What is a Project?
Human-kind has been involved in project
activities for a long time
But why are some works considered
“projects”
while other human activities are not
e.g. planting and harvesting a crop Stocking a warehouse, Issuing payroll checks or manufacturing a product, are not projects
What is a Project?
Examples to Large Scale Projects
When humans do things, there will be projects
Building the Great Pyramid of Egypt
300000 persons involved
The International Space Station The Manhattan Project The English Chunnel Tunnel Constructing Railroads Electrical and hydroelectrical power plants Subways, factories
What is a Project?
characteristics that warrant
Purpose Complexity Uniqueness Unfamiliarity Stake
classifying an activity as a project are
Impermanence (need, necessity)
and life cycle of the activity
What is a Project? Purpose
A project involves a
single, definable purpose,
end-item, or result, usually specified in terms of
cost, schedule, and performance requirements
What is a Project? Uniqueness
Every project is unique in that it requires
doing something different than was done previously
Even in “routine” projects such as home
construction, variables such as terrain, access, zoning laws, labor market, public services and local utilities make each project different.
A project is a one-time activity, never to
be exactly repeated again.
What is a Project?
Uniqueness
Projects are temporary activities.
An ad-hoc team assembled to accomplish
a goal, usually within a scheduled time frame disbanded goal
once the goal is achieved, the team is or reconfigured to begin work on a new
What is a Project?
Complexity
Projects cut across organizational lines
They need skills and talents from
multiple professions and organizations
This creates task interdependencies that
may introduce new and unique problems
What is a Project?
Unfamiliarity
A project differs from what was
previously done
It may encompass new technology
for organizations undertaking the
project, possess significant uncertainty and risk
What is a Project?
Stake
The organization usually has something
at stake when doing a project
The activity may call for special effort
because failure would jeopardize the organization or its goals
What is a Project?
Project Life Cycle
A project is the process of working to
achieve a goal;
during the process, projects pass through
several distinct phases,
called the project life cycle.
What is a Project ? Project Life Cycle
The tasks, people, organizations, and other
The organization structure and resource
expenditures slowly build with each succeeding phase
resources change as the project moves from one phase to the next
And peak and then decline as the project nears
completion
What is a Project ? Complexity and Uncertainty
Next Figure shows where projects fall w.r.t.
Degree of complexity and uncertainty involved
Uncertainty is measured by the difficulty in
predicting the final outcome i.t.o. The dimensions of
time, cost and technical performance
The more often something is done, the less
uncertainty there is in doing it
See the next Figure for details...
What is a Project ? Complexity and Uncertainty
When uncertainty of a project drops to
nearly zero, and when the project effort is repeated a large number of times,
The work is no longer considered a project Building a skyscraper is definitely a project But mass construction of prefabricated
homes becomes a scheduşled repetitive task than a project
Project Management? The Need...
Three example activities that required
1.
project organization and management are The Manhattan Project (developing the first atomic bomb)
2.
The Pathfinder Mission (to land and operate a rover vehicle on the surface of Mars)
Apollo Space Program (to put a man on the moon)
3.
Project Management? Project Goals...
Almost all projects have 3 goals
1.
Cost Target
Budget
Performance
2.
Schedule and
3.
Performance requirements
Time
Project Management? Project Goals...
In trying to meet time schedules and
performance requirements,
costs may be forced to increase
In trying to contain costs,
work quality may erode, schedules may slip and performance may degrade
As a systems approach, project
management integrates resources and puts emphasis on the “wholeness” of the project goals.
Project Management?
The Person, The Team, The System...
The Project Manager:
Whose responsibility is to plan, direct and integrate the work efforts of participants to achive project goals Project work is accomplished by a group of people, often from different functional areas and organizations, who participate whenever and wherever they are needed Is composed of organization structures, information processing and practices and procedures thay permis integration of the “vertical” and “horizontal” elements of the project organizations
The Project Team:
The Project Management System:
Project Management?
The Person, The Team, The System...
The Project Managements system provides
the means for
1. 2.
Identification of tasks Identification of resource requirements and costs Establishing priorities Planning and updating schedules Monitoring and controlling end-item quality and performance And measuring project performance
3. 4. 5.
6.