Lecture Project management in practice - Chapter 1: Modern project management

After you have mastered the material in this chapter, you will be able to: Understand how projects differ from routine operational work, develop an understanding of the background to project management, understand at a broad level the concept of a project life cycle, make the link between an organisation’s strategy and the need for projects.

CHAPTER Modern Project Management Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-1 Learning Elements 1.1 Understand how projects differ from routine operational work 1.2 Develop an understanding of the background to project management 1.3 Understand at a broad level the concept of a project life cycle 1.4 Make the link between an organisation’s strategy and the need for projects Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-2 What is a Project? Characteristics • An established objective • A defined lifespan with a defined beginning and end (temporary) • Usually the involvement of several departments and/or professionals • Typically doing something that has never been done before (unique) • Specific time, cost and performance requirements Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-3 What is not a Project? • Routine, repetitive work • Ordinary daily work that typically requires doing the same, or similar work, over and over Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-4 Comparison of Routine Work and Projects Routine, repetitive work Projects • Taking meeting notes • Daily entering sales receipts into the accounting ledger • Responding to a supplychain request • Practising scales on the piano • Routine manufacture of an Apple iPod • Writing a book • Setting up a sales kiosk for a professional accounting conference • Developing a supplychain information system • Writing a new piano piece Designing a new media player Copyright â 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-5 Program versus Project • A program is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet specific requirements • A program obtains benefits and control not available by managing projects individually Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-6 Portfolio versus Program • Portfolios provide an overarching umbrella for an organisation to manage all investment activity • Portfolios may be managed as a mix of programs and/or major projects Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-7 The Project Life Cycle Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-8 The Project Manager • Marshals resources for the project and relates directly to the customer • Provides direction, coordination and integration to the project team • Is responsible for the performance and success of the project • Must induce the right people at the right time to address issues, make decisions and carry out the project’s activities • Addresses the right issues and makes the right decisions Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-9 The Importance of Project Management • Compression of the product life cycle • Complexity • Triple bottom line (planet, people, profit) • Corporate downsizing • Increased customer focus • Organisational change management • Small projects represent big problems Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-10 Project Management Today: A Holistic Approach Integrative approach • The big picture: how organisational resources are being used • An assessment of the risk to their portfolio of projects • A rough metric for measuring the improvement of managing projects relative to others in the industry • Linkages to senior management • Performance management of projects • A clear definition of benefits Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-11 Alignment of Projects with Organisational Strategy Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-12 Project Management Today: A Holistic Approach (cont.) Includes: • Project selection • Monitoring aggregate resource levels and skills • Use of best practices • Balancing projects in a portfolio • Improving communication among all stakeholders • An organisational perspective, beyond silo thinking • Improving management of projects over time Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-13 The Technical and Socio-cultural Dimensions of the Project Management Process Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-14 Common Pitfalls in Project Management • • • • • Not being aligned to organisational strategy Lack of top management or sponsor support Political discord or disagreement Poor or inadequate estimating Working backwards from a given drop-dead date • Inexperienced project management personnel • Fragmented team and team values Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-15 Common Pitfalls in Project Management (cont.) •Poorly/vaguely defined requirements (Scope) •Lack of user (customer) involvement •Unrealistic requirements or expectations •Scope creep •Poor communication or lack of communication •Ignoring project warning signs Poor governance Copyright â 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-16 Key Terms roject rogram ortfolio roject life cycle trategic alignment ocio-technical perspective ommon pitfalls Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-17 ... Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-7 The Project Life Cycle Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-8 The Project. .. McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-4 Comparison of Routine Work and Projects Routine, repetitive work Projects • Taking meeting... change management • Small projects represent big problems Copyright © 2013 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd Pearson, Larson, Gray, Project Management in Practice, 1e 1-1 0 Project Management