Project Management: Why Project Management Fails In Complex Making Processes - Report Example

Executive summary This model is intended to offer a set of skills for application in management situations to student. Knowledge acquisition is made possible through the adaption of a self-learning approach. This approach assists students in critical thinking on information and techniques and systems they will use in coming years. The student is also enabled to keep track of own learning through the use of reflections and items like records of work. For the students, the self-learning skill will remain relevant throughout their career more so in charter ship and development professionally. The reflections for this model are done through a distinguished self-learning system. This system was adapted for use as a tool in aiding academic studies. The self-learning approach is followed by self-assessment whose results are then compared to those of others in the group to ensure similar progress. For the module, this reflective paper has offered a way of relaying necessary information. This information experienced positive reception since new sets of skills were obtained such as critical and creative thinking. Table of Contents 1.0.Introduction 3 1.1.Self-learning 4 1.2.Self-learning system 5 2.0.Project management process 6 3.0.Project management systems 8 4.0.Adding value to processes 10 5.0.Presentations 12 6.0.Feedback and introduction 14 6.0 Risk management with PRINCE2 16 7.0.Systems for dealing with risks PMI 18 9.0 Systems dealing with risks-APM 18 10.0 Critical evaluation of PRINCE2, PMI and APM when dealing with risks 19 11. Feedback and submission for CW3 submission 19 Bibliography 21 Appendices 25 Project management: Weekly diary 25 Week 1(Thursday-27/9/2012) 25 Week 2 Processes (Thursday- 4/10/2012) 25 Week 3 Systems (Thursday – 11/10/2012) 29 Week 4 Adding Value (Thursday – 18/10/2012) 32 Week 5 CW1 Presentation (Thursday – 25/10/2012) 34 Week 6 Feedback and introduction to part 2 (Thursday – 1/11/1012) 35 Week 7 system dealing with risk – PRINCE2 (Thursday - 8/11/2012) 37 Week 8system dealing with risk – PMI (Thursday – 15/11/2012) 39 Week 11: feedback for CW2 and CW3 advice 42 Reflective report: project management 1.0. Introduction In order to deliver products within time, schedule and constraints of resources effectively, project management is necessary. There are several concepts that one has to understand in order to comprehend the intensity of project management. Some of these terms include a project, project management, project success, and project management plan. The aspiration of any business is to have successful projects. For any project to be successful, one has to understand the project’s nature, and the principle aspects of a project management process. In addition, successful project management calls for the understanding of the responsibilities, roles and duties of a project manager and the required expertise. A project is defined as the short lived efforts that are intended to assume unique services, result and product. In organizations undertaking projects, it is important to distinguish projects from organizational operations and programs. Through the nature of being short lived, projects are identified as disconnected with initiation and conclusions that are definable. The management of a project calls for customized activities that support projects discrete and definable nature. Some customized activities include those intended at indicating project success. Project managers require numerous methodologies and practical knowledge for use in project implementation and completion through the project management processes. Project management will require the project manager to apply knowledge techniques, skills and tools to various project processes to meet its requirements. This implies that the work involved in the project calls for a team of expertise. This will ensure that project inputs and produced output are successfully managed. The main purpose of this report is to provide insight of the knowledge that I have gained as an individual in project management field. The knowledge reflected relates to the project management module duration and will be considered subject to its application to the real world. 1.1. Self-learning For this module, learning is self-learning. This implies that learning is can be managed by a facilitator, self or unmanaged thereby being more of experimental learning. I chose to use an experimental model given its continuity facilitating phases (Davies, 2008). As a student, I observe learning as best achieved when one works from known to unknown. Experimental learning best applied for me given that all its stages encouraged continued learning from one phase to the next. In addition, each phase can be reviewed independent of others to determine whether or not the intended goals have been achieved (p.11). The system I chose to use the university’s recommended system that follows Kolb’s work thereby requiring the attainment of four simple phases. Since learning is a process, I needed to research into my self-learning techniques. In this case, tools such as goal setting, performance assessment using questionnaires, and records of work. Figure 1.0: Kolb’s learning cycle (Bournemouth University, 2011) Through the use of Kolb’s cycle, I my learning fell in line with the specific emphasis by the University of Plymouth Learning Development team proposal for the reflective section. In order to achieve the best result from self-learning, Plymouth University suggests the use of critical reflection on the received information. In this case, individuals are called upon to keep records of work done and ask well as question work records in order to obtain answers. Such questioning and answering involves identifying the topic/course/title/issue. From the topic, title or issue an individual can then seek answers to questions such as what? When? Where? Who? So what? What if? Among others as defined in the UoP’s critical evaluation model. Figure 1.1: UoP Critical Evaluation Model (UoP, 2011b) In my system, the idea of critical evaluation of information was dominant. As a result, I decided to adopt the following learning method while observing Kolb’s example as displayed in figure 1.1. 1.2. Self-learning system Figure 1.3: Proposed system (Clifford and Thorpe, 2007) The figure above outlines the learning process I employed in the course of my learning. For all the four elements in the model, the definition is provided below. Information acquisition on specialized knowledge area: This involved consultations with lecturer, discussion with peers, review of papers, seminars among others. Critical and creative thinking application in reflection using a diary: this step involved consideration of information obtained daily in the diary before logically obtaining its meaning. These reflections are available in the appendices. Exploration of industrial application: this involved attempts to place theory within a context in order to investigate how it is adapted and used by expertise Learning assessment: involved the evaluation of progress in learning. This was to be achieved using the table below. Different intervals of the module were used for the progress ranking criteria. In so doing, there was a provision of the how my learning was coming along. 