Chapter 1:

Introduction to Project
Management

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 Lecture Topic

• What is a project?

• Project vs. operation

• Brief history of project management

• Role of a Project Manager

• What are the benefits of project management?

• Ten (PMBOK) Knowledge Area

 Learning Objectives
• Understand the growing need for better project management,
especially for information technology projects

• Explain what a project is and provide examples of information

technology projects

• Describe what project management is and discuss key elements of

the project management framework
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 What Is a Project?
• A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to accomplish
a unique product or service”

• Projects end when their objectives have been reached or the

project has been terminated

• Projects can be large or small and take a short or long time to

complete 4
 Exemples
• Developing a new product or service
• Effecting change in a structure, staffing or style of an
organisation
• Designing a new transportation vehicle
• Developing or acquiring a new or modified information system
• Constructing a building or facility
 Attributes of projects

• Unique purpose
• Projects involve doing something that has not been done before in the same environment

• The project may require some innovation to be completed

• Temporary
• A project has a definite beginning and definite end
• The duration of a project is finite
• The opportunity or market window is usually temporary, most projects have a limited time
frame in which to produce the product or service
• The project team - as a team - seldom outlives the project. Most projects are performed by a
team created for the sole purpose of performing the project
• Progressive élaboration

• A project occurs step by step to define the product or service, in a so called

“progressive elaboration” process.
• for instance, the development of a chemical processing plant begins with the process
engineering to define the characteristics of the process, and ends with the final assembly.

Development of a chemical processing plant

Define the Mechanical
chemical characteristics of the
characteristics process units Detailed Manufacturing
of the process (pumps..etc) drawings of the parts
Final
General plant Assembly
layout
 Project vs. operation
• Projects are unique and temporary (definitive beginning and ending), while operations

are ongoing and permanent with repetitive output.

• Projects have a fixed budget, while operations have to earn a profit to run the business.

• Projects are executed to start a new business objective and terminated when it is

achieved, while operational work does not produce anything new and it is ongoing.

• Projects create a unique product, service, or result, while operations produce the same

product, aim to earn a profit and keep the system running

 Project vs. operation

Projects Operations
* Temporary * Ongoing

* Output: Unique * Output: Repetitive

* Purpose: Attain its objective and then terminate * Purpose: Sustain the business

* Concludes when its specific objectives have been * Adopt a new set of objectives and the work
attained continues
 What is Project Management?

Project management is “the application of knowledge,

skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to

meet project requirements”

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 History of Project Management
• The Egyptian pyramids was a project, as was building the Great
Wall of China

• The Manhattan Project to be the first project to use “modern”

project management

• In 1917, Henry Gantt developed the famous Gantt chart as a

tool for scheduling work in factories.
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• Henry Gantt forefather of project management

• “Gantt” chart keeps track of project schedule

• Critical Path Method or (CPM) is project modelling

technique that was developed by the American entrepreneurs
Morgan R. Walker and James E. Kelly in 1957
• In the 1958 The “Program Evaluation Review Technique” or
PERT was developed by Booz Allen Hamilton as part of the
US Navy’s Polaris missile submarine program.
• The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international
professional society for project managers founded in 1969

• PMI has continued to attract and retain members, reporting more

than 500,000 members worldwide by late 2017

• There are communities of practices in many areas, like information

systems, financial services, and health care
 The Role of the Project Manager

• Project managers must work closely with the other stakeholders on

a project, especially the sponsor and project team

• They are also more effective if they are familiar with the 10 project
management knowledge areas
• And the various tools and techniques related to project
management
• Project managers often need temporal skills that enable them to:
• Recapture past information and incorporate it into current problem-solving
strategies

• Predict the future for scheduling purposes or contingency planning

• Create a vision for the future

• Cognitively bring the past or future closer to the present

Responsibilities of the Project Manager
•The project manager’s responsibility is to ensure the
customer is satisfied that the work scope is completed in a
quality manner, within budget, and on time.

• Provides leadership in planning, organizing, and controlling the

work effort
• Coordinates the activities of various team members
• Does not try to do it alone
• Involves the project team to gain their commitment
Responsibilities of the Project Manager
(Cont.)

Planning

• Clearly defines the project objective and reaches agreement

with the customer

• Communicates this objective to the project team

Responsibilities of the Project Manager
(Cont.)
Organizing

• Secures the appropriate resources

• Decides which tasks should be done in-house and which by

subcontractors or consultants

• Assigns responsibility and delegates authority

• Creates an environment in which individuals are highly motivated

Responsibilities of the Project Manager
(Cont.)

Controlling

• Tracks actual progress and compares it with planned progress

• Takes immediate action if progress or costs change

 Skills of the Project Manager

The project manager is a key ingredient in the

success of a project.

