ProjectManagement

Unit6

Unit6

ProjectDevelopmentandModernTrends inProject ManagementPerception

Structure
6.1Introduction 6.2ProjectDevelopmentProcessCycle 6.3ModernTrendsinProjectManagementPerception 6.4RecentRevolutionsinProjectManagement 6.5Summary TQs AnswertoSAQsandTQs

6.1Introduction
Projectsarebasicallyconceivedasaonetimeperformanceofasetofactivitieswhichresultintheir completion. At the end, we have something new, a radical change in the situation. The project satisfiestheneedforsomethingwhichwillbeusefulforalongtime.Developmentofaprojectisthe stageatwhichtheoriginalconceptoftheneedtakesaconcreteshapeastowhatcanbeexpected attheendoftheproject.Thisisaprocessoffindingoutastowhataretheinputsrequired,whowill doit,howmuchitcostsanhowlongitwilltake.Duringthisprocesswesetupsignpoststoindicate thepathandateverystagewemakeareviewofthequalityofwhathasbeendonesofar.Wewill seetheevolutionoftheconceptandthelatesttrendsinthefield.

LearningObjectives:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

ThestepsinaProjectDevelopment ThebenefitsofProjectQualityReview Evolutionof ProjectManagementconcept TrendsintheITProjectManagementProcess Latestdevelopmentsinthefield

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SelfAssessmentQuestions1:TrueorFalse
1.AProjectgenerallysatisfiestheneedforsomethingwhichwillbeusefulonlyforashorttime.

6.2 ProjectDevelopmentProcessCycle
Thebasiccharacteristicsofaprojectisthatitissetofnonrepetitiveactivitieswhichcreateaunique product or service. The activities utilise a variety of resources. Systematic acquisition and deploymentinarelativelyshortspanoftimeistheessentialprocessofaproject.Developmentofa project starts with the acceptance of the proposal by the customer in all respects technical and commercial. The marketing people would have taken concurrence of the details and the time schedulesforvariousstagesfromtheprojectmanagerandgiventheircommitmenttothecustomer. Thefollowingarethestagesinthedevelopmentprocess: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Obtainingthespecifications Creatingaworkbreakdownstructure PreparingacomprehensivePERTChart Forminggroupsandteams Formingacoregroupconsistingofmemberschosenfromasmanyteamsaspossible. Fixingtheresponsibilityareas Preparingbudgets,suppliercontracts Settingupcommunicationchannels,feedbackroutesandmonitoringmechanisms.

Many of the above activities can be performed concurrently and save a lot of time. The above is generallycommonformostoftheprojects.Insomecasesmanyoftheactivitiesaredonebyoneor two persons. You will observe that information flow is of utmost importance. With most communication becoming almost instant, it is only necessary to follow the protocol established, to ensure that the decision making processes are not hindered. Having developed the project as above,itisreadyforimplementation.

1.Obtainingthespecifications Thisistheculminationoftheeffortsofthemarketingdepartmentinsecuringthecontract.Theneeds andassociatedrequirementsareclearlywrittendown,basedonwhichtheproposalhasbeengiven.

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This is an important phase as the needs of the customers would be converted to proposal which shouldmeethisrequirements.Inmostofthecases,anumberofchangeswouldneedtobemade. Considerationsofcost,possibilityofafewchangestoaccommodatethetechnicalrequirementsor acquisition of new technology to incorporate improved performance characteristics will be considered. Timerequiredfortheprojectmayundergoachange.Toreducethecost,orimproveupondeliveryor forbettermonitoring,thecustomermayoffertheservicesofafewofhispersonnel,equipmentsor even buy technology. When all these are agreed upon, a detailed document covering all aspects wouldbeready.Basedonthefinaldocument,thespecificationsofallcomponentsoftheprojectwill bemade.Ifafewhaveonlybroaddescriptionsofwhatisintended,theyaremadenoteofandthe person/departmentwhichwouldfinalizewithinatimeframeisworkedout.Whenspecificationsare available,theProjectManagercanproceedfurther. 2. Creatingaworkbreakdownstructure Oncethespecificationsarecompletelyready,theprojectmanagerhastheresponsibilityofshowing theworkelementsinastructurewhichshowthesequenceinwhichtheyaretobeperformed.Who willberesponsiblefordifferentaspectsoftheproject.Definethespecificactivitiesthathavetobe performed.Doallofthemhaveresourcestoperformtheiractivities?Atwhatpointsoftimewillthey requirethoseresources.Iftheyhavetobeprocured,whatarethearrangementstobemade.What isthereliabilityofthosevendors?Whatisthebackupforthose?Ifsomeworkistobeoutsourced, will the contractor do at site? If done elsewhere, who will transfer? At what time delivery can be effected?Allthesequestionsandmanymorewouldhavebesettledatthisstageitself.Soallthe personsresponsibleactivitieswillhavebeenidentifiedandthesequenceofoperationssettled 3. Preparing a comprehensive PERT Chart The basis for this chart is the Critical Path. A