2.0. Project management process I have learnt that project managements is a field where the attainment of specific goals requires scheduling, categorizing, sheltering, managing, leading and controlling resources (Wysocki, 2011). Conversely, project management processes are activities or actions comprised in an entire system and that aid in the completion of particular project tasks. The completed tasks usually relate to key project areas. I also found out that project managers of complex projects make use of published systems like PRINCE2 or PMBOK project management body of knowledge that are customized for their organizations. The key project management processes are phase management, control, planning, team management, integration, procurement and communication. Each of these processes has inputs and respective outputs. Risk management falls under control project management processes (p.87). The inputs in risk management include probability impact matrices while the respective output would be risk mitigation plan. This lesson enabled me to understand that all project management processes play a significant role in project control or provision of systematic approach project management. I found the seminars interesting given their participatory nature. During the seminar, I got informed that project management was not only used by organizational managers but also by individuals like me but in different forms. At this point I managed to relate project management knowledge to several examples in my life. This was also the case with most of the members in the assigned group. In the assigned group, project management processes were use in allocation of different tasks. For instance, I was assigned the coordinator role (Lussier, 2011). In this case, I had the experience of team management and could offer clarification of relationships among different ideas and suggestions in relation to the project goals and objectives (p.439). The presentations offered a hilarious approach to the complexity experienced in attempt to develop systems from processes as in project management. The group members unanimously agreed that project scope management was the most crucial aspect of project (Brujin, Heuvelhof and Veld, 2010). This is because project scope provides enables the project management team to have precise picture of the project thereby permitting project control. Project scope affects processes such as time, resources and cost management. The risks and benefits associated with projects are also influenced by project scope. Information from numerous project management library resources revealed that project management processes are similar across different systems and are dependent on organization requirements (Wideman, 2002). For instance, PMBOK’s ‘monitoring and control’ is similar to PRINCE2’s ‘Controlling a stage’. These processes achieve similar results in review of stage processes and deviations’ control. From the real world, it was clear that PRINCE2 and PMBOK achieve the same end goal of improving the performance of projects. This is possible through the use of processes to control and manage project stages. As a result, there is an increase in the overall level of project manageability. 3.0. Project management systems After understanding project management processes, the next step was to understand project management systems. It is true that managers may be aware of different project management systems. However, the implementation of these processes in practice is a major challenge to most managers. Project management systems tools used by organizations during project management for their capability to organize and moderate the project through its full life cycle. The three main provisions by project management systems are enhancements in project visibility, resource visibility, and metric visibility. Two commonly used and previously mentioned project management systems are PRINCE2 and PMBOK (Blokdijk, 2008). While PRINCE2 is commonly applied in North America, PMBOK is widely acceptable in United Kingdom (p.35). However, different industries apply different project management systems built to conform to the required project management methodologies. Originally, project management was referred to as Process Control Systems or PCS. PCS was a process that involved phases such as definition, planning, execution and closing. The programs use in PCS was used to generate Gantt charts founded on associations among tasks that have been defined by the project manager. Although this process provided sufficient project results, they are inapplicable in present day projects. This is because projects have become more complex resulting to increased uncertainties. As result, Williams, (1999) proposes the view of projects as in terms of their complexity. Project managers should seek to identify project complexity in terms of their structure and define the right goals to achieve required goals. The use of traditional methods proves unreliable in today’s complex projects. This is because traditional project management is dependent on clarity that is not present in complex systems. This creates room for establishment of systems that are dependent on systems and feedback loops to provide room for project evaluation as they progress. Project management systems based on systems are known as soft systems while projects dependent on sets of processes are known as hard systems. The two main factors contributing to increased project complexity are technology advancements and innovations. In order to manage complex systems, Williams (1999) reveals that systems feedback loops are the most effective ways of managing project uncertainty. A project can be defined as hard or soft based on its life cycle. The core of the seminar was on hard and soft projects. Crawford and Pollack (2004) define the seven phase framework for defining project type through seven dimensions. These dimensions are goal clarity, goal tangibility, and qualitative versus quantitative success measures. The extent of influence exerted by external stakeholders, the range of available solutions, and relationship versus expertise based perceptions of value of stakeholders. Apart from handling project feedback loop and managing change, soft project management has been revealed to me as also dealing with the causes of change. I learnt that soft projects are characterized by flexible boundaries. This makes soft project management applicable for innovation projects that are associated with high risks. Conversely, hard projects are applicable in boundary management projects (Williams,1999). This provides control for cost, time or scope. In engineering projects, project management systems applied combine the attributes of both hard and soft systems. In order to convert hard systems to soft systems, PRINCE2 learning from experience principle was agreed by most groups to be the most effective. However, a better solution included both people management and feedback learning loops. From the seminar, I gained an increased understanding of on project management from the feedback obtained from other groups. The nature of the current project management is enough proof of the changes in the industry. Some changes in project management are tighter deadlines, and stricter project requirements. The complexity of projects worsens with the increased difficulty in defining clear project activities and objectives. These results to poor outcomes especially in hard systems and implies that managers should adapt new paradigms like soft system methodology. 