1.

Introduction
2. Initiating Projects

3. Planning Projects
4. Executing Projects
5. Monitoring and Controlling Projects
6. Closing Projects
 Detail course content
Chapter one: Introduction(Project
Management)
 Concepts of project and project management
 Project Vs Program Vs Operations
 Examining key roles in Project Management
 Identifying the essentials for success of
projects
 Skills in Project management
 Chapter two
Project initiation
2.1 Basic Terminology
2.2 Steps to initiate a project
2.3 Project Identification (Idea generation)
2.4 Project preparation and Analysis
 2.1 Terminology
• Originator: the person who suggested the project.
• Owner: the person whose strategic plan created the need for the
project.
• Sponsor: the company or client who will authorise expenditure on
the project this could be an internal client.
• Project Champion: the person who makes the project happen.
Often a person with influence in high places.
• Users: the people who will operate the facility on behalf of the
owner when the project is completed.
• Customers: the people who receive and pay for the benefit from
the facility. For example we are all customers for electricity,
telephones and commercial travel facilities. Customers may prefer
a wide range of fashionable products – this would encourage short
production runs and quick turn-round times.
• Project Team: the team members who plan, organise,
implement and control the work of the contractor to
deliver the facility within the constraints of time, cost
and quality (also consider the effect on their families).
• Senior Management: within your company who you
need to support your project (mentor support).
• Functional Managers: within your company who will
be supplying the workforce for your project (matrix
structure).
• Boss: your boss, the person you report to, can play an
important role in establishing your working
environment, the support you receive and your career
prospects within the organisation.
•Colleagues: although they may not be working on your project,
indirectly they can supply useful information and offer moral peer
support, or conversely peer pressure.
•Contractors: the external companies or people offering specialist
expertise to supplement the company's resources.
•Suppliers and Vendors: the external companies or people who
supply materials and equipment. They have a wealth of experience
which should be tapped.
•Supporters: the parties who provide goods and services to enable
the facility to be built, for example the suppliers of telephones,
electricity, postal service and even the corner shop. Financial
support through the banking system could also be included here.
•Legal Requirements: rules and regulations both nationally and
internationally that must be complied with.
 2.2 Steps to initiate a project
• The first phase in the project life cycle is
project initiation.
• This phase involves creating a new project by
defining the business problem or opportunity
to be addressed, the solution to be delivered
and the scope within which the project will be
undertaken.
• The activities outlined below need to be
completed.
 Although it might not be evident, the project
initiation phase is by far the most critical phase
in the project life cycle.
 If you do not properly initiate the project, you
will greatly increase the risk of project failure.
 It takes time, diligence and patience to ensure
that the project is properly defined and scoped
before it is executed.
 Unfortunately a large number of projects
quickly pass through this phase by:
• failing to properly define the business benefits
and costs associated with the project;
• assuming that the solution identified is
feasible, without conducting feasibility testing;
• defining the generic objectives, scope and
deliverables of the project, without any sound
basis for measuring performance.
• This is the reason that many projects suffer
from scope creep, late delivery and excess
spending.
• To avoid these common pitfalls, you need to
complete each step listed here as thoroughly as
possible.
• If you achieve this, you can feel confident that
your project has a solid foundation for success.
• The following sections define in detail the
steps required to successfully initiate a project.
 1. DEVELOP A BUSINESS CASE
• The first step you need to take to initiate a project is to
develop a business case.
• A business case is a document which justifies the start-up
of a project.
• It includes:
– a description of the problem or opportunity that exists in
the business;
– a list of the available options for delivering a solution to
resolve the problem;
– a list of the costs and benefits associated with each
solution option;
– a recommended solution option for approval.
2. UNDERTAKE A FEASIBILITY
STUDY
• A feasibility study involves undertaking a
detailed assessment of a current business
problem or opportunity, identifying the
various solution options available and
determining the likelihood of each alternative
solution meeting a customer’s requirements.
• The outcome of the exercise is the creation of a
feasibility study document which provides:
– a full description of the business problem;
– a list of the requirements for a solution to fix the
problem;
– a list of all available options for delivering a
solution;
– an assessment of the feasibility of each option;
– a list of the risks and issues associated with each
option;
– the preferred solution option for implementation.
• The feasibility study document is presented by senior
management in the business to the business sponsor or
customer.
• Although a feasibility study may be conducted prior to
the completion of a business case, it is usually
undertaken as part of the overall business case process
to add more rigour to the solution options presented.
• For this reason, the topics covered in the business case
and feasibility study documents are similar.
• Note that a feasibility study may be
undertaken to address a business problem to be
resolved, or a business opportunity to be
realized.
• Although this section refers primarily to the
resolution of business problems, each section
equally applies to the realization of business
opportunities.
3. ESTABLISH THE TERMS OF
REFERENCE
• Now that you have documented a business
case and undertaken a feasibility study to
select your preferred solution, you are ready
to define the scope of a project to deliver the
solution to your customer.
• To formally define the scope of a project, you
need to document its terms of reference
(TOR).
• The TOR outlines the purpose of the project,
the way it will be structured and how it will be
implemented.
• It describes the project:
– vision, objectives, scope and deliverables (ie
what you have to achieve);
– stakeholders, roles and responsibilities (ie
who will take part in it);
– resource, financial and quality plans (ie how
it will be undertaken).
• The TOR may also be referred to as a ‘project
charter’ or ‘project definition report’.
• It is usually presented by senior management in the
business to the business sponsor or customer for
approval.
• It is completed after the business case and feasibility
study have been approved but before the project
team is appointed.
• The TOR also defines the scope of the project, within
which all deliverables are produced.
• Project activities will only be undertaken outside the
defined scope of the project if a valid change request
form has been approved.
 4. APPOINT THE PROJECT TEAM
• Having completed the terms of reference, you
will now have a very clear understanding of the
types of project roles required and number of
people required to fulfil each role.
• The next step is to appoint people to these roles,
to carry out the project.
• The first person appointed to the project is
typically the project manager.
• The reason is that the project manager is responsible
for ensuring that the right candidates with the right
skills are appointed into the right roles within the
project.
• The project manager will usually appoint their team
leaders first and the team leaders will in turn appoint
the team members, depending on the size of the
project.
• The project manager is also responsible for
appointing other key project roles, such as the quality
manager, procurement manager, communications
manager and project office manager.
• It is no surprise that hiring the right project
manager for your needs is a critical activity in
the project life cycle.
• You need a project manager who is suitably
skilled, has depth of expertise in managing
similar projects and is the right cultural fit for
your organization.
• To ensure that you appoint the right person to
lead your project, you need to complete a
comprehensive job description for this role.
5. SET UP THE PROJECT OFFICE

