Lecture 1 - Introduction Flashcards
What is the definition of project management?
’ The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet stakeholders needs and expectations from a project’
What is a Stakeholder?
Any person with an interest or concern in something especially a buisness
A stakeholder could be (4):
- Your manager
- Your customer
- The public
- anyone with an expectation from the outcome of a project
What 10 factors are being managed?
-Integration -quality - cost - HRM (human resources management) -Risk -Time -Scope - Procurement -Communication - Prioritisation of Outcomes
Delivering a buisness through the use of projects requires a management profile that encourages (4)
- organisation flexibility
- decentralised management responsibility
- holistic view of problems
- Goal-orientated problem solution processses
What is Decentralised management responsibility?
Decision making authority does not lie with one individual group - each project has a specialised manager
What is a holistic view of problems?
everything is interconnected and can only be fully understood as a whole
What is the definition of a project?
‘A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service’
A project typically includes (7)
- Start and finish
- life-cycle
- budget
- use of resources
- a single point of responsibility
- fast tracking
- team roles
what are the four main benefits of project management?
-Interpersonal
(relationship with client, single point of responsibility, reporting interfaces)
-Clear progress monitoring
( estimating, projections/alterations, critical path monitoring(fast-track), schedule gannt chart (project integration), define trends)
-Planning
(response time, resource allocation, slippage determination)
-Reporting
(definition of procedures, data capture, closeout report)
What are the four main roles of Project manager PM?
- planning
- reporting
- interpersonal skills
- clear progress monitoring and reporting
main factors PM should consider in planning?
-organisation
integration of actions and understanding critical influencers
-decisive to push key steps and ensure delivery
-flexibility and ability to cope with constant changes
main factors PM should consider in Reporting?
- Clear,concise and meticulous communicator
- Understanding legal connotations
- Expectation management
main Interpersonal skills that a PM should display?
- Leadership
- Anticipation
- Negotiation and persuasion
- Keep client happy!
main factors PM should consider when process monitoring and reporting?
- analytically thinking for monitoring
- Management for control
History of Project Management (3)
- Henry Gantt - visual aid for planning and control (Gantt chart)
- Henry Fayol - 14 principles of management 1916 are regarded as fundamentally universal
- US defence-aerospace industry - lead adoption of key PM techniques: PERT, CPM, EV, WBS, project-life cycle
What is CPM?
Critical path method - developed around 1957 it is an algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities
- (type of network diagram)
- CPM activity on arrow -1960
- CPM Activity on node - prefered
There are various network diagrams, what is the point of them?
-they provide a method of planning and control for complex projects which are problematic with several tasks taking place simultaneously
What is PERT?
Program Evaluation and Review Technique - 1956
-(type of network diagram)
The project life-cycle focuses on the wider picture and defines all interrelated activities, a project passes through 4 stages what are these?
- Concept and initiation
- Design and development
- implementation and construction
- commissioning and handover
The body of knowledge approach to project life-cycle can be further subdivided into a body of knowledge including (7) factors:
- input
- process
- key activities
- hold points
- milestones
- output
- approval
Product life-cycle is more of a creation to disposal approach to reviewing the project overview, the product life-cycle can be split into 4:
- Introduction
- Growth
- Maturity
- Decline
Level of Effort (project life-cycle) is expressed in terms of (2):
- Man hours
- Cost
Level of influence (project life-cycle), influence vs cost includes (2)
- The ability of stakeholders to influence design
- The potential to add value to the project
