PROJECT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
(PPM 2013 Term VI)
COURSE OUTLINE
SUDHIR CHADHA
University of Warwick
International Manufacturing Centre
Coventry CV4 7AL United Kingdom
This course aims to cover the basics of Project and Portfolio Management
(PPM) in 30 hours. By some estimates, over 50% of business activity today is
conducted in the form of projects, yet projects regularly exceed budgets and
time constraints. Most businesses therefore consider competence in project
management, and the related program and portfolio management, as a critical
business skill. The course teaches essential project, program, and portfolio
management techniques, and emphasises their practical use through the
extensive use of case studies and software.
The course uses lectures, case studies and group discussions to teach the
techniques and practice of single and multiple projects. In addition, project
portfolio management, which deals with project selection and evaluation (rather
than project execution), is also studied. The following is a brief outline of the
lectures, case studies, and readings that will be used in this course.
LECTURES and CASES
The following gives an indication of the content of the twenty 90’ course
sessions. The abbreviation NK refers to Nokes and Kelly’s book mentioned
later in the outline (this book will serve as our basic text; the terminology NK-5,
e.g., means Chapter 5 in Nokes and Kelly’s book).
1. Basic Principles of Project Management – This session describes the
project environment, defines how a project differs from normal
operations, the project management process, and the organizational
issues. (NK-1 and NK-2)
2. Project Initiation and Rules – This session emphasises how
fundamental it is to establish the “rules” properly before starting the
project by producing certain key documents. (NK-3 pp 70-74, and NK-4)
3. Risk Management and Commercials – The most fundamental skill in
successful project management is anticipating and managing risk. This
session discusses the risk management framework. It also discusses the
importance of suppliers and the procurement function, and the nature and
type of the most appropriate contracts to use (including outsourcing).
(NK-11 and NK-12)
4. Case Study 1: BAE Automated Systems. This case study considers
how a sloppily initiated project without proper risk management, a
multiplicity of suppliers, and no well defined coordinating processes is
almost doomed to certain failure. (first reading of NK-3)
5. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Estimating – The WBS is
sometimes considered the most important document in executing the
project well because it specifies the scope in detail. This session
concentrates on ways to construct an efficient WBS and estimate the
individual time and cost of its constituents. (NK-3 pp 74-77, NK-5)
Workshop on MS Project software - This is the de facto standard
software for project management and enormously simplifies the job of
setting up the project. This extra session (requested by students) is
intended to get the entire class on to the same page. A good book
explaining the software is Chatfield, Carl, and Timothy
Johnson, Microsoft Office Project 20XX Step by Step, Microsoft
Press.
6. Case Study 2: A&D High Tech (A) – this is the first attempt to set up a
WBS in MS Project, and examine its various managerial consequences
such as project duration, estimated cost, etc.
7. Realistic Scheduling and Resources – No project can be done without
the assignment of resources to tasks. This session deals with
understanding task relationships, assigning, and levelling resources to
obtain a realistic schedule. (NK-6 and NK-8)
8. Budget, Cash Flow and Uncertainty – Understanding project budgets,
tracking cash flow (at an appropriate level of granularity), and
understanding the effect of uncertainty are crucial aspects of project
success. (NK-7)
9. Team Performance – When the project has been planned, teams of
people execute the project. What makes a high performance team? This
session proposes a model for such a team, and discusses some of its major
characteristics. (NK-3 pp 77-79, NK-9)
10.Stakeholder Communications – Given the importance of
communications, this session is devoted to understanding the information
needs of all the important stakeholders, how this information is provided
to them, and the important role played by change and configuration
management. (NK-10)
11.(a) Case Study 3: Acme Medical Imaging – This case deals primarily of
issues of performance and communication in a project team.
(b) Monitoring Progress – Another essential aspect of project execution
is to monitor its progress so that problems are discovered as soon as
possible. This session discusses the earned value method (EVM) for this
purpose. (NK-3 pp 79-81, NK-11 pp 289-290, and further details
provided in the class notes).
12.(a) Case Study 4: Ariba Implementation at Med-X – This case uses
EVM to continually assess the state of two related projects comprising a
program. Although the whole program itself seems to be doing fine
deeper investigation reveals that the individual projects are problematic.
(b) Common Project Problems – We consider a few of the most
common project problems experienced in planning and execution, and the
customer responses to them. The issues are further dealt with in the next
case study. (No specific reading)
13.Case Study 5: A&D High Tech (B) – This case (planned in session 6), is
now in execution but develops a number of problems. It provides an
opportunity for students to examine what went wrong and suggest
remedies.
14.Systems View of Project Dynamics – Although the “linear” approach to
project management is well developed, a substantial number of projects
still overrun time and budget. Why? A different perspective is provided
by studying the feedback approach to project management that attempts
to understand the dynamics generated by these loops. The challenge is to
integrate the conventional approach to project management with the
nonlinear loop dynamics. (Sterman, J. Business Dynamics: Systems
Thinking and Modelling for a Complex World, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000
– Chapter 1, Sec. 5.2, Sec. 6.1, and Sec. 2.3)
15.Project Evaluation Techniques – This session provides an overview of
the various methods for the financial evaluation of projects. Since
methods such as payback, NPV and IRR are well known, more emphasis
is placed on discussing the real option valuation (ROV) of projects. (See
the two papers by Luehrman below in the Supplementary Readings)
16.Managing Programs (Multi-Projects) and Portfolios – This session
deals with additional issues which arise when considering several related
projects. Examples include the selection of a balanced portfolio of
projects that support the firm’s business strategy, the efficient utilization
of scarce common resources, and managing project interdependencies.
