Introduction to Project
Management
Chapter 1
Contemporary Project Management
Kloppenborg
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
At the end of this chapter…
• Describe reasons why more organizations are
using project management and when use of
project management techniques are appropriate.
• Define a project in your own words using
characteristics that are common to most
projects.
• Delineate measures of project success and
failure.
• State common reasons for project failure or
success.
At the end of this chapter…
• Describe major activities and deliverables at
each project life cycle stage.
• List and describe several issues that pertain to
each of the nine areas of the project
management body of knowledge (PMBOK®).
• Identify key project roles and describe
responsibilities for each.
What is a project?
Project – “a temporary endeavor undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result.”
PMBOK® Guide
• A project requires an organized set of work
efforts.
• Projects require a level of detail that is
progressively elaborated upon as more
information is discovered.
• Projects are subject to limitations of time and
resources such as money and people.
• Projects have a defined beginning and ending.
What is a project?
• A project has a unique combination of
stakeholders
stakeholders – “persons or organizations … that are
actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be
positively or negatively affected by …the project.”
PMBOK® Guide
Project Management (PM)
• Project management includes work processes
that initiate, plan, execute, and close work
• Work processes require tradeoffs among the
scope, quality, cost, and schedule of the project
• PM includes administrative tasks for planning,
documenting, and controlling work
• PM includes leadership tasks for visioning,
motivating, and promoting work associates.
Project management – “the application of knowledge, skills,
tools and techniques to project activities to meet project
requirements.” PMBOK® Guide
History of Project Management
• PM emerged as a formal discipline in the 1950s
• Techniques for planning and controlling
schedules and costs were developed for huge
aerospace and construction projects in the
1950s and 1960s
• Early PM involved determining project schedules
based on project activities
• Manufacturing, research and development,
government, and construction projects refined
management techniques
History of Project Management
• Software companies offered software for
planning and controlling project costs and
schedules in the 1980s and 1990s
• Risk management techniques for complex
projects have been applied to less complex
projects
• Communication and leadership have been
recognized as playing a major role in project
success
What Makes Projects Different?
• Projects vs. operations
• Soft skills and hard skills
• Authority and responsibility
Projects vs. Operations
• Projects are temporary
• Projects have both routine and unique
characteristics
• Operations consist of the ongoing work needed
to ensure that an organization continues to
function effectively
Soft Skills and Hard Skills
• Soft skills include communication and leadership
activities.
• Hard skills include risk analysis, quality control,
scheduling, and budgeting work
• A successful project manager needs both soft
and hard skills along with the judgment of when
each is more necessary.
• Training, experience, and mentoring are
instrumental in developing necessary skills.
Authority and Responsibility
• Projects are most effectively managed with one
person being assigned accountability
• Project managers negotiate with functional
managers
• A project manager needs to develop strong
communication and leadership skills in order to
persuade subordinates to focus on the project
when other work also beckons.
Functional manager – “someone with management authority
over an organizational unit.… The manager of any group that
actually makes a product or performs a service.” PMBOK® Guide
Project Life Cycle
• All projects go through predictable stages called
a project life cycle.
• Life cycle allows for control to assure that the
project is proceeding in a satisfactory manner
and that the results are likely to serve its
customer’s intended purpose
Project life cycle – “a collection of generally sequential project
phases whose name and number are determined by the control
needs of the organization or organizations involved in the
project.” PMBOK® Guide
customer – “the person or organization that will use the project’s
product or service or result.” PMBOK® Guide
Project Life Cycle Stages
• Initiating—when a project is proposed, planned at a
high level, and key participants commit to it in broad
terms
• Planning—starts after the initial commitment, includes
detailed planning, and ends when all stakeholders
accept the entire detailed plan
• Executing—includes authorizing, executing, monitoring,
and controlling work until the customer accepts the
project deliverables
• Closing—all activities after customer acceptance to
ensure project is completed, lessons are learned,
resources are reassigned, and contributions are
recognized.
