PROJECT MANAGEMENT

MBA 611

Course Instructor: Afework Getachew Kassa

 This course is designed for those people who
have a requirement to be Managers of Projects
as part of their organisational roles.
 INTRODUCTION
Projects are all around us. Virtually every
organization runs projects, either formally or
informally.
We are engaged in projects at home and at
work.
Across settings, planning principles and
execution methodologies can offer ways in
which projects can be run more effectively and
efficiently.
 INTRODUCTION……
Project management provides organizations
(and individuals) with the language and the
frameworks for scoping projects, sequencing
activities, utilizing resources, and minimizing
risks.
In this course, you will acquire such skills.
This course is designed for those people who
have a requirement to be Managers of Projects
as part of their organizational roles.
 INTRODUCTION……
The course introduces students to the principles,
practices, techniques, and special problems of
the project manager.
The focus will be on the entire project life cycle -
from selection and initiation, through planning,
implementation and control, to termination and
close-out.
Critical issues such as time, cost, and
performance parameters are analyzed from the
organizational, people, and resource
perspectives.
 INTRODUCTION……
• Topics include: organization strategy and project
selection, project leadership, project planning,
uncertainty and risk management, project budgeting
and cost estimation, project scheduling, resource
allocation, conflict and negotiation, project
monitoring and controlling, project auditing, and
project evaluation and termination.
• The course addresses the basic nature of managing
all types of projects - public, business, engineering,
information systems, etc., as well as specific
techniques for project management.
 INTRODUCTION……
At the end of this course learners will be able
to:
• Appreciate and be familiar with the basic
concepts of Project Management.
• Understand a project life cycle.
• Elaborate the different activities and
procedures in a project life cycle.
• Learn and implement Project Management
methodologies.
 What is a project?
• What is a Project?
Some definitions:
“.....a complex effort to achieve a specific objective
within a schedule and budget target, which typically
cuts across organisational lines, is unique and is usually
not repetitive within the organisation.”
(Cleland and King; cited -Institute of Management)
 What is a project…….
Dictionary meaning of a project

• task or planned program of work: a task or

planned program of work that requires a large
amount of time, effort, and planning to
complete
• unit of work: an organized unit of work
• public work: an extensive organized public
undertaking
 What is a project…….

“..A human endeavour which creates change; is

limited in time and scope; has mixed goals and
objectives; involves a variety of resources; and is
unique.”
(Anderson, Grude, Haug and Turner)
 What is a project…….
• Projects are the smaller and separate portions of
programs. Each project has limited scope and
distinct directives concerning assignments and
time.
• Each project will become the responsibility of
designated personnel who will be given specific
resources and deadlines.
 What is a project …….
• “… a set of proposals for the investment of
resources into a clearly identified set of
actions (frequently in the public sector) that
are expected to produce future benefits of a
fairly specific kind.”
• The Project Management Institute (PMI)
defines a project by its two key characteristics.
All projects are temporary and undertaken to
create a product, service, or result that is
unique.
 Project Characteristics
a project has the following characteristics:

1. A project is an investment activity in which

financial resources are expected to create
capital assets that produce benefits over an
extended period of time, which logically
seems to lend itself to:
• planning
• financing and
• implementing as a unit.
 Project Characteristics…….
2. A project is the smallest operational element
prepared and implemented as a separate entity
in a national plan or program of development.

• It is a specific activity
• with a specific starting point and
• specific objectives.
 Project Characteristics…….
3. Usually a project is a unique activity clearly
different from arranged similar investments, and it
is likely to be different from following ones
• not a routine segment of an ongoing program.
4. A project will have a well – defined sequence of
investment and production activities and a
specific group of benefits that can be
• identified,
• quantified and
• determined a money value for.
 Project Characteristics…….
5. Besides to its sequence of:
• investments,
• production and
• benefits,
a project normally will have a specific geographic location
or a rather clearly understood geographic area of
concentration.
6. Probably there will also be a specific customers
in the area (region) whom the project is
intended to reach and whose traditional social
pattern the project will affect.
 Plans and Projects

