UNIT V

• Project Management: Meaning of Project, Project Objectives &

Characteristics, Project Identification- Meaning & Importance; Project
Life Cycle, Project Scheduling, Capital Budgeting, Generating an
Investment Project Proposal, Project Report-Need and Significance of
Report, Contents, Formulation, Project Analysis-Market, Technical,
Financial, Economic, Ecological, Project Evaluation and Selection,
Project Financing, Project Implementation Phase, Human &
Administrative aspects of Project Management, Prerequisites for
Successful Project Implementation. New Control Techniques- PERT
and CPM, Steps involved in developing the network, Uses and
Limitations of PERT and CPM .
 Meaning of Project
Project management is the process of planning and managing a project
from start to finish to achieve a desired outcome. It involves coordinating
resources and activities to meet deadlines and achieve the project's goals.
• The five phases of project management are:
• Initiation: Defining the project at a high level to get authorization to start
• Planning: Defining the project's scope, schedule, budget, resources, and
approach
• Execution: Performing the planned work to meet the project's objectives
• Monitoring and controlling: Tracking and reviewing the project's progress
and taking corrective actions when needed
• Closing: Completing the project formally
 Project Objectives & Characteristics
Project objectives are the specific goals that a project aims to achieve, and they are a
critical part of project management. They should be measurable, attainable, and time-
bound. Some characteristics of project objectives include:
Measurable: Project objectives should include key performance indicators (KPIs) that can
be used to evaluate the project's success.
Time-bound: Project objectives should be defined within a specific timeframe.
Attainable: Project objectives should be specific and achievable.
Relevant: Project objectives should be relevant to the project's goals.
Project objectives are important because they:
Clarify the project's purpose
Guide the team towards successful completion
Influence decision-making and resource planning
Provide a way to communicate goals before and during the project
Provide a way to evaluate the project's success after it ends
Some other characteristics of projects include: Projects involve a distinct set of activities,
Projects have deadlines, Projects always deliver a result, and Projects are unique.
 Project identification
Project identification is the process of identifying a need, problem, or opportunity, and
then developing a preliminary proposal for how to address it. It's the first step in a
project's life cycle and strategic planning process.
Here are some things to consider when identifying a project:
Sources
• Identify potential projects from a variety of sources, such as government plans, existing
projects, or local development dialogues.
Feasibility
• Determine if the project is feasible and promising by analyzing the environment and
identifying opportunities.
Objectives
• Define the project's objectives and scope of work, and ensure they are specific,
measurable, realistic, and consistent with resources.
Constraints
• Identify potential constraints, such as internal project constraints, internal corporate
constraints, or external constraints.
• Project Identification- Meaning & Importance
Project identification is a process that involves identifying a need, problem, or
opportunity, and then selecting the most appropriate project to address it. It's a
crucial step in the initiation phase of project management.
Here are some things to consider when identifying a project:
Identify needs: Recognize a need, problem, or opportunity that the project will
address.
Set objectives: Develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant,
Time-bound) goals that align with the organization's objectives.
Consider resources: Evaluate the resources required to complete the project.
Analyze data: Collect, compile, and analyze data to identify potential
opportunities.
Identify risks: Identify specific risks and how they could affect the project.
Select a project: Prioritize initiatives that are feasible and valuable, and select the
most appropriate project to move forward.
Project Life Cycle
 Project Scheduling
• Project scheduling is the process of assigning tasks to specific start and end
dates, and allocating resources within a budget to ensure a project is
completed on time. It involves focusing on tasks, deadlines, and project
dependencies.
• Here are some steps for project scheduling:
• Define the project scope: This is a detailed list of the project's deliverables,
tasks, technical requirements, and client expectations.
• Identify the critical path: This is the sequence of tasks that must be completed
on time to finish the project.
• Use a visual mapping tool: A program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
chart can be used to plan the project schedule.
• Create a timeline: This can be done after preparing estimates and managing
resources.
• Track progress: Make any necessary changes as the project progresses.
 Capital Budgeting
• Capital budgeting is a process that helps companies decide if they should
invest in capital assets, such as new equipment, facilities, or software
upgrades. It's a way to evaluate the financial viability of a project over its
lifetime, and to ensure that a company's capital resources are used efficiently.
• Capital budgeting can help companies:
• Maximize returns: Identify profitable investment opportunities and maximize
returns
• Use resources effectively: Allocate and use resources efficiently
• Take a long-term perspective: Consider the long-term financial implications of
an investment
• Reduce risk: Consider factors like risk, uncertainty, and the time value of
money
• Make decisions more easily: Use a structured and systematic approach to
evaluate investment proposals
 Generating an investment project proposal
Consider the Target Audience. Tailor the proposal to the specific needs
and interests of the investor group you are pitching. ...
Provide the Right Amount of Detail. ...
Showcase the Project Team. ...
Include a Clear Summary.
• A project report is a formal document that summarizes a project's key
aspects and is important for several reasons, including:
Monitoring performance
• Project reports help project managers track a project's progress against its
goals.
Communicating progress
• Project reports provide stakeholders, clients, and staff with an
understanding of a project's progress.
Identifying risks
• Project reports help identify potential risks and challenges.
Making decisions
• Project reports provide the details and findings needed to make informed
decisions
A project report typically includes the following sections:
Executive summary
A concise overview of the project's key findings, objectives, and recommendations.
Project performance report
A specialized project status report that includes overviews of progress, resource allocation, and
costs.
Conclusion
Summarizes the key points discussed in the report, emphasizing the project's achievements
and lessons learned.
Introduction
Outlines the project's background, purpose, and significance.
Project progress
Includes real metrics that track the project's progress, and identifies risks or issues that may
have emerged.
Project status report
Gives an overview of where the project currently is, and lets you determine if the project is on
time and under budget
 Project formulation
• Project formulation is the process of systematically developing a project
idea to make an investment decision. It involves a team of experts analyzing
a project idea through various stages to obtain a complete picture of the
project. The results of the analysis are documented in a project report that
can be used to obtain investor funding.
The stages of project formulation include:
• Feasibility analysis
• Techno-economic analysis
• Project design
• Input analysis
• Financial analysis
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Pre-investment appraisal
• A detailed assessment of your business's target market and the
competitive landscape within a specific industry. This analysis lets you
project the success you can expect when you introduce your brand
and its products to consumers within the market.
• identify Your Competition. This may sound basic, but if you don't
know who you are up against, how will you know how to outperform
them? ...
• Audit Their Content. ...
• Examine Their Website and Analyze Their SEO Content Focus. ...
• Take a Plunge Into Social Media. ...
• Evaluate Your Next Steps.
 Administrative aspects of project management include:
• Planning
Administrative professionals help define project goals, deliverables, milestones, and
timelines. They also create detailed project plans and establish communication
channels.
• Resource management
Administrative professionals ensure that resources are available and allocated
appropriately. They coordinate the scheduling of team members and external
resources, and monitor resource utilization.
• Task tracking
Project administrators track individual tasks and monitor the project schedule. They
get updates from team members and notify the project manager if a deadline is at
risk.
• Project documentation
Administrative professionals create and update project documentation.
• Project performance metrics
Administrative professionals identify, capture, and analyze project
performance metrics.
• Project training
Administrative professionals design and deliver project-related training.
• Processes and procedures
Administrative professionals develop, implement, and improve processes and
procedures.
• Procurement
Administrative professionals manage procurement solicitations and selection.
• Administrative professionals play a crucial role in initiating, planning, and
executing projects. They bring their expertise in coordinating resources,
managing timelines, and ensuring smooth communication channels.
 Project evaluation and selection
• Project evaluation and selection are processes that help determine the most important projects
to undertake:
• Project evaluation
A systematic assessment of a project's relevance, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. It can be
conducted at different stages of a project, such as before it begins (pre-project evaluation) or during
its early stages (formative evaluation).
• Project selection
The process of evaluating project ideas to determine which one should be prioritized. It's a key part
of project portfolio management (PPM), which is used to analyze the potential return on a project.

