Exciting new resources for readers:

Dear Readers,

We are excited to announce major updates in this new edition

of the book (fifth edition):

● An entire new chapter giving an overview of Agile concepts

● Improved linkage between project scope and schedule

● Division of the planning chapter into two sections for better

readability and balance

● A new WBS template

● Improved description of RACI matrix for work allocation

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to email us

at reachus@vibrantpublishers.com

We hope this book provides you with the most enriching and
fulfilling learning experience.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE IN E-BOOK, PAPERBACK AND

HARDBACK (COLOR) FORMAT.
 SELF-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SERIES

PAPERBACK*
TITLE
ISBN

ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & ECONOMICS

COST ACCOUNTING AND
9781636511030
MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ESSENTIALS 9781636510972

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511009

MACROECONOMICS ESSENTIALS 9781636511818

MICROECONOMICS ESSENTIALS 9781636511153

PERSONAL FINANCE ESSENTIALS 9781636511849

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & STRATEGY

BUSINESS PLAN ESSENTIALS 9781636511214

BUSINESS STRATEGY ESSENTIALS 9781949395778

ENTREPRENEURSHIP ESSENTIALS 9781636511603

GENERAL MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS LAW ESSENTIALS 9781636511702

DECISION MAKING ESSENTIALS 9781636510026

LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS 9781636510316

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511542

TIME MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511665

*Also available in Hardback & Ebook formats
 SELF-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SERIES

PAPERBACK*
TITLE
ISBN

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE ESSENTIALS 9781636511122

HR ANALYTICS ESSENTIALS 9781636510347

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781949395839

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR ESSENTIALS 9781636510378

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511481

MARKETING & SALES MANAGEMENT

DIGITAL MARKETING ESSENTIALS 9781949395747

MARKETING MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511788

SALES MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636510743

SERVICES MARKETING ESSENTIALS 9781636511733

OPERATIONS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

AGILE ESSENTIALS 9781636510057

OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN

9781949395242
MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS

PROJECT MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636510712

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511511

*Also available in Hardback & Ebook formats
This page is intentionally left blank
 TM

SELF-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SERIES

PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
ESSENTIALS
YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW

FIFTH EDITION

A simple, short, and practical guide on how to

manage all kinds of projects

KALPESH ASHAR
Project Management Essentials
You Always Wanted To Know
Fifth Edition

© 2022, By Vibrant Publishers, USA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database
or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Paperback ISBN 10: 1-63651-071-X

Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-63651-071-2

Ebook ISBN 10: 1-63651-072-8

Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-63651-072-9

Hardback ISBN 10: 1-63651-073-6

Hardback ISBN 13: 978-1-63651-073-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012916200

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information

in regard to the subject matter covered. The Author has made every effort in the
preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information. However,
information in this book is sold without warranty either expressed or implied. The
Author or the Publisher will not be liable for any damages caused or alleged to be
caused either directly or indirectly by this book.

Vibrant Publishers books are available at special quantity discount for sales
promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. For more information please
write to bulkorders@vibrantpublishers.com

Please email feedback / corrections (technical, grammatical or spelling) to

spellerrors@vibrantpublishers.com

To access the complete catalogue of Vibrant Publishers, visit

www.vibrantpublishers.com
 About the Author
Kalpesh Ashar is a management consultant
and corporate trainer holding an MBA (Dean’s
Award Winner) from SPJIMR, one of Asia’s top
business schools, and an Engineering degree
with honors in Electronics. He has over 24 years
of experience in large organizations and start-
ups in Asia, USA, and Europe.
Kalpesh has worked in several project management roles, like
Senior Project Manager, Delivery Manager, and Program Manager.
He is passionate about writing on management subjects. His
techno-business background gives him a unique position to write
on management topics that are easy to understand for non-MBA
graduates. His books are authored in a simple to understand manner
without unnecessary use of management jargon.
Other contributors
We would like to sincerely thank Brodie Schultz for providing
solutions to all the practice exercises that were unsolved till the third
editions of this book. Brodie is a young aspiring engineer currently
foraying into the areas of marketing, financial management, and
innovative manufacturing processes at Ford Motor Company and
has received his Masters of Business Administration and Bachelor
of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Brodie is also an active board
member for his local Penn State Alumni Association Chapter, an avid
cook, fisherman, and golfer.

We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Angela J.

