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PMG506 Projects in Contemporary Organizations Assignment
PMG506, Projects, Contemporary, Organizations, Assignment
Introduction
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Project management provides an organization with powerful tools that improve its ability
to plan, implement, and control its activities as well as the ways in which it utilizes its
people and resources.
Project management has emerged because the characteristics of our contemporary
society demand the development of new methods of management. Of the many forces
involved, three are paramount: (1) the exponential expansion of human knowledge; (2)
the growing demand for a broad range of complex, sophisticated, customized goods
and services (3) the evolution of worldwide competitive markets for the production and
consumption
of goods and services
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Forces Fostering Project Management: First, the expansion of knowledge allows an
increasing number of academic disciplines to be used in solving problems associated
with the development, production, and distribution of goods and services. Second,
satisfying the continuing demand for more complex and customized products and
services depends on our ability to make product design an integrated and inherent part
of our production and distribution systems.
Third, worldwide markets force us to include cultural and environmental differences in
our managerial decisions about what, where, when, and how to produce and distribute
output.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Three Project Objectives: All undertakings have much in common, they are complex,
multidisciplinary, and have the same general objectives— performance (or scope), time,
and cost. We refer to these as “direct” project objectives or goals. The fourth dimension
is the expectations of the client. The expectations of client and project team should be
aligned and integrated throughout the entire project, but rarely are.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
The Project Manager: The project manager (PM) is expected to integrate all aspects of
the project, ensure that the proper knowledge and resources are available when and
where needed, and above all, ensure that the expected results are produced in a timely,
cost-effective manner.
The project manager’s job is not without problems. • There is the ever-present
frustration of being responsible for outcomes while lacking
full authority to command the requisite resources or personnel. • There are the constant
problems of dealing with the parties involved in any project—
senior management, client, project team, and public—all of whom seem to speak
different languages and have different objectives.
• There are the ceaseless organizational and technical “fires to be fought.” • There are
vendors who cannot seem to keep “lightning-strike-me-dead” promises
about delivery dates. This list of troubles only scratches the surface.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Trends in Project Management:
• Achieving Strategic Goals Projects that do not have clear ties to the strategy and
mission are terminated and their resources are redirected to those that do. • Achieving
Routine Goals This is because lower-level management has become aware that
projects accomplish their performance objectives within their budget and deadline, and
hope to employ this new tool to improve management of their functions. • improving
Project Effectiveness, The creation of a formal Project Management Office and the
evaluation of an organization’s project management “maturity”
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Trends in Project Management:
• Virtual Projects Team members may never physically meet before the team is
disbanded and another team reconstituted • Quasi-Projects The final performance (or
“scope”) requirements may not be understood, the time deadline unknown, and/or the
budget undetermined.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
1.1THE DEFINITION OF A “PROJECT” A project is “A temporary endeavor undertaken
to create a unique product, service or result”
project, program, task, and work packages. Program refer to an exceptionally large,
long-range objective that is broken down into a set of projects. These projects are
divided further into tasks, which are, in turn, split into work packages that are
themselves composed of work units.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Attributes that characterize projects: • Importance It must be important enough in the
eyes of senior management to justify setting up a special organizational unit outside the
routine structure of the organization. • Performance A project is usually a one-time
activity with a well-defined set of desired end results. Often, the project itself must be
coordinated with other projects being carried out by the same parent organization
• Life Cycle with a Finite Due Date From a slow beginning they progress to a build-up of
size, then peak, begin a decline, and finally must be terminated by some due date. •
Interdependencies Projects often interact with other projects being carried out
simultaneously by their parent organization.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Attributes that characterize projects: • Uniqueness Every project has some elements
that are unique. No two construction or R & D projects are precisely alike. • Resources
The attempt to obtain additional resources (or any resources) leads to the next attribute
conflict. • Conflict The PM must be expert in conflict resolution, but we will see later that
there are helpful types of conflict. The PM must recognize the difference.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Attributes that characterize projects: • Nonprojects and Quasi-Projects The use of a
manufacturing line to produce a flow of standard products is a nonproject. The
production of weekly employment reports, the preparation of school lunches, checking
your e-mail. They are all routine One common quasi-project in the information systems
area is where the project includes discovery of the scope or requirements of the task
itself (and possibly also the budget and deadline).
