Lecture # 1

What is Project?

• A project is an activity with specific goals which takes place over a finite period of time.

What is Project?

• Project – temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result

• Temporary– Has a definite beginning and end – End is reached when • Project objectives have been achieved• It becomes clear that the project objectives will not or

cannot be met• The need for the project is no longer exist

What is Project?

– Projects are not ongoing efforts.– Temporary does not generally apply to the product,

service or result created by project.

• Unique Products, Services or Results– The presence of repetitive elements does not change

the fundamental uniqueness of the project work– E.g many thousands of office buildings have been

developed, but each individual facility is unique– different owner, different design, different location, different contractors and so on.

What is Project?

• Progressive elaboration– Progressively: proceeding in steps– Elaborated: worked with care and detail

• Scope of project should remain constant even as characteristics are “progressively elaborated”

What is Project? • A sequence of unique, complex, and connected

activities having one goal or purpose and that must be completed by a specific time, within budget, and according to specification

• Sequence of activities– Activity – a defined chunk of work– Inputs to activities, outputs from activities

• Unique activities - Every project is somewhat different from all previous ones

• Complex - Activities are not simple e.g. washing a car, buying groceries. Many people involved, usually scattered across departments and roles

What is a Project?

• Connected activities – output of one is input to another

• One goal – to write a software, to construct a building, to complete a degree

• Specified time – must have a specified start and end time

• Resource limits – limited number of people, money, or machines

• According to Specification – deliverables must meet some functionality and quality parameters

Characteristics of a Project• Non-routine tasks are involved• Planning is required• Specific objectives are to be met or specified product

is to be created• Pre-determined time span• Work involves several specialisms• Work is carried out in several phases• Resources that are available are constrained• Project is large or complex

Project Parameters

• Scope• Quality• Cost• Time• Resources

• Interdependent set of constraints, change in one causes change in others to restore equilibrium

Scope

• A statement that defines the boundaries of the project

• What will be done, will not be done• Foundation of all project work• Scope can change• Detect change and decide how to

accommodate it in project plan

Quality

• Two types of quality– Product quality – quality of the deliverable– Process quality – quality of project management process

• A quality management program, to monitor work on project

• Reduce wastage and rework, use resources efficiently

• Complete project successfully, satisfy customer

Cost

• Budget established for project• Customer offer Vs. supplier quote• Project proposal includes quote• Customer willing to spend only a limited

amount• Cost increases if time is reduced or scope or

quality is increased

Time

• Customer specifies timeframe and deadline• Cost and time are inversely proportional, time

can be reduced but cost will increase• Time cannot be stored, it is consumed

whether we use it or not• Good project manager realizes this

Resources

• Assets for supplier: people, equipment, physical facilities, materials, utilities

• In IT projects, people are the main resource• Some resources have fixed cost others have variable

cost– People – fixed or variable– Equipment – fixed– physical facilities – fixed– Materials – variable– Utilities - variable

Scope

• Scope Creep (changes in the project that was not in the original plan)

• Hope Creep (result of a project team member’s getting behind schedule but reporting that he or she is on schedule and hoping to get back on schedule at the next report date)

Scope

• Effort Creep (result of the team member’s working but not making progress proportionate to the work expended. Every one of us has worked on a project that always seems to be 95% complete no matter how much effort is expended to complete it.

• Feature Creep (results when the team members arbitrarily adds features and functions to the deliverable that they think the customer would want to have.

Project Vs. Operation

• Characteristics shared by Project and operation are:– Performed by people.– Constrained by limited resources.– Planned, executed and controlled.

• But – Operations are ongoing and repetitive where as projects

are temporary and unique.– Purpose of project is to attain its objective and then

terminate where as purpose of ongoing operation is to sustain the business.

Projects and Strategic Planning

• Projects are typically authorized as a result of one or more of the following strategic considerations:– A market demand– An organizational need– A customer request– A technological advance– A legal requirement.

Project Management

• Project Management: the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a defined project – balancing the following:– Scope, time, cost, and quality– Stakeholders’ expectations– Requirements (needs) vs. unidentified

requirements (expectations)

Project Management

• Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing.

• The project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives.

Project Management

• Project Management is the art of maximizing the probability that a project delivers its goals on Time, to Budget and at the required Quality.

Triplet Constraint

• Project Scope• Time• Cost– High quality projects deliver the required product,

service or result within scope, on time and within budget.

– The relationship among these factor is such that if any one of three factors changes at least one other factor is likely to be affected.

References

• PMBOK (3rd Edition)• Effective Project Management, 2nd Edition,

Robert K. Wysocki, Robert Beck Jr., David B. Crane, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2000