monthly basis and distribute to
members
 Distribute progress reports and project documentation on a regular
basis.

Project Mentor

 Ensure that the project charter is both complete and practical, in

relation to the department's Executive 's expectations
 Act as a mentor and coach both during the planning and organising
of the various streams of activity (e.g. clearly defined and well
understood deliverables; outsourcing parts of the work; etc), as well
as during their execution
 Play a quality control role, both at the commencement of streams of
work, when the details of deliverables are being decided upon and
specified, as well as providing the review of an outsider of the
outputs and these streams.
 Monitor progress and, should the team require this, give additional
support should there be any slippage in the programme
 Participate in the post-project review and the preparation of a
closeout report capturing organisational learnings.

Formative
What is the difference between a project manager and a
Activity 2.5
project team member? Give examples

Projects of different sizes have different ways and requirements on how the
people are organized. In a small project, little organization structure is
needed. There might be a primary sponsor, project manager and a project
team. However, for large projects, there are more and more people
involved, and it is important that people understand what they are expected
to do, and what role people are expected to fill. This section identifies some

32
of the common (and not so common) project roles that may need to be
required for your project.
Analyst. The analyst is responsible for ensuring that the requirements of
the business clients are captured and documented correctly before a solution
is developed and implemented. In some companies, this person might be
called a Business Analyst, Business Systems Analyst, Systems Analyst or a
Requirements Analyst.
Change Control Board. The Change Control Board is usually made up as a
group of decision makers authorized to accept changes to the projects
requirements, budget, and timelines. This organization would be helpful if
the project directly impacted a number of functional areas and the sponsor
wanted to share the scope change authority with this broader group. The
details of the Change Control Board and the processes they follow are
defined in the project management processes.
Client. This is the people (or groups) that are the direct beneficiaries of a
project or service. They are the people for whom the project is being
undertaken. (Indirect beneficiaries are probably stakeholders.) These might
also be called "customers", but if they are internal to the company we refer
to them generically as clients. If they are outside your company, they would
be referred to as "customers".
Client Project Manager. If the project is large enough, the client may have
a primary contact that is designated as a comparable project manager. As
an example, if this were an IT project, the IT project manager would have
overall responsibility for the IT solution. However, there may also be
projects on the client side that are also needed to support the initiative, and
the client project manager would be responsible for those. The IT project
manager and the client project manager would be peers who work together
to build and implement the complete solution.
Designer. The Designer is responsible for understanding the business
requirements and designing a solution that will meet the business needs.
There are many potential solutions that will meet the client's needs. The
designer determines the best approach. A designer typically needs to
understand how technology can be used to create this optimum solution for
the client. The designer determines the overall model and framework for the
solution, down to the level of designing screens, reports, programs and
other components. They also determine the data needs. The work of the
designer is then handed off to the programmers and other people who will
construct the solution based on the design specifications.

33
Stakeholder. These are the specific people or groups who have a stake, or
an interest, in the outcome of the project. Normally stakeholders are from
within the company, and could include internal clients, management,
employees, administrators, etc. A project may also have external
stakeholders, including suppliers, investors, community groups and
government organization.
Steering Committee. A Steering Committee is a group of high-level
stakeholders who are responsible for providing guidance on overall strategic
direction. They do not take the place of a Sponsor, but help to spread the
strategic input and buy-in to a larger portion of the organization. The
Steering Committee is usually made up of organizational peers, and is a
combination of direct clients and indirect stakeholders. The members on the
Steering Committee may also sit on the Change Control Board, although in
many cases the Change Board is made up of representatives of the Steering
Committee.
Suppliers / Vendors. Although some companies may have internal
suppliers, in the Lifecycle Step Process, these terms will always refer to third
party companies, or specific people that work for third parties. They may be
subcontractors who are working under your direction, or they may be
supplying material, equipment, hardware, software or supplies to your
project. Depending on their role, they may need to be identified on your
organization chart. For instance, if you are partnering with a supplier to
develop your requirements, you probably want them on your organization
chart. On the other hand, if they are a vendor supplying a common piece of
hardware, you probably would not consider them a part of the team.
Users. These are the people who will actually use the deliverables of the
project. These people are also involved heavily in the project in activities
such as defining business requirements. In other cases, they may not get
involved until the testing process. Sometimes you want to specifically
identify the user organization or the specific users of the solution and assign
a formal set of responsibilities to them, like developing use cases or user
scenarios based on the needs of the business requirements.

Responsibility Matrix
In a large project, there may be many people who have some role in the
creation and approval of project deliverables. Sometimes this is pretty
straightforward, such as one person writing a document and one person
approving it. In other cases, there may be many people who have a hand in
the creation, and others that need to have varying levels of approval. The

34
Responsibility Matrix is a technique used to define the general
responsibilities for each role on a project. The matrix can then be used to
communicate the roles to the appropriate people associated with the team.
This helps set expectations, and ensures people know what is expected from
them.
On the matrix, the different people, or roles, appear as columns, with the
specific deliverables in question listed as rows. Then, use the intersecting points to describe each
person's responsibility for each deliverable. A simple example matrix follows:

Project Project Client

Projec Analyst
Sponso Manage Manager
t Team s
r r s

Requirements
A C R A R
Management Plan

Requirements Report I, A R R I, A C

Process Model R R R I, A C

Data Model R R R I, A C

Requirements
R R R R C
Traceability Matrix
 A - Approves the deliverable
 R - Reviews the deliverable (and provides feedback).
 C - Creates the deliverable (could be C (1) for primary, C (2) for
backup). Usually there is only one person who is responsible for
creating a deliverable, although many people may provide input.
 I - Provides input
 N – Is notified when a deliverable is complete
 M - Manages the deliverables (such as a librarian, or person
responsible for the document repository)
In the table above, the Requirements Management Plan is created by the
project manager, approved by the sponsor and client managers, and
reviewed by the project team and analysts.
The purpose of the matrix is to gain clarity and agreement on who does
what, so you can define the columns with as much detail as makes sense.
For instance, in the above example, the 'Project Team' could have been
broken into specific people or the person responsible for creating the Data

35
Model could have been broken out into a separate column. After the matrix
is completed, it should be circulated for approval. If it is done in the Project
Charter process, it can be an addendum to the Project Charter. If it is
created as a part of the initial Analysis Phase, it should be circulated as a
separate document.
Examples of responsibility codes are as follows. Your project may define
different codes, as long as you explain what they mean so that people know
what the expectations are for them.

