Project Based
Management
15th
Udaya Gamage
November 2012
Description
Marks
out of
Weighted
average
Due Date
Assignment 1
100
5
28 Nov. 2012
Assignment 2
100
30
24 Dec. 2012
Assignment 3
100
65
4 Feb. 2012
Assignment 1
 Provide the following (no mark sheet is required)
 Cover sheet (showing student details, etc)
 Title or name of project
 Brief background of the project (100 words
approximately)
 Explanation of the project status.
•Is the project completed?
•Is it under way?
•Or is it yet to start?
 This is important in terms of your critical
analysis in assignments 2 and 3 (50 words)
 Justification of why the selected project is
suitable for analysis of the topics in assignments
2 and 3 (50 words approximately)
 Confirmation that you have a PMP available
for analysis in assignment 3.
Assignment 2
 Topic: The Project Business Case
 Word Length – 2500 approximately
 The cover or title page should have the following
Title
 author
 date
 student number
 Executive summary
 100 -200 words (does not form the part of
assignment count)
 Why the report was prepared
 How it is structured
 what are the important findings
 conclusions and recommendations
Assignment 2
 Table of contents (respective page numbers of)
 executive summary
 Introduction
 Main sections
 References
 Individual appendices
 Figures and tables
 Introduction
 100 Words
 Why the report has been prepared
 What project is being analyzed
 How the report is structured
Assignment 2
 Project Background
 100 words approximately
 Brief background of the project context
 Business case (should provide)
 Justification for undertaking a project
 Evaluating the benefits, cost and risk of
alternative options and the rationale for the
preferred solution
 Provide a critical analysis of the business case for
your chosen project to cover the points below.
In what ways does your project conform (or not)
to the definition of a project in the literature?
 Who (or what) is the ‘sponsor’ of your project?
 To what extent was a ‘business case’ created for
this project (or should have been)?
 In what ways are the benefits, cost and risk
evaluated as part of the business case (or should
have been)?
 In what way/s is the preferred solution justified
(or should have been)?
 In what way is management commitment and
approval for the investment obtained (or should
have been)?
Assignment 2
 Conclusions
 150 words approximately
 Lessons learned
 What findings are important for the
management in future projects
 What represent a threat to project success
 Recommendations
 150 words approximately
 How your project (or similar future projects)
should be managed in light of what you have
learned from your analysis.
Assignment 2
 List of references – (using the Harvard AGPS
system)
 There should be at least 15 references
 Use the e-Journals and eBooks available
from the library website
 Appendices
 Turnitin Originality Report
Assignment 3
 Topic: The Project Management Plan
 Word Length 3000 – 4000 approximately
 Consists of two parts
 body of the assignment and is a critical
analysis of the chosen PMP
 Appendix 1 which should be a practical
Project Management Plan
 The cover or title page should have the
following
Title
 author
 date
 student number
Assignment 3
 Part 1: Critical Analysis of the Project
Management Plan
 Executive summary
 200 -250 words (does not form the part of
assignment count)
 Why the report was prepared
 How it is structured
 what are the important findings
 conclusions and recommendations
 Assignment 3
 Table of contents (respective page numbers of)







executive summary
Introduction
Main sections
References
Individual appendices
Figures and tables
Introduction
 250 Words
 Why the report has been prepared
 What project is being analyzed
 How the report is structured
Assignment 3
 Project Background
 250 words approximately
 Brief background of the project context

Structure and the contents of the PMP
 1000 – 1500 approximately
 Provide a critical analysis of who is intended to
be the main audience of the PM plan?
 What do they need to know?
 How will they use the plan?
 What information needs to be provided?
 How should that information be provided?
 In what sequence?
 What does the theory say?
 What alternatives exist for the structure of a
PM plan (examine and compare a range of
theories and opinions here)?
Assignment 3
 Provide a critical analysis of how the PM
plan has been structured relative to what
theory suggests
 Justify why the respective components
have been included or explain why it should
have been structured differently.
 Contents of the PMP
 1000 – 1500 words
 Why has a project schedule been
included?
 Is it a meaningful document
 Was it prepared by the right people, does
it contain the right information, etc.?
Assignment 3
 Conclusions
 250 words approximately
 Summarize your findings from the analysis of
your project management plan
 What did you find out about the project plan?
 Does it conform to the recognized theory?
 What aspects are important and are of
significance to project outcomes?
 What are its strengths and its weaknesses?
Assignment 3
 Recommendations
 250 words approximately
 What are your recommendations flowing from
this analysis with regard to the PMP?
 What changes should be made to the PMP for
this project (or similar future projects)?
 Address the shortcomings identified in the
conclusions
 focus on recommendations related to the PMP
and not on the project itself.
 List of references
 Appendices
Assignment 3
 Part 2: Appendix 1 – The PMP
 Should include the following
 project background, including an
overview, brief description and a statement
of objectives of the project
 a summary of the management approach
to be taken, who will manage the project, to
whom do they report, how will project
governance be achieved, etc.
 detailed sections on the various aspects of
the project that need to be managed (scope,
time, cost, etc.)
 additional information or documents to
support the above
Turnitin Originality Report
What is a project?

