PRM3701/501/3/2014
Tutorial letter 501/3/2014
Project Management
PRM3701
Semester 1 and Semester 2
Department of Business Management
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Please activate your myUnisa and myLife email addresses and ensure you have
regular access to the myUnisa module site PRM3701-2014-S1 as well as your
group site.
Note: This is an online module, and therefore your module is available on myUnisa. This is a
printed version of the study material available on myUnisa.
,List of references
•• Blanchard, K. & Peale, N.V. 1988. The Power of Ethical Management. London:
Heinemann Kingswood.
•• Burke, R. 2013. Project Management Techniques.2nd ed. Burke publishing.
•• Burke, R & Barron, S. 2007. Project Management Leadership. Burke publishing.
•• Larson, E.W & Gray, C.F. 2011. Project Management: The Managerial Process. 5th
ed. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.
•• Nicholas, J.M. & Steyn, H. 2012. Project Management for Engineering, Business
and Technology. 4th ed. New York: Routledge
•• Pinto, J.K. 2007. Project management; achieving competitive advantage, 2nd ed.
New York: Pearson
•• Project Management Institute, Inc. A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 4th edition. Newton Square, Pennysylvania, USA.
•• Steyn, H. 2012. Project Management: Principles and Practices. 3rd ed. Pretoria.
FPM Publishing.
•• Steyn, H. Carruthers, M. du Plessis, Y. Kruger, D. Kuschke, B. Sparrius, Ad, van
Eck, S. Visser, K. 2012. Project Management: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. 3rd
ed. Pretoria: FPM Publishing.
(iv)
,Project management in
perspective
Be not afraid of growing slowly
Be afraid only of standing still
– Chinese proverb
Congratulations on your decision to study project management at third-year level.
Perhaps you have done so because you need an elective subject, it sounded exciting
or you have a strong desire to manage your own project one day. Some of you may
already be involved in project management and have built up practical experience in
the discipline.
Many students are overawed or greatly intimidated at this point. Relax; this is not
rocket science or applied maths. If you study diligently and with an open mind,
complete the assignments we have set in time, and work through the exercises in
the textbook and on the textbook-related website, you will successfully complete this
course. This course is an introductory course. When you have mastered the specific
outcomes required, you will be adequately prepared to manage your first project and
should not make a fool of yourself in doing so. Mix this with some hands-on working
experience and perhaps some advanced education in project management, and you
shall be able to really “shoot for the stars” in your career. Note that project managers
are at the sharp end of the business – at least in projectised and matrix organisations
– and often rise to the top of the organisational tree. A project is often regarded as a
business within a bigger business and therefore provides excellent training ground for
bigger, more complex responsibilities later in your career.
Hopefully you have a shiny new textbook in front of you (the 5th edition of Project
Management: The Managerial Process by Larson and Gray) and are wondering
what this subject is all about. The many textbooks on project management that are
available follow a specific approach chosen by their author(s), although all cover the
same subject matter in one way or another. Larson and Gray, the authors of the
prescribed textbook for this course, have a more strategic leaning which has general
appeal and is less focused on the technocrats among us (ie the engineers, scientists
and IT practitioners).
A considerable body of project management knowledge has been built up over the
past 50 years. This body of knowledge (BoK) derives from the collective knowledge
and experience of thousands of project management academics, scholars and
practitioners working in various industries throughout the world and comprises “best
practice” in project management. This database of information has been taken up by
a number of organisations worldwide, including:
(v) PRM3701/1
, •• the Project Management Institute (PMI) – PMBOK® (USA)
•• the Association for Project Managers (APM) – APM BoK (UK)
•• the International Association of Project Managers – IPMA BOK
•• the AIPM Competency Standards for Project Management (Australia)
•• ISO 100006 – guidelines for quality in project management
Although there are many project management bodies of knowledge held by various
custodian organisations, the PMBOK® of the PMI in the US is the most widely known.
