SYNOPSIS

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

PHAGWARA (DISTT. KAPURTHALA), PUNJAB

TOPIC:- Project management tools

Submitted by

KARAMDEEP KAUR
Registration No. 10801974

Submitted to

Mr. Sudhanshu Parkash Tiwri

Acknowledgment

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them. I am highly indebted to Mr. Sudhanshu Parkash Tiwari for their guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project and also for their support in completing the project. I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents & member of Lovely Professional University for their kind co-operation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project. I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to industry persons for giving me such attention and time. My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.

INTRODUCTION Project management is the area of expertise which encompasses the components necessary for the completion of a project. A project manager gathers and organizes the resources required to initiate and moderate each stage of a project, from beginning to end. A project is a specific onetime endeavor that has a finish date. This is not to be confused with business operations that occur on a regular basis. Three factors that affect a project, called project constraints, are commonly categorized as scope, time, and cost, each of which influence two other factors: risk, and quality. Keeping any one of these constraints under sufficient control is key to maintaining the rest. If, for example, time is poorly managed, then investments of cost could be completely undermined and the project is set at risk. Although the effects of each constraint vary depending on the project, the best managers are able to maximize project efficiency by being equipped with up-to-date management methodologies and tools. One such tool used by many companies today is project management software.

What is Project Management? Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual , which are repetitive permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies. Project management is the science (and art) of organizing the components of a project, whether the project is development of a new product, the launch of a new service, a marketing campaign. A project isn't something that's part of normal business operations. It's typically created once, it's

temporary, and it's specific. As one expert notes, "It has a beginning and an end." A project consumes resources (whether people, cash, materials, or time), and it has funding limits.

What is IT Project Management? IT project management is an area of project management that has an emphasis on computer technology. This form of project management differs from other management systems in the way that it deals specifically with how information is handled via both software and hardware. IT project management is the knowledge base in which IT project managers refer to in order to successfully carry out their projects. IT project management consists of the various methodologies and tools that assist in the planning, moderation, and execution of an IT project. The project manager is in charge of gathering, organizing, and directing the resources necessary to provide a project with the most efficient result. Because IT projects rely heavily on data management, one of the best things an IT project manager can do to increase his or her productivity is utilize the most up-to-date IT project management software solutions.

What is IT Project Management Software? IT project management software is a tool that enhances the capabilities of the project manager by providing more accurate views of the project through its various stages. Because being able to make sense of large amounts of data is crucial to the success of an IT project, IT project management software allows a manager to have increased control over what information is visible. Today, more IT project management solutions are moving to SaaS (software-as-a-service), making the project management processes more optimized to the needs of the project manager. Because many of these tools are web-based, IT project managers and individuals alike are able to centralize their data in one location, allowing quick communication and collaboration aspects that are essential in the fast-paced, ever-changing world of IT.

Project Management Basics No matter what the type of project, project management typically follows the same pattern: 1. Definition 2. Planning 3. Execution 4. Control 5. Closure Defining the Project In this stage the project manager defines what the project is and what the users hope to achieve by undertaking the project. This phase also includes a list of project deliverables, the outcome of a specific set of activities. The project manager works with the business sponsor or manager who wants to have the project implemented and other stakeholders -those who have a vested interest in the outcome of the project. Planning the Project Define all project activities. In this stage, the project manager lists all activities or tasks, how the tasks are related, how long each task will take, and how each tasks is tied to a specific deadline. This phase also allows the project manager to define relationships between tasks, so that, for example, if one task is x number of days late, the project tasks related to it will also reflect a comparable delay. Likewise, the project manager can set milestones, dates by which important aspects of the project need to be met. Define requirements for completing the project. In this stage, the project manager identifies how many people (often referred to as "resources") and how much expense ("cost") is involved in the project, as well as any other requirements that are necessary for completing the project. The project manager will also need to manage assumptions and risks related to the project. The project manager will also want to identify project constraints. Constraints typically relate to schedule, resources, budget, and scope. A

change in one constraint will typically affect the other constraints. For example, a budget constraint may affect the number of people who can work on the project, thereby imposing a resource constraint. Likewise, if additional features are added as part of project scope, that could affect scheduling, resources, and budget. Executing the Project Build the project team. In this phase, the project manager knows how many resources and how much budget he or she has to work with for the project. The project manager then assigns those resources and allocates budget to various tasks in the project. Now the work of the project begins. Controlling the Project The project manager is in charge of updating the project plans to reflect actual time elapsed for each task. By keeping up with the details of progress, the project manager is able to understand how well the project is progressing overall. A product such as Microsoft Project facilitates the administrative aspects of project management. Closure of the Project In this stage, the project manager and business owner pull together the project team and those who have an interest in the outcome of the project (stakeholders) to analyze the final outcome of the project.

