lesson 1: modern project management lesson overview

Lesson 1: Modern Project Management

Lesson Overview

Introduction

Textbook coauthors Erik Larson (who has an undergraduate degree in psychology and a PhD in management) and Clifford Gray bring a fresh perspective to project management because they emphasize the human dimension in tandem with tools and techniques. The textbook authors cover the project management process thoroughly and help readers understand why it works.

Lesson 1 introduces you to project management. Differing from routine work, projects follow a life cycle. Projects can create concrete products or services. The assigned textbook chapter covers such topics as the importance of project management, the exponential growth of the discipline, the diverse nature of projects, and the integrative approach to project management. In addition, the chapter introduces you to many new terms, a feature that you will notice throughout this course.

Photo courtesy of shijingsjgem, www.pixabay.com.

Readings and Learning Objectives

MGSC 205v2 Sample Lesson © Athabasca University

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Readings

Textbook, Chapter 1

Lesson Notes 1.1 through 1.6

Learning Objectives

Note: Each learning objective (LO) is shown as a call out in the left-hand margin of the textbook. For example, LO 1-1 means that the learning objective is in Chapter 1, Section 1. The unnumbered learning objectives in the list below were developed by the course author.

By the end of Lesson 1, you should be able to

explain why project management is crucial in today’s world. (LO 1-1)

distinguish a project from routine operations. (LO 1-2)

identify the different stages of project life cycle. (LO 1-3)

describe how agile project management is different from traditional project

management. (LO 1-4) discuss with examples that managing projects involves balancing the technical and

sociocultural dimensions of the project. (LO 1-5) define what a project is and explain what the term project management means.

identify the deliverables at each stage of the project lifecycle.

Learning objectives are from the instructor’s resources that accompany Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2020). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reproduced with permission of McGraw-Hill Education.

Working through the Lesson

Based on the best practices in distance education, including those that help students succeed with their courses, you are encouraged to follow these guidelines.

1. Read the Lesson Overview section.

2. Read the Lesson Notes. The number of notes varies from lesson to lesson, but they all provide a commentary on the textbook chapter and/or additional information not found in the textbook. 3. Do the Lesson Review activities:

multiple-choice practice quiz

key terms review activities

textbook end-of-chapter questions (answers provided at the end of each lesson)

(optional)PowerPoint slides (optional)


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4. Add to your Project Management Tool Kit.

Key Terms

You will find a list of key terms for this lesson in the textbook at the end of the chapter. However, as there are other terms your professor feels are important to your study of project management, these are included in the PDF on key terms. Below are the key terms covered in this lesson. Keep them in the back of your mind as you read through the assigned textbook chapter. You will have an opportunity to assess your knowledge of these terms at the end of the lesson.

As you can see from the list below, project management involves a new vocabulary.

Agile project management (Agile PM)business case closing stage (delivering, closure) defining stage deliverable executing stage lessons learned (project review) phase gating (stage gating) planning stage program project project charter

project execution plan (PEP) project life cycle project management project management professional (PMP) project plan project sponsor scope statement stakeholders trade-offs yin and yang of project management

You may wish to download a PDF containing all key terms and definitions.

Personal Goals


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Take a moment to think about why you are taking this course. Ask yourself what broader goal(s) this course will help you achieve. After writing down your answers, place the note where you can see it as you work through the course. Read, update as necessary, and reflect on your personal goals note. Your personal goals will help you stay focused and motivated to complete this course.

Lesson Notes

Lesson Note 1.1: Introduction

What were some of the first impressions you had about project management when you looked at the cover of the textbook? Perhaps some of your impressions included the idea that project management involves focus, motivation, talent, practice, teamwork, and flexibility.