Plans and Projects

• Planning can be defined as
• a “Continuous process, which involves decisions or
choices, about alternative ways of using available
resources, with the aim of achieving particular goals at
some time in the future.”
 Plans and Projects………

• The rationale is that planning is considered

effective in mobilizing resources and allocating
into priority area of development.
• Development Planning can be regarded as an
attempt to raise the rationality of decision –
making
 Plans and Projects…..
• In general, the essence of development planning
is that it is futuristic,
• i.e., it is
• forward looking and
• it involves systematic thought and preparation.
• practically every developing country has a
systematically complicated national plan to speed
up economic growth and
• further a range of social objectives.
 Plans and Projects……
Projects provide an important means by which
investment and other development expenditures
predicted in plans can be clarified and realized.
• Sound development plans require good projects
• just as good projects require sound planning. The two
are interdependent.
A sound plan requires a great deal of knowledge about
existing and potential projects.
– Sound planning rests on the availability of a wide range of
information about existing and potential investments and
their likely effects on growth and other national objectives.
 Plans and Projects……
It is a project analysis that provides this
information, and the projects selected for
implementation become the vehicle for using
resources.
– Thus plans require projects.
– Realistic planning involves knowing the amount that
can be spent on development activities each year
and the resources that will be required for particular
kind of project
 Plans and Projects……
Since projects commit(handover) scarce
resources, project selection is meaningful only
when it is placed within a broader
development framework.
• This framework could be medium or long – term
development plans and policy statements issued by the
government.
• The best economic appraisal of projects cannot be
made without referring to such plans and policies.
 Plans and Projects……
Effective project preparation and analysis must be
set in the framework of a broader development
plan.
• Projects are a part of an overall:
– developments strategy and
– a broader planning process.
 Plans and Projects……
Governments must allocate their available
financial and administrative resources among
many sectors and many competing programs.
Project analysis can help improve this
allocation.
• Within the broad strategy, planners have to
identify potential projects that address the
policy of production targets and priorities.
 Plans and Projects……
The more elaborated the plans and policies of the
governments are, the easier becomes the work
of the project planner.
• For example, the project planner will have to refer to
such plans and a policy to see to it that the project being
considered fits well in the plan and contributes most to
the fundamental objectives of the government.
• These objectives can include self – sustaining growth,
promotion of employment and income distribution etc
 Plans and Projects……
National plans and elaborated sectoral program are of
great help in identifying development projects.
• A realistic plan should be prepared by assessing the
development potentials in the various sections of the
economy.
• It is, therefore, obvious that the successful
formulation and implementation of a national
development plan depends on the proper selection of
projects and on the consequent sectoral programs.
 Plans and Projects……
• Thus, project Formulation and Evaluation as a
continuous integrated process, is one of the
basic components of economic planning.
• In order to ensure realistic planning, an iterative
process with a sufficient flow of information,
suggestion and guidance between decision
makers at the macro levels are essential.
 Plans and Projects……
As projects are rightly called the “Cutting Edge” of
development, they are powerful means to achieve
the development objectives
• they are the crucial building blocks of a development
structure.
Projects aim, mainly at increasing the production of
goods and services, which are fundamental
components of people’s welfare and the main objective
of any development effort, is to advance social well –
being.
 Projects and Programs

• Program is a definite plan or scheme of any

sequence of operations aimed at the
attainment of the planned objectives.
• This explanation assumes that program is a plan of
activities with general objectives that would be derived
from the development plan.
• Programs and projects have got their own
differences and similarities. For clarity purpose,
let’s outline some of the major differences and
similarities of the two concepts as follows
 Projects and Programs…..

Differences
• Project
• - Specific objective
• Specific projects area
• Specific beneficiaries group
• Clearly determined and allotted fund
• Specific lifetime
 Projects and Programs….

Difference
• Program
• General objectives
• No specific project area
• No specific beneficiaries group
• No clear and detailed financial resource allocation
• No specific lifetime
 Projects and Programs….