Time, Money, Scope Frequently, people refer to project management as having three components: time, money, and scope. Reducing or increasing any one of the three will probably have an impact on the other two. If a company reduces the amount of time it can spend on a project, that will affect the scope (what can be included in the project) as well as the cost (since additional people or resources may be required to meet the abbreviated schedule)

PPM PPM, short for project portfolio management, is the discipline of defining, selecting, and managing a group of multiple projects. This group is called a portfolio. The Project Management Institute defines PPM as the centralized management of one or more portfolios, which includes identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling projects, programs, and other related work to achieve specific strategic business objectives. Not to be confused with regular project management, PPM deals with deciding which projects in a portfolio are to be prioritized over the rest. In other words, PPM is the management of project management; it does not oversee individual projects themselves.

PPM constraints The EPMC (Enterprise Portfolio Management Council) suggests that PPM address five important questions, which relate to the five project constraints.

Scope: Are we investing in the right things? Projects are organized within the portfolio to bring the best ROI for the business. The means deciding what projects will start first and what projects will be terminated.

Cost: Are we optimizing our capacity? Projects require managers, team members, resources, and tools. Having an excess or lack of any of these will negatively affect ROI. Quality: How well are we executing? PPM moderates the status of projects and determines how productive each project has been. If quality seems to be spiraling down, adjustments within the portfolio may need be made.

Time: Are we realizing the promised benefits? Projects and portfolios alike have an end goal associated with a calendar date. PPM managers make sure that each project is providing the anticipated results, making changes as necessary.

Risk: Can we absorb all the changes? There is a risk factor involved with each project in a portfolio, often trumping the other factors. If a project with a large ROI is extremely risky, for instance, a less profitable, less risky project may gain preference over the other.

Project Management Systems Project management systems are software tools that assist in the organization and moderation of a project throughout its life cycle. Most project management systems provide project managers with these basic enhancements:

Project visibility: shows the project as a whole, allowing one to accurately predict the results of project constraints (scope, time, costs, etc.) Resource visibility: shows the resources available in a project, allowing one to properly distribute and prioritize work Metric visibility: shows the current status of certain elements of a project in relation to the end goal

Project Management Systems in Different Industries Because different industries are engaged in different projects, there are a variety of project management systems that are specifically designed to conform to the management methodologies needed. For instance, traditional project management systems are used for projects that implement the standard five-step approach: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and completion. Agile project management systems, on the other hand, are less process driven and more adaptable to the dynamic, demand-based environment of agile projects. While solutions exists for each methodology, there are also all-in-one systems that accommodate the needs of projects across every industry.

Project Management Systems Today Project management via the cloud and SaaS (software-as-a-service) are the most common and most productive systems on the market today. Unlike an on-premise system that is only accessible locally, modern web-based systems allow projects to be managed from any device that

has internet access. The data and documents associated with a project are centralized in one location, giving a business remote access from around the world. Project management software has also been highly influenced by the social media. Using features similar to social networking sites like Face book and LinkedIn, modern project management systems can give the workforce profound connectivity. For example, some systems have a feed of project status updates from other team members, letting people always know what others are working on. This network can help eliminate projects that are counterproductive and can allow collaboration on those projects that are closely related. Thousands of companies, especially those that have expanded internationally, have found this connectivity to be the strongest point of their business. As technology continues to advance today, project managers are growing more and more optimistic about the future of social project management systems.

