Project Management Process

By
Engr. Attaullah Shah
BSc Civil Engg, MSc Str Engg, MSc. Envir Design, MA Eco, MBA, PGD Comp Sc.
PhD Scholar UET Taxila.

Project Director AIOU- Islamabad.

E-mail: pd@aiou.edu.pk
pdaiou@yahoo.com
Website: www.aiou.edu.pk

What is a Project?
An endeavor to create a Unique Product or Service.

A unique one time effort bound by cost, time and

resources/technical performance ( CST) and has defined objectives
to satisfy the customer needs.

Project is an undertaking having definite objectives, and specific

beginning and ending points, limited budgets, defined scope.

Sum of certain activities and tasks required to be performed in a

specified period of time with human and non-human resources for
specified objectives.
( Is your training a project? )

Project is a one time non-routine opportunity to develop a new

product.
To satisfy the customer to achieve the organizational objectives.
To be completed with in
Allocated budget.
Scheduled Time.
Approved Technical Performance.
Approved and agreed Scope of Work.
Without any change in the existing culture.

Project Life-Cycle

Project Planning( Pre-Investment Studies):

Project Opportunity Analysis ( Identification)
Project Selection & Problem analysis.
Project Pre-feasibility studies.
Project Feasibility Studies
Preliminary Design
Cost Estimation.
Implementation ( Investment Phase)

Detailed Design.
Pre-qualification of bidders
Tendering & Negotiation
Construction and developing the facility
Test
Deployment
Operation
Commissioning

Up-keeping ( Preventive)
Adoptive Maintenance ( Project Integration).
Enhancement
Decommission

Maintenance.

What is management?
The process of Planning, Organizing, Staffing, controlling and
leading.

Project management:
The art of Directing and coordinating the human and non human
Resources throughout the life of project by using modern
Management techniques to achieve pre-determined objectives of
scope, cost, time, quality and participants satisfaction.
( Project Management Institute America)

Project management includes:

Project Appraisal

( Before Commencement of Project PC-I, PC-II).

-

Project monitoring.

( During Execution of the Projects PC-III)

-

Project Evaluation

( After Completion of the projects. PC-IV,PC-V)

Different Forms used by

Planning Commission of Pakistan.
PC-I Forms
- Production Sectors - Infrastructure Sectors
- Social Sectors.
PC-II Form
Survey and Feasibility Studies.
PC-III Form
PC-III (A) form for Physical Targets based on
PSDP Allocations & Activity Chart. PC-III(B) Monthly
Progress Reporting.
PC-IV Form
Project Completion Report.
PC-V Form
Annual Performance Report After Completion of Project

Assessing Project Feasibility

You need to calculate Nine categories

of feasibility:
Economic
Financial
Operational & Technical
Schedule
Legal and contractual
Political
Marketing
Ethical
Environmental

Project Appraisal.

Technical Analysis
The analysis for determining the technical viability of
the development project is based on the technical data
and information given in the PC-I form as well as the
earlier experience of carrying out similar projects.
Institutional/Organizational/Managerial Analysis
A whole range of issues in project preparation revolves
around the overlapping institutional, organizational and
managerial aspects of the project.
Social Analysis
Social analysis is undertaken to examine the aspects
like employment opportunities and income distribution.

Commercial Analysis
The commercial aspects of a project include the
arrangements for marketing the output produced
by the project and the arrangement for the
supply of inputs needed to build and operate the
project
Financial Analysis
Financial analysis involves assessment of
financial impact, judgment of efficient resource
use, assessment of incentives, provision of a
sound financing plan, coordination of financial
contribution and assessment of financial
management competence.

Assessing Economic Feasibility

Determine Tangible Costs

Can easily be measured in dollars

Determine Tangible One-Time Costs

Associated with project startup, initiation
and development
Includes
System Development
New hardware and software purchases
User training
Site preparation
Data or system conversion

Assessing Economic Feasibility

Time value of money (TVM)

Process of comparing present cash outlays

to future expected returns
Calculate net present value (NPV)

Break even analysis

When will project break even

(costs=benefits)

Assessing Economic Feasibility

Determine Tangible Recurring Costs

Associated with on-going use of system

Includes:
Application software maintenance
Incremental data storage expense
New software and hardware releases
Consumable supplies

Determine Intangible Costs

Cannot be easily measured in dollars

Examples:
Loss of customer goodwill
Loss of employee morale

Assessing Economic Feasibility

Determine Intangible Benefits

Cannot be measured easily
Examples

Increased employee morale

Competitive necessity
More timely information
Promotion of organizational learning and
understanding

Assessing Other Project

Feasibility Concerns

Remaining are specific intangible

costs
Operational Feasibility

How likely is it that system can be used to

meet desired objectives? (e.g., functional
illiterate line workers make up 90% of
production staffcan proposed system work
at our facility?)

