Role of Project Management - Essay Example

? Project Management Project Management Executive Summary The aim of this paper is to explore and critically discuss the role of aproject manager and the project management team in such a project so as to analyze the different ways the projects can be organized. The essay will also discuss the factors that contributed to the success in the construction of this major building project. The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburg was designed as a parliamentary complex meant to house 129 members of parliament and close to 1000 civil servants and staff. This building was a very serious project because it aimed at creating a poetic union between Scottish landscape, its culture and its people. The building has been very successful and has managed to win numerous awards for its outstanding nature. The building has described as being of unmatched quality and it is also a ‘tour de force’ of arts and crafts. Introduction Project management has been defined as a discipline (science and art) that entails planning, managing, organizing and securing the components or resources of a project so as to ensure its success (Albert 2004, p. 5). A project is usually a well defined endeavor with a beginning and end that are well defined and time constrained so as to meet desired objectives and goals by adding value or bringing change (Dennis 2007, p. 52). A project is not like normal business operations which are permanent and repetitive. A project is usually temporary and is created once to achieve a specific purpose. Project management is necessary because a lot of resources are put into these projects (Edgemon 1995, p. 37). In any project, performance, cost and time should be managed so as to ensure a project is controlled and executed well to achieve its goals and objectives (Harrison & Dennis 2004, p. 82). The key elements of project management that will be outlined in this report include managing human resources through directing and coordinating the administration of people involved in the project. Another key element of project management that will be outlined in this project is managing quality through the fulfillment of the quality standards set up for performance of the project. The final element of project management that will be discussed in this essay is the Managing the scope of the project in controlling the project through aims, goals and objectives of its sponsors (Joseph 2003, p. 60). The Scottish Parliament Building (Edinburgh) project was specifically started to provide a parliamentary building complex that would house members of parliament, civil servants and other staff (Taylor 2002, p. 4). The project was a very crucial one because it was a political project that could easily be affected by the politics of the country. The project was launched in 1999 and construction of the building began in June 1999 (Taylor 2002, p. 21). The project was successfully completed in 2004 and the building was officially opened on October 9th 2004 by Queen Elizabeth (Taylor 2002, p. 11). The project of constructing the Scottish Parliament Building was one of the most successful known projects. The success of the project can be attributed to a number of factors, mostly revolving around its management (Taylor 2002, p. 25). The first factor that led to the success of the project was the effective managing of human resources through directing and coordinating the administration of people involved in the project. The history of the project dates back to when the Scottish electorate held a referendum on September 11th 1997 that allowed Scottish Parliament to legislate on some of the common domestic affairs (Taylor 2002, p. 11). This led to the decision to construct a purpose built facility in Edinburg that would house the Scottish Parliament. Enric Miralles design was chosen out of the twelve proposed ones and the work was given to a company called EMBT/RMJM that was specifically set up to manage this project (Harrison & Dennis 2004, p. 28). One of the key factors that led to the success of the project was the fact that the human resources involved in executing the project were well coordinated and directed. The project manager was very effective in leading the project management team towards realizing success of the project (Dennis 2007, p. 73). The project manager and his project management team worked in cooperation with the human resources that were involved in every stage of the project (Joseph 2003, p. 65). This led to the success of the project. In most project management literature, the success of many projects has been linked with cooperation between the project managers and the human resources involved in executing the project (Harrison & Dennis 2004, p. 45). Where the human resources have been well managed and controlled by the project managers, the projects are most likely to be successful (Taylor 2002, p. 92). The second key element of project management that can be discussed as having contributed to the success of the Scottish Parliament Building project is the management of quality through the fulfillment of the quality standards set up for performance of the project. This project had very high quality standards set for it. The nature and cost of the project could not allow quality to be taken for granted when managing it. According to Taylor (2002, p. 23), the project was estimated to cost ? 414.4 million. Quality therefore had to be ensured. The project manager was responsible for managing quality and ensuring that the set quality standards were adhered to so to achieve the objectives of the final project (Albert 2004, p. 15). The final element that led to the success of this project was the management of the scope of the project in controlling the project through aims, goals and objectives of its sponsors. There were very clear and precise aims, goals and objectives that the project aimed to achieve within stipulated timelines. For any project to be successful there must be clear aims, goals and objectives that are understood by all the stakeholders of the project. In conclusion, the Scottish Parliament Building project was one successful project that can be emulated by future projects. Though faced by numerous challenges and criticisms such as the high cost, the project managed to succeed amidst all these issues because of the management team led by the project manager. The three elements that were chosen to explain why the project was a success were the most appropriate and applicable to the project, considering the nature of the project. It required a large number of human resources and it had to have a management team that would ensure quality through the process of working towards goal attainment. References Albert, H 2004, Handbook of project management procedures, TTL Publishing, Cambridge. Dennis, L 2007, Project management, 9th edn., Gower Publishing, Chicago. Edgemon, J 1995, ‘Right stuff: how to recognize it when selecting a project manager’, Application Development Trends, pp. 37-42. Harold, K 2003, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, 8th edn., Wiley, New York. Harrison, FL & Dennis, L 2004, Advanced project management: a structured approach?, Gower Publishing, Michigan.  Joseph, P 2003, PMP project management professional study guide, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Lewis, RI 2006, Project management, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Taylor, B 2002, Scotland's Parliament, Triumph and Disaster, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. Taylor, B 2002, The Scottish Parliament: The Road to Devolution, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. Read More