Project Management Assignment for university/ college

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR BUSINESS

TABLE OF CONTENT……………………………………………………………………..01

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………...…….02

1.1…Background & Principles of Project Management …………………………………..03

1.2…Viability of Project Developing success / failure criteria…………………………....04

1.3…Principles behind Project Management Systems and Procedures..…………………04

1.4…Terminating and Conducting Post-Project……………………………………………05

2.1…Appropriate Organisational Structure, Roles and Responsibilities of Participants

Within a Project ……………………………………………………………………………..05

2.2…Control and Co-ordinate a Project ..………………………………….………………06

2.3…Project Leadership Requirements & Qualities ………………………………………07

2.4…Plan and Specify Human Resources and Requirements for a Project …..…………08

3.1…Project Plans and Establishment of the Project Organisation...………………….…09

3.2…Project Scheduling, Estimating & Cost Control Techniques.....….………………....09

3.3…Methods Used to Measure Project Performance …..………………………………...10

3.4…Project change control Procedures …..………………………………………………..11

3.5…Evaluation of the Completed Project …...……………………..……………..………..11

4…… SUMMARY ……………………………………………………………………………12

INTRODUCTION

A project is carried out in order to provide a solution to a problem that can be clearly defined. The solution to the problem follows the analysis of the needs triggered by the existence of the problem. Projects must be from real resources should be sustainable, and the result of the solution must justify the cost of the resources used.

While most college graduates do not have formal skills in a project methodology; taking part as a project team member can be an excellent learning opportunity to improve a person's career profile.

Projects are known for their uniqueness, creativity and innovation because they are solving specific problems of certain scenarios existing within the organizations. The uniqueness of a project and the developed procedure for solving problem don’t limit the  project managers  to the adaptation of existing solutions and the partial use of existing available methods and approaches in their ongoing project. The assessment of a project takes place in a variety of forms, ranging from individual performance criteria and progress indicators for project phases. Project management is often summarized as a triangle. The three significant factors that form the vertices of a triangle are time, cost and scope with quality enclosed in the centre. (BIS, 2012).

TASK 1

ü    1.1 PRINCIPLES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

While every project is unique in its own way, there are certain basics which define most project work. These are:

ü  objectives

ü  constraints

ü  lifecycle

Ø  OBJECTIVES:

 The Primary motive of any project is to achieve specified goals and objectives. The goals and objectives of any project must be SMART. (Lewis, 2007)

S Specific

M Measurable

A Achievable

R Realistic

T Timely

Without these attributes, project is likely to derailed and  lack focus  from objectives which may ultimately incur chances of failure. Once objectives have been completed ,a clear communication and agreement is necessary between team workers and stakeholders.

Ø  CONSTRAINTS:

                          It is any factor which may limit or make an impact on a successful completion of a project. Typical constraints are funding, available resources and time. It is important to understand what the constraints of any project are in order to clearly define the boundaries in which project work must be done. The Projects which do not consider these constraints have high chances of failure.

Ø  LIFECYCLE:

                          A Project has a definite life cycle with a definite start and finish dates in which its objectives need to be fulfilled. While it is usually defined by a start and finish date; the lifecycle of a project sometimes can be limited by finite resources like such as funds or staff time available to the project. A successful project must deliver its goals and objectives taking into consideration of these constraints, and by definition do so within the anticipated lifecycle of the project.

ü   1.2 VIABILITY OF PROJECT DEVELOPING SUCCESS / FAILURE CRITERIA:

            The discipline of calculating the viability of the project is called a Project Appraisal. A factor, which provides the baseline for project appraisals throughout the life of the project, is the investment appraisal. Project viability is usually defined in largely economic or financial terms.

Critical Success Factor is the factor or an activity required for ensuring the success for the business whereas failure results, where the project cannot meet end user expectations.

            The success criteria for the Project will be the principal approving with the idea. The sponsor is most important and primary source for providing   funds for the project. The formation of a team with Collection of articles and enthusiasm of students while making the Project with compliance  of deadlines  and the teammates delegating and doing the tasks individually as well, completing at the appropriate time.  Quality standards and performance management must be considered equally by students which may lead the project to an adjusted scope and even a revised plan. Delay of  any of these activities could be another failure factor. If Ideas are not approved by the principal, no sponsor is ready to give funds. These are some success and failure instances of a project.

