Question & Answer: project attributes, constraints and life cycle project management process and benefits…..

Project management:
Project management is the adept use of techniques and skills (hard and soft) in planning and controlling tasks and resources needed for the project, from both inside and outside of organisation, to achieve results.
The purpose of project management is to achieve successful project completion with the resources available. A successful project is one which:
• has been finished on time
• is within its cost budget
• performs to a technical/performance standard which satisfies the end user.

The Attributes of Successful Project Management:

The effectiveness of project management is critical in assuring the success of any substantial undertaking. Areas of responsibility for the project manager include planning, control and implementation. A project
should be initiated with a feasibility study, where a clear definition of the goals and ultimate benefits need to be established. Senior managers’ support for projects is important so as to ensure authority and
direction throughout the project’s progress and, also to ensure that the goals of the organization are effectively achieved within this process. The particular form of support given can influence the degree of resistance
the project encounters.
Knowledge, skills, goals and personalities are all factors that need to be considered within project management. The project manager and his/her team should collectively possess the necessary and requisite interpersonal
and technical skills to facilitate control over the various activities within the project.
The stages of implementation must be articulated at the project planning phase. Disaggregating the stages at its early point assists in the successful development of the project by providing a number of milestones that
need to be accomplished for completion. In addition to planning, the control of the evolving project is also prerequisite to success. Control requires adequate monitoring and feedback mechanisms by which senior and project
managers can compare progress against initial projections at each stage of the project. Monitoring and feedback also enables the project manager to anticipate problems (e.g.: the knock-on effects of late start or finish times)
and therefore take pre-emptive corrective measures for the benefit of the project overall.
Projects normally involve the introduction of a new system of some kind and, in almost all cases, new methods and ways of doing things. This impacts upon the work of others: the “users”. User consultation is an important factor
in the success of projects and, indeed, the degree of user involvement can influence the extent of support for the project or its implementation plan. A essential quality of the project manager is that of being a good communicator,
not just within the project team itself, but with the rest of the organization and outside bodies as well (the users may be internal or external).

Constraints :

a)Time:
Our definition of a project stated that it was an activity which had a defined beginning and ending point. Most projects will be close-ended in terms of there being a requirement for completion by a certain point in time. This point
may be the result of an external factor such as new legislation, or may be derived from organisational requirements. It may also be partly determined by other constraints. There is likely to be some relationship between the time
taken for a project and its cost. A trade-off between the two constraining factors may then be necessary.
b)Resource Availability:
There is likely to be a budget for the project and this will clearly be a major constraint. Cost constraints may be set in a number of ways, for example as an overall cash limit or as a detailed budget broken down over a number of
expenditure headings. Labour resources in particular may be a limiting factor on the completion of the project. In the short run it is likely that labour will be fixed in supply. Whilst the overall resource available may in theory be
sufficient to complete the project, there may be difficulties arising out of the way in which the project has been scheduled. That is, there may be a number of activities scheduled to take place at the same time and this may not be possible
given the amount of resources available.
c)Quality factors:
Whether the project delivers the goods to the right quality.
There are techniques which can be used to overcome the problems referred to above. These include:
• Budgeting, and the corresponding control of the project budget through budgetary control procedures.
• Project planning and control techniques such as Gantt charts and network analysis.

Life Cycle :

the project can be divided into four phases…
1.Project Initiation
2.Project Planning
3.Project Execution
4.Project Closure
Let’s take a closer look at each phase of the project life cycle.

1.Project Initiation:

The purpose of the Project Initiation Phase is to define and authorize the project.
The initial definition of the project can come from several places…
Project Statement of Work (SoW)
Business Case
Contract
The project manager takes the information provided and creates a Project Charter. The Project Charter authorizes the project and documents the initial requirements for the project.
It generally includes information such as…
Project purpose, vision, and mission
Measurable objectives and success criteria
High level project description, requirements, and risks
Summary milestone schedule and budget
Name and authority of the project sponsor
An important part of starting your project off right is performing a stakeholder analysis. Understanding which people or organizations will be impacted by or can influence your project is critical for ensuring your project’s success.

