What Is Project Management Process

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

A project is a temporary exertion started to create an exclusive product or a service. A project is any work that happens only once, has a clear beginning and end, and is intended to create a unique product or knowledge. It may involve only one person, or thousands. It may last several days, or many years. It may be undertaken by a single organization, or by an alliance of several stakeholders.

A project can be defined as a systematized work towards a pre-defined goal or objective that obliges effort, a unique venture having a budget and schedule.

Characteristics of a project can be definite as below:

Projects are momentary

A project is an exclusive movement: each one will defer from every other in some admiration

Projects require the determination of people

Projects have financial statements , like budgets , resources

Projects have detailed intentions to achieve

Projects involve assets, frequently from innumerable areas

Projects have schedules

Contains hesitation

Methods of superiority will apply

Should have a primary sponsor and/or customer

1.2 What is Project Management?

The final goal of a project is to crop a product or a service. To achieve high quality result, a project would be controlled, sustained and managed properly. Project management is the submission of acquaintance, abilities, tools and techniques to project accomplishments in order to encounter or exceed investor or stakeholder needs and prospects of a project. The project manager, sometimes referred to as the project co-ordinate or leader, manages the details of the project on a day-to-day basis

The need for project management was driven by businesses that realized the benefits of organizing work around projects and the critical need to communicate and co-ordinate work across departments and professions.

Figure 1.1 – project management framework

1.3 Project management processes

There are five main processes in the project management life cycle. They are

Initiating process

Planning process

Execution process

Controlling process

Closing process

Initiation process

In this phase, the assigning of a project manager is done. Then other main initiation activities such as identifying key stakeholders and creating a project charter and getting them signed by the relevant authorities also takes place in this phase.

Planning process

In this phase, creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) is done. A project schedule, in the form of a Gantt chart is created with all dependencies and resources entered in it. A team contract, a scope statement and a list of potential risks is also created in this phase.

Execution process

This is the phase that is the most time consuming out of all the other phases. The main outcome of this phase is the main product or the service.

Controlling process

This phase ensures that the project doesn’t deviate from its main scope. This phase is conducted parallel along with other phases. Planning, error handling, monitoring and controlling happens in this phase.

Closing process

Project can be closed even though it is not yet completed. In this phase, the termination of projects happens. Post-project documents are created in this phase.

Below is a graph of how the above mentioned processes interact with the life time of the project.

1.4 Advantages of project management

Increase in Quality

Improved customer relations

Enhanced effectiveness in delivering services

Better efficiency in delivering services

Higher profit margins

Improved/increased/enhanced customer satisfaction.

Increased risk assessment

Better control of financial, physical, and human resources

Higher quality and increased reliability

Improved productivity

Better internal coordination

Higher worker morale (less stress)1.5 Project management knowledge areas.

Knowledge Area

Tasks Performed

Tools and Techniques

Integration management

Developing Project Charter, Developing Preliminary Scope Statement, Develop Project Management Plan, How to Direct and Manage Project Execution, How to Monitor and Control my project related work, How to deal changes with Integrated Change Control, Closing a Project.

Project selection methods, project management methodology, stake holder analysis, project charters, project management planes, project management software, project review meeting.

Scope management

Scope Planning, Scope Definition, WBS, Scope Verification, Scope Control.

Project scope statements, work break down structures, scope management plane

Time management

Activity Definition, Activity Sequencing, Activity Resource Estimating, Activity Duration Estimating, Schedule Development, Schedule Control.

Gantt charts, project network diagrams, critical path analysis, program evaluation review techniques.

Cost management

Cost Estimating.

Cost Budgeting.

Cost Control.

Net present value, return on investment, pay back analysis, business cases, earned value management.

Quality management

Quality Planning.

Perform Quality Assurance.

Perform Quality Control.

Six sigma, quality control charts, praetor diagrams, business case, earned value management, project cost estimation.

Human resource management

Human Resource Planning.

Acquire Project Team.

Develop Project Team.

Manage Project Team.

Motivation techniques, empathetic listening, pareto diagrams, fishbone or ishikawa diagrams

Communication management

Communications Planning.

Information Distribution.

Performance Reporting.

Manage Stakeholders.

Communication management planes, management plan, status report, virtual communication, templates.

Procurement management

Plan Purchase and Acquisitions, Select Sellers, Contract Administration, Contract Closure.

Contracts, request for proposals or quotes, source selection.

Risk management

Risk Management Planning.

Risk Identification.

Qualitative Risk Analysis. Risk Monitoring and Control.

Risk management plan, risk ranking

1.6 Project Management Principles

1. Measures of success must be pre-determined

The goal of project management is to produce a successful product. Without achieving a successful product there is no merit in incurring the project management overhead cost. The customer will be interested in benefiting from the project outcome whilst the team members will be seeking success from the process. Success criteria can also change over time, and the fact that the original objectives were not achieved does not necessarily define project ’failure’.

2. The Commitment Principle

A mutually acceptable commitment between a project sponsor and a project team must exist before a viable project exists.

A project sponsor is a knowledgeable person representing the eventual owner of the product of the project and who is responsible for providing the necessary resources (money, goods, services, and general direction, as appropriate.)

A project team is a knowledgeable and qualified group able and willing to undertake the work of the project.

A mutually acceptable commitment is one in which there is agreement on the goals and objectives of the project in terms of the product’s scope, quality grade, time to completion and final cost.

3. The Tetrad-Tradeoff Principle

The core variables of the project management process, namely: product scope, quality grade, time-to-produce and cost-to-complete must all be mutually consistent. The core variables of scope, quality, time and cost are interrelated somewhat similar to a four-cornered frame with flexible joints. One corner can be anchored and another moved, but not without affecting the other two.