Formative
Explained the purpose and responsibilities of two roles on
Activity 4.3
a project

Module three
36
Project Structures

Module Outcomes
The reasons for defining structures for a project is explained with examples.
The concept of programme and project hierarchies is explained with an example.
The purpose of decomposing a project into manageable components or parts is explained with
practical examples
The concepts of breakdown structures for product, work and cost are explained in simple terms

37
3.1 The reasons for defining structures for a project are explained with
examples.

Work breakdown structure (WBS)

Work breakdown structure (WBS) in

project management and systems
engineering, is a tool used to define and
Definition group a project's discrete work elements
(or tasks) in a way that helps organize
and define the total work scope of the
project.

Task Identification Task Assignment Logical Relationships Task Project

Work Breakdown & Ownership and Dependencies Duration Schedule

Plan
Development Trade-offs, Optimization, and Risk Management

A work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or

any combination. A WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed
cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule
development and control. Additionally the WBS is a dynamic tool and can be
revised and updated as needed by the project manager.

The Work Breakdown Structure is a tree structure, which shows a

subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective; for example a
program, project, and contract. In a project or contract, the WBS is
developed by starting with :

 the end objective and

 successively subdividing it into manageable components
 in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems,
subsystems, components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages)
 which include all steps necessary to achieve the objective.

The Work Breakdown Structure provides a common framework for the

natural development of the overall planning and control of a contract and is
the basis for dividing work into definable increments from which the
statement of work can be developed and technical, schedule, cost, and labor
hour reporting can be established.

38
A work breakdown structure permits summing of subordinate costs for tasks,
materials, etc., into their successively higher level “parent” tasks, materials,
etc. For each element of the work breakdown structure, a description of the
task to be performed is generated. This technique (sometimes called a
System Breakdown Structure) is used to define and organize the total scope
of a project.

The WBS is organized around the primary products of the project (or
planned outcomes) instead of the work needed to produce the products
(planned actions). Since the planned outcomes are the desired ends of the
project, they form a relatively stable set of categories in which the costs of
the planned actions needed to achieve them can be collected. A well-
designed WBS makes it easy to assign each project activity to one and only
one terminal element of the WBS. In addition to its function in cost
accounting, the WBS also helps map requirements from one level of system
specification to another, for example a requirements cross reference matrix
mapping functional requirements to high level or low level design
documents.

39
 Formative
Activity Explain the reasons for defining project structures

3.2 The concept of programme and project hierarchies is

explained with an example.

The relationship between Programmes and Projects

What is a Programme?
A programme is a set of related projects
Definition
which collectively deliver an overall
change for the business.

It can be hard (and often pointless) to identify whether a given undertaking is a large project or a

small programme. Perhaps the most useful test is to look for the two levels of management - a

strategic management team guiding the overall change programme overseeing project management

teams charged with delivering the specific changes.

Here are some more guidelines contrasting the characteristics:

40
 Programmes: Projects:
Address the entire business Deliver a specific change
change component
Focus on strategic goals Focus on tactical delivery
May have imprecise definition Have a precise objective
May have uncertain timing Are defined with a specific
timeline and budget
Evolve over a period of time Try to avoid change to the
to derive optimum benefit for defined scope in order to
the organisation ensure delivery
Require much senior Require management
management attention, often communication primarily at
including strategic and an operational level
political debate across concerning operational details
organisational boundaries
Produce an overall Produce specific pre-defined
improvement in the business deliverables
that may be multi-faceted
and not fully defined at the
outset of the programme
Require a manager who is Require a manager who pays
high-powered, high-level, attention to detail, has good
visionary, strategic, political, team leadership, plans in
sales-oriented, and works detail, follows a disciplined
with people at the top and approach, and delivers the
across the organisation goods.

Programme lifecycle
The lifecyle of a programme is not as distinct as that of a project. The key ingredients often happen

before any identifiable programme has commenced. Much of the early thinking will be more in the

nature of senior management discussions about business strategy. At some time, those ideas will

condense to the extent that a change programme can be defined.

41
The Programme Definition will identify:

 the overall vision and

objectives,
 the scope (eg geography,
departments, products,
functions, market segments)
 the business case,
 the business architecture of
the solution in terms of a
blueprint for the various
aspects of business change, eg
people, organisation structure,
technology, processes, etc
(see diagram),
 the overall approach to
achieve that target business
architecture,
 proposed budgets and timelines,
 senior-level ownership, sponsorship, and accountabilities,
 other initiatives within the organisation which are connected (eg
dependencies, overlaps, conflicts),
 projects that will be required to deliver the change.

Although the main definition work will happen at the start of the programme, the business will evolve

over time and circumstances will change. Those parts of the programme definition that define either

the overall business solution or how it will be achieved should be viewed as an evolving model that should

be managed actively during the programme in order to achieve optimum overall benefit.