4.0. Adding value to processes Following from project management systems, the next step is adding value to projects. In project management, value management is remarkably significant. This tool is used in deciding whether or not a project can be considered as hard or soft project management. Adding value to projects differ from one project to the other depending on project complexity. In highly complex projects, the requirement is more structure and rigor. From the seminar, I obtained broader view of project value management. In any project, value management should be identified to allow the project management team to identify where their project falls. I learnt that different project activities fall under either hard or soft project management systems (Crawford and Pollack, 2004). Under the sense making ideation evaluation, it is clear that project management while soft project management systems need ideation hard project management systems need execution. The seminar also provided me with knowledge that the application of hard and soft systems results to synergy promotion and problem solving and prevention. Some examples provided for these systems are bridge and skyscraper design which are found in the appendices. The group discussion was also another source of critical information. From the discussion, three words associated with value management systems were competitiveness, innovation and education. In this day and age, value management requires organizations to remain competitive. This can be achieved through innovation and education (Male, 1998). From the group, there was a consensus that value engineering is a concept useful in the evaluation of the status of an industry. The main intention of value management was also consensually agreed as improving project value without sacrificing its intended function. Different groups had different answers. However, I agreed group 2’s keyword of decision making in value management. In most cases, value management requires making of tough decisions like in project objectives clarification. This is important in ensuring that project remains within the right scope, is completed in the right time and with the recommended resources. From the group discussion I learnt that cost reduction is a crucial process that results from value management especially through proper decision making and prioritization (Clackworthy 2001). In addition, value management results to innovative solutions. Since value management is dependent on the opinions of individuals it is mostly attributed to poor or lacking communication between different stakeholders. In engineering projects, value management can be achieved through standardization of components. During the presentation, I managed to learn about value management since each participant contributed through the provision of alternatives to the formative concepts without criticizing them. in addition, I was required to use critical and creative thinking in order to ensure that value management assisted in achieving all project functions at the lowest possible costs and in the required level of performance and quality. In the industry, I found out that value management is responsible for promoting attainment of value for money, appropriate service needs provision strategies, and proper definition of service needs. In addition, value management is also responsible for establishment of project ownership between managers and users. 5.0. Presentations Presentations for coursework one drew knowledge from to demonstrate good project management skills. From the presentation, I learnt that project managers are hard to come by yet there is an increasing demand for them. With advances in technology, projects within organizations are increasingly getting complex. This means that project managers have to develop skills through both education and experience in order to manage the projects as required. As a project manager, there is need to ensure that in each project one becomes better and applies new technologies on different projects. In project management, I learnt that it is the role of the manager to ensure that the project definition is must be defined in terms of business requirements. This implies that a good project manager must define the project subject to the management processes the project should accomplish. In other words, a project must be in a position to meet the needs and wants of the organization. Through the understanding of projects, the project manager must ensure that there are clearly defined boundaries for the project. This will promote project control in which risk, benefits, time and resources management will be governed. Regardless of project complexity, a project manager must ensure that the project being undertaken has clearly defined requirements and scope. This will pave way for the achievement of project success in other project processes. The more complex a project is, the more the risks associated. In complex projects the project manager must ensure that process group interaction level is properly understood. All processes must be defined in a way that demonstrates dependence and not exclusion. This implies that the range of such projects call for both proactive and active project management where the project is continually planned and controlled and not simply initiated, planned and left to be. Conversely, managers should avoid reactive project management since this is an indication of incomplete or missing project planning and control. According to the department of the interior bureau of Reclamation (2004), the project manager must offer project direction from inputs, through project nucleus to project outputs. This can only be achieved when the project manager takes up the roles of a leader, facilitator, coordinator, arbitrator, mediator, arbitrator or liaison. Under the project manager, all project teams must operate cross functionally with the aim of achieving a common goal. This paves way for project cohesiveness and continuity as the project progresses through project processes. In addition, the project manager must work towards achieving project achieving the most appropriate project scope and deliver the adequate results, product or services. This means that apart from preventing project from slithering and completion within the cheapest costs, the project manager has the role of sustaining competitive project quality. This simply means that project activities must be properly understood to ensure that the right project systems and processes are used to accomplish them. Although a project may appear to be simple, the project manager has to adapt project management systems that effectively manage project value and costs. Engineering projects call for both hard and soft project systems. Soft systems are flexible and applicable in complex projects given their capability to promote innovation. Both hard and soft systems significantly enable a project manager to solve and prevent problems. However, these projects are time consuming. A project manager should be forecasting according to a book I read by Murch (2001). A forecasting project manager cultivates and relies on extensive informal interior and exterior networks. From such networks, the project manager obtains necessary information to assist in the identification of critical issues threatening the project. In the industry, information sharing is an effective way of remaining in touch with the business environment and taking necessary steps to remain competitive. 