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Project management tools & processes
Section 1 Project Management: Basics and Tools ................................................................................2
1.1 Project Management ...................................................................................................................21.2Project Structure and Frameworks ..............................................................................................5
1.3 Project Stakeholders ...................................................................................................................8
1.4 Project Management Tools .........................................................................................................9
1.4.1 Project initiation document ..................................................................................................9
1.4.2 Feasibility ............................................................................................................................9
1.4.3 SWOT analysis ..................................................................................................................10
1.4.4 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) ...................................................................................10
1.4.5 Costing and Budgeting ......................................................................................................10
1.4.6 Gantt Chart ........................................................................................................................10
1.4.7 Histogram ..........................................................................................................................10
1.4.8 Network analysis/critical path analysis .............................................................................111.4.9 PERT (project evaluation and review technique) ..............................................................11
1.4.10 Project Management Software .........................................................................................11
Section 2 Project Management: Methodologies and Managing the Team .........................................12
2.1 Project Management Methodologies and System ....................................................................12
2.2 The Key Stages of Project Management ..................................................................................14
2.3 The Project Initiation Stage ......................................................................................................15
2.4 Strategy and Scope for a Project ..............................................................................................15
2.5 Management of Configuration, Change & Risk .......................................................................16
2.6 The Project Planning Stage .......................................................................................................18
Section 3 Project Control ...................................................................................................................19
3.1 Project Control Systems ...........................................................................................................19
3.2 Control of Time, Cost and Quality ...........................................................................................20
3.3 Quality in the Project Environment ..........................................................................................21
3.4 Project Completion ...................................................................................................................22
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Section 1 Project Management: Basics and Tools
Project Management
Project Structures and Frameworks
Project Stakeholders
Project management tools
1.1 Project Management
A project is a temporary process, which has a clearly defined start and end time, a set of tasks and a
budget, that is developed to solve a well defined goal or objective.
Examples of projects include implementing a new business process, producing a new product,
organising a wedding, or decorating the dinning room.
Characteristics of a projector (Trevor Young, The Handbook of Project Management):
has specific purpose
is unique
customer focused
a series of activities
has time constraints
is complex
has cost constraints
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The project life cycle
Stage Description
The defining or initiation
phase
Identification of a need, opportunity or problem. Establish
requirements and achievability.
The planning phase Submission of proposals to the customer.
A feasibility study and cost benefit analysis is generally
used to help evaluate the best choice and the contract is
then agreed.
The implementing phase The actual performance, resulting in the accomplishment of
the project objective.
The controlling phase Monitoring and controlling the project, through budget
milestones
The completing phase Deliverables provided, appraised, accepted and paid for.
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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.
Objective of project management
Define the project
Produce manageable tasks
Obtain resources
Build a team or teams
Plan the work and allocate responsibilities
Monitor and control the work
Report progress to senior management and/or the project sponsor
Close down the project when completed
Review to ensure lessons are learnt
Process of Project Management
ProjectStages
Initiation Fact finding Design &
development
Review Completion
Formation Position analysis Implementation
Objective setting Options generation
Task planning Options evaluation
FeasibilityManag
erialStagesAnd
1. Initiation stage
a. Project initiation
document
b. Work breakdownstructure
c. Budget schedule
d. Task list
e. Network diagram
f. List of resources
g. Feasibility study-
cost/benefit analysis
2. Planning stage
a. SWOT analysis
b. Scenario building
c. NPVd. Working breakdown
structure
e. Gantt charts
f. Critical path analysis
g. PERT
h. Resource histogram
3. Implementing
stage
Budget report
Progress report
4.Controlling
stage
Cost analysis
5.Completing stage
Completion report
Post completion
audit
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1.2Project Structure and Frameworks
Mckinseys 2S model
The 2S model can be used in to identify:
Strengths and weakness
How a change made in any one of the S factors will have an impact on all of the others
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Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
A traditional Appreciative Inquiry is based on four steps (the AI 4-D Cycle)
Assumptions of AI include the following:
Something works
What we focus on becomes our reality
Asking questions of an organisation or group influences the group in some way.
People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future ( the unknown) when theycarry forward the best parts of the past (the known).
It is important to value differences.
the language we use creates our reality.
Note: The AI framework can be applied a variety of interventions such as: strategic planning,
instructional system design, diversity, organisational redesign, mergers and evaluations.
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The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a collection of processes and
knowledge areas accepted as best practice within the project management discipline.