Now watch the video “Project Management at Six Flags, New Jersey” and think about what this video adds to your first impressions of project management and what a project manager does.

http://www.viddler.com/embed/4ac115ae

Perhaps some of your impressions now include the idea that project management

is like being on a roller coaster!

involves a lot of planning.

takes patience.

is complicated.

involves tight schedules.

is technical.

involves safety issues.

involves tight budgets.

can be weather dependent.

involves logistics management.

is stressful.

delivers results.

could be very interesting and rewarding.


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Lesson Note 1.2: Introductory Terms and Concepts

You should be able to explain what a project is, describe its characteristics, and identify projects as different from routine work (see textbook, Table 1.1). The key elements to keep in mind are that a project

is temporary (meaning that it has a start date and an end date).

creates something (i.e., there is something to show for the work done, such as a

product, service, or result); for example,

a project could create a new process for handling customer complaints in aodepartment store.

Apple could develop new applications for iPhone users.o

a new blood test procedure could give more accurate blood sugar results forodiabetes.

is unique (i.e., what it creates is quite different from what other projects create). A

project is unique, just as snowflakes are unique.

Try to relate MGSC 205 to the three elements of a project listed above; that is, consider how it is temporary, creates a result, and is new or unique. For example, a student named Everly is starting the course in June 2022, and her course project will end in December 2022. These time frames define the project as temporary. Everly defines the result of the project as passing the course and receiving credit toward her undergraduate degree at another university. From her perspective, the concept of creating something new and unique pertains to the new project management knowledge she acquires.

For a description of a variety of different projects, see “Snapshot from Practice 1.2: A Dozen Examples of Projects Given to Recent College Graduates” in Chapter 1 of the textbook.

Programs are groups of related projects. For example, Apple could label all of their “apps for students” a program and all of the “apps for working out” a different program.

Project management is more than tools and techniques. Project management is more than getting things done on time, on budget, and within scope (performance). Project management involves planning, teamwork, and flexibility. The textbook section “The Project Manager” tells us that the project manager does a lot of work and faces many challenges. He or she has to have a number of competencies, including leadership and interpersonal skills as well as juggling skills. Project management involves constantly juggling things, including the changing expectations from project stakeholders. As the Six Flags video indicated, project management involves hard work; yet it can be a very rewarding role.

When you work on a project, you report to a project sponsor who makes executive level decisions. For example, MGSC 205 is your project and you are the project manager. Your Academic Expert is your project sponsor because you report to her or him for direction and guidance.


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Lesson Note 1.3: The Project Life Cycle

Whereas the following diagram shows a project as ideally progressing from start to finish in a linear fashion (point A to point B), the reality is that most projects follow lines such as A to E, or A to C, or A to D.

Figure 1A: The project path

Projects follow a path, and the path is often called a life cycle. Figure 1.1 (in the textbook) shows a general linear life cycle of project management. The project stages are defining, planning, executing, and closing. Here is another way of thinking about the life cycle: you start a project, work through the steps of the project, and then finish it. The term life cycle is appropriate to use because a project starts in its infancy, grows, matures, and then ends. Deming ’s quality management stages of plan-do-check-act (PDCA) also apply to project management because project management involves quality improvement work.

Figure 1.1 also shows, for example, that at the defining stage, the project involves working on goals, specifications, tasks, and responsibilities. Think of the defining stage as a way of getting more clarity on the project. The project definition becomes clearer in the planning stage. This is why the figure shows the stages as overlapping. In this course, we focus on higher level project management work at each stage, as shown in the next figure.

The life cycle stages and deliverables provide a useful, generic way of thinking of what a project manager and team do at each stage.


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Figure 1B: Project stages and deliverables

In the figure above, the deliverables are typed in black. For example, one of the deliverables that the “workout app” software development project team might work on is to develop the technical specifications for the software so that the app counts the steps, repetitions (reps), crunches, and push-ups that you do in an exercise workout. This work would occur in the planning stage.

Figure 1B is an important diagram. You will have a fuller appreciation of this diagram by the end of the course, and you should be able to place the stages into the proper sequence as well as identify the deliverables.

