Project Planning & Control
– part 1
MBA(Tech) XIth trimester
Prof.V.Seshadri
Project Management System
• A system around which the managerial functions of
planning, organising, communicating and control are
structured and consolidated is called PMS. It has
following elements and activities:
• WBS, Org. structure, Schedules, Cost accounts,
Budgets
• PMS has a means for collecting and storing
information, evaluating, reporting and directing
corrective actions based on these.
Ref 1 pg 197
PM – SYSTEM
– Integrative planning & control
IPC refers to the pulling together of all imp.elements of
information related to Time, Cost & Performance. This
information must be pulled together for all phases of the
project.
IPC involves continuous review and revision of future plans
comparison of actuals vs. planned results and projection of
total time & cost at completion through interrelated evaluation
of all elements of information. Ref .1
PM – SYSTEM
– Integrative planning & control – contd.
•As projects move from one phase to the
next, resource requirements, organizational
responsibilities shift.
Project Planning - fundamentals
• Planning involves deciding & specifying “what to
do, how to go about it and how to make sure it is
done right ( thru’ controls)”
1) During conception phase a plan is prepared
specifying requirements, work tasks,
responsibilities, schedules and budgets
2) During execution phase, this plan is compared to
actual project performance,time and cost
3) Based on 2, corrective actions are taken and 1 is
suitably updated
Ref 1 Pg 181
Project Planning – fundamentals contd.
• The Project Manager is appointed, if not
already in place. PM forms a project team.
• The Project Proposal and/or Contract
statement of work (CSOW) and/or Work
Requisition or Work Order forms the basis for
the planning phase
Ref 1 pg 179
Project Planning –
Project Master Plan
Planning process addresses the following steps:
1. Set/Review Objectives, requirements, scope
– make a project charter
2. Specific work activities, tasks or jobs to
achieve objectives are broken down,defined
& listed (What)
3. A project organisation is created (Who)
Ref 1 pg 180
Project Planning –
Project Master Plan - contd.
4. A schedule is prepared of work activities,
deadlines and milestones (When)
5. A budget and resource plan is prepared (how
much)
6. A forecast is prepared of time, cost &
performance projections
Ref 1 pg 180
Project Planning –
Project Master Plan - contd.
Contents of Master Plans
• Management Summary
• Management & Organisation – Strategy, key
personnel, authority/ responsibility,
Manpower: Operational staff, schedule of
induction, Training & development
Ref 1 pg 181
Project Planning –
Project Master Plan - contd.
3. Technical : Overview of major activites, timing, cost
a) Statement & Scope of Work
b) Work breakdown
c) Responsibility assignments
d) Project Schedules (Gantt Charts, PERT, CPM,Project
Networks etc.)
e) Budget & Financial Support
Ref 1 pg 181
Project Planning –
Project Master Plan - contd.
f) Testing
g) Procedure for changes to Project Plan
h) Quality plan & reviews of work
i) Review of environmental & regulatory issues
j) Documentation
k) Implementation by user
l) Economic justification
m) Areas of uncertainty & Risks
Ref 1 pg 182
Project Planning Tools
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Responsibility Matrix
• Events & Milestones
• Networks
• Bar Charts/Gantt Charts
• PERT/CPM
• Activity node diagrams
Ref 1 pg 183
Project Planning Tool:
Work Breakdown Structure
• The procedure for dividing the overall project
into sub elements is called WBS.
• The total Project is divided into smaller
elements called work packages.
• Work packages can be used for scheduling and
cost estimates and to assign management &
task responsibility
Ref 1 pg 185
Work Breakdown Structure –contd.
Typical WBS consists of five levels:
1. Project
2. Category
3. Sub category
4. Sub- subcategory
5. Work Package
Work Breakdown Structure –contd
Some elements of WBS:
• Define work as precisely as possible
• Ask “What’s next?” “ What else is needed”
• Elements of WBS should correspond to sub-
systems or components of end item system
and not to functional areas’
• Follow a Coding and numbering system
Work Breakdown Structure –contd
Elements of a Work Package/Task:
1. Statement of work – clear
2. Resources
3. Time
4. Cost
5. Responsibility
6. Outcomes
7. Inputs
8. QA
Ref 1 pg 189
WBS : Factors to Note
• Every activity in the WBS should produce a single tangible
deliverable.
• Every activity at any level of the WBS is an aggregation of all
its subordinate activities listed immediately below it.
• Each activity should be unique and distinct from other
activities of the project.
• There should be some level of flexibility in the WBS
development process to accommodate project scope changes.
• Each activity should be assigned to only one individual.
WBS : Factors to Note (contd.)
• The activity sub-division ends at the level when the time taken
to complete is activity becomes measurable in terms of
duration and can be scheduled.
• The WBS should be consistent with the way in which work is
actually going to be performed. i.e. it should act as a
reference for the entire project team.
• Project team members should be involved in developing the
WBS to ensure consistency and buy-in from them.
• Each activity in WBS should be documented to ensure
accurate understanding of the scope of work included and
also what is not included.
WBS : Approaches
• There are 2 approaches which can be following while
preparing the WBS :
– Top-Down Approach
– Bottom-Up Approach
• Top-Down Approach : This is the traditional or conventional
approach by starting with the project goal and then
subdividing it into further sub-divisions.
• Questions which need to be answer while following a Top-
Down Approach while preparing a WBS :
– What will have to be done in order to accomplish X?
– Continue this approach until your answer has been broken down into
components or activities till they reach the last level.
WBS : Approaches (contd.)
• Bottom-Up Approach : This begins with identifying as many
tasks related to the project as possible. Then aggregating the
specific tasks and organizing them into summary activities or
higher-level activities.
• Work elements can be identified using the following
methodologies :
– Noun – Type Identification
– Verb – Type Identification
– Organizational-Level Identification
• Noun – Type Identification : This would involve identifying the
various physical or functional components of the project.
WBS : Work Element Identification
• e.g. In manufacturing a lathe machine you could the various
sub-systems such as gear system, conveyor system, motor
system etc. and also drill down to individual components such
as gears, gear belts, motor, machine base, fixtures, supporting
blocks, etc.
• Verb –Type Identification : This is based on activities which
need to be performed to complete the project.
• Organizational –Level Identification : This is based on dividing
project work based on geographical region, department,
business function, etc.
• The challenge in this kind of WBS is integrating the work
elements across the various units.
Case Study : WBS Illustration using T-D
Approach and V–T Identificatn
• Project Objective : To migrate 3 Web servers and 2 databases
to a new physical data center.
• Overall Project Description :
– The project requires 5 new servers to be provisioned in the new data
center; there servers will mirror will mirror the production servers
existing in the old data center.
– The new servers will be built to the same specification as the old ones,
they will run the same application and have the same content.
– Once implemented, the new equipment will be tested to confirm
functionality. The servers would contain ‘go-live’ data.
– Finally, the old equipment will be decommissioned and reabsorbed
into inventory.
WBS : Level 0 – Major Tasks
1. Obtain Equipment
2. Provision and implement equipment
3. Test equipment
4. GoLive with new equipment
5. Re-Test in Live environment
6. Decommission Old Equipment.
WBS :Major Task 1 - Obtain Equipment
• Level 1 : Sub-Task
– Purchase 3 Web Servers and 2 databases.
– Ship equipment to new data center.
• Level 2: Sub-Sub Task
– Prepare Purchase Order and place order for servers.
– Alert data center that equipment is expected to be
received