42
Programmes deliver through projects
Only the strategic leadership of the initiative is normally conducted directly by the programme

management. Specific changes are usually achieved by the definition of a number of projects which

collectively deliver the overall goal. These are defined and instigated by the programme team, but will have their own

project management teams.

Identify and categorise projects and programmes

Group Activity from your workplaces. What are the major
differences?

43
Once started, the programme manager should not intervene directly, but will need a degree of

feedback and control. The Programme Manager is concerned with project-level information where it

has a potential impact on the overall programme, eg progress, issues, risks, costs, projected benefits,

dependencies, etc. It is unwise to feed all such data to the Programme Manager. It is only those items affecting

the overall change programme that need to be communicated. Certain lifecycle events in the projects will raise flags

for the attention of the programme management team.

44
 Formative
Differentiate programme hierarchies from project
Activity
hierarchies

3.3 The purpose of decomposing a project into manageable

components or parts is explained with practical examples
3.4 The concepts of breakdown structures for product, work and cost
are explained in simple terms

Work Breakdown Structure: Purpose, Process and Pitfalls

WBS "A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be

executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and

create the required deliverables."

Creating a quality WBS will require a substantial amount of energy, time,

and people, but in the end is not rocket science

Purpose

Why do we need to create a WBS for our projects? What purpose does it

serve? Why should I waste my time writing on post-it notes and drawing

charts when I could be getting my team started on the actual work of the

project? Now, I know everyone reading this is a great project manager or

team member, so I am sure none of you have ever said comments such as

these, but I am sure you have heard them from those "other" project

managers who will remain nameless.

How does the WBS make project Management easier?

45
Reasons for performing a WBS

 The first is that is helps more accurately and specifically define and

organise the scope of the total project. The most common way this is

done is by using a hierarchical tree structure. Each level of this

structure breaks the project deliverables or objectives down to more

specific and measurable chunks.

 The second reason for using a WBS in your projects is to help with

assigning responsibilities, resource allocation, monitoring the project,

and controlling the project.

 The WBS makes the deliverables more precise and concrete so that

the project team knows exactly what has to be accomplished within

each deliverable. This also allows for better estimating of cost, risk,

and time because you can work from the smaller tasks back up to the

level of the entire project.

 Finally, it allows you double check all the deliverables' specifics with

the stakeholders and make sure there is nothing missing or

overlapping

46
 What happens when you run a project
Group Activity
without a WBS?

Process
Input to developing a WBS
 The Project Scope Statement
 The Project Scope Management Plan
 Organisational Process Assets
 Approved Change Requests -

These inputs should give you all the information you and your team needs to

create your WBS. Along with these inputs, you will use Work Breakdown

Structure Templates

Finally, using these inputs and tools you will create the following outputs:

 Work Breakdown Structure

 WBS Dictionary
 Scope Baseline
 Project Scope Statement (updates)
 Project Scope Management Plan (updates)
 Requested Changes -

An example of a WBS .

47
I. SITE PREPARATION
A. Layout
B. Grading
C. Excavation

II. FOUNDATION
A. Erect Forms
B. Pour Concrete
C. Remove Forms

Ill. FRAMING
A. Floor Joists
1. Install first-floor floor joists
2. Install second-floor floor joists
B. Sub-flooring
1 Install first-floor sub-flooring
2. Install second-floor sub-flooring
C. Stud Walls
1. Erect first-floor stud walls
2. Erect second-floor stud walls
D. Frame Roof

IV. UTILITIES
A. Electrical
1. Rough In
2. Building inspection
3. Finish work
B. Plumbing
1. Rough in
2. Building inspection
3. Finish work
C. Gas
1. Rough in
2. Building inspection
3. Finish work

48
 V. WALLS
A. Hang sheetrock
B. Tape and bed

VI. ROOFING
A. Install sheathing
B. Lay shingles

VII. FINISH WORK

A. Interior
1. Install cabinets
2. Install appliances
3. Install furnace
4. Lay carpet
5. Paint walls and molding
6. Hang wallpaper
7. Lay tile

VIII. LANDSCAPING

In cost WBS the costs associated with each product or work is

identified
Hardware-Software System Development – to Level 3 Activities

Phase II: Development Costs in Rands

Module 1 2000
Detailed Design 400
Review 600
Create prototype 500
Unit Test 500
Module 2: R8000
Detailed Design 3000
Review 1000
Create prototype 2000
Unit Test 1000
Module n R500
Detailed Design 200
Review 100
Create prototype 100
Unit Test 100
Integration Test 100
Manufacturing planning 100
User Documentation development

49
 100
Test Planning 200
Final Design Review and Release
200
Phase III: Approval R400,00
Alpha Test R100
Beta Test R100
Regulatory Certification R200
Phase IV: Delivery R600
Pilot build R300
Preparation for Release R100
Release to Production/Delivery
R100

Formative What is the purpose of decomposing projects into

Activity manageable parts? Differentiate breakdown structures for
projects, work and costs

50
Module four
Application of Project
Structures
Module outcomes
The basic differences between a matrix and functional organisation structure are explained
with examples of each.
The project organisation structure is described and explained in a written format.
The purpose and key responsibilities of two roles on a project are described in a written format
Stakeholders are explained with examples of at least six different stakeholders

51
4.1. The basic differences between a matrix
and functional organisation structure are
explained with examples of each.

STRUCTURING THE ORGANISATION FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Functional Organization
Functional organization is structure in
which authority rests with the functional
Definition heads; the structure is sectioned by
departmental groups.

Functional organization is structure in which authority rests with the

functional heads; the structure is sectioned by departmental groups.

What are some advantages of the functional structure?

 Simple and clear; coordination left to top management
 Reduces overhead
 Provides clearly marked career paths for hiring and promotion
 Employees work alongside colleagues who share similar interests

What are some disadvantages of the functional structure?