In the above diagram, the red flag is a phase (stage) gate. For example, if all the work that the “workout app” software development project team and other teams had to do at the planning stage was done well and met with approval, then the project manager would get the “green light” to have his or her teams work on the executing stage of work. Later in the course, we will discuss how monitoring and control occurs throughout all the stages so that the project manager can keep a close eye on the schedule, budget, and work underway.

Please keep project stages and deliverables in mind as you progress through each lesson. These are important concepts that you will need to know for your assignments and exams.

As you progress in this course, you do not need to know all the detailed nuances of project management. The lesson notes will indicate what to focus on. For example, you already know that the defining stage is the first stage in the project life cycle. And you saw from Figure 1B that the business case and scope statement are completed in this stage. See? You have already learned some new terms and concepts! And the terms and concepts will make more sense as you move through the course, reading the material and completing the exercises and assignments.

The first chapter also introduces the concept of Agile project management. Unlike traditional project management practices, which are used when there is more predictability


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and less uncertainty, Agile project management is more appropriate when there are high degrees of uncertainty. Notably, Agile project management has been used for software development projects. Section 1.2 of the textbook introduces you to these concepts.

Lesson Note 1.4: The Birthday Party

Project management techniques can be applied to many aspects of life, not just to work-related projects. Let’s say you were hosting a birthday party for a friend and you approached it like a project. The following shows what might take place at each stage. Notice how this project follows the life cycle stages.

Purpose (goal): Plan and hold a fun birthday party for Kathy!

1. Defining Stage

1.1. Business Case (the brilliant idea for the project—it’s a friend’s birthday)1.1.1. We should have a birthday party for Kathy! She’s going to be 28.

1.2. Project Scope Statement (the approval, funding, and description of what the finished project will look like)1.2.1. Time: Let’s do it. Today’s Wednesday, and her birthday is on Sunday,

so we could have it on Saturday. It might take us an hour to get it organized.

1.2.2. Cost: We have about $40.

1.2.3. Scope (performance): Not a surprise party, just a small birthday party for about 10 people, even though Kathy has many friends.

2. Planning Stage

2.1. Project Plan (the plan of action)2.1.1. Time: We have three days to plan it. We don’t have a lot of time, and

it might really take us two hours to get ready for it.2.1.2. Cost: Hmmm, now that we have counted our money, we have exactly

$50 in cash. We need drinks, snacks, and cake. Where are we going to have the party?2.1.2.1 Pearl: I can use the cash to pick up chips and pop.2.1.2.2 Gunnar: I can make a chocolate cake.2.1.2.3 Abishola: I can make a vegetable tray. I can also book the

party room in our complex.2.1.3. Scope (performance): So it’s a fun birthday party with 10 of us there.

3. Executing Stage

3.1 Project Executing Stage (the work gets done)

3.1.1. This is where everyone does the work to get ready for the party, the party takes place, and then…


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4. Closing (Delivery, Closure) Stage

4.1. Lessons Learned (How did the project turn out?)4.1.1. That was so much fun! We had 20 people there! The music and food

were great.4.1.2. It actually took us about six hours to organize. 4.1.3. Gunnar, Abishola, and I spent two hours on Sunday cleaning up the

party room and the carpet because someone dropped the dip bowl. 4.1.4. Everyone: So much for our project management skills. We did not take

into account the clean-up or the possibility that twice as many friends might show up. The party actually cost $100. Pearl, we’ll pay you back $50 for the extra pop you had to run out and get during the party.

Lesson Note 1.5: The Project Management Institute®

As stated in “Snapshot from Practice 1.1: The Project Management Institute®,” in the textbook, PMI® is one of the largest professional associations for project management. PMI® offers project management certification, such as the Project Management Professional (PMP®) designation. As we will learn in this course, beyond certification, it takes experience and education to be a good project manager. The project management designations are based on bodies of knowledge. PMI® developed the PMBOK® Guide .

