Modern Project Management

Chapter 1
 Management
Management is the administration of an organization,
whether it is a business, a not-for-profit organization, or
government body. Management includes the activities
of setting the strategy of an organization and
coordinating the efforts of its workers (or of volunteers)
to accomplish its objectives through available resources
, 
 Project?
• It is temporary work system constituted by
team within or across organizations to
accomplish particular tasks under time and
budget constraints
• A complex, non-routine, one-time effort
limited by time, budget, resources, and
performance specifications designed to meet
customer needs.
 Characteristics of Project
• Consists of temporary activities that have
predetermined start and end dates.
• Used for one off, non-repetitive items
• Uses restricted time & budget.
• It has a single goal or a set of goals.
• It uses skills and talents from multiple
professions and organizations.
 Examples
• A market demand (e.g., a consumer product
company authorizing a project to develop a
new fruit drink for kids with less sugar in
response to an increased health awareness)
• A business need (e.g., a publisher authorising
a project to write a new book to increase its
revenues)
 Examples
• A customer request (e.g., an amusement park
authorizing a company to develop a new roller
coaster)
• A technological advance (e.g., an electronics
firm authorizing a new project to develop a
faster, cheaper, and smaller net book)
• A legal requirement (e.g., U.S. federal
government authorizes a project to establish
laws for controlling the home loan system)
 Examples
• A social need (e.g., a non-governmental
organization authorizing a project to raise the
awareness of donating blood)
 Project Management
• Project management is the application of
knowledge, skills and techniques to execute
projects effectively and efficiently. It’s a strategic
competency for organizations, enabling them to tie
project results to business goals — and thus, better
compete in their markets.
– Defining
– Planning
– Executing
– Closing
 Program
• A group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits and
control not available from managing them
individually.
• Characteristics of Program
– Deliverable with strategic intent
– Significant change in organization
– Longer in duration
 Program Management
• Program management is the process of
managing a group of ongoing, interdependent,
related projects in a coordinated way to
achieve strategic objectives.
• Examples NCHD , BISP, USAID, School Health
Program by ministry of Education Islamabad in
collaboration with UNESCO
 Project vs. routine work
• Project activities • Routine activities
• Expand product line • General accounting
• Building a home • Customer service
• Installing new • Technical support
machine in factory • Continuous
• Developing supply production
chain information •
system
Project Life Cycle
Importance of Project Management

Compression of product life cycle

Knowledge Explosion

Triple Bottom Line (Planet, people, Profit)

Corporate Downsizing

Increased Customer Focus

 Project Management today- Integrative
approach
• Integration (or centralization) of project
management provides senior management with:
– An overview of all project management activities
– A big picture of how organizational resources are used
– A risk assessment of their portfolio of projects
– A rough metric of the firm’s improvement in
managing projects relative to others in the industry
– Linkages of senior management with actual project
execution management
Integrated Management of Project
• Ensure projects
meet strategic
objectives
• Proper utilization
of resources
• Priority of projects
• Reducing waste of
resources
Major Functions of Portfolio Management

• Monitor aggregate resource levels and skills.

• Balance projects in the portfolio in order to
represent a risk level appropriate to the
organization.
• Improve communication among all stakeholders.
• Create a total organization perspective that goes
beyond silo thinking.
• Improve overall management of projects over time
Aspects of Project Implementation
 Discussion
• Individually identify projects assigned in
previous terms. Were both socio-cultural and
technical elements factors in the success or
difficulties in the projects?
End of Chapter