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Chapter 1: Introduction to project management
PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
Differing factors:
• Actual project
• Delivered on time, within budget
• Quality standards
• Stakeholders
• Limited resources
DEFINITION OF A PROJECT:
Project – a complex, non-routine, once-off, temporary effort undertaken to create a unique
product, service, or final outcome
Requires the PM to meet/exceed stakeholder needs/expectations as stated in the project
objectives
Limitations:
• Time, budget, resources and performance specifications
Classifying projects and types of projects:
4 unique needs (criteria) of a project:
1. Industry: manufacturing, IT
2. Project size: scale, complexity
3. Project scope: deliverables
4. Project application: change intervention, product development
Project types:
1. Projects (refer to definition)
2. Megaprojects:
• Large scale investment project (> $1 billion / R13 billion)
• Large impact on communities, environments and budgets
• Large risk
• Could be divided into major and minor projects
3. Programmes: a group of related projects, sub-programs, and program activities that
are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from
managing them individually
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, • Aim towards some strategic objective
4. Portfolios: a component collection of programmes, projects, or operations managed
as a group to achieve strategic objectives
• Organises a series of projects and/ or programmes into a single portfolio
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS:
• A clearly defined objective (SKA)
• Conducted through a series of interdependent tasks
• Uses different resources to complete the tasks
• Has a specific time frame and limited life span (King Shaka International Airport –
2010 soccer)
• Can be unique and can be a once-off event
• Has a customer = sponsor
• Has risk due to the level of uncertainty
• Quality, scope, cost and time are equally important to a project
PROJECT LIFECYCLE:
Project lifecycle: refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish the project’s goals
or objectives
PROJECT SUCCESS:
• Completing a project within budget
• On schedule (time)
• Within scope
Traditionally there are four constraints:
1. Scope – work to be done to produce all project deliverables
2. Time – start and end date / time for each activity & task
3. Cost – agreed payment for each acceptable project deliverable
4. Quality - expectations of the acceptable specifications for the project
Further constraints influencing the project:
• Risks – uncertainty
• Resource constraints – availability/unavailability of people, equipment and materials
• Customer satisfaction – good working relationship to ensure optimum interaction,
communication and performance
• Stakeholders - optimise the working relationship amongst all stakeholders and to
limit negative conflict
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES:
Different ways to manage a project depend on: industry and type of project
• Specify inputs, outputs, performance criteria, standard operating procedures, roles,
responsibilities, workflows, control and evaluation systems
Two broad categories:
1. Traditional
2. Agile
TRADITIONAL METHODOLOGIES:
• Linear, non-iterative approaches
• Predetermined sequence of steps or stages (each stage starting only once the
previous stage has been completed)
The six most common types of traditional methodologies include:
1. Waterfall
2. Precedence diagramming method (PDM) and critical path method (CPM)
3. Critical chain project management methodology (CCPM)
4. Program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
5. PRINCE2 methodology (PRINCE stands for ‘project management in controlled
environments’)
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, WATERFALL:
System requirements = defined in conjunction with the client:
• Client must have clear idea of their requirements upfront
• During implementation à the system is developed and tested before being handed
over to the client
Five benefits:
1. Projects are delivered according to prescribed specifications which result in client
satisfaction and project success à Negative: does not allow for much iteration -
requirements and output specifications cannot change during design and
implementation ( = no innovation)
2. Greater certainty à work allocation, scheduling and budgeting
3. Risk is minimised à errors are identified and dealt with prior to implementation
4. Structured à monitor and assessment of project performance = easier
5. Technical documentation is NB à better and easier post-handover development
PRECEDENCE DIAGRAMMING METHOD (PDM) AND CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM):
PDM: used to construct network diagrams
• Activities cannot begin until their predecessors have been completed
CPM: a critical path = the sequence of project network activities which add up to the longest
overall duration
• Used in conjunction with PDM
• Requires careful management à any delays to the critical path will result in a delay
to the project as a whole
Critical chain: the longest chain of dependent activities
CCPM differs from CPM:
• Resources allocation is prioritised according to tasks on the critical chain
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