1 - Understanding the Basics

PROJECT

What is a project?

A task (with some degree of complexity) with a known end pointBuilding a new houseCreating a new piece of computer softwareLaunching a new product for business

*Not a simple activity (i.e. cooking yourself some toast)

Project

• The work performed by an organization one time to produce a unique outcome. One time: the work has a definite beginning and

definite end Unique: the work result is different in one or more

ways from anything the organization has produced before

Project

• Fulfill some clear pre-defined objective, in a planned period of time, and to a planned cost

• Once the project complete something will have changed such as – a new house– a new computer system– a new product

Project

• It is different from the operations of an organization. The operational work is ongoing, repetitive set of activities that sustain the organization such as:• Processing customer orders• Performing accounts receivable and account

payable activities• Executing daily manufacturing orders

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management

A formal discipline for managing projects.

• It has been developed over the past new decades based on the belief that without a structured approach, people are not very good at completing project successfully.

PMI Definition

• Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirement.

*PMI: Project management institute

Aim of Project Management

• To ensure that projects are completed and that the end point (the new house, computer system or new product) is achieved.

Project Management

About reaching that end point predictably, which usually means to a given cost and within a planned amount of time.

• Successful project management is all about structure, control, sufficient attention to detail and continuously driving action.

PROJECT MANAGER

Role of Project Manager

• To understand enough project management to apply its rigour and structure.

• To ensure your project is successfully completed within the time and cost you require.

Project Manager

1. Ensure there is a clear understanding why a project is being done, and what it will produce.

2. Plan the project -- to understand how long it will take and how much it will cost.

Project Manager

3. Manage the project -- to ensure that as the project progresses, it achieves the objectives you have defined within the time and cost specified.

4. Complete the project properly -- to make sure everything produced by the project is of the quality expected and work as required.

PROJECT CUSTOMER

Project Customer

• Every project is done because someone wants it to be done.

• The person who wants it to be done is called the project customer.

Project Customer

• The customer may be yourself, your boss at work, someone who buys products and services from you or anyone else you work for or with.

• The customer may be one person or a group of people.

Project Customer

• In projects, it is important to understand who the customer is and to work closely with them.

Responsibilities of Customer

• Determine why you are going to do a project and what it will produce

• Give you access to resources such as people and money

• Make various decisions through the life of the project

THE PROJECT TEAM

Project Team

• For a small project, you may be both the project manager and the person who actually does all the tasks planned.

• For a larger project, a number of people will be involve at different times in the project’s life. These people are known as the project team.

People in Project Team

• They usually have a line manager whom they work for on a day-to-day basis.

• They are only working for you on a project.

• They may have other tasks to complete which are nothing to do with your project.

• When the project ends, you may have nothing further to do with the team.

Project Manager and Team

• You as a project manager, need to be able to manage, motivate, and direct the team.

• This requires you to have a clear understanding of what you need them to do in respect of the specific project you are managing and how much time they should spend on the project.

Project Manager and Team

• You also need to make sure they are spending this time working on your project and not doing other tasks for their normal manager.

DELIVERY AND DELIVERABLES

Delivery

Getting the things done you set out to do. OrCompleting the project to the expected time

and cost with the desired outcome.

• Role as a project manager: to deliver the project.

Deliverables

What is delivered by a project i.e. a new house, a new computer system, or a new product.

• In a project, the wanted deliverables are defined at the start of the project.

• Your success as a project manager is in delivering them in the planned time and to the expected cost.

5 DIMENSIONS OF A PROJECT

Simple Project Example

• You are going to redecorate some rooms in your house. You decide to decorate your front room and your dining room. You will use 3 coats of paint on every wall. The paint will cost you £100, and it will take you 4 days to do work using normal paint brushes. A friend has a machine that can spray the walls, which is much quicker. Unfortunately, it does not always work and liable to spray paint all over the place, including any uncovered nearby furniture, so you choose not to use it.

Project Dimensions

Scope: the project manager’s word for what your project encompasses

Quality: a complex concept and depending on what a project produces, the way quality is measured will vary considerably. Most deliverables can be created in some way with different levels of quality. By changing the level of quality, you make more or less work to produce the deliverables.

Project Dimensions

Time

Cost

Risk level: low/ medium/ high

5 Dimension from the Project

• Scope: to paint the front room and dining room• Quality: to use 3 coats of paint on all the walls• Time: it will take 4 days• Cost: £100• Risk level: you are choosing the low-risk option

(painting by hand). *There is alternative high-risk option of doing it with the spray painting machine. If you choose high-risk option, you may do the work more quickly, but there are risks to your furniture and it may not work.

Do they matter?

• Change any one of these and you may impact the others.

Change your scope and add your hall to be painted as well, you will increase the time and cost. However, if you subsequently reduce the quality, so you use only 2 coats of paint on the walls,

or alternatively take the risky option and use your friend’s spraying machine, you may still be able to do it in original time and cost but with the increased scope

Do they matter? Alternatively, by spending more money and getting in a

couple of professional decorators, you may be able to reduce the time and increase the quality of the end result

There are a vast number of ways you can juggling between these 5 dimensions of your project.

STAGES OF A PROJECT – A LIFE CYCLE

Stages of a Project (Lifecycle)

• Every project goes through various stages in its development. These stages vary depending on type of project.

• For example, a project to build a new car has different stages compared to a project to develop an advertising campaign for a new type of washing detergent.

Simple Project Lifecycle

1. Specifying in detail what the project is for.

2. Planning the project and working out how it will be done.

3. Doing the project and creating the deliverables according to the plan.

4. Checking that the deliverables are as you originally wanted and meet the needs.

5. Closing the project down.