Project Management of The Scottich Parliment - Essay Example

Project Management Introduction: Project is an exclusive task to satisfy the goal of the organization. The concept of project is associated with various sub tasks with each task involving a number of people. The outcome of the project is the coordination of various departments. It includes role of project managers, site supervisors, contractors etc. Examples are launching of new building, construction of shopping mall, etc. Project management in simple words means managing a project by following the principles of management. The concept of project follows a project lifecycle and the purpose of project management is to look after whether the lifecycle is being followed correctly. The project manager is the person who looks after the project from its inception till the end, which is the successful execution and commissioning of the project. Both project managing and project life is used to finish the work efficiently, but the difference is that project managing is to manage work through proper planning, controlling, coordinating, monitoring, and closing. Project lifecycle is to complete project according to the requirement of the organization’s project schedule, drawings and plans. Projects need to be completed on time and on budgeted costs and estimates; otherwise cost overruns and delays may cause a breach in the relations between the parties, for which even legal measures may become necessary to solve the issues. Prince2 The management principle used in completion of hospital, housing, shopping complex projects follow the principle of Prince2 concept of management. Prince2 is a management technique that can add more value to the management system. It is a technique that can be used for all the projects and this technique can lead to the completion of a project within the stipulated time and quality. It is the most modern management concept to complete a project. This system includes careful analysis of the problem and preparation of a plan according to the project, using proper management methodology. The project involves all aspects of management from planning to coordination to effective communication. The system of Prince2 of management helps in completion of projects faster with proper methodology. The Prince 2 method of management can be used in daily completion of projects and can be used in our daily life. Specific project reviews can be created using the system of Prince2 method of management for more evaluation of the project. Prince2 system of management helps the organization in achieving its goals faster and more effectively. In simple words, PRINCE means Project IN Controlled Environment. PRINCE 2 is one of the process based methods to complete project in the stipulated time. This method is having proper structure; so it will help to coordinate all the activities of the project and all the persons associated with the work in a structured way. Prince2 method includes various activities for handling various stages of the project life cycle. The activity included in Prince2 method is to start with at the time of initiating the project and to follow it till the time of completion of the project. Prince2 is the common structured format so that that all the activities of the project life cycle are easily accessible to all the persons associated with the project. Prince2 is world class acceptable method to complete a project. If the project execution method is unstructured, it is not easy to follow by the persons associated with the project and if the method is not acceptable to the persons associated with the project, it will never get the ultimate result. “PRINCE2® is a structured, process-based approach for project management providing an easily tailored and scaleable methodology for the management of all types of projects.” (Prince2, 2010, para.1). PRINCE2 gives various advantages to each stage of the project life cycle. This helps to easily understand the problem which may occur at any stage of the project life cycle. In short, we can tell that PRINCE 2 method is used to these seven stages , namely, plan, start up the project, directing the project, initiating the project, controlling the project, managing stage boundary of project, closing the project, review and delivery of project. These 7 stages include the 4 project life cycle. Duties and responsibilities of the project manager are visible at each stage of the project life cycle. So, it is necessary to understand the role of project manager before discussing about the project life cycle. Role of project manager: Project manager is associated with various duties and responsibilities. The entire success or failure of the project depends upon the project manager. Project manager is the person who is having ultimate authority and responsibility to overcome the entire problems at the time of undertaking the project. He is the person responsible to complete the work in the prescribed time. He is the person to allocate human resources and assign the resources to all the persons included in the particular project. This is the duty of the project manager to look after all the stages of the project life cycle. Proper review and monitoring of the project also comes under the preview of the project manager. The project manager is a person who should properly communicate with the entire persons associated with the project and proper integration should be given to get the good outcome of the project. If any risk or problem is associated with the project, it is the duty of the project manager to find out the problem and also give proper guidelines to overcome the problem. If any material or anything else is needed to complete the project, this will also come in the hand of project manager to give necessary arrangement then and there. Project manager also has various duties and responsibilities at each stage of the below mentioned project life cycle. Project life cycle includes mainly 4 steps i.e., initiation, planning, execution and closure. Initiation: It is the first stage of project life cycle. Generally, the idea of the project comes from this stage. On that basis, feasibility study of the project is to be prepared and accordingly next task is to