NOTES:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT :

Introduction :

20 20 What is Project Management?

Project is a unique process, consist of a set of coordinated and controlled

activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective confirming to
specific requirements, including the constraints of time cost and resource.

 According to PMI – it is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique

product, service or result

Project Management, according to PMI, is the application of knowledge, skills,
tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
 On a very basic level, project management includes the planning, initiation,
execution, monitoring, and closing of a project.
 Many different types of project management methodologies and techniques
exist, including traditional, waterfall, agile, and lean.
 Project management is used across industries and is an important part of the
success of construction, engineering, and IT companies.

Definition of Project Management

 Discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling

resources to achieve specific goals.It answers:What problem are you solving?
How are you going to solve?What is the plan (identifying the work, resources and
costs).

 Project management is the application of processes, methods, skills,

knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives
according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project
management has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and
budget.

Project Characteristics :
  Unique in nature.
 Have definite objectives (goals) to achieve.
 Requires set of resources. (labour, money , time etc)
 Have a specific time frame for completion with a definite start and finish.
 Involves risk and uncertainty.
 Requires cross-functional teams and interdisciplinary approach.

Need For Project Management

1. Control Scope Creep and Manage Change
Small changes in demands occur on every project. They come from management, the
customer, your project team, suppliers, or other stakeholders. Individually, they may
appear acceptable, but collectively these project demands can add up to a significant
project expansion (referred to as “scope creep”) that can overrun your budget. With
project management, if the manager effectively manages the scope of their project,
they have a better than even chance of effectively managing project resources —
time, money, etc. — and managing change.

2. Deliver Project Results On Time and On Budget

The project management process starts with a well thought out business case
justification that usually includes some type of cost calculation associated with
Return On Investment (ROI). Once these measures are established, it is up to the
project manager to ensure that on-time, on-budget performance is maintained;
otherwise, the project will never produce the expected results. That’s what good
project management is all about, and why there’s a need for project management.

3. Focus the Project Team on the Solution

The project team can easily drift off topic and spend too much time on the wrong
tasks. A good project manager keeps the project team focused by using a clear and
concise project charter, resolving barriers, or shielding the team from unnecessary
interference.

4. Obtain Project Buy-In from Disparate Groups

As President Lincoln once said, “Public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail;
without it, nothing can succeed.” A good project manager uses the tools in the initiation
phase of project management to collect user requirements, project constraints, and
a feasibility study to build a strong business case justification. Using input from
various sources, the project manager overcomes dissent and obtains buy-in by
communicating the project benefits as the different stakeholder groups see them.

5. Define the Critical Path to Optimally Complete your Project

Every project is made up of a series of connected activities, each of which has its own
constraints. The project manager identifies the critical path of activities — the
optimal sequence of actions that best ensure the project’s successful completion.
6. Provide a Process for Estimating Project Resources, Time, and Costs
Using project management software, previous project experiences, and a solid project
initiation phase can provide the discipline needed to reduce project estimating errors,
increasing the likelihood that the project will finish on time and on budget.

7. Communicate Project Progress, Risks, and Changes

As a project progresses, stakeholders must be kept informed of the outcomes, changes,
stumbling blocks, or successes that the project experiences. The need for project
management exists partly because it creates a project communication plan to
address these communication issues, provide a format, and lay out a process for
execution.
8. Surface and Explore Project Assumptions
All projects are based on assumptions to some extent. A good project manager
delves into user requirements, project constraints, and management expectations to
understand what is said and what is not said. Relying on too many unconfirmed
assumptions can invalidate a project schedule or, worse, sink the project.
9. Prepare for Unexpected Project Issues
Every project runs into unforeseen issues, such as changes in market conditions, and
is hit with random cause variability. Experienced project managers plan for the
unexpected by lining up alternative courses of action.

10. Document, Transfer, and Apply Lessons Learned from Your Projects

The last phase of project management focuses on “closing out” the project. The project
manager reviews how well each prior phase — project initiation, project
planning, project execution, and project monitoring and control — was
performed. As part of good knowledge management, all project review notes
should be dissected and analyzed for patterns, trends, and opportunities for
improvement. These “lessons learned” should be documented and communicated to
other project managers before starting the next project.

Importance:

1. Strategic Alignment
Project management is important because it ensures what is being delivered, is
right, and will deliver real value against the business opportunity.

2. Leadership
Project management is important because it brings leadership and direction to
projects.
3. Clear Focus & Objectives
Project management is important because it ensures there’s a proper plan for
executing on strategic goals.

4.Realistic Project Planning

Project management is important because it ensures proper expectations are set
around what can be delivered, by when, and for how much.

5. Quality Control
Project management is important because it ensures the quality of whatever is
being delivered, consistently hits the mark.

6. Risk Management
Project management is important because it ensures risks are properly managed
and mitigated against to avoid becoming issues.

7. Orderly Process
Project management is important because it ensures the right people do the right
things, at the right time – it ensures proper project management process is
followed throughout the project life cycle.

8. Continuous Oversight
Project management is important because it ensures a project’s progress is
tracked and reported properly.

9. Subject Matter Expertise

Project management is important because someone needs to be able to
understand if everyone’s doing what they should.

10. Managing and Learning from Success and Failure

Project management is important because it learns from the successes and
failures of the past.

Project Management Knowledge Areas

1. Project Integration Management : This area covers all PM activities from project
initiation to closure. It helps to link processes and tasks together. This creates a
single, coherent project lifecycle. Project Integration Management covers the
following:
  Project Charter Development to initiate your project and define the project
stakeholders.

 Project Management Plan Development outlines how to manage the project to

get results. 

 Directing and Management of Project Work focuses on the production and

release of the project’s deliverables.

 Project Knowledge Management is about knowledge acquisition and sharing. It’s

especially important if your team works in international or cross-functional
teams. This way team members build knowledge and share it with their
colleagues, improving project quality. Ensuring that it finishes on time without
exceeding its budget.

 Monitoring and Controlling of Project Work involves project performance

monitoring, estimation of achieved results, identification of possible project
challenges, and changes.

