Before talking about projects we must have a clear definition of it.
Project Management Institute defines project as:
“The basic purpose of a business organisation is to perform work of some description. Work may be categorized as either operations or projects. However, operations and projects differ primarily in that operations are ongoing and repetitive in nature whilst projects are temporary and unique. Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and end. Unique means that the resultant product or service is different in some distinguishing way from similar products or services.”
So PMI suggests that project management is the application of knowledge, skills and tools to project activities in order to meet and exceed stakeholder needs and expectations. It involves:
- Scope, time, cost, quality,
- Stakeholders with different needs and expectations,
- Identified (or unidentified) requirements.
It can be argued that effective project management requires and balance of hard and soft skills. Hard skills refer to ability to select and apply a variety of techniques and tools such as planning, resourcing, budgeting, tracking, reporting and trouble shooting. But these can be worth very little if we are lacking essential soft skills. We need to be able to inspire, motivate and lead the project team.
Today, we will explore the project life cycle and its deliverables.
Project Life Cycle
Projects run with a sequential number of tasks and activities from the beginning to an end. This is known as a project life cycle.
Project life cycle - Source PMI https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-managing-sdlc-8232
It considers the following activities: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Closeout.
With a basic understanding of project management, you can have the edge needed to manage any project successfully.
Most project have a specific completion date, budget and scope. The scope will generally define what needs to be accomplished.
Orner, (2010) suggests that when you are planning a project do not think linear and create a list of items in chronological order, as this can limit your thinking. Think dynamic and write everything and anything that comes to mind in any order. This allows you to think freely without any limitations.
After you have written everything you can think of start to arrange it under four phrases: Concept/Definition, Planning, Execution and CloseOut. And with each phrase the area of focus will be the scope, time, cost, quality, HR, communication, risk and procurement.
Concept/Definition
This is basically the scope of your project. You need to determine what the project needs to accomplish and what it would not. It also allows for setting budget, timelines, risks and staffing needs. It is also important that these areas will change as the project progresses but it is imperative to have a starting point.
Planning
Here, we define what needs to be done, including the time line set. Establishing cost baseline is also important. We look at staffing part, approve teams and hire new team members if necessary. Reporting process should also be created. In the area of risk a contingency plan should be defined. You will decide who will execute tasks, provide training if necessary, create and discuss contingency plans etc. Milestone should be defined here.
Most of the time and effort is spent during the planning phrase. When people think of project planning they generally think about scheduling, but planning is really about defining fundamentals: what problems need solving, who will be involved, and what will be done. You need to take time and think about what issue the project needs to fix. To increase project chances of success, you must look beyond the symptoms observed, you need to ask more specific questions. For example how quickly the project needs to be completed and why. You also need to identify who your stakeholders are and who will be affected by the project itself, who will need to provide resources and who will benefit from it. The more explicitly you set your objectives, the less disappointment and disagreement you will face later.
Many project fail because they bite off more than they can chew, mainly because of the overestimation of money and resources that can be overlooked.
To determine your costs, break down the project into the following categories: personnel, travel, training, supplies, space, research, capital expenditures, and overhead.After you’ve entered the figures from these standard categories into the budget, ask a trusted adviser what you forgot. Did you overlook insurance? Licensing fees? Costs for legal or accounting support?
Execution
Here we verify whether the plan is still within the scope. Tasks need to be performed and timeline controlled and the project plan needs to be followed. Quality checks during this phase also need to be performed. Risks monitored and status of project communicated to stakeholders. Many people may feel that the execution take up most of the time and is the most important phrase, but it is not true. Planning is most important. The implementation phase is often the most gratifying, because work actually gets done, but it can also be the most frustrating. The details can be tedious and, at times, overwhelming. You also need to do your own regular check-ups. During that, try to maintain big-picture perspective so that you do not get caught in small problems. Project-monitoring software systems can help you measure your progress.Stakeholders will generally want regular updates and status reports. You and your team can stay focused by meeting once a week and periodically asking yourselves what’s essential to the project’s success. Set clear agendas for your meetings.Pay attention to small signs of emerging problems, such as a team member’s increased tension and irritability, loss of enthusiasm, or inability to make decisions. When you see signs like these, get to the heart of the problem quickly and deal with it. Don’t let it grow from a small irritant into a disaster.
Closeout
Here we need to ensure that it meets the customer expectations as well as define future quality checks, communicate to stakeholders that project was completed and write any reports.
Order provides a helpful template of the project phrases and considerations.
