Project

Management
An Introduction

Overview
Background
Project Management
Definition and purpose
Elements of Project Management
Ensuring a project is successful

Project management as a tool for

strategy formulation and
implementation
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Projects
A General Definition

Background
Competition is increasing as companies
are able to rapidly imitate and improve on
strategic products and services
IT is increasingly playing a key role in this
activities to the extent that it is now more
common to refer to projects business
initiatives that require IT enablement
Projects with an exclusive IT content and
purpose still exist

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Background
With every project there are huge of
issues that require strict management
One such very important area is that of
Risk Management
Most projects by their nature will
consume resources and as a
consequence a failed project could have
serious consequence for an organisation

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Background
Examples of Project failures include;
Australia- WestPac CS90
USA- Oxford Health Plans Inc
Oracle database project completed Sept
1996
Company cited this failure as a possible
factor in of 3rd quarter losses of $78m and
additional 1st quarter income loss of $45m

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What is a Project?
Directed at achieving a specific objective
or set of objectives within a well defined
time boundary
One off activity
The tasks performed are out of the
scope of normal operations
May require specialist skills, resources,
and capabilities of the organisation
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Definition
Pearlson (2001, p218);
A temporary effort undertaken to create
a unique product or service.Temporary
means that every project has a definite
beginning and a definite end. Unique
means that the product or service is
different in some distinguishing way
from similar products and services

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Characteristics
Characteristics

Normal Operations

Project

Labour skills

Low

High

Training time

Low

High

Worker autonomy

Low

High

Compensation

Hourly, weekly, monthly wage

Lump sum or contract

Material input requirements

High degree of certainty

Uncertain

Supplier ties

Longer duration

Shorter duration

Raw materials inventory

Large

Small

Scheduling complexity

Lower

Higher

Quality control

Formal

May be informal

Information flows

Less important

Very important

Communication

Less important

Very important

Duration

On-going

Temporary

Product or service

Repetitive

Unique
Adapted, Pearlson (2001)

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IT Project Vs Non IT Project

In the todays business world, this
distinction is rapidly blurring
Most Business projects have an IT
enablement requirement, most IT
projects fulfill a business need

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Project Success Metrics

General;

Others;
Software metrics

On time

Number of lines of
code

On budget
Meets specifications

Function points

Delivers benefits

Man Hours (actual vs

projected) etc

Hardware metrics
Availability
Uptime
Throughput etc
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Project
Management
Definition and Purpose

Why Project
Management

Cook and Pritchard (in Cleland 1998)

argue that project management;
Is a proven practice
Is a time saver
Is a money/cost saver
Optimize organisational efficiency
Meet customer needs

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Why Project
Management

Over the past fifty years or so more and

more organisations have embraced PM as
a discipline
Construction industry was one of the first
to use network diagrams, Work Break
Down Structures (WBS) and Gantt Charts
Project Management now recognised as a
value added profession with its own
professional associations and institutions
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Definition
Pearlson (2001, p219);
Application of knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques to project activities in order to meet or
exceed stakeholder needs and expectation from a
project

PM involves trade-offs;

Scope vs Time
Cost vs Quality
Expectations vs Reality
Identified requirements vs Unidentified requirements
Needs vs Wants (of different stakeholders!)

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Project Managers Role

Ensure progress according to defined
metrics
Identify risks and assess probability of
occurrence
Ensure progress within constraints of
time and resources
Coordinate project activities
Negotiate for resources on behalf of the
project
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Project
Management
Elements of Project
Management

Typical Project Cycle

For ease of management, projects are typically
broken down into phases
These phases are usually estimates of time
periods that will be required to complete certain
tasks
The time continuum is punctuated by milestones
(project gates) that specify review and evaluation
points
Typically these milestones will specify deliverables
which determine the state of the project (may be
tied to funding)
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Typical Project Life Cycle

Phase

Task(s)

Typical Deliverable(s)

Planning

Project Proposal

Development

Approval to proceed

Implementation System (Built or Acquired)

Termination

Finalise and prepare for

testing

*Project Life Cycle typically follows a bell shaped curve, peaking between
implementation and termination
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Typical Project Cost Curve

*Not to scale

100%
Total
Project
Costs

Planning

Development

Implementation

Termination

Time

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The 10 Elements
Specifying requirements
Structuring the project
Selecting the project team
Planning and administration
Risk and opportunity management
Project control
Visibility
Status
Corrective action
Leadership
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1. Requirements
Specification
Determine what the deliverables are
This may require;
Systems analysis and design
Determining stakeholders
Modeling the specification
Assigning accountability
Specifying and defining proposed benefits
Determining metrics
etc
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2. Structuring The Project

Determine what the most suitable structure for

the project will be;

Pure functional structure

Pure project structure

Multiple projects

Matrix structure

Single project

Multiple projects and units

Structure will depend on organisational factors

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3. Selecting The Project

Team
Project Manager must acquire and manage all
required resources
Selection MUST be based on skill sets
This task becomes decidedly more complex in
large environments with multiple projects
running concurrently, such Matrix
environments
Managing people may be more difficult than
managing the technical aspects of project
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4. Planning and
Administration
Break down project into manageable chunks
Sequence them so that they feed into each
other correctly
Stick to deliverables, attention to detail is
critical
Planning is an ongoing process throughout
the life of the project
Use appropriate software tools to assist you
in scheduling and managing your project eg
MS Project
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5. Risk and Opportunity

