The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the leading organization in the world in

terms of promoting project management best practices. It offers publications, training

and seminars to further the project management discipline. Project management
Professional is the highest certification.
Project :“The process of applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
describe, organize and monitor the work of the project to accomplish the goals of the
project.”
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or
result. It should have a limited timeframe, be temporary in nature, and have the
satisfaction of the end user or stakeholders. [limited timeframe]
A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain
benefits that not able to be obtained by managing them separately. A project is a
smaller version of a larger project.
A portfolio, is a collection of different programs and /or projects that support strategic
business goals within the same organization which may be related or unrelated to
one another.
Operation: everyday vs project: unique product
1.5 Different Organization Structures
Project managers need to understand the kind of organization they work in. The type
of organization is determined by how much authority the senior management is
willing to delegate to project managers.
Functional organizations are the oldest style of organizations and are centered on
specialties and grouped by functions. They are set to be a hierarchy, and the staff in
each department have similar skills, hence is easier to manage. [each dep has
manager]
Adv: structured – clear path for each employee – employee has 1 supervisor
Disadv: project manager no authority – projects compete for resources
Project oriented organizations focus on projects as their priority, have a project
manager with full authority over the project and its supporting functions, and
collocate the project teams.
Adv: manager ultimate authority - focus on projects
Disadv: have to reassign after each proj – sometimes no work for employees (idle) –
compete on resources
Matrix: mix of both - Usually staff from the functional departments work on more than
one project and they have to report to both the project manager and their functional
managers. Adv: focus on proj- specialties used in proj – growth of employee . Disadv
: conflict for resource – many bosses – confusing to multitask
The project management office (PMO) is a centralized organization unit that
oversees the management of projects throughout the organization. It provides
established project management methodology, monitoring, coaching and training for
project managers, and facilitates the communication within and across projects.
Life cycle: phases of project each has outcome
Process groups :
1- Initiating: choosing to take a project or not so see goals – criteria – project
manager choose – write charter &sign off
2- Planning: set deliverables – scope statement – schedule set – identify risks-
see resources needed
3- Executing: form team – review meetings – see progress- quality assurance
4- Monitoring (correcting ) : measuring performance
5- Closing : written acceptance – documenting lessons learned – formalize
closure – archive reports - release resources