ü  1.3 Principles behind Project Management Systems and Procedures:

Construct an Initial Plan

Define Project Scope

Define Project Objectives

Assemble Team

 

 

 

                                                                             

Add Resources, Costs, Risks etc.

Obtain Stakeholder Buy-in

Publish the Plan

Collect Progress Information

Analyze Current Status

Adjust the Plan, and Manage Project Change

Close Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                 

ü  1.4 Terminating and Conducting Post-Project

(Clements & Gido 2009)

Ø  Conducting a Post-Project-

 Once a project is complete and all went as planned. It encourages moving on to the next project. A post project may have many benefits such as the assessment of organizational strengths and improving according. Similarly, it can be a role model for future projects. The more effective is the post project, the newer and innovative lessons can be learned by a project manager to minimize time and cost for agreed goals and objectives within the agreed time frame.  

Terminating a Post-Project-

A project can be terminated in two ways.

1. Natural: It happens when project meets all end user requirements.

 2. Unnatural- It happens when performance is insufficient; especially due to lack of proper time or enough project funding.

There are few good benefits of successful project closure. On one hand, it increases morale and confidence of staff .  It also develops a  sense of achievement and encourages to commit for improving future projects from the lessons learnt from past performance and experiences.

On the other hand, it helps to boost customer satisfaction. This is because the company gains experiences in handling such projects efficiently, controlling project cost and without compromising the quality of specifications and standards to be met for end user requirements.

ü  2.1 Appropriate Organizational Structure, Roles and Responsibilities of Participants Within a Project-

Ø  Ten characteristics that can be used to describe the concept of organizational culture, Roles and Responsibilities. These are:

·         Member identity–this describes how members of an organization may seek their identity in their specific role, their job or as an integral part of a wider entity that is the organization.

·         Team emphasis–this shows how strong a team spirit culture is within the organization or whether members show a high degree of individualism.

·         Management focus–this refers to the organization’s awareness of how management practices may be affecting the well-being and the role of the organization’s employees.

·         Unit integration–this dimension identifies the extent of integration of the different organizational units as opposed to those working in isolation.

·         Control–this is a measurement of how strong policies, procedures and practices are in dictating how operations take place.

·         Risk tolerance–this shows whether the organisation is prepared to deal with risks associated with certain decisions and operations.

·         Reward criteria–this classifies organizations according to the reward mechanisms used to increase employee motivation and reward the achievement of targets.

·         Conflict tolerance–this distinguishes organizations  according to their tolerance to conflicts being openly discussed and resolved against to those that prefer complete avoidance of conflicts.

·         Means versus end orientation–this dictates where the focus of management is on achieving its aims rather than the processes followed.

·         Open systems focus–this explains how organizations choose.

2.2 Control and Co-ordinate a Project:

Ø  Controlling a Project:

Controlling a project is to deal with any issues that require the attention of the project manager and typically some form of action. The reactive nature of the procedure means that a certain level of decision-making and problem solving is involved. It is necessary to fully appreciate that projects are rarely in line with original plans for various reasons. Therefore the role of the project manager is not limited to the development of a project plan and its documentation, but spans a number of areas that can be grouped together under project control. Such areas of concern could include measuring performance, assessing whether project requirements are met, dealing with problems, identifying risks, etc.

