EAB 2382: PROJECT PLANNING AND DESIGN

Expected learning outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

• Identify methodologies for project management

• Explain project design

Project management methodologies are systematic approaches used to plan, execute, monitor,

and control projects. These methodologies provide a structured framework for managing projects

effectively and efficiently. Over the years, project management has evolved, leading to a

distinction between traditional and modern methodologies.

Traditional Project Management Methodologies:

Traditional project management methodologies are often characterized by a sequential, linear,

and plan-driven approach. These methodologies are well-suited for projects with well-defined

requirements and limited changes expected during the project lifecycle.

Some examples of traditional methodologies include:

1. Waterfall:

Waterfall is a traditional project management methodology that follows a linear and

sequential approach to managing projects. It is characterized by a well-defined project

lifecycle with distinct phases that must be completed one after the other. Waterfall is best

suited for projects with clear and stable requirements, minimal changes expected during the

project, and a need for comprehensive documentation.

Key Phases in the Waterfall Methodology:

1. Requirements: The project begins with a thorough analysis of the requirements. These

requirements are documented and agreed upon by all stakeholders. Any changes to

requirements are discouraged once this phase is complete.

2. Design: After requirements are finalized, the design phase starts. It involves creating

detailed specifications and plans for the project, including technical designs and

architectural diagrams.

3. Implementation: In the implementation phase, the project is built based on the design

specifications. This phase involves coding, development, and construction of the project's

components.

4. Testing: Once the implementation is complete, extensive testing is carried out to verify

that the project meets the requirements and works as expected. This includes unit testing,

integration testing, system testing, and user acceptance testing.

5. Deployment: After testing, the project is deployed or released to the end-users or

customers. Deployment includes installation, configuration, and the rollout of the project.

6. Maintenance: The maintenance phase involves ongoing support and updates. Any

necessary changes, enhancements, or bug fixes are addressed in this phase.

Key Characteristics and Principles of the Waterfall Methodology:

1. Sequential Flow: The phases are executed in a linear sequence, with each phase

depending on the completion of the previous one. This rigid flow aims to prevent changes

once the project is underway.

2. Comprehensive Documentation: Waterfall places a strong emphasis on documentation

at each phase, ensuring that requirements, designs, and testing procedures are thoroughly

documented.

3. Limited Customer Involvement: Customer involvement is primarily at the beginning and

end of the project. Customers provide input during the requirements phase and receive

the final product after deployment.

4. Project Plan: A detailed project plan is created at the outset, including a schedule, resource

allocation, and deliverables for each phase.

5. Change Management: Changes to project requirements or scope are generally

discouraged after the requirements phase. Any changes may require restarting the project

from the beginning.

6. Well-Defined Quality Control: Rigorous testing and quality control processes are used

to ensure that the project meets its requirements and specifications.

Advantages of the Waterfall Methodology:

• Clarity and predictability: A well-defined plan and sequential flow provide clarity in

project progress.

• Comprehensive documentation: Thorough documentation ensures that project details are

well-documented for reference.

• Effective for stable requirements: Ideal for projects with unchanging and well-understood

requirements.
• Suitable for regulatory compliance: Appropriate for projects that require strict

documentation and auditing, such as those in highly regulated industries.

Limitations of the Waterfall Methodology:

• Inflexibility: It is challenging to accommodate changes once the project has progressed

beyond the requirements phase.

• Limited customer involvement: Customers are mainly involved at the beginning and end

of the project, which can result in misalignment with evolving needs.

• Risk of late issue discovery: Issues and defects may not be discovered until the testing

phase, leading to costly late-stage corrections.

• Lengthy delivery: Can result in lengthy project delivery times, particularly for large

projects.

• Unsuitable for complex, uncertain projects: Waterfall is not suitable for projects with

evolving requirements or a high degree of uncertainty.

2. PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments):

PRINCE2 provides a structured and process-driven approach to project management,

emphasizing organization, control, and governance throughout the project's lifecycle.

It is particularly known for its flexibility and adaptability to various project types and sizes.

Key Components of PRINCE2:

1. Principles: PRINCE2 is based on seven core principles that guide the approach to project

management. These principles include continued business justification, learning from

experience, defined roles and responsibilities, managing by stages, managing by

exception, focusing on products, and tailoring to the project's environment.

