Project Management

Project management is the discipline of managing all the different resources and
aspects of the project in such a way that the resources will deliver all the output that is
required to complete the project within the defined scope, time, and cost constraints.

Project
● A​ project​ is a series of tasks that need to be completed in order to reach a
specific outcome.

● A project can also be defined as a set of inputs and outputs required to achieve a
particular goal.

● Projects can range from simple to complex and can be managed by one person
or a hundred.

● Projects are often described and delegated by a manager or executive. They go

over their expectations and goals and it's up to the team to manage logistics and
execute the project in a timely manner.

● Sometimes deadlines can be given or a time limitation.

● For good project productivity, some teams break the project up into individual
tasks so they can manage accountability and utilize team strengths.

Characteristics of Projects
1. A single definable purpose, end-item or result. This is usually specified in terms
of cost, schedule and performance requirements.

2. Every project is unique. It requires the doing of something different, something

that was not done previously. Even in what are often called “routine” projects
such as home construction, the variables such as terrain, access, zoning laws,
labour market, public services and local utilities make each project different. A
project is a one-time, once-off activity, never to be repeated exactly the same
way again.

3. Projects are temporary activities. A project is an ad hoc organization of staff,

material, equipment and facilities that is put together to accomplish a goal. This
 goal is within a specific time-frame. Once the goal is achieved, the organization
created for it is disbanded or sometimes it is reconstituted to begin work on a
new goal (project).

4. Projects cut across organizational lines. Projects always cut across the regular
organizational lines and structures within a firm. They do this because the project
needs to draw from the skills and the talents of multiple professions and
departments within the firm and sometimes even from other organizations. The
complexity of advanced technology often leads to additional project difficulties, as
they create task interdependencies that may introduce new and unique
problems.

5. Projects involve unfamiliarity. Because a project differs from what was previously
done, it also involves unfamiliarity. And oft time a project also encompasses new
technology and, for the organization/firm undertaking the project, these bring into
play significant elements of uncertainty and risk.

6. The organization usually has something at stake when undertaking a project. The
unique project “activity” may call for special scrutiny or effort because failure
would jeopardize the organization/firm or its goals.

7. A project is the process of working to achieve a goal. During the process,

projects pass through several distinct phases, which form and are called the
project life cycle. The tasks, people, organizations, and other resources will
change as the project moves from one phase to the next. The organizational
structure and the resource expenditures build with each succeeding phase; peak;
and then decline as the project nears completion.

8. Temporary. This key characteristic means that every project has a finite start and
a finite end. The start is the time when the project is initiated and its concept is
developed. The end is reached when all objectives of the project have been met
(or unmet if it’s obvious that the project cannot be completed – then it’s
terminated).

9. Unique Deliverable(s). Any project aims to produce some deliverable(s) which

can be a product, service, or some another result. Deliverables should address a
problem or need analyzed before project starts.

10. Progressive Elaboration. With the progress of a project, continuous

investigation and improvement become available, and all this allows producing
 more accurate and comprehensive plans. This key characteristic means that the
successive iterations of planning processes result in developing more effective
solutions to progress and develop projects.

11. Purposeful as it has a rational and measurable purchase

12. Logical as it has a certain life-cycle

13. Structured as it has interdependencies between its tasks and activities

14. Conflict as it tries to solve a problem that creates some kind of conflict

15. Limited by available resources

16. Risk as it involves an element of risk

Objectives of Project Management

● The ​successful development and implementation​ of all project’s procedures.

A project, regardless of its size, generally involves five distinctive phases of equal
importance: Initiation, Planning and Design, Construction and Execution,
Monitoring and Control, Completion. The smooth and uninterrupted development
and execution of all the above phases ensures the success of a project.

● Productive guidance, efficient communication and apt supervision​ of the

project’s team. Always keep in mind that the success or failure of a project is
highly dependent on teamwork, thus, the key to success is always in
collaboration. To this end, the establishment of good communication is of major
importance. On one hand, information needs to be articulated in a clear,
unambiguous and complete way, so everything is comprehended fully by
everyone and on the other hand, is the ability to be able listen and receive
constructive feedback.

● The ​achievement of the project’s main goal​ within the given constraints. The
most important constraints are, Scope in that the main goal of the project is
completed within the estimated Time, while being of the expected Quality and
within the estimated Budget. Staying within the agreed limitations always feeds
 back into the measurement of a project’s performance and success.

● Optimization of the allocated necessary inputs​ and their application to

meeting the project’s pre-defined objectives, is a matter where is always space
for improvement. All processes and procedures can be reformed and upgraded
to enhance the sustainability of a project and to lead the team through the
strategic change process.

● Production of a complete project​ which follows the client’s exclusive needs

and objectives. This might mean that you need to shape and reform the client’s
vision or to negotiate with them as regards the project’s objectives, to modify
them into feasible goals. Once the client’s aims are clearly defined they usually
impact on all decisions made by the project’s stakeholders. Meeting the client’s
expectations and keeping them happy not only leads to a successful
collaboration which might help to eliminate surprises during project execution, but
also ensures the sustainability of your professional status in the future.

Stages of project management

The 5 basic phases in the project management process are:Project Initiation

1. Project Planning

2. Project Execution

3. Project Monitoring and Controlling

4. Project Closing
Phase 1: Project initiation

The ​project initiation​ phase is the first stage of turning an abstract idea into a meaningful
goal. In this stage, you need to develop a business case and define the project on a
broad level. In order to do that, you have to determine the need for the project and
create a project charter.

The project charter is an important document consisting of details like the ​project
constraints​, goals, appointment of the project manager, budget, expected timeline, etc.

Once you have the project goals and ​project scope​, identify key project
stakeholders–the people who are to be involved in the project. Create a stakeholder
register with the roles, designation, communication requirements, and influence.

While a clear goal of the project is established in this phase, a project charter does not
contain any technical details that happen in the planning stage.

Consider the example of an automobile manufacturer assigned to develop an electric

vehicle. The selection of the design, capacity, and battery power of the vehicle will not
be a part of the initiation phase. The only certainty would be that an electric vehicle will
be developed within the given timeframe and budget.

