COURSE NAME: PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
COURSE
CODE:GE : 349
LECTURER:
PROF.MUSHALA
TASK : SOLVED U.E 2 PAPERS OF 2014/2015-2015/2016
1. Discuss the Basic
Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager in a project
Project Manager
The
project manager is the person who is responsible for ensuring that the project
team completes the project. The project manager develops the project plan with
the team and monitors the team’s performance of project activities. It is also
the responsibility of the project manager to secure acceptance and approval of
deliverables from the project sponsor/ESC and stakeholders.
Roles and Responsibilities of a project manager
In summary
The
role of the project manager encompasses many activities including:
- Planning and Defining Scope
- Activity Planning and
Sequencing
- Resource Planning
- Developing Schedules
- Time Estimating
- Cost Estimating
- Developing a Budget
- Documentation
- Creating Charts and Schedules
- Risk Analysis
- Managing Risks and Issues
- Monitoring and Reporting
Progress
- Team Leadership
- Strategic Influencing
- Business Partnering
- Working with Vendors
- Scalability, Interoperability
and Portability Analysis
- Controlling Quality
- Benefits Realisation
Project
Management typical Duties and Responsibilities of the manager
The primary challenge of the
managing a project is to achieve all of the project goals while considering the
predefined three project constraints – the scope, the time, and the budget.
First mile stone of a Project:
• Preparing and defining the project scope of work, financial plan, its
goals and deliverables.
• Assigning responsibilities.
• Identifying the resources’ requirement.
During the project – Leading
full-scale of project plans and executions:
• Managing all aspects of the project business plan and budget.
• Leading the operational, financial and technological aspects of projects
based on timelines and work plans.
• Coordinating directly and indirectly with project staff to ensure successful
completion of the project – Directing, supervising, supporting and coordinating
the project team members/staff.
• Tracking project deliveries using project management tools.
• Managing the design of the project documents to monitor project performance
and data stored.
• Resolving, tracing and escalating critical issues to minimize project risk
factors.
• Preparing the QA of the project.
• Communicating intensively with clients, sub-contractors and vendors to
establish cordial/effective working relationship.
• Reporting on project progress and communicated relevant information to
superiors and company management.
• Performing the Provisional acceptance and final acceptance procedures.
End of Project:
• Ensuring that the financial issues finalized.
• Coordinating the lesson learned process.
• Followed up with clients to verify satisfaction.
Planning
Planning
is an essential duty of a project manager. Determining what needs to be
done, who is going to do it, and when it needs to be done are all part of the
planning process. Keep in mind that planning is an iterative process that takes
place throughout the life of the project.
Some
key planning duties include...
- Define and clarify project
scope
- Develop the project plan
- Develop the project schedule
- Develop policies and procedures
to support the achievement of the project objectives
Organizing
Organizing
is about setting up the project team's structure. A major driver in this aspect
is the company's existing structure. Companies are usually set up as
functional, matrix, or projectized organizations. When organizing your project,
you will need to take the company's structure into account.
Some
of the key organizing duties include...
- Determine the organizational
structure of the project team
- Identify roles and positions
- Identify services to be
provided by external companies
- Staff project positions
Leading
Leading
refers to carrying out the project plan in order to achieve the project
objectives. Leading the project is one of the more challenging aspects for new
project managers because it involves a lot of "soft skills." Skills
such as communicating clearly, team motivation, and conflict resolution.
Some
key duties for leading projects include...
- Setting team direction
- Coordinating activities across
different organizational functions
- Motivating team members
- Assigning work
Controlling
Controlling
is all about keeping the project on track. Project control can be performed
using a three-step process...
- Measuring: Checking project progress toward meeting its
objectives
- Evaluating: Determining the cause of deviations from the plan
- Correcting: Taking corrective actions to address deviations
Some
key controlling duties include...
- Defining project baselines
- Tracking project progress
- Project status reporting
- Determining and taking
corrective actions
2.Outline the basic
project execution activities and explain
the importance of each activity.