Similarities
• Projects and programs have similar
characteristics in terms of:
• Having objectives
• Requiring financial, human, material, etc. inputs
• Generating output (goods/services)
• Serving as instruments for the implementation of
development plans in order to develop the national
economy.
 Questions for review

? Identify the different characteristics of a

project.
?Try to identify national and regional plans and
programmes .
? Try to identify projects within each national
and regional plans and programme.
? Elaborate their differences and similarities
 Project Management
• According to the project management
institute(2008),
“Project management is the application of
knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities to meet the project
requirements.”
• The discussion about what should be in the
definition of project management included
debates about the purpose of project
management.
 Project Management……
i.e Is the main purpose to meet client expectations or is
the main purpose to meet the written specifications
and requirements?
• This discussion around meeting project requirements
was not easily settled.
• If it is assumed that the project client is the one who
defines project requirements, then maybe project
management is the application of knowledge, skills,
tools, and techniques to meet client requirements or
clients expectations.
 Project Management……
PMI’s definition of project management does
provide a good understanding of project
management, but it does not help us
understand project success. For that, we must
include the client.
Jack Meredith and Samuel Mantel (2006)
discussed project management in terms of
producing project outcomes within the three
objectives of cost, schedule, and specifications.
 Project Management……
Project managers are then expected to develop
and execute a project plan that meets cost,
schedule, and specification parameters.
According to this view, project management is
the application of everything a project manager
does to meet these parameters. This approach
to defining project management shares PMI’s
focus on the project outcomes in terms of
requirements.
 Project Management……
Meredith and Mantel (2006) added a fourth aspect of
project management—the expectations of the client.
Accordingly they defined project management as:

“the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and

techniques to meet or exceed the expectations of the
client”.
This definition focuses on delivering a product or
service to the client that meets expectations rather
than project specifications.
 Project Management……

According to Roger Atkinson (1999), The British

Standard for project management 1996 defined
project management as:
“The planning, monitoring and control of all
aspects of a project and the motivation of all
those involved in it to achieve the project
objectives on time and to the specified cost,
quality and performance”.
 Project Management……
• Atkinson(1999), further provided that, The UK
Association of Project Management (APM) defines
project management as:

“The planning, organisation, monitoring and control of

all aspects of a project and the motivation of all
involved to achieve the project objectives safely and
within agreed time, cost and performance criteria”.

• As per this definition, the project manager is the

single point of responsibility for achieving this.
 Project Management……

“a management environment that is created for

the purpose of delivering one or more business
products according to a specified business case…
a temporary organisation that is needed to
produce a unique and pre-defined outcome or
result at a pre-specified time using pre-
determined resources”
(Prince2)
 Questions for review

? From the different definitions provided for project

management, what do you understand about a
project management?

? Provide at least 2 definitions of project

management.
 Skills for the Project Manager

• A project manager needs a different set of

skills to both define and successfully execute
temporary projects. Because projects are
temporary, they have a defined beginning and
end.
• Project managers must manage start-up
activities and project closeout activities.
 Skills for the Project Manager….
• The processes for developing teams, organizing work,
and establishing priorities require a different set of
knowledge and skills because members of the
project management team recognize that it is
temporary.
• They seldom report directly to the project manager
and the effect of success or failure of the project
might not affect their reputations or careers the
same way that the success or failure of one of their
other job responsibilities would.
 Skills for the Project Manager….

• The fact that a project involves the delivery of

a unique product, service, or result, also
changes the management approach to the
work.
• A project manager must take time to
understand the deliverables of a project,
develop a plan for producing the deliverables
in the time available, and then execute that
plan.
 Skills for the Project Manager….
Every project is unique, and most projects will
encounter unexpected technical challenges. Each
project management team is a group of individuals who
need motivation and coordination.
Planning is vital, but the ability to adapt to changes and
work with people to overcome challenges is just as
necessary.
A project manager must master the skills that are
necessary to be successful in this environment.
Some of the key skills required are discussed below:
 Skills for the Project Manager….
Operational Management Skills

Often the difference between the project that succeeds

and the project that fails is the leadership of the project
manager.
The leadership skills needed by the successful project
manager include all the skills needed by operations
managers of organizations. These skills include:
• Good communication - Team building
• Planning - Expediting
• Motivating - Political sensitivity
 Skills for the Project Manager….
Project Management Skills
• Because project managers generally operate in a
project environment that is more time sensitive and
goal driven, the successful project manager requires
additional knowledge, skills, and abilities.