Phase 2: Project planning

The ​project planning​ stage requires complete diligence as it lays out the project’s
roadmap. Unless you are using a modern project management methodology like ​agile
project management​, the second phase of project management is expected to take
almost half of the entire project’s timespan.

Check out how to implement an effective ​project roadmap​.

In this phase, the primary tasks are identifying technical requirements, developing a
detailed ​project schedule​, creating a communication plan, and setting up
goals/deliverables.

There are several methods of setting up the project’s goals but S.M.A.R.T. and
C.L.E.A.R. are most popular.

S.M.A.R.T Goals:
The ‘SMART’ criteria ensure that the goals you set for your project are critically
analyzed. It is an established method that reduces risk and allows managers to make
clearly defined and achievable goals.

The acronym SMART stands for

C.L.E.A.R. Goals:
The ‘CLEAR’ method of setting up goals is designed to cater to the dynamic nature of a
modern workplace. Today’s fast-paced businesses require flexibility and immediate
results and CLEAR can help you with that.

The acronym for CLEAR stands for

During the planning stage, the scope of the project is defined. There is a possibility of
changing the scope of the project demands it but the project manager must approve the
change. Project managers also develop a ​work breakdown structure​ (WBS), which
clearly visualizes the entire project in different sections for the team.

A detailed ​project timeline​ with each deliverable is another important element of the
planning stage. Using that timeline, project managers can develop a communication
plan and a schedule of communication with the relevant stakeholders.

Risk mitigation is another important aspect of project management that is a part of the
planning stage. The ​project manager​ is responsible for extrapolating past data to
identify potential risks and develop a strategy to minimize them.

Check out how ​project risk management​ is done effectively to mitigate risks in the
project.

An important element that professionals often overlook is an effective change

management plan. As a project manager, you must be ready to incorporate a few
changes in the project to avoid bottlenecks and ​project delays​.

In the absence of a working change management plan, ​scope creep​ happens and
causes huge problems for the project team in the later stages of the project. So, it’s best
to reduce the possibility of unforeseen changes as much as possible.

Phase 3: Project execution

The ​project execution​ stage is where your team does the actual work. As a project
manager, your job is to establish efficient workflows and carefully monitor the progress
of your team.

Another responsibility of the project manager during this phase is to consistently

maintain effective collaboration between ​project stakeholders​. This ensures that
everyone stays on the same page and the project runs smoothly without any issues.

You can take help from collaboration software available in the market. They’ll not only
make your life easier but also improves efficiency and increase the productivity of your
team.

Phase 4: Project monitoring and controlling

In the project management process, the third and fourth phases are not sequential in
nature. This phase runs simultaneously with project execution, thereby ensures that
objectives and ​project deliverables​ are met.

As a project manager, you can make sure that no one deviates from the original plan by
establishing Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

During the monitoring phase of project management, the manager is also responsible
for quantitatively tracking the effort and cost during the process. This tracking not only
ensures that the project remains within the budget but also is important for future
projects.

Phase 5: Project closing

This is the final phase of the project management process. The ​project closure​ stage
indicates the end of the project after the final delivery. There are times when external
talent is hired specifically for the project on contract. Terminating these contracts and
completing the necessary paperwork is also the responsibility of the project manager.

Most teams hold a reflection meeting after the completion of the project in order to
contemplate on their successes and failures during the project. This is an effective
method to ensure continuous improvement within the company to enhance the ​overall
productivity of the team​ in the future.

The final task of this phase is to review the entire project complete a detailed report that
covers every aspect. All of the necessary data is stored in a secure place that can be
accessed by project managers of that organization.

Project Planning Process

Project planning is the process of defining your objectives and scope, your goals and
milestones (deliverables), and assigning tasks and budgetary resources for each step.
A good plan is easily shareable with everyone involved, and it’s most useful when it’s
revisited regularly. Simply outlining a plan and never discussing it with your team again
is a good recipe for wasted time and effort.

You can do your project planning in a simple Google doc, or you can use project
management software. The benefit of using project management software is that you’re
usually able to store all of your documents and deliverables in one place, and you can
avoid losing important discussions and decisions to the email or Slack void. With a tool
like Basecamp, for example, it’s easy to track progress and keep track of conversations
and items that require collaboration with a few different people.

If you’re thinking about project management as an entrepreneur or within a fast-paced

startup, it might seem like it all takes too much time at the outset. But, you’ll actually
save a lot of time and resources if you document your project plan right from the start
and use it as a roadmap to keep you and your team on track.

Here are seven keys to successful project planning to help you get started.

1. Think of your plan as a roadmap for stakeholders

Every project needs a roadmap with clearly defined goals that should not change after
the first phase of the project has been completed. All stakeholders benefiting from the
outcome or involved in executing the project should be named and their needs stated
during the initial project planning process.
These stakeholders might include:

● The project manager or the person ultimately responsible for completion

● The “customer” who receives the deliverables—this can be someone on your
team (internal) or an actual paying customer.
● The team, or the people responsible for any tactic that’s part of the plan.

Don’t assume that you automatically understand each stakeholder’s needs and goals.
Before you get too far into documenting your project plan, talk to them to make sure you
really understand the project and abilities and resources of everyone on the team.

2. Break the project into a list of deliverables

Develop a list of all deliverables. This list should break down the larger project into
smaller tasks that can be assigned to specific team members, and you should include
estimated deadlines associated with each deliverable or task.

Make sure that you understand and document the approval process for each
deliverable. If your project is for an external customer, make sure you are clear on their
internal approval process, so that you’re not surprised by delays or slowed down with
wading through competing opinions.

3. Talk to your team

Identify by name all individuals and/or organizations involved in each deliverable or

task, and describe their responsibilities in detail. Otherwise, miscommunication can lead
to delays and situations where team members may have to redo their work.

Hold a kickoff meeting to talk to your team about your intended plan of attack. Ask them
to help you think about the best way to get the work done. Not only will this help you be
more efficient, it will help you get their buy-in because they’ll feel more ownership over
the process. Using a project management tool like Basecamp can be helpful keeping
everyone on track and storing documents and conversations all in one place.

