Programme : BBA Semester Subject Code: IB 0006 Subject Name: Project Planning and Scheduling Unit Number: 1 Unit

Title : Introduction to Project Planning

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Introduction to Project Planning Many people either intuitively convert management tasks associated with ongoing enterprises into a project management format management by projects. For example in the management of a factory operation (mass production), a certain desired outcome and an associated time period are prescribed. This is then identified as a project and the full set of project management tools, including planning and control, are utilized to achieve the desired outcome.

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Project success, to others, is viewed in terms of beating plan that is, beating the planned performance, typically in terms of time, cost and quality.

Objectives: Recognizing the changes in the economic trends that lead to project ideas Understand implication due to political, legal and technical aspects that affect implementation of the projects

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Explain steps to suggesting/choosing the right project to enhance competitive advantage

Evaluating projects impact on environment

How to assess uncertainties and risk factor in organization

Importance of Planning for Projects A project plan starts with a project requirements document and scope definition, both of which are prepared during the project initiation process. Using these initial documents, a project planner determines what tasks are necessary to execute the project and their dependencies (also known as the projects work breakdown structure).

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The successful realization of a project will depend on careful and continuous planning. The activities of designers, manufacturers, suppliers and contractors, and all their resources, must be organized and integrated to meet the objectives set by the promoter and/or the contractor.

PWBS chart Gantt chart Graphically draw the project plan, including any task dependencies, by visually adjusting task durations and priorities and by linking tasks to each other. RBS chart resource assignment Program Import project teams and assign resources to tasks. The RBS chart shows the resources and their task lists for resource assignment and planning.

Earned value report Budget and status reports Cost and revenue reports

View real-time project earned value, project status, budget, and cost/revenue reports. The reports can be configured to include your specific project tracking metrics.
Integration

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Project plan is integrated with Project Workforce Management. Create a plan, assign resources, and track it with the time and expense tracking module. View planned versus actual work at any time.

Factors influencing a project Projects are influenced by a multitude of factors which can be external or internal to the organization responsible for its management and execution. All these influences are neatly encapsulated by the Program acronym PESTLE, which stands for Political Economic Social Technical Legal Environmental

Here two types of politics have to be considered. Firstly there are the internal politics which inevitably occur in all organizations whether. The second type are the external politics over which neither the sponsor nor the project manager may have much, if any, control.

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Economic Here again there are two levels of influence: internal or microeconomic, and external or Macro-economic.

Social (or Sociological) Many projects and indeed most construction projects inevitably affect the community in whose real they are carried out. It is vital therefore to inform the residents in the affected areas as early as possible of the intent, purpose and benefits to the organization and community of the project. This may require a public relations campaign to be initiated which includes meetings, exploratory discussions, consultations at various levels and possible tradeoffs.

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A typical example of a trade-off is when a developer wishes to build a shopping centre, the local authority may demand that it should include a recreation area or leisure park for free use by the public.

Technical It goes without saying that unless the project is technically sounds, it will end in failure. Whether the project involves rolling out a new financial service product or building a power station, the technology must be in place or be developed as the work proceeds. Legal One of the fundamental requirements of a contract and by implication a project is that it is legal. In other words if it is illegal in a certain country to build a brewery, little protection can be expected from the law. The relationships between the contracting parties must be confirmed in a legally binding contract which complies with the laws (and preferably customs) of the participating organizations.

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Environmental Some of the environmental aspects of a project have already been alluded to under Social, from which it became apparent that environmental impact assessments are highly desirable where they are not already mandatory. The following considerations must therefore be taken into account when deciding to carry out a project in a particular area of the world: Temperature (daytime and night) at different seasons Rainy seasons (monsoon) Tornado or typhoon seasons Access by road, rail, water or air Ground conditions and earthquake zones Possible ground contamination

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Steps for Reducing Uncertainty in Project

Whilst it is perfectly possible to evaluate a number of project options in ones head, the ask becomes increasingly difficult as the number of project options increase, and as more than three major criteria need to be considered. This moves from very difficult to Mission Impossible when working with a team of managers, especially ones with strong egos and strong views about most areas of strategy and strategic projects generally.

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A more formal way of prioritizing strategic options needs to be found and this is manifest in the Strategic Option Grid which looks at a number of options against the following generic criteria (including financial): Strategic attractiveness Financial attractiveness Program Implementation difficulty Uncertainty and risk Acceptability to stakeholders

The Project manager The selection of the right project manager who has personal drive and good leadership, people skills and communication ability is considered important. Some technical expertise is regarded as an advantage, as is a track record of delivering projects on time and on budget, and an understanding of the type of project.

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The Project team One of the roles of the project manager is to develop team direction and a team wanting success or desiring accomplishment. This follows from careful selection of team members, with the appropriate expertise, clearly defined roles of team members, leadership, motivation, trust and mutual respect, recognition and reward.

Stakeholders A certain synergy is necessary among the stakeholders (all those influenced by the project), and in particular among the project manager, project team members, consultants, contractors, project owner and community. All have to work closely together. Objectives and scope The end-product objectives and the project objectives are made clear to all stakeholders, some of whom may have contributed to their formulation. There has to be a clear definition of the project scope, and this has to be understood by all stakeholders.

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Communication The establishment of good communication links with project stakeholders and within the project team is seen as essential. This ordinarily includes the holding of regular meetings, twoway communication, and the sharing of knowledge. Uncertainties/risks

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Attention is directed to the recognition of risks and the initiation of practices for dealing with these risks. These include, amongst others, risks arising from contractual, environmental (natural) and community sources, but typically anything likely to impinge on the time, cost and quality outcomes of a project. An inability to assess risks, or lack of knowledge of risks, may lead to under-performance.

Documentation Documentation, including the design and contract documents, needs to be clear, explicit and well understood. Directions and changes are recommended to be in writing. Early project phase work

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Work carried out in the early project phases is believed to have the greatest ability to influence the project cost. Small expenses provide large returns. It is suggested that the causes of under-performance occur primarily in the early project phases, and to a lesser degree later on where underperformance often occurs as a result of poor decisions made in the early project phases.

Important matters According to the Pareto or 80-20 rule, 80% of the problems on a project arise from 20% of the items. Effort accordingly needs to be focused on the 20% of items (the so-called Pareto items). Alternatives

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There is always the potential for cost and time savings through the consideration of alternative work practices and using alternative suppliers.

Planning Recommended practice is to make use of established planning methodologies such as the critical path method, based on a work breakdown structure (breaking the project down into smaller units or work). Poor planning could be expected to contribute to under-performance. Control

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The routine of planning-implementing-monitoring-reportingcontrolling is carried out continuously throughout a project. Times, costs, resources and delays are monitored, variances (differences between actual and planned) analyzed, and appropriate actions are taken.

Outsourcing Contractors and subcontractors (or internal organizational groups) of proven ability, and with the necessary financial and technical resources, are used. Price should not be the sole criterion for selection. Working with preferred contractors is one way to go.

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