number of activities make a project. Because of technological necessities some activities can be performedonlyaftersomeothershavebeencompleted.Someactivitiesareindependentofsome othersetofactivities.Differentactivitiesrequiredifferenttimesfortheircompletion.Someprojects arebigandanumberofclearlydistinguishablestages,calledmilestones,areidentified.Sincesome

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activitiesrunconcurrently,therearepossibilitiesthatonesetofactivitiesendupearlyandhaveto waitforsomeotheractivitiestoproceedfurther. This means that thereare more than pathsfrom the beginning to the end, and oneof them takes moretimethantheothers.Wecallthatcriticalpath.. InPERTProgrammeEvaluationandReview Techniquewetakeintoconsiderationthefactthatthetimesallocatedforalltheactivitiesmightnot bedeterminable.So,wegivethreetimeestimatesoptimistic,mostlikelyandpessimistic.Giving weightage of four to the most likely period, we try to find the variance of the project. As some activitiesgetcompletedearlier,thereareopportunitiestoutilizetheresourcesallocatedtothemfor thecriticalactivitiestohastentheproject.Thesearedoneonacontinuousbasisastheprojectis underprogress.Sinceactualtimestakenfortheactivitiesarechanging,reviewinghelpsustomeet thedeadlinebyresourcesmoothing. Achartispreparedandstubsofdifferentcoloursareusedto indicatetheprogressofallactivities,sothatcorrectionscanbeeffected. 4.Forminggroupsandteams Thenextstageinthedevelopmentoftheproject,istoidentifypersonstoundertakethevarioustasks whichincludeprocurementofmaterials,maintainingequipments,stockingofspares,etc.Someof themaretobesharedbetweenteams.However,mostoftheteamsformedarefocusedonthejobs assigned to them. Forming and developing teams which contribute their best to the project, is a challenging task. He should ensure that the knowledge and skills of the members of a team complementthoseofothers.InprojectswhereknowledgebaseisveryhighlikethoseintheIT,R &D,Innovationfieldstocreateanatmosphereofcamaraderieandmutualrespectwillgoalong wayinimprovingefficiency.Opportunitiesshouldbecreatedforthemtospendtimetogetheroutside workinghours.Ifforsomereason,anymemberdoesnotwanttostayinateam,heorsheshouldbe accommodatedattheearliest.Anumberofprofessionalconsultantsoffertrainingprogrammesfor the managers in this area. The latesttrends inHR are tofindnew ways to make employeesfeel comfortableandimportantsothattheystayandworkbetter. 5. Formingacoregroupconsistingofmemberschosenfromasmanyteamsaspossible Theywillbegenerallyseniormembersofintheirteams.Theywillbesharinginformationaboutthe progressandseewhatactivitiescanbehastenedorretarded,whatfacilitiescanbeloaned,which
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person from a team can help another team in solving a problem. Coordination and cooperation resultinsolvingproblemssooner.Themembersofthecoregroupwillberesponsibletobringto thenoticeanychangestheywantintheirteams.Thisgroupwillfacilitateconflictresolutionamong theteams. 6.Fixingtheresponsibilityareas Thisisacrucialstageinthedevelopmentoftheproject.Everypersonintheprojecttheteams, teammembersandthemembersofthecoregroupwillknowwhatisexpectedofhim.Eachteam willknowastowhattheyareexpectedtocompleteduringwhatperiods.Thecorememberofthis team will be in communication with the other teams as well as the project manager regarding the progressoranyotheradditionalresourcestheteamwouldneedtokeeptotheschedule 7.Preparingbudgets,suppliercontracts At this stage the Project Manager knows what his teams can contribute to the project. He will preparethebudgetforwhathisfirmisgoingtobuyforbeingutilizedbythevariousteammembers forcompletingtheirjobs.However,anumberofinputsmayhavetobeprocuredandthecontracts with suppliers have to be given out depending on the competitive offers, quality and delivery schedules required. Firm commitments from suppliers have to be obtained. Clauses about inspection, transport, insurance and payment will have to be worked out in detail and accepted. Project overruns are common and costly. Many good projects have floundered on this account. Everycareshouldbetakentoensuretheseareattendedtoatthisstage.Manyfirms,knowingthat thesearelikelytohappen,willaddthesecoststotheprojectcost.Butthen,wehavecompetitionto contendwith. 9. Settingupcommunicationchannels,feedbackroutesandmonitoringmechanisms. The last step in the development process of a project is to establish a system of reporting and initiationofactiontakenuponthem.Monitoringandcontrolbecomemeaningfulwhentimelyactions aretaken.Withtheavailabilityofintranetandinternet,transferofinformationhasbecomeveryeasy and authentic. Internet chatting, videoconferencingavoids many movements of persons savingon time and money. Nevertheless personal meetings will be useful to clarify a number of matters especiallyfinancialones.
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SelfAssessmentQuestions2:Fillintheblanks
1. InPERT,wegivethreetimeestimates_________,________and_____________. 2. Manygoodprojectshaveflounderedonaccountof___________.