Project Life Cycle Stages
• Most companies insist that a project must pass
an approval of some kind to move from one
stage to the next
• The project life cycle is highly formalized and
very specific
Project Life Cycle Stages
Life Cycle for Quality Improvement
Projects
Project Goals and Constraints
• Projects are undertaken to accomplish specific
goals
• Scope and quality measure performance and
should result in outputs that satisfy customers
• Consider scope and quality subject to
constraints of time and cost
Scope – “the sum of all products, services, and results to
be provided by the project.” PMBOK® Guide
Quality – “the degree to which a set of inherent
characteristics fulfills requirements.” PMBOK® Guide
Project Goals and Constraints
• Obstacles or challenges may limit the ability to
perform
• Opportunities may allow projects to exceed
original expectations.
• Project Managers (PMs) decide which goals and
constraints take precedence
Project Customer Tradeoff Matrix
Understanding Projects
• Several frameworks that help a person understand
project management include:
– The professional association Project Management Institute
(PMI);
– The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)
– How companies use project management as a system
– What constitutes both project success and failure
– The range of project types commonly used in business today
– The hierarchical manner in which portfolios, programs, projects
and sub-projects are organized.
The Project Management Institute
• The largest professional organization
• Publishes and regularly updates A Guide to the
Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide)
• Established a professional certification - Project
Management Professional (PMP®)
• Established a second certification—Certified
Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK®)
• Consists of a project life cycle, five process
groups, and nine knowledge areas
Project management process group – “a logical grouping
of the project management processes described in the
PMBOK® Guide.… Collectively, these five process groups
are required for any project, have clear dependencies, and
must be performed in the same sequence on each project,
independent of the application area or the specifics of the
applied project life cycle.” PMBOK® Guide
PMBOK® Process Groups
Initiating—“defines and authorizes a project or a project
phase”
Planning—“defines and refines objectives and plans
actions to achieve objectives”
Executing—“directs and manages people and other
resources to accomplish project work”
Monitoring and controlling—“collects data and checks
progress to determine any needed corrective actions”
Closing—“formalized acceptance of project outcomes and
ending the project”
PMBOK® Knowledge Areas
Scope management—“determining all the work and only the work necessary
for project completion;”
Time management—“defining, sequencing, estimating duration, and resourcing
work activities as well as developing and controlling the schedule;”
Cost management—“planning, estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs;”
Quality management—“quality planning, assurance, and control;”
Human Resources management—“acquiring, developing, and managing the
project team;”
Communications management—“generating, collecting, disseminating,
storing, and disposing of timely and appropriate project information;”
Risk management—“risk identification, analysis, response planning, and
monitoring and control;”
Procurement management—“purchasing or acquiring product and services as
well as contract management;” and
Integration management—“unifying and coordinating the other knowledge
areas by creating and using tools such as charters, project plans, and change
control.”
Project Management System
• Identify potential projects
• Prioritize among the potential projects
– What value does each potential project bring to the
organization?
– Are the demands of performing each project
understood?
– Are the resources needed to perform the project
available?
– Is there enthusiastic support both from the external
customers and from one or more internal champions?
– Which projects will best help the organization achieve
its goals?
Successful Projects
• Project success is creating deliverables that include all of the agreed
upon features
• Outputs please the project’s customers.
• Customers use the outputs effectively as they do their work (meet
quality goals)
• The project should be completed on schedule and on budget (meet
time and cost constraints).
• Completed without heroics
• People who work on the project should learn new skills and/or refine
• existing skills.
• Organizational learning should take place and be captured for future
projects.
• Reap business-level benefits such as development of new products,
increased market share, increased profitability, decreased cost, etc.
Why Projects Fail
• Not enough resources are available for project
completion.
• Not enough time has been given to the project.
• Project expectations are unclear.
• Changes in the scope are not understood or
agreed upon by all parties involved.
• Stakeholders disagree regarding expectations
for the project.
• Adequate project planning is not used.
