Principles of Project Management - Assignment Example

Task a). Background and the principles of the project management Project management has in practice for many years since the Egyptian epoch. It was in the 1950s that business entities started using project management techniques and tools in projects that were complex. Current project management tools originated from planning and control problems evident in a project by the US Navy. The project uncertainty of the project was high in terms of accurate estimation of time and cost. Scientists came up with a tool called PERT (program evaluation review technique) which handled the uncertainty in time. However, PERT was not able to estimate costs of projects, leading to the development of the PPS (project planning and scheduling) tool which estimated time and cost more realistically. The PPS tool was later developed into an advanced tool called CPM( critical path method ) (Barkley, 2008). The use of the tools in that time later coincided with the development of computers and linked packages thus specializing project management. A Later development in software has simplified complicated project management in areas of manufacturing. A majority of firms today have adopted these new tools and abandon the old ones because of the effectiveness and efficacy of the new project management tools. In many businesses, same principles of project management are applied. First the project management tool must be financially viable. The cost should be reasonable and justifiable. The company must afford to implement a tool it has chosen without exhausting all its resources. Secondly, the structure and roles of the employees must be well defined. The project manager needs to ensure duties are well delegated. Thirdly, the project’s objectives must be achievable and its scope needs to be clear. The aims of the project need to be realistic. Finally, the project should be established on an environment that is friendly politically, environmentally, socially and technologically (Bonham, 2008). b).Success and failure criteria for the proposed project to appraise its viability The first crucial phase is to conduct a feasibility study on the proposed project so as to establish whether a project to proceed or not. A feasibility study seeks to answer the questions in regard to if a project chosen is fit to continue. A project must be in direct connection with the objectives of the company. A feasibility study establishes if a projects resources and manpower needed are to be found internally in the company or externally. The outcome from a feasibility study should influence the decision the management of the company will take. It acts like a gate and for the project to go on and be given an ok, the gate must be opened. A risk assessment and evaluation of the project is the second phase of establishing whether a project will succeed or fail. All the risks cannot be eliminated so it is vital to discover the potential impact that the various risks might have on the project. In order for the project to be a success each stage of the project must be measured in relation to the required results. The desired results need to be well defined. These measures will tell whether the project is to succeed or fail. The measures must entail cost and time a successful project should be economically viable. To establish the financial viability of a project, the company needs to carry out a cost- benefits analysis. It enables the company knows the implications of the project and if it is worth investing in. A costly project with no benefits will eventually fail. The technical viability of a project also needs to be assessed. It is by analyzing any potential risks that a project might face and establishing if solutions to the risks are available. A project that poses technical risks will be a failure while the one without any will be successfully implemented. The environmental viability of a project is also a determinant on whether a project will be a success or a failure. An environment that is friendly for example availability of materials will nurture the project while in contrast; an environment that is hostile will contribute to the failure of the project. Socio-political viability is also vital in establishing whether a project succeeds or not. Political hostility, for example, will make a project fail. On the other hand, a project that enjoys a politically and social climate will be a success. Appraisal of the viability of the project -Appraising of the viability of the project involves evaluation and inquiring the proposals to the project before investing in it to ensure only a viable project is chosen. The appraisal is done by ensuring consistency and objectiveness in the selection of a project. The selected project must be of benefit the company at all times. Documentation on how financial resources are spent must be kept for the purpose of auditing. To monitor if the objectives and goals of the project are being attained, project review meetings should be held regularly. It will enable the deliberation on whether progress is made and to identify new risks that may derail the project. The review also enables coming up with solutions to the challenges facing the project. c).The principles behind setting up the systems and procedures for the effective use of resources in the project management. The main principles behind project management procedures and systems include: complying with the expectations of the customer, ensuring the project achieves its set time limit Bring about project revenue margins, the utilization of resources should be well organized, decision making should be quick through accomplishment of facts, ensuring that the resources that are limited are utilized rightly, incorporating dynamism by being able to allow modifications to the