PROJECT

MANAGEMENT
UNIT-III
 Concepts of project
Project-Meaning
Project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product or service.
Projects are unique.
Projects are temporary in nature and have a definite
beginning and end date.
Projects are completed when the project goals are
achieved or it is determined the project is no longer
viable.
A successful project is one that meets or exceeds the
expectations of stakeholders.
Projects: Building a road is an example of a project.
The process of building a road takes a finite amount of
time, and produces a unique product.
Operations, on the other hand, are repetitive.
Generating bills every month, and broadcasting news
everyday are examples of operations.
Subprojects are components of a project that often
contracted out.
 Project Management
 Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project
management is accomplished through the use of the processes such as,
Initiation: Understanding the client’s requirements and set goals and
objectives.
Planning: Creating a design that shapes the project and outlines the cost,
manpower required, resources, timelines and so on.
Execution: Commencement of the project work as per the timelines for
completion of each segment.
Monitoring/Project Tracking: It’s at this stage the true project
management skills come into play. While monitoring the progress of the
project, one must look into interruptions, breakdowns, development and
so on in order to make alternative plans to achieve the set objectives.
Conclusion/Project Delivery: It is the final product or the service that’s
delivered to the client with a final settlement.
Characteristic Features of a Project
1. Objectives:
A project has a fixed set of objectives. Once the
objectives have been achieved, the project ceases to
exist.
2. Life Span:
A project cannot continue endlessly. It has to come to
an end.
3.Team-work:
A project calls for team-work. The team again is
constituted of members belonging to different
disciplines, organizations and even countries.
4. Life-cycle:
A project has a life cycle reflected by growth, maturity
and decay. It has naturally a learning component.
5.Uniqueness:
No two projects are exactly similar even if plants are
exactly identical or are merely duplicated.
6.Change:
A project sees many changes throughout its life while
some of these changes may not have any major impact;
then- can be some changes which will change the
entire character of course of the project.
7.High level of sub-contracting:
A high percentage of the work in a project is done
through contractors. The more the complexity of the
project, the more will be the extent of contracting.
8.Risk and uncertainty:
Every project has risk and uncertainty associated with
it. The degree of risk and uncertainty will depend on
how a project has passed through its various life-cycle
phases. An ill-defined project will have extremely high
degree of risk
9.Made to order:
A project is always made to the order of its customer.
The customer stipulates various requirements and puts
constraints within which the project must be executed.
10. Unity in diversity:
A project is a complex set of thousands of varieties. The
varieties are in terms of technology, equipment and
materials, machinery and people, work culture and
ethics.
But they remain inter-related to allow the project to be
completed.
 Categories of Projects
1.Manufacturing Projects
 Where the final result is a vehicle, ship, aircraft, a piece of machinery
etc.
2.Construction Projects
 Resulting in the erection of buildings, bridges, roads, tunnels etc.
Mining and petro-chemical projects can be included in this group
3.Management Projects
 Which include the organization of work without necessarily
producing a tangible result. Example: testing of a new computer
software package, relocation of a company’s headquarters or the
production of a stage show.
4.Research Projects
 In which the objectives may be difficult to establish, and where the
results are unpredictable.
Normal Projects:
Adequate time is allowed for Implementation of the project.
This type of project will require minimum capital cost and no sacrifice in
terms of quality.
Crash Projects
In this category of projects, additional capital costs are incurred to gain
time.
Compromises in terms of quality are also not ruled out. Saving in time is
normally achieved in procurement and construction where time is
brought from the vendors and contractors by paying extra money to
them.
Disaster Projects
Anything needed to gain time is allowed in these projects.
No competitive bidding is resorted; Round-the-clock work is done at the
site.
Naturally, capital cost will go up very high, but project time will get
drastically reduced.
Project Life Cycle
Every project has a project life cycle. The project manager
must successfully understand and navigate through each phase
of the project life cycle to ensure successful project
completion. There are four phases in every project life cycle,
1.Concept phase
This is the phase where hard evidence such as graphs, charts,
statistics, and other hard data is analyzed to help with
successfully completing the process.
2.Planning phase.
In this part of the project life cycle, the project team along with
the project manager decides how to best complete the project
and develops a plan for that completion.
Create a clear and concise plan to both execute the project and
monitor its progress.
3.Execution phase
This is the part of project management where the
plan for completion is actually carried out.
4.Closeout
In the closeout part of the phase the project comes
to an end and the project team parts ways to
complete other projects waiting in the wings.
Who is a Project Manager?
A project manager is a person who is responsible for
leading the project. In other words, project managers
are the spearheads of a project.
Handles all the aspects of the project from project
initiation to project delivery.
provides the vision of the project to his team members
and keeps their focus firmly fixed on the same.
Project manager is the one who ultimately gets praised
for the success of the project or discredited for the
failure of it. The project manager is accountable for the
fate of a project.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager
The responsibilities of a project manager can vary from
organization to organization. Sometimes, they may even
change depending on the project need. the key roles are;
1. Activity and resource planning
2. Organizing and motivating a project team
3. Controlling time management
4. Cost estimating and developing the budget
5. Ensuring customer satisfaction
6. Analyzing and managing project risk
7. Monitoring progress
8. Managing reports and necessary documentation
1. Activity and resource planning
Good project managers define the project’s scope and
determine available resources. set time estimates and
evaluate the team capabilities.
Create a clear and concise plan to both execute the
project and monitor its progress.
2. Organizing and motivating a project team
 Good project managers put their teams front and
center.
 They develop clear, straightforward plans that stimulate
their teams to reach their full potential.
 They cut down on bureaucracy and steer their teams
down a clear path to the final goal.
3. Controlling time management
 Good project managers know how to set realistic deadlines, and how to
communicate them consistently to their teams. By the following ways;
Define activity
Sequence activity
Estimate the duration of activity
Develop a schedule
Maintain a schedule
4. Cost estimating and developing the budget
 Good project managers frequently review the budget and plan ahead to
avoid massive budget overruns.
5. Ensuring customer satisfaction
 In the end, a project is only a success if the customer is happy. One of
the key responsibilities of every project manager is to minimize
uncertainty, avoid any unwanted surprises and involve their clients in
the project as much as is reasonably possible
6. Analyzing and managing project risk
 project managers know how meticulously and almost intuitively,
identify and evaluate potential risks before the project begins. They
know how to then avoid risks or at least minimize their impact.
7. Monitoring progress
 When things don’t go according to a plan, a project manager needs to
monitor and analyze both expenditures and team performance and
to always efficiently take corrective measures.
8. Managing reports and necessary documentation
Experienced project managers know how essential final reports and
proper documentation are.
Good project managers can present comprehensive reports
documenting that all project requirements were fulfilled, as well as the
projects’ history, including what was done, who was involved, and what
could be done better in the future.