 Performance of Integrated Change Control if your project needs changing

administrative parts, such as a project sponsor or reviewing the project
documentation, then it involves integrated change control tasks.

 Closure of the Project or Phase covers tasks or objectives that are needed to close
the project or its phases.

2. Project Scope Management

Project Scope Management defines the scope of work to complete during the project. It’s
essential as it sets boundaries to the amount of work that can be included in one project.
It includes the following processes:

 Scope Management planning involves the creation of the scope management

plan. It’s usually included in the project management plan. 

 Requirements Collection involves gathering detailed requirements to define the

deliverable features and project stakeholders’ requirements for the project
management process. 

 Scope Definition is about the preparation of a detailed description of the project

scope. It helps to uncover the hidden risks and other issues. The project scope
should be built up gradually and become more precise with each iteration. 

 WBS Creation. WBS stands for a Work Breakdown Structure. It involves the
graphical breakdown of your project into components. These components
represent the scope of work arranged hierarchically. 

 Scope Validation is about approving and accepting the released project

deliverables by project stakeholders.
  Scope Control is a revision of scope statements to ensure that the project work
was completed within the set requirements. 

3. Project Schedule Management

It requires a lot of pre-preparation. A project manager has to define project tasks first
and after create a schedule where they mark the starting and finishing dates. Project
Schedule Management includes:

 Schedule Management Planning. This activity means that you list in your
schedule management plan the employee responsible for its execution, how
strict it should be, and under which circumstances you can alter it.

 Activities Definition divides a project into separate tasks. Basically, this activity

matches with the creation of WBS. 

 Activities Sequence is about ordering the tasks on a timeline. That’s the point
where you need to allocate Finish-to-Start (FS), Finish-to-Finish (FF), Start-to-
Start (SS), and Start-to-Finish (SF) times.

 Estimation of Activity Durations overlaps with the previous point. At this stage,

you need to define the duration of each task.

 Schedule Development stage creates a diagram with a critical path. This is the

longest way between starting and finishing points, a graphical bar chart with
activities that have their early starting dates, and the resource usage allocated to
each activity. That means you allocate your resources effectively. 

 Schedule Control is the evaluation of project progress following the schedule. At

this stage, you can define if the project goes ahead or is late.

4. Project Cost Management

Get to know the ins and outs of estimation of the project budget. This knowledge area
provides effective estimation techniques that help to define the sums you need to spend
on your project. Project Cost Management involves:

 Cost Management Planning is the creation of a plan that determines the

procedures and methodologies to estimate the project budget. It involves
planning, management, expenditure, and control of project costs.

 Costs Estimation includes the processes of cost estimation. Here you include the
estimation of labor, materials, and equipment costs needed. 

 Budget Determining entails separate budget estimations into one project budget.

  Costs Control involves analyzing how the project budget is spent, and its status at
a definite time. 

5. Project Quality Management

Project Quality Management heavily depends on Project Time and Project Cost
knowledge areas. The more the time and budget, the better the quality.

Project Quality Management includes:

 Quality Management Planning. This process involves creating a separate

document that includes the specifications that define the deliverables’ quality. 

 Quality Management entails that the quality of the deliverables. It should be

regularly checked and approved.

 Quality Control means that the quality level meets the quality requirements.

6. Project Resource Management

Project Resource Management includes people, equipment, facilities, and others to
ensure successful project fulfillment. However, equipment and budgeting play an
essential role in project performance

Project Resource Management includes:

 Resource Management Planning involves a document that defines the resources

for the project. Usually, this plan is devoted to human resource management. It
determines the roles in a project team and role requirements, and how they’re
applicable to the project. 

 Activity Resource Estimation ensures that you have all the resources available to
fulfill the project.

 Resource Acquisition is about acquiring the needed resources for the project.

 Team Development means that you provide your team with the needed training,
if necessary. It also involves team building to establish strong interaction among
the team members. 

 Team Management is the process of monitoring and helping your team to deliver
high-quality products.

 Resource Control is about monitoring and evaluating how the resources are
spent. It also covers how your team interacts throughout the project. 
7. Project Communication Management
When you develop your project plan, you need to establish a policy on how the project
stakeholders shall communicate during the project execution, and in case of its
changing. 

The following activities:

 Communication Management Planning. The development of this plan involves

defining communication requirements. Including: how often and when to have
meetings, what kind of means of communication to use for daily interaction,
communications steps to undertake in case of unforeseen issues. 

 Communication Management entails the implementation of a communication

management plan.

 Communication Monitoring involves monitoring and revision of how the

communication plan is executed.

8. Project Risk Management

Project risks are often hidden and can’t be seen at a mere glance. That’s why to ensure
successful project execution and minimize unexpected issues, project managers should
perform a deep analysis of possible risks. To estimate project risks successfully, a
project manager should carry out these tasks:

 Risk Management Planning involves the creation of a risk management plan that

explains how to categorize and prioritize possible risks.

 Risks Identification means that a project manager should identify the project

risks. They record them for monitoring and prevention of their occurrence.

 Qualitative Risk Analysis means classification and categorization of the risks by

their probability to occur and impact.

 Quantitative Risk Analysis involves estimation risks in numbers and how they

influence every project aspect such as budget, team, timelines, and so on.

 Risk Response Planning is the outlined way of action on how to respond if the
major risks appear.

 Risk Response Implementation is about executing the steps planned in the risk
response planning. 

 Risks Monitoring is the supervision of project development and evaluation of the

occurrence of the risks. If the risks become outdated or irrelevant, you can cross
them off the risk register.
9. Project Procurement Management
Not every project requires the procurement of outside subcontractors to speed up the
project development or involve niche specialists.

For effective project procurement, a project manager should perform the following
activities:

 Procurement Management Planning helps to define the project needs and sets

the parameters for hiring extra specialists.

 Procurement Conducting involves the process of searching and hiring an

employee or an outsourcing company. This step also defines under what
conditions you outsource part of your work and what project requirements the
responsible party has to fulfill. 

 Procurement Control implies management and monitoring of contracts and

informing the parties in case of project changes. 

10. Project Stakeholder Management

Stakeholders’ management is a fundamental part of any project. They initiate the
project, identify product requirements, model project processes, estimate the project
outcomes, and declare project success. Each stakeholder has a set of functions in a
project. Therefore, a project manager should establish these roles and responsibilities. 