The PMBOK
The PMBOK describes nine Project Management Knowledge Areas:
1) Project Integration Management
2) Project Scope Management
3) Project Time management
4) Project Cost Management
5) Project Quality Management
6) Project Human Resource Management7) Project Communication Management
8) Project Risk Management
9) Project Procurement Management
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1.3 Project Stakeholders
Outcome and process stakeholders
Outcome stakeholders have an interest in seeing that the projects objectives are achieved.
Process stakeholders have an interest in the way in which the project is conducted.
Based on the principles of one person- one boss and a decision-making authority, the hierarchy
shown below is adapted from the one shown in Successful Project Management, Gido Jand
Clements J, 1999.
Note: Other stakeholders that we can include are the organisation, customers, steering committee,
vendors, specialists and users.
Project champions and agents of change
A project champion- someone who grasps the benefits of and is enthusiastic about the project can
be one of the most critical elements of any project team. Change agents are those people in the
business that have the expertise that the project team requires to successfully delver the project and
will ensure that all of the requirements of the business are met.
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1.4 Project Management Tools
1.4.1 Project initiation document
The project initiation document ( PID) is a formal document listing the goals, constraints and
success criteria for the project- the rules of the game.
Note: The PID is sometimes called a statement of work or project charter.
A PID should contain at least the following sections:
Purpose statement
Scope statement
Deliverables
Cost and time estimates Objectives
Stakeholders
Chain of command
1.4.2 Feasibility
The feasibility study should be undertaken during the early stages of project planning, once the
requirements and specifications of the project have been identified.
The purpose of project feasibility is to establish if the proposed project can achieve its objective in a
cost effective manner. It enables the organisation to filter out proposed projects that would either
cost too much disruption, make excessive demand on resources or have side effects that are
undesirable and outweigh the advantages.
Feasibility can be considered in a number of areas for example technical, social, environmental,
financial and business feasibility.
Technical feasibility will vary depending of the type of project being undertaken. The idea is
to assess the nature of the technology required to build and run the new system/venture.
Social feasibility is all about ensuring the project fits with the business and its social
environment. Environmental or ecological feasibility which could include complying with heath and
safety legislation and also making sure the system/venture is ecologically sound and not
harmful to the surrounding environment.
Financial feasibility is undertaken to explore whether the project provides benefits to the
organisation and is usually assessed through cost benefit analysis.
Business feasibility should be considered in terms of whether the project fits with the
business goals of the company.
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1.4.3 SWOT analysis
trengths Weaknesses
The things that are going well (or have gone well) in the
projects
The skills that are prized
Major successes
Parts of the project that are well received by the users or
were completed early
The things that are going badly (or have
gone badly) in the projects
The skills that area is lacking
Major failures
Parts of the project that are poorly
received by the users or were completed
late
pportunities Threats
Events or changes outside the project (elsewhere in the
organisation or its business environment) that can be
exploited to the advantage of the project
Things likely to go well in the future
Events or changes outside the project
(elsewhere in the organisation or its
business environment) that should be
defended against
Things likely to go badly in the future
1.4.4 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
This technique is a critical part of project planning involving an analysis of the work required to
complete the project. The activities in the project are broken down into manageable components,
referred to as work packages. The process defines the activities that must be carried out for each
work package. Each work package will have defined responsibilities and deliverables.
1.4.5 Costing and Budgeting
The WBS can be used to produce a cost breakdown structure.
Detailing labour, subcontractors, material, overheads, etc
1.4.6 Gantt Chart
This provides a visual way of illustrating the sequence of activities in a project. Complex project
activities are converted into constituent tasks and a graphical and understandable picture is
provided. Although it does not show dependencies internal relationship, it will show the time taken
for each activity, resources required and responsibilities.
1.4.7 Histogram
This technique shows the resource requirement usage and availability against a timescale. (stacked
bar chart)
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1.4.8 Network analysis/critical path analysis
Construction of a diagram showing the sequence and dependencies between activities or
deliverables on a project. Using a work breakdown structure, network analysis arranges each work
package/task into a logical sequence and estimates the time to complete each. The outputs from the
work breakdown structure analysis will help the identification of which tasks are dependent on
others. Dependencies are critical to project planning. Having identified dependencies it is thenpossible to calculate the critical path, which is the longest sequence of consecutive activities. It
identifies those activities which, if delayed beyond the allotted time, would delay the completion of
the project. How much certain activities could slip before there is an impact on the expected item
completion for project. This then enables the minimum possible time to be determined.
1.4.9 PERT (project evaluation and review technique)
Development on network analysis, the technique is designed to account for uncertainty in the
project life cycle. Each activity in the project PERT uses three times estimates:
1) the optimistic time based on the duration the Shopping Centre project would take if
conditions were ideal;
2) the most likely/probable duration if conditions were normal or as expected;
3) the pessimistic estimate which is the duration it would take if a number of things went
wrong.