project, ensure a planned supervision of the diverse deviation. These procedures include: regular work plan reviewing, capturing time and costs in which projects takes to complete, reviewing the schedule situation to determine if other activities need to be completed, project rescheduling, Running additional work plan management tools to assess whether the project is progressing, Reviewing the your situation to ensure the project is in line with its budgetary allocations, identifying other signs that troubles the project, Evaluation of the project’s critical path and work plan adjustment and communicating any budget or schedule risk to the stakeholders. d). Key elements involved in the process of terminating the project and conducting post When a project ends after its early termination or completion or for any cause, the conclusion stage is as significant as is the other stages of the project. The project is usually officially completed by its owner by signing off. Making the decision to close down a project must be formally notified to all its participants acknowledging completion.A report on the evaluation of the project is written and outlines the title of the project, people involved, project goals, and project achievements. The types of project termination can be by integration, addition, extinction and starvation due to funds withdrawal. It is vital is to comprise corrective actions and review and what was wrong during the project. Assessment of the project team should be undertaken including the roles they played, who worked best, who caused and resolved problems. The assessments documentation must be kept to enable for future reference and learning of lessons for use in the next project. A post-project evaluation of a project termination is assessed the project results, processes and activities enable the company to analyze the timeline, budget variance, benefits, risk and achievements of the project. Task 2 a). (i).Human resources and requirements for the project A project needs to be managed by a project manager who is qualified and experienced. The team should consist of workers with the necessary skills to ensure the project is a success. Each member of the team has a role to play. The project manager roles involve controlling the team and the project itself (Lewis, 1998). The project team can consist of a people from various departments or can be a particular project team. A project plan outlines the roles and tasks to be done by each member of the team according to their areas of expertise. Temporary staff from other agencies can also be involved in other roles too for example provide consultancy. If the team is large, a project team leader coordinates the functions of the group. The project manager ensures the project meets deadlines and does not exceed the limits of the budget. A project also includes non-active members who include senior management who oversee the whole project. (ii).Appropriate organizational structure, roles and responsibilities of the participants for the The matrix structure is an example of an appropriate organizational structure based on a project line that is horizontal as illustrated on the diagram below: The structure forms teams of workers from different sections in a company. They are formed mainly a specific function of the project and usually last the period of the project. It is advantageous in that less resource is wasted since employees chosen can continue working on their normal duties when not working on the project. It also selects individuals for the project’s specific needs (Cavanaugh, 1977). b). Matrix Structure roles in control and co-ordinate the project. The project team structure consists of number of workers from different divisions in a company and is specifically selected to the project team. Each member chosen is assigned his or her specific task of specialisation from their area of expertise. The team is headed by a team leader who coordinates all activities. The project manager role is to ensure the project sticks to time and its budget. Expertise and consultancy human resource services can be sourced externally too. The senior management only plays a supportive role and can make necessary changes to the project. The whole team participates in projecting objectives and doing a feasibility study before the project starts. The project manager is required to successfully control the project and ensure it concludes in time. They need to have knowledge in project management, organisation of people, Processes and procedures, and General management c).Project leadership styles and qualities required for the proposed project A project manager needs to be having a variety of skills to effectively to guide a project group. Project managers tend to have one or two objectives for the completion of the project were as line managers will have multiple objects to fill. They need to show drive and passion for the projects objective and grow aspiration for the common ambition within the project team. The manager can delegate duties to right people in the team to avoid time wasting. The leadership of the team should be able to plan and be organised to enable the whole team to follow suit. According to Belbin team roles as the inclination to behave, interrelate and contribute with others in a specific way. It means by recognize our team roles, we will be able to advantageously utilise our strengths and manage our weaknesses by being conscious of the drawbacks so as to avoid them (Dinsmore, 1999). Task 3 a). Project plan for the proposed project A project type influences a project plan’s components. In this case, Palm Trees Spa plan is to adopt new technology to enable it has an online presence that is strong. The plan will require a component that will evaluate technology. The key components for this project plan are: