1

Project Management Principles

ΥΠΕΥΘΥΝΟΣ:Θ. ΜΑΝΑΒΗΣ

tmanavis@ist.edu.gr

Lecture 2 – Principles and concepts

Project Management Activities

Introduction to the module

What is the module about?• Focuses: combine fundamentals of project-based

learning and professional practice

Skills

Assessment

• Part 1 - Group project report - 80%

• Part 2 - Personal reflection - 20%

• Deadline for both:– Wednesday 14 January 2015

Recommended text

• Maylor, H; Project Management, Prentice Hall, 4th edition, 2010.

• Stellman, A., Green, J., Applied Software Project Management, O’Reilly, 2005

• Meredith, J. R., 2010, Project Management: A Managerial Approach, 8th edition, John Wiley and Sonst, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill

Introduction

‘Life is one big project’

The trick is in managing it.

Principles

• Know what is and what is not a project

• Fundamental in modern organisations and

the careers of employees

• Learn from the past to understand the

current state and opportunities for the

future

Learning objectives

• Identify the definitions of a project and the task of

management within a range of projects

• Demonstrate the importance of successful project

management to individuals, organisations and

economies

• Recognise the development of the modern subject

along with some of the challenges and limitations

Historical perspective

Examples:– The Great Pyramids of Giza (2,550 B.C.)– The Great Wall of China (221 B.C. - 206 B.C.)

• Exceptional planning• Coordination• Allocation • Hundreds of thousands of workers

– Paid and slave labour

The early years: late 19th century

Project management emerged in the growing

complexity of commerce

– Seen in transportation, to manufacturing

– Large scale projects caused large scale management

decisions.

– Example is the 1862 Transcontinental Railroad (San

Francisco to Iowa)

Key dates in project management

1917 – Henry Gantt developed the Gantt chart

1942 – Manhattan Project (a research and development project that produced

the first atomic bombs during World War II)

1950’s – Critical path analysis developed by Du

Pont, PERT by US Navy/General Dynamics

1958 – Network diagrams (Activity On Node (AON) and Activity On

Arrow (AOA) ) developed by US Navy Polaris

missile/submarine project

Modern project management 1900-1950 – Henry Gantt

• Modern project management – Construction– Engineering– Defence

• Henry Gantt forefather of project management • Known for planning and control techniques• “Gantt” chart keeps track of project schedule.

Gantt chart

Modern project management 1900-1950 – Frederick Winslow Taylor

Sought a scientific way to improve efficiency in the work place:• Replace working by "rule of thumb," or simple habit

and common sense, for scientific method of determining the most efficient way to perform specific tasks.

• So that tasks are broken down into small components

– work breakdown and piecemeal (=one

piece at a time)Source: mindtools 2013

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), Example

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), leads to activities planning...

Modern project management 1950 and beyond - PERT

PERT by US Navy/General Dynamics – is a

mathematical scheduling method

• “Program Evaluation Review Technique” or PERT

• analyses key tasks to identify minimum amount

of time

PERT

Modern project management 1950 and beyond - CPM

• The “Critical Path Method” developed for plant maintenance projects

• An algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities– that add up to the longest project duration

• A CPM diagram is based on the following project elements:– List of all activities required for project – Length of time for each activity (optimistic and

pessimistic)– Dependencies between the activities.

CPM

So what really is a project?

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to produce a unique product or service

– Temporary – Definitive beginning and end– Unique – New undertaking, unfamiliar ground

Temporary UniqueCharacteristics of Projects

Project Characteristics

Project attributes• A project:

– Has a unique purpose– Is temporary– Is developed using progressive elaboration

• Specifications of the project are initially broad and then refined and more detailed as the project progresses

– Requires resources, often from various areas– Should have a primary customer or sponsor

• The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project

– Involves uncertainty• Unclear objectives, difficult to estimate time to complete and cost,

dependence on external factors

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2007

Defining a project

Select a dreamUse your dream to set a goalCreate a planConsider resourcesEnhance skills and abilitiesSpend time wiselyStart! Get organised and go

What is project management?• Project management is “the application of

knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements” (PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition, 2004, p. 8)

• Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint by balancing project scope, time, and cost goals

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge — Fifth Edition provides guidelines for managing individual projects and defines project management related concepts. It also describes the project management life cycle and its related processes, as well as the project life cycle.

