MCPJ#1

MGT 6304, Managing Complex Projects 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Analyze the elements of performance measures in the context of the triple constraint. 1.1 Determine the project scope, including client requirements, within a given scenario.

Course/Unit

Learning Outcomes Learning Activity

1.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 1 Chapter 3, pp. 72–88, 103–107 Unit II Assignment

Required Unit Resources Chapter 1: An Introduction to Project Management Chapter 3: Project Planning, pp. 72–88, 103–107 Unit Lesson

Is That a New Car or a Complex Project? Every year the market is bombarded with new products ranging from software applications to electronic entertainment systems to the latest model car. The sheer volume of products and product updates can give the illusion that developing a wide array of products year after year is a simple endeavor. It is not, and it is the successful management of complex projects that contributes to this illusion. Consider for example the shiny new car in the driveway. A car is not just a single thing. A car is a complex integration of systems, subsystems, technologies, and underlying components.

UNIT I STUDY GUIDE The Project and the Plan

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While a company such as General Motors or Ford may roll out a new car model every year, what goes into that car likely took much longer than a single year to manufacture; furthermore, it required a remarkable amount of planning, forethought, and project management. A Look Under the Hood Deep in the interior of the car is the drivetrain consisting of an engine and a transmission. This major subsystem requires at least 3 to 5 years to develop. This means that the development of the engine must begin at least 3 years—and perhaps more—prior to the beginning of the manufacturing of the car itself. Because of this, project managers working on the development of the engine must already have an idea of what a car to be delivered at least 4 to 5 years in the future looks like. Since it takes time to develop the concept of the next-generation car, the analysis of the markets and required emission standards must be considered 5 to 7 years in advance. These are moving targets that are challenging to anticipate. This seems like a very complex scenario, but this is only the beginning of the management complexity. The engine will likely rely on components within the engine that must be developed in advance. Component development adds additional lead time to the development of the engine and the car. It is also important to understand that the components rely on underlying technologies that may not be sufficiently mature but are only in the concept stage. The new car and its components could be analogous to the layers within an onion. The first layer is the car. The second layer is the systems (such as drivetrain). The third layer is the components. The fourth layer is the underlying technologies. The complete sequence of interlocking projects looks something like this (see Table 1).

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Table 1

Layer Year 1 Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Year 7 Launch

Car XXXX XXXX

Systems XXXX XXXX XXXX

Components XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Technologies XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Automobile companies are observed to routinely run multiple projects that begin 5 to 7 years before completion. While such long-term projects are underway, automobile manufacturers must manage many other significant activities. The management of the market launch of current models, product planning project for future models, and research and development projects for the next generation of projects are examples of the broad array of projects that are all running simultaneously. On top of these important activities are layered various strategic initiatives that are organized as projects and designed to advance the long-term competitive advantage of the company. It is easy to imagine the potential for chaos to reign within this nearly overwhelming complexity. However, project management practices point the way for how to manage complex projects within a multi-project environment. These require a clear understanding of company strategy and direction, the discipline to follow process, and finally, the will to forgo taking on project activities for which resources are insufficient.

Beyond Product Companies An automobile company, therefore, has quite a challenge when it comes to balancing the needs of projects that produce deliverables for both existing and future projects. This is true for any company that develops complex products that utilize underlying components and technologies that require significant time, effort, and coordination to materialize. It is also true for other types of companies such as service companies that install equipment, develop and cut-over complex systems, and build homes and commercial construction. To provide an example, consider the construction of a hospital. The project manager is faced with the challenge of creating the design of the building; the specification of materials; and the sourcing of construction managers, workers, and equipment. The thousands of components and materials required for the hospital’s construction are planned well in advance and scheduled so that they arrive when needed. Many custom materials and assemblies are likely to be required, and these must be designed, planned, and developed. Each of these significant activities are projects that require project managers and significant coordination between those project managers.