Project Execution Phase
The
Project Execution Phase is the third phase in the project life cycle.
In this phase, you will build the physical project deliverables and present
them to your customer for signoff. The Project Execution Phase is
usually the longest phase in the project life cycle and it typically consumes
the most energy and the most resources.
To
enable you to monitor and control the project during this phase, you will need
to implement a range of management processes. These processes help you to
manage time, cost, quality, change, risks and issues. They also help you to
manage procurement, customer acceptance and communications.
The
project management activities and templates which help you complete them are
shown in the following diagram. Click the links below to learn how these
templates help you to execute projects more efficiently than before
Activities
1.
Perform
Time
Management
2.
Perform
Cost
Management
3.
Perform
Quality
Management
4.
Perform
Change
Management
5.
Perform
Risk
Management
6.
Perform
Issue
Management
7.
Perform
Procurement
Management
8.
Perform
Acceptance
Management
9.
Perform
Communications
Management
10.
Performa
Phase Review
3. (a)What is project
management?
Project
management includes: Developing a project plan, which includes
defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be
achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for
completion Implementing the project plan, carefully to make sure the plan is
being managed according to plan.
(b)Using specific
examples outline the basic tenets in project management.
NB: Definition of tenet
A
principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially:
one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession.
7
Basic Principles of Effective Project Management
v In summary
• Project structure
• Definition phase
• Clear goals
• Transparency about project status
• Risk recognition
• Managing project disturbances
• Responsibility of the project manager
Project
Structure
Successful project managers always
think in 3 dimensions:
Each
question or problem that comes up within your project is due to a question or
problem of quality, resources or time. Per definition these dimensions
are exactly the typical restrictions of projects. So while making your
decisions keep on asking yourself what they will mean for the quality,
resources or timeline of your project.
But
there are more ways to give your project a structure.
They
can be deduced from the question you want to be answered:
What
has to be done?
This
question leads to the
project structure plan. This
plan consists of work packages which represent enclosed work units that can be
assigend to a personal ressource (that means a person like you and me). Now the
structure is given by these work packages and their special relations and
interdependencies to each other.
When
should something be done and in which order?
A
flow
chart is a powerful tool to visualize the
starting point, the endpoint and the order of work packages in just one chart.
What
is the status of the project?
You
need a milestone plan to answer this question. Milestones define certain
phases of your project and the corresponding costs and results. Milestones
represent decisive steps during the project. They are set after a certain
number of work packages that belong together in some kind. This series of work
packages leads to the achievement of a sub-goal.
As
project manager you must ask all of these questions and you should answer them
as accurate as possible. Details must become the air you breathe. Details are
crucial. The more details you can rely on the more assurance you will obtain
during the planning process.
This
increases the quality of your planning tremendously. You don’t have to be a
visionary. But you can boost the quality of your predictions enormously by
gathering as many details as you can. Try to tap every source you can.
And
always keep in mind: a bad plan is better than no plan. Somebody who has no
plan cannot adjust something. And somebody who doesn’t adjust anything cannot
improve.
Definition Phase
The
costs for modifications depend on the actual status of the project. At the
beginning of your project you’ve probably just created a few drawings or
calculations. Modifications would mean that one of your folks must do this work
again. That’s annoying but it doesn’t really cost money at this point of time.
80%
to 90% of the whole project costs are defined in the development phase. But
this is exactly the same phase of the project where nearly no costs have been
generated.
So
you should be very accurate during this phase because it defines nearly all of
the costs of your project. On the other hand it doesn’t cost you anything to
adjust something in this phase.
Many
project managers tend to start the execution of their working packages too
early. This is a big mistake because researchers revealed a connection between
the definition phase of a project and the success. The longer the definition
phase of a project lasts the shorter is its processing time.
Even
the quality of the project performance increases dramatically when project
managers emphasize the definition phase.
Clear Goals
The
project manager is responsible for the achievement of a commitment about the
goals of the project between management and project team. These goals should
always be defined SMART (specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic,
time-bounden).
