Stages in Project Management, Identification of Stakeholders - Essay Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Introduction Almost everybody is engaged in one or more projects directly or indirectly in his/her life. It can vary from doing apersonal project such as obtaining a Degree to the construction of big industrial projects such as Dams and Bridges. Projects have been carried out since the beginning of civilization. Every project involves a set of interrelated activities and has a definite beginning and end. Since every project has many aspects to look after for the attainment of project objective, the need for its proper management was seriously felt long back. The need was further compounded when business community started thinking of introducing project management for business purposes. Consequently, a new body of knowledge was evolved, which came to be known as Project Management. Over the years, the science of Project Management has developed enormously and many scholars and practitioners have introduced various tools and techniques to enrich it. Internet, computers, project management software etc have accelerated the pace of development of project management. Successful completion of project on time with the use of limited resources and minimum cost is the main objective of project management. But, project management in modern times is no longer possible by paying attention towards resources, cost and time alone. The project managers are forced to look beyond time, cost and resources. The traditional tools and techniques such as Gantt chart, PERT/CPM networks became powerless and attainment of project objective remained a dream for the competent project managers. A careful analysis has been made in various areas of project management and finally reached a way-out that project managers need to have a check on the rapidly changing environment in which the project needs to be materialized. The present essay looks on various aspects of project management and the intricacies of project management in the modern rapidly changing project environment. Project Management- Definition The term ‘project Management’ has been defined by authors in different ways. There is no unanimity among the academicians and practitioners concerning the activities and the scope of a project manager and hence, about definition. The following definition seems to be a typical one. “Project management is the process by which projects are defined, planned, monitored, controlled and delivered such that the agreed benefits are realized. Projects are unique, transient endeavors undertaken to achieve a desired outcome. Projects bring about change and project management is recognized as the most efficient way of managing such change” (Definitions, APM) Elements of a Project Broadly there are three elements that decide the success of a project: Time Schedules/Deadlines. Resources/Project costs. Project Specifications/End result. To make a meaningful beginning to a project, one should understand the relation between these elements. Completing a project in shorter time span would demand either reduction in the project specifications, or enhancement in resources. Hence, Project schedules and project resources are inversely proportional and the project schedules and the specifications are directly proportional. But reduction in specifications in turn will have a direct impact on the quality of the end result; hence, it is not a feasible option. Thus, the Hobsons choice, that one (Project leader) is left with, is to put more of resources available. Various resources that any project in general would demand are land, labor, capital and management. Now, the crucial aspect to be considered here is how to utilize these resources optimally. A project to be completed successfully demands the right blend of hard and soft skills in the project leader. As far as managing the capital and land are concerned, they fall under the hard skills of the project leaders. But when it comes to the people/members of the project, it demands the expertise in soft skills i.e., leadership skills. At this stage, project leadership skills are more desirable to complete the project successfully. The leader must possess the ability to bring about the integrated organizational flexibility among the team to make the project a success. Project Environment Every project is carried out in a set of complex factors. The totality of all such factors is known as project environment. Time, organizational factors, legal system, political system, technology structure, economic system, socio-cultural system are some of the factors in the project environment. All these factors are likely to affect projects and the success depends upon how the project management manager and his team respond and adapt to the changes. The basic principles of the project management still remain effective in any contexts regardless of size and time. But the resources, budgets, methods, and tools of the project depend upon the environment. If today’s projects are managed by the tools of the past, the probability of failing the project is very high. That does not mean that traditional tools are ineffective in the modern times. Thus, before implementing the tools, they must be made adaptable to the changed resources, budgets. The need for a rethinking about project management in the business context was aroused because of the following reasons Stages in Project Management Project charter- The First Step towards a Big Goal Project charter phase is a crucial first formal step in every project. A clear charter helps all the stakeholders to understand the project vision, scope and objectives. It is the justification for the business requirement or the business need. The project manager, in consultation with the sponsor, will develop the project charter. It spells out the need for the project and briefly describes the project, mentioning, who is the project manager and who are the stakeholders. The project charter helps in proceeding further in project development. As defined by the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Haughey Duncan) Guide, a project charter is "a document issued by the project sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project. It provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities." Identification