Session 3: Poject Management Process

Learning Outcome
Understand the project management process.

Important Learning Terms

• Project Planning
• Project Scheduling
• Feasibility study
• Feasibility report

Project Planning
A major decision at the outset of any project is to decide upon the organization and composition of the project team. In so doing, it is worth remembering that many members will have dual responsibilities of involvement in the project in addition to a commitment to other projects or management of a functional area on a day-to-day basis. It is at this stage that a project manager should be appointed and responsibilities made explicit for all members of the team.
The selection of the team will be dependent upon the skill requirements of the project, and upon the matching of those skills to those possessed by individual members of the team. There may be a conflict here with hierarchical status.
The project management team will, therefore, begin its task in advance of project proper so that a plan can be developed. An important first step is to set the objectives and then define the project, breaking it down into a set of activities and related costs. It is probably too early to determine exact resource implications at this stage, but expected requirements for people, supplies and equipment should at least be estimated during the planning stage.

Project Scheduling
This phase is primarily concerned with attaching a timescale and sequence to the activities to be conducted within the project. Materials and people needed at each stage of the project are determined and the time each is to take will be set.
A popular and easy to use technique for scheduling is the use of Gantt charts. Gantt charts reflect time estimates and can be easily understood. Horizontal bars are drawn against a time scale for each project activity, the length of which represents the time taken to complete. Letters or symbols can also be added to the left of each bar to show which other activities need to be completed before that one can begin.

The Process of Project Management
Traditional approaches to project management have emphasised the procedures involved. This reflects an idea of project management which has emphasised physical resources and the use of analytical techniques such as network analysis. Another approach which has been found to be effective is much more people and organisation oriented and can be broken down into a series of steps:
a) Clarifying the nature of the project
b) Defining goals and objectives
c) Feasibility studies
d) Detailed organization of the project:
e) Project implementation and control

Clarifying the nature of the project
The following need to be established at the planning stage of the project:

• Resourcing,
• Management support,
• nature of team working; the balance, for example, between creativity and implementation skills,
• clarity of objectives.

Defining goals and objectives
The success criteria for the project need to be defined. We have already seen that there could be hard or soft.

Feasibility Studies
The basic questions to be asked are:

• Is the project feasible?
• How feasible are the alternatives under consideration?

The aim of the study would be to carry out a preliminary investigation which should help to determine whether the project should proceed further and how it should proceed.
The relevance of this approach will vary with the nature of the project itself. The more concrete the project is, the more likely that there will be established procedures in relation to feasibility. At the other end of the scale there will be less need for a feasibility study for an open project.

The project manager responsible for conducting the feasibility study would normally consider:
a) Cost: is this within the budget set by the organization or within the capabilities of the organization to finance it? How do the alternatives compare?
b) Timing: are there specific constraints on timing and is it possible to complete the project within these constraints?
c) Performance: will the project satisfy performance criteria which have been determined? Basically this means will it do the job it is designed to do?
d) Effect on the organization: is it feasible in the context of the organization and the effect, which it will have upon it?

a) Cost
Factors will be looked at through a financial appraisal. This should be related to financial criteria which have been determined. You need to consider whether the following criteria are relevant.
i) Capital expenditure implications:
• What are the costs of the project?
• If there are alternatives, what are the relative figures?
• What effects will this have upon the organization’s finances particularly the capital budget?
• How will it fit with controls imposed upon the organization by central government?
• How will the expenditure be financed? What are the alternatives?
ii) Revenue implications:
• How much will this cost both in the current year and in subsequent years?
• What are the likely gains in terms of income?
• What effect will this have upon the revenue budget?
The answers to these questions will determine the financial criteria upon which the feasibility will be judged.

b) Timing:
The project schedule may need to comply with specific criteria which have been laid down. Timing can be important:

• To comply with legal or governmental requirements. For example, new legislation or new requirements may need to be implemented by a certain date;
• For operational reasons. A new system may be required as a matter of organizational policy or to fit in with existing procedures and deadlines;
• To assist with financing arrangements. Grants or borrowing approvals may need to be spent within a specific period;
• To give the organization an edge over its competitors.

c) Performance specifications
These may be:

• Technical
• Service based
• Resulting from external regulations
• Required by clients and customers

d) Organizational context

• What is the policy of the organization?
• Organizational culture; does the project fit in with the general values and beliefs of the organization?
• How will it affect resourcing? (Are the skills, technology and physical space available?)
• How will the project fit in with existing procedures? What effect will it have upon systems?
  The actual questions asked and the shape of the study and the consequent report will depend upon the type of project being investigated.