Ø  Coordinating a Project:

·         Timing any project updates

·         Reporting on tasks completed

·         Recording historical information

·         Estimating remaining work

·         Reporting on start and finish milestones

·         Reflecting on duration and progress

·         Reviewing effort and resources

·         Providing completion rates

 2.3 Project Leadership Requirements & Qualities :

Ø Project Leadership Requirements   

Juli, 2010

Ultimate satisfaction

 

Esteem Needs

Physiological Needs

Basic Needs

Safety and Security Needs

Self-actualization

Social Needs

 

Ø Project Leadership Qualities
Leadership as a trait	Possessing leadership qualities is therefore a differentiating characteristic of certain individuals who should be awarded certain roles in the organization.
Leadership as a responsibility	Some organizations  perceive leadership as a responsibility that comes with the role, so if someone holds a certain job title they should be able to lead
Leadership as a behavior	Leadership becomes part of the individual's behavior and is likely to affect decisions and the way a project or a team is managed.
Leadership as a style	The personality of an individual also affects the way leadership is exercised, and more specifically how leading roles affect communication and coordination of peer and subordinates.
Leadership as a condition	The demonstration of leadership skills may be triggered by an event or a project crisis. This approach leadership as a behavior that varies with time and adapts to different conditions.
Leadership as a transformation tool	One of the effects of leadership should be to enable the transformation of an organization and its structures, the human capital and individual members, in order to achieve set targets and work towards the common mission.
Leadership as inspiration	Eventually leadership is perceived as a virtue that once possessed can help the management of individuals and teams. Regardless of the leadership style, a good leader should be able to inspire others.

ü    2.4 Plan and Specify Human Resources and Requirements for a Project:

Human Resources for a Project

Human resource is a vital component of any project. Be sure to plan properly for human resources to ensure success. The Human Resource Plan is a tool which aids in the management of all projects. At the least it defines things such as roles and responsibilities, organizational charts, how resources will be acquired, time when each resource will be needed and any specialized training requirements.

Requirements for a Project

Resources are the means we use to achieve project objectives. The primary resource is obviously people with applicable skills and competencies. The other main grouping of resources we need includes capital, facilities, equipment, material and information. There is usually a gap between the investment reach of a project and the project demands.

TASK 3

ü  3.1  Project Plans and Establishment of the Project Organization

Ø  To develop a basic project plan you need a list of the tasks, and understanding of the relationships between the tasks and to know the priority of each task. In larger projects the list of tasks is organized into a work breakdown structure. The relationships between the tasks, called dependencies, are established. And the critical path for the project is calculated.

Ø  The organizational approach describes the way most organizations view quality as it emphasizes the importance of meeting customer and stakeholder requirements. This perspective requires constant communication with project stakeholders as they provide the necessary input used for assessing project quality.

ü    3.2 Project Scheduling, Estimating & Cost Control Techniques:

Ø  Project Scheduling is usually the core of the project plan as it associates the project objectives with specific deliverables and the resources used. The project schedule depends on the duration of the project, and the choice of time units used for scheduling needs to be appropriate for the project duration. For example, for a project that is likely to last for a month it may not be wise to use weeks as the time units as this will not allow sufficient detail in the project plan. The scheduling effort must be based on two factors. This means that the project activities and tasks are outlined and then grouped together according to the project phase with specific reference to the required resources.

Ø  Estimating  Cost Control Techniques

It is the aspect of project management is providing cost estimates and planning for the costs of the project activities.  It is often difficult to estimate the exact time and cost involved in the project. It is therefore, important to take care of several other factors that may influence project time and cost of each activity. Some activities of the project may demand significant amount of overheads in the form of preventing, reporting or monitoring techniques.

It is necessary for project managers to break down large projects into small defined tasks and estimate the workload associated with each one of these identified tasks. Each project stage may be different in terms of time factor bound within it. There are still other factors that may limit the time factor which ultimately may determine whether the project will be successfully completed or failed on required time. These factors that may control the duration of each activity of the project may be:

v  Skills of the Employees involved

v  Efficiency of Workers

v  Errors made in each stage of project

v  Random variations

ü    3.3 Methods Used to Measure Project Performance:

If Projects can’t be measured, they can’t be controlled and vice versa. Project performance measurement is essential for assessing current performance, setting goals for improvement, anticipate and correct if any deviations occur against objectives.

v  Measuring Quality of products and Process

Project managers must know if their product is deliverable, meeting specification or satisfaction of end users and stakeholders or not?

They must make sure whether the undergoing project is according to business needs, and the plan was accomplished as anticipated or not?

v  Measuring Time

Monitoring and control of project to ensure that the objective is met in the right time/ anticipated time of the project

v  Measuring Budget

Project managers must examine different costs involved within the project and examine whether the planned budget justify the goals of project or not?

