PROJECT PLANNING &

MANAGEMENT: OVERVIEW,
CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
Presented by
Kisitu Bruce
Consultant PPM, 0772426799

1
 Session objectives
Participants to gainfully appreciate and utilize:-
- The Concept of Project Management
- Various concept definitions
- Attributes
- Differences between projects and programme
- Projects Vs Routine operations

2
What is a project?

3
 Definitions
1. Association of project managers (1984): “A
project is a task of creating an outcome with
predetermined objectives. It involves the
complex interaction of resources, services and
organizations”
2. Einsiedel, A.A.(1984): “ A project is a solution
to a problem”
3. Project Management Institute (1987): “Any
undertaking with a defined starting point and
defined objectives, involves a variety of
resources and is unique.
4
 Definitions cont’d
4. Haynes (1991): “A project is any undertaking
that has a beginning and end, and is carried out
to meet established goals within cost, schedule
and quality objectives”
5. Turner, J.R. (1993): “An endeavor in which
human, material and financial resources are
organised in a novel way to undertake a unique
scope of work, of a given specification, with
constraints of cost & time so as to achieve
beneficial change defined by quantitative and
qualitative objectives.
5
 Definitions cont’d
6.Duncan (1993): “ A temporary process
undertaken to create one or a few units of a
unique product or service whose attributes are
progressively elaborated”.
7.Project Management Institute (1996): “ A
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product or service”
Note: A project is a temporary, organized human
endeavor to provide a solution to an identified
need.
- It is not an on-going operational organizational
activity.

6
Definitions cont’d
A project is a temporary and one-time endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product or service,
that brings about beneficial change or added value.

7
 A Project as a Process
• A project is a process aimed at the
achievement of specified objectives. Thus, it is
vital to emphasize that a project refers to a
process and not the end product or result.

Process can be defined as a series of actions or

operations directed towards a particular result.

8
 Example of a project as a Process
• In a construction project, the final constructed
building is not the project but the product of
the project. The project is a process by which
the building is constructed. Projects produce
deliverables referred to as end items/Outputs.
However, the product of the process usually
has a life beyond the process.

9
 Project Attributes
• A review of the various project definitions gives
rise to distinctive characteristics of projects:
1. Unique: A project is a unique, one-off discrete
undertaking. Although similar projects may have
similar objectives, every project faces a unique
set of environmental, political and resource
issues as well as constraints. In addition, every
project results to some extent in new, unique
deliverable or set of deliverables.

10
 Uniqueness cont’d
• It is never repeated exactly. E.g even though
many thousands of office buildings have been
developed, each new facility has a degree of
uniqueness about it (Different owner, different
design, different location, different
contractors).

11
 2. Finite
A project is a temporary process, i.e
finite/limited duration. A project has a
beginning and an end at which point one can
say its objectives have been accomplished.
Even the resources used on a project are
temporary, only needed for the project life
time.

12
 3. Multiple Resource, Discipline &
Organizations
• Each project has a different mix of discrete skills,
technologies, and resources which are brought
together to focus on the attainment of project
specific objectives. These disciplines are
frequently supplied by separate organizations
with different affiliations, goals and values, but
all involved in the achievement of the same end
result. This means that project work requires a
team approach that typically cuts across
conventional lines of structure and authority in
organizations.
13
 4. Life Cycle
• Projects have a unique and distinctive life cycle
that passes through several distinct phases.
The activities and resources change as the
project progresses through the cycle. The cycle
is characterized by a slow start, through a
progressive build-up and peak, followed by a
decline and final termination. At the end, some
projects may be incorporated into the normal
on-going operations of the parent organization.
14
 5. Dynamic
• A project operates in a dynamic operational
and managerial environment compared to
relatively stable environments of conventional
enterprises. Project goals are such that the
project must be constantly pushed (expedited)
to achieve its stated objectives. Also project
use a variety of resources.

15
 Dynamic cont’d
• The dynamic nature of projects means that
the mixture of resources changes frequently
throughout the project life cycle, varying with
the needs of the project.
• Think about food kiosks developing along a
road being constructed.

16
 6. Discrete end objectives
• Projects are formed to meet identifiable
objectives or constraints, usually specified in
terms of scope, time, cost and quality
requirements. The end results must be
definable at the beginning. So a project is a
goal directed with a single set of objectives
and when these objectives have been
achieved, the project is completed.

17
 7. Progressive elaboration of
specifications
• A project emerges out of the awareness by
someone that a problem or opportunity exists.
From this initial recognition, an idea is
conceived and developed. The uniqueness of
projects means that their specifications are
progressively elaborated through their life cycle
so that specifications will be broadly described
early in the project and developed in more and
more details as the project progresses.
18
 8. Part-time use of resources
• Projects frequently use resources on a part-
time basis, whereas permanent organizations
try to use resources on a full-time basis. The
sharing of resources frequently requires
skillful negotiation to see that projects get the
necessary resources to meet objectives
throughout their project life.