• The project office is the physical premises

within which administrative project staff such
as the project manager and project support
staff reside.
• The project office also contains the
communications infrastructure and
information technologies required to support
the project.
• Although it is usual for a project team to be based
in one physical location, a project team may be
dispersed throughout different countries around
the world.
• In this instance, a ‘virtual’ project office is formed.
• With the modern age of technology, virtual
project offices are becoming more frequent as
communications issues are more easily solved
through e-mail, Internet access, remote
network software, mobile phones, laptop
technologies and hand-held devices.
• To help create your project office
environment, a detailed project office
checklist has been prepared.
• This checklist itemizes the steps needed
to successfully establish a project office
environment.
• It may also be used to review your project
office on a regular basis to ensure that it
continues to support the project as
originally planned.
 6. PERFORM A PHASE REVIEW
• At the end of the initiation phase, a phase
review is performed.
• This is a checkpoint to ensure that the project
has achieved its stated objectives as planned.
• A phase review form is completed to formally
request approval to proceed to the next phase
of a project.
• Phase review forms should be
completed at the end of the following
project phases:
–project initiation;
–project planning;
–project execution.
• It is not necessary to complete a phase review form at the
end of the project closure phase as approval to close the
project is covered in the project closure report.
• The phase review form should describe the status of the:
– overall project;
– project schedule;
– project expenses;
– project staffing;
– project deliverables;
– project risks;
– project issues.
• Phase review forms should be completed by
the project manager and approved by the
project sponsor.
• To obtain approval, the project manager will
usually present the current status of the project
to the project board for consideration.
• The project board (chaired by the project
sponsor) may decide to cancel the project,
undertake further work within the existing
project phase or grant approval to begin the
next phase of the project.