2.Project Planning:

The purpose of the Project Planning Phase is to determine the approach you will take and define all the details of how the project will be done.
Project Planning has two parts…
Strategic Planning
Implementation Planning.
During Strategic Planning you develop the overall approach to the project. During Implementation Planning you figure out all the details of how the project will be done.
A good way to visualize this is to think of your project as a family vacation.
During Project Initiation you determine where you want to go (your mission).
During Strategic Planning, you decide whether you want to fly there or drive (your approach).
Let’s say you decide to drive. In that case, during Implementation Planning you would map out your route, identify which hotels you will stay at along the way, determine how long each leg of the trip will take, and so on (all the details).

3.Project Execution

The purpose of the Project Execution Phase is to carryout the activities defined during the Project Planning Phase.
Project Execution is where most of the time, money, and people are used on a project. This is where the action takes place.
During this phase the project manager has to keep all the activities moving forward in a coordinated manner. This means you will need to track the progress of each activity and adjust your plans when the situation changes. This tracking and adjustment of project activities is also known as Monitor and Control.
During the execution phase all of the agreed project deliverables should be implemented and accepted by the customer. The customer can be an internal customer or an external customer.

4.Project Closure

The purpose of the Project Closure Phase is to formally close the project.
During Project Closure, there are several key activities that need to be performed…
Verify that the completion criteria are met
Create a project closure report
Collect and archive project artifacts
Perform a project postmortem
Many projects skip this phase. Once the Execution Phase is complete, they simply move on. It’s unfortunate since they really don’t know if the project objectives have been met, don’t organize the project artifacts to be easily found for future project’s reference, and don’t identify the key issues and lessons learned by the project that can be applied to future projects.

1) Project Planning
A major decision at the outset of any project is to decide upon the organization and composition of the project team. In so doing, it is worth remembering that many members will have dual responsibilities of involvement in the project in addition to a commitment to other projects or management of a functional area on a day-to-day basis. It is at this stage that a project manager should be appointed and responsibilities made explicit for all members of the team.
The selection of the team will be dependent upon the skill requirements of the project, and upon the matching of those skills to those possessed by individual members of the team. There may be a conflict here with hierarchical status.
The project management team will, therefore, begin its task in advance of project proper so that a plan can be developed. An important first step is to set the objectives and then define the project, breaking it down into a set of activities and related costs. It is probably too early to determine exact resource implications at this stage, but expected requirements for people, supplies and equipment should at least be estimated during the planning stage.

2)Project Scheduling:

This phase is primarily concerned with attaching a timescale and sequence to the activities to be conducted within the project. Materials and people needed at each stage of the project are determined and the time each is to take will be set.
A popular and easy to use technique for scheduling is the use of Gantt charts. Gantt charts reflect time estimates and can be easily understood. Horizontal bars are drawn against a time scale for each project activity, the length of which represent the time taken to complete. Letters or symbols can also be added to the left of each bar to show which other activities need to be completed before that one can begin.

Gantt Charts:

A Gantt Chart is a simple technique that can be used to attach a time scale and sequence to a project.
A Gantt Chart is a form of horizontal bar chart and horizontal bars are drawn against a time scale for each project activity, the length of which represents the time taken to complete. To construct a Gantt Chart the following steps are necessary:
1)Use the horizontal axis to represent time
2)Use the vertical axis to represent activities
3)Represent each activity by a horizontal bar of appropriate length
4)Take activity procedures into account by starting each activity bar to an appropriate point along the time axis after its preceding activities. Normally the start point for an activity is the earliest time that it could start after its preceding activities had finished.