The measure of elements that are regarded as critical elements for success of project (critical success factors) is essential in any project.

Tools and Techniques used for measuring project Performance:

There are four general categories used by project managers to conduct monitoring and controlling of a project.

1. Collecting Information:  Techniques involved in collection of Project Performance information are Pulse meetings, variance reports etc.

2. Analyzing whether change is needed: Techniques involved are technical reviews, project forecasts etc.

3. Reporting:  Techniques used here are Management information system, Reviews, Dashboards etc.

4. Managing Change: Techniques involved could be Change management Log. 

Earned value analysis is a powerful project management technique widely used by Project managers to measure Scope, Schedule and Cost of a project.

 3.4   Project change control Procedures:

Project managers often have to deal with changes and project creep is one of the undesirable situations for them. The change also depends upon the nature of project he/she is involved with. Changes in a project can be coped with formal procedures like follow:

1. If any end user or concerned party demands for change, ask him/her to fill a formal change request template in writing.

2. Review the impact of change in the project, analyze what may happen if change is not implemented in terms of schedule, cost, time and outcome.

3. Accpet/ reject change. Involve team members and sponsors in decision making process, and if rejection is the decision, inform what has happened to these end users/ concerned parties.

4.  If the change is accepted, incorporate it with ongoing process. Inform change and its possible impacts to the interested parties.

ü    3.5 Evaluation of the Completed Project:

Different types of evaluation take place in the end of a project. The primary concern is determining the extent to which the project outcomes have been achieved. Evaluation Process includes meeting the sponsor, key stakeholders and project team leaders. The evaluation in this sort is the final stage of the project, which help project managers to ensure that the project has met all of the contracted expectations and can be ‘signed off’ as complete.

Review of the process might be another way of evaluation that assists managers to learn from their experiences.  It is generally carried out by examining the real life achievements of project with the anticipated project plan, all the variations that occurred in the long run in terms of cost, quality and time, both in processes and the outcomes. The lesson is how to avoid such deviations from the plan in the future or how to make effective planning for contingencies.

Although monitoring takes place throughout a project, evaluation based on the information thus gained is likely to happen at the end of the project, in a final summative evaluation which identifies:

ü  SUMMARY

A project is carried out in order to clearly define the solution to a problem. The three major factors that play role in a significant project are time, cost and scope commonly called as triple constraints. The Primary task for any project is to set up goals and objectives. These goals and objectives must be SMART .

S    specific 
M measurable
A   attainable
R   realistic
T    timely

Projects have definite life cycle, with a clear start and finish point within their objectives to be met. There may be certain finite resources like money and the number and skills of workforce that may also limit the start and finish dates of the project.

The viability of the project is calculated by a discipline called Project appraisal. A factor that plays a role in project appraisal throughout the significant life of a project is investment appraisal. The later is related with the project viability which is largely defined in economic or financial terms.

The personality of an individual also affects the way leadership is exercised, and more specifically how leading roles affect communication and coordination of peer and subordinates. The human resource plan is a tool that assists the management of all projects. It defines organizational charts, roles and responsibilities, resources and time , any specialized trainings  requirements etc.

Earned value analysis is a powerful project management technique widely used by Project managers to measure Scope, Schedule and Cost of a project.

References:

1. BIS, 2012. (online)  [Pdf] available at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/docs/g/10-1257-guidelines-for-managing-projects Accessed on 10/22/12

2. Clements, J.P., & Gido, J. “Succesful  Project Management”  4^th edn. USA: Cengage learning.

3. Juli, T. 2010. “Leadership Principles for Project Success”Google ebook: CRC

 4. Lewis, J. P. , 2007. “Fundamentals of Project Managemen”. 3^rd edn. USA: American Management Association.

Thank You for watching one of the assignments I wrote in hurry for my cheap dealt customer. Depending upon monetary terms and conditions, deadlines and anticipation of results assignments can be written much better from wide resources/ references. Pleasecontact: bababaral@gmail.com if you have any assignments to write. Thank You.