That’s why a project manager should perform these activities:

 Stakeholders Identification is one of the first steps done to initiate a project.

Project stakeholders and their roles are usually outlined in one of the first
project documents — a stakeholders’ register.

 Stakeholder Engagement Planning is about making a list of stakeholders and

estimating their impact on a project, their roles, and responsibilities.  

 Stakeholder Engagement Management involves the identification and meeting

expectations of the stakeholders. For example, if they have enough tools to
accomplish parts of the project, what project problems they might face in the
future, and others.

 Monitoring of Stakeholder Engagement is about monitoring if the stakeholders’

needs were met and what they might need in the future

PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFECYCLE:

 20 1.Project Strategy and Business Case : In this phase, you define the overall
project business requirement , and propose the approach or methodology that
you want to use to address it.

2.Preparation : Here, you work with key stakeholders and project team members
who have already been identified to establish and start the project:

3. Design : In this phase you start the work involved with creating the project's
deliverables, using the project strategy, business case, and Project Initiation Document
as your starting point.

4. Development and Testing : With all of the planning and designing complete, the
project team can now start to develop and build the components of the project output –
whether it's a piece of software, a bridge, or a business process.

5. Training and Business Readiness : This stage is all about preparing for the project
launch or "go live."

6. Support and Benefits Realization Make sure : you provide transitional support to
the business after the project is launched, and consider what's required before your
team members are reassigned.

7.Project Close : Closing a project  is not the most exciting part of the project lifecycle,
but, if you don't do it properly, you may obstruct the ongoing delivery of benefits to the
organization

Project Management Processes

The key project management processes, which run through all of these phases, are:

 Phase management.- ensure that you adequately satisfy the conditions for
completing each phase, and for starting the next one.

 Planning.-  Ensure that you have the right people, resources, methodologies, and
supporting tools in place for each planning phase, so that you can deliver the project
on time, on budget, and to appropriate quality standards.
 Control.- It's essential to control scope , cost , and issues ; and to manage
time, risks , and benefits  effectively.

 Team management.-

 Communication. - Make sure that you're clear about who is responsible for
communicating to team members, the project board, the
different stakeholders  within the business, and relevant third parties. 

 Procurement. - Many projects hire third parties to manage purchasing, particularly

when it involves IT systems

 Integration. Many projects do not stand on their own within an organization – they
often impact other areas of the business

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFECYCLE : The project life cycle includes the steps required
for project managers to successfully manage a project from start to finish. 

Initiating phase
The initiating phase of the project life cycle consists of just two separate processes:
the project charter and stakeholder register. The point of this phase is to determine the
vision for your project, document what you hope to accomplish, and secure approvals
from a sanctioning stakeholder. The key components of the project charter include:

 Business case
 Project scope
 Deliverables
 Objectives
 Resources needed
 Milestone plan and timeline
 Cost estimate
 Risks and issues
 Dependencies

When you take the time to establish a clear and cohesive vision, think through who
should ideally be involved in bringing the project to life, and secure the resources you’ll
need up front, you give your project a strong start that sets the stage for everything that
comes next.

Planning phase
The planning phase process group is where you build the project infrastructure that will
enable you to achieve your goal within your predetermined time and budget
constraints, starting with a project management plan, project scope, work breakdown
structure and more—and wrapping up with qualitative and quantitative risk analyses
and risk responses. This is your detailed roadmap—your blueprint for success. When
you reach the end of this phase of the life cycle, everyone on your team will not only
understand the vision of the project, they’ll also understand precisely what they need to
do to reach the finish line on time and within budget.

Executing phase
The executing phase is where the rubber hits the road—where most of the budget is
allocated and most of the project deliverables are produced. You take your project
plan and put it into action, whether that takes weeks, months, or even years. Villanova
University defines the goal of this phase as, “managing teams effectively while
orchestrating timeline expectations and reaching benchmark goals.” The
executing phase often includes team development, stakeholder engagement, and
quality assurance activities, either on a formal or informal basis.

Monitoring and controlling phase

The monitoring and controlling phase involves keeping an eye on the actual
progress of the project against your plan and taking corrective action where
necessary. No amount of perfect planning will exempt you from the need to be
constantly vigilant with tracking and reporting. You know what they say about the best-
laid plans, after
all. 

Closing phase
The closing phase is the final phase of the project life cycle includes just one solitary
process, and it’s more than simply checking off the project as done. It’s essential to
formally close the project and secure a sign-off or approval from the customer,
stakeholders, and/or project sponsor. This process might include:

 Delivering the project

 Hosting a post-mortem meeting
 Archiving project records
 Celebrating or acknowledging the achievement
 Officially disbanding or releasing the team

The importance of this final step of the project life cycle can’t be overstated, especially
as more organizations are adopting the Hollywood model of work, where temporary
teams come together around a specific project, and then disband and regroup for
another project, much the way film crews operate. Every film production ends with a
“wrap party,” and so should every major work project
 PROJECT DELAYS :

Here are some notable facts about project delays:

 1-in-6 projects overshoot their schedule by 70%.

 For capital expenditure projects, even a 10% overrun can lead to a $5 million
profitability loss.
 25% of projects fail due to inaccurate task time estimates.
 Software projects have an average schedule overrun of 33%.
 A silver lining: 64% of projects with mature PM processes can be completed on
schedule.

Here are some of the most common causes for delays:

 Changes in project scope

 Resources become unavailable
 The project timeline is not planned properly
 Project objectives and deliverables are not realistic within the project constraint
 External vendors don’t deliver on time
 The communication between project stakeholders is not effective
 Unpredictable external changes like disasters

Impactofdelaysinproject

 Delays add to project costs.

 Every day you’re late is another day paying for personnel and other resources that
weren’t factored into the budget.

 Time is money, after all. But there are other costs to consider.

 Your company’s reputation with the customer and other stakeholders could be
damaged, not to mention your reputation with your bosses.

 If your project is late, you may cause delays in other projects by tying up resources
that are needed elsewhere.

 If the delay is extreme enough, the entire project collapses and leads to project
failure.

