Project Management: Methodology and Knowledge Areas - Coursework Example

Project Management Name Date Course Portfolio Checklist Requirements Tick where completed Contents page √ Page numbers √ Numbered sections √ PRINCE 2 √ PMBOK √ Managing a project √ List of References √ Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 1.Part 1: Prince 2 project management methodology 4 2.Part 2: PMBOK knowledge areas 6 3.Part 3: Engineering management project 8 a). Summary 8 b). Lessons learnt during the project 8 c). Successes 9 d). Failures 10 List of References 11 1. Part 1: Prince 2 project management methodology Prince 2 is an acronym for Projects in Controlled Environments, Version 2. This project management methodology involves the use of high level management for the purposes of controlling and organizing a project. The lower levels activities such as scheduling may not form part of Prince 2 project management methodology despite its relevance. The concepts of prince 2 can also be used for the purposes of training and accreditation of project managers. Prince 2 is derived from an earlier method used for project management that was known as PROMPT and PRINCE project management method. Central Computers and Telecommunications Agency which was a standard body for the UK government on IT project management was responsible for the development of PRINCE project management method. Prince 2 was released in the year 1996 and is currently the de facto standard for project management in the UK government departments (Lianying, et al, 2012). It is also used in many parts of the world and is recognized by the United Nations System. Currently, Prince 2 is under the ownership of the AXELOS Ltd which is a joint venture of HM cabinet office and Capita PLC. This method has been revised several times for the purposes of ensuring that it meets all the goals and objectives of project management. The name Prince 2 has not been changed despite the changes in the version. This is aimed at ensuring that it remains true to its values of high standards and quality. Prince 2 is mainly a process driven project management method that is aimed at ensuring that high levels of efficiency are achieved during the project management process. It has 7 principles which are used for the purposes of enhancing the management process within an organization. The 7 principles includes continued business justification, learn from experience, defined roles and responsibilities, manage by stages, Manage by exceptions, focus on products and tailored to suit the project environment. Prince 2 also has 7 themes that are useful during the process of carrying out the project management process. It includes business case, organization, quality, plans, risk and change progress (Tomanek & Juricek, 2015). The seven themes and principles are mainly utilized in the 7 processes within the organization. When starting up a project through the use of this method, some key activities have to be performed in order to ensure that the process is successful. Forming the project board is one of the key activities and it involves appointing and executive and a project manager. Designing and appointing a project management team is also an important key activity during the process. Defining a project approach is also part of the key activities during the project. Defining the project approach plays an important role in ensuring that guidelines are available for the process of governing the project. Consulting the log of the previous projects is also an important activity that needs to be carried out when using Prince 2 methodology. This is important in terms of determining the previous challenges and this information can be used to deal with similar challenges. The initiation process is dependent on the activities of the start up process. The project brief is usually used for the purposes of guiding the initiation process of the project. The project controls are also in place for the purposes of ensuring that it is of high quality and standards. This is considering that the main aim of Prince 2 project management methodology is to come up with a high quality project management process. During the project initiation process, files are also created for the overall plan of the project. The authorization of the resultant information is dependent on the board members when using this method of project management. During the process of initiating a project, various key activities are usually carried out. The activities includes planning quality, planning a project, redefining the business processes and risks, establishing the project controls, establishing the project files and initiating a project documentation (Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015). Directing a project is an important stage when using the prince 2 methodology during the project management process. The process of directing a project is the responsibility of the executive sponsors of the project. This process is important in determining how the project board should authorize a stage plan. The existing stage plan can also be replaced at this time for the purposes of ensuring that the project meets its goals and objectives. The board at this stage has the responsibility of providing an ad hoc direction n for the closure of the project. The key activities during this stage include authorization of the initiation process, authorizing a project and authorizing a stage. Project management through the use of PRINCE 2 methodology does not automatically translate to the success of the project. The managers have to ensure that they have followed the guidelines properly so as to ensure that the process is successful. The advantage of Prince 2 methodology is that it provides a clearly defined framework for the project management process. The project is also