Other than what the course material covers in a cursory way, you are not expected to learn the PMBOK® Guide material for your assignments or examinations in this course.

The PMBOK® Guide uses an input-process-output model involving five processes (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing) that span a number of knowledge areas. These knowledge areas are discussed in Lesson 2.

Whereas the PMBOK® Guide presents monitoring and control as a separate process, we view it as a process that takes place throughout the project as shown in the project life cycle diagram in this lesson (see Lesson Note 1.3).

Lesson Note 1.6: An Integrative Approach—The Yin and Yang of Project Management

The textbook outlines the many reasons that more and more companies are using project management. Figure 1.5 (in the textbook) shows how project management is integrated into the management practices of a company. The yin and yang of project management is an important concept that you need a thorough understanding of as you make your way through the course.

With roots in ancient Chinese philosophy and science, the concepts of yin and yang are widely used in many areas, such as Chinese martial arts, medicine, and meditation. You may be familiar with the


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symbol for yin and yang. The symbol is interpreted with such words as balance, complementarity, interdependent sides, duality, and opposite sides .

What does it mean to have a yin and yang of project management? Using a yin-yang diagram, Figure 1.5 (in the textbook) reflects an overarching theme in this course: project management is both an art and a science, or in other words, project management involves a balance of the technical dimension (i.e., left-brained or “hard” skills) and the sociocultural dimension (i.e., right-brained or “soft” skills).

Please keep the yin–yang analogy in mind as you progress through each lesson. It is an important theme that you will need to know for your assignments and exams.

Lesson Review

It’s Your Project Management Tool Kit: What Do You Want to Put in It?

Each lesson in the course includes this section so you can start to build a useful tool kit. You will demonstrate your application of these tools in the assignments and examinations. As you review the tools and techniques covered in each lesson, think about whether each one primarily fits the technical dimension of project management or the sociocultural dimension, or both. Try to reflect on why.

Remember: Understanding why and when project management tools and techniques are used is as important as learning how they are used!

A project management tool kit is the set of useful resources that can help you be more effective in your project management role. Just as a carpenter, chef, paramedic, or medical doctor might have different items in their tool kits, so will a project manager. Just as two carpenters may not have the same items in their tool kits, neither will two project managers.

Figure 1.1 (in the textbook) outlines specific project management work that takes place at each stage involving a variety of techniques and tools (such as schedules, budgets, and status reports, to name a few).

Here, for example, is a list of some items that a project manager might have in his or her tool kit:


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a vocabulary of the terms and concepts used in project management

the Project Management Institute website

a project notebook and/or a personal hand-held device to keep track of such things as

project details, personal reminders, and personal notes on meetings. For example,Evernote is an excellent productivity resource.

a Microsoft Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or software such as Microsoft Project (to

develop a project schedule)

meeting tools such as Doodle.com

a budget spreadsheet

By the end of this course, you will have a very full and useful project management tool kit to work with! What might you want to start adding to your tool kit from Chapter 1?

Review Activities

Along with the lesson’s required readings, you are strongly encouraged to complete the following review activities. These activities will help you assess your knowledge of the concepts you are learning and help you determine which concepts you should review before you move on to the next lesson, and as you prepare for each exam.

The multiple-choice quiz is made up of questions similar to those on the exams. You

can do the quiz as many times as you like.

Interactive key terms activities* for this lesson will increase your confidence as you

prepare for the midterm and final examinations.

Interactive Project Stages and Deliverables (discussed in Lesson Note 1.3) will help

you assess your knowledge of this important concept.

Optional review questions are provided at the end of Chapter 1 in the textbook.

Compare your answers with the Suggested Answers to Textbook Review Questions.

Optional PowerPoint slides

Larson8e_CH01_PowerPoint.pptxLarson8e_CH01_PowerPoint.pptxPowerPoint slides are from the instructor’s resources that accompany Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2020). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reproduced with permission of McGraw-Hill Education.