6waystoavoidprojectdelays

1. Set realistic goals for your projects

2. Hold a team meeting
3. Gather the right resources
4. Schedule carefully
5. Track and measure progress
6. Forecast
 Essentials of Good Project Management Philosophy :

 A personal Project Leadership Philosophy is a summary of the guiding principles,

beliefs, and practices that shape the way you lead projects and teams. ... The key is
to get this philosophy on paper so that you can consciously and purposefully consider
how you might improve or adapt your style to be more successful.

 Executive Summary. ...

 Project Scope. ...
 Feasibility Estimation. ...
 Project Limitations. ...
 Training and Infrastructure Requirements. ...
 Project Schedule. ...
 Budget Estimate. ...
 Risk and Issues Management.
 Change and Communication Management
 Associated Products and Deliverables
 Approvals and Attachments
 Conclusion
 The project manager is responsible for day-to-day management of the project and must
be competent in managing the six aspects of a project, i.e. scope, schedule, finance, risk,
quality and resources. Project managers work on specific projects that have definite
outcomes, have time limits and have to stay within a budget.

These tasks typically include:

 planning what work needs to be done, when and who’s going to do it;

 looking at the risks involved in a particular project and managing these risks;

 making sure the work is done to the right standard;

 motivating the team of people involved in the project;

 co-ordinating work done by different people;

 making sure the project is running on time and to budget;

 dealing with changes to the project as and when necessary;

 making sure the project delivers the expected outcomes and benefits;

The Project Manager develops the Project Plan with the team and manages the team’s
performance of project tasks. The Project Manager is also responsible for securing
acceptance and approval of deliverables from the Project Sponsor and Stakeholders.
The Project Manager is responsible for communication, including status reporting, risk
management, and escalation of issues that cannot be resolved in the team—and
generally ensuring the project is delivered within budget, on schedule, and within
scope. 

Project managers of all projects must possess the following attributes along with the
other project-related responsibilities: 

 Knowledge of technology in relation to project products

 Understanding Management concepts 

 Interpersonal skills for clear communications that help get things done 

 Ability to see the project as an open system and understand the external-internal
interactions.

UNIT 2 - Project Identification and Selection

Project identification is a process in the initiating phase of project life cycle for

identifying a need, problem, or opportunity.
Once identified, a project is initially documented objectively defining what was
identified. This identification can be the result of a organization's strategic planning, of a
company's normal operations, as the response to an unexpected event, or to a need. [1]

The project identification stage can also assist our custodian clients in identifying and
developing the most appropriate projects for their departmental objectives and in
support of the government agenda for real property, business projects and information
technology.
Steps in identification of Projects:

Step 1: Identify & Meet with Stakeholders :Identify all stakeholders and keep their
interests while creating project plan. Meet with the project sponsors and key
stakeholders to discuss their needs and expectations, and establish baselines for project
scope, budget, and timeline. Then create a Scope Statement document to finalize and
record project scope details, get everyone on the same page, and reduce the chances of
miscommunication.

Step 2: Set & Prioritize Goals : With a list of stakeholder needs, prioritize them and
set specific project goals. These should outline project objectives, or the metrics and
benefits to achieve. Write the goals and the stakeholder needs to address in the project
plan so it's clearly communicated and easily shareable.

Step 3: Define Deliverables : Identify the deliverables and project planning steps
required to meet the project's goals.

Step 4: Create the Project Schedule : Go through the each deliverable and define the
series of tasks that must be completed to accomplish each one. For each task, determine
the amount of time it will take, the resources necessary, and who will be responsible for
execution.

Step 5: Identify Issues and Complete a Risk Assessment : No project is risk-free. If

there any issues, that will affect the project planning process. So, should know how to
manage risk in a project and consider the steps you should take to either prevent
certain risks from happening, or limit their negative impact. Conduct a risk assessment
and develop a risk management strategy.

Step 6: Present the Project Plan to Stakeholders : Explain how project plan
addresses stakeholders' expectations, and present the solutions to any conflicts. Make
sure that presentation isn't one-sided. Have an open discussion with stakeholders
instead. Make project plan clear and accessible to all stakeholders. Housing all project
plan data in a single location, like a collaboration tool, makes it easy to track progress.

Project Initiation : Project initiation is the first phase of the project management

life cycle and in this stage, companies decide if the project is needed and how beneficial
it will be for them. The two metrics that are used to judge a proposed project and
determine the expectations from it are the business case and feasibility study.

Pre- Feasibility Study: It is basically the art of measuring the viability of the project
with respect to the real world challenges and the benefit that it would bring to the
organization. The results of the pre-feasibility study are probably the first hand project
information which is taken into consideration by the decision makers and investors.
Simply put, the aim of a feasibility study is to evaluate and then remove all uncertainties
that may tend to arise in the project Pre-feasibility studies investigate whether a
concept satisfies the client's objectives and the technical, economic, social and
environmental constraints for a particular project.

Feasibility Study : It determines whether the project is likely to succeed in the first
place. It is typically conducted before any initial steps are taken with a project, including
planning. It is one of — if not the— most important factors in determining whether the
project can move forward. The study identifies the project market (if applicable);
highlights the project's key goals; maps out potential roadblocks and offers alternative
solutions; and factors in time, budget, legal, and manpower requirements to determine
whether the project is not only possible but advantageous for the company to
undertake.

Although project managers may not be the ones conducting the feasibility study, they
can serve as critical guidelines as the project gets underway. Project managers can use
the feasibility study to understand the project parameters, business goals and risk
factors at play.

A feasibility study in project management usually assesses the following areas:

1. Technical capability: Does the organization have the technical resources to

undertake the project?

2. Budget: Does the organization have the financial resources to undertake the

project, and is the cost/benefit analysis sufficient to warrant moving forward?

3. Legality: What are the legal requirements of the project, and can the business
meet them?

4. Risk: What is the risk associated with undertaking this project? Is the risk
worthwhile to the company based on perceived benefits?

5. Operational feasibility: Does the project, in its proposed scope, meet the

organization’s needs by solving problems and/or taking advantage of identified
opportunities?