If you use email to communicate about projects, ​consider using a team inbox​ email
solution that will allow you to assign emails that need project-related attention to team
members as appropriate, rather than endlessly forwarding huge conversation threads
back and forth.

4. Identify risks

Determine the risks involved in your project. Think through what you’ll do if something
takes much longer than expected, or if costs end up being much more than you initially
anticipated.
You don’t have to have a specific course of action identified for every possible negative
outcome, but you should spend some time with your team, thinking through what could
go wrong. Then, you can do as much as you can to mitigate those risks from the outset,
rather than being caught off guard later. Risk factors can also have some influence on
how you budget.

5. Create a budget

Attached to your list of milestones and deliverables should be information about the
project cost and estimated budget. Resist the urge to assign large dollar amounts to big
projects without identifying exactly how the money is intended to be spent. This will help
your team understand the resources they have to work with to get the job done. When
you’re setting your initial budget, these numbers might be ranges rather than absolutes.

For certain items, you might need to get quotes from a few different vendors. It can be
helpful to document the agreed upon project scope briefly in your budget
documentation, in case you end up needing to make changes to the larger project
based on budgetary constraints, or if your vendor doesn’t deliver exactly what you
expected.

6. Add milestones

Use your list of deliverables as a framework for adding milestones and tasks that will
need to be completed to accomplish the larger goal. Establish reasonable deadlines,
taking into account project team members’ productivity, availability, and efficiency.

Think about your milestones within the ​SMART framework​. Your goals should be:

● Specific: Clear, concise, and written in language anyone could understand.

● Measurable: Use numbers or quantitative language when appropriate. Avoid
vague descriptions that leave success up to personal, subjective interpretation.
● Acceptable: Get buy-in from stakeholders on your goals, milestones, and
deliverables.
● Realistic: Stretch goals are one thing, but don’t set goals that are impossible to
achieve. It’s frustrating for your team and for your stakeholders, and might
ultimately delay your project because accomplishing the impossible usually costs
more and takes longer.
● Time-based: Set concrete deadlines. If you have to alter deadlines associated
with your milestones, document when and why you made the change. Avoid
stealth changes—or editing deadlines without notifying your team and relevant
stakeholders.

7. Set progress reporting guidelines

These can be monthly, weekly, or daily reports. Ideally, a collaborative workspace
should be set up for your project online or offline where all parties can monitor the
progress. Make sure you have a communication plan—document how often you’ll
update stakeholders on progress and how you’ll share information—like at a weekly
meeting or daily email.

Use the framework you set up when you identified your milestones to guide your
reports. Try not to recreate any wheels or waste time with generating new reports each
time you need to communicate progress. Keep in mind that using a project
management software like Basecamp can keep stakeholders in the loop without
cluttering up your inbox, or losing conversations in long Slack chats.

The secret to effective project planning and management is staying organized and
communicating well with your team and stakeholders. Whether you decide to use
project management software or not, think about where and how you store all the
materials and resources that relate to your project—keep everything in one place if you
can. Good luck!

Establishing Project Organization

When the objectives of a project are identified and an approach to achieving those
objectives is developed, it is necessary to select people who will be involved in the
project. Developing an organization chart is a project stage that aims to identify and
recruit individuals and also specify their roles and responsibilities and determine how
they will interact with each other throughout the project lifecycle.

The objective of developing an organization chart for a project is to make a detailed and
careful record of the activities relating to project staff deployment. An organizational
chart outlines the people whose involvement in the project is necessary to success. It is
a document that visualizes which roles and responsibilities which team members will
carry out throughout the project course.

A project organization chart usually depicts different management functions and duties
assigned to project staff and also how the team members will interrelate with each other
over the course of project lifecycle and during every process stage as well. It graphically
represents roles and responsibilities as boxes linked to individual team members, along
with lines that show which authority and decision making power every team member
has.
A project organization chart intends to:

● Identify team roles and responsibilities

● Provide a detailed picture of individuals selected for the project to perform the
roles and responsibilities
● Identify training opportunities that enable the team to fulfill their duties
● Allocate resources in a proper way
● Represent appropriately all stakeholder groups involved

6 Steps to Developing an Organization Chart

Here are five steps you can take to create an organizational chart for your project.
Please note that these steps are general and do not discover more specific practices
and methods of project organization.

Step 1. Identify Key Personnel

The very first step is to determine business areas that directly relate to the project’s
scope. Then people involved in those areas will have a direct impact on the project, and
so they can be selected as key staff.

For example, when you are going to run a market research campaign most likely your
project will interrelate with such areas as Marketing, Sales, Consulting, Management,
others. These people will be involved in your project:

Marketers who will directly participate in gathering and analysis of research data

Salespeople and reps who create and provide statistics regarding sales

Department heads who lead, control and coordinate the personnel

IT staff who will provide technical support and assistance

Consultants and experts who can provide valued advice and data for your research

Other people (support staff, operations teams, on-site employees, freelancers, etc.) who
may be involved or have an interest in your project
Step 2. Assemble a Senior Management Team

Next, it is necessary to recruit people who will be responsible for the project and gain
management commitments. Those people should have a significant interest in project
success and be committed to obtaining expected outcomes at project completion.

The following roles can be allocated to the senior management team:

Sponsor, who owns the project, provides necessary funds and ensures right strategic
direction and ​governance

Client, who ensures alignment with bushiness needs

Experts, who provide assistance and expert advice

Step 3. Assign Project Coordinators

When the team is recruited and the seniors are assembled, now it is needed to assign a
person or several individuals who will take care of project performance at middle and
sometimes low management levels. Coordinators will carry out those duties.

A project coordinator is a management role that embraces the responsibilities for

synchronizing and integrating team activities, duties and tasks. Such a role intends to
ensure that the team works towards achieving the specified goals and with expected
performance.

There can be one or more coordinators in a project depending on the project’s size,
complexity and structure. Often coordinators are regarded as stage leaders who take
care of team performance at stage level. They focus on three main areas of a project,
such as Planning, Technical, and Communications.