Here are some steps in the project selection process:

• Identify potential projects
• Compare the projects against each other
• Analyze the findings
• Select a project
• The specific steps in the project selection process may vary by organization.
• PERT and CPM are both project management tools that help optimize
scheduling, but they differ in their approach to project activities and
the level of certainty around activity durations:
• PERT
• Stands for Program Evaluation and Review Technique, and is used to
estimate project duration and manage uncertain activities. PERT is a
probabilistic model that uses three time estimates for each activity:
optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely. PERT is effective for projects
with many dependencies and moving parts.
• CPM
• Stands for Critical Path Method, and is used to manage predictable
activities and time-cost trade-offs. CPM is a deterministic model that
uses a single, fixed estimate for each activity duration. CPM is ideal for
projects with well-defined task durations.
• Network analysis is a structured process that helps managers plan,
manage, and control projects by visualizing the connections and
relationship between Project management.
• Network analysis can help managers break down complex projects into
smaller tasks, organize them in a logical sequence, and create a network
diagram to visually represent the project. This diagram can help
managers determine the critical path, which is the longest sequence of
tasks that determines the project's completion time.
Organizational network analysis
• Network analysis can help organizational leaders understand patterns of
interactions between employees, such as how a contagious disease
might spread.
Other business operations
• Network analysis can be used in other business operations, such as
operations management, systems development, and software.
Some techniques used in network analysis include:
• Critical path method (CPM): A technique used in network analysis
• Critical path analysis (CPA): A technique used in network analysis
• Programme evaluation and review technique (PERT): A technique
used in network analysis
• Dummy activity: An activity that maintains the logical order of
activities without consuming time
• Deterministic time estimate: An estimate of the most likely time
required for an action or process relationships between tasks,
stakeholders, and other elements.
• Definition of PERT
• The project network analysis technique, termed the Program (Project)
Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT), is used to plan and manage
projects. The PERT approach concentrates on how much time and
money each activity requires. This will consequently affect how long it
takes and how much it costs to complete the full job. This network
analysis method aids in comprehending how the job performs during
the duration of the project. It was created in the latter half of the
1950s. The project's duration and cost are intended to be decreased.
• Advantages of PERT analysis
• The following is a list of PERT's benefits:
• PERT helps in planning for big projects

• 1. The project manager may easily schedule project activities with the aid of the PERT system. This
method is used more frequently in complex, large-scale project work.