 Coordination of functional tasks is difficult; little reward for
cooperation with other groups since authority resides with
functional supervisor.
 Provides scope for different department heads to pass-off company project
failures as being due to the failures of other departments.

Give examples of project

Group Activity
structures you are aware of and
illustrate them

PROJECT TEAM STRUCTURE

Project team structure consists of an autonomous project team,

existing independently of the rest of the organization. The project
team is assembled for a specific project under the action of the

52
product manager. The team is thus temporary and will be disbanded
when its project is complete.
Sometimes we can find design or products with special
requirements that are not encompassed within one or more of the
functions. This will lead to a cooperative efforts of marketing,
production, engineering, and others as appropriate; as well as
assistance from the accounting legal, and contracting staffs. When it is
an important new effort, a dynamic and capable person from the upper
levels of middle management is selected to take responsibility for this
unique activity. A project is organized around this project manager,
and then a few specialized assistants are provided and a project team
is formed. The project manager exercises direct and autonomous
control over the various discipline groups and is responsible for the
coordination and monitoring of the effort of the team. Since most
major organizational functions will be affected by this team, it is
typically removed from the functional organization’s structure.
A multiple project organization is needed when the number of
projects increases. There is a definite limit to the number of major
projects any traditional organization can support. As the number of
projects increases the managerial load on the general manager
increases to the point where he can no longer cope.

Advantages of project team structures

 Good at responding well to an immediate project need.
 Flexibility
 Responsibility for success of project clearly identified.
 Releases top management from micromanaging operations,
so that the management can focus on the overall company
strategy rather than detailed nuts and bolts.
Disadvantages of project team structures
 The actual organizational power and authority of the team
manager may be a delicate issue.
 Greater administrative overhead.
 In-group vs. Out-group mentality may develop.

MATRIX STRUCTURE

In the matrix structure, the personnel and other resources that a

project manager requires are not permanently assigned to the project,
but are obtained from a pool controlled and monitored by a functional
manager.

Personnel required to perform specific functions in a particular project

are detailed for the period necessary, and are then returned to the

53
control of he functional manager for reassignment. Discipline
supervisors are responsible for the efforts of the groups constituting
assigned project personnel and for other required resources. The
members of the groups and their supervisors are charged with the
timely completion of the different tasks and are responsible to the
project manager and the functional manager.

Example:
An engineer assigned for a specific period to design a subsystem of a
project is responsible to the functional manager for completing the
task as scheduled, and to the project manager for providing an
acceptable design. The two managers report to a matrix executive.

Advantages of the matrix organization

 It attempts to retain the benefits of both structures
(functional organization and project team structure).
 Coordinates resources in a way that applies them effectively
to different projects.
 Staff can retain membership on teams and their functional
department colleagues.

Disadvantages of the matrix organization

 Potential for conflict between functional vs. project groups.
 Greater administrative overhead.
 Increase in managerial overhead

Give examples where you have seen the

Group Activity matrix function being used. What were its
major challenges?

In the collaborative, or matrix, organisation, information sharing may

be mandatory, and several people may be required to do the same
piece of work. In a project organisation, authority for decision-making
and direction rests with the project leader, whereas in a matrix it rests
with the team.

54
Ground rules for matrix development

 Participants must spend full time on the project, this ensures a

degree of loyalty.

 Horizontal as well as vertical channels must exist for making

commitments.

 There must be quick and effective methods for conflict resolution.

 There must be good communication channels and free access

between managers.

 All managers must have an input into the planning process.

 Both horizontally – and vertically – oriented managers must be

willing to negotiate for resources.

 The horizontal line must be permitted to operate as a separate

entity except for administrative purposes.

 The project leader maintains maximum project control (through line

managers) over all resources, including cost and personnel.

 The project leader has the authority to commit company resources,

provided that they do not contradict company policies and
procedures.

 The functional organisations exist primarily as support for the

project.

55
 General
Manager

Engineerin Operations Financial Other

g

Project
leader X

Project
leader Y

Functional Structure

In a functional structure, the division of labor in an organization is

grouped by the main activities or functions that need to be performed

within the organization -- sales, marketing, human resources, and so

on. Each functional group within the organization is vertically

integrated from the bottom to the top of the organization. For

example, a Vice President of Marketing would lead all the marketing

people, grouped into the marketing department.

56
Employees within the functional divisions of an organization tend to

perform a specialized set of tasks, for instance the engineering

department would be staffed only with engineers. This leads to

operational efficiencies within that group. However it could also lead to

a lack of communication between the functional groups within an

organization, making the organization slow and inflexible.

As a whole, a functional organization is best suited as a producer of

standardized goods and services at large volume and low cost.

Coordination and specialization of tasks are centralized in a functional

structure, which makes producing a limited amount of products or

services efficient and predictable. Moreover, efficiencies can further be

realized as functional organizations integrate their activities vertically

so that products are sold and distributed quickly and at low cost. For

instance, a small business could start making the components it

requires for production of its products instead of procuring it from an

external organization.

57
 Formative
What is the difference between matrix and functional
Activity
organisational structures?

4.2 The project organisation structure is described and

explained in a written format.

A project organizational structure designates the structure, in

which projects are worked on. A goal of the project organizational
structure is as smooth a project completion as possible. In addition it
is to contribute to obtain in the project as good a results as possible.

The project organizational structure regulates the authority,

responsibilities and the organizational integration of all at the project
taking part persons. The project organizational structure is
individually differently pronounced, since it must again be adapted for
each project. Frequent elements are frequent a core team, which
supports the project manager, with an extended project team, whose
task forms the quality assurance of the reached results. Besides one
finds usually a steering committee. The organizational structure in the
project is, like the project, an organization on time.