Mission and Problem Statements- it entails developing a statement that defining the problem to be solved. The mission of Palm tree Spa is to develop a system that will enable it has an online presence so solve the problem of facing competition from its online awareness compliant hotels. Stating of objectives to be delivered-it identifies the results to be delivered by the new technology. The system and new technology will be in a position to attract international tourists who can reach them through the web (Goodpasture, 2004). Specifications provision-it defines requirements and standards. The requirement of this project is to enable Palm Tree Spa build a new technology that will dictate its reach to international tourists Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) -The work breakdown structure describe all necessary task needed to complete the project goals. These tasks define the scope of the project and show to be contained in the project. The WBS also establishes the sequence that tasks of the project should follow identified as task dependencies. Resources- the WBS is used to determine resources required, for example, personnel, material and equipment. It enables estimation of the duration of the project and activity duration and the cost of the project. Next is to come up with a budget containing a contingency amount normally based on a fraction of the probable project cost. This enables for taking care of unforeseen risks Schedule-Based on the resources and WBS, we will be able to formulate a work schedule to enable completion of all duties so as to achieve goals and deliver on objectives. It presents a timeline on how the project will be implemented.The diagram represents a sample WBS for Palm Tree Spa: WBS Task Task Description Resources required Person in charge Durations 1.1.1 Create Plan Development of WBS. WBS, WBS Dictionary, MS Project Plan Team leader 41 hrs 1.1.2 Create Budget Development and documentation of the project budget based on plan and resources Price lists Project Manager 41 hrs 1.1.3 Prepare Disbursement Development of disbursement process for the project including acceptance/approval forms. Purchase Orders, Team leader 41hrs 1.1.4 Coordinate Activities Ongoing planning activities for the project including weekly meetings Meeting Minutes Project Manager 9 hrs/week b). Techniques for scheduling and controlling costs the project activities In a project plan it is vital undertake the cost control of the budget and project scheduling. Gantt chart is utilised is used to undertake project scheduling. It shows a list of tasks that to be finished are shown on the left side of the chart and also shows the overall project timelines. Below is a sample of a Gantt chart: The chart shows things that to be undertaken to minimise for example training costs by making sure that coordination of different sections training sessions is done to avoid training duplication. It also reduces the time was taken to train the team. The chart sets up a project cost centre that approves costs. c). Methods used to measure project performance. Overall performance measurement of the project determines if the criteria used was fruitful. A project can overuse its budget yet it was completed in time. The KPI can be used by the project manager to shoe the key performance indicators and measure them. It depends on the project’s outcome and the management desires and needs. A regular project status report is sent to the project manager (Goodpasture, 2004). The important aspect in this project was the training of the teams to use the new system. The amount of training and the time taken could be measured, but what was more important was the impact of the training. The KPI enables us to, for example, know if the training was a success and if the employees are in a position to utilise the new technology. To help identify this, the help of an external contractor and the IT was used. A series of tests are combined and taken after each daily training session. Results are assessed and from them to identify if employees need regular training or not. d).The change control procedure for evaluating the project at completion. Change in the control procedure of a project can be essential to the project’s success. The change control process makes sure that a change initiated to the project environment is defined appropriately, approved and evaluated before implementation. Change control is introduced to the project by the carrying out of the following key procedures: giving out and receiving of change requests, reviewing and sorting of change requests ,determining the feasibility of change requests, approving of change requests and the implementing and finish of change requests (Lock, D. (2007). References Barkley, B. (2008). Project management in new product development. New York: McGraw-Hill. Bonham, S. (2008). Actionable strategies through integrated performance, process, project, and risk management. Boston: Artech House. Cavanaugh, J. (1977). Organizational structure. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University. Dinsmore, P. (1999). Winning in business with enterprise project management. New York: AMACOM. Finding solutions: Towards the long term viability of the ACT Community sector : A report on the ACTCOSS Community Sector Viability project. (2008). Mawson, ACT: ACTCOSS. Goodpasture, J. (2004). Quantitative methods in project management. Boca Raton, Fla.: J. Ross Pub. Lewis, J. (1998). Team-based project management. New York: American Management Association. Lock, D. (2007). The essentials of project management (3rd ed.). Aldershot, England: Gower. Mondy, R., & Noe, R. (2005). Human resource management (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Project management. (1991). Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press. Read More