Project Management PDS PDF

Title Project Management PDS
Course Project Management
Institution Njala University
Pages 8
File Size 169.2 KB
File Type PDF
Total Downloads 9
Total Views 128

Summary

BAsic notes on project management. Project management definition. Project scope...


Description

Project Development Studies Diploma 1

Course Outline 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Meaning and scope of project Functions of project Types of project cycle Project management tools Project management Triangle Cost estimating for implementation projects

1. Meaning and scope of project Meaning of Project A Project in general refers to a new endeavour /group with specific objective and varies so widely that it is very difficult to precisely define it. Some of the commonly quoted definitions are as follows. Project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service or result. (AMERICAN National Standard ANSI/PMI99-001-2004) (Temporary endeavour. The temporary nature of projects indicates that a project has a definite beginning and end. Temporary does not necessarily mean a project has a short duration. The end of the project is reached when one or more of the following is true: -

The project’s objectives have been achieved; The objectives will not or cannot be met; Funding is exhausted or no longer available for allocation to the project The need for the project no longer exists (e.g., the customer no longer wants the project completed, a change in strategy or priority ends the project, the organizational management provides direction to end the project); - The human or physical resources are no longer available; or the project is terminated for legal cause or convenience. Projects are temporary, but their deliverables may exist beyond the end of the project. Projects may produce deliverables of a social, economic, material, or environmental nature. For example, a project to build a national monument will create a deliverable expected to last for centuries. Project is a unique process, consist of a set of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective confirming to specific requirements, including the constraints of time, cost and resource. (ISO10006) Examples of project include: - Developing a watershed, Creating irrigation facility, - Developing new variety of a crop, - Developing new breed of an animal, - Developing agro processing centre,

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Construction of farm building, sting of a concentrated feed plant etc. Developing a new pharmaceutical compound for market, Expanding a tour guide service, Merging two organizations, Improving a business process within an organization, Acquiring and installing a new computer hardware system for use in an organization, Exploring for oil in a region, Modifying a computer software program used in an organization, Conducting research to develop a new manufacturing process, and Constructing a building.

It may be noted that each of these projects differ in composition, type, scope, size and time. Project Characteristics: Despite above diversities, projects share the following common characteristics. Unique in nature. Have definite objectives (goals) to achieve. Requires set of resources. Have a specific time frame for completion with a definite start and finish. Involves risk and uncertainty. Requires cross-functional teams and interdisciplinary approach.

Project Management Most organisations have an operation side to sustain the business and a project side to change or grow the business. - (Discuss the difference between project and operations) Operations management is concerned with the ongoing production of goods and/or services. It ensures that business operations continue efficiently by using the optimal resources needed to meet customer demands. It is concerned with

managing processes that transform inputs (e.g., materials, components, energy, and labour) into outputs (e.g., products, goods, and/or services) Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the appropriate application and integration of the project management processes identified for the project. Project Management can also be said is the use of processes to accomplish the needs of the project stakeholders. A process is a group of related activities that we do to create a product or result. There are 49 processes in the PMBOK and 5 process groups also known as project management lifecycle. Importance of Project Management Project management enables organizations to execute projects effectively and efficiently. Effective project management helps individuals, groups, and public and private organizations to: - Meet business objectives; - Satisfy stakeholder expectations; - Be more predictable; - Increase chances of success; - Deliver the right products at the right time; - Resolve problems and issues; - Respond to risks in a timely manner; - Optimize the use of organizational resources; - Identify, recover, or terminate failing projects; - Manage constraints (e.g., scope, quality, schedule, costs, resources); - Balance the influence of constraints on the project (e.g., increased scope may increase cost or schedule); and - Manage change in a better manner. Poorly managed projects or the absence of project management may result in: - Missed deadlines, - Cost overruns, - Inferior quality, - Rework, - Uncontrolled expansion of the project, - Loss of reputation for the organization,

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Unsatisfied stakeholders, and Failure in achieving the objectives for which the project was undertaken.

