Life cycle and Organization - Assignment Example

Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: 17th August, 2010. Chapter 2: Project Life cycle and Organization Managing a project design process requires knowledge about the goals of the project which determines the resources that the project will require, the amount of money needed to fund it, the amount of time it will need to be completed and many other requirements of a project. The process of designing a project design requires a lot of knowledge about project management process (Project Design, 2010). Chapter 2 ‘project life cycle and organization is all about the basic structure of the project, the role of stakeholders in the project, the importance of project structure in managing, staffing and executing the project and the effect of the project on ongoing operations of the organization. This knowledge about project management process is very important for project design process as well. For a project to be designed, its goals have to be known. The goals determine what resources it will need. A project has a four phased life cycle which are; starting the project, preparing and organizing, implementing the work and closing of the project. With this kind of knowledge, the amount of time required for the project is determined and this should be included in the design process. It also determines the nature of the design (PMI, 2008). The type of the project influences the design of the process. With knowledge about the phases of the project, a design can have a three phased project with each phase having the four stages of the life cycle of the project (PMI, 2008). A project design includes everything that has to be determined before the project proceeds (Project Design, 2010). One of the factors that have to be determined is the influence of the stakeholders of the project. Stakeholders in this case refer to the project managers, customers, funders/investors, suppliers and many more. When designing a project, it is important to consider the influence the customers, investors/funders, the managers and other project team members will have on the project so that the resulting design can accomplish the aims of the project with little interference. These are examples of question that should be asked during the project design process. What is supposed to be accomplished so that if a certain stakeholder is assigned a specific responsibility, the project will be successful? What is supposed to be accomplished so that specific customers and specific funders are required? The goal of the project determines which stakeholders will be required for the project and their roles hence influence the design of the project. Another important knowledge is the structure and culture of the organization. The culture of an organization determines how operations are conducted in the organization and the operations produce results. The kinds of operations needed for the project have also to be determined before the project can be implemented. The structure of the organization affects the structure of the project and in turn affects the design of the project. A project has to be designed with knowledge on how the project structure will be. There are different types of structures that projects can take for example; there is matrix structure, functional structure and programmatic structure (Russell, 2007). If an organizations structure has departments that support the functions needed for the project then the during the design process, such departments are included with specific responsibilities. The complexity of the project however also influences the type of structure to be developed (PMI, 2008). Chapter 4: Project Integration Management The design process has three phases which include; determining the project aim, finding out the resources that are necessary and the detail design phase. In the detailed section, one of the steps is to determine the technical objectives of the project. To determine what activities and processes are necessary for accomplishment of the project aim (Project Design, 2010). The process of project integration management can help in this or is part of the design process. Project management integration involves all activities and processes that define, identify, coordinate and unify all the project management activities and processes. If for example a communications department or a communications manager is required to ensure that communication between team members of the project is effective, all the activities and processes necessary for effective communication have to be identified, defined and described on how they will be coordinated with other departments of the organization and the team members of the organization (PMI, 2008). Project integration management entails project charter development, project execution direction and management, project management plan development, monitoring and control of project work, organizing for integrated change control and closing of the project. All these activities are important in ensuring that there is coordination and all the activities and processes necessary for project management and project success are identified, defined and well coordinated (PMI, 2008). This project integration management process gives information about what activities will be necessary during project management, how they will be coordinated and the important processes which have to be included in the project design. This considers the fact that project design process determines all resources, activities and processes that are required in the project before the implementation of the project (Project Design, 2010). In the detail design phase: the operator, administer, builder and manager of the project all have to be determined. This however is not done during the construction phase but after the project is completed (Project Design, 2010). The project management plan gives the details of the activities and the people responsible for such activities. The plan therefore helps identify the necessary human resource and how they will coordinate and with who to coordinate with. Directing and managing the project execution is another process of project integration management that assists in identification of the activities of the project. It involves performing the responsibilities described in the management plan to help achieve the objectives of the project (PMI, 2008). The technical design of the project is also done in phase 3 of the project design process. It involves determination of who will design the project, the funding agencies of the project and their restrictions and who will check the project design. The project integration process involves determination and making choices on resources to be used, management of the interdependencies within the knowledge areas of project management and selecting the best among competing objectives and alternatives all which are necessary for the development of the technical design of the project (PMI, 2008). All necessary information gathered about the project design is integrated in this phase under the technical design of the project. Chapter 9: Project Human Resource Management A design process considers the available resources and one of such resources is the human resource. According to Project Design article, for a project design to work successfully, it has to work within the limits of available resources. Knowledge