Step 4. Identify Key Stakeholders

Now it is time to recruit people who do not belong to the team, coordinators and senior
managers but who will be affected by the project. Those people are key stakeholders
who aren’t primary decision makers but who contribute to project development.
Here’re a few tips on finding key stakeholders:

Identify who could slow down project performance if there’re some issues relating to
implementation approach or financing

Recognize people who might assist the senior management team in evaluating scope,
methodology, feasibility, etc.

Search for individuals who do not belong to the senior managers but who make an
impact on the client area

Figure out who might be affected by the project or its separate processes and stages

Step 5. Establish Training Requirements

Once the ​team​ is assembled, the project coordinator in cooperation with team leaders
needs to assess the capabilities and skills of every team member. The purpose is to
determine what training needs should be met and what training opportunities are open
to the team.

The coordinator develops and uses assessment criteria to identify current level of
knowledge and experience of the team. Next, that person explores opportunities that
can be exploited to train the team. Then the coordinator creates a training plan based
upon the opportunities and requirements and specifying selected methods, practices
and technologies of team training.

Step 6. Develop an Organizational Chart

The final step is to review all the roles, responsibilities and people involved in the project
and to create a visual representation of how individuals will collaborate with each other
and how their duties will be interrelated.

When developing an organizational chart for your project, be sure that:

Primary decision makers and their authorities are identified

Every individual is assigned to an appropriate role

Every role specifies a range of respective duties and responsibilities

Links between roles are identified

All major stakeholder groups are appropriately represented

Reporting and communication channels are defined and described

What is Work Content?

Work content is the measured time content of an activity or task determined by using
recognised work measurement techniques, at a defined performance level.

Performance is a measure of achieved results, which are meaningful only when related
to a valid benchmark or standard. Work content is usually measured at Standard
Performance.

So when two people working on tasks with the same work content are achieving slightly
different performances, you would start to ask why. What are the causes? Lack of
training, no available work, unreliable equipment or information, lack of effort or
motivation?

How to calculate Work Content

If someone achieves 1 hour’s work content in 1 hour, that is a 100 performance (60/60 x
100). If they only achieve 45 minutes’ work content in 1 hour, that is a 75 performance
(45/60 x 100).

Clearly time is an essential measure but, to assess performance, it HAS to relate to the
work content.

Time Estimation Methods

When you create project plans, you need to assess the time required to complete
individual activities. Use duration estimates to get an idea of this time and determine the
schedule you need to adhere to in order to complete projects. You can use various
methods to estimate activity duration, depending on the nature of the activities.

PERT Method

The Program Evaluation and Review Technique, or PERT, estimation method is a

weighted average of three scenarios. First, compute the averages for optimistic,
pessimistic and most likely time scenarios. PERT gives more weight to the most likely
scenario, so multiply that average by four. Combine this result with the optimistic and
pessimistic averages, and divide the result by six to come up with a final estimate. The
optimistic scenario presumes all goes well, and you can complete the activity without
issues. Conversely, with the pessimistic scenario, you imagine everything will go wrong
and it’ll take longer to complete the activity. The most likely scenario assumes you can
complete the activity without surprises. The PERT estimation method is a good option if
you’re uncertain about the activities. It also enables you to consider all associated risks.

Analogous Estimation

The analogous, or top-down, estimation relies on information from similar projects to

determine the activity duration for a current project. You’ll need historical data and a
degree of expertise about the similar projects, because the reliability of your estimation
depends on how closely the activities match the projects you're using as comparisons.
Use this method at the beginning of a project when you don’t have all the details. Adjust
the estimates as you learn more about the tasks and how long they can be expected to
take with the resources available.

Parametric Estimation

The parametric estimation is similar, but more accurate, than the analogous estimation.
To use it, multiply the number of units you need by the time it takes to produce the units.
You’ll need historical information about similar activities to complete your estimate. The
method is scalable. This means if your historical data tells you that it takes one person
an hour to produce one unit, you can reasonably estimate that you can complete three
units within one hour if you allocate three workers to the task. When you use this
method, it's important to account for all tasks that impact the activity. For example, if the
workers spend part of the time preparing materials, account for that time in your
estimates.

Expert Judgment

If your project is complicated and a number of factors can influence the duration of your
activities, you might want to use expert judgment to estimate activity duration. Experts
knowledgeable in a particular area can judge the time and resources you’ll need to
complete activities in that area. Be careful when choosing experts or using their
estimates, because they may have certain biases that might influence their estimates.
You also can gather estimates from external experts. If you can get external estimates
at reasonable cost, it might be prudent to rely on them instead of generating estimates
internally.

The Delphi Technique

The Delphi technique makes use of group intelligence to determine activity duration.
The technique involves gathering opinions from several experts and then sending the
responses back to the experts for their review. They can change their opinions after
reviewing the responses. The process might involve several rounds, as you want to
investigate differences of opinion and get to a consensus. To reduce bias and prevent
individual experts from overly influencing results, experts submit their opinion
anonymously. You can use a third party to gather the opinions.

Work Breakdown Structure

Certain activities might be too large or complex for a reliable duration estimate. If an
activity takes up more than 10 percent of the project schedule, you might want to break
it into several different tasks. You can use a work breakdown structure to reduce these
activities into smaller, more manageable tasks. Doing this enables you to set priorities
and estimate the duration of tasks more accurately. A work breakdown structure also is
useful for building accountability, because you can assign specific tasks to designated
project participants.

Project Cost Management

Project Cost Management is defined as the process of planning and controlling the
project cost effectively. It defines what costs are required for each deliverable. The cost
of the project can be estimated from various process sources (Examples below)

● Creating Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

● Develop Schedule
● Plan human resources
● Identifying risks

The inputs of cost management include,

● Project management plan

● Project charter
● Enterprise environmental factors
● Organizational process assets

While, the output of this is

● Cost Management Plan.

Creating estimation and costing for project is an extremely crucial part of any project
management. Various things are taken in consideration while calculating budget for
project like labor costs, necessary equipment acquisition, material costs, etc.

What is Project Cost Estimation?