I
don’t think that these terms need any further explanations.
It
is daily grind for a project manager to be confronted with nebulous goals that
means in most cases the goal is not clear at the beginning of the project.
So
clarify your goals at first.
Even
if the management of your organization wants you to start quickly and tries to
play the situation down: don’t give an inch! At the end of your project nobody
will ask you why your project has failed. You will be responsible project
manager …
A
good way to communicate your goals is a kick-off meeting with your folks
in form of a workshop. This is a good opportunity to discuss your different
plans and to break them down into more detailed work packages and appointments.
Your team has the opportunity to partake in the project planning and you
benefit from the expertise of your team.
While
discussing the goals of your project you should think about what should be
different after having finished the project. Which are the indicators that
signalize that you have succeeded?
Transparency about the Project Status
Flow
chart, structure plan and your milestone plan are
useful tools to help you staying online. As project manager you must be able to
present a short report about the status of the project to your principal at
each point of time during the project. In such meetings you should be able to
give a short overview about the costs, the timeline, and the achieved
milestones.
Risk Recognition
Each
project is confronted with a lot of risks. This is normal. Always keep in mind
that your project is a unique endeavour with strict goals concerning costs,
appointments and performance. The earlier you identify those risks the better
you can avoid negative project developments. It’s the duty of the project
manager to evaluate risks regularly.
Managing Project Disturbances
It
is not very likely that you have enough personal capacity to identify each
single risk that may occur. It would be sufficient if you could at least
identify the big risks and develop specific strategies to avoid them. On the
other hand you’re no visionary. But this is not necessary as long as you rely
on your keen antennas in order to react instantly when something goes wrong.
It’s essential to consider this and to expect and accept the problems that
definitely WILL occur. Problems are the daily grind of a project
manager. Accept this and be prepared.
Responsibility of the Project Manager
In
most cases the manager of a project doesn’t have any managerial authority. On
the one hand this means a big challenge to the social competence of project
managers and it helps them a lot to develop even more social competence. On the
other hand it is simply counterproductive because the success of a project
strongly depends on the degree of managerial authority.
Giving
managerial authority to a project manager means assigning the full
responsibility for the success of a project to one person. Personified
responsibility helps a project manager to identify with the project. It also
motivates a lot because it represents the trust a management has into a certain
person.
Projects are temporary. You can’t consider a project to be that
thing that you’re going to do every day for the rest of your career. Instead,
it’s something that creates a particular product or service, and it has a clear
end point. You might compare it to the creation
of a syllabus or teaching a course. It has a
finite beginning and end.
Decide whether or not the project should happen. Not every
project should be begun started. When you are beginning work on something, you
want to determine if it’s a good use of your resources, what problem the
project is trying to solve, and whether or not the project is the best way to
fix it. I think that this is particularly hard in universities because we tend
to originate our own projects rather than having them brought to us (more on
this below). It can be very difficult to admit that what you’ve been wanting to
do isn’t worth the time, money, and/or effort. But we have to be willing to
call a spade a spade.
Consider risks. If you’re going to tackle the project after all,
you should analyze your potential risks. What events might derail the project?
What are the likelihood of them happening? Working together to brainstorm what
these things will help you plan for the events that seem most likely or severe.
For example, your entire digital humanities project could be derailed by a
server failure. For this reason, you should probably be obsessive about backup.
Cost, time, and quality are co-dependent. In other words, once a
project has been started, you can’t change its timeline without directly
affecting its cost or quality. You can’t expect to get something done faster
without either paying more or sacrificing some quality. This is why
getting a plumber to your house at 10pm costs more than waiting for the next
day. The same thing applies to any project you undertake with a team.
Know what’s out of bounds. Determining what your project will
not do is just as important as determining what it will since that can help
prevent mission creep in the future.