Wheaton for providing meaningful insights to improve this edition.
Angela is an enthusiastic project management champion and
instructor with more than 20 years of project management experience
in banking, retail, healthcare and IT. Additionally, she is a Certified
Scrum Master. She has been a PMI certified PMP since 2003. Angela
holds a Master’s Degree in Theology.
 What experts say about this book!
This textbook is an easy-to-read handbook designed to appeal
to a wide audience of learners striving to increase their project
management skills. The book discusses the hard and soft skills of
management and its implication for stakeholders as well as the
topic of communication among various disciplines within a business.
Kalpesh Ashar has put together a comprehensive manual of project
management that can be used by undergraduates, project managers,
team leaders, and plant superintendents alike. The author has tied
together knowledge and understanding from multiple business
disciplines in an understandable format for readers who may not have
advanced degrees.

– Jacqueline R. Jaeger, Adjunct Business Faculty,

MBA, St. Ambrose University, BA, Loras College

Project Management is a skill that we all need in both our work and
home settings. Project Management Essentials takes you through
every step of managing a project, including project initiation,
planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and finally, project
closure. Filled with easily digestible information and a bonus glossary
of terms, Project Management Essentials is a useful tool for anyone
who is looking to be a better project manager, leader, or learner.

– Marisa Soltz, MLIS,

Reference Supervisor, Canby Public Library
 What experts say about this book!
A quick reference guide for project management
professionals Easy to learn best practices for
effective and successful project delivery Presented in
structured way using a step by step process oriented
approach Key concepts and terminology aligned to
PMI (USA) methodology Ready to use templates enable managing of
projects easier

– Cmde Parambath Prabhakaran,

Adjunct Faculty, Project Management Centre at S.P. Jain
Institute of Management & Research

Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book!

Offering just the right amount of detail balanced with
practical advice, this book is a ‘how to’ resource for
anyone new to project management and an excellent
refresher for the seasoned pro!

– Lindy Williams,
Chief Creative Officer, Talent Dimensions
 What experts say about this book!
Everyone needs project management skills because
everything in this world is essentially a project—
including your career and your life. As a scholar and
practitioner in project management, I found that this
book provides pragmatic knowledge in managing
projects and also prepares you to get a certificate from Project
Management Institute (PMI) if you are interested to become a
professional in project management. You can gain experience by
reading this book and apply more than ten templates to manage
your projects. There are also many well-designed practical examples
to help you have a deep understanding of what you learn. In short, I
recommend this book to people who want to know how to manage
projects and even become a professional in project management.

– Weichu Xu, MBA, Ph.D,

Associate Professor of Business Management,
East Stroudsburg University
This page is intentionally left blank
 Preface
Project Management is a skill that each one of us needs – not just at
work but also at home. We take up several projects in our professional
as well as personal life. Although several project management skills
can be intuitive in nature, others need to be acquired. This will
help one to complete a project successfully and reap the benefits of
doing so.
Project Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know
provides the set of bare minimum skills that you need in order to
make your projects successful. It is based on the global best practices
of project management as described by the Project Management
Institute (PMI®). The book examines all the dimensions of a project
that need a project manager’s attention. Some of these dimensions—
hard skills, for example—are repeatable, while others, like soft skills,
are context-specific.
This page is intentionally left blank
 Who can benefit from the book
This book can be used by anyone associated with a project, like:

● Project managers or project leaders leading projects

● Team leaders leading small project teams

● Team members working on projects

● Members of the PMO of the organization that guide projects

It can also be beneficial for those interested in the field of project

management, like:

● Students learning project management as part of their

university course

● Anybody else who is interested in learning how projects

should be managed

How to use this book

The recommended approach to read this book is to start from the
beginning and proceed in sequence, even if you are an experienced
professional in the field of project management. There is a lot of
project management terminology in each chapter that could be new
to you, so understanding it from the beginning itself will help you
with the latter material. This will ensure that you get a solid base of
the fundamental concepts before you move onto studying complex
theories.
This page is intentionally left blank
 Helpful Templates
The following Templates will help you manage projects more
efficiently:

1. Activity Sequences

2. Cost Budgeting

3. Issues Log

4. Lessons learned

5. Project Charter

6. Project Scope Statement

7. RACI Matrix – RAM

8. Requirements Document

9. Risk Register

10. Stakeholder Register

11. WBS Dictionary

12. WBS

To download these templates, visit www.vibrantpublishers.com and

check the Online Resources section of this book.
This page is intentionally left blank
 Table of Contents

1 Project Management Overview 1

1.1 Project Definition 2
1.2 Reasons for Starting a Project 4
1.3 Project Management 4
1.4 Program & Portfolio 5
1.5 Project Management Office (PMO) 7
1.6 Management by Objectives (MBO) 8
1.7 Constraints 10
1.8 Stakeholders 11
1.9 Organizational Structures 12
1.10 Life Cycles 17
1.11 Project Management Phases 18
Solved Examples 20
Practice Exercises 22
Chapter Summary 23