Under this setup, a project manager is selected, and he may form a

team solely either from existing organizational members or new
members. Most of the time, the members, if from the existing
organization stops reporting to their manager, and reports only to the
project manager. The project manager has full authority ,and project
members have only one boss. Usually this is an important enough
project, and team pride, motivation and commitment can be high.
There is also one very focused goal - the successful completion of the
project.

Discussion authority relationships that exist in

Group Activity
projects you are familiar with.

58
This kind of structure is also popular in certain industries where
projects are the dominant form of business like in construction,
consulting, movies, or certain software companies. In fact, in certain
literature, these companies are known as Projectized corporations, and
is widely praised by many industry consultants as the wave of the
future. In their case, teams are created when there is a new movie or
construction that needs to be done, and the other departments
( notably recruitment, human resource, and accounting departments)
are just there to assist and support these project teams.

Usually the team is disbanded upon termination of the project, or they

are regrouped into different teams again for other projects.

59
Advantages

a.) It is a straightforward and simple way to recognize what is needed

for a project, and get the people you want. If you are careful in your
selection, you will get the people you really need, instead of making do
what is existing. It also would not disrupt operations in existing
organizations.

b.) things tend to get done more quickly as the whole focus of the
project team is just the project. They can devote full time and
attention to the project, and will not be distracted by other obligations
and duties, as is common in functional or matrix form of organizations.

c.) there is only one project leader, and management conflicts of

having different bosses are minimized.

d.) There is a high level of motivation as the participants share a

common goal. Usually, project teams are also formed with adequate
funding, and specific important objectives, and people in the team can
feel proud to belong to the team.

Disadvantages

a.) Creating a full dedicated project team to perform in one project can
be expensive. A lot of time may be expended inefficiently in looking for
the skills required.

b.) There could be duplication of work, and expertise across projects,

and there is usually no economies of scale. If there are 10 consulting
teams, each of the consulting team may have duplicate resources.

c.) Teams within organization usually take on a separate identity, and

usually there is a hesitance to work or consult with other members
outside the team. As a result, expertise is limited to the team, and
does not spread through the organization. Similarly, the team also do
not benefit from expertise in the organization, but not within the
project team.

d.) Since it is purely a project basis, members may generally not know
( not necessarily whether they care or not) where to go to after a
project. So there is almost no continuity or learning curve experienced.

e.) Knowledge gained from such a project may not be kept since the
team may be disbanded after the finish of the project, and occasionally

60
in projects where future support may be required ( for instance, in
software development), there may be inadequate support as the team
no longer exists, or the members has been dispersed.

Formative
Describe and explain the project organizational structure
Activity
in a written format

4.4 Stakeholders are explained with examples of at least six

different stakeholders

Stakeholder Management
Stakeholder management is the process
of managing the expectation of anyone
Definition
that has an interest in a project or will be
effected by its deliverables or outputs.

Stakeholder management is the process of managing the expectation

of anyone that has an interest in a project or will be effected by its

deliverables or outputs.

What is Stakeholder Management?

Running a successful project requires a high degree of stakeholder

management. So who are stakeholders? A stakeholder is anyone who

has an interest in your project or will be affected by its deliverables or

output. It is important to understand the values and issues that

stakeholders have in order to address them and keep everyone on

board for the duration of the project.

61
Stakeholder Commitment: Why Is It Important?

If that carrot-at-the-end-of-the-stick tactic seems useless to get

commitment from your stakeholders, try these how-to's shared by

experts. Commitment is important in any relationship. It is the value

that galvanises diverse entities so that all can work together

unilaterally and seamlessly. Without it, there is no bond and no

common purpose. Romantic, family or even business-wise,

commitment is the force that drives the relationship forward, toward a

mutually desirable goal that usually points to growth and/or

profitability.

How to Sell Function, Feature and Benefit to Stakeholders

Top executives and stakeholders are often "sold" certain projects from

within the organisation. This normally happens, where a sales team

first handles a project and then later assigns it to a project manager

who "inherits" it. The concept here is that the selling to the

stakeholders actually continues once the project manager takes over.

Because of this reality, the project manager must to some extent use

sales skills and continue to build (and even sometimes repair!) the

relationships with the stakeholders.

Building Relationships in Project Management

Building relationships is just as important within the project team as it

is outside. Good relationships can be the difference between

62
outstanding success and dismal failure because it's all about getting

people to like and trust you so that they will deliver what you need

them to deliver at the right time in the right way. We have talked

previously about managing stakeholders, finding out about and

managing their needs and expectations, however this is much easier if

you have developed good relationships with stakeholders in the first place.

Identify three projects being run in your

organisations. Identify the key

Group Activity
stakeholders and their expectations

Project Management: Stakeholder Risk Management

Is it really true that on time, on budget, and fulfilling all requirements

means project success? Whose requirements are we really trying to

meet anyway? And who decides if the original due date can be

changed when the scope grows? In this article we'll address the people

swirling around your project, stakeholders. You'll find some useful tips

and other resources for optimising stakeholder involvement in your

project.

Examples of project stakeholders include the customer, the user

group, the project manager, the development team, the testers, etc.

63
Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest in the project. Project
stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are actively
involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result
of project execution or project completion. They may also exert
influence over the project’s objectives and outcomes. The project
management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their
requirements and expectations, and, to the extent possible, manage
their influence in relation to the requirements to ensure a successful
project

The following are examples of project stakeholders:

 Project leader
 Project team members
 Upper management
 Project customer
 Resource Managers
 Line Managers
 Product user group
 Project testers
 the community
 suppliers
 Local leaders
 labour unions
 environmental groups

There are narrower views of the term stakeholder, focusing on the

influencers and decision makers of a business or technological change.
In this context, stakeholders are managers who have the
organizational authority to allocate resources (people, money,
services) and set priorities for their own organizations in support of a
change. They are the people who make or break a change.