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It Is Complicated What does this ever-increasing demand for shorter lifecycles for all forms of projects mean for project managers? It means that now more than ever project managers face the management of highly complicated projects. Further, it means that company executives will have many projects running, all at the same time, that compete for resources, funding, and management attention. To survive in this environment requires that project managers be able to do the following well:

1. Identify the project scope: The scope is what the project will deliver. This question may be asked: Why is scope definition so important in complicated projects? The reason is that projects in flux with many different moving parts such as changing requirements, funding concerns, and resource availability often create a situation where project managers lose track of what exactly it is that the project is supposed to deliver. Also, in a rapidly changing environment, it is all too easy for a project manager to jump directly into the schedule and create a task list. Per A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), a project manager first decides scope (what is delivered), and only then, the activities required to produce the project deliverables (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2017). Why do it this way? To prevent including activities in the schedule that do not lead to the production of project deliverables.

2. Manage the triple constraint: All projects are a balance of scope, schedule, and budget. A change in one links to a change in others. Returning once again to the importance of project scope, a project that is over budget or behind schedule may not be related to carelessness in schedule or budget management. Instead, it could be that project scope is too much or has grown beyond its original intent. An effective project manager understands that it takes more resources, more time, or both to deliver increased scope. If, on the other hand, the client insists on an earlier delivery, then this will require more resources or smaller scope. Each element of the triple constraint impacts the others. Project managers working within a highly complex project environment will understand this and will need to continuously monitor the triple constraint (PMI, 2017).

3. Manage resources: There are never enough resources to get the work of the project done. This is especially true in highly complex projects and in environments where multiple projects run at the same time. Project managers who succeed in this environment package the work in such a way that resources may complete work and then move on to other activities or other projects. This is an intensive coordination activity on the part of the project manager. Experienced project managers also realize that complex projects do not tend to improve when resources are added to activities at the last minute. This is because it takes time for human resources to get up to speed and understand the context of the work before they are able to contribute. This ramp-up period also takes away time from

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the other resources that are currently involved in the work. Finally, project managers who are successful at delivering successful projects understand that a schedule is not a schedule until it is resourced.

4. Manage risks: One way to think of project risk is anything that stands in the way of project success. The fundamental job of a project manager is to address those things that get in the way of successfully delivering on scope, schedule, and budget objectives. In some ways, the role of the project manager in the complex project environment resembles that of the airline pilot. The pilot steers the airplane from point A to point B through storms, turbulence, and headwinds and does so while interacting with complex navigation and control systems. Like the pilot, the project manager must have a high level of awareness so that apparently small and low-impact risks are caught and addressed prior to becoming more dangerous risks. This is even more essential in the complex project environment because activities involved in complex systems development include a significant number of intangibles including software, standards, protocols, use cases, and other abstractions. The role of software in project management has grown significantly during the last 50 years, and successful project managers respect it because it is invisible, and it includes a nearly infinite number of moving parts.

This course will provide the opportunity to gain some experience navigating a complex project while thinking about the project scope, the relationship between the elements of the triple constraint, resources, and risk. Finally, it is through the development and execution of the project plan where the project manager applies the required management skills and know-how.

Course Project Scenario In this course, you will be introduced to a project scenario beginning with Unit II. You will use the data associated with this scenario to carry out exercises and create plans. You will carry out the following in the project scenario (see Table 2): Table 2

1 Define the project.

2 Assess risk.

3 Estimate and plan the project.

4 Analyze the project duration, and make predictions about the schedule end date.

5 Measure progress.

6 Create a recovery plan.

Units II, IV, VI, and VIII will present elements of a project case study and ask you to develop the important elements and carry out key skills associated with a complex project.

Reference Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK®

Guide) (6th ed.).

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Suggested Unit Resources In order to access the following resource, click the link below. The below video segment shares the ways a production team develops a design for a new cake recipe. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Producer). (2002). New product development process (Segment 4 of 8)

[Video]. In Good enough to eat: Developing food products. Films on Demand. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPl aylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=49454&loid=180946

The transcript for this video can be found by clicking on “Transcript” in the gray bar to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database. Learning Activities (Nongraded) Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. Within the unit lesson, we discussed the ways in which product development is far more complex than it appears. Take a look around your home and/or on the internet at some of the latest products. What development decisions likely went into that design? How far in advance do you believe the development began? You may start to view these products in a new way!