of Stakeholders Project Planning Once the project charter is approved by the customer or senior management, the project manager can go ahead with the project planning. For this, the project manager can use Work Breakdown Structures (WBSs) as tool. Once the work packages, control accounts and planning packages are identified from the WBS, the project manager can go ahead with project scheduling. Before this, the project manager has to identify the resources needed for the project—both human and machines. During the project planning stage, for scheduling purposes, tools such as Microsoft Project or Primavera can be used. During this stage, one can identify the critical path in the network diagram during schedule development. One can also identify the risks involved using the critical path in the network. During schedule development, the project manager can use different schedule compression techniques such as crashing and fast-tracking. Communicating the Project Plan Once the project plan is made, it is the job of the project manager to communicate it to all the stakeholders. In the early stages of the project, the project manager has already identified the stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders are interested in all the information of the project. The project manager has to maintain the details of needs and information in the communications management plan. Based on the communications management plan, the project manager needs to distribute the information to the stakeholders. This avoids any confusion in future. Everybody will come to know the goals and objectives of the project. Objective Setting Usually at the beginning of the project, the objectives are set for the project from the organization point of view. At the same time, the objectives are to be set at the individual level as well. Some of the companies such as Tata Consultancy Services follow this using Balanced Score Cards (BSC) for setting objectives to the team members by drilling down the objectives from organization, department and project levels. This objectives-setting process is very important because the team members come to know about what is expected of them. Usually, the objectives will be set in technical areas as well as managerial areas (if any) for the team members. Project Execution The project manager should get the approval for the project plan. It may be in the form of sign-off from the customer, if the customer decides the project deadlines. Otherwise, if it is an internal project, the project manager should get the approval from the senior management for the project plan. Once the project plan is approved, the project manager should go for project execution. By this time some of the resources may have been already allocated for the project. Using the allocated resources the project manager should execute the project. Tracking Progress In the execution stage of the project, the progress needs to be tracked. The project manager, using different tools and techniques such as earned values, decision trees and statistical control techniques, should track the project progress. He has to update the senior management whether the project is on time, under budget or if any deviations are there from the planned details. Cost variance and schedule variance need to be updated in the project plan. Evaluating Team Member Performance At the end of the project or at the end of appraisal period, the performance of the team members are to be evaluated. The objective of performance appraisals is to identify the training needs of the team members and to take necessary actions. The effect of performance appraisal will be there on human resource activities such as promotions, transfers, demotions and exits. In all these cases, Human Resources Department (HRD) needs to take necessary actions. Progress Reporting The project manager has to update the senior management and other stakeholders with the status of the project. The frequency of this status reporting to the senior management varies from organization to organization. Some organizations conduct these Senior Management Review (SMR) meetings once a month. Also the project needs to undergo periodic quality audits from the quality department. The project manager is responsible for closing the Non-Conformances (NC) given by the Quality Assurance (QA) team. Usually, the QA team tracks these open NCs of all the projects in the organization. This happens because the QA team is responsible for internal and external audits of the organization. Handling Crisis While executing the project, the project manager may face some risks or unexpected circumstances. Hence, it is better to include risk planning as part of project planning, i.e., identification of risks, qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and risk response planning and risk monitoring and control are the steps involved in the risk management. Hence, with proper risk management, the project manager will be in a position to execute the project smoothly. Also, if something goes wrong, the project manager should be able to rescue the project. Training and Development Based on the performance appraisals, the training and development needs of the team members will be identified and planned. The training needs depend upon the efficiency of the individuals. The project manager is required to update the training plan based on these training needs. The HR department will plan the training schedule after it receives inputs from all the project managers. It is better for the individuals to attend the scheduled training programs for self-development. Usually, there are different types of trainings provided to the team members. Some of them are induction, on-the-job training, coaching and hands-on training. The internal or external faculty can provide the training programs. The training needs for project managers and managers vary. Based on the experience level of the team member and the project need, the project manager should nominate a candidate for suitable training programs. Releasing the Deliverables Once the deliverables are ready, that is, after all internal and external (if any) reviews, the project manager has to give them to the customer. The customer, in turn, does acceptance testing of the deliverables. This