Project management tools Here are examples and explanations of four commonly used tools in project planning and project management, namely: Brainstorming, Fishbone Diagrams, Critical Path Analysis Flow Diagrams, and Gantt Charts. Additionally and separately see business process modeling and quality management, which contain related tools and methods aside from the main project management models shown below. The tools here each have their strengths and particular purposes, summarized as a basic guide in the matrix below. Matrix key: B = Brainstorming F = Fishbone/Ishikawa Diagrams C = Critical Path Analysis Flow Diagrams G = Gantt Charts *** - main tool ** - optional/secondary tool * - sometimes useful

B Project brainstorming and initial concepts, ideas, structures, aims, etc Gathering and identifying all elements, especially causal and hidden factors Scheduling and timescales Identifying and sequencing parallel and interdependent activities and stages Financials - costings, budgets, revenues, profits, variances, etc Monitoring, forecasting, reporting Troubleshooting, problem identification, diagnosis and solutions 'Snapshot' or 'map' overview - non-sequential, non-scheduled Format for communications, presentations, updates, progress reports, etc * *

*** **

*** ** ** *** * * ** ** *** * *** *** *

** *** ** ** *** * *

***

Brainstorming Brainstorming is usually the first crucial creative stage of the project management and project planning process. See the brainstorming method in detail and explained separately, because it many other useful applications outside of project management. Unlike most project management skills and methods, the first stages of the brainstorming process is ideally a free-thinking and random technique. Consequently it can be overlooked or under-utilized because it not a natural approach for many people whose mains strengths are in systems and processes. Consequently this stage of the project planning process can benefit from

being facilitated by a team member able to manage such a session, specifically to help very organized people to think randomly and creatively.

Fishbone diagrams Fishbone diagrams are chiefly used in quality management fault-detection, and in business process improvement, especially in manufacturing and production, but the model is also very useful in project management planning and task management generally. Within project management fishbone diagrams are useful for early planning, notably when gathering and organizing factors, for example during brainstorming. Fishbone diagrams are very good for identifying hidden factors which can be significant in enabling larger activities, resources areas, or parts of a process. Fishbone diagrams are not good for scheduling or showing interdependent time-critical factors. Fishbone diagrams are also called 'cause and effect diagrams' and Ishikawa diagrams, after Kaoru Ishikawa (1915-89), a Japanese professor specializing in industrial quality management and engineering who devised the technique in the 1960s. Ishikawa's diagram became known as a fishbone diagram, obviously, because it looks like a fishbone:

A fishbone diagram has a central spine running left to right, around which is built a map of factors which contribute to the final result. For each project the main categories of factors are identified and shown as the main 'bones' leading to the spine. Into each category can be drawn 'primary' elements or factors (shown as P in the diagram), and into these can be drawn secondary elements or factors. This is done for every category, and can be extended to third or fourth level factors if necessary. The diagram above is a very simple one. Typically fishbone diagrams have six or more main bones feeding into the spine. Other main category factors can include Environment, Management, Systems, Training, Legal, etc. The categories used in a fishbone diagram should be whatever makes sense for the project. Various standard category sets exist for different industrial applications, however it is important that your chosen structure is right for your own situation, rather than taking a standard set of category headings and hoping that it fits. At a simple level the fishbone diagram is a very effective planning model and tool - especially for 'mapping' an entire operation.

Where a fishbone diagram is used for project planning of course the 'Effect' is shown as an aim or outcome or result, not a problem. The 'Problem' term is used in fault diagnosis and in quality management problem-solving. Some fishbone diagrams can become very complex indeed, which is common in specialized quality management areas, especially where systems are computerized. This model, and the critical path analysis diagram are similar to the even more complex diagrams used on business process modeling within areas of business planning and and business process improvement.

Project critical path analysis (flow diagram or chart) 'Critical Path Analysis' sounds very complicated, but it's a very logical and effective method for planning and managing complex projects. A critical path analysis is normally shown as a flow diagram, whose format is linear (organized in a line), and specifically a time-line. Critical Path Analysis is also called Critical Path Method - it's the same thing - and the terms are commonly abbreviated, to CPA and CPM. A commonly used tool within Critical Path Analysis is PERT (Program/ Programme /Project Evaluation and Review Technique) which is a specialized method for identifying related and interdependent activities and events, especially where a big project may contain hundreds or thousands of connected elements. PERT is not normally relevant in simple projects, but any project of considerable size and complexity, particularly when timings and interdependency issues are crucial, can benefit from the detailed analysis enabled by PERT methods. PERT analysis commonly feeds into Critical Path Analysis and to other broader project management systems, such as those mentioned here. Critical Path Analysis flow diagrams are very good for showing interdependent factors whose timings overlap or coincide. They also enable a plan to be scheduled according to a timescale. Critical Path Analysis flow diagrams also enable costing and budgeting, although not quite as easily as Gantt charts (below), and they also help planners to identify causal elements, although not quite so easily as fishbone diagrams (below).