6.0. Feedback and introduction From the method I outlined in the beginning of the report, I believe that this form of learning is a system strong enough. The outcome of this learning method was proved right by my performance and that of the group in the group presentation. Through the use of self-learning, I managed to critically look at things and situations to gain a deeper understanding of the areas of knowledge for this module. As a group, our performance was supported by the fact that we worked together in reviewing papers, allowed no absenteeism during group sessions and presented ideas to each other during those sessions. Our appointed secretary to the group took note of all points while each individual was free to writer up in their diaries in way that was easier for them to understand. The presentation provided me with a clearer and bigger picture of numerous project management concepts. I also realized how challenging it was to try and employ project management examples in the industry but through critical thinking and evaluation of what was actually happening, I managed to visualize and comprehend numerous topic areas. With the grading criteria used, it did reflect the outcomes of my efforts thus far. I was comfortable with the 1-10 grading number system used and the outcome for this first assignment clearly revealed I needed a score slightly above my score for this individual report in order to be employable. In addition, the grading system was only hypothetical and subject to the views of individual assessors and I needed to be sure that the actual measure of my actual performance academically was not jeopardized. As a group, the presentation feedback revealed that more efforts were needed in improving our performance. As a result, we agreed to use group test questions at the end of each session. On overall, the grading criteria used for this assignment was a sufficient way of improving our knowledge in project management. 6.0 Risk management with PRINCE2 From my understanding, PRINCE2 is a structured way of managing projects of all types effectively. It is a generic name standing for Projects IN a Controlled Environment that is not defined just for information systems. The main working methodology for PRINCE2 is identification of reasons behind projects failure and effectively managing them. PRINCE2 works through the use of a customized project lifecycle with defined themes and processes. The figure below outlines these themes and processes. Figure 7.1: PRINCE2 In our group, the first task was to research in detail relevant information concerning PRINCE2’s project organization. This essential concept involves directing, managing and delivering project processes and phases effectively. This section involved the definition of people involved in the project; the project sponsors users and suppliers representatives, and the precise responsibilities and roles. In project organization, the project manager is also defined (Hedeman, Heemst and Fredriksz, 2009). Through this theme, the project management team is provided as well as the project team structure and accountability. For PRINCE 2 projects, the environment involved is that of customer/supplier. The roles of the project team in PRINCE2 organization can be shared or combined. Through the definition of project team roles and responsibilities, the project team is assured of clear cut obligations thereby eliminating instances of conflict of interests. Through this task, I managed to fill the knowledge gap that had me worried on how PRINCE2 communication channels work. This task also assisted me in strengthened my understanding on PRINCE2’s involvement of stakeholders in project management performance. Discussions from other groups revealed that PRINCE2 does not offer details of the expertise qualities involved in the management of the project. I agreed with majority of the groups that business case is the fundamental theme in PRINCE2 projects. This aspect demonstrates the existence of viable business case. Prior to the initiation of a project, the project team has to be presented with the business case in order to ensure there is a viable existing project. Projects are characterized with risks. In projects, the associated risks are higher than the risks associated with normal project activities. The management of project risks must be integrated into the overall project management. In PRINCE2, there is only a requirement that the project team identifies risks and weighs them up while PMBOK explains in detail how to identify risks. However, PMBOK lacks the context within which to apply knowledge on risks. In general, I have learnt that the best project management solutions are not dependent on one project management system. This is because each system has its own weaknesses like the ‘death of the prince’ in PRINCE2. 7.0. Systems for dealing with risks PMI PMI is the project management profession not-for-profit organization membership association. According to PMI, a risk is an uncertainty. In projects, uncertainties are inevitable. This inevitability results from the fact that projects are unique and short-lived tasks founded on project assumptions and constraints. Projects are expected to deliver results to numerous stakeholders with varying requirements. From this section, I obtained relevant information that project risk management is the attempt to control uncertain environment. In addition, this group work revealed to me that as a project manager, I am expected to be a risk taker. Project environments are never without challenges and preparation may or may not be possible. Project managers are therefore called to assist project teams to ensure that they do not give up or panic from uncertain project environments. PMI is applied in hard systems and is more complex compared to PRINCE2. 9.0 Systems dealing with risks-APM I found out that Agile project management or APM enables project teams to respond to project unpredictability through incremental and iterative cadence of work or sprints. This way, the project manager has the opportunity to assess a project’s direction throughout the development lifecycle. After iteration the project manager must present potentially shippable increments in products (Mitchell, 2012). Since this methodology focuses on the repetitive nature of the abbreviated cycles of work, it is then referred to as Iterative or incremental. In this case, the APM approach adapts an ‘inspect and adapt’ approach to development caused reductions for costs and time to market elements. As a result, APM results to the development of the right product by organizations. 10.0 Critical evaluation of PRINCE2, PMI and APM when dealing with risks From the group presentation, I got to learn from numerous people additional details on project management systems in PRINCE2, APM and PMI. It was also a good opportunity to understand process evaluation process. In the group, it was agreed that the different project management systems differed from each other. PRINCE2 was found to be methodology applied in hard systems and is processed based. The processes in this methodology are identify, assess, plan, implement, and communication. PRINCE 2 was found to be an easy to follow and well-structured approach to performance improvement in project management (Turley, 2010). Compared to PRINCE2, PMI involves complex calculations of probability methods. This results to complex diagrams. In addition, PMI involves qualitative and quantitative analysis. However, the responses to risks are similar to those of PRINCE 2 (PMI, 2008). It is also applicable in hard systems. Conversely, APM methodology is applied in soft systems. The processes involved are initiation, identity assessment, plan responses and implementation. Management involves the use of 3p-project, portfolio and progamme (APM, 2002). 