Develop a project plan with clear activities. At the beginning of
a project, the size or scope of the task might seem overwhelming. (Ask anyone
who’s ever tried writing a book!) However, breaking things into small and
manageable chunks can help you eat that proverbial elephant. When working on a
team, you should have these chunks start with a verb so your team members
clearly know what you’re asking them to do.
When making assignments, consider people’s interest as much as their
skills and experience. Just because someone has a ton of experience
designing websites doesn’t mean that it’s the only thing that he wants to do.
Letting people choose how they want to be involved in the project allows them
to develop personally as well as helping the project.
Let the person taking an assignment set the due date. It can be
hard to manage a project and not come off as an ogre at times. But one way to
shed the Shrek this is to let those who are getting the assignments decide when
they can complete them. Their estimates won’t always be 100% accurate, but they
will not have the excuse of it being a deadline that is imposed on them.
Moreover, getting a team member’s input helps them feel more connected to the
project.
There are lots of project management tools; just use what works for
you. This is pretty self-explanatory and is the subject of this
great thread at DHAnswers (see previous ProfHacker coverage here, here, and here). If post-its and emails work for your team, then go for
it. If you need to use Basecamp and can get others to do so, that’s fine too.
In the end, it’s not the tool so much as the relationships that count for being
successful at a project. As our
instructor said, “A fool with a tool is still
a fool.”
There can only be one. In a progressive, neo-liberal environment
(read, university), we tend to want to let everyone get involved in decision
making. In the end, however, you can’t really share project management duties.
One person needs to be chief. But it also doesn’t have to be you all the time.
Set meeting ground rules. It’s true that bad
meetings are your fault—especially
if you’re the project manager. Getting your team to agree collectively to how
meetings will work will help things run smoothly in the future. And be sure to
only hold meetings when they are necessary.
Celebrate success. Since projects are finite, they will
have an end…no matter how far off that might seem at present. When you get to
this point, make sure that you figure out some way to celebrate the
accomplishment. A celebration doesn’t have to cost a lot of money—or any—but
recognizing others’ contributions and the completion of the goal is important.
4. Using specific
examples explain the phrases of project cycle.
Project cycle
management
The Project Life
Cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish the
project’s goals or objectives. Regardless of scope or complexity, any project
goes through a series of stages during its life.
v In summary:
·
There is first an Initiation
or Birth phase, in which the outputs and critical success factors are defined,
·
The second, Planning
phase, characterized by breaking down the project into smaller parts/tasks, an
Execution phase, in which the project plan is executed, and
·
Lastly a Closure or Exit phase, that marks the completion of the project.
In
depth
1) Initiation
In
this first stage, the scope of the project is defined along with the approach
to be taken to deliver the desired outputs. The project manager is appointed
and in turn, he selects the team members based on their skills and experience.
The most common tools or methodologies used in the initiation stage are Project
Charter, Business Plan, Project Framework (or Overview),
Business Case Justification, and Milestones Reviews.
2) Planning
The
second phase should include a detailed identification and assignment of each
task until the end of the project. It should also include a risk
analysis and a definition of a criteria for the successful completion of
each deliverable. The governance process is defined, stake holders identified
and reporting frequency and channels agreed. The most common tools or
methodologies used in the planning stage are Business Plan and Milestones
Reviews.
The
most important issue in this phase is to ensure project activities are properly
executed and controlled. During the execution phase, the planned
solution is implemented to solve the problem specified in the project's
requirements. In product and system development, a design resulting in a
specific set of product requirements is created. This convergence is measured
by prototypes, testing, and reviews. As the execution phase progresses, groups
across the organization become more deeply involved in planning for the final
testing, production, and support. The most common tools or methodologies used
in the execution phase are an update of Risk Analysis and Score Cards, in
addition to Business Plan and Milestones Reviews.
In
this last stage, the project manager must ensure that the project is brought to
its proper completion. The closure phase is characterized by a written
formal project review report containing the following components: a formal
acceptance of the final product by the client, Weighted Critical Measurements
(matching the initial requirements specified by the client with the final
delivered product), rewarding the team, a list of lessons learned, releasing
project resources, and a formal project closure notification to higher
management. No special tool or methodology is needed during the closure phase.