Management
As with planning, this is an ongoing task
through out the project
Identify risks and opportunities
Assess likelihood of occurrence
Assess strength of potential impact of risks
so you can minimise them
Aim to maximise on all possible opportunities
My advice- Always make sure you have a
Plan B
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What is RISK?
There are many definitions of risk
Sample definition;
the probability of a material deviation from an
anticipated outcome

Thus;
Risk is a probability
Risk refers not just to probabilities of losses, or
of gains, but to probabilities of deviations
either downward losses or upward gains.
Risk exists only if an objective exists
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Potential Project Risk Areas

Cost Analysis- NPV, IRR, Cost/Benefit
Opportunity lost
Vendor management
Software development practices
Political risk
Project Variables- Size, investment, technical risk
Benefit risks- Business impact, customer needs,
ROI, Organisational impact, expected
improvements etc
Solution risks- flexibility, compatibility, scalability,
etc.
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6. Project Control
Variables affecting quality of project
control;
Nature and number of entities to control- eg
changes, tasks, people etc
Control standards and project metrics
Control authority- task responsibilities
Control mechanisms- As defined in project
scope
Variance detection- deviations from set paths

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7. Visibility
Manage intra and inter project communication
Ensure that all stakeholders are kept abreast
of developments- e.g. have a newsletter for
the project
Use all available resources for communication
esp. regular meetings- Management by
Walking around (MBW), face to face,
teleconference, video conference, etc

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8. Status
Monitor all deliverables
Ensure that all milestones are
achieved
Continuously update project plan and
communicate with all stakeholders

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9. Corrective Action
Will depend on project status
Must be directed and specific
Evaluate impact of corrective action
before implementing taking into
account knock on effect on
subsequent tasks

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10. Leadership
Management quality that combine the
previous nine elements
Lack of appropriate leadership can
result in motivated people doing the
wrong thing
Strong leaders manage team
dynamics, reward systems, and other
factors to ensure project success
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Project Termination
Ensure you have an exit strategy to
deal with
Team members
Customers
End users
Subcontractors
Management
Project manager (if outsourced)

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Project Termination
Three types of termination;
Positive termination
All or most objectives met

Negative termination
Failed project

Premature termination
When it becomes unlikely that project
objectives will be met

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Ensuring Success - Ex Ante (before

the event)
Over and above the 10 elements, you need to
create the right environment for project success;

Project mission
Top management support
Have accurate project plans and schedules
Stakeholder consultation and involvement
Recruit the right personnel
Use appropriate technology
Monitoring and feedback
Communication
Identify risks

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Measuring Project Success- Ex Post

(after the action)
Four dimensions of success;
Resource constraints- does project meet
established time and budget criteria?
Impact on customers- what are the benefits to our
customers?
Business success - what is the income/cost impact?
Did the project meet investment goals?
Future proofing - has the project enhanced portfolio
such that we can build on it with future products
and services?

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Project Management
Software

Project Management
Software
Mainstream
Microsoft Project (Microsoft Corporation)
SureTrak (Primavera Systems)
Project Scheduler (Scitor Corporation)
Time Line (Time Line Solutions)
SuperProject (Computer Associates)
Turbo Project (IMSI)

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Project Management
Software
Power users;
Primavera Project Planner (Primavera
Systems)
Open Plan Professional (Welcome Software
Technology)
ProjectView (Artemis)
Schedule Publisher (Advanced Management
Solutions)
SAS or Project Management (SAS Institute)
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Project Management
Software
Client/Server Platforms;
Team Workbench and ABT Repository (ABT
Corporation)
Projectview (Artemis)
AutoPLAN II (Digital Tools Inc)
PROJECT /2 Series /X (PSDI)
XPM partners (XPM Enterprise Work Management)
Cascade (Mantix)
Primavera Scheduling Engine & Automation Server
(Primavera Systems)
Panorama (Panorama Software)
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Project Management As A
Tool
Strategy Formulation And
Implementation

Success IS/IT using PM

Success with IS/IT strategy formulation
and implementation is more likely when;
Corporate strategy exists
IS/IT strategy exists and is closely aligned
with overall corporate strategy
PM is used and applied consistently to
projects
There is a built in learning process through
which the organisation learns from previous
projects
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Success Probability Matrix

Formal Project
Management used

No Formal Project
Management

IS/IT Strategy
Exists

Success is LIKELY

Success is POSSIBLE

No IS/IT
Strategy

Problems are LIKELY

Failure is EXPECTED

(adapted Robson (1997)

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Summary
Project Management is increasingly
being used as a process for ensuring
the delivery of project in general and
IS/IT projects in particular
PM is used to address manage tasks
or group of tasks that may fall outside
the scope of normal day to day
operations. Such tasks are typically
referred to as a project
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Summary
Whilst the use of PM as a discipline may
not guarantee success, but it does
however increase the probability of
success
The role of the project manager is critical
Every project follows a typical project life
cycle and we have identified 10 elements
that combined with PM contribute greatly
towards project success
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