is the scenario in any turnkey solution or a typical project environment. If the project deliverable is a product, then the project manager has to release the deliverable and any documentation to the customer support team. Once the product is released from the project managing team, it is the responsibility of the team to provide the required support. While handing over the product to the support team, the project managing team should do the knowledge transfer to the support team. Project Closing Once the product is handed over to the customer support or technical support team, the project manager has the responsibility of closing the project officially. He has to do the post-mortem of the project. The project manager has to document the lessons learned during the course of the project. He has to release all the human resources of the project. The project manager has to officially communicate about the closure of the project to the stakeholders. New Challenges to Project managers The revolutionary technology breakthroughs are changing the standards of living. Consumers are demanding technologically-superior products with high quality. Though the industry is responding through a constant pursuit towards excellence, the never-ending consumers expectation is putting mounting pressure on it. Besides, the development cycles along with quality concerns are also piling further pressure on it. In this changing business environment, businesses which follow the old and strictly vertical approach to manage their business activities are no longer competitive. They must be managed horizontally through cross-functional business processes and projects to satisfy the customers. In todays dynamic business environment, managing larger and complex projects have become more of a rule than norm. In fact, modern business is said to be in a `project age, which involves the creation, management and delivery of projects. However, organizations, both private and public, are under increasing pressure to maximize benefits and returns across their range of projects. Though there are a number of ways in which a large project is measured, cost is the most obvious criterion to measure these projects. However, this parameter cannot be considered in isolation since in certain cases, minimization of cost of a product leads to delivering of inferior quality product. Thus, when it comes to managing large projects one needs to consider a number of aspects including size, quality, cost, schedule and complexity. In essence, some of the major characteristics of large projects are: • They involve huge costs. • The time-frame is anywhere from six months to two years. • They have a big project team in different locations. • Engage the creation of large quantities of deliverables. • Involve external suppliers and contractors. Unlike traditional projects, project managers on large projects need strong leadership, communication and problem-solving skills to make sound business decisions that deliver real customer value. They need to clearly avoid rework, delay and disruption. They require a different set of competencies as these projects are characterized by ambiguity, non-linearity and recursion. Hence, modern project managers need to have more in-depth knowledge than the traditional ones. For effective implementation of complex projects it requires a set of deliverables, time-frames, staff, suppliers, equipment, materials, contractors and customers. Besides, these projects also involve usage of advanced organizational and communication skills with multiple resources and areas of expertise. As a result, one of the biggest changes in the business world is the role of the project manager. Earlier, the project manager was only a designer of projects, working with his team members to execute the job with quality, on time and within the budget. However, it is no longer the case; today, he has become more prevalent and less involved in the actual job and he is just like a business manager. Apart from the traditional works, a project manager should work more as a manager than a project manager. In essence, the following areas must be paid utmost attention: High Risks and High Controls Effective Time Management Cost Minimization Quality Control Change Management Risk Mitigation Issue Management Procurement Management Acceptance Management Complete Phase Reviews Effective Communication People Management Managing Schedule Continuous Learning Conclusion Managing and developing large projects pose significant challenges to organizations today. The advancement of innovative project management technologies is promising to have a profound and far-reaching effect on how projects are managed. With the advent of these technologies, the landscape of project management is changing and opening new competitive advantages for companies and, more importantly, boosting the productivity of project managers and their teams However, the above discussed processes help project managers to monitor and control their projects effectively. If organizations implement these steps in a systematic manner, the success of these projects is not so difficult to achieve. Effective implementation of these steps requires a re-evaluation of traditional management techniques and attitudes. The top management must closely watch the issues that arise during the project period and must adopt a hands-on approach to project management and related techniques. Work Cited Haughey Duncan. Project Management Body of Knowledge. Viewed on 10 December, 2008. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pmbok.html Health and Safety. DTI Strategy for Sustainable Construction-Consultation: Department for Civil Engineer. Job Descriptions- Definitions- Career Fields: Civil Engineer. 123oye.com. Viewed on 10 December, 2008 Kant Tarun. Department of Civil Engineering. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Viewed on 10 December, 2008. Strategies for Sustainable Construction (2008) H M Government: Foreword. Viewed on December, 2008 Definitions. Association of Project Management: apm.org. Retrieved on 16 December, 2008 http://www.apm.org.uk/Definitions.asp Getting Started. Understanding the Basics of Project Management. Retrieved on 16 December, 2008http://www.ultimatebusinessresource.com/images/pmal.pdf Read More