Name: Josina Alfeus Kassova Junero Barros

Student ID Number: UM18551BAC26386

Course Name: Project Management
Major: Masters of Business Administrations & Financial Accounting






Title of the paper: PM






ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Date: 13.05.2014
Table of Contents

Introduction.12


Abstract.3


Need for PM .4


Comparison .67


Objectives

..8..9

Execution ..10







Introduction to Project Management
Project management was first used to manage the US space program. Its practice
has now been expanded rapidly through the government, the military and the
corporate world. Here is the main definition of what project management is:
Project management is no small task.
Project management has a definite beginning and end. It is not a continuous
process.
Project management uses various measurement tools to accomplish and
track project tasks. These include Gantt and Pert charts.
Projects frequently need resources on an add-on basis as opposed to
organizations that have full-time positions.

Abstract
This paper identifies the special need for executive control in project work, defines
project management and discusses points of difference from traditional
management. The special features of project management, the project manager's
personal objectives and fundamental requirements for success, are detailed.
Emphasis is placed on the Project Brief and the Work Breakdown Structure. Work
Packages are defined by category and essential characteristics as well as how they
change through time. Also discussed are scheduling and cash management, the
place of construction management and project management services under contract.

There are three main points that are most important to a successful project:
A Project must meet customer requirements.
A Project must be under budget.
A Project must be on time.
There are four phases a project goes through.
The role of the project manager in project management is one of great responsibility.
It's the project manager's job to direct and supervise the project from beginning to
end. Here are some other roles:
The project manager must define the project, reduce the project to a set of
manageable tasks, obtain appropriate and necessary resources, and build a team or
teams to perform the project work
The project manager must set the final goal for the project and must motivate his
workers to complete the project on time.
A project manager must have is technical skills. This relates to financial planning,
contract management, and managing creative thinking and problem solving
techniques are promoted.
No project ever goes 100% as planned, so project managers must learn to adapt to
change.
There are many things that can go wrong with project management. These are
commonly called barriers. Here are some possible barriers:


1. Poor Communication
o Many times a project may fail because the project team does not know
exactly what to get done or what's already been done.
2. Disagreement
o Project must meet all elements in a contract.
o Customer and project manager must agree on numerous elements.
3. Failure to comply with standards and regulations.
4. Inclement weather.
5. Union strikes.
6. Personality conflicts.
7. Poor management
8. Poorly defined project goals

Project Management History
Project Management is not a new concept. Even in the time of the Ancient Egyptians
a form of project management was needed to coordinate the construction of the
great pyramids. Modern project management tools were, however, not developed
until the early 1900s with the creation of the Gantt chart method. Further refinement
in project management tools came about in the 1950s with the development of the
Critical Path Method (CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT).
These three tools form the basis for documenting and managing the progress of
projects. All of these tools produce graphical representations of projects, and all
current project management software includes these components.




Interviews with Project Managers
Vanessa Duis, 29, works as a Project Manager coordinating CD-ROM and Internet
content. She works to extremely tight deadlines within a multimedia organization
alongside a variety of developers, designers, film-makers, authors and editors. Read
her comments about how Project Management techniques are used within the
multimedia industry.
Construction Management is Part of Project Management
As noted earlier, project management includes the direction of consultants,
designers and contractors, together with the co-ordination of the client's and user's
staff as members of the project team. Within this structure, the construction
management approach may be used to advantage as an alternative to the general
contractor, particularly on large projects where time savings are required.
The employment of construction management services, headed by a construction
manager who is also a member of the project team under the project manager's
direction, makes it possible to "fast track". That is to say, individual trade contracts
are awarded in the physical sequence of construction which permit some overlap
with the working design effort. Thus overall project time is saved compared to that
required to complete the whole design for procurement of all construction work in
one tender call.
Obviously all design work must be carefully scheduled and then coordinated with
construction, for this method to succeed.

The Need for Project Management
Project management is a particular concept of management applied to project-type
work. It is a concept which is being widely promoted, although it is not always very
well understood by those in need of the service, or even those involved in the many
aspects of this form of management. However, as experience is gained and
understanding of the concept and the many supportive management techniques
improves, so do performance and support, generally. The driving
forces arise from the pressure of such factors as unfavourable short-term economic
conditions, risks inherent in unpredictable inflationary trends, the magnitude and
duration of projects (particularly in construction), and increasing regulatory and
environmental requirements, as a result of political pressures.
Such uncertainties make the project management approach particularly appropriate
for owners intending to invest in significant capital works. Properly applied, project
management enables an owner to maintain both executive control and open options
for as long as possible to respond to external conditions.
This is achieved by dealing through a single entity, the project team, which in turn is
led by an individual dedicated to the project, or to project work, and identified as the
project manager. This team should be established early in the development of the
project concept and be given responsibility for the complete project life cycle from
feasibility; through schematics, design, and procurement; to delivery and start-up. In
this way, managerial unity is established early in the project, with the capability of
achieving specific goals through a practical organizational structure.
Thus the owner avoids becoming intricately involved with the design and
construction specialists and in the very time-consuming details necessary to create
new facilities. In short, he is able to continue to concentrate on his primary business
with minimum interruption to his own organization.

