The World of Project
Management
WHAT IS A PROJECT?
Why the emphasis on project
management?
• Many tasks do not fit neatly into businessas-usual.
• Need to assign responsibility and authority
for achievement of organizational goals.
Characteristics of Projects
• Unique
• Specific Deliverable
• Specific Due Date
Other Common Characteristics
of Projects
•
•
•
•
Multidisciplinary
Conflict
Complex
Part of Programs
PMI Definition
“A temporary endeavor undertaken to create
a unique product or service”
Project Management Institute, 2000
Definition
• a series of jobs usually directed toward
some major output and requiring a
significant period of time to perform
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT VS.
GENERAL
MANAGEMENT
Skill Requirements for Effective
Project Management
•
•
•
•
•
Conflict Resolution
Creativity and Flexibility
Ability to Adjust to Change
Good Planning
Negotiation
– win-win versus win-lose
WHAT IS MANAGED?
THE THREE GOALS OF
A PROJECT
Performance, Cost, and Time
Project Targets
To Put A Man On The Moon
• The year 1962
• “We commit this nation to put a man on the moon and return him
safely to this earth by the end of this decade, and to do the other
things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.”
• The triple constraint project has begun.
The Three Constraints Are
• Time constraint: How long do you have?
• Budget constraint: How much can you spend?
• Performance criteria: What results must your project achieve to meet
its purpose?
• Project: Put a man on the moon
• Time: constraint: By the end of the decade.
• Performance: Safe return to Earth
• Budget: Unknown
Old Joke
• You can have it fast.
• You can have it cheap.
• You can have it good.
• Pick any two!
Project Management
Planning
•Objectives
•Set Goals
•Organization
Scheduling
•Tying Resources to Activities
•Scheduling Activities
Controlling
•Monitoring
•Revising and Changing
•Modifying Resources to Meet Project Constraint
Top Ten Reasons Why Project
Management Is Important (p. 256)
10. Organizations that are willing to allow hastily planned,
poorly led projects weaken themselves and endanger
employees by wasting precious resources.
9. Organizations that are flattening will depend on projects
and project leaders to get work done that was once
handled by departments.
8. With rare exceptions, project prime movers believe that
project meltdowns are the result of weak project
leadership.
7. More than one lumpy project leadership performance can
give you a reputation that will repel future project
participants.
6. Project work is often disguised by the use of the word
“team;” if you find yourself on or leading teams, you’re
probably working with others to complete a project.
Top Ten Reasons Why Project
Management Is Important (p.256)
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
The abilities that are required to organize and carry out
successful projects will enhance other aspects of your job.
Leading successful projects is the best way to prove your
promotability to the people who make those decisions.
The best way to promote effective project leadership is to
set examples that are so powerful and positive that others
wouldn’t dare do less.
Project leaders seldom get better until they know how to do
it right.
If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse as you get
older.
Activity Lists
• Breakdown of all activities/tasks in a project
– Precedence constraints
• One task can’t be started until another is finished
– Duration of activities
Activity List for Example Problem
Network Diagrams
• Show the sequence of activities in a
project
• Consists of nodes and arrows
– Nodes show activities (AON: activity on
node)
– Arrows show precedence
A
A
B
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
C
A
B
D
C
A
B
D
C
A
B
D
C
A
B
D
C
E
A
B
D
C
E
F
A
D
E
G
B
C
F
A
D
E
G
B
C
F
H
A
D
E
G
B
C
F
H
I
3
4
A
8
D
E
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
2
F
2
H
I
5
Critical Path Analysis
• Find all paths and compute expected length
–
–
–
–
–
ADEJ
BCDEJ
BCFGJ
BCFHJ
BI
= 18
= 23
= 17
= 15
= 10
Critical Path
• Longest time pathway is duration of the project
• Delays in activities on the critical path will delay the
project
• The critical path activities will have the largest slack
Early Start/Early Finish (ES/EF)
• The earliest an activity can be started and
finished (without delaying the project).