Formative
Activity Identify a least six stakeholders to a project of your choice

64
Module five

Project Processes and

activities

Module outcomes
Key processes and activities that take place to manage a project are described from beginning
to end.

The supplementary management sub-processes and activities required to support the key
processes and activities are briefly described with examples of each.
The reasons for planning and controlling a project are explained with examples of the
consequences of not planning and controlling.

5.1 Key processes and activities that take place to manage a

project are described from beginning to end.

65
 The project has the following key processes: start up, initiation,
planning, controlling, monitoring, execution, implementing, closing,
evaluating.

The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities

to accomplish the project’s goals or objectives. Regardless of
scope or complexity, any project goes through a series of stages
during its life.
There is first an Initiation or Birth phase, in which the outputs and
critical success factors are defined, followed by a Planning phase,
characterized by breaking down the project into smaller parts/tasks,
an Execution phase, in which the project plan is executed, and lastly a
Closure or Exit phase, that marks the completion of the project.

Project activities must be grouped into phases because by doing so,

the project manager and the core team can efficiently plan and
organize resources for each activity, and also objectively measure
achievement of goals and justify their decisions to move ahead,
correct, or terminate. Paying close attention to such details is the
difference between doing things well and excelling as project
managers.

Diverse project management tools and methodologies prevail in the

different project cycle phases:

1) Initiation
In this first stage, the scope of the project is defined along with the
approach to be taken to deliver the desired outputs. The project
manager is appointed and in turn, he selects the team members based
on their skills and experience. The most common tools or
methodologies used in the initiation stage are Project Charter,
Business Plan, Project Framework (or Overview), Business Case
Justification, and Milestones Reviews.

2) Planning
The second phase should include a detailed identification and
assignment of each task until the end of the project. It should also
include a risk analysis and a definition of a criteria for the successful

66
completion of each deliverable. The governance process is defined,
stake holders identified and reporting frequency and channels agreed.
The most common tools or methodologies used in the planning stage
are Business Plan and Milestones Reviews.

3) Execution and controlling

The most important issue in this phase is to ensure project activities
are properly executed and controlled. During the execution phase, the
planned solution is implemented to solve the problem specified in the
project's requirements. In product and system development, a design
resulting in a specific set of product requirements is created. This
convergence is measured by prototypes, testing, and reviews. As the
execution phase progresses, groups across the organization become
more deeply involved in planning for the final testing, production, and
support. The most common tools or methodologies used in the
execution phase are an update of Risk Analysis and Score Cards, in
addition to Business Plan and Milestones Reviews.

4) Closure
In this last stage, the project manager must ensure that the project is
brought to its proper completion. The closure phase is characterized by
a written formal project review report containing the following
components: a formal acceptance of the final product by the client,
Weighted Critical Measurements (matching the initial requirements
specified by the client with the final delivered product), rewarding the
team, a list of lessons learned, releasing project resources, and a
formal project closure notification to higher management. No special
tool or methodology is needed during the closure phase.

67
Concept or Growth or Production or Shut-down
Initiation Organization Operational
Management Organizational The major work Project
decides that a approach of the project terminated.
project is defined. accomplished
needed. (i.e., design, Manpower,
Project plan and development, resources, and
Management schedule for construction, commitments
establishes operational production, transferred to
goals and phase defined. testing, site other
estimates of activation, etc.). organizations.
resources Project
needed. objectives,
tasks (WBS),
Management and resources
“sells” the defined.
organization on
the need for Project team
project build-up.
management.

Management
makes key
appointments.

68
Project lifecycle

69
 Formative
Identify the key processes and activities that take place to
Activity
manage a project

5.2. The supplementary management sub-processes and

activities required to support the key processes and activities
are briefly described with examples of each.

Fundamental Areas of Project Management

Integration

Communication Scope

Project
Time
Managemen
Human
t
Resource

s
Risk Procurement

Quality Cost

70
When developing a project strategy, it is important to examine all nine
major areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK),
designed by the Project Management Institute. The PMBoK is an
inclusive term describing the sum or knowledge within the profession
of project management. These areas include cost management, time
management, scope management, quality management, risk
management, human resource management, communications,
procurement/ contract management, project integration.

Traditionally, the focus has been on managing only three objectives ie.
Quality, Cost and Time. Project management is a compromise by
which all management objectives are traded against each other to
achieve the optimum outcome.

PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT

What is integration management? Collection of processes required to
ensure that the various elements of the projects are properly
coordinated. It involves making tradeoffs among competing objectives
and alternatives to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and
expectations

There are two primary aspects to project integration:

 Integrating the different parts of the project

 Integrating the project into the organization

In many project management environments, projects have project

managers and team members identified, but there is little
communication among the various team members who work on
different phases of the projects.

In the second aspect of integration, projects are sometimes run as

being outside the normal part of the organization, with the project
teams and management outside the normal lines of communication
and culture of the main organization. While this separation has many
positive aspects to it, it also makes it very difficult to effectively
manage multiple projects within the organization and to re-integrate
the project teams back into the normal environment.

71
2. PROJECT QUALITY CONTROL

Quality

Quality management ensures that the expected quality of the project’s

products and deliverables is achieved. A Project Quality Plan defines

the key quality criteria and quality control processes to be applied to

project management.