• 2. Critical path visibility in PERT

The critical path will be clearly displayed using the PERT approach. The crucial path is the path that
contains tasks that cannot, under any circumstances, be put off. The project manager will be able to
make quick, effective decisions that will improve the performance of the project with the aid of
proper knowledge of the stack values and minimal dependency circumstances.

• 3. Analysis of activity in PERT

The PERT networks' activity and events are examined. Both of these are examined separately and
jointly. This will paint a picture of the project's likely completion and the budget
• 4. Coordination of PERT

• The several construction organisation departments will supply the data for the PERT
operations. The departments are well integrated, which will aid in enhancing the project
team's capacity for planning and decision-making. The management of the project's
activities will be improved by combining quantitative and qualitative values from a lot of
data. Additionally, this will enhance communication within the organization's various
departments.

• 5. The what-if analysis

• By appropriately assessing the critical path, it is possible to learn about the potential
outcomes and the various levels of uncertainty from the project activities. What-if
analysis is the term for this kind of analysis. Permutation and combination operations are
carried out for these different sets. The most advantageous mix of them is taken into
account. The set that is selected will have the lowest cost, most economical operation,
and best outcome. The risk connected to any activity can be determined with the use of
this analysis.
• Disadvantages of PERT analysis
• The following list of PERT's drawbacks includes:

1. Time-oriented method
PERT is a time-focused methodology, so completing tasks or projects by the deadline is crucial. If it doesn't, an
issue might develop.
2. Subjective analysis
In this case, the project tasks are identified in accordance with the information at hand. It is challenging in PERT
projects since it applies to the lone new project area that is not recurring in nature, making the information
collection subjective in nature.
3. Inaccuracy in prediction
Since PERT lacks historical data for a project's framework, prediction is necessary. In the
event that the prediction is incorrect, the project could be ruined.
4. Costly process
In terms of the amount of time, study, forecast, and resources used, it is too expensive.
5. Labour intensive
PERT analysis is labor-intensive in nature. Large and complex networks form as a result of
the possibility of a rise in project activities and the emergence of various task
dependencies. This method won't work well for the project if two tasks share resources.
Definition of CPM
• The Critical Path Method, sometimes known as CPM, is a method used for
planning and preparation, organizing, coordination, and control in projects.
It was created in the late 1950s. It is expected that the activity's length is set
and predictable in this case. The earliest & latest start times for each
activity are determined using CPM.
• Advantages of CPM
1. Better communication
Critical route method schedules call for feedback from
important parties at every stage of the project's lifespan. The
timeline becomes more realistic and solid from the outset
when the skills of diverse team members & subcontractors,
such as architects, electricians, and construction managers,
are combined.
• 2. Ease in prioritization
• Prioritization is made simpler since project managers may more
easily define priorities and calculate the float of each work by
identifying the critical path. Slack or float measures how much time
a task may be put off before it affects when it will be finished. The
float of non-critical activities is positive, whereas the float of critical
path tasks is zero. Teams can determine the priority of each work by
calculating its float. The priority increases as the float decreases.
• 3. Improved scheduling accuracy
• The critical path approach is a well-liked and dependable tool for
enhancing project schedule accuracy. The PERT analysis helps
teams in estimating overall project time and is often used alongside
CPM. PERT considers unpredictable events, while CPM concentrates
on predictable activities, resulting in three potential timelines: the
most optimistic, the most pessimistic, and the most realistic. Project
managers can produce the most precise forecasts by combining
PERT and CPM.
• 2. Reduced applicability
• Not all projects can benefit from the critical route approach. For instance,
CPM demands repeatable and predictable timelines. For creative projects
that frequently come together in unforeseen ways, such as product
designing or research work, CPM is not a suitable fit. On the other hand,
repetitive or autonomous tasks are not ideal candidates for CPM. For
instance, dozens of machines may need to be cleaned as part of a weekly
maintenance schedule, but the sequence in which they are serviced is
irrelevant. Since there are no activity constraints and no critical route in
this situation, CPM is not useful.
• 3. Limited attention to high-float activities
• When using the CPM, project managers concentrate on the tasks that are
on the critical path. Even though the critical route does affect the overall
project duration, employing this strategy can make it simpler to disregard
low-priority or floaty activities, which can cause delays. A new building's
electrical system installation, for instance, is not a critical path task
because it may be completed over a long period of time. However, project
managers can still affect the completion schedule if they overlook wiring
work or put it off for too long.