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Introduction to
Project Chapter 1

Management

Chapter 1 Core Objectives

Define a project and project management and tell why

organizations would use them
Describe major activities and deliverables, at each project life
cycle stage
List the 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups of the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
Describe project success and failure, as well as reasons both
may occur
Contrast predictive and adaptive project life cycles

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What is a project?

Projects require:
an organized set of work efforts.
progressively elaborated detail.
a defined beginning and ending.
a unique combination of stakeholders.
Projects are subject to time and resource limitations

Emerged as a formal discipline in the 1950s

Developed for aerospace and construction
Involved determining and controlling project schedules
History of PM In 2001, Agile was created for adaptive project planning,
originally for software projects
In recent years, more focus has been given to the “soft
skills” of communications, leadership, and teamwork

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How Can Project Work Be Described?

Projects versus Soft skills and Authority and

operations hard skills responsibility

Agile (adaptive)
Project Life vs. Waterfall
Cycle (predictive)
approach

Projects are temporary

Projects
Projects have routine and
Versus unique characteristics
Operations
Operations are ongoing work

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Soft Skills and Hard Skills

Soft skills Hard skills

Communication Risk analysis
Leadership Quality control
Conflict resolution Scheduling work
Budgeting work

Authority and Responsibility

One person being assigned accountability

Project managers negotiate with functional managers

Strong communication and leadership skills to persuade subordinates

Functional manager – “someone with management authority over an

organizational unit.…the manager of any group that actually makes a
product or performs a service.” PMBOK® Guide

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Project Life Cycle (PLC)

Project life cycle is the

series of phases that a
project goes through
from its initiation to its
closure
This varies among
different disciplines but
the stages are generally
the same

Predictive Project Life Cycle

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Adaptive Project Life Cycle

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Understanding Projects

Defining Project
Project Goals and
Success and Using MS Project
Constraints
Failure

Scalability of
Types of Projects
Project Tools

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Selecting and Prioritizing Projects

Identify potential projects

All parts of the organization are involved
Determine which projects align best with
organizational goals
Organizational priorities:
Understood
Communicated
Accepted

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What value does each Are the demands of

potential project bring each project
to the organization? understood?

Selecting and Which projects will

Are the resources
Prioritizing needed to perform the
project available?
best help the
organization achieve
its goals?
Projects
Is there enthusiastic
support from both the
external customers
and from one or more
internal champions?

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Project Goals and Constraints

Obstacles or challenges may limit ability to perform

Opportunities may allow projects to exceed original expectations.

Project Managers (PMs) decide which goals and constraints take precedence

Additional constraints

Amount of resources available

Decision maker’s risk tolerance

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Project Customer Tradeoff Matrix

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Break-out Session!

How do YOU define project success and failure?

What are some common reasons for project success or

failure?

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Deliverables include all agreed-upon

features
Finished product meets client
Project Success expectations
Completed on schedule and on budget
(not always. Ask me why!)

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Why Projects Fail

Insufficient resources and/or time

Unclear expectations
Changes in the scope not
understood or agreed upon
Stakeholders disagree on
expectations
Inadequate project planning

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Classifying Projects

There are hundreds of different project types. How do we determine

what classification they fall under?

Classifying by industry?

Classifying by size?

Classifying by understanding of project scope?

Classifying by application?

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PMI Communities of Practice

Projects in different industries often have unique requirements

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Scalability of Project Tools

All projects require

Project specifications

Understanding of work involved

Budget and schedule determinations

Assignment of available workers to tasks

Project management

Projects are scaled up or down to meet the complexity of the task

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Traditional Project Roles

Project Executive-Level Roles

Project Management-Level Roles
Project Associate-Level Roles

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Project Executive-Level Roles

The steering team

The top leader (CEO) and his/her direct reports

Select, prioritize, and resource projects

Ensure that accurate progress is reported

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Project Executive-Level Roles

Sponsor Active role:

Charter the project

Review progress reports

Sponsor Behind-the-scenes role:

Mentor the project manager

Assist the project manager

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Project Management-Level Roles

Project manager

Directly accountable for project results, schedule, and budget

The main communicator

Responsible for project planning and execution, from start to finish

Limited formal power

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Project Management-Level Roles

Functional manager

Department heads

Determine the “how” of project work

Supervise the work

Negotiate with the project manager

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Project Associate-Level Roles

Project management team

Core team members—part of team throughout

Subject matter experts (SMEs)—only involved in part of project; not

usually involved in most planning and decision making

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The End

Want to see what the simulations look like???

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