Feasibility Report
The project manager will be responsible for reporting on feasibility to the sponsoring decision makers or stakeholders.

This may be done in a variety of ways and with different degrees of formality. Typical contents would include:

• project definition covering goals and objectives
• general background and introduction with an outline description of the options
• a clear definition of success criteria or feasibility criteria
• findings of the feasibility study
• financial appraisal
• preliminary compliance
• organizational suitability
• the plan for the management of the project including implementation

Project Implementation and Control
The role of the project manager falls into three areas:
i) Management of stakeholders
ii) Management of the project life cycle
iii) Management of performance
An approach needs to be developed for each of these. Control and monitoring procedures need to be put in place and appropriate information systems developed.

The procedures which are put into place can only be successful if:

• There is satisfactory information to enable the team to manage the project effectively;
• They are simple and easy to operate and understand;
• They have the full support of the project team

How should this relate to the three categories referred to above?

i) Management of stakeholders:
Stakeholders' interest must be monitored to ensure that:

• Their interest and support is maintained;
• Their views and ideas are being adequately reflected in the project development;
• Their personal success criteria are being pursued and achieved;
• Environmental change is fully taken into account.

ii) Management of the project life cycle:
This is probably the most conventional view of project control. Feedback systems need to be set up to monitor key areas.

iii) Management of performance:
This is the least tangible but possibly the most important of the three categories. How it is tackled will depend upon what kind of project is being carried out.

It is unlikely that the project team will spend all of their working time together in close proximity and under the direct supervision of the project manager. It is much more likely that they will work apart most of the time, only meeting up occasionally and only meeting with the project manager from time to time. Control issues that need to be considered therefore would be:

• How to get the best out of the team when they are together. If you are holding meetings then they should be purposeful and effective. They should not simply be part of the routine. Having said that, they may be an important element in binding the team together and in developing a team approach to planning and monitoring of performance.
• Ensuring people work when the team is apart. You need to set people realistic deadlines and ensure that they see the importance of their contribution and that their contribution is fully valued.
• Communications are important in terms of disseminating information and keeping everyone informed. There are views that team members should be given information on a need to know basis but this approach can cause problems.
• Ensuring continuing commitment by the team and adherence to the values and beliefs being pursued by the team.
• Change, in particular, needs to be communicated to team members quickly and effectively.
  It is important to stress once again the need to look at the team and also for the project leader to look inwards at his or her own performance.

Funding the Project
This will be determined by:
a) The nature of the project
b) The nature of the organization

The nature of the Project
A major capital scheme will call for a large injection of new finance into the organisation. A management project can often be managed by using existing staffing resources. However it should not be forgotten that there is an opportunity cost to this.

The nature of the organization
Companies can use a variety of resources for capital projects.

• Share issues
• Long term loans
• Leasing

The ability of companies to raise finance will depend upon the perceptions of lenders of money. Public Sector organisations are often restricted in their sources of finance by government regulations.

Human Factors
Good management practices, clear responsibilities for tasks, and accurate and timely reporting systems are the most essential qualities for successful project completions. The watchword is that useful as these techniques are, they are only tools to assist the manager in making better, more calculated decisions in the process of conducting large scale projects.

So far little mention has been made of the human issues involved in the management of projects.

Questions for Discussion

1. Describe what is involved in each of the project management process
2. Does the processes depend on each other? Why or why not?
3. Why do you think a company would think of putting some of its activities in a project? What advantages or disadvantages this have to the company undertakings.
4. In what way are investment decisions different in a business oriented firm and a government?
5. With reference to any project you know discuss what were the project objectives, management and implementation of the project including the planning, scheduling and controlling techniques, and any problems encountered during implementation and how they were dealt with.
6. What factors would you consider when selecting members of a project team, how would you motivate them if you are project manager?
7. Why do you think a company would think of putting some of its activities in a project? What advantages or disadvantages this have to the company undertakings.