Business project management explained
As organizations progress, they face more and more complex and difficult challenges. Some of these are huge involving the coordination of many different people, the completion of many tasks in a strict sequence, and the spending of a great deal of time and money.
Today’s most successful organizations employ Project Management as a strategic tool to drive change and achieve business objectives. Focusing primarily on developing a project plan with specific goals and objectives, Project Management assists an organization to deliver projects that fit-for purpose, timely and within budget.
Project Management is the tool to allocate specific tasks and to manage available resources in order to deliver projects that adhere to project deadlines for each project phase. To do that, Project Management typically includes four phases, which are feasibility study, project planning, implementation, and project evaluation.
Phase I: Feasibility study
Organizations perform feasibility studies in order to research business opportunities. By defining the needs of the project, a feasibility study basically addresses the issue of adaptability to new market realities. Organizations use needs analysis as the tool to investigate the market supply and demand, niche markets, environmental effects, positioning, and sustainability.
After the project needs have been identified, feasibility study documents the requirements for solution, identifies alternative solutions, assesses risks associated to each solution and chooses the optimal solution for the implementation of the project.
Phase II: Project Planning
Project planning requires primarily analytical techniques and distinct technical skills in order to manage a project within specific start and completion dates, while meeting specific requirements in terms of cost and optimal resources. The adoption of agreed standards and regularized procedures assists to manage the project constraints to achieve the project goals and objectives.
Phase III: Project Implementation
Successful project implementation addresses simultaneously four interrelated constraints, namely resources, time, cost and scope. These constrains are interdependent because if a project needs to be completed within a tight time frame this would mean increased cost for the organization. Similarly, if the project is big, then cost constraint would be increased and time constraint would be pressing.
The resources constraint refers to the people, the equipment and the material used to set up the project, allocate tasks and perform the steps required to develop and complete the project.
The time constraint refers to the time required for the project completion and it involves the tasks durations, the interdependencies between tasks and the critical path that needs to be applied in order to complete each task on time without delaying the series of the tasks that follow.
The cost constraint refers to the budget of the project involving the financial resources available to finance the project until the completion date.
The scope constraint refers to the project itself as it involves the project size, objectives and goals and specific requirements.
Phase IV: Project Evaluation
Project evaluation investigates if the objectives and goals of the project are met effectively, timely and within budget. The project objectives define the project target and they involve all necessary steps to achieve the planned benefits. In the phase of project evaluation, Project Management deals with Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bounded objectives (SMART), which facilitate the evaluation of the project.
Project Management answers questions such as when the project should be undertaken, how much it will cost, what can we do if it slips from the original time frame, what are the bottlenecks involved and how we will mitigate and reduce any lost revenues occurring from delays at any project phase.
To my view, the most important consideration of Project Management is communication. Apart from having a clearly defined scope and a focus on quality, most of the time spent should be in keeping expectations in line with the existing understanding of reality both inside and outside of the project team. It is also about setting the foundation for future advancement and projects, and developing new skills and capabilities in the team.
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Effective Project Management
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; working together is success.” (Henry Ford)
Making a complex project on the Internet is similar to a construction site. Developers are building engineers, the web designers are those who deal with the appearance of the building and its proportions, while the coordinators of the project can be compared to the administrators. Of course, the comparison is not perfect, but it is important to understand that a project can have higher or lower costs, better or less good results, being developed in more or less time depending on those who coordinate it.
Management is the science of organizing and administrating organizations to maximize their resources efficiently in order to provide specific products and services.
The project is a well defined effort, organized and temporary, developed to create unique products or services. Thus, the project is different from processes and operations, which are usually permanent or quasi-permanent. The project represents an achievement that has defined objectives, consuming resources and being determined by factors such as time, cost and quality.
Project Management is the science of resources management, as the resources must cover entirely the project requirements.
The resources are reserves, opportunities, sources, availabilities, means that can be used when it’s necessary. Resources can be financial, human, material, intellectual, requiring energy, space, time, communication, etc…
The project manager role
Project management is often the responsibility of a project manager. The project manager must ensure the project development in the parameters established, in order to meet the contractual conditions set by the customer or by the project needs. The project manager must have exceptional leadership qualities, to understand the project in its entirety, to lead, organize, coordinate and control the resources and work teams.