MS Project can be effectively used to manage several interdependent
projects. A manufacturing example serves to illustrate the importance of
portfolio selection to support strategy.
17.Case Study 6: Vertex Pharmaceuticals R&D Portfolio – a fascinating
study into the project evaluation, selection criteria, and portfolio
management of a company in the early stages of the biotech industry, and
its existential effect on the company’s future.
18.IT Projects and Agile Development – A number of recent project
fiascos have been in the IT sector. Are IT projects different from other
projects, and why? Can better development approaches to IT projects be
found? This session discusses these topics, and the so-called “agile”
development approach to discovery projects in detail. (Mainly class
notes)
19.Enterprise Project Management (EPM) – Many companies are
attempting to move from a functionalised or matrix organisational form to
a projectized way of working. Prime examples are companies in the IT
(e.g., IBM) and aerospace (e.g., Boeing or Airbus) sectors. This session
discusses the various organisational, process and cultural changes
involved in effecting this journey. (See the book below by Cleland and
Ireland, Chapter 9).
20.Case Study 7: Atek PC PMO – This final case study looks at setting up
a Project Management Office (PMO) in a company in the PC industry.
Various protagonists have widely differing views, and the cultural
changes in the methods of working almost overwhelm Atek PC.
TEXTBOOKS
I will use the book by Nokes and Kelly as the basic course text (and
also provide you with the lecture notes). Please note that some course
topics are not adequately covered in this text; for them we use the
other two texts listed plus some supplementary readings.
1. Nokes, Sebastian and Sean Kelly: The Definitive Guide to Project
Management: The Fast Track to getting the Job Done on Time and on
Budget, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2nd edition, 2007.
2. Lock, Dennis: Project Management, Gower Publishing Co., 9th
edition, 2007.
3. Cleland, David I., and Lewis R. Ireland: Project
Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, McGrawHill Professional, 5th edition, 2006.
COURSE EVALUATION
The course evaluation comprises three elements:
 Classroom Participation (20%): a) There is an attendance requirement
for this course of at least 18 out of 20 class sessions (i.e. >90%
attendance). Each 10% drop in attendance from the minimum required
results in one grade loss. b) Every student group will submit one case
write up and lead the case discussion in class. c) All students must
prepare all other cases and demonstrate their preparedness by asking
questions, presenting alternative viewpoints, etc.
 Marked Assignments (30%): The course contains three homework
assignments each worth 10%.
 End-Term Exam (50%): This will be a 150 minute closed book
examination covering the entire course content.
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS
There is a vast literature on the topic of this course. The following
gives you a small flavour. An interesting set of articles by the early thinkers
in the field is provided in Harvard Business Review: Project
Management: Harvard Business Review Paperback, Harvard Business Review
Press, 1991.
Atkinson, R. (1999), Project Management: Cost, Time and Quality,
Two Best Guesses and a Phenomenon, It’s Time to Accept Other
Success Criteria, International Journal of Project Management, 17,
6, pp. 337-42.
Belassi, W. and Tukel, O. I. (1996), A New Framework for
Determining Critical Success/Failure Factors, International Journal
of Project Management, 14, 3, pp. 141-51.
Boonstra, A. (2006), Interpreting an ERP-implementation Project
from a Stakeholder Perspective, International Journal of Project
Management, 24, pp. 38-52.
Casciaro, T. and Lobo, M. (2005), Competent Jerks, Loveable Fools
and the Formation of Social Networks, Harvard Business Review,
June
Dvir, D., Lipovetsky, S., Shenhar, A. And Tishler, A. (1998), In
Search of Project Classification: A Non-universal Approach to Project
Success Factors, Research Policy, 27, pp. 915-35.
Flyvberg, V. and Budzier, A. (2011), Why Your Project May Be
Riskier Than You Think, Harvard Business Review, 89, 9, pp. 23-5.
Gray, R. J. (2001), Organizational Climate and Project Success,
International Journal of Project Management, 19, pp. 103-9.
Jaafari, A. (2001), Management of Risks, Uncertainties and
Opportunities on Projects: Time for a Fundamental Shift,
International Journal of Project Management, 19, pp. 89-101.
Jespen, A. and Eskerod, P. (2009), Stakeholder Analysis in Projects:
Challenges in Using Current Guidelines in the Real World,
International Journal of Project Management, 27, pp. 337-43.
Kirby, E. G. (1996), The Importance of Recognizing Alternative
Perspectives: An Analysis of a Failed Project, International Journal
of Project Management, 14, 4, pp. 209-11.
Kutsch, E. and Hall, M. (2010), Deliberate Ignorance in Project Risk
Management, International Journal of Project Management, 28, 3,
pp. 245-55.
Luehrman, T.A. (1997), What’s it Worth: A General Manager’s
Guide to Valuation, Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 13242.
Luehrman, T.A. (1998), Investment Opportunities as Real Options:
Getting Started on the Numbers, Harvard Business Review, JulyAugust, pp. 3-15.
Pinto, J. K. (2000), Understanding the Role of Politics in Successful
Project Management, International Journal of Project Management,
18, pp. 85-91.
Rand, R. K. (2000), The Theory of Constraints Applied to Project
Management, International Journal of Project Management, 18, pp.
173-77.