Projects are a key way to create value and benefits in organizations. In today’s business environment, organizational leaders need to be able to manage with tighter budgets, shorter timelines, scarcity of resources, and rapidly changing technology. The business environment is dynamic with an accelerating rate of change. To remain competitive in the world economy, companies are embracing project management to consistently deliver business value. Effective and efficient project management should be considered a strategic competency within organizations. It enables organizations to: - Tie project results to business goals, - Compete more effectively in their markets, - Sustain the organization, and - Respond to the impact of business environment changes on projects by appropriately adjusting project management plans Project Constraints On project we can run into things that constrain us in planning and executing the work. There are six competing constrains on a project: Scope, Risk, Resources, Quality, Schedule and budget. These sis constraints are built on the original triple constraint – SCOPE, TIME and COST. Project Scope Project scope is the part of project planning that involves determining and documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, deadlines, and ultimately costs. In other words, it is what needs to be achieved and the work that must be done to deliver a project. It is that part of the project planning process that determines and documents what are the project goals, deliverables, tasks, costs and deadlines. This way you begin to define the boundaries of your project and figure out what responsibilities you will task your team with, and the process by which that work will be verified and approved.

This paperwork can be called your scope statement or terms of reference, but more often it’s referred to as a statement of work (SOW). You’ll be using this documentation throughout the project as a means to, for you and your team to stay focused on task.

The SOW is also a guideline for the project manager. It helps them make decisions about change request during the project. Change is an inevitable part of any project, no matter how thorough your plan is, so you want to include the likelihood for change in your scope to better manage it later. Also, you scope documents are going to specify stakeholders. When you’re documenting the project’s scope, have the stakeholders be as specific as possible to get a full and clear understanding of the project’s goals. That way you’ll avoid scope creep. Scope creep is what happens to a project when changes are made without any control. You end up putting in more work, time or effort because of poor planning or miscommunication, which can derail the project. If you want to stay within the scope of your project, then you’ll have a good communication plan in place. Communications are the most effective means to make sure everyone involved with the project knows what that project’s goals are and how they will be met. That’s why the scope of the project requires approval of the project stakeholders, to make sure it the project meets everyone’s needs.

How To Define Scope in Your Project How do you define scope in your project? First, you have to make some assumptions. If you define scope after you have the facts, then the project is over and the whole point is moot. You’re going to want to define scope using several criteria. Deliverables What are the internal and external deliverables, the things the project delivers to the user and those the project generates itself, respectively. Functionality and Data This shouldn’t be a long process, just outline such details as if there are licensing agreements, payment process, customer management, etc.

Technical Structure Here you’ll define where the project is focused on infrastructure in a table or diagram, and you can lso indicate the purpose of each of these components, however vague that might be at this point. There are other considerations to take when defining the scope of your project. For example, you’ll want to identify major business events, locations, functions and any processes affected by the project. Who are the people or groups of people both inside and outside the project who will be impacted? Any change that is going to influence the project needs to be uncovered.

Projects will often fail because the scope wasn’t clearly defined from the outset or a mismanagement of changes to scope during the execution of the project. By defining scope you do a multitude of good for the project.

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You set clear project goals and objects Facilitate understanding of the project Reduce ambiguities and risks Manage expectations Get buy-in from management and team Develop quality and evaluation criteria

- The Project Scope Management processes are: 5.1 Plan Scope Management—The process of creating a scope management plan that documents how the project and product scope will be defined, validated, and controlled. 5.2 Collect Requirements—The process of determining, documenting, and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives. 5.3 Define Scope—The process of developing a detailed description of the project and product. 5.4 Create WBS—The process of subdividing project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable components. 5.5 Validate Scope—The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. 5.6 Control Scope—The process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline.

2. The Functions of Projec Functions of Project Management 3. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) consists of the nine management functions: 4. Scope 5. Cost 6. Time 7. Human resource 8. Communication 9. Quality 10. Contract/procurement 11. Risk 12. Project integration 13. t...


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