Being a key factor, the project manager should have strong interpersonal communication skills, to be familiar with the activities of each section or department, and must possess knowledge about the technology used, unless the project is based on research and development (C&D, or R&D – Research & Development).
The project manager mustn’t be involved directly in technical activities, as he would become an ordinary technician.
Project management activities
ü The activities necessary for conceiving and developing projects are:
ü Analysis and establishment of project objectives
ü Risk control and assessment;
ü Resources evaluation;
ü Resources administration;
ü Project organization;
ü Acquisition of resources
ü Setting tasks;
ü Managing project activities;
ü Controlling project execution;
ü Tracking and reporting the project’s evolution;
ü Defining the final results of the project;
ü Analyzing the results achieved;
ü Project trends forecast;
ü Quality Management
ü Problems management.
Setting the type of project organization
The project manager must take from the start a fundamental decision: what type of organization will be used for the project? There are two options: pyramidal organization and matrix organization.
A. Pyramidal organization (Line and Staff Organization)
Pyramidal organization is formed by a top manager (general manager) who coordinates directly the company’s vice-presidents, advisers, departments, sections, offices, etc. All the subordinated levels are managed by production managers, marketing managers, human resources managers, depending on the type of activity. Departmental managers are subordinated to the general manager and they coordinate other employees. This type of structure is a hierarchical pyramid, where the line of authority is vertical, subordinating the orders and the information requests.
When a project is elaborated, project managers are given certain autonomy from the usual “chain of command,” having the necessary authority to conduct the project. They are still subordinated to senior management and have a higher autonomy of decision than a department director, without being controlled constantly.
B. Matrix organization
Sometimes complex projects require innovative structures such as the matrix. This type of organization subordinates the specialists under two managers: their hierarchical manager and one or more project managers. Although it is affected the unity of command, because some employees are subordinated to several managers, this type of organization has been used successfully, as it appears to be the best way to use the professional skills of employees for multiple projects.
Project Planning
The planning phase is fundamental for the project successful completion. This stage determines what should be done, by whom, when and by what, to fulfill all the project requirements by considering time, cost and quality parameters.
Planning the project involves conceiving several project management documents:
ü The Statement of Work (SL – SOW);
ü Project Specifications;
ü Project Milestones;
ü Work Breakdown Structure (SDA- WBS)
ü Organizational Breakdown Structure (SDO – OBS);
ü Project Budget;
1. The statement of work (SL – SOW)
First, the project manager will provide to the project work team the statement of work, which includes all the necessary elements for the team to understand the project as a whole. SL represents the basis of Work Breakdown Structure.
The statement of work may also mention information related to:
ü The Final Scope;
ü Objectives;
ü Roles and responsibilities of each member of the Project;
ü Deliverables;
ü The Project general budget;
ü The Project general organization.
2. Project Specifications
Project Specifications should be listed separately for all individual contributions to the project. These are used for human resources, equipment and materials. Thus, the client can find out how the money allocated for the project are spent and if the project concerns appropriate levels of performance.
3. Project Milestones
The Project Milestones are the main stages that can quantify its evolution. Most often, they indicate the moment when a phase is changed, due to the previous stages modification or because of a new phase or project completion.
4. Work Breakdown Structure (SDA- WBS)
The document entitled Work Breakdown Structure (SDA- WBS) divides the project into smaller parts, hierarchically organized, which must be completed in a certain order until the completion of the project.
SDA is the central ordering and communication tool used in the project. If necessary, the project can be divided according to the main activities, products, objectives, functions, responsibilities, etc.
If SDA is changed, SDL must be changed too.
SDA divides the project in:
ü Work packages;
ü Tasks;
ü Subtasks (if necessary).
The project manager uses SDA as a common framework for integrating the entire project. SDA also represents the Organizational Breakdown Structure (SDO – OBS) basis.
5. Organizational Breakdown Structure (SDO – OBS)
Organizational Breakdown Structure (SDO – OBS) contains functional divisions of the organization, which are established to provide project support, and external organizations support.
SDO can be well built as an organization. In any case, SDO helps the project managers to perceive the project in terms of responsibilities.