5. Describe with
examples the usefulness of the logical framework in project planning
LFA, the Logical Framework
Approach, is an instrument for objectiveoriented planning of projects. The
method may also be used for analysis, assessment, follow-up and evaluation of
projects. What the method is used for depends on the role of its users and
their needs.
USEFULNESS
OF LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
·
Make
a dialogue possible between all parties involved (beneficiaries,
implementers, decision-makers and financiers)
·
Offer
a tool for the identification of problems and correct solutions to problems
·
Contribute
to clarifying and concretising the project’s objectives and to
specifying correct activities that are necessary to realise the
objectives
·
Facilitate the production of follow-up reports and
evaluations
·
Create
a joint approach to the project, reducing complexity.
·
Ensure
that the ownership of the project ends up with the partner in
co-operation
·
Make
the implementation of the project more efficient, reduce the amount of time
required and make the project/programme sustainable.
·
Improve
the conditions for relevance, feasibility and sustainability of projects and
programs.
·
It ensures that fundamental
questions are asked and weaknesses are analysed, in order to provide decision
makers with better and more relevant information.
·
-- It guides systematic and logical
analysis of the inter-related key elements which constitute a well-designed
project.
·
-- It improves planning by
highlighting linkages between project elements and external factors.
·
-- It provides a better basis for
systematic monitoring and analysis of the effects of projects.
·
-- It facilitates common
understanding and better communication between decision makers, managers and
other parties involved in the project.
·
-- Management and administration
benefit from standardised procedures for collecting and assessing information.
·
-- The use of LFA and systematic
monitoring ensures continuity of approach when original project staff is
replaced.
·
-- As more institutions adopt the
LFA concept it may facilitate communication between governments and donor
agencies. Widespread use of the LFA format makes it easier to undertake both
sectoral studies and comparative studies in general.
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
1.Describe
using relevant examples the basic roles and responsibilities of a project manager
in a specific project.
THE ROLE
·
The
person responsible for developing, in conjunction with the Project Sponsor, a
definition of the project.
·
The
Project Manager then ensures that the project is delivered on time, to budget
and to the required quality standard (within agreed specifications).
·
He/she
ensures the project is effectively resourced and manages relationships with a
wide range of groups (including all project contributors).
·
The
Project Manager is also responsible for managing the work of consultants,
allocating and utilising resources in an efficient manner and maintaining a
co-operative, motivated and successful team.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- ·
Managing
and leading the project team.
- ·
Recruiting
project staff and consultants.
- ·
Managing
co-ordination of the partners and working groups engaged in project work.
- ·
Detailed
project planning and control including:
- ·
Developing
and maintaining a detailed project plan.
- ·
Managing
project deliverables in line with the project plan.
- ·
Recording
and managing project issues and escalating where necessary.
- ·
Resolving
cross-functional issues at project level.
- ·
Managing
project scope and change control and escalating issues where necessary.
- ·
Monitoring
project progress and performance.
- ·
Providing
status reports to the project sponsor.
- ·
Managing
project training within the defined budget.
- ·
Liaises
with, and updates progress to, project board/senior management.
- ·
Managing
project evaluation and dissemination activities.
- ·
Managing
consultancy input within the defined budget.
- ·
Final
approval of the design specification.
- ·
Working
closely with users to ensure the project meets business needs.
- ·
Definition
and management of the User Acceptance Testing programme.
- ·
Identifying
user training needs and devising and managing user training programmes.
- ·
Providing
regular status reports to the IPSC Programme Board.
2
.Using relevant examples discuss the application of project risk analysis in a
specified project.
What Is Risk Analysis?
Risk
Analysis is a process that helps you identify and manage potential problems
that could undermine key business initiatives or projects.
To
carry out a Risk Analysis, you must first identify the possible threats that
you face, and then estimate the likelihood that these threats will materialize.
