LECTURE# 1: SETTING THE SCENE
WHAT IS A PROJECT?
➢ ORGANIZATIONS PERFORM WORK
OPERATIONS AND PROJECTS SHARE MANY CHARACTERISTICS; FOR
EXAMPLE, THEY ARE:
Performed by people.
Constrained by limited resources (Finance, people,assets).
Planned, executed, and controlled.
➢ OPERATIONS AND PROJECTS DIFFER PRIMARILY IN THAT
operations are ongoing and repetitive, while projects
are temporary and unique.
➢ Project Definition: A project is a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product or service.
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS:
➢ PROJECTS
May involve a single person or many thousands.
Their duration ranges from a few weeks to more than five years.
May involve a single unit of one organization or may cross-organizational boundaries, as in joint
ventures (e.g. .KDD) and partnering.
Projects are essential for implementing the business strategy of a performing organization.
➢ EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS
Developing a new product or service.
Effecting a change in structure, staffing, or style of an organization.
Designing a new transportation vehicle.
Developing or acquiring a new or modified information system.
Constructing a building or facility.
Building a water system for a community in a developing country.
Running a campaign for political office.
Implementing a new business procedure or process.
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS
1. TEMPORARY:
Every project has a definite beginning and a definite end.
Temporary projects are defined by their limited duration and aim for lasting outcomes
rather than just the products or services they deliver.
For example:
The project of Building a new factory will end but the result which is the factory will
then work continuously.
The project for providing wireless network will end but the service is ongoing.
WHY THE NATURE OF PROJECTS IS TEMPORARY?
Projects have a defined time limit for delivering a product or service.
A specific team is assembled for each project, which is dissolved after completion.
,2. Unique product, service, or result
Projects involve doing something that has not been done before, therefore, unique.
A product or service may be unique even if the category to which it belongs is large.
example:
Many thousands of unique office buildings have been developed, each differing in owner, design,
location, and contractors.
3. Progressive Elaboration:
Progressive elaboration emphasizes the temporary and unique nature of projects.
Each project's output is inherently unique, requiring a gradual development of its distinguishing
features.
"Progressively" refers to advancing in steps, and "elaborated" signifies thorough and detailed
development.
Initial characteristics are defined broadly at the start and refined as the team gains a better
understanding of the product.
WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Project management involves applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to
fulfill project requirements.
WHAT IS PMBOK?
• The document is a guide on project management.
• It includes traditional practices as well as innovative techniques.
• It aggregates both published and unpublished materials related to the field.
➢PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE
• The guide assists project management teams in effective project management.
• Managers find the guide relevant and useful for different projects.
• It emphasizes the need to evaluate practices on a per-project basis instead of uniformly applying
them.
Project Management Knowledge Areas 1) Project Integration Management:
Ensures proper coordination of project elements by
managing the interdependencies, where changes to one part
affect others.
2) Project Scope Management:
Ensures project success by defining objectives like
architectural drawings and specifications, while establishing
a process for tracking changes to prevent scope creep
through formal approval and documentation, thereby
maintaining project boundaries and budget.
3) Project Time Management:
Ensures timely project completion through scheduling activities and implementing control
measures.
4) Project Cost Management:
Describes the processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved
budget. (project cost is calculated and a budget is allocated – control is made to complete the
project within that budget)
5) Project Quality Management:
Ensures project processes meet the initial needs for which it was undertaken.
6) Project Human Resource Management:
Effective project management optimizes the utilization of team members involved in the project.
7) Project Communications Management:
Ensuring timely generation, collection, distribution, and storage of project information requires
structured processes.
,8) Project Risk Management:
Identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risk is crucial as project size increases. Risks such
as budget overruns, delays, resource issues, and material shortages should be documented, with
preventive actions prepared for potential occurrences.
9) Project Procurement Management:
Acquiring goods and services from external sources involves understanding market availability and
timing, which are essential for effective procurement processes.
10) Project Stakeholder Management:
Effective stakeholder identification and engagement are crucial throughout the entire project.
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONTEXT
➢ The project management team must understand that managing the day-to-day activities of the
project is necessary for success but not sufficient.
➢ In addition, It is important to understand the project management context (environment):
Project Phases,
Project Life Cycle and
Project Stakeholders
PROJECT PHASES
Projects are unique endeavors with inherent uncertainty.
Each project phase ends with deliverables, which are tangible and verifiable work products.
Examples of deliverables include feasibility studies and detail designs.
Deliverables and phases are organized in a sequential manner to ensure proper product
definition for the project.
Phase-end reviews are also referred to as phase exits, stage gates, or kill points.
Each phase is named according to its primary deliverables, such as design phase, build phase,
and test phase.
Approval of deliverables from the previous phase is typically required before commencing the
next phase (e.g., completed drawings before construction).
