What is a Project?

 

What is a Project?

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

•Temporary: Has a defined beginning and end.

•Unique: The product or service is different in some way from all similar products or services.

•Progressive elaboration: Continuously improving and detailing a plan as more detailed and specific information become available as the project progresses

•Projects means of achieving an organization’s strategic plan

 

Projects and operations:

•Operations are ongoing and repetitive.
•Projects are temporary and unique 

The project manager.
• Responsible for accomplishing the project adjectives.
• The only contact point for the project.
• PM responsibilities includes :
 –Planning the work
 –Organizing the work
 –Managing the day-day activities
 –Delivering the project deliverables to the client
 –Identifying potential stockholders

 –Balancing the competing demands

What is Project Management?

Project management:

Is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.
Managing projects includes:

Requirements identification.
Define clear and achievable objectives
Balancing the competing demands ( scope, time, cost, quality,…)


Adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders.

Project management is accomplished through the appropriate application and integration of the 42 logically grouped project management processes comprising the 5 Process Groups:

•Initiating,
•Planning,
•Executing,
•Monitoring and Controlling,
•Closing.
•Programs and Program Management

–A Program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually

–Programmanagementisthecentralized,coordinatedmanagementofagroupofprojectstoachievetheprogram'sstrategicobjectivesandbenefits

•Portfolio and Portfolio Management

–A Portfolio is a collection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives

–Portfolio management is  the centralized management of one or more portfolios, which includes identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling projects, programs, and other related work

•Sub Projects

–Projects are frequently divided into more manageable components or subprojects.
Projects and Strategic Planning

–Projects are often utilized as a means of achieving an organization’s strategic plan. Projects are typically authorized as a result of one or more of the following strategic considerations:

Market demand

Strategic opportunity/business need

Customer request

Technological advance

Legal requirements
Project Managers and PMO

–The project manager focuses on the specified project objectives, while the PMO Manages major programs cope changes which may be seen as potential opportunities to better achieve business objectives.

–The project manager controls the assigned project resources to best meet project objectives while the PMO optimizes the use of shared organization also urces across all projects.

–The project manager manages the constraints (scope,schedule,cost,andquality,etc.) of the individual projects while the PMO manages the methodologies,standards,overallrisk/opportunity,andinterdependenciesamongprojectsattheenterpriselevel.
Project Management Body of Knowledge

Enterprise Environmental Factors

•Enterprise environmental factors refer to both internal and external environmental factors that surround or influence a project’s success

–Organizational culture, structure, and processes

–Government or industry standards

–Infrastructure

–Company work authorization systems;

–Marketplace conditions;

–Stakeholder risk tolerances;

–Political climate;

–Organization’s established communications channels;

–Commercial databases

 

Project Management Skills

 

–General Business Management (consistently producing results expected by stakeholders)

–Leading (establishing direction, aligning resources, motivating)

–Communicating (clear, unambiguous, and complete)

–Negotiating (conferring with others to reach an agreement)

–Problem Solving (definition and decision making)

•Distinguish causes and symptoms

•Identify viable solutions

–Influencing Organization (understanding power and politics)

 

Project Life Cycle

 

•Project Phases are marked by the completion of a deliverable (Tangible, verifiable work product)

•Review of deliverables and approval/denial are "

  Phase exits, stage gates, or kill points"

•Phases are collected into the Project Life Cycle

•Project Life Cycle defines:

•Technical work performed in each phase

•Who is involved in each phase

•Project Phases can overlap –"Fast Tracking"

•Common Characteristics of Project Life Cycles:

•Cost and Staffing levels are low at start and move higher towards the end

•Probability of successfully completing project is low at beginning, higher towards the end as project continues

•Stakeholder influence is high at the beginning and progressively lowers as project continues

.

Stakeholders:

•Individuals and organizations who are actively involved in the project

•Often have conflicting expectations and objectives

•In general, differences should be resolved in favor of the customer –individual(s) or organization(s) that will use the outcome of the project

•Stakeholder management is a proactive task

•Project Mangers must determine all stakeholders and incorporate their needs into the project

 

Stakeholders are:

•Project Managers

•Customers

•Performing Organizations, owners

•Sponsor

•Team

•Internal/External

•End User

•Society, citizens

•Others: owner, funders, supplier, contractor

Organization Structures

•All organizations are structured one of three ways

•Functional Organizations

•Projectized Organizations

•Matrix Organizations

Functional Organization

•Advantages:

–Enduring Organizational structure

–Clear career path with separation of functions

–Employees have one supervisor with clear chain of command

 

•Disadvantages:

–Project manager has little to no more formal authority

–Multiple projects compete for limited resources and priority

–Project team members are loyal to the functional manager

Projectized Organization

•Advantages:

–Organizational resources are dedicated to projects

–Project managers almost always have ultimate authority

–Teams are formed and often collocated

–Loyalties are to project not to a functional manager

•Disadvantages:

–Team members are out of the work at the end of project

–Inefficiency of team members

Matrix Organization

•Matrix organizations came about to minimize the differences between , and take advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of functional and Projectized organizations.

•Matrix Organizations are categorized as

–Strong Matrix

–Weak Matrix

–Balanced Matrix

Matrix Organization

•Weak Matrix Organization

In Weak Matrix organizations balance of power rests with the Functional manager

•Balanced Matrix Organization

InBalancedMatrixorganizationsbalanceofpowerrestswithboththeprojectmanagerandfunctionalmanager

•Strong Matrix Organization

In Strong Matrix organizations balance of power rests with the project manager