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
1.2 WHY PROJECT MANAGEMENT? The basic purpose for initiating a project is to
accomplish specific goals. The reason for organizing the task as a project is to focus the
responsibility and authority for the attainment of the goals on an individual or small
group. The project form of organization allows the manager to be responsive to:
(1) the client and the environment, (2) identify and correct problems at an early date, (3)
make timely decisions about trade-offs between conflicting project goals, (4) ensure that
managers of the separate tasks that comprise the project do not optimize the
performance of their individual tasks at the expense of the total project—that is, that
they do not suboptimize.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
1.2 WHY PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Advantages of using Project Management • Better control • Better customer relations •
Increase in their return on investment • Shorter development times • Lower costs •
Higher quality and reliability • Higher profit margins • Sharper orientation toward results •
Better interdepartmental coordination • Higher worker morale
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
1.2 WHY PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Disadvantages of using Project Management • Greater organizational complexity •
Organizational policy violation • Higher costs, • More management difficulties • Low
personnel utilization
The disadvantages seem to be the price one pays for the advantages. On the whole,
the balance weighs in favor of project organization if the work to be done is appropriate
for a project.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
1.3 THE PROJECT LIFE CYCLE Most projects go through similar stages on the path
from origin to completion, these stages are the project’s life cycle.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
There is a strong correlation between the life-cycle progress curve of Figure 1-3 and the
effort curve of Figure 1-4 because effort usually results in corresponding progress.
For the S-shaped life cycle in Figure 1-3, percentage of project completion is closely
correlated with cost, or the use of resources. However, for the exponential progress
curve in Figure 1-5, the expenditure of resources has little correlation with progress, at
least in terms of final benefit.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Risk During the Life Cycle: There may be considerable uncertainty about our ability to
meet project goals (performance, time, and cost). The crosshatched portion of Figure 1-
6 illustrates that uncertainty.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Figure 1-7 shows how the uncertainty decreases as the project moves toward
completion. From project start time, t0, the band of uncertainty grows until it is quite
wide by the estimated end of the project. As the project actually develops, the degree of
uncertainty about the final outcome is reduced. (See the estimate made at t1, for
example.) A later forecast, made at t2, reduces the uncertainty further. It is common to
make new forecasts about project performance, time, and cost either at fixed intervals in
the life of the project or when specific technological milestones are reached.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
1.4 THE STRUCTURE OF THIS TEXT This approach is consistent with our belief that it
is helpful to understand the entire process of project management in order to
understand and manage its parts.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Important takeaways • This chapter introduced the subject of project management and
discussed its
importance in our society. It defined what we mean by a “project,” discussed the need
for project management, and described the project life cycle.
• The three primary forces behind project management are (1) the growing demand for
complex, customized goods and services; (2) the exponential expansion of human
knowledge; and (3) the global production– consumption environment.
• The three prime objectives of project management are to meet specified performance
within cost and on schedule.
• Our terminology follows in this order: program, project, task, work package, work unit. •
Projects are characterized by their importance, specific end results, a definite life
cycle, complex interdependencies, some or all unique elements, limited resources, and
an environment of conflict.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Important takeaways • Project management, though not problem-free, is the best way to
accomplish certain
goals. • Projects often start slowly, build up speed while using considerable resources,
and
then slow down as completion nears.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Glossary Deliverables The desired elements of value, outcomes, or results that must be
delivered for a project to be considered complete. Interdependencies Relations between
organizational functions where one function or task is dependent on others.
Life Cycle A standard concept of a product or project wherein it goes through a start-up
phase, a building phase, a maturing phase, and a termination phase. Parties-at-Interest
Individuals or groups (the stakeholders) with a special interest in a project, usually the
project team, client, senior management, and specific public interest groups.
Program Often not distinguished from a project, but frequently meant to encompass a
group of similar projects oriented toward a specific goal. Project Management The
means, techniques, and concepts used to run a project and achieve its objectives.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
Glossary Risk The chance that project processes or outcomes will not occur as
planned. Suboptimize Doing the best within a function or area but at a cost to the larger
whole. Task A subset of a project, consisting of work packages. Technology The means
for accomplishing a task.
Trade-off Taking less on one measure, such as performance, in order to do better on
another, such as schedule or cost. Uncertainty Having only partial or no information
about the situation or outcomes, often due to ambiguity or complexity. Work Package A
subelement of a task at the lowest level in the Work Breakdown Structure, used to
assign costs and values.
Projects in Contemporary Organizations Lecture 1
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