PROJECT

 A project is a sequence of unique, complex, and

connected activities having one goal or purpose and that must
be completed by a specific time, within budget, and according
to specification.
 PROJECT
1- SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES
 An activity is a defined piece of work.
 A project comprises a number of activities that must be
completed in some specified order.
 The sequencing is based on technical or best practice
requirements, not on management privileges.
 It is better to think in terms of inputs and outputs.
 The output of one activity or a number of activities become
the input to another activity or activities.
 PROJECT
2- UNIQUE ACTIVITIES

 It means that the project has never happened before and will never
happen again under the same conditions.
 Something will always be different each time whenever the activities
that comprise the project are repeated.
 Usually, this variation from time to time will be random in nature e.g.,
a part is delayed, someone is sick, a power failure occurs, and so on.
 These are random events that we know will happen - but when, how,
and with what impact on the schedule, we are not exactly sure.
 It is these random variations that give rise to the challenge for the
project manager.
 PROJECT
3- COMPLEX ACTIVITIES
 The activities that comprise the project are relatively
complex. That is, they are not simple, repetitive acts.
 Rather they are new, and require special skill levels,
creative input, and judgement to be done effectively.
 PROJECT
4- CONNECTED ACTIVITIES
There is some order to the sequence in which the activities that make up the
project must be completed.
 Connectedness follows from the fact that the output from one activity
is input to another.
 Unconnected tasks do not form a project.
 One example is the painting of interior rooms of a house. Except for
rather unusual situations, the rooms can be painted in any order. So,
painting the house is a collection of tasks, not a project. We can take it
as one activity of another project.
 PROJECT
5- ONE GOAL
 Projects must have a single goal as compared to a program, which
can have many goals. Programs are therefore a collection of
projects that may have to be completed in a specific order for the
program to be completed.
 There will be situations where a project may be divided into several
subprojects, which are each projects in their own right.
 This may happen in very large or complex projects for better
management control.
 The subprojects may be defined at the department, division or
geographic levels.
 PROJECT
6- SPECIFIED TIME
 Projects have a specified completion date. This may
be self-imposed by management or externally specified (as
by the client).
7- WITHIN BUDGET
 Projects also have resource limits (people, money, machines,
etc). While these may be adjusted up or down by
management, they are considered fixed resources by the
project manager.
 PROJECT
8- ACCORDING TO SPECIFICATIONS
 These may be self-imposed or client-specified and are fixed as far as
the project manager is concerned.
 There are any a number of factors that will cause the specifications to
change. For example, the client may not have defined requirements
completely or the requirements may have changed (as happens in long
projects).
 To expect the specifications to remain fixed through the project is
unrealistic.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN PROJECT
AND PROGRAM
A program is different from a project. Programs are larger in
scope and comprise multiple projects. For example, a
construction company contracts a program to build an
industrial zone which comprise of construction of several
individual projects.
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project management is a method and a set of techniques based
on the accepted principles of management used for planning,
estimating, and controlling work activities to reach a desired
end result on time – within budget and according to
specifications.
 PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
1- DEFINNG
One of the first tasks of managers is to define the work to be done in their
area of responsibility.
The following five questions are to be answered by any good definition of a
project:
1- What is the problem or opportunity being addressed ?
2- What is the goal of the project ?
3- What objects are necessary in order to accomplish the goal ?
4- How will we determine if the project has been successful ?
5- Are there any assumptions, risks, or obstacles that may affect
success ?
PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The defining phase sets the scope of the project.
It will be basis for decisions as to whether a particular
function or feature is within the scope of the project.
For a variety of reasons, the scope of the project changes.
We call these changes scope creep.
The project manager must respond to scope creep by
documenting the alternatives and consequences of each that
will result from the change of scope.
A god project manager will have a formal change
management process in place.
 PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
2- PLANNING
 It is fact that project plan is indispensable. Not only is it a roadmap to
how the work will be done, but it is also a tool for decision making.
 A complete plan will clearly state that what is to be done, why it is
being done, who will do it, when it will be done, what resources will be
needed, and what criteria must be met in order for the project to be
declared complete and successful.
 Planning reduces uncertainty. While we would never expect the project
work to occur exactly as planned, having planned the work allows us to
consider the likely outcome and to put the necessary corrective actions
in place.
 Planning improves efficiency. The mere act of planning gives us a
better understanding of the goals and objectives of the project.
 PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

