project management report
jiafeng1
a200sam_week_2_slides.pptxEssential Skills for the Project Manager
A200SAM – week 2
Anmoal Thethi
Review of week 1
What are the key characteristics of a project?
In what ways is a project different from day to day work?
What is project management?
Project management focuses on controlling the introduction of the desired change. This involves:
Understanding the needs of stakeholders
Planning what needs to be done, when, by whom, and to what standards
Building and motivating the team
Coordinating the work of different people
Monitoring work being done
Managing any changes to the plan
Delivering successful results
www.apm.org.uk, accessed 20/9/2013
Research activity
Professional associations
APM – UK
PMI – US
IPMA – International PM Association
Research findings
Project lifecycle
Project lifecycle
A project is managed in phases or sequential stages
Acts as “a template to help a project manager structure work on a project” (Newton, 2009)
What is a project lifecycle?
Examples of project lifecycle
Initiation and definition
Planning
Execution and control
Closure
Concept
Feasibility
Detailed requirements
Solution design
Solutions build
Solutions implementation
Closure
Example A
Example B
Project lifecycle: it sector example
Source:http://empowered-teacher.com/book/export/html/100 Accessed 27/1/2013
Project lifecycle: Live example
Source:http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/cit/Project/ProjectManagement/Pages/Phases.aspx
Accessed 27/1/2013
PROJECT LIFECYCLE: EFFORT VS TIME
Source:http ://www.ukoln.ac.uk/nof/support/manual/project-management/ Accessed 27/1/2013
PROJECT LIFE CYCLES AND THEIR EFFECTS
Source: Pinto J, Project Management, Achieving competitive advantage, Pearson 2013
Gates and milestones
Phases/stages are punctuated by gates and milestones
These may correspond to completion of one or more project deliverables
e.g. in the development of a new concept car a milestone might be the completion of the engine design
These milestones function as opportunities to review project progress and enable decisions about whether to continue with the project (‘Go/No go’ decision points)
e.g. is there still a business case or need for the project?
The waterfall project life cycle
Fast tracking to shorten project duration
Source: Gardiner (2005)
Pros and cons of the project lifecycle
Pros
Provides consistency
Common vocabulary for project team and organisation
Clear structure
Improves control
Cons
Potential to constrain activity if not used flexibly
‘Over-bureaucratise’ small projects
Requires use of common vocabulary
Project activity
Project concept
Trip to Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford to see David Tennant in Richard II
Project sponsor: Anmoal Thethi
There is no upfront funding for this project
Initial steps in project planning
What are the first steps you would take in planning this project?
What phases would you identify in the project lifecycle?
Project constraints
Project constraints
All projects operate with constraints.
For example:
£9.3bn budget
July to August 2012
Venues and event management
for 26 sports and housing for athletes
from more than 200 countries
The Project Triangle
In the project triangle, also called the iron triangle, there are three key constraints (triple constraint):
Cost
Time Quality
The Project Triangle
In the project triangle, also called the iron triangle, there are three key constraints (triple constraint):
Cost
Time Scope
Impact of changes
Changes and constraints
interact with each other:
Time Scope
Building a wall:
Scope: 2m (h) by 5m (l)
Time: 1 week
Cost: £1000
Bricklayer injured after two days’ work.
Option 1: await his/her recovery
Cost
Impact of changes
Changes and constraints
interact with each other:
Time Scope
Building a wall:
Scope: 2m (h) by 5m (l)
Time: 1 week
Cost: £1000
Bricklayer injured after two days’ work.
Option 1: await his/her recovery
Option 2: hire another bricklayer at short notice
Cost
Impact of changes
Changes and constraints
interact with each other:
Time Scope
Building a wall:
Scope: 2m (h) by 5m (l)
Time: 1 week (fixed deadline)
Cost: £1000
Revised scope: 3m (h) by 5m (l)
Time: 1 week (fixed deadline)
Cost: £1250
Cost
Impact of changes
Changes and constraints
interact with each other:
Time Scope
London 2012 Olympics
budget changes:
Original budget £2.4bn
Revised 2007 budget £9.3bn
Revision required due to:
additional security
regeneration of Lea Valley
overlooked VAT cost
Actual spend £8.9bn
Cost
Evolution of the model
Does using triple constraint limit our understanding of projects and their chances of success?
Led to development of numerous alternative models
Each new model adds to/amends the constraining factors
Eg the PMI’s PMBoK (4th ed) lists 6 project constraints (noting that this may not be the same list for every project)
A few examples...
Constraint models
Point for reflection
Do the new models reflect increasing complexity in projects and in the business environment, or are they merely more complex models?
Why are project constraints important to project managers?
A project manager must be aware of the impact that any proposed change will have on the project.
A project manager will:
evaluate the impact of making a change to the project
decide what action to take
recommend how to proceed to the sponsor/stakeholders (for a significant change)
or
accept/reject the change (for a minor change) and amend the project plan
Journal article reference
Analysis of the triple constraint model in IT/IS projects:
Atkinson, R (1999) Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to .. International Journal Of Project Management 17, 6 pp 337-342
Project activity
Project concept
Trip to Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford to see David Tennant in Richard II
Project sponsor: David Ellis
There is no upfront funding for this project
Initial steps in project planning
What are the first steps you would take in planning this project?
What phases would you identify in the project lifecycle?
What project constraints would you focus on?
Preparation for next week
Week 3
Lecture theme:
People in projects: the cast of characters
Reading:
Lock, D (2007) Project Management
Chapters 9 and 11
Gardiner, P.D. (2005) Project Management: A Strategic Planning Approach.
Chapter 5
For discussion: Journal article
Critically read the following journal article:
Eddie Fisher, What practitioners consider to be the skills and behaviours of an effective people project manager, International Journal of Project Management, Volume 29, Issue 8, December 2011, Pages 994-1002
[Note: article is available online and free-of-charge via the University’s Locate service http://locate.coventry.ac.uk]
NB We will be discussing Fisher’s
article next week