Project Cost Estimation is defined as the process of approximating the total expenditure
of the project. The accuracy of the cost estimation depends on the accuracy and details
of the project scope, which is the scope baseline. The scope will also define any
constraints like date, resources or budget. The risk register will help to calculate
estimate types of costs, the expenses made behind the contingent action and the
expenses made to cope with risks.

To estimate the cost of project you have to categorize various cost types into categories
like

Labor cost
Equipment cost

Cost of supplies

Travel cost

Training cost

Overhead cost, etc.

Techniques used to estimate project cost

To estimate project cost formally there are few methods (techniques) used as follows:

Analogous Estimating

This estimating technique is based on expert judgments and information based on

similar previous projects. Where previously done similar project cost is considered with
plus or minus of 20% for existing project.

Parametric estimating

Past data or record is used to estimate cost for the current project.

Bottom-up estimating

Once you have defined the scope of the project, it is the most reliable form of technique.
In this technique, based on WBS, you estimate the cost for each resource or
deliverables.

Likewise, there are other methods (techniques) which could be useful for estimating
cost like PERT estimating, vendor bid analysis, etc.

Project Budget Planning

The main purpose of this activity is to allocate and authorize the monetary resources
required to complete the project. The main output for determining the budget includes
cost performance baseline. It not only specifies what cost will be incurred but also when
costs will be incurred. The inputs for determining budget includes

● Activity cost estimates

 ● Basis for estimates
● Scope baseline
● Project Schedule
● Resource calendars
● Contracts
● Organizational process assets

The output of this process is

● Cost performance baseline

● Project funding requirements
● Project document updates

The project budgeting is performed in parallel with the project scheduling process. It is
highly dependent on three component -

● Cost estimation
● Task durations
● Allocated resources

During project budgeting, project manager communicates with different people

responsible for managing the work efforts as well as estimating project costs.

He will use various project prospects like work breakdown structure of the project, the
cost estimates, historical data and records, resource information, and policies.

Without risk assessment, the budgeting process is not completed. Risk assessing
process considers factors like time shortage, availability of resources, development
team experience, the technology used, etc. The risk assessment can be an amount
between 25 and 30 percent of the overall project cost.

Project Quality Management Plan

The quality management process group consists of three processes,

1. Plan Quality

Plan Quality process involves identifying which standard quality are relevant to the
project and how to fulfill them. It also includes identifying quality metrics and standard
measures for project processes, regulatory compliance requirements, product
functionality, documentation, etc.
The inputs of the plan quality management includes

● Project management plan

● Stakeholder register
● Risk register
● Requirements documentation
● Enterprise environmental factors
● Organizational process assets

The output for the quality management is

● Quality management plan

● Process improvement plan
● Quality metrics
● Quality checklists
● Project documents updates

2. Quality Assurance

This stage includes mainly two activity, first analyzing project quality and improve
project quality. It is a process of auditing the quality requirements and the results from
quality control measurement to ensure that quality standard is maintained throughout
the process. The input for this will be same as the output of plan quality management
while the

The output of this process will be

● Change request
● Project management plan
● Project documents updates
● Organization process assets updates

3. Quality Control

This will be conducted to control quality throughout the project life cycle. It defines how
the quality standard can comply with the defined quality standards. The output of
Quality Assurance ​will be the input for Quality Control. While the output will

● Quality control measurements

 ● Validate changes
● Verified deliverables
● Work performance information
● Change request
● Project management plan
● Project documents updates
● Organizational process assets updates

Project Human Resource Management

HR management includes the process of organizing, managing and leading the project
team. It is comprised of the people with allocated roles and responsibilities for
completing the project. The HR management will deal with four processes.

1. Develop human resource plan:

This stage defines the project roles and responsibilities, project organization
charts and staff management plan
The input for this will

○ Project management plan

○ Activity resource requirements
○ Enterprise environmental factors
○ Organizational process assets

The output for this will be

● Human resource management plan

2. Acquire project team:

This stage confirms the availability of the human resource and obtaining the team
necessary to complete project activities. The input for this stage would be the
output from the previous step.

While the output of this stage would be

 ○ Project staff assignments
○ Resource calendars
○ Project management plan updates

3. Develop project team

In this stage, the focus is improving the team efficiency, team member interaction
and enhancing overall team and project performance. The input for this stage
would be the output from the previous step.

While the output for this stage would be

○ Team performance assessments

○ Enterprise environmental factors updates

4. Manage project team:

This process includes tracking team member performance, resolving issues,
providing feedback and managing a team to optimize project performance. The
input for this stage would be the output from the previous step.

While the output for this stage would be

○ Change request
○ Project management plan updates
○ Project document updates
○ Enterprise environmental factors updates
○ Organizational process assets updates

Project Communication Management

Here, Project Communication does not mean interacting verbally with each other, but
transmitting project related information effectively with the project team, stakeholder,
project managers, etc. It should address risk actions and assessments, project plans,
meeting management and actions, reviews and walk-throughs, etc.

This segment cover mainly five areas

 1. Communicating with Stakeholders
It is the process of developing an approach to communicate with stakeholders
efficiently and understanding their requirements.

The input for this would be

● Project management plan

● Stakeholder register
● Enterprise environmental factors
● Organizational process assets

While the output for this will be

● Communication management plan

● Project documents updates

2. Manage Communications
It is the process of storing, distributing, collecting, and retrieving of project
information in accordance with a communication plan.

The input of this stage would be

● Enterprise environmental factors

● Organizational process assets
● Work performance reports
● Communication management plan

While the output would be

● Project communications
● Project management plan updates
● Project documents updates
● Organizational process assets updates

3. Control Communications
 It is the process of controlling and monitoring communication throughout the
entire project lifecycle. The input for this stage would be
● Project management plan
● Project communications
● Issue log
● Work performance data
● Organizational process assets

While the output of this stage would be

● Work performance information

● Change requests
● Project management plan updates
● Project document updates
● Organizational process updates

Project Risk Management

Introduction
Risk is inevitable in a business organization when undertaking projects. However, the
project manager needs to ensure that risks are kept to a minimal. Risks can be mainly
divided between two types, negative impact risk and positive impact risk.
Not all the time would project managers be facing negative impact risks as there are
positive impact risks too. Once the risk has been identified, project managers need to
come up with a mitigation plan or any other solution to counter attack the risk.