SDO is not an essential document for all projects, as it is valuable for more complex projects.
6. Project Budget
The Project Budget includes all the revenues and expenses determined resulted. It is recommended to be totally correlated to the Work Breakdown Structure (SDA- WBS).
Network Scheduling
To plan the project is needed a network scheduling. A faulty network scheduling would lead to loss of time and resources, resulting in the project’s failure because of the allocated time limit. Project networks are composed of events and activities. The event is defined as being the starting/ completion point of a group of activities. The activity represents the work required to be executed in a certain period of time.
Graphically, the events are usually represented by circles and the activities through arrows from an event to another. A number written on top of an activity indicates a time value: days, weeks, months, required to meet the activity.
To streamline the scheduling process, there were developed scheduling techniques:
ü PERT Chart (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
ü CPM Chart (Critical Path Method) which shows the connections between events and activities;
ü Gantt Chart (used as an alternative);
Project Management computer programs and software
More complex projects can be organized with the help of special computer programs such as Microsoft Project, ACE Project, Leading Project, Active Project, Project Management, Primavera Project Planner, Vertabase, Target Process, etc.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management
The Definitive Guide to Project Management. Nokes, Sebastian. 2nd Ed.n. London (Financial Times / Prentice Hall): 2007. ISBN: 978 0 273 71097 4
Lewis R. Ireland (2006) Project Management. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006. ISBN 007147160X.
Bjarne Kousholt (2007). Project Management -. Theory and practice.. Nyt Teknisk Forlag. ISBN 8757126038.
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How to Manage Projects to Successful Completion
Successful project management requires a balance of strategy and tactics because it is a composite of financial, technical and human elements. As a previous information technology project manager, consultant and process improvement analyst, I saw through many of my projects to completion, aided by various project management models and tools. Great. My projects proceeded and completed on time and on budget, but sometimes, not after working for so many late hours continually stressed out and feeling harassed. Keyword is burnout.
Yes, how about those instances, when even after toiling until the wee hours, projects are still late and over-budget? And assuming there are valid reasons like changes of requirements and new government-related policies, you still find yourself analyzing, and often, answering questions like: I did my best with resources I have but how did my project get four months late? Why didn’t I take that action during the initial project phase? Why did I take that action when I shouldn’t have? And so on. I’m sure by now that all seasoned project managers reading this are too familiar with these situations.
Here are tips for a project manager or leader, to see through to completion a successful project, on time and on budget, and, a satisfied client and project sponsor.
• Define clearly the scope of your project. A project should be clearly defined in the project plan. State the project objectives that should satisfy the project or business requirements. Be clear on the limitations and scope of the project, along with assumptions, risks and issues involved. Accordingly, the right people are identified (customer/s, sponsor, other stakeholders including senior management and customer support) to ensure accountability and authority are available and connected.
• Identify properly the required resources. Identify properly and determine all major tasks and resources, facilities and equipments, time and costs. List down existing resources, and take note of those still needing to be sourced. Plan the use of resources and set time and cost for each. Skill correctness is important. Establish clear responsibilities, authorities, expectations and measures.
• Sustain a balance of ‘process’ and ‘people’ factors. Often, as project managers, we can be tied down on the process that we fail to give enough attention to the people players of the project. These people players, aside from the actual team, are the customers, the project sponsor, and all other stakeholders. The customers and stakeholders need regular updates on progress and the impact on any changes. The sponsor is significant and can break through bureaucracy, obtain resources and assist in high-level commitment. Apparently, team members have an interest in the success of the project. A work process should be developed in place. Aside from policies, standards and procedures are needed to fully identify, define and control the components of the project processes.
• Use tools and techniques. This is necessary to assist in the planning, scheduling and allocation of resources, monitoring and controlling the project progress, and maintaining records and reports. Techniques and tools include brainstorming, task breakdown structure, task sheets, timesheets, and other project control tools like monthly reports, milestone reports, Gantt Charts.
• Keep responsible team members. Keep your best people. Unexpected departure of a team member in the middle of any project life is often disruptive. Your team must have been selected and trained, performance expectations and monitoring explained to them, and responsibility matrix completed which includes checkpoints and deadlines for individual tasks and project steps. Recognize and encourage individual and team efforts. They want to ‘feel’ and ‘see’ how their contributions have made a difference. Empower them!
