Project Management
Introduction to Project Management
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Learning Objectives
• Understand the growing need for better project
management, especially for information technology (IT)
projects
• Explain what a project is, provide examples of IT
projects, list various attributes of projects, and describe
the triple constraint of project management
• Describe project management and discuss key elements
of the project management framework, including project
stakeholders, the project management knowledge areas
and project success indicators
1-2
Learning Objectives
• Discuss the relationship between project,
program, and portfolio management and
the contributions each makes to
enterprise success
• Understand the role of project managers
by describing what they do, what skills
they need, and career opportunities for IT
project managers
1-3
Motivation for Studying Information
Technology (IT) Project Management
• IT Projects have a terrible track record, as described in
the What Went Wrong?
• A 1995 Standish Group study (CHAOS) found that only
16.2% of IT projects were successful in meeting scope,
time, and cost goals; over 31% of IT projects were
canceled before completion
• A PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that overall half
of all projects fail and only 2.5% of corporations
consistently meet their targets for scope, time, and cost
goals for all types of project.
1-4
Advantages of Using Formal
Project Management
• Better control of financial, physical, and human
resources
• Improved customer relations
• Shorter development times
• Lower costs
• Higher quality and increased reliability
• Higher profit margins
• Improved productivity
• Better internal coordination
• Higher worker morale
1-5
What Is a Project?
• A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken
to create a unique product, service, or result”
• Projects end when their objectives have been
reached or the project has been terminated
• Projects can be large or small and take a short
or long time to complete
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Project Attributes
• A project
– has a unique purpose
– is temporary
– requires resources, often from various areas
– should have a primary customer and a sponsor
• The project sponsor usually provides the
direction and funding for the project
– involves uncertainty
1-7
Project and Program Managers
• Project managers work with project sponsors,
project team, and other people involved in a
project to meet project goals
• Program: group of related projects managed in
a coordinated way to obtain benefits and
control not available from managing them
individually
• Program managers oversee programs; often act
as bosses for project managers
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The Triple Constraint of Project
Management
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What is Project Management?
• Project management is “the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to
project activities to meet project
requirements”
• Project managers strive to meet the triple
constraint (project scope, time, and cost
goals) and also facilitate the entire process to
meet the needs and expectations of project
stakeholders
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Project Management Framework
Key Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers
must develop. Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10
knowledge areas
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Project Stakeholders
• Stakeholders are the people involved in or
affected by project activities
• Stakeholders include
– the project sponsor
– the project manager
– the project team
– support staff (Technical staff)
– customers
– suppliers
1-12
Project Success Indicators
• There are several ways to define project
success:
– The project met scope, time, and cost goals
– The project satisfied the customer/sponsor
– The results of the project met its main
objective
– providing a good return on investment
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Requirements for Projects to Succeed
1. User involvement
2. Executive support
3. Clear business objectives
4. Emotional maturity
5. Optimizing scope
6. Agile process
7. Project management expertise
8. Skilled resources
9. Execution
10. Tools and infrastructure
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What the Winners Do…
• Recent research findings show that companies that
excel in project delivery capability:
– Use an integrated project management toolbox
(i.e. use standard/advanced PM tools)
– Grow project leaders, emphasizing business and
soft skills
– Develop a streamlined project delivery process
– Measure project progress using metrics, like
customer satisfaction or return on investment
1-15
Program and Project Portfolio
Management
• A program is “a group of related projects managed in
a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually”
• A program manager provides leadership and
direction for the project managers heading the
projects within the program
• Examples of common programs in the IT field include
infrastructure, applications development, and user
support
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Project Portfolio Management
• What is Portfolio Management? A portfolio is a collection
of projects, programs sub portfolios, and operations that
are grouped together to facilitate effective management
of that work to meet strategic business objectives.
• Organizations manage their portfolios based on specific
goals.
• senior management teams typically take on the
responsibility of portfolio management for any
organization.
• Portfolio management entails managing a collection of
programs and projects in the portfolio.
Project Portfolio Management
• This includes weighing the value of each
project, or potential project, against the
portfolio's strategic objectives.
• Portfolio management also concerns monitoring
active projects for adherence to objectives,
balancing the portfolio among the other
investments of the organization, and assuring
the efficient use of resources.