The Guide recognizes 47 processes that fall into five basic process groups and ten knowledge areas that are typical of most projects, most of the time.

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), Five Process Groups

• Initiating : Those processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.

• Planning : Those processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve.

• Executing : Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications

• Monitoring and Controlling : Those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.

• Closing : Those processes performed to finalize all activities across all Process Groups to formally close the project or phase.

Project management vs general managementGeneral management Project management

Responsible for managing the status quo Responsible for overseeing change

Authority defined by management structure Lines of authority ‘fuzzy’

Consistent set of tasks Ever-changing set of tasks

Responsibility limited to their own function Responsible for cross-functional activities

Works in ‘permanent’ organisational structures Operates within structures that exist for the life of the project

Tasks described as ‘maintenance’ Predominantly concerned with innovation

Main task is optimisation Main task is resolution of conflict

Success determined by achievement of interim (=ενδιάμεσοι) targets

Success determined by achievement of stated end-goals

Limited set of variables Contains intrinsic uncertainties

Where project management sitsPortfolios Projects and programs grouped together to contribute to the entire enterprise’s success

Programs A group of related projects managed in a co-ordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually

Project Management Institute (2008) A guide to project management body of knowledge 4th Ed

Examples of common IT programs

– Infrastructure- wireless Internet access, upgrading h/w & s/w, developing corporate standards for IT

– Applications development – updating an ERP system, purchasing a new off-the-shelf billing system, adding new feature to CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system

– User support – daily operational support, upgrade e-mail system, develop technical training for users

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2007

The project managersPortfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective

A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program

Organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2007

Project management compared to project portfolio management

Best practice

Organisations need to follow basic principles of project management, such as:

– ensuring projects are driven/fit top level business strategy

– making sure unwanted projects are screened out as soon as possible

– engaging stakeholders at all stages of a project, and encourage teamwork and commitment at all times. Ignoring them often leads to project failure

Robert Butrick, author of The Project Workout

Elements of project management

• In the project portfolio• Management knowledge areas• Using project management tools and

techniques (methodology)• Stakeholders (strategic management)• Maintaining a schedule (time management)• Coordinating different groups (resource

management, control )

Project management framework

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2007

The value of using formal project management methods

• Better control of financial, physical, and human resources

• Improved customer relations• Shorter development times• Lower costs• Higher quality and increased reliability• Higher profit margins• Improved productivity• Better internal coordination• Higher worker morale (less stress)

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2007

Examples of IT projects• A help desk or technical worker replaces ten laptops

for a small department• A small software development team adds a new

feature to an internal software application for the finance department

• A college campus upgrades its technology infrastructure to provide wireless Internet access across the whole campus

• A cross-functional task force in a company decides what Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) system to purchase and how it will be implemented

Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2007

Why are complex IT projects different?

Project success

Customer

Requirements satisfied/exceeded

Completed within

allocated time frame

Completed within

allocated budgetAccepted by the

customer

Project success factors• Stakeholder involvement• Executive management support• Clear statement of requirements• Proper planning• Realistic expectations• Smaller project milestones• Competent staff• Ownership (=taking personal responsibility for the project)

• Clear vision and objectives• Hard working and focused staff

Why projects fail

• Failure to align project with organizational objectives

• Poor scope• Unrealistic expectations• Lack of executive sponsorship• Lack of project management• Inability to move beyond individual and

personality conflicts• Politics

Making sense of the project context - Harvey Maylor

Project failure

Scope Creep

Lack of resources

Poor Requirements Gathering

Unrealistic planning and

scheduling

Microsoft Project

http://daydream.lsbu.ac.uk/facilities/dreamspark/