These estimates are then converted into a mean time and standard deviation which means it is then
possible to establish the duration of the project using the expected times, but also to calculate a
contingency time allowance.
1.4.10 Project Management Software
Software can be used for:
planning- network diagrams and gannt charts can be produced automatically once data is
entered
monitoring- actual data can be used to facilitate monitoring, with regular updates to
diagrams
estimating- actual data from one project can be used to estimate the next project
reporting- they allow standard and tailored reports to be produced
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Section 2 Project Management: Methodologies and
Managing the Team
Project management, methodologies and systems
The key stages of project management
The project initiation stage
Strategy and scope for a project
Management of configuration, change and risk
The project planning stage
2.1 Project Management Methodologies and System
Prince is a project management system developed by the UK Central Computer and
Telecommunications Agency.
The acronym PRINCE stands for Projects IN Controlled Environments. The latest version of
PRINCE is PRINCE 2.
Prince Structure
The basic PRINCE prefect organisational structure
The PRINCE structure defines the roles of:
project committee
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project manager
team leader
project assurance
project support
PRICE 2
PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments, version 2) is a process-based approach for
project management providing an easily tailored, and scaleable method for the management of all
types of projects.
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2.2 The Key Stages of Project Management
PRINCE2 Process
Directing a project the higher aspects of control and decision making
Starting up a project- a pre-project process, selecting the team and setting aims
Initiation- akin to a feasibility study, is it justified?
Planning- analysis into technical, quality and management. Establishment of targets of time,
cost and quality.
Controlling a stage- monitoring and control activities are carried out by the project manager
at each stage of the project.
Managing stage boundaries- the primary objective at this stage is to ensure that all planned
deliverables are completed as required. One stage is completed before next begins.
Managing product delivery- this includes effective allocation of Work packages and
ensuring that the work is carried out to the required quality standard. (specialist and
contractors) Project closure- bringing the project to a formal and controlled close approved by the
Project Board, it establishes the extend to which the objectives have been met.
The JISC infoNet method
The JISC infoNet method pares down PRINCE2 to the bare bones of a framework suitable for
managing any project.
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2.3 The Project Initiation Stage
Project initiation
The PID lists the goals, constraints and success criteria for the project.
Project definition
The main elements of a project definition include:
purpose
goals
beneficial gains
2.4 Strategy and Scope for a Project
To ensure the strategic fit of the project the organisation needs to be clear about the following:
description of the business need and its contribution to the organisations business strategyobjectives
why it is needed now
key benefits to be realised
critical success factors and how they will be measured.
Project strategy
Project scope- agreement between customer and supplier, series of tasks or activities to be
performed in reaching the project solution
Project objectives and basic plans for time, cost and quality
time constraint and budget
an expected quality level associated with each task
budget available for project completion, which the project manager should not exceed
without authorisation
Trade offs between key project objectives
Every project has constraints. The primary ones are the trade off between time, cost and scope
which also impact on quality.
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2.5 Management of Configuration, Change & Risk
Risk management
Five stages of risk management
1) Identify and record the risk in a risk register2) Access the risks and record the assessment
3) Plan and record risk strategies
4) Carry out risk strategies
5) Review and monitor the success of the risk management approach
Dealing with risk involves four basic approaches
Avoidance removes the factors bringing about the risk
Reduction- identify ways to reduce the risk
Transference pass the risk to someone else (insurer)
Absorption accept the risk and cope with the consequences
Common causes of problems
Poor project management
Conflicting requirements
Unrealistic deadline
User requirements not established correctly
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Management of change
Change management activities:
identify need for change
make recommendation
check feasibility to change
get steering committee approval get project sponsor approval
amend plan
make change
Elements of the change management plan:
initiating a change request
logging and tracking change requests
assigning change requests for analysis and recommendation
implementing change request resolution actions ( acceptance, delayed acceptance or
rejection of change request) how accepted changes will be integrated into the project control documents ( schedule and
task plan, risk management plan, acquisition plan, etc)
roles and responsibilities in the change management process
Change management
Causes of change to the project plan What to consider when changing the plan
Slippage
New technology
New legislation
Business environment changes
Poorly defined user requirements
Staff changes
What happens if the change is not
implemented?
Costs and benefits of the change
Impact on time, cot and quality
Change control procedure
Impact on stakeholders
Communication to all those affected
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2.6 The Project Planning Stage
Advantages:
communicate what has to be done, when and by whom
encourage forward thinking
provide the measures of success for the project
make clear the commitment of time, resources ( people and equipment), and money required
for the project
determine if targets are achievable
identify the activities the resources need to undertake
Three main types of planning are required within PRINCE projects:
Project planning
Stage planning
Exception planning
Detailed planning
Resources for a detailed plan:
The plan can be discussed with the project sponsor and users, to gain their agreement for the
project to proceed.