about available resources and how they are managed is therefore very important in project design management process. Important knowledge on project human resource includes; a) Development of the human resource plan This provides guidance on what skill is required for the project, how the people with the skills will be staffed, managed and controlled. The plan should have the roles and responsibilities of each person giving detailed descriptions of the person’s authority, responsibility, required competency and roles that they can be held accountable to. It should have the project’s organization chart guiding the team members on their reporting relationships and a staffing management plan (PMI, 2008). b) Acquisition of the project team In any project planning process, a project manager has to be sure of the availability of the resources needed for the successful completion of the project. Any missing resource may cause inconveniences and disruptions in the project plan schedule, customer satisfaction, risks and budgets. It is therefore important to confirm the availability of the resources selected for the project. Acquisition of the project team is the process of confirming the availability of the human resource selected for the project work. It involves acquisition of project inputs, tools and techniques and project outputs (PMI, 2008). c) Development of the project team This process is all about enhancing the team’s performance and involves improving the team’s working environment, improving the team’s interaction and the team’s competencies. In order to improve the team’s performance, the project manager should aim at: Improving the team members’ knowledge and skills to improve quality, reduce schedules and complete project work while lowering costs Creating a culture that improves individual and team productivity such as a self-motivated and unified team, a culture that improves team cooperation and spirit and encourages knowledge sharing Increasing team work, raising morale and reducing conflict for example through improving feelings of trust and agreement among the members (PMI, 2008) The manager should also be able to identify, lead, inspire, motivate, build and maintain the project’s team members so as to accomplish the missions of the project (PMI, 2008). d) Management of the project team This process entails a lot. It involves conflict resolution, monitoring the team members’ performance, change management, and observation of team behavior. Because of all these functions, the human resource plan has to be updated since any observations made that cannot produce expected results are submitted and changes made hence the change in the human resource plan. Just like in any management exercise or work, this process requires certain management skills. The skills are; leadership, communication, conflict management and negotiation skills all which ensure that the team members’ efforts are integrated and team work fostered (PMI, 2008). Chapter 10: Project Communications Management For a project to be successful, effective communication is required. When designing a project, the communication strategies and processes should be known so that all are included for the success of the project. Project communications management provides information about all the necessary processes required to guarantee collection, distribution, retrieval, generation and storage of information. All these processes give guidance to what should be included in the design, the project schedule since the processes involve coordination among project team members and also assist in the development of the project’s technical design. Any equipment that is used in such processes has to be budgeted for as well (PMI, 2008). The project communications management process involves: i. Identification of stakeholders This is the process of identifying all the people and organizations that are affected by the project in one way or the other or have a role in the project. The impact of the project can be negative or positive but such organizations or people’s involvement and interest have to be assessed to determine the impact on the project. In any project being implemented by an organization, there are so many stakeholders with different interests and influence. An investor’s interest would be to get more returns on his or her investment while a customer’s interest may be to get quality goods and services. Other stakeholders include other organizational managers, suppliers, contractors and many more. To ensure the project is successful, the stakeholders have to be identified with their respective interest, involvement in the project and influence on the project for the project manager to develop necessary relationships that can ensure the success of the project (PMI, 2008). ii. Communications planning This is the process of developing a communications approach in response to the information and communication needs of the stakeholders. After determining the influence, interest and involvement of each stakeholder to the project, in order to manage the stakeholders and ensure successful implementation and management of a project, it is important to determine the efficient ways of communicating with them and among the stakeholders. The communications plan describes how information will be passed to the stakeholders, when they will be passed and through what means. The plan answers the questions; ‘what information is needed, who needs the information, when is the information needed, who will pass the information and how will the information be passed to the stakeholder who needs it?’ (PMI, 2008). iii. Distribution of information This is the process of making relevant information reach the targeted recipient at the right time. In the case of project design, the knowledge that is important is the distribution techniques that can be used for the project’s success. For effective distribution of information, the following techniques have to be considered: the writing style, the choice of media, the techniques of facilitation, the sender to receiver and receiver to sender representations and the meeting management techniques (PMI, 2008). iv. Management of stakeholder expectations Stakeholder needs have to be met and so the project manager has to work and communicate with the stakeholders to ensure that their needs are met. The team project members are stakeholders of the project and their role is to perform duties that will ensure the project’s objectives are met. If the needs of such a group are not met, then the objectives of the project may not be met. Stakeholder expectations management increases the chances of project success when the stakeholders are made to understand the risks and benefits involved in the project. This ensures active participation and support (PMI, 2008). v. Reporting the performance It is the process of collecting relevant information about the performance of the project in relation to the objectives and distributing the information to relevant recipients. It includes collection of progress measurements, forecasts and status reports. The reports give detailed information about the progress of the project for example, what work has been completed, what work is to be done next, changes that have been made, the risks and issues that arise and past performance analysis. Reports with such kind of information should be prepared regularly to ensure the