PRE 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT

What Is a Project?

- A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to accomplish a unique product or service”

Attributes of projects

- unique purpose
- temporary
- require resources, often from various areas
- should have a primary sponsor and/or customer
- involves uncertainty

Characteristics of Projects

- Single unit
- Relatively low frequency
- Defined starting points and ending points
- Defined outcomes / goals
- Complex interrelated tasks, often transcending functional boundaries
- Require special management tools

What is Project Management?

Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in
order to meet project requirements” (PMI)

History of Project Management

Some people argue that building the Egyptian pyramids was a project, as was building the Great Wall of
China

Most people consider the Manhattan Project to be the first project to use “modern” project
management

Project Management Statistics

The U.S. spends $2.3 trillion on projects every year, an amount equal to one-quarter of the nation’s
gross domestic product.

The world as a whole spends nearly $10 trillion of its $40.7 trillion gross product on projects of all kinds.

More than sixteen million people regard project management as their profession; on average, a project
manager earns more than $82,000 per year.

Advantages of Using Formal Project Management

This lecture was taken from the article of Renee (2020) entitled “Introduction to Project Management”.
All credits given to the rightful owner. For reference purposes only and not intended to be shared.
 PRE 1: 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

The Triple Constraint

Every project is constrained in different ways by the following:

1. Scope goals: What is the project trying to accomplish?

2. Time goals: How long should it take to complete?
3. Cost goals: What should it cost?

It is the project manager’s duty to balance these three often competing goals

Reasons for performance Improvements

“The reasons for the increase in successful projects vary. First, the average cost of a project has been
more than cut in half. Better tools have been created to monitor and control progress and better skilled
project managers with better management processes are being used. The fact that there are processes
is significant in itself.”

Project Stakeholders

Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities. Stakeholders include the
following:

- the project sponsor and project team

- support staff
- customers
- users
- suppliers
- opponents to the project

Project Management Knowledge Areas

Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers must develop

4 core knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives

1. scope
2. time
3. cost
4. quality

4 facilitating knowledge areas are the means through which the project objectives are achieved

This lecture was taken from the article of Renee (2020) entitled “Introduction to Project Management”.
All credits given to the rightful owner. For reference purposes only and not intended to be shared.
 PRE 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1. human resources
2. communication
3. risk
4. procurement management

1 knowledge area (project integration management) affects and is affected by all of the other
knowledge areas

Project Management Tools and Techniques

Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of
project management

Some specific ones include:

- Project Charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope)

- Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time)
- Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)

How Project Management Relates to Other Disciplines

Much of the knowledge needed to manage projects is unique to the discipline of project management .
Project managers must also have knowledge and experience in general management the application
area of the project.

This lecture was taken from the article of Renee (2020) entitled “Introduction to Project Management”.
All credits given to the rightful owner. For reference purposes only and not intended to be shared.