• Strong leadership ability

• Ability to develop people
• Excellent communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to handle stress
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management skills
 Leadership Ability

Leadership is getting things done through others.

• Inspire the people assigned to the project

• Create vision of the result and benefits of the project

• Participative and consultative leadership style

• Establishes the parameters and guidelines for what needs to be done

• Does not tell people how to do their jobs

 Leadership Ability (Cont.)

• Involves and empowers the project team

• Involves individuals in decisions affecting them

• Empowers individuals to make decisions within their assigned areas

• Understands what motivates team members and creates a supportive environment

• Does not create situations that cause individuals to become discouraged

• Fosters motivation through recognition

 Leadership Ability (Cont.)
• Sets the tone of trust, high expectations, and enjoyment

• Has high expectations of themselves and of each person on the project team

• Is optimistic and positive

• Encourages the same positive attitude

• Is highly motivated and sets a positive example

• Has self-confidence and inspires confidence

• Leads by making things happen

 Ability to Develop People

• Committed to the training and development of people

• Uses the project to add value to each person’s experience base

• Believes that all individuals are valuable to the organization

• Stresses the value of self-improvement

 Ability to Develop People (Cont.)

• Provides opportunities for learning and development by encouraging individuals

to assume the initiative, take risks, and make decisions
• Provides assignments that require individuals to extend their knowledge

• Identifies situations in which less experienced people can learn from more
experienced people
• Has people attend formal training sessions

• May provide coaching

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 Communication Skills

Effective and frequent communication is crucial.

• Communicate regularly with the project team, subcontractors, customer,

and own upper management

• A high level of communication is especially important early in the project

• Good oral and written communication skills

• Spend more time listening than talking

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 Communication Skills (Cont.)

• Establish ongoing communication with the customer

• Communication should be timely, honest, and unambiguous

• Effective communication establishes credibility

and builds trust

• Provide timely feedback to the team and customer

• Create an atmosphere that fosters timely and

open communication
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 Interpersonal Skills

• Good interpersonal skills are essential

• Develop a relationship with each person on the project team

• Try to learn about the personal interests of each individual without being
intrusive

• Should use open-ended questions and do a lot of listening

• Empathize with individuals when special circumstances arise

Interpersonal Skills (Cont.)

• Maintain relationships throughout the duration of the project

• Use good interpersonal skills to try to influence the thinking and

actions of others

• Use good interpersonal skills to deal with disagreement or divisiveness

 Ability to Handle Stress
• Cannot panic; remain unruffled

• Able to cope with constantly changing conditions

• Act as a buffer between the project team and the customer or upper management

• Have a good sense of humor

• Stress is likely to be high when a project is in jeopardy of not meeting its

objective
 Problem-Solving Skills

• Early identification of a problem or potential problem is important

• Encourage project team members to identify problems early and

solve them on their own
 Time Management Skills

• Have self-discipline

• Be able to prioritize

• Show a willingness to delegate

Developing the Skills Needed to Be a Project
Manager
• Gain experience — work on as many projects as you can; each project
presents a learning opportunity

• Seek out feedback from others

• Conduct a self-evaluation and learn from your mistakes

• Interview project managers who have skills that you want to develop

• Participate in training programs

Developing the Skills Needed to Be a Project
Manager (Cont.)
• Join organizations, such as the Project Management Institute

• Read and subscribe to journals

• Volunteer and contribute to the community or a specific cause to develop

leadership skills

• Learning and development are lifetime activities—there’s no finish line

 Delegation

• Involves empowering the team to achieve the objective and

empowering each team member to accomplish the expected results
• Allow individuals to successfully carry out assigned tasks

• Give team members the responsibility to accomplish job objectives and

the authority to make decisions and take actions
• Give team members accountability for accomplishing results
 Delegation (Cont.)

• Requires effective communication skills

• Provide a clear understanding of what is expected in terms of specific

results, but do not tell the individuals how to do the task

• Select the team members who are best qualified to perform each task
and then empowering them to do it

• Have confidence in each member of the team

 Delegation (Cont.)
Common barriers to effective delegation
• Project manager has a personal interest in the task
• Project manager thinks she can do it better or faster herself
• Project manager lacks confidence in the capability of others
• Project manager is afraid he will lose control of the work and not know
what is going on
• Team members fear criticism for mistakes or lack self-confidence
 Managing Change

Despite the best laid plans, changes will still occur.

Changes may be:

• Initiated by the customer

• Initiated by the project team
• Caused by unanticipated occurrences during the performance of
the project
• Required by the users of the project results
 Managing Change (Cont.)

• The later in the project that changes are identified, the greater their
effect

• Aspects most likely to be affected are budget and completion date

• At the start of the project, procedures need to be established regarding

how changes will be documented and authorized