project’s objectives are met. Performance reports should also include information about the expected completion date of the project with the expected costs (PMI, 2008). The Key Differences In How To Apply Procedures In Chapters 2, 4, 9, And 10 To The Design Phases Of A Project In Contrast To The Construction Phases. The key differences in how the procedures are applied lies in the difference between the construction phases of a project and the design phases of a project. The design is developed before a construction process and the design guides what is to be constructed. The last phase of the design process is construction documents which serve as a basis of obtaining bids from contractors and the contractors use them to get price quotes from subcontractors (University of California, 2007). This gives a clear indication of how the procedures in project life cycle and organization, project integration management, project human resource management and project communications management are applied. The procedures are used to guide design development and determination of what the project will require. In the case of construction phases, it guides the management of the activities of construction during the construction phases. Construction phases are; pre-construction, construction and post construction. Pre construction phase for example involves planning, budgeting and permitting. The actual planning on how to accomplish the objectives of the project using the already developed design takes place in this phase. The design documents have all the details concerning what is required for what purpose and where and the approach to be taken considering the project life cycle and organization. The construction planning has to plan on how to accomplish such guided actions by use of available resources (Klinger, Susong & American Bar Association, 2006). Project design has the following phases; redesign, schematic design, design development and construction documents. All these processes are about design decisions which will give contractors the idea of what is required of them during the construction phases (University of California, 2007). Procedures in project life cycle and organization, project integration management, project human resource management and project communications management therefore offer necessary information for design decisions in design phases while it offers management guidelines for the construction phases. How the Procedures are used in the Construction Phases and Design Phases Chapter 2: Project Life Cycle and Organization In the design processes, project life cycle and organization helps in the determination of the stakeholders that will be involved in the project and their roles, how the organization will be structured to fit the project and its objectives and other requirements of project management while in the construction phases, the already developed design is used to ensure construction goes on. Project life cycle contains the number of projects to be carried out in a specific period of time and how they are controlled. Construction phase involves the actual activity. If a project has four phases for example, pre construction phase will involve planning on how to complete the projects following the design developed. The phases can all be done simultaneously or can be done one by one. Post construction involves evaluation of the work to ensure it is done according to the requirements of the design as planned during the pre construction phase all with the aim of accomplishing the missions of the project (PMI, 2008). Project Integration Management Within a project, there are project process groups that perform specific functions and there are activities of the project. Without coordination of such activities, the people and the project processes, there is no project management. Project integration management is the process of identifying, defining, coordinating the processes, activities and the people to ensure that project objectives are met. In the construction phases, there are actual activities going on and the processes have to be coordinated (PMI, 2008). In the design phases however, integration management only provides the information needed so that an appropriate design is developed to be used during the actual construction process. The design process for example determines which activities should be coordinated and in which manner whiles the construction process involves actual coordination of the activities. This will result into achievement of targets of the project (PMI, 2008). Project Human Resource Management Human resource is one of the most important resources in an organization. They have the skills necessary for project completion. Having the skills alone is not enough to achieve the objectives of a project hence accomplish the aims of the project, but management is required to guide the achievement of goals. Assigning the right skills in the right place and identification of the competencies in a person is the work of a human resource manager and the manager will be required to be present during the actual construction phases to help determine who will do a specific job and at what time. The design phases only uses human resource management procedures to outline the human resources needed for the project and their role (PMI, 2008). Project Communications Management The same applies in this case. Communications management’s aim in an organization is to ensure efficiency which influences the performance of the organization. Without the management of the communication during the actual construction process, there will be miscommunication and failure of the project. In the design phases, this is only required as a guidance to what is required by the people who will be involved in the project construction so that all necessary communication resources are included (PMI, 2008). Conclusion Project management processes are important both to the designer and to the contractors. Designers need information to create an appropriate design while contractors need guidance to what is required of them to build. Project management processes guide the contractors on how they go about their job, while the designer studies the processes and knows what is required in a specific place and for what purpose. This is all that has been discussed above. The first section of the paper includes a summary of chapters 2, 4, 9 and 10 of the book; “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge”, and the relation of the chapters to the design process. The second section outlines the main differences between the use of the procedures found in chapters 2, 4, 9 and 10 in design phases and construction phases of project management. References Klinger, M., Susong, M & American Bar Association, 2006, The Construction Project: Phases, People, Terms, Paperwork, Processes, American Bar Association. Project Design, 2010, Project Design, Viewed on 16th August, 2010: Project Management Institute (PMI), 2008, A Guide To The Project Management Body Of Knowledge, Project Management Institute, Inc.: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Russell, M., 2007, Organizational Structures In Project Management, Ezine@rticles, Viewed on 16th August 2010: University of California, 2007, Project Design Phases, PART 1, CHAPTER 1, Vol.3, Viewed on 16th August 2010: < http://www.ucop.edu/facil/fmc/facilman/volume3/part1/ch1.pdf> Read More