Terminology and Definitions

A project is an interrelated set of activities that has a definite starting and ending point and results in the
accomplishment of a unique, often major outcome. "Project management" is, therefore, the planning and
control of events that, together, comprise the project. Project management aims to ensure the effective use
of resources and delivery of the project objectives on time and within cost constraints.

An activity or task is the smallest unit of work effort within the project and consumes both time and
resources which are under the control of the project manager. A project is a sequence of activities that has a
definite start and finish, an identifiable goal and an integrated system of complex but interdependent
relationships.

A schedule allocates resources to accomplish the activities within a timeframe. The schedule sets priorities,
start times and finish times.

Project management is:

the adept use of techniques and skills (hard and soft) in planning and controlling tasks and resources needed
for the project, from both inside and outside of organisation, to achieve results.

The purpose of project management is to achieve successful project completion with the resources available.
A successful project is one which:

 has been finished on time

 is within its cost budget
 Performs to a technical/performance standard which satisfies the end user.

Features of projects
 Projects are often carried out by a team of people who have been assembled for that specific purpose.
The activities of this team may be co-ordinated by a project manager.
 Project teams may consist of people from different backgrounds and different parts of the organisation.
In some cases project teams may consist of people from different organisations.
 Project teams may be inter-disciplinary groups and are likely to lie outside the normal organisation
hierarchies.
 The project team will be responsible for delivery of the project end product to some sponsor within or
outside the organisation. The full benefit of any project will not become available until the project as
been completed.

Responsibilities of the Project Manager

1. To plan thoroughly all aspects of the project, soliciting the active involvement of all functional
areas involved, in order to obtain and maintain a realistic plan that satisfies their commitment for
performance.
2. To control the organization of manpower needed by the project.
3. To control the basic technical definition of the project, ensuring that "technical" versus "cost" trade-
offs determine the specific areas where optimisation is necessary.
4. To lead the people and organizations assigned to the project at any given point in time. Strong
positive leadership must be exercised in order to keep the many disparate elements moving in the
same direction in a co-operative.
5. To monitor performance, costs and efficiency of all elements of the project and the project as a
whole, exercising judgement and leadership in determining the causes of problems and facilitating
solutions.
6. To complete the project on schedule and within costs, these being the overall standard by which
performance of the project manager is evaluated.

Why do projects go wrong?

There can be many reasons why projects go wrong. The most common reasons are as follows:
a) Project goals are not clearly defined
b) There can be constraints on the completion of projects arising from the different objectives of:
 Short time scale
 Resource availability
 Quality factors
 Human factors

Classification
You may find it useful to consider projects in relation to a number of major classifications:

a) Engineering and construction

The projects are concerned with producing a clear physical output, such as roads, bridges or
buildings. The requirements of a project team are well defined in terms of skills and
background, as are the main procedures that have to be undergone. Most of the problems which
may confront the project team are likely to have occurred before and therefore their solution may
be based upon past experiences.

b) Introduction of new systems

These projects would include computerisation projects and the introduction of new systems and
procedures including financial systems. The nature and constitution of a project team may vary
with the subject of the project, as different skills may be required and different end-users may be
involved. Major projects involving a systems analysis approach may incorporate clearly defined
procedures within an organisation.

c) Responding to deadlines and change

 An example of responding to a deadline is the preparation of an annual report by a specified
date. An increasing number of projects are concerned with designing organisational or
environmental changes, involving developing new products and services.

VARIOUS STAGES OF PROJECT

Thinking

Planning & scheduling

Data collection status updating through network and

Giving early warnings pave a path for successful completion

Why do companies use PM?

• To handle projects effectively in an organization.

• To define the project and agree with the customer

• To plan and assess resource needs for the project

• To estimate project cost and make proposals

• To plan & schedule activities in a project.

• To allocate the right resource at the right time.

• To assess risk and failure points and make backup plans.

• To lead a project team effectively and communicate well among team members.

The project life cycle

Project management is achieved by applying and integrating project management processes which
include: initiating, planning, executing, control and monitoring, and closing. These are referred to as
process groups and they dictate the life cycle of a project. Apart from process groups there are
knowledge areas, which are the backbone and knowledge base of project management. The knowledge
areas consist of project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk,
and procurement management.
The four generic phases of a project life cycle (Figure 1.2) are: initiating, planning, performing
(executing) and closing the project (Clements and Gido, 2011:9).
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Management in business simply means process to control or handle things or people like
planning, decision making, organizing, financial, human resources, etc. to attain or achieve
the organization’s goals and objectives.
Project management means application of knowledge, tools, techniques to project activities
so as to achieve goals and meet success criteria in given period of time. Main aim to achieve
goal within given limitation or restriction.
There are various tools and techniques used in project management to accomplish successful
project. These tools and techniques are given below :
1. Process Modeling and Management tools :
Process modeling simply means to model software processes. At first, developers need to
fully understand process and work of software, then only they can be able to model
process. This tool represents key elements of process that are important. So, it makes it
easier to perform work tasks in efficient and proper manner.