divided into manageable stages and hence promoting efficiency. In terms of the certification process, the exam lasts for 2.5 hours and it is comprised of complex multiple choices. The paper is comprised of 8 topics with 10 questions per topic which totals to 80 marks. The pass mark for the exam is 55% for the candidates who intend to be Prince 2 professionals (Joslin & Müller, 2015). A risk register is in place when using this method which is beneficial in terms of controlling the risks. In terms of monitoring quality, a quality register is in place for the purposes of ensuring that all the processes are of high quality. The management products are also maintained throughout the operations of the project and it is usually in the form of paper documents and word processor files. During the process of controlling a stage, three main stage are involved which includes managing stage boundaries, managing product delivery and closing a project. A diary about the project has to be written on a daily basis by the project manager and it is known as the daily log. 2. Part 2: PMBOK knowledge areas Project management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a book that presents a set of standard terminology and guidelines for project management. It has 5 process groups and 10 knowledge areas that are useful during the management process. Some of the five most important knowledge areas include project integration management, project time management, project quality management, project communications management and project stakeholder management. Project integration management involves the activities that need to be identified, defined, combined, unified and coordinated within the process management groups (Fortune, et al, 2011). Project integration management integration adds value to the organization in terms of ensuring that all the activities are clearly understood and defined. This is considering that the success of the project is dependent on how the coordination of the activities is carried out. Project time management involves the processes that are required for the purposes of ensuring that the projects are managed successfully to completion. The successful completion of the project within the required time is the most important aspect of a project. Project time management adds a lot of value to the project management methodology. It enables the project to be completed within the required time and hence avoid extra costs that are associated with the extension of the project. The failure of the project to be completed on time has negative impacts on the organization as it makes it difficult for the organization to start benefiting from the project within the required time. Project quality management involves the process and activities of the performing organization which determines the quality policies, responsibilities and objectives. This is mainly for the purposes of satisfying the needs of the project. The concept of project quality management adds value to the process since it ensures that high quality standards are maintained throughout the project. Meeting the quality standards of the organization is useful in ensuring that the goals and objectives have been attained. The projects in most cases seek to attain the highest quality of standard so as to ensure that the processes are effective. Project communications management involves the all the processes that are required for the purposes of ensuring that the processes are carried out in a timely manner (Roudias, 2015). The presence of proper communication plays an important role in ensuring that all the personnel involved in the project have adequate information about the operations that they are required to conduct. The presence of adequate communication is also important in ensuring that all the processes are clearly understood by the members. Project stakeholder management ensures that all the stakeholders together with their roles are clearly understood. This process is important in identifying the needs as well as the expectations of ach stakeholder. This process adds value to the project as it ensures that proper planning can be carried out. The performance of some of the stakeholders can also be improved once they are aware of the activities that need to be carried out. A proper understanding of the roles is also achieved and hence adding value to the process. 3. Part 3: Engineering management project a). Summary The Engineering projects require huge sums of money as well as effective project management strategies. This is considering that some of the projects are risky and it may end up causing deaths and loss of resources. Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir Dam Restoration project is one of the engineering projects that were quite remarkable. The project was a civil Engineering project that was aimed at restoring some sections of the dam after it had collapsed leading to the loss of 1.4 billion gallons of water (Lienhart, 2013). A lot of destruction was caused by the collapse of the walls of the dam. The rock fills had to be recycled during the project. The recycling of the rock fill led to the damn being the world largest roller compacted concrete dam in North America. The process required a lot of resources due to the remote location of the dam. The infrastructure required to ensure that the materials are delivered to the site and worker are transported had to be developed. This increased the scope of the project and also the total cost of the project. The walls of the dam were quite huge and it the vehicles could pass around it. The project had a lot of unique features considering that the top of the hill had to be excavated for the purposes if ensuring that the wall of the dam could be constructed. The project was completed successfully but it was also faced with a lot