3- EXECUTING
 Executing the project plan involves a number of steps.
 In addition to organizing people, it includes the identification of
the specific resources (manpower, materials, and money etc) for
carrying out the work defined in the plan.
 It also involves scheduling workers to activities, and scheduling
activities to start and end dates.
 The final specification of the project schedule brings together all
of the variables associated with the project.
 PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
4- CONTROLLING
 As part of the planning process, an initial schedule is built.
 No matter how attentive the team is to creating the plan, the project
work will not go according to plan. Schedule will slip. That is the
reality of the project management.
 In any case, the project manager must have a system in place to
constantly monitor the project progress or lack thereof.
 This monitoring system will not only summarize completed work
measured against the plan, but will also look ahead to forewarn of
potential problems.
 PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
5- CLOSING
 The closing phase is very important but it tends to be the part that is most often
neglected by the management. There is always the pressure to get on with the next
project.
 There are several questions that should be answered as part of any closing:
1- Did the project do what the client said it would do ?
2- Did the project do what the project manager said it would do ?
3- Did the project team complete the project according to plan ?
4- What information was collected that will help with latter projects?
5- How well did the project management methodology work and how well did the
project team follow it ?
6- Closing therefore evaluates what was done and provides historical information
for latter projects.
 PROJECT PARAMETERS
Scope, Cost, Time, and Resources define a system of four
constraints that operate on every project.
 They are an interdependent set in the sense that as one changes,
it may cause us to change others also so that equilibrium can be
restored to the system.
 COST
 Throughout the project management life cycle, cost is a major
consideration.
The first consideration occurs at an early and informal stage in the life
of a project. The requesting client may simply offer a cost figure about
equal to what he had in mind for the project or on the other hand,
different bidders submit their cost offers to do this job in their tenders.
In more formal situations, the project manager will prepare a proposal
for the work to be done. That proposal will include a good estimate of
the total cost of the project.
In case of tendering, the client’s decision will be based on better
estimates of cost and time.
 TIME
To a certain extent cost and time are trade-off with one another.
The time can be reduced but cost will increase as a result.
Timeis an interesting resource. It can not be inventoried. It is
consumed whether we use it or not.
For the project manager, the objective is to use the time allotted
to the project in the most effective and productive ways possible.
 RESOURCES
Resources are means to complete activities. Examples are
labour, equipment, physical facilities, funds, etc.
These are capital assets and that have limited availabilities can
be scheduled or can be leased from an outside party.
Some are fixed; others are variable only in long term.
In any case, they are central to the scheduling of project
activities and the orderly completion of the project.
THE SCOPE TRIANGLE

COST TIME
SCOPE
AND
QUALITY

RESOURCES
 THE SCOPE TRIANGLE
Projects are dynamic systems and they must be kept in equilibrium.
Above figure gives us a simple graphic which explains the dynamics of the
situation.
The scope and quality of the project are represented by the geographic area
inside the triangle, shown in the figure.
Bounding this area are time, cost, and resources.
Time is the window of the area within which the project must be completed.
Cost is the budget available to complete the project.
Resources are any consumables used on the project. People, equipment
availability, facilities, and so on, are examples.
 THE SCOPE TRIANGLE
The project plan will have identified the time, cost, and resources needed
to deliver the scope and quality.
In other words, the project is in equilibrium at the completion of the
project-planning session and approval of the commitment of resources and
funds to the project.
 That will not last too long however, Changes may come across at any
stage.
The scope triangle offers a number of insights into changes that can occur
in the life of the project.
 For example, before any project work has been done, the triangle
represents a system in balance. The sides are long enough to encompass the
area generated by the scope and quality statements.
 THE SCOPE TRIANGLE
Not long after work commences, something is sure to change.
Perhaps the client asks to add a feature not included during planning
session, or due to certain reasons, the project is to be handed over at
an early date, or a key team member leaves the company or expires
and will be very difficult to replace. Any one of these changes throws
the system out of balance.
Referring to the triangle, note that the project manager controls
resource utilization and work schedules. Supervision controls cost and
resource level. The client controls scope, quality and delivery dates.
This suggests a hierarchy for the project manager, who is looking for
solutions to accommodate changes.
 Risk

 A potential of gaining or losing something of value.

 It is an uncertain event , situation or activity that affects the
objectives.
 Project Risk
An uncertain event or condition that, if occurs, imparts
effects on the objectives or any objective of a project
The effect can
+ ve OR
 -ve
 Project Risk
 Some potential negative project events have a high
likelihood of occurring on specific projects. Examples are as
follows:
 Safety risks are common on construction projects.
 Changes in the value of local currency during a project affect
purchasing power and budgets on projects with large international
components.
 Projects that depend on good weather, such as road construction or
coastal projects, face risk of delays due to exceptionally wet or windy
weather.
 The Concept of Value Engineering
• What is actually value Engineering?

“A systematic application of function-oriented techniques by a

multi-disciplined team to analyze and improve the value of a

product, process or service “.

Project Management
Key Activities of Value Engineering
Identify the main elements of a product, service or project.
Analyzing the functions of those elements.
Developing alternative solutions for delivering those functions.
Assessing the alternative solutions.
Allocating costs to the alternative solutions.
Developing in more detail the alternatives with the highest likelihood of
success.
Key Activities of Value Engineering
Value Engineering in Construction
Value Engineering in Construction
Value Engineering in Construction
 Normal Track
The normal way to accomplish these tasks is to complete each
phase, then move on to the next.
Concept/ Feasibility is first, then design, then procurement,
then construction, then start-up and finally operation.
Each project phase builds on the last; the owner communicates
needs to the designer, and the designer clarifies those needs
through contract documents to the builders.
This approach is understood fairly well by the project
participants and is logical, but is very time consuming. This
usual practice is termed as normal tracking or Linear
Construction.
 Fast Track
In a fast-tracked (also called phased) arrangement, the project
is approached in overlapping fashion.
In a fast-tracked approach the project is broken down into
smaller pieces (called work packages), with each package
designed and constructed separately.
By breaking the project down the work that can logically be
done first (e.g., site clearing and excavation) can be designed
and performed while later work (paving, roofing, finishes) is
still being designed.
NORMAL VS FAST TRACK
Mobilization and Mobilization Cost
The process of moving resources such as equipment,
materials, and personnel to and around a jobsite is called
mobilization.
 Mobilization costs are the expenses contractors incur to
organize, assemble, and transport equipment and materials to a
jobsite before construction work begins on a project.