Risk
Analysis can be complex, as you'll need to draw on detailed information such as
project plans, financial data, security protocols, marketing forecasts, and
other relevant information. However, it's an essential planning tool, and one
that could save time, money, and reputations.
When to Use Risk Analysis
v
Risk analysis is useful /applied in
many situations: (APPLICATIONS)
- When you're planning projects,
to help you anticipate and neutralize possible problems.
- When you're deciding whether or
not to move forward with a project.
- When you're improving safety
and managing potential risks in the workplace.
- When you're preparing for
events such as equipment or technology failure, theft, staff sickness, or
natural disasters.
- When you're planning for
changes in your environment, such as new competitors coming into the market,
or changes to government policy.
·
Risk assessment enables contracts to be
fairly negotiated, bids to be submitted at the right price, and sensitivity to
be appreciated.
·
Risk assessments also enable risk
response and mitigation strategies to be expressed.
·
It can lead to discussion and
clarification of the scope of project tasks, and missing work is often
identified. As a result of the workshop, the project team reaches an improved
awareness and understanding of the status of the whole project
·
Risk assessment—or allowing for
uncertainty within estimates—helps set contingency levels, with a preferred
level of risk, and gives the confidence level of outcome targets.
3.
(a)What is a stakeholder?
A stakeholder is
an individual who is affected by or who can affect a project's outcome.
Stakeholders shape projects in the early stages, ensuring resources are
available to contribute to project success, and provide insight regarding the
probable reaction to a project's outcome, which facilitates project adjustments
when necessary to win organizational support.
(b)Using
illustrative examples explain the basic responsibilities of a stakeholder in a
project.
The Stakeholder's Responsibilities
These
depend on the position of the Stakeholder in the context of the project
development and implementation but typically could include the following
responsibilities:
- understanding the business
rationale and ensuring that the project fits with the strategy for their
area of business
- making their detailed
requirements known
- committing the necessary
resources to ensure the project is successful
- taking ownership of appropriate
deliverables
- keeping informed of project
progress and cascading information to others who need to know
- proactively establishing
training and development requirements
- approving key project
deliverables
- Identifying and resolving any
project issues and risks, especially those associated with managing change
during the transition phase.
4.
Discuss the basic stages in a project cycle using specific examples .
5 Basic Phases of Project Management
Project
Management Institute, Inc. (PMI) defines project
management as "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques
to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a
particular project." The process of directing and controlling a project
from start to finish may be further divided into 5 basic phases:
1. Project conception and initiation
An
idea for a project will be carefully examined to determine whether or not it
benefits the organization. During this phase, a decision making team will
identify if the project can realistically be completed.
2. Project definition and planning
A
project plan, project charter and/or project scope may be put in writing,
outlining the work to be performed. During this phase, a team should prioritize
the project, calculate a budget and schedule, and determine what resources are
needed.
3. Project launch or execution
Resources'
tasks are distributed and teams are informed of responsibilities. This is a
good time to bring up important project related information.
4. Project performance and control
Project
managers will compare project status and progress to the actual plan, as
resources perform the scheduled work. During this phase, project managers may
need to adjust schedules or do what is necessary to keep the project on track.
5. Project close
After
project tasks are completed and the client has approved the outcome, an
evaluation is necessary to highlight project success and/or learn from project
history.
Projects
and project management processes vary from industry to industry; however, these
are more traditional elements of a project. The overarching goal is typically
to offer a product, change a process or to solve a problem in order to benefit
the organization.
5.
Explain using examples why stakeholders analysis is important while planning
project.
‘Stakeholders’ can be defined as any
individuals, groups of people, institutions or firms that may have a
significant interest in the success or failure of a project (either as
implementers, facilitators, beneficiaries or adversaries).
v A basic premise behind stakeholder analysis is that
different groups have different concerns, capacities and interests, and that
these need to be explicitly understood and recognised in the process of problem
identification, objective setting and strategy selection.
NB: This question is not full
answered.