19
 9. Conflict
• More than most managers, the project manager
lives in a world characterized by conflicts.
Conflict can be created by competition for the
use of organizational resources; conflict
between the project and the project team
members’ objectives, etc.
• The need to meet tight project objectives while
dealing with the complexity and dynamic nature
typical of projects, or because of project team
members’ being often accountable to two
superiors at the same time, may generate some
conflicts.
20
 10. Change
• Projects are implemented to create change.
Projects are the change efforts of society. The
turbulence and dynamic nature of the world,
necessitates project managers to be effective
at managing change. All managers must
manage change through projects. We
undertake projects because we cannot
produce or achieve the benefit by doing
routine things.

21
Project Management definition
Project Management is the discipline of
organizing and managing resources in such a way
that these resources deliver all the work required
to complete a project within defined scope,
quality, time and cost constraints.

22
 Project management definition

• Project management is the application of

knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities in order to meet or exceed
stakeholder needs and expectations (Project
Management Institute, 2000).
• The art of managing and coordinating human
and material resources throughout the project
life cycle using techniques of modern
management to attain the predetermined
objectives
Project Management Challenges
• The first challenge of project management is to
ensure that a project is delivered within defined
constraints.
• The second, more ambitious challenge is the
optimised allocation and integration of inputs
needed to meet pre-defined objectives.
A project therefore is a carefully defined set of
activities that use resources (money, people,
materials, energy, space, provisions,
communication, quality, risk, etc.) to meet the
pre-defined objectives. 24
 Project Management
• Project Management is categorized into two
aspects:
(a) Core functions
(i) Project Time management
(ii) Project cost management
(iii) Project quality management
(iv) Project scope management

25
(b) Facilitating functions
• Project Human Resource Management
• Project Communication Mgt
• Project Procurement Mgt
• Project Risk Management
• Change Management
• Project Integration Management

26
 Project management
It involves balancing competing demands:
– Identifying requirements
– Addressing the various needs, concerns, and expectations
of the stakeholders in planning and executing the project
– Balancing the competing project constraints, which
include, but are not limited to: Scope, time, cost , quality,
schedule, budget
– Setting up, maintaining, and carrying out communications
among stakeholders that are active, effective, and
collaborative in nature
 Project management
It also utilizes the four general management functions
of planning, organizing, directing and controlling, but
within a project process. “All managers, including
project managers, are responsible for universally
accepted managerial functions of planning, organizing,
staffing, directing and controlling (Stuckenbruck, 1988).
Greater detail of these functions is shown below.
 Project management
Planning (What are we aiming for and why?)
• Develop project objectives, goals, and strategies
• Develop work breakdown structure
• Develop precedence diagrams to establish logical
relationship of project activities and milestones
• Develop time-based schedule for the project based
on the precedence diagram
• Plan for resource support of the project
 Project management
Organizing (What’s involved and why?)
• Establish organizational structure for the team
• Identify and assign project roles to members of the
project team
• Define project management policies, procedures,
and techniques
• Project management charter and other delegation
instruments. A Project Charter outlines the purpose
of the project, the way the project will be structured
and how it will be successfully implemented.
 Project management
The Project Charter describes the project vision,
objectives, scope and deliverables, as well as the
Stakeholders, roles and responsibilities. The Project
Charter is also known as a "Project Definition Report".
• Establish standards for the authority,
responsibility and accountability of the team
 Project management
Motivation (What motivates people to do their best
work?)
• Determine project team member needs
• Assess factors that motivate people to do their best
work
• Provide appropriate counseling and mentoring as
required
• Establish rewards program for project team members
• Conduct initial study of impact of motivation on
productivity
 Project management
Directing (Who decides what and why?)
• Establish “limits” of authority of decision making for
allocation of project resources
• Develop leadership style
• Enhance interpersonal skills
• Prepare plan for increasing participative
management techniques in managing the project
team
• Develop consensus decision making techniques for
project team
 Project management
Control (Who judges results and by what standards?)
• Establish cost, schedule, and technical performance
standards for the project
• Prepare plans for the means to evaluate project
progress
• Establish a project management information system
for the project
• Prepare project review strategy
• Evaluate project progress
The Role of the Project Team Lead
• Interpreter- translating technical issues to
team members and beneficiaries
• Coach- building skills and confidence to
handle complex and unexpected problems in
the team.
• Coordinator – directing, orchestrating and
integrating different functions.
• Conceptual champion - ensuring that
decisions and actions are consistent with
overall goal
 Projects Vs Operations
The work of organizations can be categorized as either
operations or organizations or projects although the
two may overlap. Projects create a different
management environment compared to operations-
based activities. E.g.
Operations
• Stable teams. Roles and relationships are stable and
well-understood, having developed and adjusted
over lengthy periods
• Tasks are repetitive or substantially similar
 Projects Vs Operations
• Tasks are ongoing, creating a lasting stable
environment
• The work place are bounded by traditional
hierarchies, lines of authority , and centralized
control
• Operations bring about improvements by evolution
Projects
• Temporary novel teams of people
• Projects are unique and require variable effort
through their lifecycle
• Projects are finite, having specific time constraints
 Projects Vs Operations
Projects cont’d
• Informal relationships
• Shared resources
• Projects bring about revolutionary improvements
 OPERATIONS VS. PROJECTS