3)Feasibility Studies:

The basic questions to be asked are:
•Is the project feasible?
•How feasible are the alternatives under consideration?
The aim of the study would be to carry out a preliminary investigation which should help to determine whether the project should proceed further and how it should proceed.
The relevance of this approach will vary with the nature of the project itself. The more concrete the project is, the more likely that there will be established procedures in relation to feasibility. At the other end of the scale there will be less need for a feasibility study for an open project.
The project manager responsible for conducting the feasibility study would normally consider:
a)Cost: is this within the budget set by the organisation or within the capabilities of the organisation to finance it? How do the alternatives compare?
b)Timing: are there specific constraints on timing and is it possible to complete the project within these constraints?
c)Performance: will the project satisfy performance criteria which have been determined? Basically this means will it do the job it is designed to do?
d)Effect on the organisation: is it feasible in the context of the organisation and the effect which it will have upon it?
We should have a look at these factors in a little more detail.
a)Cost factors will be looked at through a financial appraisal. This should be related to financial criteria which have been determined. You need to consider whether the following criteria are relevant.
i)Capital expenditure implications:
•What are the costs of the project?
•If there are alternatives, what are the relative figures?
•What effect will this have upon the organisation’s finances particularly the capital budget?
•How will it fit with controls imposed upon the organisation by central government.
•How will the expenditure be financed? What are the alternatives?
ii)Revenue implications:
•How much will this cost both in the current year and in subsequent years?
•What are the likely gains in terms of income?
•What effect will this have upon the revenue budget?
The answers to these questions will determine the financial criteria upon which the feasibility will be judged.
b)Timing: the project schedule may need to comply with specific criteria which have been laid down. Timing can be important:
•to comply with legal or governmental requirements. For example, new legislation or new requirements may need to be implemented by a certain date;
•for operational reasons. A new system may be required as a matter of organisational policy or to fit in with existing procedures and deadlines;
•to assist with financing arrangements. Grants or borrowing approvals may need to be spent within a specific period;
•to give the organisation an edge over its competitors.
c)Performance specifications: these may be:
•technical
•service based
•resulting from external regulations
•required by clients and customers
d)Organisational context:
•What is the policy of the organisation?
•Organisational culture; does the project fit in with the general values and beliefs of the organisation?
•How will it affect resourcing? (Are the skills, technology and physical space available?)
•How will the project fit in with existing procedures? What effect will it have upon systems?
The actual questions asked and the shape of the study and the consequent report will depend upon the type of project being investigated.

Benefits :

Better efficiency in delivering services:
Efficient management can provide a roadmap that can be easily followed and may lead to project completion. Once you know where to avoid pot holes and bumps, it’s certain that you’ll work smarter and not harder resulting in greater productivity that will last for a very long time.

Improved customer satisfaction:
Whenever you complete any project on time and within budget, the customer will walk away satisfied and happy. So happy customer is one that you’ll see again and again, and he will also recommend your business to hundreds of other people. Greater awareness about your business means greater sales and profits. Smart management of project is done using tools that enable client/manager relationship to flourish.

Enhanced efficacy in delivering services:
The strategies you used to complete one project will serve you for many future projects.
Improved development and growth within your team:
Positive results from your project will inspire your team and it will continue to look for ways to perform in a more efficient way.

Greater competitive edge and standing:
The benefits of efficient management of any projects are visible not only within the workplace, but outside as well. With superior performance, you will enhance your position in the market and will get more business

Chance to expand your services:
It’s a byproduct of great standing. Good performance leads to even more opportunities to succeed.

Better flexibility:

The biggest benefit of efficient management is ultimate flexibility. It allows you to firmly map out your strategies on how you want your project to get completed. But, the biggest benefit of this organisation is that when you discover any smarter direction, you can immediately take it. For all types of companies, this alone is worth the cost of admission.

Increase in quality:

With enhanced effectiveness, there is will considerable increase in quality.

Increased risk assessment:

When all project players are lined up and your strategy is in place, then all potential risks will jump out and may slap your in your face. Efficient management of projects helps you in assessing the risks and warns you in time, even before you start working on any project.

Increased productivity:
Increase in quality and better management will automatically lead to greater productivity.