Chapter 1 Introduction to Project Management

Objectives Need for Project Management Terminology Project Constraints Objectives of Project Management People Issues in Project Management Stress

The need for project management The life span of products is getting shorter and shorter over time. The career of a project manager now involves managing a multitude of small projects, rather than overseeing the life cycle of one long lived project. Effective project management skills allow you to shorten the time line from product inception to market, thereby maximizing your chances of meeting or beating the competition. The project manager is responsible for putting different individuals together to form a cohesive team. Project management skills help you effectively handle a tight schedule. Knowing how to set up a schedule of small, manageable deliverables (completed tasks) reduces the stress levels of your team members, improving the overall quality of the work they produce. Project management in practice consists of managing people, anticipating problems, utilizing resources, and pulling all the parts together. It is a way of organizing your thinking.

Project Management Terminology A project is a group of multiple interdependent activities that require people and resources. It has a defined start and end date and a specific set of criteria that define successful completion. The goal is what exactly needs to be accomplished. The project scope is the documented set of standards and criteria that the customer defines as successful completion. An objective is a combination of tasks that concern specific functional groups or structural areas. A task is a combination of activities that lead to the achievement of a definable result. An activity is a time consuming piece of work with a definite beginning and a end. Duration is the elapsed time from the beginning to the end of an activity, task, or objective.

Project Constraints Every project is subject to certain constraints: cost, schedule, and quality/scope. Constraints are those things that control your ability to bring a project to completion. Time (schedule) is one very pressing constraint. A good project manager will know how to recognize the constraints acting on any given project. A successful project manager will use strategies to work around or within the constraints, and sometimes, even turn them into assets.

Key Objectives of Project Management 1. Quality Specifications: what the product must be capable of achieving. 2. Deadlines: you may have specific start and end dates. You need to spell it out to your team members in the form of a schedule. 3. Cost limitations (Constraints): you must be able to tell your company or client exactly how much the job will cost. Your team needs cost information as much as your client does. Even if quality, time line, and cost constraints are inexact, you have to keep in mind that they are real constraints. These are the box in which you must place the project.

People Issues in Project Management When glitches occur, materials are late in arriving, or machines break down, deep investigation will probably lead you to a people problem as the source. Because people drive processes, it makes sense to build competencies in people management skills as well as in quantitative and analytical process management. Orchestrating the outcome of a successful project and meeting the challenge of bringing a product or process to successful completion creates a sense of satisfaction that makes the headaches you experienced along the way worth it.

Achieving Low Stress Project Management Besides making people miserable, stress is a major killer of individual performance. Stressed people are more likely to make mistakes and generally perform less than their optimal level. The more mistakes an individual makes, the worse he feels about his job and himself, and the more likely he is to experience burnout. A high burnout rate means a high turnover rate, and more time you spend on rehiring and retraining. Not only should you provide team members with goals, it is imperative that they are involved in setting those goals and planning the project in general.

Guidelines for Meetings 1. Clear Goals: The true goal of any meeting is problem solving. Everyone should leave in agreement and with a new version of the schedule which brings the project back on track. 2. Length: Most meetings should last for a maximum of 45 minutes. Develop an agenda and stick to it. 3. Frequency: Depends on the type and length of the project. Schedule meetings at major checkpoints and events in the process. Schedule meetings at regular times. Never hesitate to call a meeting to resolve a problem. 4. Location: Choose a sensible location and try to meet there every time, unless rotating places is necessary for fair distribution of convenience. 5. Attendance: Only people who are essential to the day’s agenda should attend. Invite decision makers and technical personnel. 6. Size: The most effective size is 2 to 5 participants. Large meetings are more suitable for information dissemination or gathering. 7. Preparation: Create an agenda, and distribute at least one day before the meeting. 8. Accountability: Every one should leave a meeting with a clear picture of what the meeting has accomplished, and what action each person is accountable for.

Summary Project management in practice consists of managing people, anticipating problems, utilizing resources, and pulling all the parts together. It is a way of organizing your thinking. A project is a group of multiple interdependent activities that require people and resources. It has a defined start and end date and a specific set of criteria that define successful completion. Every project is subject to certain constraints: cost, schedule, and quality/scope. 3 key objectives of project management:1. Quality Specifications 2. Deadlines (time line) 3. Cost limitations (Constraints) Because people drive processes, it makes sense to build competencies in people management skills as well as in quantitative and analytical process management. Besides making people miserable, stress is a major killer of individual performance. Every one should leave a meeting with a clear picture of what the meeting has accomplished, and what action each person is accountable for.

Home Work 1. What is project management in practice? 2. What is a project? 3. Name the 3 key objectives of project management?