SHARED CHARACTERISTICS:
• Performed by people
• Constrained by limited resources
• Planned, executed and controlled
 Programmes and Projects
(a) Differences
(i) Time: A programme is a long term intervention
with different aspects, all tailored towards the
attainment of the targeted programme
deliverables. A project on the other hand is a
temporary endeavor aimed at generating
unique outputs. Thus, whereas the programme
can be long-term, a project can be a short term
intervention.
40
 Differences cont’d
(ii) Scope: In terms of the content scope, a
programme takes a wider coverage. A single
programme can have different projects. For
example, a community development
programme can have a project in health,
income security, sanitation and hygiene,
agricultural production and even income
security.

41
 PROJECT VS. PROGRAMME
PROGRAMMES
• Focus on context
• Manage portfolios
• Focus on people, politics and
negotiating
• Perform more strategic tasks
• Handle change management
(program and environmental
changes)
• Deal with business strategies
and objectives
• Are responsible for
maximizing ROI and value
delivery
PROJECTS
• Focus on content
• Manage projects
• Focus on scope, schedules,
resources
• Perform more technical tasks
• Handle risk management
• Deal with project requirements
• Are responsible for ensuring
projects get completed on time,
within budget
 PROJECT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Effectiveness: It refers to doing the right things. It

constantly measures if the actual output meets the
desired output

Effectiveness therefore is measured by :

•Obtaining the anticipated results (project goals)
•Meet clients requirements
•Providing satisfaction to clients
 PROJECT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Efficiency: It refers to doing things in a right manner.

Scientifically, it is defined as the output to input ratio
and focuses on getting the maximum output with
minimum resources.
Efficiency therefore looks at:
• Making good use of resources
• Timely delivery
• Meeting the estimated budget
• Consuming a reasonable quantity of resources
 PROJECT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Satisfaction:
• Ensuring stakeholders satisfaction
• Delivering output beyond stakeholder expectations
 WHAT IS A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT?

Three Aspects of Project Success

• Achieving project objectives
• Respect of performance constraints
• Cost – time – quality
• Satisfaction of stakeholders and
beneficiaries
 PROJECT SUCCESS FACTORS
• Project Mission definition
• Support from top level managers
• Project planning
• Consulting/Involving the client/stakeholders
• Workforce
• Acceptance by the client/beneficiaries
/stakeholders
• Feedback Monitoring
• Communications
• Resolving Problems
Project Environment Management
• The project operates within two types of
environments:
(i) The internal Environment
(ii) External Environment

48
 PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

• Identify the variables of the environment

that are pertinent for the project’s success
• Identify the current state of these variables
• Determine the future development of
pertinent variables
• Evaluate the positive and negative impact
of the variables with regard to project
success.
 PROJECT ENVIRONMENT
Infrastructure Social cultural
Communication,
transport. Value system, beliefs,
logistics project relevance

Project Physical
Economic
Exchange rate, taxation, Geographical
economic indicators , weather, air,
terrain

Technological
Complexity, Transfer,
availability
of resources
Legal /Political
Organizational
Laws and regulations,
Structure, processes,
political systems
autonomy
 END OF PRESENTATION
COMMENTS, QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME
 Sources of reading
• Cable D.P and Adams, J.R. (1989). Organizing for Project
Management, Drexil Hill: PA. Project Management
Institute.
• Cuthworth,J.W and Franks, T. (1993). Managing Projects
in Developing Countries, London: Prentice Hall.
• Gray, C.F and Larson, E.W. (1999). Project Management-
The Managerial Process, Oregon State University: Irwin
McGraw-Hill.
• Kerzner, H. (1992). Project Management: A systems
approach to planning, scheduling and controlling, New
York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
• Meredith, J. and Mantel, S.J. (1995). Project
Management: A managerial Approach, New York:
Wiley and Sons. 52
 Reading list continued
• Project Management Institute. (2000). A Guide to the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK),
Project Management Institute, Upper Darby, P.A.
• Struckenbruck, L.C. (1981). The implementation of
Project Management: The Professionals’ Handbook,
Reading, MA. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
• Turner, J.R. (1993). The Handbook of Project-based
Management-Improving the Process for Achieving
Strategic Objectives, London: McGraw-Hill.
• Young, E.J. (1994). Project Organisation in Lock, D. Gower
Handbook of Project Management, England: Gower
Aldershot.

53