2 Project Initiation 25
2.1 Project Selection 26
2.2 Project Charter 28
2.3 Identification of Stakeholders 31
Solved Examples 33
Practice Exercises 34
Chapter Summary 35

3 Project Planning – 1 37
3.1 Scope Planning 38
3.2 Time Planning 51
Case Study 70
 Solved Examples 72
Practice Exercises 74
Chapter Summary 75

4 Project Planning – 2 77
4.1 Cost Planning 78
4.2 Quality Planning 82
4.3 Human Resource Planning 85
4.4 Communications Planning 90
4.5 Risk Planning 93
4.6 Procurement Planning 99
4.7 Approval and Kickoff Meeting 104
Case Study 105
Solved Examples 109
Practice Exercises 112
Chapter Summary 113

5 Project Execution 115

5.1 Resource Mobilization 116
5.2 Perform Project Execution 116
5.3 Team Management 117
5.4 Quality Audits and Improvements 123
5.5 Project Communications 126
5.6 Stakeholder Management 126
5.7 Procurement & Contracting 128
Solved Examples 132
Practice Exercises 134
Chapter Summary 135

6 Project Monitoring and Controlling 137

6.1 Monitoring 138
 6.2 Control 139
6.3 Schedule and Cost Tracking 139
6.4 Project Reporting 144
6.5 Quality Control 147
6.6 Risk Monitoring 150
6.7 Gaining Acceptance 151
6.8 Managing Contracts 152
6.9 Handling Changes 153
Case Study 155
Solved Examples 157
Practice Exercises 160
Chapter Summary 161

7 Project Closure 163

7.1 Closing Contracts 164
7.2 Closing Project 165
Solved Examples 166
Practice Exercises 167
Chapter Summary 168

8 Agile Overview 169

8.1 What is Agile? 170
8.2 Need for Agile 171
8.3 Agile Characteristics 174
8.4 Agile Myths 177
8.5 Agile Manifesto 179
8.6 Agile Methodologies 188
Solved Examples 202
Practice Exercises 204
Chapter Summary 205

Glossary 207
This page is intentionally left blank
Chapter 1

Project Management
Overview

I n this chapter, we shall look at the fundamentals of

project management. These will form the pillars of our
understanding of the chapters that come later.

The key learning objectives of this chapter are:

● Understand projects, operations, programs, and

portfolios

● Introduction to project management and PMO

● Understand the various project constraints and the

stakeholders of a project

● Know the different types of project organizational

structures and their impact on a project

● Understand various types of project life cycles and

project management phases applied to a project

www.vibrantpublishers.com
2 Project Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

Projects today have become an integral part of our everyday

lives—be it at work or home. All changes in business and in
personal life are brought about by projects.

Although projects have been executed for several centuries

now, it is only much recently that the need to manage projects
using a scientific approach has been felt. This approach ensures
greater chances of success but cannot guarantee it. Much still lies
in how the project manager is able to apply these concepts to a
particular project in the most effective way. Knowing the concepts
in project management and their practical application to real-
life projects is the starting point for any project manager. This
book provides the required knowledge and skills and is written
in a way that should be easy to understand for both experienced
project managers and those with little or no experience in project
management.

1.1 Project Definition

We use the word Project to describe various types of work.

However, all of them have at least two things in common:

1. Start and End / Timeline

2. Unique Outcome

Every project needs to have a planned start date and a planned

end date. A project cannot carry on forever. Every project also
delivers something that is unique or different than the outcome of
any other project. It is possible to deliver similar things but not the
same thing. The output can be a product, service, or a combination
of both.

www.vibrantpublishers.com
Project Management Overview 3

As per Project Management Institute (PMI®), project is defined

as “A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product,
service, or result”.

The above definition of project is actually quite broad in scope

and covers everything that has a timeline and differentiable
outcome. Some examples of projects at work are:

● New product development

● Enhancement in existing product

● Market research

● Feasibility study

● Developing a software application

● Constructing a building

Some examples of projects in personal life are:

● Wedding event management

● Planning a birthday party

● Vacation planning and bookings

● Home improvement

If the above are examples of a project, then what are the

works that are not categorized as projects called? They are called
Operations. They are repetitive in nature where similar activities
are performed on a regular basis. Some examples of operations are:

● Manufacturing unit’s assembly line

● Cleaning a building everyday

● Regular maintenance of servers, and other electrical

equipment

www.vibrantpublishers.com
4 Project Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

1.2 Reasons for Starting a Project

Projects are started for one or more reasons. Each project has
certain objectives or goals to achieve. These goals have to be linked
with the organization’s strategic goals and will generally provide
a boost to the company’s top line (revenue) or help in reduction of
costs and, hence, in increasing the bottom line (profit).