2. Themes: PRINCE2 includes seven themes that should be applied throughout the project

lifecycle. These themes include business justification, organization, quality, plans, risk,

change, and progress. These themes ensure that key aspects of project management, such

as risk and quality, are consistently addressed.

3. Processes: PRINCE2 defines a set of processes that guide the project from initiation to

closure. These processes include starting up a project (SU), initiating a project (IP),

directing a project (DP), controlling a stage (CS), managing product delivery (MP),

managing a stage boundary (SB), and closing a project (CP). Each process has defined

inputs, outputs, and activities.

For further reading: https://www.prince2.com/zar/blog/the-7-principles-themes-and-

processes-of-prince2

4. Roles and Responsibilities: PRINCE2 defines a set of well-defined roles and

responsibilities for project management. Key roles include the project manager, project

board, executive, senior user, senior supplier, and team manager. These roles ensure clear

accountability and decision-making throughout the project.

Key Principles of PRINCE2:

1. Continued Business Justification: Every project must have a valid reason for its

existence, and this justification should be reviewed at each stage to ensure it remains valid.

2. Learning from Experience: PRINCE2 promotes the idea of learning from past projects to

improve future performance. Lessons are documented and used to inform decision-

making.

3. Defined Roles and Responsibilities: Clear roles and responsibilities are established to

ensure that everyone involved in the project understands their role and accountabilities.

4. Managing by Stages: PRINCE2 breaks the project into manageable stages, with a review

at the end of each stage to assess progress and decide whether to continue.
5. Managing by Exception: PRINCE2 defines tolerances for time and cost. Project managers

are authorized to make decisions within these tolerances, and any issues falling outside

these limits are escalated.

6. Focusing on Products: PRINCE2 places a strong emphasis on defining, delivering, and

controlling the project's outputs or products. Each product is assigned ownership and

quality criteria.

7. Tailoring to the Project's Environment: PRINCE2 is not prescriptive but rather adaptable.

It can be tailored to suit the specific needs and circumstances of the project.

Advantages of PRINCE2:

• Strong emphasis on governance and control, making it suitable for complex and regulated

environments.

• Flexibility and adaptability, allowing it to be tailored to various project types and sizes.

• Clear roles and responsibilities, ensuring that all team members understand their

accountabilities.

• A focus on continued business justification, ensuring that projects remain aligned with

their objectives.

Limitations of PRINCE2:

• Can be seen as bureaucratic for small or straightforward projects.

• Requires a degree of training and certification to fully implement.

• May not be as well-suited to highly innovative or Agile projects.

 3. Critical Path Method (CPM):

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project management methodology and a mathematical

algorithm for planning, scheduling, and managing projects. It is designed to help project

managers determine the most efficient sequence of activities and identify the critical path – a

series of tasks that, if delayed, would cause the project's completion to be delayed as well. CPM

is widely used in various industries, particularly for projects with well-defined tasks and

dependencies

It is commonly used for construction and engineering projects.

Key Components of CPM:

1. Activities: In CPM, a project is divided into a set of activities or tasks, each with a defined

duration and a logical sequence. Activities represent the work that needs to be completed

to finish the project.

 2. Precedence Relationships: CPM defines the relationships between activities. These

relationships describe which activities must be completed before others can start.

Common relationships include "finish-to-start" (Activity B can start after Activity A

finishes) and "start-to-start" (Activity B can start when Activity A starts).

3. Network Diagram: CPM uses a network diagram to illustrate the sequence of activities

and their dependencies. There are two common types of network diagrams in CPM:

Activity-on-Node (AON) and Activity-on-Arrow (AOA). In the AON format, nodes

represent activities, and arrows represent dependencies.

4. Duration Estimates: For each activity, project managers estimate the time required for

completion. These estimates can be in days, weeks, or any other time unit, and they can

be deterministic (a single value) or probabilistic (a range of values).

5. Critical Path: The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent activities that

determines the overall duration of the project. Any delay in activities on the critical path

will result in a delay in the project's completion.

6. Float (Slack): Float, also known as slack, represents the amount of time an activity can be

delayed without affecting the project's overall duration. Activities on the critical path have

zero float because any delay in these activities will impact the project's finish date. Non-

critical path activities have positive float.

Key Steps in CPM:

1. Identify Activities: List all the activities required to complete the project, including their

dependencies.

2. Estimate Activity Durations: For each activity, estimate the time needed for completion.
 3. Create a Network Diagram: Use the estimated durations and precedence relationships to

create a network diagram that illustrates the project's sequence of activities.