Project Risk Management

Managers can plan their strategy based on four steps of risk management which
prevails in an organization. Following are the steps to manage risks effectively in an
organization:
● Risk Identification
● Risk Quantification
● Risk Response
● Risk Monitoring and Control
Let's go through each of the step in project risk management:

Risk Identification
Managers face many difficulties when it comes to identifying and naming the risks that
occur when undertaking projects. These risks could be resolved through structured or
unstructured brainstorming or strategies. It's important to understand that risks
pertaining to the project can only be handled by the project manager and other
stakeholders of the project.
Risks, such as operational or business risks will be handled by the relevant teams. The
risks that often impact a project are supplier risk, resource risk and budget risk.
Supplier risk would refer to risks that can occur in case the supplier is not meeting the
timeline to supply the resources required.
Resource risk occurs when the human resource used in the project is not enough or
not skilled enough. Budget risk would refer to risks that can occur if the costs are more
than what was budgeted.

Risk Quantification
Risks can be evaluated based on quantity. Project managers need to analyze the likely
chances of a risk occurring with the help of a matrix.

Using the matrix, the project manager can categorize the risk into four categories as
Low, Medium, High and Critical. The probability of occurrence and the impact on the
project are the two parameters used for placing the risk in the matrix categories. As an
example, if a risk occurrence is low (probability = 2) and it has the highest impact
(impact = 4), the risk can be categorized as 'High'.

Risk Response
When it comes to risk management, it depends on the project manager to choose
strategies that will reduce the risk to minimal. Project managers can choose between
the four risk response strategies, which are outlined below.
● Risks can be avoided
● Pass on the risk
● Take corrective measures to reduce the impact of risks
● Acknowledge the risk
Risk Monitoring and Control
Risks can be monitored on a continuous basis to check if any change is made. New
risks can be identified through the constant monitoring and assessing mechanisms.

Risk Management Process

Following are the considerations when it comes to risk management process:
● Each person involved in the process of planning needs to identify and
understand the risks pertaining to the project.
● Once the team members have given their list of risks, the risks should be
consolidated to a single list in order to remove the duplications.
● Assessing the probability and impact of the risks involved with the help of a
matrix.
● Split the team into subgroups where each group will identify the triggers that lead
to project risks.
● The teams need to come up with a contingency plan whereby to strategically
eliminate the risks involved or identified.
● Plan the risk management process. Each person involved in the project is
assigned a risk in which he/she looks out for any triggers and then finds a
suitable solution for it.

Risk Register
Often project managers will compile a document, which outlines the risks involved and
the strategies in place. This document is vital as it provides a huge deal of information.
Risk register will often consists of diagrams to aid the reader as to the types of risks
that are dealt by the organization and the course of action taken. The risk register
should be freely accessible for all the members of the project team.

Project Risk; an Opportunity or a Threat?

As mentioned above, risks contain two sides. It can be either viewed as a negative
element or a positive element. Negative risks can be detrimental factors that can
haphazard situations for a project.
Therefore, these should be curbed once identified. On the other hand, positive risks
can bring about acknowledgements from both the customer and the management. All
the risks need to be addressed by the project manager.

Conclusion
An organization will not be able to fully eliminate or eradicate risks. Every project
engagement will have its own set of risks to be dealt with. A certain degree of risk will
be involved when undertaking a project.
The risk management process should not be compromised at any point, if ignored can
lead to detrimental effects. The entire management team of the organization should be
aware of the project risk management methodologies and techniques.
Enhanced education and frequent risk assessments are the best way to minimize the
damage from risks.

Project Scheduling
What is scheduling in project management?

As you might imagine, a project schedule contains more than your average weekly
planner notes. Project scheduling involves creating a document, these days usually a
digital document, that details the project timeline and the organizational resources
required to complete each task.

The project schedule must be accessible to every team member. Its purpose is to
communicate critical information to the team, so it must be comprehensive and easy to
understand.

How is project scheduling different from planning?

Quite often, these two terms are used interchangeably but they have different roles in
the successful completion of a project. On a higher level, the ​project plan​ is the master
blueprint while the project schedule details the specific tasks.

● Planning primarily involves selecting the appropriate policies, methodologies, and

procedures required to deliver the project on time.
● Scheduling, on the other hand, converts the plans, scope, and cost into an
operational timeline.

Why should I create a project schedule?

Project scheduling is important since it plays an effective role in project success. The
following are some of the advantages if you properly create your project schedule.
 ● Project scheduling, when done well, makes the entire project run more smoothly.
● Committing to the project scheduling process at the beginning of your project will
give you a clear picture of the requirements set before you.
● It also gives you the chance to catch issues early and alert clients if a timeline
isn’t feasible. Besides being good for you as the project manager, project
scheduling is good for your team.
● Everyone knows what to expect and when. Everyone is being held accountable
for the same due dates.
● Other managers can allocate resources efficiently for your project, and they’ll be
able to anticipate when resources will be available for other projects.

The 8 steps of the project scheduling process

How do you create a project schedule? Well, the project scheduling process can be
broken down into eight manageable steps. Follow these and pretty soon you’ll be a
scheduling pro.

1. Plan schedule management

The groundwork for a good project schedule is to establish the procedures, company
policies, and documentation guidelines that will govern your project. The plan for
schedule management outlines resources available for the project and the
contingencies that may arise. It also lists ​project stakeholders​, itemizes individuals who
must approve the schedule, and lists others who need to receive a copy.

This document also establishes who has the authority to make schedule changes, the
process team members should follow in order to request a change, and a ​project
communication​ plan to alert the team of changes made during the course of the project.

2. Define the project activities

This can be as simple as creating a list of tasks that must be completed in order to
deliver your project. In the case of complex projects, it may be helpful to organize these
tasks in the form of at, a chart visualizing tasks and their sub-tasks and to ​stay
organized at work​.

One challenge in this part of the project scheduling process is knowing how to divide
activities. Consider the 8/80 rule, which states that a single activity should take between
eight and eighty work hours.