This is how to create a Critical Path Analysis. As an example, the project is a simple one making a fried breakfast. First note down all the issues again for example: Assemble crockery and utensils, assemble ingredients, prepare equipment, make toast, fry sausages and eggs, grill bacon and tomatoes, lay table, warm plates, serve. Note that some of these activities must happen in parallel - and crucially they are interdependent. That is to say, if you tried to make a fried breakfast by doing one task at a time, and one after the other, things would go wrong. Certain tasks must be started before others, and certain tasks must be completed in order for others to begin. The plates need to be warming while other activities are going on. The toast needs to be toasting while the sausages are frying, and at the same time the bacon and sausages are under the grill. The eggs need to be fried last. A Critical Path Analysis is a diagrammatical representation of what needs done and when. Timescales and costs can be applied to each activity and resource. Here's the Critical Path Analysis for making a fried breakfast: This Critical Path Analysis example below shows just a few activities over a few minutes. Normal business projects would see the analysis extending several times wider than this example, and the time line would be based on weeks or months. It is possible to use MS Excel or a similar spreadsheet to create a Critical Path Analysis, which allows financial totals and time totals to be planned and tracked. Various specialized project management software enable the same thing. Beware however of spending weeks on the intricacies of computer modeling, when in the early stages especially, a carefully hand drawn diagram - which requires no computer training at all can put 90% of the thinking and structure in place. Project critical path analysis flow diagram example

Gantt charts Gantt Charts (commonly wrongly called gantt charts) are extremely useful project management tools. The Gantt Chart is named after US engineer and consultant Henry Gantt (1861-1919) who devised the technique in the 1910s. Gantt charts are excellent models for scheduling and for budgeting, and for reporting and presenting and communicating project plans and progress easily and quickly, but as a rule Gantt Charts are not as good as a Critical Path Analysis Flow Diagram for identifying and showing interdependent factors, or for 'mapping' a plan from and/or into all of its detailed causal or contributing elements. You can construct a Gantt Chart using MSExcel or a similar spreadsheet. Every activity has a separate line. Create a time-line for the duration of the project (the breakfast example shows minutes, but normally you would use weeks, or for very big long-term projects, months). You can colour code the time blocks to denote type of activity (for example, intense, watching brief, directly managed, delegated and left-to-run, etc.) You can schedule review and insert break

points. At the end of each line you can show as many cost columns for the activities as you need. The breakfast example shows just the capital cost of the consumable items and a revenue cost for labour and fuel. A Gantt chart like this can be used to keep track of progress for each activity and how the costs are running. You can move the time blocks around to report on actuals versus planned, and to re-schedule, and to create new plan updates. Costs columns can show plan and actuals and variances, and calculate whatever totals, averages, ratios, etc., that you need. Gantt Charts are probably the most flexible and useful of all project management tools, but remember they do not very easily or obviously show the importance and inter-dependence of related parallel activities, and they won't obviously show the necessity to complete one task before another can begin, as a Critical Path Analysis will do, so you may need both tools, especially at the planning stage, and almost certainly for large complex projects. gantt chart example

A wide range of computerised systems/software now exists for project management and planning, and new methods continue to be developed. It is an area of high innovation, with lots of scope for improvement and development. I welcome suggestions of particularly good systems, especially if inexpensive or free. Many organizations develop or specify particular computerised tools, so it's a good idea to seek local relevant advice and examples of best practice before deciding the best computerised project management system(s) for your own situation.

Project planning tools naturally become used also for subsequent project reporting, presentations, etc., and you will make life easier for everyone if you use formats that people recognize and find familiar.

References:www.wikipedia.com www.google.com