Project Management Methodology
This Information Technology resource reviews the phases of Project Management.
Begin by drawing some preliminary conclusions about which phase is the most
expensive. Why might this be the case? Which stages is lease expensive.
This Information Technology resource reviews the phases of Project Management.
Begin by drawing some preliminary conclusions about which phase is the most
expensive. Why might this be the case?
Effective Project Execution
Since the effective execution of a project requires the combined effort of many
functional areas acting as a team, new management relationships have to be created
within the traditional organization. Successful achievement therefore necessitates
cutting across the normal flow of authority, with responsibilities radiating outside any
one functional unit. Lack of official cohesiveness means that the traditional
management approach becomes unsatisfactory for project work.
The project manager is confronted with the coordination and integration of both human
and non-human resources. He must balance concept requirements with engineering
limitations and, at the same time, relate the client's functional demands to cost
restrictions. However, he does have the advantage of being able to look at the overall
project without being influenced by, say, the specialist's bias or contractor's profit
motive. His objectives are identical to those of the owner, although he should be able
and willing to argue a point with him when he feels it is necessary,
The adoption of an effective project management organizational structure, together
with the use of management system tools to manage the project, forces a logical
approach to the undertaking. It facilitates decision making and enables management
to readily handle its responsibilities. In fact, as a management philosophy it provides a
refreshing way of thinking that allows for temporary changes in an organization's
structure and its activities


Phase 1: Investigation
Once a project is defined, further research is needed in order to determine whether or
not it is worthwhile pursuing.
This phase:
Involves the initial commissioning of the project
Involves the identification of the initial aim and goals
Involves investigation into the possible ways the project could be completed
Is undertaken by top level management or strategic planners
This phase would provide a project brief to the project team or project manager

Phase 2: Planning and Design
Defining the exact purpose of the project and clearly defining the objectives to be
achieved

Breaking the project into tasks or activities and defining the purpose of each
Estimating the shortest and longest possible time required for each activity
Identifying milestones and key time markers in the project that keep the project on
schedule
Determining the sequence of activities and any constraints affecting the sequence. For
example, some tasks must be completed before other ones can start, or particular
resources might be required for the activity. This also includes:
Deciding which activities should be completed before others can commence
Identifying activities that can be done simultaneously or must be done at the same time
Assigning resources, people, materials and equipment to activities
Estimating the cost of resources
Drawing up a calendar of events
The deliverables or final output of this phase could include:
A project plan for management review
A GANTT chart
A PERT diagram, including a critical path, or a network diagram.
Phase 3: Production
During this phase the plan is put into operation. It ought to provide a completed
project, ready to be 'handed over to' clients. Alternatively, it may end in a full
implementation, i.e. at the end of an internal organisational project.
This phase involves:
Providing the resources
Completing the activities
Monitoring, controlling and recording the progress of the project on the GANTT chart
Comparing the current progress to the planned schedule
Updating and refining the schedule as required
Monitoring resource use to ensure no budgetary blowout
Ensuring milestones and overall goals are met.

Phase 4: Evaluation and Monitoring
The initial part of this phase is the transferal or hand over of the project. Of course this
project may not always have a single product as the final result. Either way, the
objectives of the project at this point should be met.
Once the project is transferred to the client the project team is 'decommissioned',
reassigned new tasks or placed into new project teams. Some members of the group
may be utilised in observing the full implementation of the project or in supporting or
monitoring its implementation.
It is also at this point the management will assess the success of the project. This
assessment is based on the elements of efficiency and effectiveness.
Quality: How well it has met the objectives? What is the final quality of the product?
Cost: Did the project stay within the budget specified and proposed use of resources.
Time: Did the project finish on or before the specified date? Was it the shortest
possible time for the project?
Timeliness: Was the project completed in time for the information to be of use?
Accuracy: Are there any errors in the product.
Relevance: Does the project/product include only those elements required by
the client.
Completeness: Does the client have everything they need in order to do their
work and make their decisions.
Revision
Try the following Project Management revision activity to review what you have
learned so fare.
Use the following question and answer activity for further revision.
Estimating Activity time When estimating the duration of the project, consider each
task separately, the people doing the task, normal working times and, above all, be
realistic.
Project Managers may be able to use historical data or experience to estimate
duration.

Scheduling and Expediting
Projects rarely follow the plan laid out. During the project the Project Manager should
assess each step. If there are delays they should identify alternate actions to bring
the project back within the time constraints. Often this is done by putting more
resources, time or money into a particular activity. This course of action should be
thought through carefully. Time and costs need to be traded off in order to get the
project completed.
After the critical path and the slack time in other activities have been identified, it may
be possible to expedite (hasten) or crash the schedule. This involves identifying tasks
that could possibly be reduced in time if enough money or resources were available.
Again it is a matter of assessing whether the extra cost or effort is worth the saving in
time.



Conclusion
Every construction project of any significance these days involves an ever-increasing
spectrum of individual professional and trade skills. Consequently, a project can only
be achieved satisfactorily through a comfortable working relationship between very
many people, with many different personal or collective objectives. In this brief paper I
have endeavoured to present an overview of project management as a modern
approach designed to withstand the vicissitudes of such pressures.

Today's owner, who adopts the project management approach to establish a new
facility, finds that he avoids becoming directly involved with the time-consuming
design and construction details. Instead, the approach enables him to continue to
concentrate on his primary on-going profit-making business.















References

DoD Software Program Managers' Network
ISO/IEC 12207 - Software Life Cycle Processes
ISO 12207 and Related Software Life Cycle Standards
Risk Management Report
Project Management Institute
publications
Software Productivity Research
Practical Software Measurement
Quantitative Software Measurement
Project Planning and Management
CrossTalk Journal
Guidelines for Successful Acquisition and Management of Software
Intensive Systems
Project Management Technology Report
Process Tailoring for Software Project Plans
Project Management References
WWW PM Forum - Project management resources.
Earned Value Website - C/SCSC and cost management.
Project Manager's Reference- Products, services and other project management
resources.