11. Feedback and submission for CW3 submission From this group work, I managed to learn a lot especially on various methodological systems used in risk management in engineering. The main systems of concern were APM, PMI and PRINCE2. These systems were critically analyzed by group members for differences and similarities and their applicability. This way, the group managed to judge the appropriateness of each method for engineering projects use. The assessment by other tutors was also a good way of learning since I managed to gain different perspectives of looking at various systems. Comparison between traditional knowledge acquisition and self-learning knowledge acquisition Bibliography Association for Project Management 2012, APM Body of Knowledge. 6th edn. High Wycombe: Association for Project Management Bianchi, S., & Critchlow, A 2010, January 1. Worlds Tallest Skyscraper Opens in Dubai. Wall Street Journal. Viewed 1 December 2012 < http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580904574638111667658806.html> Blokdijk, G 2008, PRINCE2 100 success secrets: the missing foundation and practicing exam training, certification, and project management guide, Lulu.com. Bournemouth University 2011, understanding how to study, viewed 11 December 2012, http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/u-how_to_study-i.htm Brujin, H. Heuveholf, E and Veld, R 2010, Project management: why project management fails in complex making processes, Springer, Netherlands. Crackworthy, S, and office of Government Commerce 2010, An executive Guide to Value Management, The Stationery Office, Norwich. Crawford, L, and Pollack, J Hard and Soft projects: a framework for analysis, International Journal of project management, Volume 22, issue 8, p. 645-653. Clifford, J. and Thorpe, S 2007, Workplace learning and development: Delivering Competitive advantage for your organization, Kogan Page Ltd, London. Davies, L 2008, informal Learning: a new model for making sense of experience, Gower Publishing, Ltd, Hamshire. Faker, W 2010, Engineering an idea: the realization of the Burj Khalaf, Civil engineering, viewed 1 December 2012, < https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:KlV46590s08J:www.som.com/resources/ content/5/0/4/4/3/1/6/2/documents/Civil%2520Engineering_Burj%2520Khalifa_pages44- 47resized.pdf+&hl=en&gl=ke&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjm0cOHZAv24NjP0iwONgessH J5PKBpUnS3uNaAPIHkppQtIR0y5eG96OGlJiC6hV4bvXHrPxtKLnuxgZ1jr5kUrtYK9 Olzm5f93lZnDixe_vguajqaYIgkNj4pM7IQrYo246Yp&sig=AHIEtbQ4khn1UGbLkGRI 81TBRpDNwsj9dQ> Fewings, P 2005, construction project management: an integrated approach, Tailor & Francis, New York. Mitchell, E Are waterfall and agile project management techniques mutually exclusive, viewed 6 December 2012 Lussier, R 2011, management fundamentals: Concepts, applications, skills and development, Cengage Learning, Mason. Project Management Institute 2008, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK Guide). 4th edn. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute The Burj Khalafi 2010, The Burj Khalafi. Viewed 1 December 2012, Turley, F. (2010) PRINCE2 Training Manual [Online]. Available at: http://www.mgmtplaza.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75 (Accessed: 1/12/2012) Turner Construction Company 2010, Burj Dubai. Turner Construction Company, viewed 1 December 2012, http://www.turnerconstruction.com/international/content.asp?d=3457 UoP 2011, Reflection, Learning Development,, Plymouth: University of Plymouth. Wideman, R 2002, Comparing PRINCE2 with PMBOK, AEW services, Vancouver. Williams, G 2010, APMP for PRINCE2 Practitioners, OGC, London. Wysocki, R 2004, project management process improvement, Artech House, Inc., Norwood. Appendices Project management: Weekly diary Week 1(Thursday-27/9/2012) Introduction The main focus of this lecture is just an introduction to the staff, and academic units and students' expectations of us. As well as Andrew Fox, a lecturer new entry is called Dan Fox (no relation), he is the director of the project "Halcrow" the company comes from a science-based background. This said, he has a lot of experience in the management of coastal projects. Learning outcome of this seminar is to:- Know how and where to contact the module tutors Understand the assessment criteria and timetable for the module Begin the process of assessing their knowledge and understanding of project management processes Task set Research into what project processes are involved in project management system Week 2 Processes (Thursday- 4/10/2012) Introduction The main focus of this week to introduce students to the project management process and consider how they can be incorporated into a comprehensive system Project Management, Within this lecture we were set in groups to set a presentation, For these tasks. I have been put in Group 3. The groups where chosen by the module leader, this task gave us the opportunity to learn from new people and get more involved with the people in our group that I don’t know and never worked before. Learning Outcomes Identify a number of essential processes that define a project management system Compare individual levels of understanding in relation to the other students on the module Assess individual learning needs in order to develop a deep and systematic understanding of a project management system Reflective on task of previous week My knowledge of processes as tasks that assist in the completion of some project management areas was founded on project management introduction discussed in the previous week. Some of the project processes include risk management, time management and cost management. In this regard, it is clear that a project can be subdivided into a series of activities founded on project aspects such as gnat charts, quantities, and others. Within the project, project processes are chronologically organized in terms of their order of relevance. In addition, project processes are categorized into groups and these groups are the major aspects of the project. The main project process groups are initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring and control and closure processes. Figure 1.0 mapping of process, PMI (2008) Class work task I. How much experience do individual members of the group have in implementing, developing or managing projects? In my opinion, this part of the seminar was completely inconsequential especially taken within the concept of project management within organizational context. In the group, none of the members had real world experience in managing engineering projects. However, the tutor convinced us that most of us were from backgrounds characterized by handing of other projects or management experience that used some of the project management theory as found within the course. For most students, management involved normal management as in daily work, group project, course works. However, Max was an exceptional member since he is the only member with project management experience from the industrial context. II. List project management processes with appraise the importance of these processes and priorities them within a system with identifying the most