6.3ModernTrendsinProjectManagementPerception
Owing to competition and projects being undertaken on a global scale, projects are no longer constrained by volumes, funds or even by materials. Technology can be accessed globally. Consultants give specialized inputs. Modern software programmes are available for testing processesevenbeforetheyaremanufactured,assembledorapplied. Simulationprogrammesare writtenforvarioussituationstheprojectflowsthrough.Themainbenefitsareintheareaofcosts andtime.PrinciplesofTQM,Kaizen,andLeanManufacturingarebeingappliedbymostcompanies toderiveleveragebyeliminatingwaste.Someofthepracticesaregivenbelow. 1. Continuous Business Process Improvement CBPI A process through which a project teampassesonthedetailsofanysystemormethodimprovementasarecommendationisaneffort for continuous improvement. The improvements when practiced by many teams get verified and authenticatedandbecomestandard.Duringimplementationorafterareviewofperformance,wewill stillfindareaswhichcanbetakenupforimprovement.Toavoidduplicationofthelearningprocess, Knowledge Management practices are implemented for enterprisewide availability. CBPI is entrustedtoasmallerteamwithinateamforinitiating,implementing,analyzinganddistributingthe process. 2. Force Field Analysis All improvement programmes have compulsions like competition,

customers demands, technology changes, economics, governmental regulations. However, resistancealsoisseenbecausetheorganizationalmembersfeelthreatenedorunwillingtolearnand exposetheirweaknesses.Itmayalsoariseoutofarealconcernthatthechangemaybetoocostly ortimeconsumingorevenunnecessary.ForceFieldTheoryenunciatedbyKurtLewin,statesthat thetwosetsofforcesareinopposition.So,toeffectchange,managersmustfindwaysofincrease
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theforcesofchangeandreducetheforcesofresistance.Theyneedtobedonesimultaneously.So there will be a movement towards change. On achieving some success, the consequences of changesshouldbeallowedtobesettled.Afterreinforcingtheeffects,theeffortshouldbecontinued toeffectchange.Theprojectmanagerwillbeinchargeofthewholeprocess. 3. Information Risk Management The information is constantly subjected to Scientific and

AnalyticProcessing.ManytimesAutomatedsystemsofqualitycontrolofkeyinputdataconnected withtheprojectwillhelpinreducingtherisksofoverrunsbeyondthecontroloftheteam.Oneofthe majorproblemsofwithdataundergoingalotofprocessingisthecorruptionthatmayoccurandthe consequent effect on the decision making process. The project manager should take the assistanceofasystemadministratorandrunchecksasfrequentlyaspossible.Afewmembersof theteamwillalsobeassociatedtoreducetherisk.

4.SEICMMandISOCertification
The former is mostly for the software projects. The certification helps the customer to have confidencetogeta projectexecutedby afirm. The ability to handle complex software projects is certified at five levels One two and three correspond to companies which have started doing business,standardizedtheirprocesseswithrepeatableperformanceswithhighquality.Thelatter levels certify the companys capability of high standard of maturity and optimization of processes. Thisguaranteesthatthecustomerisassuredofhighqualityofproductandalsothattheprocesses that are delivered the software programmes and applications give the customer consistent performance. These are necessary for software projects because there are not many materials or completed products that can be inspected and supervised or corrected during the course of development, manufactureordelivery.Theseareheavilypeopleorientedandtheircontributiontheexcellenceof theproductwillcomeonlyattheendwhentheproductiscompletelyready.NowwehavePCMM andCMMItoindicatethatcertificationiscarriedoutwithreferencetothepeoplewhoundertakethe project. The latter of the two is concerned with integration. ISO9000 and ISO9000:2000 are certification standards mostly for firms where the products have drawings, materials which are purchased, processes which can be seen, inspected, corrected and products which can be
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measured.Thesecertifyabouttheproceduresthatarefollowedwhichhavebeenacceptedboth bythesupplierandthecustomer.