• Apply constant review and evaluation of the project and address all setbacks at the earliest possible time. Set evaluation mechanisms and underscore expected deadlines. In cases where changes in requirements occur, manage the change and don’t let the change manage you.
• Communicate regularly with the relevant players. As a project manager, you have to manage communication among all players – your customers, sponsors, project team, and stakeholders. It is vital to avoid delays and unnecessary misunderstanding. Without clear and adequate communication, any project for that matter will be rendered ineffective.
During the post-implementation review, your project is evaluated for customer satisfaction, timing and resource effectiveness, and your team’s performance. If the above tips are followed through, there’s no reason your project can’t be successful – on time and on budget, with satisfied sponsor and shareholders. Celebrate with your team. You deserve it.
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A PROJECT MANAGER IS A SUPER-HERO!!!
Mathew got the inspiration for this post when recently an IT Recruiter approached him by email with the following job posting for an IT Project manager for a large multi-national bank: “If you are an it post-graduate and PMP/CCE/PSP/CISA/CISM Certified Project Manager with min 15 years of it Project Management Experience with complete Functional understanding of the Banking/Financial industry and someone who understands all norms of it Risk & Security and it Networking/Infrastructure and have successfully completed at least 5-6 T24 Core Banking Software Implementations as a Project Manager, please apply soon. If you don’t qualify, please refer others you know.” Mathew’s response to the recruiter was as follows: “Sorry. Since I’m not Superman, I do not qualify. I’d also like to apologize on behalf of superman. Since he’s paralyzed, he would not be able to take up this job. Having said that; during my trip to ‘Krypton’ (a planet where superman belongs) I’ll keep my eye open to see if someone qualifies for this job post and will refer him/her to you.”
It’s not amazing that since childhood it was Mathew’s dream to be a super-hero (somewhere in his sub-conscious, he still dreams of being one)!!! What is amazing is that, without even realizing, Mathew ended up in a profession that requires for its professionals to be a super-heroes!!! What are the odds??
Agreed that the profession of project management is not for the feeble hearted; but who said being a daredevil super-heroes was a pre-requisite??? Someone who truly understands the profession of project management would agree that a project manager should be a ‘Mile Wide, Inch Deep‘. He should be a person ‘on top of everything that effects his/her project’ and not ‘entangled with everything that effects his/her project’. Don’t get Mathew wrong. Specialization is great; but expecting a Project Manager to specialize in everything is a little out of wack.
Not all of us are/will be fortunate enough to work for organizations that understand & appreciate the profession of project management. On one hand some organizations that are low on project management competence think that “project managers are nothing but ‘glorified’ secretaries” (refer to Mathew’s post titled ‘PROJECT MANAGEMENT: STAIRWAY TO COMPETENCE’ to discover your organizations project management competence level) and on the other hand expect project managers to be able to know and do everything imaginable (and unimaginable)!!!!!!!! Please excuse Mathew for having to point out the obvious, but expecting a project manager to be ‘MILE WIDE & MILE DEEP‘ is nothing less than expecting a project manager to be a super-hero.
In the IT Industry, a Development Manager specializes in programming/coding, an IT Infrastructure Manager specializes in IT Networks/infrastructure, etc. Etc. Now if an expert Development Manager is made Project Manager (thanks to the ‘HALO EFFECT’), would you blame him/her if he/she would be more focused on the thousands of lines of complicated codes than on the other aspects of the project??
It is a fact that more than 60% of all IT Projects fail. What could be the reasons?? Could it be because major IT Network projects require IT Networking specialists as Project Managers and/or because major IT Software projects require IT Development specialists as Project Managers?? Maybe it’s time all organizations realize that Project Management as a Profession is an Area of Specialization as well and irrespective of whether network or software projects, their requirement of a project manager should be for someone who understands and specializes in the profession of project management.
Mind you… the email that inspired this post was not a one-of-a-kind email that Mathew received. What is troubling is that many of the requirements for a project manager are similar to the one mentioned above. Mathew’s only worry is that, if expectations are not correctly monitored and the profession of project management is not better understood by organizations; there will come a day when even Superman and/or Spiderman would not suffice and Project Managers would be required to have ALL the powers of ALL the Super Heroes.