__________*In the key terms activities, some definitions include a reference to several lessons; theseare the definitions of the important terms covered in more than one lesson as well as theterms that relate to the project stages and deliverables. Definitions that do not have


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references to lessons are for terms that are covered only in the assigned chapter for this lesson. Each of the activity types (flash cards, crossword, etc.) contain the same terms and definitions

Suggested Answers to Textbook Review Questions

Suggested answers to textbook review questions are from the instructor’s resources that accompany Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2020). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin. © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Reproduced with permission of McGraw-Hill Education.

Define a project. What are five characteristics which help differentiate projects1.from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?

A project is a complex, nonroutine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resources,and specifications. Differentiating characteristics that differentiate projects from routine,repetitive daily work are below:

a defined lifespan

a well-defined objective

typically involves of people from several disciplines

a project life cycle

specific time, cost, and performance requirements

What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way2.projects are managed? What has been the effect of these forces on themanagement of projects?

Some environmental forces that have changed the way we manage projects are theproduct life cycle, knowledge growth, global competition, organization downsizing,technology changes, time-to-market. The impact of these forces is more projects perorganization, project teams responsible for implementing projects, accountability,changing organization structures, need for rapid completion of projects, linking projectsto organization strategy and customers, prioritizing projects to conserve organizationresources, alliances with external organizations, and so on.

Describe the four phases of the traditional project life cycle. Which phase do3.you think would be most the difficult one to complete?

1. Defining: Project specifications objectives are defined, and teams are formed withmajor responsibilities assigned. Much of this is referred to as defining the Scope of aproject

2. Planning: The creation of a comprehensive plan that includes schedules, budgets,staffing and risk assessment.

3. Executing: Work begins, deliverables are produced, and progress is monitored.

4. Closing: Putting the project to bed includes customer delivery, post project review oraudit, and redeployment of project team.

All things being equal, one would think that Closing would be the easiest phase to


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complete. However, there are times when this phase is the most problematic. Disagreements at the customer acceptance can lead to rework, tension and in many cases litigation. Veteran project managers answer to this question would be “It all depends.”

What kinds of projects is Agile PM best suited for and why?4.

Projects in which the scope or how the project will be completed are not well defined orstable. These kinds of projects would include software development, R&D work,technological breakthroughs, and creative endeavors.

The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two5.sides to the same coin. Explain.

The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of thesame coin because successful project managers are skillful in both areas. The point issuccessful project managers need to be very comfortable and skillful in both areas.

Summary and Assessment Tips/Reminders

Summary

The first chapter covered a lot of ground on terms, concepts, and trends in project management. As you will learn in this course, time, cost, and scope involve trade-offs. For example, the project manager may decide that out of all three features, and given the advantages of each, the schedule (time) is most important. In doing so, the project manager bears in mind that a change in one feature impacts the other two.

Remember that you are practising project management as you manage this course. Hypothetically, let’s say that someone (not you)

rushes through the course to finish it faster (time) without doing the work,

then falls behind and possibly fails the course because the scope of work (performance)

was not done,

and then spends more money (cost) on extensions to do what should have been done

from the start of the course!

Think about how an understanding of project management and the necessary trade-offs between time, scope, and cost could have prevented this student from ending up in such a regrettable situation.

As you read more about project management and try some of the tools and techniques, you will develop a comfort level with the language as well as the tools and techniques involved.

At the end of this lesson, you are encouraged to


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treat the course like the important project it is and practise your skills as you go

through the material.

review the requirements for Assignment 1 and start working on it.

contact the Student Support Centre if you have any questions. It won’t be long before

you get the hang of the new language you are learning.

practise your project management skills by checking your Suggested Study Schedule to

ensure that you are on track with your course timeline and scope of course work inrelation to your other commitments.


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lesson 1: modern project management lesson overview

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