SelfAssessmentQuestions3:Fillintheblanks
1. _________ enunciated by Kurt Lewin, states that the two sets of forces are ______ , _______. 2. 3. Theprojectmanager,shouldtaketheassistanceofa_________and runchecksasfrequently Principles _____ , _____ and _______ are being applied by most companies to derive aspossible. leveragebyeliminatingwaste.

6.3 RecentRevolutionsinProjectManagement
ThefieldofProjectManagementhasundergoneaseachangeinrecentyearsowingto,mainlythe followingreasons: a)InformationTechnology b)AutomationofPhysicalWork c)WorkplaceFlexibility d)Eliminationoftraditionaljobsandworkstructures e)GlobalisationofMarkets,suppliesandworkforce f)DominationofKnowledgeHolders a)InformationTechnology Everyprojectwillhaveahugeinformationinflowwhichhavesorted, classified, distributed,analysedfor purpose ofdecision makingand actions taken. IT helps in the processatspeedswhichhumanscannothopetoreach.Thisfacilitatestheavailabilityofinformation across theorganisation and even in thefield because of intranet and internetfacilities which have becomeverycommon.ProductionofdrawingsusingCADhasbecomeuniversal.Documentationof materialsreceived,dispatched,excesses,shortages,reordering,etchavebeenbecomefasterand accurate,thusfacilitatingexecutionofprojects.Transactionsareonlinemakingreporting,feedback anddecisionsbecomefaster.

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b) Automation of Physical Work Automation means elimination of human intervention in performingtasks.Sophisticatedmachines,SpecialPurposeMachines,CNCshavereducedhuman effort in workplaces. Movement of materials is conducted by programmed material handling equipments like the Automated Guidance Vehicle Systems. It is possible to identify materials becauseofthebarcodingsystems. c)WorkplaceFlexibility Withadvancesintransportandeasiermovementsacrosscountries,the

wholeworldhasbecomeonehugeworkplace.Withglobalizationmanyfirmshaveofficesinmany countries and projects are accepted worldwide. This flexibility has enabled project managers to outsourcematerialsandpeople,forachievingbetterprofits. d) Elimination of traditional jobs and work structures Organizations are getting flatter.

Teams have become very important. They perform most of the functions of management like purchase,recruitment,training,accounts,transportetc.Nodoubtthecorporateofficekeepstrackof allactivities.Buttheautonomyextendedtothemhasresultedinfasterdecisionmakingandmany timescosteffective.Theknowledgeandskillfactorsofvariousjobshavechangedgreatly.Wefind thatcompaniesareinstallingselfdirectedteamswhoinitiateactionsrequiredofthemtocomplete thejobsorprojectsonhand.Ithasbeenthepracticeofwellrunandprogressiveorganizationsto giveagreatamountofautonomytotheiremployees.

SelfAssessmentQuestions4
1.Transactionsareonlinemaking______,_____and______becomefaster. 2. Havinggivenautonomytoteamsthemanagementneednotkeeptrackoftheiractivities (True/ False)

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6.4Summary
YouhavelearntinthisunitaboutthevariousstepsinaProjectDevelopmentandalsothebenefitsof ProjectQualityReview.YouhavelearntabouttheevolutionofProjectManagementconcepts.You have also understood the differences between traditional project management and the IT Project ManagementProcesses.Alsoindicatedinthisunitisthedevelopmenttakingplacethisfield.

TerminalQuestions:
1. WhatdoyouunderstandbyResourceSmoothing? 2. WhataretheimportantstagesintheprocessofDevelopmentofaProject? 3. ExplaintherelevanceofWorkBreakdownStructureindeterminingresponsibilityarea. 4. WhatarethefunctionsoftheCoreGroupinProjectManagement? 5. Whyteamworkisveryimportantforimplementationofprojects? 6. WhatistherelevanceofknowledgemanagementinProjectManagement?

AnswerstoSelfAssessmentQuestions:
SELFASSESSMENTQUESTIONS1 1 False SELFASSESSMENTQUESTIONS2 1Optimistic,mostlikelyandpessimistic 2Projectoverruns SELFASSESSMENTQUESTIONS3 1ForceFieldAnalysis 2SystemAdministrator 3TQM,Kaizen,and LeanManufacturing.

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SELFASSESSMENTQUESTIONS4 1Reporting,feedbackanddecisions 2False

AnswerstoTerminalQuestions.
1. Refer6.2 2. Refer6.2 3. Refer6.2 4. Refer6.2 5. Refer6.4 6. Refer6.3

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