and least secure areas? The presentation part was challenging for me. This part sought for the evaluation and prioritization of project management processes in a system by identification of the most to least secure areas. The view that all systems include a single system is very challenging. The diagram below presents the input groups for this segment. The group discussion assisted in the decision that prior to the adaptation of project management processes, it is essential to obtain relevant information about the project from previous similar projects. Relevant knowledge is also obtained from systems that followed. Within the group, most group members consensually agreed that the starting point for this project was in its scope. This became the first proposed project making use of techniques to obtain a clear field for the project. The determination of a standard definition of scope was a hard task. This is because every member had a perception that was considered as true. In order to settle the perception conflict, the scope of the project was proposed to include a reaction section such that the project could be flexible enough to allow repair of any sort of defects. The system was also proposed to include technology aspects within its operations such that all operations would be met efficiently. Week 3 Systems (Thursday – 11/10/2012) Introduction The main focus of this week was to consider project management systems and understand the difference between the process and the system. After determining what processes they were last week, it became clear that the system can be described PM as a set of process groups that can be used to identify and manage all elements of the project. This system is the entire Scope, which can then be divided into groups’ process. Learning Outcomes Identify challenges facing managers when attempting to implement systems in practice (Group Task 1) Classify approaches to implementation within a spectrum spanning hard to soft methods (Group Task 2) Judge the merits of different approaches from the differing perspectives of the employee and the employer when attempting to discern good management practice (Group Task 2) Class work Task I.1. What issues of importance, and relevant to the practical application of project management theory, is the article seeking to highlight? From the article, the discussion focuses on relevant project management issues such as identification of the needs of the team project members, where the project is expected to go, and anticipated changes in the course of the project. Other issues identified are project level of complexity, classification of projects such as hard or soft and adding value to projects. The article also highlights that each project is unique and is defined in its own scope. In project based environment there are difficulties in communication levels and collaboration between general managers and project managers. 2. What lessons, specifically in relation to identifying challenges facing managers (when attempting to implement systems), can be drawn from the article? In project systems, one must ensure that the project needs and requirements are identified such that the project does not consist of too many variables. This can be achieved through the use of criteria to identify the most essential variables to provide the expected project outputs or results. In addition, project managers must ensure that all projects have their complexity defined. Although it is difficult to quantify complexity, this process is essential given that most present day projects are characterized by complexity. Complexity requires the identification of project type as hard or soft. This will be essential in the identification of the right methodology to use in the project management processes. For remarkably high risk projects, boundary management is best achieved through the use of hard systems. Soft systems have flexible boundaries management and are mostly applied in innovation projects. From this article, the issue of project complexity today has resulted to the obsolete nature of traditional project management systems in modern day project management processes. In order to develop effective modern day project management systems, managers should seek to incorporate feedback loops into systems. II.1. How do the lessons drawn from your article compare against those drawn from articles reviewed by other groups? (i.e. critically appraise: similar or contradictory?) Most groups agreed to the issue of increasing project complexity. In addition, it was found that this complexity results to changes in the need for organizations to define their goals to appropriately. Group member believed that project management teams must identify the level of complexity for their projects. In so doing, it is possible to identify the project type and apply the most appropriate project management systems. Except for a few groups, most groups agreed that projects are unique and that it is this uniqueness that calls for project managers to ensure that the project scope is clearly defined and so is the project management team structure. 2. Judge the merits of the different approaches from the perspectives of employee and the employer when discerning good management practice From the perspective of the employee, good project management practices 3. How would you apply the lessons you have learned today in a management system that is required to integrate both hard and soft management principles? From the task, the group agreed that the system should include softer elements like reaction or response provision through feedback loop. In order to best adapt our system to the current complex environment, the inclusion of a feedback loop was more than essential. Feedback could be provided through social interaction and organization website or suggestion boxes. Through the use of feedback loops, project management process creates room for obtaining qualitative information relating to the project, staff, resources and other project elements. This information would then be used in risk identification and establish opportunities for other benefits like information on areas that reviewers consider as useful. Week 4 Adding Value (Thursday – 18/10/2012) Introduction The main focus of this week to consider system adding value to a project, it became clear that adding value to project is a main element for engineers these days. it can be described as a set of systems, process that can be used to identify and manage all elements of the project that are more effective by adding value. Learning Outcomes Describe a value management process (Group Task) Assess the appropriateness of value management systems on engineering projects (Group Feedback) Begin distinguishing a set of skills derived from essential project management processes that are most effective in demonstrating good practice using a value based method of assessment (Group Discussion) Class work task Quiz A fast quiz was put up for the whole class to find a process for a particular activity and to identify whether it is close to hard or a soft system. Task 1 1. List 3 key words from your Group’s paper that are associated with a value management system (excluding ‘project’, ‘value’ and ‘management’) In the group, it was consensually agreed that the three key words in project management were competitiveness, innovation and education. The complexity of projects today has intensified with increasing competition. Competition comes with multiple development and organizations are required to adapt to these developments in order to sustain their market share. Innovation is the most competent way for organizations to remain relevant and requires the effective use of team talents (Fewings, 2005). Conversely, increasing project complexity calls for attainment of new knowledge on how to manage such complexity easily and effectively. This implies that project team members need to training to gain knowledge of evolving project requirements. 