Unique
 Novel
 Transient
 How do you differentiate this with normal
business?
 delivering objectives with constraints of
time, cost, and quality
 What is a temporary organization in PM? Ex. of
supertanker and flotilla of Yachts
How can we categorize projects? Runners,
Repeaters, Strangers, and aliens
 What is the difference between the outcome/output
of a project and the desired performance
improvement? Ex, of A bridge across the Yangtze river
 What do you think about the owner contractor
model in a project?
 Core functions of PM (+ 2, risk and
commitment of stakeholders need to be
managed)
Study table 1.2 of turner for tools and techniques of
PM
 Scope managed thro’ product breakdown
structure
 Organization managed thro’ organization
breakdown structure
Quality managed thro’ control techniques
Cost is managed thro’ cost breakdown structure
 Time managed thro, networks and bar charts
(CPA, CPM, and PERT)
 Management of the project
 second dimension of the structured approach
 The project life cycle (stages thro’ vision to
reality))
 The management process (management of
stages
 Five steps of the cycle
 Concept
 Feasibility
 Design
 Execution
 Close-out
 Management process is derived from the ten step
problem solving cycle (refer table 1.4 and figure 1.6)
 The management process (each stage of the PM to
be executed)

 Project Management is Fractal management,
Discuss?
 The levels, third and final dimension
 the integrative level, (project definition report,
functional design, and flow chart)
 The strategic and administrative level
(milestones, responsibilities, and the system
design)
 The tactical or operational level ( activity
schedule, responsibility chart, and detailed
design)
 Read on project management as sailing a Yacht
 Micro-level
 Macro-level

Objectives
 Define the steps and processes necessary to move the
project forward from a conceptual idea to a meaningful
change management project
 Develop an initial project charter for sponsor decisionmaking so that more detailed investigations can be
undertaken
 Develop business cases necessary to ensure the project
is consistent with the sponsor’s objectives and goals
 Define the scope and nature of the proposed project to
allow more detailed planning to take place for sponsor
commitment.
Figure 3.1: Project management process interactions
(Source: PMI 2008, p. 42)
The project charter
The three Ws – why, what and
when
 The three Hs – how much, hazards
and how
 The four Cs – critical success
factors, communication plan, collection
of knowledge and commitment.