4. Calculate the Critical Path: Identify the longest path through the network diagram, which

represents the critical path. This path determines the project's duration.

5. Calculate Float: Calculate the float for each non-critical path activity to understand how

much flexibility exists in the project schedule.

6. Monitor and Control: Continuously monitor the project's progress, making adjustments

as needed to ensure activities are completed on time.

Advantages of CPM:

• Identifies the critical path, allowing for better focus on tasks that can impact project

completion.

• Provides a visual representation of project activities and their dependencies.

• Allows for efficient resource allocation and scheduling.

• Helps project managers make informed decisions about project priorities and resource

allocation.

Limitations of CPM:

• Assumes that activity durations are known with certainty, which may not be the case in

some projects.

• May not be well-suited for projects with a high degree of uncertainty and frequent

changes.
 • Focusing solely on the critical path can overlook the importance of non-critical path active

• ities and their potential impact.

Modern Project Management methodologies

Modern project management methodologies have gained popularity in response to the

need for flexibility, adaptability, and collaboration in rapidly changing business

environments. They are particularly well-suited for projects with evolving requirements

and a high degree of uncertainty.

1. Agile: Agile is an iterative and flexible methodology that focuses on customer

collaboration, responding to change, and delivering incremental value. It divides the

project into small iterations or sprints, where teams work on small, incremental

deliverables.

2. Scrum: Scrum is an Agile framework that organizes work into time-boxed iterations

called sprints. It emphasizes cross-functional teams, daily stand-up meetings, and a focus

on delivering working product increments.

3. Kanban: Kanban is an Agile framework that visualizes work as a flow on a board,

allowing teams to manage and optimize their workflow efficiently. It is particularly useful

for managing tasks with variable workloads.

4. Lean: Lean project management, inspired by Lean manufacturing principles, aims to

minimize waste, improve efficiency, and deliver value to customers. It focuses on

continuous improvement and customer focus.

 5. Six Sigma: Six Sigma is a data-driven methodology that focuses on process improvement

and reducing defects. It is used to improve project quality and performance.

6. Adaptive Project Framework (APF): APF is a methodology that acknowledges the

uncertainty in projects and provides a framework for managing that uncertainty by

adapting project plans as needed.

Note: Further reading on different Modern project management methodologies:

https://startinfinity.com/project-management-methodologies

Differences Between Traditional and Modern Methodologies:

1. Approach:

• Traditional methodologies follow a sequential, plan-driven approach, while

modern methodologies emphasize adaptability, customer collaboration, and

iterative development.

2. Change Management:

• Traditional methodologies resist changes after the project plan is set, whereas

modern methodologies embrace and even welcome changes to accommodate

evolving requirements.

3. Delivery:

• Traditional methodologies aim to deliver the entire project at once, while modern

methodologies deliver working increments throughout the project.

4. Customer Involvement:
 • Modern methodologies involve customers or end-users more actively throughout

the project, seeking their feedback and adjusting the project as needed.

5. Documentation:

• Traditional methodologies require extensive upfront documentation, while

modern methodologies prioritize working software or deliverables over

comprehensive documentation.

6. Resource Allocation:

• Traditional methodologies often require resource allocation at the project's start,

whereas modern methodologies allow for flexible and adaptive resource

allocation.

7. Risk Management:

• Traditional methodologies may struggle with managing uncertainty and

unexpected changes, whereas modern methodologies have built-in mechanisms

for addressing and mitigating risks.

Project design

Project design is a critical phase in the project management process where the overall
concept and scope of the project are defined in detail. It involves creating a
comprehensive plan that outlines the project's objectives, deliverables, resources,
timelines, and other essential elements. Effective project design is crucial for ensuring
that a project meets its goals, stays on track, and is completed successfully.

Key aspects of project design:

1. Project Objectives: Clearly define the project's objectives and what it aims to
achieve. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and
time-bound (SMART).

2. Scope Definition: Establish the project's boundaries and define what is included
within the project's scope and what is not. This helps prevent scope creep, which
can lead to project delays and cost overruns.

3. Stakeholder Analysis: Identify and analyze the project's stakeholders, including

their interests, needs, and expectations. Understanding stakeholders is crucial for
effective project communication and management.

4. Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks and uncertainties that could impact the
project's success. Develop a risk management plan to mitigate and manage these
risks throughout the project.