4. The Primary Communication Channel (or Unity-of-Command) Principle

A single channel of communication must exist between the project sponsor and the project team leader for all decisions affecting the product of the project. This principle is necessary for the effective and efficient administration of the project commitment. The owner of the eventual product, if represented by more than one person, must nevertheless speak with one voice. Similarly, at any given time, the project’s team must have a single point of responsibility, a project manager, for the work of the project. Such person must have the skills, experience, dedication, commitment, authority and tenacity to lead the project to success.

5. The Cultural Environment (or Suitability) Principle

An informed management must provide a supportive cultural environment to enable the project team to produce its best work.

An informed management is one which understands the project management process.

A supportive cultural environment is one in which the project is clearly backed by management, and project team members are enabled to produce their best work without unnecessary bureaucratic hindrance.

This principle includes the need for management to ensure that the leadership profile and management style are suited to both the type of project and its phase in the project life-cycle.

6. The Process Principle

Effective and efficient policies and procedures must be in place for the conduct of the project commitment. Such policies and procedures must cover, at a minimum, clear roles and responsibilities, delegation of authority, and processes for managing the scope of work, including changes, maintenance of quality, and schedule and cost control.

7. The Life-Cycle Principle

A successful project management process relies on two activities – planning first, and then doing. These two sequential activities form the basis of every project life-cycle, and can be expanded to suit the control requirements of every type of project in every area of project management application. The project life-cycle, characterized by a series of ‘milestones’ determines when the project starts, the ‘control gates’ through which it must pass, and when the project is finished.

1.7 Project management procedures

Getting approval and endorsement

Initially before beginning a project, a report should be created with the details of project description, scope and objectives, benefits, stakeholders, resources and cost estimation. This report should be approved and signed by the higher management before proceeding with further tasks of the project.

Assigning a sponsor for the project

Once the approval for the project is granted, the next step is to assign a sponsor for the project. The sponsor should be a senior manager having financial and organizational power to act quickly and decisively in the overall governance of the project.

Assigning a project manager

The next procedure is, assigning a project manager. Since the project manager is the most responsible person for managing and leading the project towards success, it is important to assign a project manager with higher skills and experience in the field.

Define Scope and Objectives

The project scope defines the boundaries in which the objectives must be achieved. The project manager and the project sponsor along with the higher management should collaboratively define the project scope and objective.

Identify Success Criteria

Project success is determined from the desired outcomes of delivering quality results, meeting budget and schedule, and providing customer satisfaction. After identifying the criteria it should be categorized according to the importance of them.

Develop Project Schedule

A higher level project schedule should be prepared in order to further proceed. The schedule should include a work breakdown structure with major tasks, project milestones and key deliverables together with their estimated dates, and the scheduled project completion date.

Allocate Project Team

This is an important procedure of the project. Identifying required skills and assigning appropriate people for them is done in this procedure. It is useful to obtain a written agreement from the appropriate Manager or Director specifying a particular team member’s availability to work on the project.

Review Project Cost Estimates

In time by time we have to estimate cost according to the reports and expectations of the project. If a revised estimate differs significantly from the approved project budget, the Project Sponsor should be alerted. In some cases aspects of the project may need to be modified, e.g. the project scope reduced, the approach redefined or resources reallocated. The Project Sponsor should provide guidelines to the Project Manager as to the circumstances when they need to be informed, e.g. by indicating a percentage cost overrun.

Develop Risk Management Plan

Project risk factors should be identified, analyzed and prioritized in order to determine the actions required to reduce or constrain the risk before the project commences. The risk is also changed according to the progress of the project. It should be reviewed on an ongoing basis. The Risk Management Plan should include a description of the risk, the impact of the risk on the project, and the actions that can be taken to mitigate the risk.

Establish Reporting Procedures

This is regarding about the reports that are made by the stakeholders of the project. Here the important reports should be provided to the higher management.

Formal reporting by the project manager to the sponsor or the senior management can be included following topics.

General status including an overview of all phases

Tasks completed and milestones achieved, as well as the completed percentage of tasks which are in progress

Planned tasks and estimated completion dates

Changes in scope, objectives, timelines, costs or personnel

Outstanding issues, and any impacts which may result from them

The results of action items which may have been identified in the last report, or at the previous Steering Committee meeting

The results of any Quality Assurance reviews which have been undertaken

Actual costs versus budget allocation.

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Develop Project Execution Plan

Here the WBS is taken in to consideration. It means that it is defined the sequential of project tasks, dependencies, and allocating resources. As well as it is identified the critical path and cost estimation can be done according to the outputs.

Perform Project Tasks

Once the specifications have been documented and agreed on, the development project work commences. Depending on the type of project, this could include programming, configuring and implementing a software package, reengineering business processes, building a database, upgrading a network infrastructure, etc. At this point the project manager should stay closely.

Develop Testing Plan

A Testing Plan should be prepared in advance of the testing activity. The Testing Plan should cover the types of testing to be conducted, and will vary according to the type of project. E.g. unit testing, system testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing.

Develop Training Plan

When a new product or system is implemented, the clients usually need to be trained in its operations. A Training Plan should be developed to ensure the training is conducted in a timely and effective manner.

Implement Project

It is essential that all key project people are available to perform their allocated tasks, and that a detailed step by step plan has been developed and is followed. Once the system, product or service is installed, a final test should be conducted.

Perform Post-Project Review

The Post-Project Review is an evaluation of the project’s goals and outcomes as measured against the Project Plan, budget, timelines, quality of deliverables, specifications and client satisfaction. The objective of the Post-Project Review is to identify the lessons learnt from the project and to share the information to improve the performance of future projects.

Celebrate Project Completion

Whether it is a formal product launch or an informal gathering, a project completion celebration is a great way to mark the end of what may have been a challenging experience for those involved.