The plan will give a clear view to the project team of what is expected form them. This will
improve their motivation level.
The plan can be used as a basis for performance review.
Evaluation of plans for projects
Methods of evaluation include: examining existing records
structured observation
individual interviews
group interviews
expert opinion
Note: For more details about methodology please refer to the study text Section on project
methodologies and planning.
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Section 3 Project Control
Project control systems
Control of time, cost and quality
Quality in the project environment
Project completion
3.1 Project Control Systems
Project control
Project control is the continuous monitoring of the project for deviations from plan (time, cost and
quality) and the execution of corrective action.
Components of a basic control system:
A plan- a statement of what is to happen
Observations- measurements of what is happening
Comparisons- between expectations and actual
Corrections- actions designed to re-direct what is happening back to what should happen.
Updates- of forecasts and or plan as appropriate.
This involves scheduling, monitoring and controlling.
Project control system
The purpose of a project control system is to develop a plan of the work that is to be accomplished
and to develop a system that monitors that plan and the performance of the work.
The decision to introduce a formal control system and the selection of a specific system should be
based largely on two aspects of the project:
The risk involved
The cost of the control system and its expected benefits
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3.2 Control of Time, Cost and Quality
Time, cost and quality performance measurement
Time and money, budgets and schedules are the most basic resources within which every project
must operate.
Measurements can include:
Expenditure (cost) measures- start with the establishment of budgets
Schedule (time) performance measures- refer to the timely completion of project
deliverables.
Scope performance measures- are primarily concerned with product scope (the set of
functions and features that characterise the product or service).
Functional quality- refers to the quality or correctness
Technical quality performance refers to the technical infrastructure that provides the
foundation for product and service delivery. Client satisfaction measures- include client perceptions on various aspects.
Earned value analysis (EVA)
EVA involves calculation of three measurements:
Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS)
Actual cost of work performance (ACWP)
Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP)
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3.3 Quality in the Project Environment
Quality is:
Totality of features and characteristics of a product or service which bear on its ability to
satisfy stated and implied needs. (ISO)
Fitness for use (Juran)
Conformance to requirements (Crosby)
Dimensions of quality:
Conformance quality depends upon compliance with technical specifications.
Perceived quality relates to the customers expectations and experiences with the product.
Quality management
Quality management is a systematic way of ensuring that the activities necessary to design,
develop and deliver products and services which are more likely to be fit for their intended purpose,
take place a planned and are carried out efficiently and effectively.
Conformance management systems
Conformance management systems focus on:
inspection
quality control
quality assurance
Total Quality Management (TQM)
TQM is managing the entire organisation so that it excels on all dimensions of products and
services that are important to the customer.
TQM deals with:
quality standards and specifications
cost of quality
continuous improvement
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3.4 Project Completion
Closing a successfully completed project
Elements in project finalisation:
acceptance by client
review outputs against goals
disbanding the team
post-completion review
closure by steering committee
Closing an unsuccessful project
Signs of an unsuccessful project that may need to be closed before being completed include:
The project team is unable to meet major project milestones.
The activities do not match with the stated objectives of the project. It is clear the clients will not accept the outputs and/or outcomes of the project.
Key project team members leave the project.
Completion report
Contents:
The project objectives and the outcomes achieved
The extend to which the required quality has been achieved
System efficiency during live operation compared with the agreed levels of performance
The cost of the system in comparison with budgeted cot, and explanations for variances
Comparison of actual time taken to complete the project with the budgeted time anticipated The effectiveness of the management process
The significance of the problems encountered, and the effectiveness of the solutions
generated to overcome them.
Post-completion audit
Main purposes of post-completion audit:
checks whether benefits have been achieved
reduces the tendency towards over-optimism
Post-implementation review(PIR)
Post-implementation review (PIR) is a formal review of a programme or project. It is used toanswer the question: Did we achieve what we set out to do in business terms and if not, what
should be done?
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Elements of the PIR
Project history description- provides an executive overview of the solution selected to
satisfy the project objectives.
Cost history- provides a set of accounts for the actual costs of the development of the project
using the cost schedule formats as prepared for the project plan.
Project management and systems development methodology- describe the methodology
used to develop the system. Performance measures provide a list of the performance measures initially used to justify
the project.
Lessons learned- describe the lessons learned during this project
Impact of the system-briefly describe the general impact of the system on the mangers, users
and customers.
The PIR process