• ES = 0 if no predecessors
• ES = maximum EF of the predecessors
• EF = ES + activity duration
Work forward
through time
ES
0
EF
3
4
A
8
D
E
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
2
F
2
H
ES = 0 because no predecessors
EF = 3 since 0 + 3 = 3
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
3
4
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
J
3
5
3
C
2
F
2
H
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
3
4
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
J
3
5
3
C
2
F
2
H
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
3
4
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
J
3
8
3
C
2
F
2
H
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
3
4
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
J
3
8
3
C
2
F
2
H
5
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
3
4
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
J
3
8
3
C
2
F
2
H
5
Remember: ES is always the largest
of the predecessors’ Early Finishes
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
J
3
8
3
C
2
F
2
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
12
8
D
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
J
3
8
3
C
2
F
2
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
D
12
12 8
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
8
3
C
8
J
3
2
F
2
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
D
12
12 8 20
E
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
8
3
C
8
J
3
10
2
F
2
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
D
12
12 8 20
E
10
4
G
0
5
B
5
5
8
3
C
8
J
3
10
2
F
10 2
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
D
12
12 8 20
E
10 4 14
G
0
5
B
5
5
8
3
C
8
J
3
10
2
F
10 2 12
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
D
12
12 8 20
E
10 4 14 20
G
0
5
B
5
5
8
3
C
8
J
3
10
2
F
10 2 12
H
5
10
I
5
ES
0
EF
3
A
8
3
4
D
12
12 8 20
E
10 4 14 20 23
3
G
0
5
B
5
5
8
3
C
8
J
10
2
F
10 2 12
H
5
10
I
5
Late Start/Late Finish (LS/LF)
• The latest an activity can start and finish
(without delaying the project)
• If last activity, LF = EF of last activity on critical path
• LF = minimum LS of successors
• LS = LF – activity duration
Work backwards
through time
3
4
A
8
D
E
ES
4
G
5
B
3
C
EF
20 323
J
23
2
F
LF
2
H
I
Remember: at the last activity,
LF = EF of last activity on Critical Path
5
3
4
A
8
D
E
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
20 23
2
F
LS
LF
2
H
I
5
3
4
A
8
D
E
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
20 23
2
F
LS
LF
2
H
I
5
23
3
4
A
8
D
E
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
20 23
2
F
LS
LF
2
H
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
E
20
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
20 20 23
2
F
LS
LF
2
H
20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
E
12 20
4
G
5
B
3
C
2
J
3
16 20 20 23
F
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
Recall, LF is equal to the
smallest LS of the activity’s
successors
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
E
12 20
4
G
5
B
3
C
J
3
16 20 20 23
2
F
LS
16
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
E
12 20
4
G
5
B
3
C
2
3
16 20 20 23
F
14 16
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
B
3
C
2
3
16 20 20 23
F
14 16
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
B
3
C
2
3
16 20 20 23
F
14 16
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
B
3
2
C
14 16
3
16 20 20 23
F
8
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
3
B
2
C
5
14 16
3
16 20 20 23
F
8
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
8
D
8
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
3
B
2
C
5
14 16
3
16 20 20 23
F
8
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
5
8
D
8
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
3
B
2
C
5
14 16
3
16 20 20 23
F
8
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
5
8
D
8
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
3
B
2
C
5
5
14 16
3
16 20 20 23
F
8
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
3
4
A
5
8
D
8
8
E
12
12 20
4
G
5
3
B
0
2
C
5
5
14 16
3
16 20 20 23
F
8
J
LS
LF
2
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
0
3
A
5
3
8
8
8
4
12
D
12 8 20
E
12
12 20
ES
10 4 14 20 23
3
G
0
5
5
5
B
0
3
8
C
5
5
8
2
10
14 16
J
16 20 20 23
F
8
EF
10 2 12
LS
LF
5
10
H
18 20
I
5
18 23
Slack
• The most you can delay an activity without
delaying the project
• Slack = LS - ES = LF - EF
• Critical activities have zero slack
• Helps to set priorities, scrutiny of management
0
3
A
5
3
8
8
8
4
12
D
12 8 20
E
12
12 20
ES
10 4 14 20 23
3
G
0
5
5
5
B
0
3
8
C
5
5
8
2
10
14 16
J
16 20 20 23
F
8
EF
10 2 12
LS
LF
5
10
H
18 20
Critical activities have zero slack
I
5
18 23
0
3
A
5
3
8
8
8
4
12
D
12 8 20
E
12
12 20
ES
10 4 14 20 23
3
G
0
5
5
5
B
0
3
8
C
5
5
8
2
10
14 16
J
16 20 20 23
F
8
EF
10 2 12
LS
LF
5
10
H
18 20
Critical activities have zero slack
I
5
18 23
Ten Golden Rules of Project
Management
Don’t bite off more than you can manage.
Get your ducks in a row.
Plan for Murphy. (Murphy’s Law-"If something can go
wrong, it will go wrong." )
4. Don’t put off until tomorrow.
5. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate.
6. CYA-Document.
7. Keep your team in the loop.
8. Measure success.
9. Have a flexible strategy.
10. Learn from your mistakes.
1.
2.
3.