• Albert Einsiedel (1987) discussed leader-sensitive

projects and defined five characteristics of an
effective project leader. These characteristics were
chosen based on some assumptions about projects.
 Skills for the Project Manager….
• These characteristics include the project
environment, which is often a matrix
organization that results in role ambiguity, role
conflict, and role erosion. The project
environment is often a fluid environment
where decisions are made with little
information. In this environment, the five
characteristics of an effective project leader
include the following:
 Skills for the Project Manager….
• Credibility
• Creativity as a problem solver
• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Flexibility in management style
• Effectiveness in communicating
 Skills for the Project Manager….
Hans Thamhain(1991) researched the training
of project managers and, based on the finding,
categorized project management into
interpersonal, technical, and administrative
skills:
Interpersonal skills: These skills include
providing direction, communicating, assisting
with problem solving, and dealing effectively
with people without having authority.
 Skills for the Project Manager….
Technical expertise: Technical knowledge gives the
project manager the creditability to provide leadership
on a technically based project, the ability to understand
important aspects of the project, and the ability to
communicate in the language of the technicians.
Administrative skills: These skills include planning,
organizing, and controlling the work.

Thamhain’s work provides a taxonomy for better

understanding the skills needed by project managers.
 Skills for the Project Manager….

• Traditionally, the project manager has been trained in

skills such as developing and managing the project
scope, estimating, scheduling, decision making, and
team building.

• Although the level of skills needed by the project

manager depends largely on the project profile,
increasingly the people skills of the project manager
are becoming more important.
 Skills for the Project Manager….
• The skills to build a high-performing team,
manage client expectations, and develop a
clear vision of project success are the type of
skills needed by project managers on more
complex projects.
“To say Joe is a good project manager except he
lacks good people skills is like saying he’s a good
electrical engineer but doesn’t really understand
electricity.”
 Skills for the Project Manager….
The project basics
Organisational politics

Cost
Personal Business
Objectives Pressures
Quality Time

External and stakeholder issues

IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The importance of Project Management is an important
topic because all organisations, be they small or large,
at one time or other, are involved in implementing new
undertakings.

These undertakings may be diverse, such as, the

development of a new product or service; the
establishment of a new production line in a
manufacturing enterprise; a public relations promotion
campaign; or a major building programme.
 IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT…..

The new dynamics in the business environment

Faster, cheaper, and better has become the mantra of
not only profit-making organizations seeking to increase
market share and profits but also non profits and
governmental organizations seeking to increase their
value to clients.
Organizations are increasingly using projects to meet
these goals. Projects are goal directed and time framed,
and when managed well, projects deliver on time and
within budget.
 IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT…..

Advances in technology are driving the speed of

innovation and the ability of organizations to
shorten the time needed to develop and deliver
new products and services that increase an
organization’s competitive advantage.
This drive to develop new and unique products
or services creates a perfect environment for the
application of project management
methodologies and skills
 IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT…..

The increasing application of outsourcing and

ICT
The application of ICT and outsourcing
nowadays are giving rise to different
independent projects.
 IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT…..
Large development projects in developing countries

Developed and developing countries are going through

large development programmes which involve different
projects.
e.g MDGs, SDGs-Post 2015.

Large, complex projects need project management tools,

systems, and processes.

All of these are increasing the importance of project

management both as a function and as a subject alike.
 IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT…..

• More Sophisticated Technology

• Better-Educated Citizens
• Increased Accountability
• Higher Productivity
• Faster Response to Customers
• Greater customization for customers
 Questions for review
? Discuss the operational management skills
required by a project manager.
? Elaborate the project management skills as
provided by Albert Einsiedel (1987).
? Elaborate the project management skills as
provided by Hans Thamhain(1991).
? Why is Project management important?
 Assignment

Identify different classifications of of projects

and provide practical local examples.