identify the project team and give authorization to the respective project team. After that, this will be the duty of the project manager to build a project office in the prescribed location. This is the major stage of the life cycle because ideas are generated from this stage. So, lot of attention should be given to select the proper idea. Engagement of consultant also plays a crucial role in this stage to give advice to the required authority. Consultant gives advice to initiate the project. If the in-house consultant is not able to give proper advice, outside consultant should be appointed. Proper care should be taken while selecting outside consultant. After this stage, next stage is to plan the project. Planning: After the idea generation stage, next stage is to make a plan to look after the project. Proper planning should be done to arrange all the aspects of the project like finance, human resources, production etc. All the project activities and duration of the project are to be planned properly under this stage. Sources of human resources, financial resources etc. should be understood; authority and responsibility should be given to the persons of the respective areas. Another important thing to be kept in the mind in this stage is the preparation of Gantt chart and the project network. Bar chart is another name of the Gantt chart. This is used to identify the start and finishing time of the task associated with each area. Planning is one of the important jobs of the project manager. Execution: This is the third stage of the project life cycle. It mainly deals with who is to undertake the work or how to perform the work in efficient manner etc. Proper team is to be maintained to execute the work and all the resources are to be allocated respectively. Monitoring and controlling function also comes under this stag. After the execution of the entire activity, next step is to properly monitor all the activities undertaken by the project management team. For that, proper feedback should be given then and then at every stage of the project undertaken. If the feedback is properly given at each stage, it will help overcome the problems that may arise in future. This is one of the important duties of the project manger. Closure: This is the finial stage of the project life cycle. If the project manager is to satisfy the entire activities of the project properly, next comes closing of the project. Once the project is completed, the next duty of project manager is to prepare the project report in a prescribed format and submit it to the concerned authority. If the client is satisfied with the project report, proper reward is to be given to the project management team. There is no prescribed format for giving reward to the team. Proper review is needed to make good project. Once the project is completed, proper care should be given to prepare the report. It should include all the aspects or all the stages of the project life cycle. This is also one of the important duties of project manager. Every work of management needs correct and accurate planning, so that the project is completed in time with the correct estimation costs that had been allocated to the project. Before starting a project, a project plan should be prepared, so that the project can be completed successfully. Project plan can be prepared in the form of graphs or charts or simply in an excel sheet. While preparing the project plan, the project manager should take the suggestions from all the subtask operators like site supervisors, contractors etc. Project budget, risk involved, risk assessment and project constraints are the important aspects that should be considered by the project manager while creating a project plan. A construction company has been given the project of building a hospital in rural and less developed locality. The company has its office located in the city at a long distance. The project manager is assigned the task of completing the task with a time span of 2 years. The project manager should know the importance of a hospital in a rural area because a hospital is a prime medical facility unit and so its infrastructure and facilities should be done carefully. The project manager, while preparing the plan, should consider all the important aspects of the locality like availability of labour in the region, transportation of raw materials to the area, the site engineers, the contractors assigned by the site engineer etc. The project manager should also prepare the budgeted expense and time for completion of the project. The cost budget should be prepared in such a way that there should be a special cover for unforeseen and sudden events. After the project planning process is complete, the project is divided into stages for implementation of the project. The categorization of stages varies from project to project. The project plan is divided into various semesters, so that the completion of each semester can be reviewed minutely. The risks involved in each stage of the plan should be carefully scrutinized and proper measures should be taken to minimize or eliminate the risk involved. The company should first hire people from the locality itself for the building the hospital, because the natives have proper idea of the place, and therefore, they can be beneficial for the company; these can be in the form of labour contracts for the project. After arrangements for labour have been made, a site supervisor should be appointed who can communicate efficiently with both the labour contractor as well as the project manager. So that problems can be noted from the beginning and proper risk management steps can be taken. The site supervisor should be able to converse with the labourers in their own language and communicate the events to the project manager. Proper communication should be there within the labourers, supervisor and the project manager so that there is no delay in taking decisions. The project manager should review the stage of completion of the project after every semester. Transportation of raw materials for construction to the rural area also becomes a problem because the area is rural and reaching to the place becomes a problem. There is a need of management principle in every