The content of the PMBOK® is what every project manager should know – and is
what we teach in this course (PRM3701). Many individuals throughout the world
who can prove that they have both academic qualifications and practical working
experience choose to demonstrate their competence by certifying with the PMI or
other professional bodies. Take a look at some of the job adverts for project managers
on the internet and note how often the requirement for a PMP (the PMI’s Professional
Project Manager certification) appears. The trend towards professional certification is
growing and may become an industry standard sometime in the future.
The project management methods and tools that you will study in this course do
not have universal application in all projects and across all industries. They are not
“plug and play” solutions. Instead, each industry and company adapts and uses what
adds value while leaving out what does not. Construction and IT projects are not
managed in exactly the same way. Some companies have very high-level, complex
methods; others use more simple methods; but most can manage their projects very
successfully. The implementation and application of high-level, professional project
management can be very expensive and is just not justified in some cases. The
level of application of project management tools and techniques is very much a case
of “horses for courses”. Contrast, for example, the needs of a local swimming pool
builder (who executes small projects) with the construction of the Gautrain (a multi-
million rand transport infrastructure project).
Project management is considered by many to be a subset of operations management
and you shall notice during your studies some overlap with other management subjects
that you have already completed, for example strategy, quality, operations, supply
chain, procurement, human resources (HR), and even contract and labour law. Be
careful: project management is not general management. Furthermore, project
management is not an extension of operations management but rather has some
tools, methods and techniques which are very unique. Throughout this course, we will
refer to the project management philosophy – a way of viewing and acting on things
which is very different from the other management disciplines mentioned above. Some
students will have noticed from their own life experience that there is much loose talk
about project management, that the popular “buzz words” are thrown around liberally
in conversation and that there is little true understanding of what project management
really is. A flashy sign on an office door, a job title or MS Project loaded onto your
laptop do not make you a competent project manager. Only your actual performance
measured against your project’s time, cost and performance (TCP) requirements will
determine that. The working life of a project manager is a bit like sitting on top of a
pressure cooker – it is hot, it is uncomfortable, but you still have to keep things cooking
and prevent the whole lot from boiling over. Project management is very good training
for future CEOs. It is not an office job. To be effective, you will need to get out there,
get your hands dirty, see what is going on, make some tough decisions, communicate,
(vi)
Tutorial letter 501/3/2014
Project Management
PRM3701
Semester 1 and Semester 2
Department of Business Management
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Please activate your myUnisa and myLife email addresses and ensure you have
regular access to the myUnisa module site PRM3701-2014-S1 as well as your
group site.
Note: This is an online module, and therefore your module is available on myUnisa. This is a
printed version of the study material available on myUnisa.
,List of references
•• Blanchard, K. & Peale, N.V. 1988. The Power of Ethical Management. London:
Heinemann Kingswood.
•• Burke, R. 2013. Project Management Techniques.2nd ed. Burke publishing.
•• Burke, R & Barron, S. 2007. Project Management Leadership. Burke publishing.
•• Larson, E.W & Gray, C.F. 2011. Project Management: The Managerial Process. 5th
ed. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.
•• Nicholas, J.M. & Steyn, H. 2012. Project Management for Engineering, Business
and Technology. 4th ed. New York: Routledge
•• Pinto, J.K. 2007. Project management; achieving competitive advantage, 2nd ed.
New York: Pearson
•• Project Management Institute, Inc. A Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 4th edition. Newton Square, Pennysylvania, USA.
•• Steyn, H. 2012. Project Management: Principles and Practices. 3rd ed. Pretoria.
FPM Publishing.
•• Steyn, H. Carruthers, M. du Plessis, Y. Kruger, D. Kuschke, B. Sparrius, Ad, van
Eck, S. Visser, K. 2012. Project Management: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. 3rd
ed. Pretoria: FPM Publishing.
(iv)
,Project management in
perspective
Be not afraid of growing slowly
Be afraid only of standing still
– Chinese proverb
Congratulations on your decision to study project management at third-year level.
Perhaps you have done so because you need an elective subject, it sounded exciting
or you have a strong desire to manage your own project one day. Some of you may
already be involved in project management and have built up practical experience in
the discipline.