Until such time that common sense prevails and the Profession of Project Management is better understood; this is “YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD MATHEW” signing off.
Have you been faced with such unrealistic expectations? Do you agree with Mathew’s thoughts? Let him know by leaving a comment.
[Mathew@PM4K] @ HTTP://WWW.ANISHMATHAIMATHEW.BLOGSPOT.COM
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Simple Solar Do It Yourself Projects You Can Start Today
Article by Tom Tennyson
If you’re starting to feel the pinch of rising energy bills – just like everyone else – maybe you’re ready to look into a solar do it yourself project for your home. In the history of the world, there has never been a better time to get started with a project like this. Many national and local governments are giving substantial tax credits these days to people who are taking advantage of alternative energy sources – like wind and solar power, for example. We’re also now seeing potentially huge benefits for developing nations by using simple inventions like solar water purifiers and ovens. This might just be the start of the next big energy revolution. But how can you catch this wave and make the most of it?
Probably the best place to begin is with a simple solar do it yourself project that doesn’t require a lot of time or money. Once you begin to see the benefits of alternative energy for yourself on a small scale, you can move up to bigger and bigger projects over time – like solar panel arrays, or even wind turbines. Before we get too far ahead, though, let’s start by looking at some simple solar projects you can get started on right now.
If you’re a camping enthusiast, this is one of the quickest and easiest ways for you to start making the sun work for you. A solar cooking kit – available for about – will help you prepare foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, and soups in less than 60 minutes. Since the temperature is somewhat lower than a propane burner, the foods won’t burn, and you can keep them warm until you’re ready to eat them.
Solar showers are invaluable additions to many campers’ backpacks, camping boxes, or popup campers. These simple plastic bags – with a shower head attached – can be found for about at many department or camping stores, and give out very warm water after just a few hours in the sun.
If you want to go a little bigger with the solar water heating idea, you might consider installing a solar water heating system on the roof of your house, or even at ground level in the back of your house. Don’t think of this as a complete replacement of your current hot water heater – just a supplement, and one that could start saving you money on your electric or gas bills. Since there is a bit of plumbing involved, this project can be somewhat difficult, but definitely within the reach of most weekend handymen and handy-women.
Let’s get really basic for a minute. When it’s cold outside, simply open the curtains and blinds in your home and let the sun heat things up! You might have even complained about the heat from the sun that comes through your windows in the summer, so why not make the best of it when it’s cold?
A solar do it yourself project that’s not quite as complicated as the solar water heating system would be to make your own solar panels. Check out this Green DIY Energy review for details about one of the most popular sets of solar panel plans available. By doing a little shopping online and at your local hardware store – and even scrounging around town for a few free components – you can build a solar panel for about 0-200 and start generating about 18 volts of electricity at about 3 amps – that’s 54 watts of power! If you were to build a few of these, you can probably see how you might be able to run a few appliances, supplement power to a porch or sunroom, or just store up energy in batteries to use later.
Finally, let’s get back to another very basic use for solar power – keeping your car’s battery charged. If your car’s battery needs a little help sometimes, why not use the sun to keep it charged by getting a solar car battery charger, which adds power to your battery whenever there’s some extra sunlight. The mini solar panel sits on your dashboard and might just give your battery that extra boost it needs to last another 6-12 months or more.
Why not be the first in your community to start taking advantage of the largest, most powerful free energy source in the universe – the sun. Start your own solar do it yourself project today!
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Posted in Do It Yourself Projects | Projects, Simple, Solar, Start, Today, Yourself | Leave a commentBlack & Decker The Complete Guide to Patios & Walkways: Money-Saving Do-It-Yourself Projects for Improving Outdoor Living Space (Black & Decker Complete Guide)
Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Patios & Walkways: Money-Saving Do-It-Yourself Projects for Improving Outdoor Living Space (Black & Decker Complete Guide)
Posted in Do It Yourself Projects | Black, Complete, Decker, DoItYourself, Guide, Improving, Living, MoneySaving, Outdoor, Patios, Projects, Space, Walkways | Leave a comment