6. Time: Can the project be completed in a reasonable timeline?

Project Break-even point :

The organization should critically evaluate all new projects. Critical evaluation is
necessary to emphasize internal controls and justify the costs. One of the important
dimensions of this evaluation is to find the operating level which justifies the costs
implicit in the activity. There will always be a scale of activity below which the costs do
not justify starting the proposed activity. The knowledge of this level of activity is
necessary for decision making. Break-even analysis is an approach which helps
management to identify the critical level of activity, namely the break-even level, which
is that level of activity at which funds allocated to the project are just sufficient to cover
costs of operation. If the activity is operated below this level, the project will incur
losses. In order to find this break-even level, management requires information on:

 funding sources sanctioned for the project, which usually are

- fixed grants, such as grants received from government, and

- variable receipts, such as participation fees charged; and

 costs associated with the project, which again will be

- fixed costs, and

- variable costs.

The break-even level of activity would be identified by equating the two revenue and
two cost components. This is an important tool in project analysis. One can also find
break-even levels under different revenue levels.
CHAPTER – 3 (Project Planning)

Project Planning - Project planning is a discipline addressing how to complete a project

in a certain timeframe, usually with defined stages and designated resources.

One view of project planning divides the activity into these steps:

 setting measurable objectives

 identifying deliverables

 scheduling

 planning tasks

Why is project planning important?

Project planning is important at every phase of a project. including the following:

 facilitate communication and provide a central source of information for project

personnel;

 help the project sponsor and other key stakeholders know what is required;

 identify who will perform certain tasks, and when and how those tasks will happen;

 facilitate project management and control as the project progresses;

 enable effective monitoring and control of a project;

 manage project risk

Components of a project plan :

 Scope -  The scope determines what a project team will and will not do. It takes the
teams vision, what stakeholders want and the customers requirements and then
determines what is possible

 .Budget - Project managers look at what manpower and other resources will

be required to meet the project goals to estimate the project&s cost.

 Timeline - This reveals the length of time expected to complete each phase of the
project and includes a schedule of milestones that will be met.

 Initiation defines project goals and objectives. It also is when feasibility is considered,

along with how to measure project objectives.

 Planning sets out the project scope. It establishes what tasks need to get done and
who will do them.

 Execution is when the deliverables are created. This is the longest phase of a project.
During execution, the plan is set into motion and augmented, if necessary.

 Monitoring and management occur during the execution phase and may be

considered part of the same step. This phase ensures that the project is going according
to plan.

 Closing and review is the final Contracts are closed out and the final deliverables are
given to the client. Successes and failures are evaluated.

Project Planning Process: There are 6 Steps:

Step 1: Identify Project Stakeholders - Start your project planning process by

identifying the stakeholders of your project . Project stakeholders are individuals,
groups, or organizations who may affect or be affected by a project.

They include:

 The project sponsor Consultans

 The project leader Customers and Clients

 Project team members Contractors

Step 2: Identify Project Goals and Objectives - A project’s goals and

objectives depend on the needs of the project stakeholders. Therefore, knowing who
your stakeholders are and what their needs are is the first step in determining your
project’s goals. you can turn them into a set of measurable goals.

 Measurable

 Agreed
 Realistic

 Time-bound

Step 3: Identify Project Deliverables - Project deliverables are the tangible products
that are produced or provided as a result of the project. We can generally distinguish
between two types of deliverables:

1. Project deliverables, such as the project plan, minutes, or reports.

2. Product deliverables, such as intellectual material, consumer goods, contracts, and so

on.

Step 4: Create the Project Schedule – To work out the schedule for your project, you
will need to:

 Define activities based on your objectives and deliverables

 Break activities down into tasks

 Estimate the time each task will take

 Locate task dependencies and accommodate them in the schedule

 Assign (human) resources to the tasks

Step 5: Create Supporting Plans

Your project plan needs to include all the information necessary to manage, monitor,
and complete the project successfully. Aside from the project schedule, the stakeholder
list, the goals, and objectives, the document usually includes various supporting
plans are:

 Scope Management

 Resource Management

 Communications Management

 Quality Management

 Risk Management
Step 6: Outline the Project Plan

Now that you know the contents of a project plan, it’s time to look at how the project
plan document is structured. By default, a project plan starts with an executive
summary that provides an overview of the entire project management approach,
followed by the project scope, goals and objectives, schedule, budget, and other
supporting plans. You can use a mind map tool or similar diagramming software for this
purpose.

Work Breakdown Structure

Work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management is a method for completing a

complex, multi-step project. It is a way to divide and conquer large projects to get things
done faster and more efficiently. 

The goal of a WBS is to make a large project more manageable. Breaking it down
into smaller chunks means work can be done simultaneously by different team
members, leading to better team productivity and easier project management.

Work breakdown structure examples:

1. WBS spreadsheet: You can structure your WBS efficiently in a spreadsheet, noting

the different phases, tasks, or deliverables in the columns and rows.

2. WBS flowchart: You can structure your WBS in a diagrammatic workflow. Most WBS
examples and templates you may find are flowcharts.

3. WBS list: You can structure your WBS as a simple list of tasks or deliverables and
subtasks. This is the most straightforward approach to make a WBS.

Roles & Responsibilities:

1.Project Manager - The project manager is primarily responsible for the successful

completion of a project. The project manager’s role is to ensure that the project
proceeds within the specified time frame and under the established budget while
achieving its objectives. 

Project Manager Responsibilities

 Developing a project plan

 Managing deliverables according to the plan

 Recruiting project staff

 Leading and managing the project team

 Determining the methodology used on the project

2. Project Team Member - Project team members are the individuals who actively
work on one or more phases of the project. 

Project Team Member Responsibilities

 Contributing to overall project objectives

 Completing individual deliverables

 Providing expertise

 Working with users to establish and meet business needs

3. Project Sponsor - The project sponsor is the driver and in-house champion of the
project. They are typically members of senior management and have a stake in the
project’s outcome. 

Project Sponsor Responsibilities

 Making key business decisions for the project

 Approving the project budget

 Ensuring availability of resources

 Communicating the project’s goals throughout the organization

4. Business Analyst - The business analyst defines a business’s needs and recommends

solutions to make the organization better. 

