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Project management involves the careful planning and organizational effort to accomplish a successful project. It also involves developing a strategy that outlines the objective and desired outcomes of the project and a plan to achieve the objective, given the resource constraints. Any project, large or small, requires a set of tools and techniques to be successful.
Team Engagement
Selecting the right people for the right tasks is one of the determining factors of a successful project. Diversity within a team is common. Therefore, it is your responsibility as an efficient manager to assign tasks to team members according to their skills and capabilities. Understand your resources' strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. This will enable you to accurately select which tasks are best suited for your resources.
Time Assessment
Successful project management involves successful execution of many small tasks in a particular period. Assigning the time frame for each task is essential not only for the team to be focused but also for you as a manager to monitor the progress of the project. Deadlines are critical and hold your team accountable for completing the project on time. Use deadlines and emphasize their importance.
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Technical
Project management technical requirements include the elements of project strategy, implementation, initiation and documentation. Technical requirements outline the order in which projects are analyzed from start to finish while also providing procedural guidance for adjustments that could be related to cost or other unseen factors. A strong project management function with technical requirements can save an organization money, time and resources when developing a project.
Project Planning
The first technical requirement of project management is to establish project planning standards. The role of management at this step is to develop project plans to analyze project resources, identification and risks. Plans should highlight and describe management system processes (organizational management), benefits and weaknesses, information management resources and network requirements. At this level, project goals are established and communicated throughout the organization.
Configuration Management
Configuration management is a controller function that monitors abrupt changes or delays in a project management plan. When a problem has occurred during a project that may cause delays in the project, this technical requirement analyzes the baseline needs of the project and suggests alternate plans to avoid disruption.
Quality Assurance
At every step of a project management plan, quality assurance should be implemented to ensure those involved are following procedures. Every technical requirement should have a quality assurance inspection or audit checklist to review different processes of the plan. For example, the construction of a new highway must have quality assurance modules implemented in the area of construction and public safety. Quality assurance checks are typically written and documented into the start phase of each project.
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Documentation
Documentation includes descriptions of current systems, procedures, amendments and the use of information systems in a project management environment. Without documentation, there is no reference or history of activities of project development. Documentation can be used as a resource to help project managers or engineers understand the "big picture" of the project and where certain activities fit. Documentation also includes exception reports, which provide personnel with "what if" and "decision support" information. Automated programs can provide various PERT or Gannt charts to document project timelines and statistics.
Delivery Constraints
Deliverables submitted for approval will require working days for review. There is no limit to review and approval cycles. Equipment order lead times cannot be specified with accuracy.
Environmental Constraints
The development or operating environment is new, and no project staff members are familiar with it. Key decision-makers are difficult to contact when issues arise. The project does not have a customer project manager (or executive sponsor, or steering committee) The project environment is new and the components have not yet been successfully integrated. The project depends upon the successful and timely completion of associated projects.
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Budgetary Constraints
Statistics used in preparing the estimates are unreliable. Outside consulting requirements cannot be accurately estimated.
Functionality Constraints
The scope of the project is unclear. The project depends upon receiving data from other, external applications.
One of the critical factors for project success is having a well-developed project plan. This article provides a 10-step approach to creating the project plan, not only showing how it provides a roadmap for project managers to follow, but also exploring why it is the project manager's premier communications and control tool throughout the project.
Step 1. Explain the project plan to key stakeholders and discuss its key components.
One of the most misunderstood terms in project management, the project plan is a set of living documents that can be expected to change over the life of the project. Like a roadmap, it provides the direction for the project. And like the traveler, the project manager needs to set the course for the project, which in project management terms means creating the project plan. Just as a driver may encounter road construction or new routes to the final destination, the project manager may need to correct the project course as well. A common misconception is that the plan equates to the project timeline, which is only one of the many components of the plan. The project plan is the major work product from the entire planning process, so it contains all the planning documents for the project. Typically many of the project's key stakeholders, that is those affected by both the project and the project's end result, do not fully understand the nature of the project plan. Since one of the most important and difficult aspects of project management is getting commitment and buying, the first step is to explain the planning process and the project plan to all key stakeholders. It is essential for them to understand the importance of this set of documents and to be familiar with its content, since they will be asked to review and approve the documents that pertain to them.
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Baseline management plans: These plans include documentation on how variances to the baselines will be handled throughout the project. Each project baseline will need to be reviewed and managed. A result of this process may include the need to do additional planning, with the possibility that the baseline(s) will change. Project management plans document what the project team will do when variances to the baselines occur, including what process will be followed, who will be notified, how the changes will be funded, etc. Other work products from the planning process. These include a risk management plan, a quality plan, a procurement plan, a staffing plan, and a communications plan
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It can be treated like a contract between the project manager and sponsor, one that can only be changed with sponsor approval.