Fast tracking may allow a new phase to start before the prior phase's deliverables are approved
if the associated risks are deemed acceptable (e.g., in design and build systems).
, PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
• The project phases are collectively referred to as the project life cycle.
• The project life cycle defines the start and finish of a project.
• It typically outlines:
- The technical work required in each phase.
- The participants involved in each phase.
• Descriptions of project life cycles can vary from very general to highly detailed.
➢Most project life-cycle descriptions share a number of common characteristics:
1) Cost and staffing levels start low, peak toward the end, and decline rapidly as the project concludes.
2)The probability of successfully completing a project starts low, demonstrating high risk and
uncertainty, but generally increases as the project advances.
3) The influence of stakeholders on the project's product characteristics and final cost is greatest at the
beginning and diminishes as the project progresses.
- Representative Project Life Cycle
Example: The Figure below describes a construction project life cycle
PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS
-KEY STAKEHOLDERS ON EVERY PROJECT INCLUDE:
Project manager: the individual responsible for managing the project.
Customer: The project’s product is intended for various customers,
including doctors who prescribe it, patients who take it, and insurers who
pay for it, indicating multiple layers of customer involvement.
Performing organization: the enterprise whose employees are most directly involved in doing the work of the
project.
Project team members: the group that is performing the work of the project.
Sponsor: The individual or group that supplies financial resources, whether in cash or in kind, for the project.
THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS
• The construction industry significantly contributes to global GDP.
• It affects all other industries, as all offices require buildings.
• Types of construction include:
- General construction and special trade construction for buildings and civil engineering.
- New work, repairs, additions, alterations, erection of prefabricated structures, and temporary
constructions.
The construction industry is often criticized
for being wasteful, inefficient, and • To identify the main characteristics of the industry:
ineffective.
Concerns exist regarding the industry's
underperformance, particularly in
profitability margins, client satisfaction, and
the fragmented procurement process.
➢ THE PROBLEMS FACING CONSTRUCTION CAN BE
RELATED TO THE FOLLOWING FIVE CONSTRUCTION
CHARACTERISTICS:
Project Uniqueness
Fragmentation
Adversarial Relationships
Separation of Design and Production
Competitive Tendering
• PROJECT UNIQUENESS:
Construction projects demand specialized technologies and collaboration among diverse
suppliers, resulting in temporary relationships between industry demand and supply.
WHAT IS A PROJECT?
➢ ORGANIZATIONS PERFORM WORK
OPERATIONS AND PROJECTS SHARE MANY CHARACTERISTICS; FOR
EXAMPLE, THEY ARE:
Performed by people.
Constrained by limited resources (Finance, people,assets).
Planned, executed, and controlled.
➢ OPERATIONS AND PROJECTS DIFFER PRIMARILY IN THAT
operations are ongoing and repetitive, while projects
are temporary and unique.
➢ Project Definition: A project is a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product or service.
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS:
➢ PROJECTS
May involve a single person or many thousands.
Their duration ranges from a few weeks to more than five years.
May involve a single unit of one organization or may cross-organizational boundaries, as in joint
ventures (e.g. .KDD) and partnering.
Projects are essential for implementing the business strategy of a performing organization.
➢ EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS
Developing a new product or service.
Effecting a change in structure, staffing, or style of an organization.
Designing a new transportation vehicle.
Developing or acquiring a new or modified information system.
Constructing a building or facility.
Building a water system for a community in a developing country.
Running a campaign for political office.
Implementing a new business procedure or process.
PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS
1. TEMPORARY:
Every project has a definite beginning and a definite end.
Temporary projects are defined by their limited duration and aim for lasting outcomes
rather than just the products or services they deliver.
For example:
The project of Building a new factory will end but the result which is the factory will
then work continuously.
The project for providing wireless network will end but the service is ongoing.
WHY THE NATURE OF PROJECTS IS TEMPORARY?
Projects have a defined time limit for delivering a product or service.
A specific team is assembled for each project, which is dissolved after completion.
,2. Unique product, service, or result
Projects involve doing something that has not been done before, therefore, unique.
A product or service may be unique even if the category to which it belongs is large.
example:
Many thousands of unique office buildings have been developed, each differing in owner, design,
location, and contractors.
3. Progressive Elaboration:
Progressive elaboration emphasizes the temporary and unique nature of projects.
Each project's output is inherently unique, requiring a gradual development of its distinguishing
features.
"Progressively" refers to advancing in steps, and "elaborated" signifies thorough and detailed
development.
Initial characteristics are defined broadly at the start and refined as the team gains a better
understanding of the product.
WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Project management involves applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to
fulfill project requirements.
WHAT IS PMBOK?
• The document is a guide on project management.