Business Analyst Responsibilities

 Assisting in defining the project

 Gathering requirements from business units or users

 Documenting technical and business requirements

Team Work: Teamwork is an important tool in the manager’s arsenal which helps
speed up milestone completion and enables the team to overcome any obstacles or
problems that come in their way.

The Reasons Why Teamwork Matters Most in Project Management:

1. Teamwork Promotes Creativity

2. Teamwork Improves Conflict Resolution Skills

3. Teamwork Builds Trust

4. Teamwork Increases Accountability

5. Teamwork Boosts Project Management

CHAPTER – 4 ( Resources Considerations in Project )

Resource Allocation: Resource allocation is the process of assigning and scheduling

available resources in the most effective and economical way possible. Projects will
always need resources but they can often be scarce. The task, therefore, lies with the
project manager to determine the proper timing and allocation of those resources
within the project schedule.

How to Allocate Resources When Managing a Project?

 know the scope – to know what is your project about, what you will need to achieve
it, and to be able to properly allocate resources;

 identify resources – to know which tools, equipment, etc. you will need it completing
the project;

 track time – to have a deep analysis of the progress and current situation as well as
be able to control it in the real-time;

 don’t look only at the big picture – the process of working on a project is not done
with task allocation. Once you allocate resources you have to keep track of all of them. If
you lose at least one tiny detail, your project may fail;

 don’t over-allocate – because your team will experience burnout and their
productivity will significantly drop.
Resource scheduling:

Resource scheduling is a key step of project management indeed. When resource

availability and work capacity are the primary factors that determine a project’s
deadline, project managers sometimes speak of resource-constrained scheduling. But
we can often use resource scheduling for simple operation management. It allows
managers to outline completion dates for tasks assigned to their teams. Then they can
report to stakeholders such as customers or a board of directors.

Project Cost Management:

Project Cost Management is defined as the process of planning and controlling the
project cost and budget effectively and efficiently. It defines what costs are required for
each deliverable of the project. It includes various functions of Project management like
estimation, job controls, field data collection, scheduling, accounting, design etc.

The cost of the project can be estimated from various process sources :

 Creating Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

 Develop Schedule

 Plan human resources

 Identifying risks

Project Cost Estimation:

Project Cost Estimation is defined as the process of approximating the total expenditure
of the project. The accuracy of the cost estimation and budgeting in project management
depends on the accuracy and details of the project scope, which is the scope baseline.

The scope will also define any constraints like date, resources or budget. The risk
register will help to calculate estimate types of costs, the expenses made behind the
contingent action and the expenses made to cope with risks.To estimate the cost of
project you have to categorize various cost types into categories like.

 Labor cost

 Equipment cost
 Cost of supplies

 Travel cost

 Training cost

 Overhead cost, etc.

Techniques used to estimate project cost –

1.Analogous Estimating - This estimating technique is based on expert judgments and

information based on similar previous projects. Where previously done similar project
cost is considered with plus or minus of 20% for existing project.

2.Parametric estimating - Past data or record is used to estimate cost for the current
project.

3.Bottom-up estimating - Once you have defined the scope of the project, it is the most
reliable form of technique. In this technique, based on WBS, you estimate the cost for
each resource or deliverables.

Project Budget Planning:

The main purpose of this activity is to allocate and authorize the monetary resources
required to complete the project. The main output for determining the budget includes
cost performance baseline. It not only specifies what cost will be incurred but also when
costs will be incurred. The inputs for determining budget includes following Project
management budgeting methods:

 Activity cost estimates

 Basis for estimates

 Scope baseline

 Project Schedule

 Resource calendars

 Contracts

 Organizational process assets

The output of this process is

 Cost performance baseline

 Project funding requirements

 Project document updates

Cost Forecast:

The cost forecast is a process you can use to adapt cost planning to constantly changing
circumstances. For the cost to complete, the system determines and values the
remaining activities on the basis of the plan, forecast, and actual values in the network.

The project cost forecasts are generally developed and issued from the commencement
of the project until the project is closeout. Frequency of cost forecasts can vary from:
monthly quarterly, or only at certain key milestones of the project.

The challenges in cost forecasting on live projects are different from those in cost
estimating during the tendering phase.

 Compliance: The cost forecast rolls up to the organization through financial

statements(income, cash and balance sheets) and therefore especially for publicly listed
companies, cost forecasts are audited by third parties as per GAAP / IFRSguidelines;
estimates are not generally not subject to such audits.

 Stakeholder management: Cost forecasts are also a report on a project team and its
performance, the cost estimates however do not pinpoint to any teams or individuals
performance. Therefore the stakeholder engagement in cost forecasts is different than
in cost estimates.

 Rapid changes: Live projects have more moving parts: scope changes, execution
changes, productivity and commodity price trends; such changes are generally lesser in
the tendering phase.

UNIT 5 :

Project Risk Management

https://theintactone.com/2019/03/13/pm-u4-topic-4-role-of-risk-management-
in-overall-project-management/
Project risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing and responding to any
risk that arises over the life cycle of a project to help the project remain on track and
meet its goal. Risk management isn’t reactive only; it should be part of the planning
process to figure out risk that might happen in the project and how to control that risk if
it in fact occurs.

A risk is anything that could potentially impact your project’s timeline, performance or
budget. Risks are potentialities, and in a project management context, if they become
realities, they then become classified as “issues” that must be addressed. So risk
management, then, is the process of identifying, categorizing, prioritizing and planning
for risks before they become issues.

Risk management can mean different things on different types of projects. On large-
scale projects, risk management strategies might include extensive detailed planning for
each risk to ensure mitigation strategies are in place if issues arise. For smaller projects,
risk management might mean a simple, prioritized list of high, medium and low priority
risks.

