CCD 1104: Introduction to
Project Management
MBIRI M. STEPHEN
St. Paul’s University, Nairobi Campus
Social Science, Community Development
Week 1 Content
• Project management life cycle.
What is a project?
Definitions
Project management life cycle
• Role and responsibilities of a project manager
What Is a Project?
• Temporary in nature (e.g. create a set of online
tutorials about using government documents)
• Specific goals (e.g. set of online tutorials on finding
Ontario government pubs)
• Clear-cut starting and ending date
• Dedicated funding (in most cases)
Project...
• A collection of linked activities, carried out in an organised
manner,with a clearly defined START POINT and END POINT to
achieve some specific results desired to satisfy the needs of the
organisation at the current time
What is Project Management?
Project : A group of milestones or
phases, activities or tasks that support
an effort to accomplish something
Management : is the process of
Planning, Organizing, Controlling and
Measuring
Project Management
• A dynamic process that utilises the appropriate resources of the
organisation in a controlled and structured manner, to achieve
some clearly defined objectives identified as needs.
• It is always conducted within a defined set of constraints
What does Project Management Entail?
• Planning: is the most critical and gets the
least amount of our time
Beginning with the End in mind-Stephen Covey
• Organizing: Orderly fashion
(Contingent/Prerequisites)
• Controlling: is critical if we are to use our
limited resources wisely
• Measuring: To determine if we accomplished
the goal or met the target?
Measuring…….
• Are we efficient?
• Are we productive?
• Are we doing a good job?
• What is the outcome?
• Is it what we wanted to be?
If you can’t plan it, You can’t do it
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it
Who uses Project Management?
Nearly Everyone to some degree
People plan their Days, their Weeks, their Vacations and their
Budgets and keep a simple project management form known as
‘’To Do’’ list
Any Process or Means used to track tasks or efforts towards
accomplishing a goal could be considered Project Management
Why is Project Management used?
• It is necessary to Track or Measure the progress we have achieved
towards a Goal we wish to accomplish
• We use Project Management to Aid us in Maximizing and
Optimizing our resources to accomplish our goals
How much time does Project Management
take?
• Not much. Probably more time is wasted as a consequence of lack of
Project Management tool than is spent to Plan adequately, Organize,
Control effectively and Measure appropriately
• How long: As long as there are things to do
Why is Project Management Important?
• Enables us to map out a course of action or work plan
• Helps us to think systematically and thoroughly
• Unique Task
• Specific Objective
• Variety of Resources
• Time bound
Advantages
In built Monitoring/ Sequencing
Easy and Early identification of Bottlenecks
Activity based costing
Identification and Addition of missing and new
activities
Preempting unnecessary activity/expenditure
Timely Completion
Assigning tasks
Reporting
Project Life Cycle
• Initiation Phase (Scoping the Plan): identify need, deliverables & assign priority
• Planning Phase (Developing the Plan): project specifics, such as tasks, milestones, and
associated costs
• Implementation Phase (Executing the Plan): applies project plan; direct team in
producing deliverables; implement approved changes and corrective actions
• Monitoring & Controlling Process: monitor the project’s schedule and budget,
making adjustments as necessary, mitigate risk
• Completion Phase (Closing Out the Project): project assessment & wrap-up report,
integrating into ongoing operations
Project Management Process
• The basic elements of project management are illustrated in this project
life cycle diagram.
Singh, Manjeet. ProjectMind's Quick Guide to Project Management
PM is Scalable
No matter the size of
the project, a good
project management
process can adapt to
fit.
Benefits of Project Management
• Knowing where you are going and when you
have arrived
• Identify manageable work loads
• Identify where to focus your efforts
• Knowing where you stand
• Maintaining good communication
• Keeping calm and maintaining consistency
• Prevent problems and fire drills
Skills of the Project Manager
The project manager is a key ingredient in the success of a project.
• Strong leadership ability
• Ability to develop people
• Excellent communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to handle stress
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management skills
9
Consequences of
not using PMT
DELAY
COST
WASTE OF RESOURCES
QUALITY
DISSATISFACTION
REPUTATION
Project Management….
Work Smart Not Hard !!!
Implementation
• Regular Monitoring
• Resource Support
• Critical issues discussed and solution
• Meeting with the team on completion of each major milestone
• Track the progress against the plan
• System to add/delete tasks in the PMT
Responsibilities of the Project Manager
•The project manager’s responsibility is to ensure the customer is satisfied
that the work scope is completed in a quality manner, within budget, and on
time.
• Provides leadership in planning, organizing, and controlling the work effort
• Coordinates the activities of various team members
• Does not try to do it alone
• Involves the project team to gain their commitment
5
Responsibilities of the Project Manager (Cont.)
Planning
• Clearly defines the project objective and reaches
agreement with the customer
• Communicates this objective to the project team
6
Responsibilities of the Project Manager (Cont.)
Organizing
• Secures the appropriate resources
• Decides which tasks should be done in-house and
which by subcontractors or consultants
• Assigns responsibility and delegates authority
• Creates an environment in which individuals are
highly motivated
7
Responsibilities of the Project Manager (Cont.)
Controlling
• Tracks actual progress and compares it with planned
progress
• Takes immediate action if progress or costs change
8
Road to Better Project Management
Find a Project plan that fits your style of project
management needs
It may be as simple as creating templates, forms
and spreadsheets to track tasks
Formation of a Project Management committee
Listing out all the tasks and sub-tasks to
accomplish a goal
Jot down the time period and person responsible
against each task/sub-task
Road to Better Project Management
• Identify a Project Manager
• Identify Task Managers
• Sequence the activities in relation to time period
• Present to the PMC
• Finalize by reaching an agreement and start work…...
