Project Management Introduction
Chapter 1
Introduction
By
Dr. Doaa Saleh
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Project Management Introduction
Objectives
1. What is a project?
2. Why are projects important?
3. Project Life Cycles
4. Determinants of Project Success
5. Developing Project Management Maturity
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Project Management Introduction
Project
“A project is a unique venture with a beginning and end, conducted by
people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, schedule,
and quality.”
“A Projects is goal-oriented, involve the coordinated undertaking of
interrelated activities, are of finite duration, and are all, to a degree,
unique.”
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Project Management Introduction
Project
“A project is organized work toward a predefined goal or objective that
requires resources and effort, a unique (and therefore risky) venture
having a budget and schedule.
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Project Management Introduction
Project Elements
1. Projects are complex, one-time processes.
2. Projects are limited by budget, schedule, and resources.
3. Projects are developed to resolve a clear goal or set of goals.
4. Projects are customer-focused.
Project Management Introduction
Project vs. Process
• A process refers to ongoing, day-to-day activities in which an
organization engages while producing goods or services.
• Processes use existing systems, properties, and capabilities in a
continuous, fairly repetitive manner.
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Project Management Introduction
Process Project
Repeat process or product New process or product
Several objectives One objectives
Ongoing One shot-limited life
People are homogenous More homogenous
Well-established systems in place to Systems must be created to integrate
integrate efforts efforts
Greater certainty of performance, cost, Greater uncertainty of performance, cost,
schedule schedule
Part of line organization Outside of line organization
Bastions of established practice Violated established practice
Supports status quo Upsets status quo
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Project Management Introduction
Why Are Projects Important?
1. Shortened product life cycles.
2. Narrow product launch windows.
3. Increasingly complex and technical
products.
4. Emergence of global markets.
5. An economic period marked by low
inflation.
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Project Management Introduction
Project Life Cycles
A project life cycle refers to the stages in a project’s development.
They are important because they demonstrate the logic that governs a
project.
They help us develop our plans for carrying out the project.
They help us decide, for example, when we should devote resources to
the project, and how we should evaluate its progress, and so forth.
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Project Management Introduction
Project Life Cycles
A project life cycle refers to the stages in a project’s development. 11
Project Management Introduction
Determinants of Project Success
• Three criteria (or triple constraint) of project success:
1. Time the project should come in on or before its established schedule.
2. Budget Was the project completed within budget guidelines?
3. Performance to as conducting a “quality” check.
4. Client acceptance he client’s satisfaction with the completed project.
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Project Management Introduction
Determinants of Project Success
• Four Dimensions of Project Success Importance:
1. Project efficiency: Meeting budget and schedule expectations.
2. Impact on customer: Meeting technical specifications, addressing
customer needs, and creating a project that satisfies the client’s
needs.
3. Business success: Determining whether the project achieved
significant commercial success.
4. Preparing for the future: Determining whether the project opened
new markets or new product lines or helped to develop new
technology. 13
Project Management Introduction
Determinants of Project Success
Four Dimensions of Project Success Importance 14
Project Management Introduction
Developing Project Management Maturity
Project management maturity models are used to allow
organizations to benchmark the best practices of successful
project management firms.
Project management maturity models recognize that different
organizations are currently at different levels of sophistication
in their best practices for managing projects.
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Project Management Introduction
Developing Project Management Maturity
The purpose of benchmarking is to systematically manage the process
improvements of project delivery by a single organization over a
period of time.
Maturity models provide the necessary framework to
1. Analyze and critically evaluate current practices as they pertain to managing
projects,
2. Compare those practices against those of chief competitors or some general
industry standard, and
3. Define a systematic route for improving these practices.
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789174
202101.FCI.SDS321
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Project Management Introduction
Course Structure
Introduction
Projects and Strategy
Project Selection and Portfolio Management
Project Cost Estimation and Budgeting
Project Scheduling: Lagging, Crashing and Activity Networks
Project Scheduling: Networks, Duration estimation, and Critical Path
Risk Management
Resource Management
Project Evaluation and Control
Agile Project Management
Critical Chain Project Scheduling
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