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Project Management Vs Project Portfolio
Management
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Project Portfolio Process Steps
1. Establish a project council
2. Identify project categories and criteria
3. Collect project data
4. Assess resource availability
5. Reduce the project and criteria set
6. Prioritize the projects within categories
7. Select the projects to be funded and held in
reserve
8. Implement the process
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Step 1: Establish a Project Council
• Senior management
• The project managers of major projects
• The head of the Project Management
Office
• Particularly relevant general managers
• Those who can identify key opportunities
and risks facing the organization
• Anyone who can derail the PPP later on
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Step 2: Identify Project Categories and
Criteria
• Derivate projects
• Platform projects
• Breakthrough projects
• R&D projects
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3. Collect Project Data
• Assemble the data
• Document assumptions
• Screen out weaker projects
• The fewer projects that need to be
compared and analyzed, the easier the
work of the council
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4. Assess Resource Availability
• Assess both internal and external
resources
• Assess labor conservatively
• Timing is particularly important
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5. Reduce the Project and Criteria Set
• Organization’s goals • Use strengths
• Have competence • Synergistic
• Market for offering • Dominated by
• How risky the project is another
• Potential partner • Has slipped in
desirability
• Right resources
• Good fit
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6. Prioritize the Projects Within Categories
• Apply the scores and criterion weights
• Consider in terms of benefits first and
resource costs second
• Summarize the returns from the projects
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7. Select Projects to be Funded and Held in
Reserve
• Determine the mix of projects across the
categories
• Leave some resources free for new
opportunities
• Allocate the categorized projects in rank
order
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8. Implement the Process
• Communicate results
• Repeat regularly
• Improve process
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The Role of the Project Manager
• Job descriptions vary, but most include
responsibilities like planning, scheduling,
coordinating, and working with people to
achieve project goals
• Remember that 97% of successful projects
were led by experienced project managers,
who can often help influence success factors
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Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies
for Project Managers
1. People skills
2. Leadership
3. Listening
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent
5. Strong at building trust
6. Verbal communication
7. Strong at building teams
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management
9. Critical thinking, problem solving
10. Understands, balances priorities
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Different Skills Needed in Different Situations
• Large projects: Leadership, relevant prior
experience, planning, people skills, verbal
communication, and team-building skills were
most important
• High uncertainty projects: Risk management,
expectation management, leadership, people
skills, and planning skills were most important
• Very novel projects: Leadership, people skills,
having vision and goals, self confidence,
expectations management, and listening skills
were most important
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Importance of Leadership Skills
• Effective project managers provide leadership
by example
• A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-
picture objectives while inspiring people to
reach those goals
• A manager deals with the day-to-day details of
meeting specific goals
• Project managers often take on the role of
both leader and manager
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Project Management Lifecycle
Definition Planning Execution Closure
Key Purpose
Propose a project to senior management Propose a project in more detail, and outline a Do the work described in the Project Plan, Shut down the project in a controlled manner
with a brief written document to establish a clear approach for executing the project in a aligned with the Schedule and Budget
shared understanding of the proposal before Plan, Schedule, and Budget
writing a Plan, Schedule,
and Budget
Key Questions
Is this the right project? How will the project achieve its objectives? How is project work progressing? Is the work of the project complete?
What results should it achieve? When will the project finish? What issues and risks does the project face, Did the project achieve its
How will success be measured? Who will do what? and how should these be managed? results/outcomes?
What will it cost? How much is the project actually costing? What did the team learn that could
How will risks/issues be managed? help other projects?
Where do project staff go next?
Key Activities
Understand stakeholder interests and Thoroughly plan the project activities, Mobilize the team to execute the Project Demonstrate that the project is complete
expectations schedule, and resource requirements Plan Assess the success of the project
Establish a shared high-level Provide more detailed information to senior Control the execution of the Project Plan Undertake administrative close-out
understanding of the proposed project management for discussion and approval Communicate with stakeholders Transfer knowledge to the permanent
and its intended results Report project status organization
Update the Project Plan, Schedule, Budget, Support departing staff
and Business Case as needed
Key Deliverables
Project Definition Document and/or Project Plan Project Manual Final Acceptance Document
Business Case Project Schedule Status Reports Lessons Learned Document
Project Budget Risk, Issue, and Change Logs Project Archives
Updated Plans, Schedules, Budgets
Moving to the Next Phase
When your Project Definition Document When your Project Plan, Schedule, and As project deliverables near completion, When this phase is complete, the project
and/or Business Case are approved by Budget are approved by senior management, move to the Close Phase is finished
senior management, move to the Plan Phase move to the Implement Phase
The Project Life Cycle
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Project Definition / Initiation
• Projects in Contemporary Organizations
• Strategic Management and Project Selection
• The Project Manager
• Managing Conflict and the Art of Negotiation
• The Project in the Organizational Structure
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Project Planning
• Propose a project in more detail, and
outline a clear plan for executing the
project in a plan
• Project planning involves:
– Identifying project activities
– Budgeting: Estimating costs and risks
– Scheduling
– Resource allocation
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Project Execution
• During project implementation, monitor
whether activities described in the
project plan aligns to the schedule and
budget:
• Other activities in this phase include :
– Project Control
– Project Auditing
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Project Closure
• Demonstrate the project is complete
and shutdown it in a controlled manner
• Assess the success of the project
• Transfer knowledge to the permanent
organization
• Support departing staff
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