Planning for quality requires attention to detail. This includes the

process required in ensuring that the project would satisfy the
needs for which it was undertaken. The goal for quality planning is
to ensure that the output of the project will perform as it is
supposed to. It encompasses at the activities of the overall
management function that determine the quality policy, objectives,
responsibilities and implements means such that are within quality
system:

 Quality Policy

72
  Quality Objectives

 Quality Audit

 Quality planning

 Quality control

 Quality assurance

According to the PMBOK “Project Quality Management includes all

the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy all the
needs for which it was undertaken.” This invariably includes all
actions of the integrated management function which establishes
the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities; implementing it
through quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and
quality improvement.

Project Risk Management

At the implementation stages the risks identified at the initiation

stages are now being monitored. New risks will emerge and the

profiling system explained earlier is applied to mitigate the risks. Some

risks will disappear.

Throughout the life of a project there will be risks that need to be

managed, to reduce the likelihood and impact of unwanted outcomes

such as time and cost overruns as a result of changes in the business

environment. There should be a Risk Management Framework that is

applied consistently across the organisation and a Risk Management

Strategy for the project that takes account of the wider business

perspective as well as the immediate risks associated with the project.

Where suppliers and/or partners are involved in the project, it is

73
essential that there is a shared understanding of risk. There may need

to be contingency plans and risk allowances (funding and time)

allocated to allow for the possibility of (for example) delays or failure

for a service to be taken up. A Risk Register or Risk Log is a key tool

for managing risk, which must be reviewed and updated continually

throughout the life of the project. Responsibility and ownership for

managing risks must be assigned to individuals with the authority to

take appropriate action on risk.

Risk control

Identified risks must be managed so as to mitigate their potential to

adversely affect the program. All levels of management must be
sensitive to hidden “traps” that may induce a false sense of security.
In certain instances the cost of correction may be higher than the cost
of the risk actually occurring, so it would be feasible to just leave the
risk and see what happens. Alternatively if the cost of the risk
occurring is higher than mitigating it then it should be reduced.
Another important aspect is to document the lessons learned so that
they can be used as a term of reference at a later phase or even
another project of a similar nature. In fact the project organisation
should develop risk management strategies and create a policy which
all project leaders in the organisation may adopt

74
PROJECT COST MANAGEMENT

It ensures that the project is completed within the budget. The

following are the processes to consider:

Resources planning

Resource planning is defined as the mechanic or person who will

perform the scope of work. It is therefore forecasting the resources
required to perform the work within the time plan.

Cost estimate

The scope of work can then be converted to man-hour. The next

step is to consider the direct trade-offs between the resource
requirements and activity's duration. When one varies the resource
availability, the duration of the activity will change. First when the
time and budget parameters are planned, this will automatically
constraint resources.

Resource Forecasting

The next step is to forecast resources to the Total Resource

Requirement by discipline or interchangeability. An interchangeable
resource is when one has a pool or workers and any of them could
perform the work. This is done by compiling all the resource
estimates and present them in a structured resource table.

Cost control

This is the process of controlling and managing the cost allocated to

the project. It is based on the information from the cost baseline
and performance report. Cost management plan should be drawn
for each project.

75
 What happens when costs are not managed well in
Group Activity projects? List examples of the consequences and
their effect.

PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

It ensures that the people are utilized effectively within the project.
The following are the three processes:

 Organization planning

 Staff acquisition

 Team development

Resourcing a project for implementation

There are seven steps to be considered when resourcing a project

1. Identification of what is to be achieved

- Map out objectives
- Use of milestone plans
- Project responsibility charts

2. Identification of skills and skills types required by the project

- Technical skills
- Professional skills
- Functional skills
- Managerial knowledge

3. Identification of available people

- Check with resource providers whether individuals will be
released for the project
- Don’t select people simple because they are available
- Look for available right skills

4. Assess the competence of the people available

- Identify any skills shortfall for support

76
5. Identify training required
- Some shortfalls may be addressed through training

6. Negotiate with the line managers (resource providers)

- In an on going way
- To ensure release of their staff
- Gain their commitment to the goals of the project
- Show them how they stand to benefit from the project

7. Ensure that appropriate facilities, equipment and other support

resources are available
- To be made available to the project team at the outset

Once the people to do the work have been identified, the team can
then proceed to define the details of the work to be done and to assign
work to the people for execution.

Formative
Describe the supplementary management processes and
Activity
activities to support key project processes

5.3 The reasons for planning and controlling a project are

explained with examples of the consequences of not planning
and controlling.

Planning provides everyone involved in a project with a common

baseline of information and ensures that everybody understands the

project objectives. Plans will also establish a basis for dealing with

risks, issues and changes and help to achieve good quality products.

77
Plans are developed during project start-up and initiation; they are

monitored and updated throughout the life of the project. Depending

on the scale and complexity of a project, different levels of plans might

be required. The project plan could be broken down into stage plans;

typically these are produced in outline and are further developed as

the next stage. When it is predicted that a plan will no longer finish

within the agreed allowances for cost/time/risk, an exception plan may

be produced to supplement that plan.

It is essential that a clear scope is established and agreed before

undertaking detailed development activities. Techniques such as

stakeholder analysis can be used to clarify requirements.

Good planning is a pre-requisite for applying appropriate controls to

achieve the aims of the project. A number of control parameters will

need to be managed such as risk, quality, benefits/costs, change and

issues.

The objective when planning the time dimension is to decide the

shortest time necessary to complete the project. It is the process
that ensures timely
completion of the project with the following major processes or
activity definition:

 Activity sequencing

Identifying and documenting activity dependencies.

78
  Activity duration

Estimating the number of work periods, which will be needed to

complete individual activities.

 Schedule development

Analysing activity sequences, activity durations, and resource

requirements to create the project schedule.

 Schedule control

Controlling changes to the project schedule.

Activity sequencing, activity duration estimating, and schedule

development are so tightly linked that they are viewed as a single
process. They should be treated as distinct processes because the
tools and techniques for each are different.