Many students are overawed or greatly intimidated at this point. Relax; this is not
rocket science or applied maths. If you study diligently and with an open mind,
complete the assignments we have set in time, and work through the exercises in
the textbook and on the textbook-related website, you will successfully complete this
course. This course is an introductory course. When you have mastered the specific
outcomes required, you will be adequately prepared to manage your first project and
should not make a fool of yourself in doing so. Mix this with some hands-on working
experience and perhaps some advanced education in project management, and you
shall be able to really “shoot for the stars” in your career. Note that project managers
are at the sharp end of the business – at least in projectised and matrix organisations
– and often rise to the top of the organisational tree. A project is often regarded as a
business within a bigger business and therefore provides excellent training ground for
bigger, more complex responsibilities later in your career.
Hopefully you have a shiny new textbook in front of you (the 5th edition of Project
Management: The Managerial Process by Larson and Gray) and are wondering
what this subject is all about. The many textbooks on project management that are
available follow a specific approach chosen by their author(s), although all cover the
same subject matter in one way or another. Larson and Gray, the authors of the
prescribed textbook for this course, have a more strategic leaning which has general
appeal and is less focused on the technocrats among us (ie the engineers, scientists
and IT practitioners).
A considerable body of project management knowledge has been built up over the
past 50 years. This body of knowledge (BoK) derives from the collective knowledge
and experience of thousands of project management academics, scholars and
practitioners working in various industries throughout the world and comprises “best
practice” in project management. This database of information has been taken up by
a number of organisations worldwide, including:
(v) PRM3701/1
, •• the Project Management Institute (PMI) – PMBOK® (USA)
•• the Association for Project Managers (APM) – APM BoK (UK)
•• the International Association of Project Managers – IPMA BOK
•• the AIPM Competency Standards for Project Management (Australia)
•• ISO 100006 – guidelines for quality in project management
Although there are many project management bodies of knowledge held by various
custodian organisations, the PMBOK® of the PMI in the US is the most widely known.
The content of the PMBOK® is what every project manager should know – and is
what we teach in this course (PRM3701). Many individuals throughout the world
who can prove that they have both academic qualifications and practical working
experience choose to demonstrate their competence by certifying with the PMI or
other professional bodies. Take a look at some of the job adverts for project managers
on the internet and note how often the requirement for a PMP (the PMI’s Professional
Project Manager certification) appears. The trend towards professional certification is
growing and may become an industry standard sometime in the future.
The project management methods and tools that you will study in this course do
not have universal application in all projects and across all industries. They are not
“plug and play” solutions. Instead, each industry and company adapts and uses what
adds value while leaving out what does not. Construction and IT projects are not
managed in exactly the same way. Some companies have very high-level, complex
methods; others use more simple methods; but most can manage their projects very
successfully. The implementation and application of high-level, professional project
management can be very expensive and is just not justified in some cases. The
level of application of project management tools and techniques is very much a case
of “horses for courses”. Contrast, for example, the needs of a local swimming pool
builder (who executes small projects) with the construction of the Gautrain (a multi-
million rand transport infrastructure project).
Project management is considered by many to be a subset of operations management
and you shall notice during your studies some overlap with other management subjects
that you have already completed, for example strategy, quality, operations, supply
chain, procurement, human resources (HR), and even contract and labour law. Be
careful: project management is not general management. Furthermore, project
management is not an extension of operations management but rather has some
tools, methods and techniques which are very unique. Throughout this course, we will
refer to the project management philosophy – a way of viewing and acting on things
which is very different from the other management disciplines mentioned above. Some
students will have noticed from their own life experience that there is much loose talk
about project management, that the popular “buzz words” are thrown around liberally
in conversation and that there is little true understanding of what project management
really is. A flashy sign on an office door, a job title or MS Project loaded onto your
laptop do not make you a competent project manager. Only your actual performance
measured against your project’s time, cost and performance (TCP) requirements will
determine that. The working life of a project manager is a bit like sitting on top of a
pressure cooker – it is hot, it is uncomfortable, but you still have to keep things cooking
and prevent the whole lot from boiling over. Project management is very good training
for future CEOs. It is not an office job. To be effective, you will need to get out there,
get your hands dirty, see what is going on, make some tough decisions, communicate,
(vi)