In ​team task management​, tasks requiring fewer than eight hours could be grouped with
others and tasks over eighty hours are likely too cumbersome and should be broken
down further. Activities should also be measurable, easily estimated, and related to both
a ​project deliverable​ and a budgeted cost.

3. Determine dependencies
Once you have all the project activities listed, think through each one carefully to identify
which tasks rely on others to be completed. If you’re building a house, for example, you
can’t put the roof on until the frame is completed. It’s important to correctly define all
your dependencies so you can schedule accurately and avoid ​project delays​.

4. Sequence activities
After you’ve established ​project dependencies​ among your activities, you can sequence
them. At this point, you aren’t assigning any time to your activities in terms of work
hours or due dates. Instead, you’re focusing on the order in which all project activities
should be done so that the most efficient flow is created.
5. Estimate resources
Each activity in your project will require resources in the form of personnel,
subcontractor costs, tools (physical and/or digital tools like software programs), and
workspace. Make sure to consider other resources that are specific to your industry or
project. Estimate the resources needed for each project activity.

Remember that resource allocation will affect your schedule; if the same team member
is responsible for multiple tasks, they can’t be completed at the same time.

6. Estimate durations
This step is pretty obvious but very important. How long will each project activity take?
Underestimating will, of course, put you behind schedule and ultimately frustrate your
customer.

Overestimating could leave team members or other resources sitting idle as they wait
for antecedent tasks to be completed. The best way to estimate duration is to use data
from similar previous jobs.

If you don’t have any data to work from and there’s no industry standard to which you
can refer, an estimate based on the average of the best, worst, and most likely
scenarios.

7. Develop the project schedule

At this point, you should have all the information you need to develop your project
schedule. Taking into consideration the duration and resource requirements of each
activity, as well as their dependencies and proper sequence, you can assign start dates
and due dates for each activity.

There are multiple models and formulas for developing the project schedule, including
critical path, critical chain, and resource leveling among others. Each of those methods
is worthy of an article in itself, so we won’t cover them here. Take the time to find a
method that works well for you.

For example, Don’t ignore the calendar! Check vacation requests from team members.
Don’t forget to include factors like national holidays, corporate functions, stakeholder
events, and other occasions that may affect your schedule. If the whole company shuts
down for a holiday week, you’ll need to add that time to your due dates and manage
customer expectations accordingly.

8. Monitor and control

Unlike the rest of the project scheduling steps, Step 8 is ongoing. As a project manager,
you’ll be monitoring and controlling your project schedule for the duration of the project.
This step involves running reports and assessing the ​progress of a project​ against the
schedule, managing performance, and communicating with the team.

When schedule changes must be made, you ensure they are carried out and
communicated according to the plan laid out in Step 1. Throughout the project, you will
ensure that each activity is on schedule and determine whether corrective action needs
to be taken if delays occur.

Project scheduling tools and techniques – 3 main types

There are several project scheduling techniques that can help you break down your
project into small, manageable tasks. Some of these techniques include

● Task lists
● Gantt charts and
● Calendars

1. Task lists
This is the simplest scheduling technique and works for small projects without a lot of
interdependencies. However, for larger projects, it may not be the right choice as
tracking the progress can become a major challenge.

The task list contains the list of tasks and subtasks along with the team members
assigned to do them. A simple ​project management software​ can come handy when
you’re using task lists.

2. Calendar
The calendar can be used to depict the ​project timelines​ of all the tasks throughout the
course of the project. It’s a decent approach to view overlaps between activities. But,
this approach suffers from an inability to assign tasks and view dependencies.

3. Gantt charts
A ​Gantt chart​ is the most common tool used by project managers to visualize the
timelines and dependencies in a project. You can get a quick estimate of the time
required to complete every task.

The chart shows all the tasks, represented by bars, when they’re set to start and end,
how long each task will last, task dependencies, and where there are overlaps.

Project Planning Tools

The world of project management is vast.​ It covers many industries and 
requires a range of skills. But the common thread tying this diverse discipline 
together are the techniques that project managers use to get the job done. 

Project management techniques make managing projects easier and more 

effective. They can be applied to any project, regardless of the field or 
industry. And used in tandem with ​project management software​, they help 
save time and reduce costs. 

There are many project management techniques to choose from. Here are 
five of the best that every project manager should know in order to control 
their projects and steer them to successful ends. 
1. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 
Projects big and small can feel overwhelming at first glance. There’s so much 
to do. The idea of just jumping in and learning how to swim is how projects 
drown in lost time and costs. As any experienced project manager knows, 
everything must first get planned before putting it into action. 

Aw
​ ork breakdown structure (WBS)​ is a way to organize the work into smaller, 
more manageable pieces. According to the Project Management Body of 
Knowledge (PMBOK), WBS is a “deliverable oriented hierarchical 
decomposition of the work to be executed by the team.” 

What that means is the WBS is graphic representation of every task in the 
project. At the top is the final product with a line that goes down the page to a 
box (or boxes) that represent the larger tasks which lead to that completed 
project. Each of these boxes are then attached with lines that go under it to 
smaller tasks. Use our ​free work breakdown structure template​ to help you get 
started. 

Divide and Conquer 

This is visually defining the scope of the project into smaller parts that can be 
worked on by the project team. As the levels go further down on the WBS, 
there is more definition and detail. This provides a sort of task map for the 
project. 
The WBS is created by the whole team who identifies the major deliverables 
and then subdivides them into smaller and smaller sub-deliverables. This 
process continues until the team reaches a point where the task can be 
accomplished, who will get that assignment. 

A WBS defines and organizes a project, but it can also be used to breakdown 
more than just tasks. Budgets can be calculated based on the breakdown 
schedule and even risks when a branch is not well defined. 

2. Gantt Chart 
AG
​ antt chart is another visual project management technique​, but this one 
has even more applications for a project manager. Making a Gantt chart is a 
technique, but it can be combined with a Gantt chart tool to make that 
technique much easier to execute. 