The business case

What the project is
 Why it should be done
 What options have been considered?
 How much will it cost?
 How will it be done?
 What are the risks?
Gambles (2009) provides some clear
guidelines on the purpose of a business
case and how to go about it.
 Confirm that the business case is robust – that is,
in principle it meets business need, is affordable,
achievable, with appropriate options explored and
likely to achieve value for money.
 Establish that the feasibility study has been
completed satisfactorily and that there is a
preferred way forward
 Ensure that there is internal and external
authority, if required, and support for the project.
 Establish that quality plans for the project and its
products are in place
 Ensure that the major risks have been identified and
outline risk management plans have been developed.
 Establish that the project is likely to deliver its business
goals and that it supports wider business change, where
applicable.
 Confirm that the scope and requirements specifications are
realistic, clear and unambiguous.
 Ensure that the full scale, intended outcomes, timescales
and impact of relevant external issues have been considered.
Ensure that there are plans for the next stage.
 Confirm planning assumptions and that the project team
can deliver the next stage.
 Confirm that overarching and internal business and
technical strategies have been taken into account.
 Stephen Wearne’s life cycle for industrial projects
 Several versions of the project life cycle set the
project within the life cycle of the product
 Refer fig. 11.1 and table 11.1 project life cycle used
by the World Bank
 Harold Kerzner
 Proposes a model addressing the life cycle of the
product produced by the new asset – classical
marketing view
 Refer fig. 11.2
Where are we now?
 The Business Case completed
 Articulated the project brief or Charter to key
sponsors
 Developed guidelines and constraints (risks)
 What is next?
 Firm expectations of the key sponsors will result
on
 What the outcome will be
 When it will be delivered
 How it will be delivered
 Who will deliver it
 What resources will be consumed
 What benefits will be delivered
 So the next stage is to plan to deliver the
Business Case
What should we do in the planning stage?
 Define organizational unit that have project responsibility
 What finances that organization can afford
 What processes will take place to ensure that the project
happens with the least fuss and the least exposure to risk
 How the end benefits will be measured to demonstrate
project success or failure
PMP
 Inputs required to create a comprehensive project
management plan (PMP)
 What processes must be undertaken
 What the outcomes provide for further decisionmaking and implementation purposes
 What is planning phase? Initiating a good idea into a
final out come
Project integration steps – a scalable methodology
guide (Planning Inputs)
 Area ( major investment, significant investment, moderate
investment, minor investment)
 Project Charter (define responsibilities, describe specific
objectives, express commitments of staffing, etc.)
 Life Cycle Phase and Milestones (define event based
management, link them to final deliverables etc.)
 Project Stakeholders (prepare and update a structured
stakeholder analysis, quality management plan, risk management
plan etc.)
 The Project Plan (produce an integrated family of documents
defining project activities)
 Project Management Methodology (prepare PMP describing
methodology, reviews, baseline controls etc.)
Planning Process
 Gray and Larson (2000) provide some guidelines for the
PMP development process as follows:
 Important planning decisions are made when answering
the following project-related questions:
 How will the project plan be developed?
 Who will develop the project plan, and how involved will
the customer be?
 What project management software package will be
used, if needed?
 Who on the project team will be responsible for entering
the planning information?
 Who will have input on the plan?
 What specifically are the roles and responsibilities of each
team member?
 How will team members be informed of decisions?
Understanding that cost, time, and quality (performance) are
all important, what are the priorities?
What are the deliverables of the project planning process?
What format is appropriate for each of these deliverables
(e.g., milestone charts)
 Who will approve and certify at the completion of each
deliverable?
 Who receives each deliverable
Planning Outcomes
 Project Management Plan
 PMP provides information
 How the project will be managed, as well as
 How the product or service itself will be produced
 PMP is a document used to
 Guide project execution
 Document project planning assumptions
 Document project planning decisions
 Facilitate communications among stakeholders
 Define key management reviews as to content, extent, &
timing
 Provide a baseline for progress measurement & project
control.
Contents of PMP (Barkley, 2000 suggests)
 Control points, for instance, stage-gateway reviews, to
ensure that management authorizes movement from one
phase or stage to another
 reporting and monitoring strategies, including the use of
earned value to integrate cost, schedule, and quality
performance, which should be made explicit
 The project management processes selected by the
project management team
 The level of implementation of each selected process
 The descriptions of the tools and techniques to be used
for accomplishing those processes
 How work will be executed to accomplish the project
objectives
 How changes will be monitored and controlled
How configuration management will be performed
 How integrity of the performance measurement baselines
will be maintained and used
 The need and techniques for communication among
stakeholders
 The selected project life cycle and, for multi-phase
projects, the associated project phases
 Key management reviews for content, extent, and timing
to facilitate addressing open issues and pending decisions.
 How the selected processes will be used to manage the
specific project, including the dependencies and
interactions among those processes, and the essential
inputs and outputs

PMP may include in summary
 Project scope management plan

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Schedule management plan
Cost management plan
Quality management plan
Process improvement plan
Staffing management plan
Communication management plan
Risk management plan
Procurement management plan.

Structure of PMP
 Overview or executive summary – a brief description of
the project and its deliverables, and a list of major
milestones
 Objectives – a detailed description of the project’s
deliverables and outcomes, (Mission Statement)
 General approach – where technical and managerial
approaches are defined
 Contractual - where the procurement process is
described, and the specific legal aspects defined
 Schedule – an outline of all schedules and milestones,
using an action plan based on a WBS
 Resources – estimates of capital and operating
expenses.
 Personnel – describing the project work force, and
requirements for special skills, expertise etc.
 Evaluation methods – describing evaluation methods
and standards for the completed project.
 Potential problems – identifying any likely risk events
that could adversely affect the project.
Hard Skills of Project management

Scope may be defined
 Product breakdown structure (a cascade of products, subproducts, assemblies and components)
 Organization breakdown structure (a cascade of resource types,
skill types or activities
 Work breakdown structure (a cascade of the products and work
activities),and/or
 Some other form which comprehensively defines products and
activities