2. Project Planning tools :

Project planning simply means to plan and set up project for successful development
within timeframe. It includes defined stages or steps to define objectives of project with
designated resources, clarify scope of what should be done, and then develop list of tasks
that are needed to be done to complete it. Tools used for project planning can be CPM
(Critical Path Method) and PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique). Both of
them are used for finding parallelism, eliminating bottlenecks in projects, and scheduling
 activities of project. Some tools that make planning of project in efficient way are Trello,
Nifty, Asana, Team Gantt, etc.

3. Risk Analysis tools :

Risk analysis simply means to identify and analyze errors or defects or any issue that can
cause negative impact and result in the changed outcome and objectives of project. The
analysis is done so that organization can fix issue or remove error to avoid effect caused
by them. These tools help in identifying risks and are useful for binding risk table.
These provide detailed guidance in the identification and analysis of risks. The risks
identified can be categorized into catastrophic, critical, marginal, or negligible. A cost is
associated with each risk which can be calculated at each stage of development. Some
tools and techniques are Delphi technique, Information gathering technique, Checklist
analysis, etc.

4. Project Management tools :

Project management simply means to track or control progress and tasks of project. These
tools are extension of project planning tools.
These tools are generally used to update pans if require and schedule project. These tools
make Project Management more effective and efficient. Some tools are Gantt chart, mind
map, WBS chart (Work Breakdown Structure), etc.

5. Metrics and Management tools :

Metric management tools are very good for software as they provide very quick and easy
way to track software development, set goals, and measure performance. These tools help
in capturing and finding out specific metrics that are useful and provide overall measure
of quality. These tools focus more on process and product characteristics.
For example, “defects per function point”, “Line Of Code/person-month”.

6. Quality Assurance tools :

Quality assurance in software engineering simply means to maintain level of quality of
software product by focusing on each step of process of development or production and
delivery. It prevents mistakes and any defects or errors in manufactured products.
These are actually metrics tools that audit source code to ensure compliance with
language standards. Some tools that are used for both Quality management plan and to
control quality process are Pareto Diagrams, control charts, histograms and scatter
diagrams, etc.

7. Database Management tools :

Database management simply means to organize, store, and retrieve data from computer
in efficient manner. It provides consistent interfaces for project for all data, in particular,
configuration objects are primary repository elements.
Some best database management tools are MySQL workbench, SolarWinds Database
Performance Analyzer, TablePlus, TeamDesk, etc.

Project Organization
Project organization refers to the style of coordination, communication and management a team
uses throughout a project’s life cycle. Project organization encourages participation by each
team member and embraces diverse talents and skills.

Team involvement is laid out in an organizational structure chart that graphically shows where
each person is placed in the project structure. Project organizational charts are useful tools for
clarifying who does what, securing buy-in and setting expectations for the group.

By applying project organization, a project team optimizes resources, provides clear

communication about roles and responsibilities and reduces potential roadblocks. To maintain a
strong project organization, the team needs proper direction and training from colleagues and
supervisors. Each company has its own approach to project organization, depending on how
many employees they have and what the project entails.

Types of project organization

There are many kinds of organizational strategies to implement for project success, including:

Functional
Functional project organization is structured around traditionally functioning departments with
managers who report to an executive. It is the most commonly used project organization. There
are no project managers. Instead, the managers coordinate projects and select team members
from each department to support the project.

Project-oriented
Also known as projectized organization, the project-oriented approach has dedicated project
divisions within the company. Each division focuses on a specific project and what is necessary
to complete its tasks. Project division managers make significant decisions regarding goals,
schedules and responsibilities for their team members.

Organic
Organic project organization focuses on a project's natural progression. This type of organization
is flexible with a more relaxed workflow approach. This approach is also known as "laissez-
faire," meaning the company allows each employee to have a unique approach to work and the
ability to make their own decisions. They work side by side to communicate quickly to resolve
unexpected issues.
Matrix
Matrix project organization focuses on both functional and project-oriented approaches. This
approach means the team considers both the project and team member roles equally. Project
leaders and those higher up in the structure make the decisions.

There are three subtypes of matrix organizational structures:

Balanced: Both project managers and functional managers have equal (or similar) levels of
authority.
Strong: Project managers have more authority than functional managers.
Weak: Functional managers have more authority than project managers.

Multidivision
When a team uses a multidivision project organization, they do not have functional roles.
Instead, several individual groups share the same goal and skills. These groups might work on
distinct tasks but progress toward the overall team objective.

Virtual
Virtual project organization involves team members from across the country or around the world
who work on the same project together. This team does not focus on functional roles but rather
on overall contribution to project objectives. The project manager organizes the team and goals
to keep everyone informed and progressing effectively.

Democratic
Democratic project organization is when a company makes decisions based on the majority's
opinion and feedback. A team uses the democratic approach to enforce structures, rules and
expectations that most employees agree on. As a result, implementing regulations and outlining
goals is easier because of the general consensus among team members.