Begin with the WBS and decide the time required to complete each
sub-unit.

SCHEDULING PROJECT WORK

Scheduling is done to ensure that the deadlines are met and offers
guidance on how the project should be managed. Most organisations
utilise software for scheduling. Scheduling ensures that resources are
available when needed. There are five steps to be followed in
scheduling activities:

Define activities to reach a milestone

- list all the activities required to deliver a milestone

- select those activities, which are controllable

- the activities should produce measurable results

Ratify the people involved

- review project team to ensure that the necessary skills do exist

79
Define roles and responsibilities

- Responsibility chart can be a useful tool

Estimate work content and duration

Thee development of an effective monitoring and evaluation

system is based on critically answering the following questions

Why monitoring
We must have a reason for monitoring

What to monitor
We must be clear of what variables we are monitoring e.g. punctuality,
quality

When to monitor
We must know when to monitor, before , during and after, feedback
and feed forward systems

How to monitor
One must know how the process of monitoring is going to take place,
systems and procedures for monitoring must be developed.
Who is responsible for monitoring?

Who is responsible?
Team members must know their roles and responsibility when it comes to
monitoring

Using the above format develop a

Group Activity monitoring system for your projects

80
Change Control and Issue Management

Any changes that are required during the life of the project must be

formally planned and controlled to ensure that the impact of change

stays within agreed parameters; there should be a documented

change control procedure. The cost, time and quality parameters

associated with the project should be established before

implementation and monitored throughout the life of the project. All

proposed changes should be costed and their effect on the overall

project established before they can be authorised to go ahead.

Issue management is closely linked to risk management. Issues such

as the potential for conflicting stakeholder views need to be closely

monitored through an Issues Log and appropriate action taken if they

become risks to the project.

Establishing Standards

Standards for the project would have been set in the detailed
project specifications created in the planning stage. It is
critical that the project leader should continuously refer to
these standards. If there is deviation from the original
standards set, there will be no guarantee that the success
predicted by initial studies such as the feasibility study, pilot
project, will actually materialise.

A number of tools that have been discussed earlier on will

assist the project leader in controlling the project to make sure
that the parameters defined in the specifications for quality,
time and budget are actually met. A Gantt Chart and PERT
network are useful tools to start with. Four other techniques
which allow charts are:

81
 Control-point identification
 Project control charts
 Milestone charts
 Budget control charts

Control-point Identification Charts

A helpful technique for controlling a project is to invest some time in
thinking through what is likely to go wrong in the areas of quality, time
and cost. The second step is to identify when and how a project
leader will know that something is amiss and what will you do to
correct the problem.

PROJECT CONTROL CHART

What is likely How and What will I do

Control to go wrong When will I about it
Element know

QUALITY There will be Upon personal Have sub-

more staff inspection of standard work
members each stage of done by
allocated full- the project. utilising WBS
time to the tool.
project than
desired.

COST Cost of any sib- When purchase Seek

unit of the agreements are alternative
project may made. suppliers/ get
exceed the three
budget. quotations and
choose the
lowest.

PUNCTUALITY Time to By closely Look for ways

complete any monitoring to improve
sub-unit of the actual progress efficiency.
project may against
exceed the schedule along

82
 schedule critical path.

Project Control Chart uses budget and schedule plans in a quick

status report of the project. It compares actual with planned results,
calculates variance on each sub-unit completed, and tallies a
cumulative variance for the project.

Milestone Chart, as explained earlier on, presents a broad-brush

picture of the project’s schedule and control dates.

Monitoring Performance
Monitoring performance forms the heart of the control process.
Common ways of monitoring performance are:

 Inspections
 Interim progress reviews
 Testing
 Auditing

Inspection is performed by trained inspectors as well as by the

project leader. Inspecting a project means getting to where the work
is performed and observe what is happening. The manager takes
hands on approach in order to assess whether project specifications
are being met.

Interim Progress Reviews are communications between the project

leader and those responsible for the various sub-units of a project.
Reviews can be done either in writing or verbally through regular
meetings. They can be in a group or on an individual basis, either
face-to-face or by telephone. Topics that are usually covered are:

 Review of the progress against plan

 Review of the problems encountered and how they were handled
 Review of anticipated problems with proposed plans for handling
them.

Testing is another way of monitoring performance. Certain tests are

usually written into the specifications to confirm that the desired
quality is being achieved.

Auditing usually refers to financial auditing, purchasing practices,

safety practices, security practices, etc. Auditors should be experts in

83
the area of the project under review, and are typically not members of
the project team.

Monitoring Quality

Monitoring quality is the most critical part of managing a project.

When quality is not according to specification, the customary action is
to do it again according to plan. The final decision may eventually be
to have the work re-done, but that should not be an automatic
outcome. There are certain issues that need to be carefully considered
for instance:

 Re-negotiate
Re-negotiating means discussing with the relevant stakeholders the
possibility of increasing the budget or exceeding the deadline.

 Narrow project scope

It is possible that you can eliminate non-essential elements of a
project by re-defining the scope. This may result in cost/time
reduction. Proper planning should be done for such event.

 Deploy/ Move Resources

You may need to deploy more resources to one part of the project in
order to meet a specific deadline or a critical schedule. This must be
done in line with cost calculations.

 Substitutions/ Alternative Suppliers

In managing procurement, the project leader needs to be flexible.
When something is not available you need to look for substitution. If a
supplier can deliver on time, look for alternative supplier.

 Offer incentives
Incentives should be considered for both the project team and other
critical stakeholders such as suppliers. This may assist in saving time
and sometimes cost.

84
 What is the reason for planning and controlling a
Formative
Activity
project? What are the consequences of failing to
control projects?

Notes

85