Some of the key benefits of applying risk management while working on any sort of
projects are-

 Helps in avoiding business disasters and saving capital

 It establishes pathways for successful implementation of projects
 It increases the sense of accountability
 It enables the project manager to review the project and create an effective
response
 Brainstorming all the opportunities that have been skipped
 It increases the stability of the project and decreases legal liabilities
Step 1: Identify the Risk

The first step is to identify the risks that the business is exposed to in its operating
environment. There are many different types of risks – legal risks, environmental risks,
market risks, regulatory risks, and much more. It is important to identify as many of
these risk factors as possible. In a manual environment, these risks are noted down
manually. If the organization has a risk management solution employed all this
information is inserted directly into the system. The advantage of this approach is that
these risks are now visible to every stakeholder in the organization with access to the
system. Instead of this vital information being locked away in a report which has to be
requested via email, anyone who wants to see which risks have been identified can
access the information in the risk management system.

Step 2: Analyze the Risk

Once a risk has been identified it needs to be analyzed. The scope of the risk must be
determined. It is also important to understand the link between the risk and different
factors within the organization. To determine the severity and seriousness of the risk it
is necessary to see how many business functions the risk affects. There are risks that
can bring the whole business to a standstill if actualized, while there are risks that will
only be minor inconveniences in the analysis. In a manual risk management
environment, this analysis must be done manually. When a risk management solution is
implemented one of the most important basic steps is to map risks to different
documents, policies, procedures, and business processes. This means that the system
will already have a mapped risk framework that will evaluate risks and let you know the
far-reaching effects of each risk

Step 3: Evaluate or Rank the Risk

Risks need to be ranked and prioritized. Most risk management solutions have different
categories of risks, depending on the severity of the risk. A risk that may cause some
inconvenience is rated lowly, risks that can result in catastrophic loss are rated the
highest. It is important to rank risks because it allows the organization to gain a holistic
view of the risk exposure of the whole organization. The business may be vulnerable to
several low-level risks, but it may not require upper management intervention. On the
other hand, just one of the highest-rated risks is enough to require immediate
intervention.

Step 4: Treat the Risk

Every risk needs to be eliminated or contained as much as possible. This is done by

connecting with the experts of the field to which the risk belongs. In a manual
environment, this entails contacting each and every stakeholder and then setting up
meetings so everyone can talk and discuss the issues. The problem is that the discussion
is broken into many different email threads, across different documents and
spreadsheets, and many different phone calls. In a risk management solution, all the
relevant stakeholders can be sent notifications from within the system. The discussion
regarding the risk and its possible solution can take place from within the system.
Upper management can also keep a close eye on the solutions being suggested and the
progress being made within the system. Instead of everyone contacting each other to
get updates, everyone can get updates directly from within the risk management
solution.

Step 5: Monitor and Review the Risk

Not all risks can be eliminated – some risks are always present. Market risks and
environmental risks are just two examples of risks that always need to be monitored.
Under manual systems monitoring happens through diligent employees. These
professionals must make sure that they keep a close watch on all risk factors. Under a
digital environment, the risk management system monitors the entire risk framework of
the organization. If any factor or risk changes, it is immediately visible to everyone.
Computers are also much better at continuously monitoring risks than people.
Monitoring risks also allows your business to ensure continuity.

UNIT 6 : Project Performance, Execution and Control :

Performance Measurement : A performance measurement is a numeric outcome of

an analysis that indicates how well an organization is achieving its objectives.
 Performance measurement is the process of collecting, analyzing and/or reporting
information regarding the performance of an individual, group, organization, system or
component.[1]
Definitions of performance measurement tend to be predicated upon an assumption
about why the performance is being measured.[2]

 Moullin defines the term with a forward looking organisational focus—"the process
of evaluating how well organisations are managed and the value they deliver for
customers and other stakeholders".[3]

Performance measurement is generally defined as regular measurement of outcomes

and results, which generates reliable data on the effectiveness and efficiency of
programs

Performance measurement is essential for fostering organisational improvement. The

significance of having an effective performance measurement process has only grown as
businesses large and small realise that long-term success depends on reaching goals
with limited failure in today's highly competitive business world.

Effective performance measurement helps companies identify their strengths and

weaknesses, top high performers, areas for improvement, and helps set benchmarks
with historical data.

Examples of performance measurements are as follows:

 Tracking the ability of the accounting department to collect overdue accounts

receivable

 Tracking the speed with which the engineering department can design new
products
Project Execution:  project execution—a step-by-step outline of how you're going to
keep a project on track, on budget, and deliver it on time. Your project execution should
include everything, from the project's scope to a deliverable plan.  Project execution
is the stage of the project where everything your team has planned is put into
action .

Project execution is when project planning is put into action and tasks and deliverables
are monitored to ensure the project succeeds. 
Tracking and monitoring every project element once it kicks off can make the difference
between whether it sinks or swims. According to Project Management Institute, metrics
that indicate whether a project will succeed come down to staying on budget, delivering
tasks on time, and not falling victim to scope creep. 
It may be easier to put it like this: no matter how well you plan your projects and how
much time is spent in pre-launch meetings, you should prepare for stuff to go wrong. If
you do, you'll be in a better position to manage it and fix it so your project doesn't get
knocked off the rails.
That's where project execution comes in. 
It tracks your project in real-time so you can fix issues immediately, instead of waiting
until the end of the project to look back and spot where money was being wasted or
your team was taking too long to reach a milestone. As John Rossman highlights in
Think Like Amazon, companies need to act in real-time to avoid any problems. 
Project Control : Project Controls is a process that encompasses the resources,
procedures, and tools for the planning, monitoring, and controlling of all phases
of the capital project lifecycle. This includes estimating, cost and schedule
management, risk management, change management, earned value progressing,
and forecasting.

Project Control Process:

Project Control Process

1. Setting Project Standards: Targets are set for each project activity in terms of
time, cost, quality etc. They serve ads standards for control. Project planning is used to
set such standards.
2. Performance Monitoring: Actual performance of each project activity is
measured to provide feedback. Project reporting system is the source of such
information.
3. Find Performance Deviations: The actual performance is compared with the
standards to find out deviation for each activity. The causes and incidence of deviatiions
are analyzed.
4. Corrective Actions: Corrective actions are taken to improve performance in
future period. This is the crux of project control. It remedies the deviations to keep the
system stable.