aspect of completion of project. The project manager should assign to the entire department heads as to when the raw materials need to be procured and from whom and the costs involved in it. Delay in the task of procuring raw materials delays the completion of the work and thus the project cannot be implemented according to the project plan. The project manager should be calm, but yet controlling the whole system. All the minute problems like this should be carefully considered by the project manager while preparing a project plan. The building materials used for the purpose of construction should be of first quality, so that in future no complaints come up against the company. The project manager should also take into account the rising prices of raw materials and the dealers supplying the raw materials. The raw materials dealers can be from the locality itself so that the company can create goodwill among the natives and the cost of transportation can be minimized and thus the project budget can be maintained. The construction plan which is approved should be divided into stages, so that the work can be monitored carefully. Being a construction industry, labour safety related measures should be taken, especially while appointing women workers. The project manager should give proper instructions to the labour contractor and site supervisor as to how they should be careful while appointing people for the work like taking into consideration the person’s health and attitude so that labour related problems in the form of strikes does not occur which will cause delay in the implementation of the project plan. Coordination should be there among all the department heads, so that no information goes missing due to lack of effective communication. Adequate Social Security safety measures should be taken while appointing construction workers at site. The company can provide insurance cover to the site workers till the work is completed. The project manager should give directions to each of the department head as to which way the work should move according to the plan that he has created. Finance aspect: The risks involved in the finance aspect of a project may arise if there is no proper turnover. The finance arrangements should be made in time and the project manager should discuss with financial agencies and make proper arrangements for the finance. The project manager should always monitor whether the project is being executed as per the plan prepared. To ensure avoidance of unnecessary expenses is a prime responsibility on the part of project manager in order to stick to the budget. The price of a risk to occur should be carefully followed through the management policy. A complete financial monthly statement can itself communicate if the actual expenses are beyond the estimated expenses. Political risks: These risks should also be given priority because the political situation in an area should be assessed carefully while preparing the project plan. Since the place allocated is for building a hospital, the project manager should take into account whether the area is pollution free mainly noise pollution. The quality of construction will be supervised by the board who had given the contract to build the hospital; so good quality raw materials should only be used so that no problems come up relating to quality in future. The quality of labourers on the job is also beneficial to the company because if the project manager projects to hire good quality labourers then the work will be completed as per the contract. The quality of construction of the hospital should be such that it meets the requirements of the people. If the quality of construction is best with no problems, then only the reputation of the company can be good in the market and the organization can deliver customer satisfaction. Meeting the quality standards is a compulsory aspect which the project manager should keep in mind while devising the project plan. With proper management methodology, the construction can be completed in time within the budget prepared by the company. Proper management methodology implements the plan in a right direction with the right approach in order to meet the organization’s goals. The project winds up with the completion of the hospital within the given time and with the amount of quality that provides customer satisfaction. The management principle used in the completion of hospital project has followed the principles of Prince2 concept of management. Conclusion: The advent of Prince2 has, to a very large extent, regularized project management on scientific and professionally acceptable lines. While it was first used in Information Technology (IT), its usage has also spread to other areas including construction industry and project management schemes. It is believed that Prince 2 has, to a very large extent, eliminated the stress and cumbersome procedures associated with large projects and has ensured that the main criteria and requirements of projects are identified, enforced and implemented. It is widely believed that over time, this system would be able to extend its usefulness and utility to many large projects, which would efficiently augment and mobilise the use of scarce material resources through desired channels. Given the fact that project management needs a great deal of planning for material and non-material resources, need to keep tabs on costs, expenses and time of completion and the many other myriad factors that impact upon it, it is necessary that scientific and state-of-the-art techniques and programmes like Prince2 be implemented in order to reduce time, costs and efforts to the minimum and also ensure that the interests of various stakeholders in the project are protected and maintained under all circumstances. This could also be in terms of not only planning the entire gamut of project management, but also ensuring that work progresses strictly according to plans and all deviations are either rectified well in time, thus not affecting the progress and final execution of the project within scheduled time. Reference List Prince2. (2010). International Institute for Learning, Inc. Retrieved January 19, 2010, from http://www.iil.com/prince2/default.asp Read More