The WBS is often thought of as a task breakdown, but activities and tasks are a separate breakdown, identified in the next step.
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Identify resources for each task, if known. Estimate how long it will take to complete each task. Estimate cost of each task, using an average hourly rate for each resource. Consider resource constraints, or how much time each resource can realistically devoted to this project. Determine which tasks are dependent on other tasks, and develop critical path. Develop schedule, which is a calendarization of all the tasks and estimates. It shows by chosen time period (week, month, quarter, or year) which resource is doing which tasks, how much time they are expected to spend on each task, and when each task is scheduled to begin and end. Develop the cost baseline, which is a time-phased budget, or cost by time period.
This process is not a one-time effort. Throughout the project you will most likely be adding to repeating some or all of these steps.
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change in sponsorship in the next few months. Analyzing risks includes making a determination of both the probability that a specific event may occur and if it does, assessing its impact. The quantification of both the probability and impact will lead to determining which the highest risks that need attention are. Risk management includes not just assessing the risk, but developing risk management plans to understand and communicate how the team will respond to the high-risk events.
For complex projects, a formal communications matrix is a tool that can help determine some of the above criteria. It helps document the project team's agreed-on method for communicating various aspects of the project, such as routine status, problem resolution, decisions, etc. Once the project plan is complete, it is important not just to communicate the importance of the project plan to the sponsor, but also to communicate its contents once it's created. This communication should include such things as: Review and approval of the project plan. Process for changing the contents of the plan. Next stepsexecuting and controlling the roles/responsibilities in the upcoming phases.
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Construction work
Construction Work is classified as (I) Light construction (II) Heavy construction (III) Industrial construction I. II. Light construction works are works with light structural members. E.g. Residential buildings, Schools etc. Heavy construction works are the works with heavy structural members on massive foundations and these require heavy machinery and equipment E.g. Bridge, Dams, Railways etc. Industrial construction works are the works related to industries, which needs special equipment and skills. E.g. Oil refineries, Steel mills, Atomic reactors etc.
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Stages of construction
Stage 1. Stage 2. Conception Study and evaluation Construction work 8
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Project Planning and Project Scheduling are accomplished before the actual project starts. Project Controlling is operative during the execution of the project and its aim is to recognize the difficulties during the execution and to apply corrective measures to deal with these difficulties.
I. Project Planning
Planning is the most important phase of the project management. Planning involves defining objectives of the project, listing of tasks or jobs that must be performed, determining gross requirements of materials, equipment and manpower and preparing estimates of costs and durations for various jobs or activities to bring about the satisfactory completion of the project.
Importance of Planning
It provides direction. It provides unifying framework. It helps to reveal future opportunities and threats. It provides performance standards. Plan is made strategies are set, taking into consideration the companys policies procedures and rules.
Plan
It is interpreted in terms of what has to be done to resources to achieve the intent. The resources to be used may be office staff, labor, materials, plant and machinery, space and funds. Plans simply list goals (target) and define the means of achieving them.
Strategies
Strategies are one important type of plan. It specifies the central concept or purpose of the enterprise as well as the means by which it intends to carry that purpose.
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Procedures specify how to proceed in some situation. A rule is even more specific guide for action. Plan should be finalized at strategies should be set only after taking into considerations the companys policies, procedures and rules.
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Project Scheduling
Scheduling is the allocation of resources. These resources are time, space, equipment and manpower applied to material. Scheduling is the layout of the actual activities of the project in time order in which they are to be performed and calculating the manpower and material requirements needed at each stage of project work along with the expected completion time of each activity.
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Project Controlling
Project control is the formal mechanism established to determine deviations from the basic plan, to determine the precise effect of these deviations on the plan and to apply corrective measures to compensate for the deviations.
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Decision Making
Decision making is a daily activity for any human being. There is no exception about that. When it comes to business organizations, decision making is a habit and a process as well. Effective and successful decisions make profit to the company and unsuccessful ones make losses. Therefore, corporate decision making process is the most critical process in any organization. In the decision making process, we choose one course of action from a few possible alternatives. In the process of decision making, we may use many tools, techniques and perceptions. In addition, we may make our own private decisions or may prefer a collective decision. Usually, decision making is hard. Majority of corporate decisions involve some level of dissatisfaction or conflict with another party.
Decision Making
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Resources
In running a project there is a basic need of resources. These resources can be classified as Material Resources (WHAT)(Including financial resources) Equipment Resources (HOW) Space Resources (WHERE) Effort or Manpower resources (WHO) Time Resources (WHEN)
Resources are the starting point of many problems that have to be solved by the manager in the planning phase, before proceeding for scheduling phase of the project.
Resources
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