1. Project control system should focus on critical points in which

performance deviatiions cause  the greatest damage to the project. It should find and
resolve problems to get the project back on track.
Areas for Project Control
1. Time Control: Time control can be of two types:
o Normal Time Control: It is the estimated time for completion of an
activity. Increase beyond this time is not likely to result in cost reduction.
o Crash Time Control: It is the estimated time of completion of an activity
which cannot be reduced further irrespective  of cost considerations.
o Every project has an optimal time schedule which is effectively controlled
to check overruns. Time delays result in cost overruns.
2. Cost Control: It involves the following:
o Setting up standard costing and budgetary control systems for the project.
Project accounts capture costs as they are committed.
o Allocating responsibilities for cost control at task level.
o Ensuring proper allocation of costs to project codes; ensuring that costs
are properly authorized.
o Measuring actual costs and comparing them with standard costs to
prepare cost reports.
o Identifying deviations to take corrective actions to control cost overruns
and maintain financial discipline.
o Value engineering can be used for Cost Reduction.

The purpose of the Execution & Control phase of the project is to manage every
aspect of project delivery to assure the project is successful.  At this point, the Project
Plan has been approved and the project management working deliverables have been
established.  In this phase, the execution of the project is being managed and its
progress tracked to the plan established during project planning.  To ensure the project
stays on-schedule and within scope and budget, performance is monitored against the
project plan and adjustments are made as necessary.

The Execution & Control Phase answers the questions of:

 Are we on track to complete the work as we planned it?

 If not, what do we need to do to get back on track?
 Who should we keep informed about our progress, and how often?
In the Execution & Control Phase, the Project Manager works with the project team to
perform the work of the project as planned.  The Project Manager monitors the progress
of the team, identifies issues or risks that occur, creates a mitigation plan with the team,
and regularly reports on the project’s status to various audiences.  The Execution and
Control Phase is critical to a project’s success.  A proactive approach to project
execution allows for rapid responses to any changes in the project plan, and a
consistent, regular, and appropriate level of status reporting provides all interested
stakeholders with updated project information.  By keeping stakeholders informed of
the project’s progress, the Project Manager provides them the opportunity for
intervention or redirection as needed in order to keep the project moving toward
successful completion.
Chapter 7 :

Project Closeout:

Project closeout is the final construction phase of the project lifecycle. It is the collecting
of final project documents (sometimes referred to as project deliverables), assembling
them into a package, and ultimately presenting that package to the client that requested
the project be built.

Steps for Closing the Project: There are 7 steps –

1. Formally transfer all deliverables

The first step to closing out your project is to finalize and transfer the
projectdeliverables to the client. Go through your project plan to identify all
deliverables and make sure they have been fully completed and handed off. 

2. Confirm project completion

Next, confirm the project is complete. It’s not enough to declare a project done yourself.
Each person involved needs to agree on the project’s completion before you can
formally close it out and move on. If you skip this step, you may continue to receive
change requests by the client.  

3. Review all contracts and documentation

Once you have completed the project hand-off and received approvals from the clients,
you can begin closing out your contracts. Review all the project documentation to
ensure all parties have been paid for the work and there are no outstanding invoices. 

4. Release resources

Formally release resources from the project, including suppliers, contractors, team
members, and any other partners. Notify them of the end of the project, confirm any
final payments or obligations, and officially release them so they are free to work on
other projects. 

5. Conduct a post-mortem

A post-mortem or project review is one of the most valuable steps of the project closure
process. This is a time to review the successes, failures, and challenges of the project
and identify opportunities for improvement going forward. 

6. Archive documentation :Once you’ve completed your project post-mortem, you can
finalize all documentation (contracts, project plans, scope outline, costs, schedule, etc.)
and index them in the company archives for later reference. Be sure to keep clear notes
on the project’s performance and improvement opportunities so you can easily
reference and implement them on similar projects in the future. 

7. Celebrate

Finally, don’t forget to celebrate! The end of a project is a big accomplishment and
represents the culmination of many hours of hard work and dedication from a team of
contributors. Once the paperwork is filed, and the reviews are over, kick back and

take time to celebrate the successful close together—you’ve earned it!

Project Termination:

Project termination is one of the most serious decisions a project management team and
its control board have to take. It causes frustration for those stakeholders who sincerely
believed - and in most cases still believe – that the project could produce the results
they expected, or still expect. The project manager and his or her team members, very
important stakeholders of the project as well, will feel that they personally failed. They
also will be scared of negative consequences for their careers; their motivation and
consequently, productivity will decrease significantly. What can we do to avoid those
negative consequences? Here, we list what we hear in our training, consulting, and
coaching sessions, together with our own experiences:

 A clearly communicated strategy of the organization

 Clearly communicated reasons why and how the project supports that strategy, and
under what conditions it does not

 Clearly set and communicated project success criteria (in terms of

scope, schedule, and budget)

 High level management attention, even for smaller projects, and even then when
everything still seems to be on track

 Periodical review meetings with the control board

 Open discussions with the control board about problems and possible solutions or
alternatives, including termination.

Reasons why project termination becomes necessary

 Technical reasons
 Requirements or specifications of the project result are not clear or unrealistic

 Requirements or specifications change fundamentally so that the underlying contract

cannot be changed accordingly

 Lack of project planning, especially risk management

 The intended result or product of the project becomes obsolete, is not any longer
needed

 Adequate human resources, tools, or material are not available

Project Follow – Up:

Project Follow-up is a general process for controlling and monitoring status of project
work to ensure that the project is performed on schedule, within budget and as per
requirements. It uses feedback on costs, schedules, requirements, employee
performance, and other critical factors to determine project success.

The key goal of the follow-up process is to monitor the course of a project and adjust
project activities when needed to ensure effectiveness of project results. The process
achieves this goal by performing the following 6 steps:

 Managing variances to confirm there is no uncontrolled change that causes project

instability

 Controlling scope to ensure the project is performed within accepted boundaries and
requirements.

 Monitoring spending to avoid cost overruns and budget failure

 Responding to risks to keep the project feasible and effective

 Assuring quality to ensure customer acceptance of deliverables

 Controlling schedules to prevent delay and procrastination

The project follow-up process starts with the beginning of project activities, lasts
throughout project implementation, and ends up with completion of project goals.

Another name of this process is project delivery management.