2. using a maximum of 40 words (and with reference to your paper) define a value management system The group’s unanimous definition of value engineering was a concept that would assist project teams to evaluate the status of the industry. In this case, the value of the project would be improved without sacrificing the intended project purpose. 3. Briefly appraise the advantages and disadvantages of a value management system (as defined in item 2). There are numerous pros and cons associated with value management. The group agreed on cost reduction and innovative and creative solution as the main advantages. Conversely, the group unanimously agreed on lack of communication among stakeholders and lack of knowledge about value engineering as the main disadvantages. 4. Describe one example of how a value management process could be evidenced on an engineering project In engineering projects, one way of managing project management process is standardization of project components. This involves managing bulk orders, improving costs and maintaining quality. Week 5 CW1 Presentation (Thursday – 25/10/2012) Presentation day all groups presented their presentation and each student had to mark the other group work. The group work presentation was a good way of evaluating the knowledge I had gained thus far. The purpose of the presentation was to review good project management practices in terms of PM processes, systems and adding value to projects. Through presentations assessment, group areas of improvement were revealed. The title for the presentation was communication and presentation of skills required to demonstrate good management practice appropriate to the professional engineer. In the current business environment, project managers deserve to have skills that ensure that project requirements are within the required project scope. The scope of the project plays a significant role in project processes control. Project managers who define the scope of their projects achieve great results in time, cost and quality management. In addition, project scope is responsible for the definition of project processes that should be used in the project. Since the project context is subject to numerous changes, the project manager has the responsibility of ensuring that such changes do not alter the delivery of the defined benefits. Complex projects have great risks associated with them (Fewings, 2005). Project managers must ensure that all project risks are identified on time and mitigated. For risks that can be avoided, the project manager has the responsibility of avoiding such risks. Project managers must always view projects as processes and not events. In so doing, the project manager will oversee the implementation of the project in a continually planned and controlled way. Week 6 Feedback and introduction to part 2 (Thursday – 1/11/1012) Feedback on presentations and introduction to part 2 of the programme where we have been practicing Project Management where now we will be applying it. Class task Every member briefly review Turley, F (2010): PRINCE2 Training Manual: A common sense approach to learning and understanding PRINCE2. Online: www.mgmtplaza.com/elearn/files/The-PRINCE2-Training-Manual.pdf Every Group to prepare a short bullet point summary (max. ½ page of A4) of an example project (e.g. based on coursework or from other source). This must include: 1. Scope (definition of specific objectives) 2. List of benefits (product at end?) 3. Timeframe (start, end; duration?) 4. Total budget (£ to complete) Review of previous task After receiving the presentation marks, it was surprising to see how groups worked hard to in identification of skills required to demonstrate effective management practice. The marks for the most members were close to the marks given to us by the group. This trend was similar across the board except for one or two groups that deviated from the trend. From the group perspective, these marks were an indicator of existence of strong collective understanding throughout the group given that marks for personal reports were very close. As far as the feedback is concerned, our group was defined as lacking a clearly articulated list of skills despite excellent engagement of the presenters with the audience. In addition, the group was also highlighted as not sufficiently providing relevant details to link management practice and the professional code of practice. This feedback played a significant role in the group as it provided the opportunity to appreciate various ways through which research be improved in coming weeks. However, the group was praised for an excellent presentation of the skill set and excellent introduction and good links between skills and systems. Our group had an urge to stand out in detailed research. For this reason, the tutors commented on Groups excellent skills presentation and links. The involvement in detailed research was an eye opener for possible application in other reports. In general, the group mark was not satisfactory for the group members. The individual reports’ mark ranged from 95% to 35% which averaged to 56%. Since this assignment was the first written assignment students will have submitted at M level, the marks are not unexpected but still there is need for improvement. For the individuals who scored high marks, the content was well communicated and presented with no obvious language and formatting errors. Formatting errors demonstrated lack of keenness y the report authors during proofreading and formatting errors indicated that student needed assistance in report writing as well as have others proofread it prior to submission. For the overall CW1 marks, there group range fell between 84% and 51% which averaged to 66%. This was an indication that most students in this assignment passed. Presentation burjkhalifa Burjkhalifa is the world’s tallest building and the tallest the world has ever had. In itself, Burj Khalifa is a symbol of progress not only in architecture but also in project development, in order to construct the Burj Khalifa, there was a project team responsible. In addition, there were project management processes involved. Through the completion of this project, Dubai as well as the world was presented with unmatched success achieved from reserves of human talent, integrity, initiative and ingenuity. The project’s objectives include the attainment of the world’s tallest building as well as demonstrate the capabilities of the emirates’ in achieving projects that are awe-inspiring (Bianchi & Critchlow, 2010). The project construction commenced in 2004 and completed in 2009. The building offers mixed-use offering business, residential, and entertainment facilities and was designed by Skidmore. The total budget for the building was $1.5 billion. For the stakeholders, the completion of the project added value. The skyscraper offers amazing service amenities, entertainment, parks, and dining which offers value to building residence. Week 7 system dealing