Types of Projects
• Classifying by industry
• Classifying by size
• Classifying by timing of determination of project
scope
• Classifying by application
Classifying by Industry
• Projects in
different
industries often
have unique
requirements
• PMI specific
interest groups
Classifying by Size
• Large projects often require more
detailed planning and control
Classifying by Timing of
Determination of Project Scope
• How early in the project the project manager and
team are likely to be able to determine what the
project scope will be
• All projects require planning and control
• The art of project management deals with when
to use certain techniques, how much detail to
use, and how to tailor the techniques to the
needs of a specific project.
Scalability of Project Tools
• All projects require
– Determination of the wants and needs of the
customer(s)
– Understanding of the amount of work involved
– Determination of a budget and schedule
– Decisions about available workers and who will do
which tasks
– Management until the owner accepts the project
results
• Projects are scaled up or down to meet the
complexity of the task
Portfolios
• Multiple projects may be underway at the same
time
• Each project in the portfolio should have a direct
impact on the organization.
Portfolio – “a logical grouping of the project management
processes described in the PMBOK® Guide.… Collectively, these
five process groups are required for any project, have clear
dependencies, and must be performed in the same sequence on
each project, independent of the application area or the specifics
of the applied project life cycle.” PMBOK® Guide
Portfolios
• Portfolios should be balanced including:
– large and small projects
– high-risk high-reward and low-risk projects
– projects that can be completed quickly and some that
will take substantial time to finish.
Programs
• Programs may last as long as the organization lasts
• Specific projects within a program are of limited duration
• Project managers are concerned with the tradeoffs of cost,
schedule, scope, and quality on their individual projects
• The program manager is concerned with making tradeoffs
between projects for the maximum benefit of the entire
program.
Program – “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated
way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them
individually. Programs may include elements of work outside of the
scope of discrete projects in the program.” PMBOK® Guide
Programs
• Programs deal with a specific group of related
projects
• A portfolio deals with all of an organization’s
projects.
• A portfolio can include multiple programs as well
as multiple projects.
• Portfolios and programs are managed at a level
above the typical project manager
Projects and Subprojects
• A large project may be composed of multiple
subprojects
Subproject – “a smaller portion of the overall project created
when a project is subdivided into more manageable components or
pieces.” PMBOK® Guide
Portfolio, Program, Project, and
Subproject Relationships
Project Roles
• Project Executive-Level Roles
• Project Management-Level Roles
• Project Associate-Level Roles
Project Executive-Level Roles
• The steering team
– The top leader (CEO) and his/her direct reports
– Select, prioritize, and resource projects in accordance
with the organization’s strategic planning
– Ensure that accurate progress is reported and
necessary adjustments are made.
Project Executive-Level Roles
• The chief projects officer
– Keeper, facilitator, and improver of the project
management system
– Responsible for project standards, methods, training,
documentation
– Either on the leadership team or one rung down in the
organization
Project Management Office (PMO) – “an organizational body or
entity assigned various responsibilities related to the centralized and
coordinated management of those projects within its domain. The
responsibilities of the PMO can range from providing project
management support functions to actually being responsible for the
direct management of a project.” PMBOK® Guide
Project Executive-Level Roles
• The sponsor
– The sponsor is often a member of the leadership team
– Has a strong interest in having the project succeed
– Some financial control
– Clout in the organization
– The power of influence
– Takes an active role in chartering the project and reviewing
progress reports
– Takes a behind-the-scenes role in mentoring and assisting the
project manager throughout the project life.
Sponsor – “the person or group that provides the financial resources,
in cash or in kind, for the project.” PMBOK® Guide
Project Management-Level Roles
• Project manager
– Directly accountable for the project results, schedule,
and budget
– The main communicator
– Responsible for the planning and execution of the
project
– Works on the project from start to finish.
– The project manager often must get things done
through the power of influence since his or her formal
power may be limited.