• It includes traditional practices as well as innovative techniques.
• It aggregates both published and unpublished materials related to the field.
➢PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE
• The guide assists project management teams in effective project management.
• Managers find the guide relevant and useful for different projects.
• It emphasizes the need to evaluate practices on a per-project basis instead of uniformly applying
them.
Project Management Knowledge Areas 1) Project Integration Management:
Ensures proper coordination of project elements by
managing the interdependencies, where changes to one part
affect others.
2) Project Scope Management:
Ensures project success by defining objectives like
architectural drawings and specifications, while establishing
a process for tracking changes to prevent scope creep
through formal approval and documentation, thereby
maintaining project boundaries and budget.
3) Project Time Management:
Ensures timely project completion through scheduling activities and implementing control
measures.
4) Project Cost Management:
Describes the processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved
budget. (project cost is calculated and a budget is allocated – control is made to complete the
project within that budget)
5) Project Quality Management:
Ensures project processes meet the initial needs for which it was undertaken.
6) Project Human Resource Management:
Effective project management optimizes the utilization of team members involved in the project.
7) Project Communications Management:
Ensuring timely generation, collection, distribution, and storage of project information requires
structured processes.
,8) Project Risk Management:
Identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risk is crucial as project size increases. Risks such
as budget overruns, delays, resource issues, and material shortages should be documented, with
preventive actions prepared for potential occurrences.
9) Project Procurement Management:
Acquiring goods and services from external sources involves understanding market availability and
timing, which are essential for effective procurement processes.
10) Project Stakeholder Management:
Effective stakeholder identification and engagement are crucial throughout the entire project.
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONTEXT
➢ The project management team must understand that managing the day-to-day activities of the
project is necessary for success but not sufficient.
➢ In addition, It is important to understand the project management context (environment):
Project Phases,
Project Life Cycle and
Project Stakeholders
PROJECT PHASES
Projects are unique endeavors with inherent uncertainty.
Each project phase ends with deliverables, which are tangible and verifiable work products.
Examples of deliverables include feasibility studies and detail designs.
Deliverables and phases are organized in a sequential manner to ensure proper product
definition for the project.
Phase-end reviews are also referred to as phase exits, stage gates, or kill points.
Each phase is named according to its primary deliverables, such as design phase, build phase,
and test phase.
Approval of deliverables from the previous phase is typically required before commencing the
next phase (e.g., completed drawings before construction).
Fast tracking may allow a new phase to start before the prior phase's deliverables are approved
if the associated risks are deemed acceptable (e.g., in design and build systems).
, PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
• The project phases are collectively referred to as the project life cycle.
• The project life cycle defines the start and finish of a project.
• It typically outlines:
- The technical work required in each phase.
- The participants involved in each phase.
• Descriptions of project life cycles can vary from very general to highly detailed.
➢Most project life-cycle descriptions share a number of common characteristics:
1) Cost and staffing levels start low, peak toward the end, and decline rapidly as the project concludes.
2)The probability of successfully completing a project starts low, demonstrating high risk and
uncertainty, but generally increases as the project advances.
3) The influence of stakeholders on the project's product characteristics and final cost is greatest at the
beginning and diminishes as the project progresses.
- Representative Project Life Cycle
Example: The Figure below describes a construction project life cycle
PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS
-KEY STAKEHOLDERS ON EVERY PROJECT INCLUDE:
Project manager: the individual responsible for managing the project.
Customer: The project’s product is intended for various customers,
including doctors who prescribe it, patients who take it, and insurers who
pay for it, indicating multiple layers of customer involvement.
Performing organization: the enterprise whose employees are most directly involved in doing the work of the
project.
Project team members: the group that is performing the work of the project.
Sponsor: The individual or group that supplies financial resources, whether in cash or in kind, for the project.
THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS
• The construction industry significantly contributes to global GDP.
• It affects all other industries, as all offices require buildings.
• Types of construction include:
- General construction and special trade construction for buildings and civil engineering.
- New work, repairs, additions, alterations, erection of prefabricated structures, and temporary
constructions.
The construction industry is often criticized
for being wasteful, inefficient, and • To identify the main characteristics of the industry:
ineffective.
Concerns exist regarding the industry's
underperformance, particularly in
profitability margins, client satisfaction, and
the fragmented procurement process.
➢ THE PROBLEMS FACING CONSTRUCTION CAN BE
RELATED TO THE FOLLOWING FIVE CONSTRUCTION
CHARACTERISTICS:
Project Uniqueness
Fragmentation
Adversarial Relationships
Separation of Design and Production
Competitive Tendering
• PROJECT UNIQUENESS:
Construction projects demand specialized technologies and collaboration among diverse
suppliers, resulting in temporary relationships between industry demand and supply.