of challenges. b). Lessons learnt during the project Some important lessons on project management were learnt during the project as a result of the challenges that were encountered. The importance of project planning was one of the vital lessons for the project. During the design period, a lot of paperwork was carried out for the purposes of addressing different aspects of the project. However, some there were some challenges that emerged during the project. The location of the dam was in a remote area and the accessibility was difficult. The employees had a lot of difficulties accessing the project area. This problem was directly linked to the lack of proper planning. Lack of proper planning can also increase the duration of the project making it difficult to meet the dateline (Turner, 2014). The project had to be extended as a result of the activities that had not been planned for. The cost was also increased a result of extending the project deadline. The proper coordination of project activities is also an important lesson that was learnt during the project. The lack of proper coordination also impacted negatively on the ability of project to carry out some of the activities that had been planned. Reviewing the operations is also an important lesson that was learnt during the project. This is considering that a lot of contingencies were encountered during the project. Reviewing the project activities provides an opportunity for correcting some of the errors and solving the problems encountered during the project. Selecting the planning team was also an important lesson learnt as some of the difficulties faced were as a result of lack of personnel. c). Successes The project was able to achieve a lot of success and it was eventually completed. The restoration of the walls was completed with most of the materials used being from within the area. A detailed risk management plan was developed for the project which played an important role in reducing the risks. Although the project encountered some risks due to its complicated nature, it was able to successfully mage all the risks. During the project management process, the risks are common and may affect the progress of the project. A proper stakeholder analysis was carried out during the project which played an essential role in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully aware of their roles. The relationship between the stakeholders during the project was also good which impacted positively on its operations. Most of the stakeholders were able to play their roles effectively. Monitoring and control during the project was successful. Control measures were put in place for the purposes of ensuring that the processes are carried out effectively. The project managers were professionals who were highly qualified and this played an important role in ensuring that the activities are carried out effectively. Most of the international standards were applied during the project which impacted positively on the quality of the work. The change management process during the process was carried out successfully. The viability of the project was assessed from time to time during the introduction of changes. The success of a project is dependent on how it handles the concepts of project management (Kerzner, 2013). d). Failures Although the project was successful, it was faced with several failures that are related to project management. The project was not completed on time and it also failed to meet the budgetary requirements. More funds had to be injected in the project for the purposes of ensuring that it is successful. Some of the project activities that had been planned failed to kick off on time which impacted negatively on the completion of the project. Some of the funds that were used during the project could not be accounted for which was also an indication of the failure of the project. All the funds within a project must be accounted for in order for the project to be considered credible (Turner, 2014). The project failed to meet some of the conditions related to environmental issues. This had negative impacts on the outcome of the project and it can be attributed to the lack of proper planning. Some of the employees only worked for a short period of time due to the poor working conditions. This was as a result of proper planning during the project. As a result of lack of proper planning, the needs of some of the employees were not met. List of References Lianying, Z, et al, 2012, The project management maturity model and application based on PRINCE2, Procedia Engineering, 29, 3691-3697. Tomanek, M, & Juricek, J, 2015, Project Risk Management Model Based on PRINCE2 and Scrum Frameworks, arXiv preprint arXiv:1502.03595. Rosemann, M, & vom Brocke, J, 2015, The six core elements of business process management, In Handbook on Business Process Management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Joslin, R, & Müller, R, 2015, Relationships between a project management methodology and project success in different project governance contexts, International Journal of Project Management. Fortune, J, et al, 2011, Looking again at current practice in project management, International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 4(4), 553-572. Roudias, J, 2015, Mastering Principles and Practices in PMBOK, Prince 2, and Scrum: Using Essential Project Management Methods to Deliver Effective and Efficient Projects, Pearson Education. Lienhart, D, A, 2013, Long-Term Geological Challenges of Dam Construction in a Carbonate Terrane, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, 19(1), 1-25. Turner, J, R, 2014, The handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92), McGraw-hill. Kerzner, H, R, 2013, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, John Wiley & Sons. Read More