Project manager – “the person assigned by the performing
organization to achieve the project objectives.” PMBOK® Guide
Project Management-Level Roles
• Functional manager
– The department heads—the ongoing managers of the
organization
– Determine how the work of the project is to be
accomplished
– Supervise that work
– Negotiate with the project manager regarding which
workers are assigned to the project
Project Management-Level Roles
• Facilitator
– Helps the project manager with the process of
running meetings and making decisions
– Frees the project manager to concentrate on the
content of the project
– The facilitator concentrates on the process.
– A facilitator helps the PM understand organizational
politics and provides suggestions on how to handle
situations.
Project Management-Level Roles
• Senior customer representative
– Ensures that the needs and wants of the various
constituents in the customer’s organization are
identified and prioritized
– Ensures that project progress and decisions
continually support the customer’s desires.
Project Associate-Level Roles
• Core team member
– People assigned to a project from start to finish
– The core team does most of the planning and makes
most of the project level decisions.
– A small core team is ideal since people will then be
less likely to fight for turf.
– Projects often require help from other people during
busy times.
Project Associate-Level Roles
• Subject matter experts
– Temporary members that are brought on board during
busy times
– Used on an as-needed basis.
– Not present during the charter development and
signing
– May have neither dedication to nor detailed
knowledge of the project.
Overview of the Book
• Project management is both integrative and
iterative
• This book has three major parts
– Organizing and Initiating Projects
– Planning Projects
– Performing Projects
Part I - Organizing and Initiating
Projects
• Project management basics and organization
– Project selection and prioritization – Chapter 2
– Organizational structure, organizational culture,
project life cycle, and project management role –
Chapter 3
• Getting a project initiate
– Chartering projects – Chapter 4
Project charter – “a document issued by the project initiator or
sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project, and
provides the project manager with the authority to apply
organizational resources to project activities.” PMBOK® Guide
Part II – Planning Projects
• Identify project stakeholders, their wants and
needs, and how to prioritize decisions among
them – Chapter 5
• How to determine the project scope and outline
it in the work breakdown structure (WBS) –
Chapter 6
Work breakdown structure (WBS) – “a deliverable-oriented
hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project
team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required
deliverables. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project.
Each descending layer represents an increasingly detailed definition
of the project work.” PMBOK® Guide
Part II – Planning Projects
•
•
•
•
•
Scheduling projects – Chapter 7
Scheduling resources on projects – Chapter 8
Project budgeting – Chapter 9
Risk planning – Chapter 10
Project Quality – Chapter 11
Project schedule – “the planned dates for performing schedule
activities and the planned dates for meeting schedule milestones.”
PMBOK® Guide
Budget – “the approved estimate for the project or any work
breakdown structure component or any schedule activity.”
PMBOK® Guide
Part III – Performing Projects
•
•
•
•
Project supply chain management – Chapter 12
Performing projects – Chapter 13
Monitoring and controlling project work – Chapter 14
Controlling the human side and finishing projects –
Chapter 15
Monitor and control project work – ““the process of monitoring
and controlling the processes required to initiate, plan, execute,
and close a project to meet the performance objectives.….”
PMBOK® Guide
Close project – “the process of finalizing all activities across
all of the project process groups to formally close a project or
phase.” PMBOK® Guide
Summary
• A project is an organized set of work efforts undertaken
to produce a unique output subject to limitations of time
and resources such as money and people
• Project management includes work processes that
initiate, plan, execute, control, and close project work.
• Tradeoffs must be made between the scope, quality,
cost, and schedule
• All projects, regardless of size, complexity, or
application, need to be planned and managed.
• PMI® is a very large professional organization devoted
to promoting and standardizing project management
understanding and methods
Summary
• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide), is composed of five process groups:
initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling,
and closing along with nine knowledge areas: cost, time,
scope, quality, risk, communications, Human Resources,
procurement, and integration.
• Successful projects require an understanding of what
project success is and what drives it
• Successful projects require an understanding of project
failure and its major causes.
• Project management requires an understanding of the
various executive, managerial, and associate roles in
project management