Phase Area Concept/Definition Planning Execution
Scope * Conduct * Solidify * Verify plan
interviews scope
statement
* Create high-level * Establish * Control scope
statement change control
plan
* Manage
schedule
Time * Determine length * Create work * Follow project
of project breakdown plan
structure
* Create * Validate
project plan milestone
* Control
schedule
Cost * Estimate budget * Create * Manage budget
baseline
* Identify fixed * Cost/benefit * Identify
cost analysis overruns
* Control cost
Quality * What are the * Identify * Perform
expectations? product specs quality checks
* Identify how * Measure
quality will results
be measured
* Corrective
action
HR * Identify staffing * Approve * Perform tasks
requirements, team
skills, time
* Hire staff * Manage slack
time
* Assign * Team building
tasks
Communication * Have kickoff * Develop * Provide
meeting reporting status
process
* Identify * Build * Manage change
stakeholders communication
plan
Risk * Too vague of a * Determine * Monitor risks
scope is a risk contingency
plan
* Identify potential * Risk plan
risks
* Risk
analysis
Procurement * Identify * Purchase * Validate
facilities/hardware material budget
needed
* Create
procurement
plan
Duration A couple of days A couple of A couple of days
weeks to to weeks
months
Phase Area Closeout
Scope * Ensure scope
met the
customer's
needs
* Customer
acceptance
Time * Closeout
project plan
Cost * Closeout
budget
* Inform
finance
Quality * Future changes
discussed
* Final report
* Meet customer
expectations
HR * Reassign
resources
* Performance
evaluation
Communication * Notify of
closure
* Administrative
closeout and
sign--off
Risk * Fully test
implementation
* Final report
Procurement * Obtain
sign-off for
install
Duration A couple of
hours to daysProject deliverables
It is often said, that project success depends on three parameters: Cost, Time and Quality. It is also often referred as "Iron triangle".
In order words, success is achieved by delivering the project within the 3 parameters. You will always face those 3 constraints on a project. Once the three principles are properly defined, there is more likeliness that the project will be successful.
Quality, for example in itself is an elusive concept. The definition of "quality" is difficult because it depends on personal perceptions of what constitutes "excellence". Vague perception of quality are of little use for project managers. They need a precise and objective definition of the deliverables. Therefore, quality can be best described as "fit for purpose" and "conforms to customer requirements". The project needs to satisfy the stated or implied needs.
Quality Control
Quality compromises in project outcomes are very common due to time or cost constraints. Quality management is a discipline for ensuring that outputs, benefits and process by which project is delivered meet the stakeholders requirements and they are fit for purpose. It basically involves the planning, scoping, implementing and monitoring the quality into all phrases of a project. It also involves the procedures, people and systems required to deliver.
Project quality management includes the assurance (planning to meet the requirements) and control monitoring the results). In Quality Assurance, project managers are required to establish policies, procedures, standards, training, guidelines and systems necessary to deliver quality. Additionally, the measurement of produced quality is subject to quality control which defines further refinements or revisions. In the root of quality, there are not only technical elements but also perceptions and expectations of stakeholders.
Mathematical perspective - is defined as "conformance to specification" - the management of quality is limited to the assurance of the "goodness" of product or service. And activities here are based on statistical tools.
System-structural perspective - defined as "conformance to procedure" - this is encapsulated in the approach of the bureaucratic quality management system and used as the basic for the ISO 9000 model. The achievement of the level of quality relies on the development and following the hierarchical set of procedural documents.
Control-organisational perspective - defined as "continuously meeting customer requirements" - in this approach employees and customers are viewed as key determinants of project quality. This is particularly useful where they are high levels of contact with particular external stakeholder groups during the project.
Economic perspective - also defined as "cost of (un)quality" - the financial costs and benefits of quality management are assessed against the costs of failure.
Holistic perspective - also defined as "continuously meeting customer requirements at lowest cost" - relies on changes in the entire way the operation approaches its project processes, from senior management to the front of house staff.
Strategic perspective - defined as "quality as competitive advantage" - the additional responsiveness that can come from successfully pursuing product and process improvement is treated as part of the competitive strategy of a firm.
The Business Environment
Even if a project manager is confident that the constraints of the "iron triangle" can be achieved, unanticipated external factors can also impact the project. They can interrupt the life of a project manager. On the majority of projects, it is not enough to demand clarity with respect to the three triangle dimensions.
Therefore, while it is generally agreed that the iron triangle is a useful model, a degree of professional flexibility is required due to the priorities of a project and potential changes in a business environment. Factors outside the direct control of a project manager are often a source of high frustration.
There are often external environmental factors to consider (macro-economic) such as changes in market conditions. For example, currency exchange rate changes.
Most frustrating, however, for project managers is when the work depends on internal departments or contractors over which they have no direct control. Some organisations are naive over such scenarios. For example demanding that project manager delivers against tight schedule but obliging them to use an internal procurement system which has no equivalent sense of urgency.
Projects are never executed in commercial vacuum and project managers should monitor the external factors very closely. The PEST analysis is well known. It stands or Political - Economic - Social - Technological, or PESTLE - adding Legal and Environmental. This approaches provide useful checklist for any project manager and worthy attention.
Political and legal issues constitute to changes in government policy and laws. Laws and regulations are continuously being updated in a wide range of areas: environmental, health and safety, employment law, etc.
The monitoring of economic changes is also vital. Any economy will go through various fluctuations associated with economic activities. Such changes will impact projects. They include underlying costs, foreign currency issues, fluctuations in business taxes and rates, interests rates, impact of product demand.
Social factors are often not a primary concern or project managers, but they generally relate to changing demographics, impact of project on local people, culture, market demand for product and presence of competing products.
Technology, however, have a high significant part to play on most projects, particularly in respect to model communication technologies. This has enabled a vast quantity of information to be shared and distributed amongst project team members and stakeholders.
Bibliography:
Orner, R., 2010. The Basics of Project Management. 24X7 (Online), pp.24X7 (Online), Jun 18, 2010
Project Management Institute, "Project Managing the SDLC", accessed from https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-managing-sdlc-8232 [accessed on 16/01/2022]
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