Technical Feasibility

Assessment of development organizations

ability to construct a proposed system

Assessing Other Project

Feasibility Concerns

Schedule Feasibility
Assessment of timeframe and project
completion dates with respect to
organization constraints for affecting
change

Legal and Contractual Feasibility

Assessment of legal and contractual
ramifications of new system (e.g., does
it violate the union contract?)

Assessing Other Project

Feasibility Concerns

Political Feasibility

Assessment of view of key stakeholders in

organization toward proposed system (e.g.,
How will this affect morale? Will we see a
worker slowdown in other areas?)

Ethical Feasibility

Are there issues that are inconsistent with

corporate ethics and goals even if legal (e.g.,
lots of e-waste?)

With above analyses, firm can rank order

project and determine if it should be done
via prioritization

Product Development Map

Project Management Processes

Project Management Data Flow Diagram

Start Up Project

Review lessons learned

Establish key success criteria
Plan the project
Develop the Integrated Management
Plan
Review risks and opportunities
Assemble the project team
Launch the project.

Project Management Processes

Plan Project - Gantt and Network Charts

List all activities The contract is your guide!

Activities should have defined deliveries and be a few weeks
duration
Estimate duration, level of effort and material spend for each
activity
Connect activities with minimum dependency logic can start
at the end and work back to the start
Keep plans simple e.g. use a hierarchy for more than 30
tasks
Rolling plan on long projects add detail as you go
Add resources to chart and level usage by adjusting the start
time of non-critical tasks
Review and baseline plans and budgets
Determine critical path and sit on it!
Use a planning tool to ease task of producing and keeping project
plans and reports up to date

The Project Management Jargon

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

What is to be done in Work Packages
Work Packages relate to cost collection
points

Organisational Breakdown Structure

(OBS)
Who will do it

Earned Value Management (EVM)

Objective reporting of progress and
variances to plan

Plan Project
OBS
Eng

CONTRAC
T
Specs
SOW

ANO
ANO
ANO

QA

Ops

XNO
XNO
XNO

Team A
Team B

Who
What

WBS
A Sample
Design

Manufacture
Hardware

B Sample
Design
Software

Responsibility
Assignment
Matrix

Logic network How

Wri te URD
St art: 23 /11/ 05

ID: 3

Fi nish : 06 /12 /05

Du r: 1 0 d ays

Re s:

Abstract Mo d el So lu tio n s

Wri te SRD

St art: 07 /12/ 05

ID: 4

St art: 28 /12/ 05

ID: 5

Fi nish : 27 /12 /05

Du r: 1 5 d ays

Fi nish : 24 /01 /06

Du r: 2 0 d ays

Re s:

Re s:

Plan Project

Wri te Co mp o n en t Desi g n Sp ecs

Comp o n en t Desi gn

St art: 25 /01/ 06

ID: 7

St art: 01 /02/ 06

ID: 8

Fi nish : 31 /01 /06

Du r: 5 da ys

Fi nish : 28 /02 /06

Du r: 2 0 d ays

Re s:

Re s:

Wri te Archi tect ure TS

St art: 25 /01/ 06

ID: 1 5

Fi nish : 30 /01 /06

Du r: 4 da ys

Re s:

Wri te ICDS
St art: 28 /12/ 05

ID: 6

Fi nish : 03 /01 /06

Du r: 5 da ys

Re s:

Wri te ST S
St art: 07 /12/ 05

ID: 1 9

Fi nish : 13 /12 /05

Du r: 5 da ys

Re s:

Project
Reports
Gantt When
ID
1

Task Name

Elicit User Requirements

Write URD

Abstract Model Solutions

Write SRD

Write ICDS

Write Component Design Specs

Component Design

Design & Bulid Component

10

Write Component TS

11

Perform Component T

12

Write Component TR

13

Integrate Components V1

14

Integrate Componenets v 2

15

Write Architecture TS

16

Perform Integration T V1

17

Perform Integration T V2

18

Write ITR

19

Write STS

20

Perform ST

21

Write STR

EVM
Resource

Nov ember
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
07/11 21/11 05/12 19/12 02/01 16/01 30/01 13/02 27/02 13/03 27/03 10/04 24/04 08/05 22/05 05/06 19/06 03/07 17/07 31/07 14/08 28/08

RS

W
P
k

Per
cen
t

I
d
1

A Sample Design

20

59

Software Design

36

Code

32

U Test

23

Integrate

33

14

RF design

25

14

Implement

19

RF Test

11

Project Management Processes

Monitor and Control

Use this process regularly

Update plans, actual costs,

risks and opportunities,
performance metrics
Seek feedback from
customer
Review these internally
with the project
Review these with senior
management

Deming Cycle

Monitor and Control

Update plan, look forward obtain an estimate to
complete for each activity (not percentage
completed)
ID
1