5. Resource Planning: Determine the necessary resources, including human

resources, materials, equipment, and budget, required for the project. Ensure that
the project has the right resources in place.

6. Project Schedule: Create a detailed project schedule that outlines the sequence of
activities, milestones, and timelines for the project. Consider dependencies
between tasks and allocate time realistically.
7. Quality Planning: Establish quality standards and criteria for the project. Define
how quality will be monitored and ensured throughout the project's lifecycle.

8. Communication Plan: Develop a communication plan that outlines how project

information will be distributed to stakeholders, including the frequency and
methods of communication.

9. Procurement Strategy: If the project involves the purchase of goods or services,

develop a procurement strategy, including vendor selection, contract negotiation,
and procurement processes.

10. Monitoring and Evaluation: Define the key performance indicators (KPIs) and
metrics that will be used to assess project progress and success. Establish a
monitoring and evaluation plan.

11. Change Management: Anticipate that changes may be required during the project
and develop a process for managing change requests and their impact on the
project.

12. Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Ensure that the project complies with all
relevant legal and regulatory requirements. This may involve obtaining permits
or approvals.

13. Sustainability and Environmental Considerations: Consider the environmental

impact of the project and take steps to minimize any negative effects. Implement
sustainable practices where applicable.

14. Contingency Planning: Develop contingency plans to address unexpected events

or issues that may arise during the project, such as delays or resource shortages.

15. Team Structure: Define the roles and responsibilities of the project team members,
including the project manager, and establish a clear reporting structure.

16. Documentation: Create project documentation, such as a project charter, project

plan, and other project-specific documents to guide the project's execution.
Project Team

The project team is a core component of any project, and its composition, structure, and
effectiveness are critical to the project's success. A well-assembled and cohesive project
team can efficiently work together to achieve project objectives.

Key aspects of the project team:

1. Composition: The project team includes individuals who have specific skills and
expertise necessary for the project's successful execution. Team members can come from
various backgrounds and disciplines, depending on the project's nature. It typically
consists of the following roles:

• Project Manager: Responsible for overall project planning, execution, monitoring,

and control. The project manager is the leader of the team, responsible for
decision-making and ensuring the project's success.

• Project Team Members: Individuals with specialized skills and knowledge

required to complete project tasks. They can be experts in various areas, such as
engineering, design, programming, or any field relevant to the project.

• Stakeholders: Stakeholders, both internal and external, may be considered part of

the project team in some cases. Their input, feedback, and involvement are
essential for project success.

• Support and Administrative Roles: Depending on the project's size and

complexity, administrative support roles, such as project coordinators, schedulers,
and administrative assistants, may be part of the team.

2. Team Dynamics: Effective communication and collaboration are essential for a project
team's success. Team members should work cohesively, share information, and support
each other to achieve project objectives.
3. Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly defined roles and responsibilities are crucial to
avoid confusion and overlap. Each team member should know their role, tasks, and areas
of accountability.

4. Team Development: The process of building a project team often involves stages of
team development, which may include forming, storming, norming, performing, and
adjourning. The project manager plays a significant role in facilitating this process.

5. Skill Diversity: A well-rounded project team comprises members with diverse skills
and experiences. This diversity can provide creative solutions to challenges and ensure
all project requirements are addressed.

6. Leadership: Effective project leadership is key to team success. The project manager
leads by example, motivates the team, and provides guidance and support throughout
the project's lifecycle.

7. Resource Allocation: Resources, such as time, budget, and materials, need to be

allocated efficiently and fairly among team members. This allocation is the project
manager's responsibility.

8. Team Empowerment: Empowering team members to make decisions related to their

areas of expertise can enhance productivity and decision-making, especially in complex
projects.

9. Conflict Resolution: Conflicts can arise in any project. Effective conflict resolution is
essential to maintain team cohesion and keep the project on track.

10. Training and Development: Continuous learning and development opportunities

can help team members improve their skills and stay up-to-date with industry standards.

11. Recognition and Reward: Recognizing and rewarding team members for their efforts
and achievements can boost morale and motivation.
12. Communication: Open, clear, and regular communication is fundamental to keep all
team members informed, aligned with project goals, and aware of any changes or
challenges.

13. Decision-Making: Decision-making processes should be well-defined, and team

members should be involved in decisions relevant to their areas of expertise.