Some projects may also be required due to mandatory

regulations, or due to corporate social responsibility (CSR)
activities that every company undertakes these days. Below are
some reasons for starting a project:

● Market / Consumer demand

Example: Project that led to development of Apple’s iPod

● Technology change
Example: Project that led to introduction of 3G mobile
services

● Statutory / legal / social mandate

Example: Project that implemented telecom regulatory
requirements, like Number Portability

● Internal organizational need

Example: Project that implements a new process for
procurement within the company

1.3 Project Management

Every project is started with the intention of meeting certain

objectives. When one applies his/her knowledge, skills and tools

www.vibrantpublishers.com
Project Management Overview 5

and techniques to manage a project in order to achieve these

objectives, it is called Project Management.

Although it is generally felt that only the project manager is

involved in project management, this is usually not true. Every
person working on a project performs activities that help in
achieving the project’s objectives. Hence, every team member
undertakes project management, albeit in lesser proportion than
the project manager. This is because team members also perform
technical work on the project apart from the overall management
of the project.

1.4 Program & Portfolio

Projects are either independent of each other or related to

each other. The ones that are related need to be managed in a
coordinated manner. For example, construction of a building can
be divided into various projects like civil work, plumbing work,
electrical work, interior work etc., as each of these require different
skills. However, all of these projects are closely related and cannot
be managed independently of each other. In such cases, we put
the projects in a program.
A program is a collection of related projects that helps in
managing them in a better way. There is generally a Program
Manager who performs this job of managing the relationship
between projects. The individual projects have their own Project
Manager who is responsible for managing them.

www.vibrantpublishers.com
6 Project Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

Figure 1.1

Project 1
Program Inter-Project
Co-or on at
Program Level

Project 2 Project 3

A Portfolio is a collection of all work being done (projects,

programs, operations) with the same strategic objectives. Most
companies designate a person for a large customer account.
Generally, this person is referred to as an Account Manager. All
projects being carried out for that particular customer are clubbed
together and the Account Manager presents them to the customer.
Companies working across numerous geographical regions classify
projects on the basis of regions, like Americas, Europe, Middle East
& Africa, Asia Pacific etc. In such a case, all projects carried out
for a particular geographical area are represented by a Region /
Country Manager for that area. Whatever be the way to define this
engagement, they have one thing in common – strategic objectives
for the portfolio of projects. The generic term for such a person
representing all work done against common strategic objectives is
Portfolio Manager and the projects are said to be part of a portfolio.

The importance of a portfolio comes from the fact that Portfolio

Managers are given targets for the quarter / year by the senior
management of the company. These targets can be based on
revenue increase, market share, profit margin, resource utilization

www.vibrantpublishers.com
Project Management Overview 7

etc. The Portfolio Manager needs to ensure that all the projects
falling under the portfolio are working towards achieving these
objectives. A portfolio may contain programs and even any
operations being carried out apart from projects.

Figure 1.2

Project
Porolio All Work Sharing
Same Strategic
Objec es

Oper ons Program

1.5 Project Management Office (PMO)

Today, most companies that execute several projects have

a centralized department called Project Management Office
(PMO). However, the work performed by the PMO differs. It
generally depends upon the size of the company and whether the
company’s main business deals with projects or operations. Some
companies like auto manufacturers are mainly into the operations
business. Others, like infrastructure companies, are mainly into
the projects business.

Consider a start-up company that undertakes projects. Such a

company may not have a PMO and the few projects are managed
www.vibrantpublishers.com
8 Project Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

by the project managers in a way that the individual project

managers think best. As this company matures into a small-sized
company, several projects are carried out and a need is felt to
manage projects in a standardized way. This is when a PMO is
established, generally with a single person running the show. This
person, called the PMO, provides standards, policies, processes
and templates to manage projects and the project managers are
expected to follow these guidelines.

When this company matures into a medium-sized company,

even more projects are performed and new project managers
are hired. Then there is a need to train, coach, and mentor the
project managers and also provide centralized project reporting
(generally referred to as MIS reporting – Management Information
System) to senior management. This additional responsibility is
then taken up by the PMO which now becomes a full-fledged
department.

When the company further grows in size, it may opt for a

more active PMO that takes complete responsibility of managing
all projects in the company. Every time a new project begins,
one person from the PMO department is assigned to it as a
project manager. The PMO head now functions as a manager of
project managers. However, this kind of PMO works best when
the company undertakes projects in the same technical field or
domain so any project can be assigned to any project manager.

1.6 Management by Objectives (MBO)

Companies set targets that they must achieve in the financial

year. These apply directly to the senior management of the

www.vibrantpublishers.com