with risk – PRINCE2 (Thursday - 8/11/2012) Introduction This seminar marks the start of the examination of systems for dealing with risk on engineering projects and the approach adopted for this examination focuses on practice based guides, as opposed to academic literature. In this seminar students will be introduced to the PRINCE2 methodology for dealing with risk. Learning Outcomes At the end of this seminar students will be able to: Outline essential features of a PRINCE2 project management methodology Describe in detail how the PRINCE2 method deals with project risk Begin developing a process for evaluating a risk management methodology Class work task In your Groups, first apply the following: Increase your project budget by 50% Reduce your project duration by 25% Next, discuss the impact on your scope and benefits Record: 1. Risk opportunities and threats 2. Risk management responses The construction of Burj Khalifa is demonstration of large scale project management complexity. In order to support the necessary project management ventures, Emaar put in place an organizational structure. Both flat and hierarchical organizational structure models were put in place for the management of the project. The building of Burj Khalifa revealed that complex projects include engineering, architecture, and others. Risks assessment in Burj Khalafi project is paramount. This will assist in the project control through scope management. In any project, risks can be positive or negative. However, organizations only focus on negative risks since these are responsible for affecting project processes such as cost, time and quality. The project management team is responsible for avoiding the risk, mitigating the risk, or accepting some of the consequences of the risks on the project. This is typical of project management solutions offered by PRINCE2 whose risk response includes avoidance, reduction, transfer, fallback and acceptance. Opportunity response involved exploitation, rejection, enhancement, and sharing. For the Burj Khalafi (2010) project, designing the tower involved risks that were transferred to external sources. This meant that the other company assumed the risks in the project management. According to Faker (2010), simple and easy to implement ideas are the best in successful project development. For Burj Khalafi, control of project risks, the involved project manager made use of risk management log. The Burj Khalafi project manager might also have filled a similar type of log to credit project activities associated with various risks (Turner Construction Company, 2010). Projects are limited by time and are run within a project life cycle. The last step in project management is project termination. Closing of the project takes place when the presumable results have been achieved. During project termination, a report on the project can be written. Week 8system dealing with risk – PMI (Thursday – 15/11/2012) Introduction By way of continuing the examination of practice based methodologies for dealing with project risk attention turns in this seminar to the Project Management Institute (PMI) methodology. Learning Outcomes Outline the essential features of the PMI project management methodology. Describe in detail how the PMI method deals with project risk Continue developing a process for evaluating a risk management 
methodology Class work Task (a) Define  the  term  “critical  evaluation”  within  the  context  of  CW2 (b) 
(b) Outline an evaluation process that is aligned to the definition developed in (a) PMI refer to project management institute. It is a hard system that is process-based. The main processes in this project are plan of risk management, identify, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, planning responses, and monitoring control. As a world leader in not-for-profit membership associations, PMI has at least 600,000 members for project management profession. The organization of PMI falls in five main units which are chapters and communication of practice, international standards, education and training, research and governance. According to PMI, a risk is an uncertain event on the project that affects the project objectives negatively or positively. In PMI, the group found out that risk management is attempts to control project’s uncertain environment through the use of structured and closely controlled techniques. These techniques involved use of monitoring and review meetings, task allocation, estimating, and control of costs among others. Week 9system dealing with risk – APM (Thursday – 22/11/2012) Introduction By way of continuing the examination of practice based methodologies for dealing with project risk attention turns in this seminar to the Association Project Management (APM) methodology. Learning Outcomes Outline the essential features of the APM management methodology. Describe in detail how the APM method deals with risk Finalize the development of a process for evaluating a risk management 
methodology APM or Agile Project Management centers on ongoing improvement, scope flexibility, team input and delivery of products of relevant quality. Among others, APM project management includes lean and XP or extreme Programming. This form of programming focuses on the hypothesis that at the commencement of the project not everything is known. In addition, APM hypothesizes that even when everything is known at the start of the project, it is subject to change. APM involves project structuring such that there is a speeded up learning rate for the organization and the team. Structuring involves organization of activities such as early collection of customers’ feedback, technical difficulties identification and ironing out and early and often testing. Week 10 CW2 preparation (Thursday – 29/11/2012) From the group presentation, I got to learn from numerous people additional details on project management systems in PRINCE2, APM and PMI. It was also a good opportunity to understand process evaluation process. In the group, it was agreed that the different project management systems differed from each other. PRINCE2 was found to be methodology applied in hard systems and is processed based. The processes in this methodology are identify, assess, plan, implement, and communication. PRINCE 2 was found to be an easy to follow and well-structured approach to performance improvement in project management (Turley, 2010). Compared to PRINCE2, PMI involves complex calculations of probability methods. This results to complex diagrams. In addition, PMI involves qualitative and quantitative analysis. However, the responses to risks are similar to those of PRINCE 2 (PMI, 2008). It is also applicable in hard systems. Conversely, APM methodology is applied in soft systems. The processes involved are initiation, identity assessment, plan responses and implementation. Management involves the use of 3p-project, portfolio and progamme (APM, 2002). Week 11: feedback for CW2 and CW3 advice From the group results, the group members worked hard on self-reports resulting to an average of 40 with a high of 47 and a low of 32. This performance was exemplary except for a few members who needed assistance to pull up the grade in CW3. As a person, I was satisfied with the achieved marks and used the CW1 and CW2 outcomes to identify my weak and strong points. This then served as a guide in my revisions and reflections to avoid falling in the same mistakes again and doing better in my strengths. Read More