When you import a WBS into P

​ rojectManager.com​, it creates a visual timeline 
across the life cycle of your project, with start and end dates. You add the 
start and end dates, which creates an individual timeline for each task. Now 
you can see the time it will take to complete each task over the length of the 
project. This can help you better schedule. 
ProjectManager.com’s interactive Gantt charts—
⁠ C
​ lick to learn more 
If you’re using the online Gantt chart in the ProjectManager.com, you have the 
freedom to adjust scheduling as needed and even link dependent tasks, by 
just click and dragging. Task dependencies are used when there are task that 
can’t get started until another is complete. They can be linked on 
ProjectManager.com, so that there is no downtime or blocking of team 
members. 

Gantt charts can help with more than planning and scheduling tasks over one 
or multiple projects. You can also plan and schedule entire projects, plan in 
sprints and milestones, scheduling teams’ work and compare planned versus 
actual timelines in your project. 
  
Each task can now be assigned to individual team members and project 
managers can automate notifications on upcoming deadlines to keep the 
project on track. When the team updates their status that information is 
instantly reflected throughout ProjectManager.com, so everyone is always on 
the same page. 

3. PERT 
PERT​ is an acronym that stands for program evaluation and review technique. 
It’s a p
​ roject management​ technique to help with time estimates. Scheduling 
is critical to getting a project completed on time, obviously, but also within the 
set budget. The longer you work, the more you pay. 

But estimating time for a project isn’t easy. There are a lot of factors to take 
in, many of which are complex and hard to accurately calculate. PERT has 
been used by project managers to make time estimates that are more 
accurate. 

It was first developed by the US Navy in the 1950s for a project to develop 
ballistic missiles, which involved an army of contractors. Because of PERT, 
the project was completed two years ahead of schedule. 

So, how does PERT work? It manages probabilities by using many simple 
statistical methods. PERT breaks down tasks into detailed activities, by using 
the WBS discussed above, then adds these to a Gantt chart to identify those 
activities that are interdependent. From that data, you create an illustrative 
map of the network of activities and their interdependencies. 

On the map, a node represents an event and the activities are represented by 
arrows drawn from one event to another based on its order. From this, the 
earliest time (TE) and the latest time (TL) for each activity is figured out, as 
well as the slack time for each activity. 

PERT Calculations 
PERT has three estimation times, and each activity is designated with one of 
these estimates: 

Optimistic time estimate (O), which is the fastest an activity can be 
done. 
 Most likely time estimate (M) is the estimate that project managers will 
deliver to upper management if they’re only required to submit one. 
Pessimistic time estimate (P) is the maximum time required to 
complete an activity. 

From all this information collected, there’s an equation to estimate the time 
the project will take, known as the expected time for completion, or E. E is 
calculated with the following equation: E = (O + 4M + P)/6 

The variance possible in the estimated completion time is represented by V. 

Variance is calculated with the following equation: V=[(P – O)/ 6]^2. 

The E and V for every activity is calculated. The Es are totaled, which is the 
overall time expected to complete the project. The Vs are added to each 
activity, which is the variance for the entire project. This helps project 
managers integrate the uncertainty involved in any project’s schedule into 
their methodology. 

4. Critical Path Method (CPM) 

Critical Path Method (CPM)​ is a cornerstone of project management 
techniques. It’s been around since the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s, 
which developed the nuclear bomb by mapping the most important tasks in 
the project and using that to estimate the project completion date. 

CPM requires that you construct a project model that includes a list of all 
tasks or a WBS, the duration to complete of each of those tasks, what 
dependencies if any link the tasks and the endpoints, such as milestones and 
deliverables, for the project. 

With this information, you can calculate the longest path from the planned 
tasks to their completion, including the earliest and latest time these tasks 

can start and finish without impacting the project schedule. Now you know 
what tasks are critical to the project and which have f​ loat​ or can be delayed 
without lengthening the project timeline. 

Therefore, as a project management technique, CPM is a sequence of tasks 

that add up to the longest overall duration, whether there is float (whether free 
float, which is a dependent task or total float, with is the overall project) or not. 
With this information, you can figure out the shortest time needed to complete 
the project. 

Enhances Prioritization & Decision-Making 

CPM is really an algorithm used to help with decision-making. By taking in 
specific data (start time, duration, finish time), it determines which activities 
are most important or critical for the project’s success. 
In terms of dealing with contingencies, which are always around the corner in 
any project, CPM has something called fast tracking. This is a process of 
running multiple tasks on the critical path in parallel. What this does is reduce 
the overall project time. This only works if the task is not dependent. But it 
does require further resources and can impact quality. 

Another technique is crashing. This is used when a task must be prioritized 

because of an early deadline and must be allocated with additional resources 
to complete faster. Crashing helps if more resources are available that can 
help, or you can use resources from a task with float. But crashing is more for 
emergencies as it can impact the critical path. 

Overall, CPM helps reduce delays by optimizing work along the critical path. It 
can also visualize dependencies, which allows for tasks to get prioritized. 
CPM improves organization by breaking down deliverables into sequences. It 
increases efficiencies and helps calculate float to distribute resources better. 

5. Kanban 
Kanban​ is Japanese for billboard and was developed by an industrial engineer 
at Toyota as a scheduling system to improve manufacturing efficiencies. It is 
often used in lean manufacturing just-in-time manufacturing (JIT). Like its 
name in translation, Kanban looks like a series of cards on a board, which is 
used to visualize workflow. 
Kanban can be used as a project management technique to help monitor and 
manage projects by putting the emphasis on continual delivery without 
placing too much of a burden on the team. Kanban helps the project team 
work more efficiently together. 

Kanban boards in ProjectManager.com—​Click to learn more 

The project board helps team members visualize what they must get done 
today, seeing their task in the wider context of the others. This limits the 
amount of work in progress (WIP) and balances the workflow to avoid 
overburdening the team. Because the cards on the board can be prioritized, 
workflow is improved. Once one task is done, the card is moved to the next 
column and the team member starts on the card that on top of their to-do 
column. 

This project management technique fosters a continuous collaborative 

environment and allows the team to tinker and improve the workflow. Kanban 
is especially suited for agile projects, but it can be applied to any project and 
is embraced by more visual thinkers.