Task Name

Elicit User Requirements

Write URD

Abstract Model Solutions

Write SRD

Write ICDS

Write Component Design Specs

Component Design

Design & Bulid Component

10

Write Component TS

11

Perform Component T

12

Write Component TR

13

Integrate Components V1

14

Integrate Componenets v 2

15

Write Architecture TS

16

Perform Integration T V1

17

Perform Integration T V2

18

Write ITR

19

Write STS

20

Perform ST

21

Write STR

Nov ember

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Earned Value Management

Costs
RS

Risk
Budget

Planned
Value PV
Actual Cost AC
CV

SV

Earned
Value EV

T now

Time

end

Schedule Variance (RS) = EV - PV

Cost Variance (RS) = EV - AC

Estimate
To
Complete

Project Evaluation Flowchart

Office/Historical Data Collection
Initial Site Visit
Primary Field Survey
Initial Data Analysis
Secondary Field Survey

Laboratory Materials Characterization

Secondary Data Analysis

Structural Capacity Analysis

The Elements of a
Successful Proposal

# 1:The title

Choose a title that

conveys information
about your project.

Avoid acronyms that

have negative
connotations.
Make it Brief

# 2: The abstract

This is the first (and

could be the only) part
of the proposal that a
busy reviewer will see.
The abstract should be
a map of the rest of the
proposal.
Write the abstract last
to make sure it reflects
the final version of the
proposal.

# 3: Problem statement

Provide a clear objective

statement of the
problem.
Describe the factors
that have contributed
to the problem.
Describe what has and
has not worked in the
past.
Indicate what needs to
be done (by you) now.

# 4: The rationale
Never assume the
proposal reviewer
knows what you know.

Convince the reviewer

that the problem is
IMPORTANT!

Persuasive rationales
Describe how the project will

Resolve theoretical questions

Develop better theoretical
models
Influence public policy
Improve teaching/learning
Improve the way people do
their jobs in a particular
field
Improve the way people live

#5: Literature review

Display your
awareness of the
problem or need as
well as the
contributions that
have been made by
otherssome of
whom may be
reviewers of your
proposal!

Show you understand

the problem!

Use the Funding Agencies Terms and Vocabulary to Describe

the Problem.

Provide the most recent data and/or information about the

problem.

Describe the gaps and contradictions that currently exist.

Show you know the solution!

Describe a solution to improve the situation.

Back up your solution with data if possible.
Quote or cite well known authorities on the
topic.

# 6: Project design

Goals, Objectives and Activities Should Always

Relate to One Another

Program elements
Goals:
Broad Statements of Intent

Objectives:
Measurable Outcome Statements

Activities:
Implementation Steps

Well written objectives

State Who is
Responsible
State What is to be
Accomplished.
State When the
Objective should be
Accomplished
State a Criterion for
Success

Well written activities

Focus on How the

objective is to be
accomplished.

Use Action words,

e.g., recruit, analyze,
evaluate,
disseminate

Research methods

State your research

questions clearly
Choose an appropriate
research design
Detail all procedures
Control for validity and
reliability
Describe limitations
Answer reviewers
questions before they
are asked!

# 8: Key personnel
Describe the people
that will help to make
decisions in how the
project is carried out.
Provide a description of
their background,
training, and expertise.
Highlight everyones
accomplishmentsthis
is not the time to be
modest!

# 9: Facilities & resources

Describe where the
project will be
conducted.
Describe any special
equipment or resources
you will have access to.
Describe any special
capabilities or
experiences possessed
by your agency to carry
out the project.

# 10: Budget
Ask for the funds that
you need to be
successful, but do not
pad your budget.
Be aware that proposal
reviewers know how
much things cost!
If you ask for too little
money to do the work
you propose, you will
appear nave and
inexperienced.

# 11: Time lines

Sponsored project
activities can take
longer than anticipated.
Do not propose to do too
much in any given
project period.
Develop a time line for
the reviewer.

#12: Evaluation

Describe how you will find out if

your project is working.
Describe how you will know if
you have succeeded when the
project is over.
Describe how you will adjust
your procedures and timelines to
deal with real life events.
Tell the proposal reviewers who
will conduct the evaluation and
review the information
collected.

#13: Dissemination

Inform the proposal

reviewers of the
dissemination strategies that
you will use and the
audiences that will receive
information on your findings.
Information about your
project can be disseminated
via articles in peer reviewed
journals and presentations at
professional conferences.

#14: Continuation funding

Sponsored Projects
are of limited
duration, e.g., 1 to 3
years
Plan your next
project before the
current project
ends!

#15: Follow through

Keep your program

officer in mind: send
copies of all publications
and media coverage
related to your project.
Network with others:
Look for ways to
collaborate on future
projects.

Some Funny Quotes of Project Managers

As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building

using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next
Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.
What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will
encounter.
E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should
be used only to be used for company business.
Turnover is good for the company, as it proves that we are doing a
good job in training people.
This project is so important, we can't let things that are more
important interfere with it.
Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule.
No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've
been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for a few weeks
and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them