Production Operations Management

Project Management
Term Paper
Jenna Volk

2011

Project Management
Trying to manage a project without project management is like trying to play a football game without a game plan. K. Tate

Project management, in the modern sense, began in the early 1950s, although it has its roots much further back in the latter years of the 19th century. The need for project management was driven by businesses that realized the benefits of organizing work around projects and the critical need to communicate and coordinate work across departments and professions. The government, military and corporate world have now adopted this practice. History In the 19th century, the rising complexities of the business world showed how project management evolved from management principles. In this country, the first large organization was the transcontinental railroad, which began construction in the early 1870s. Suddenly, business leaders found themselves faced with the intimidating task of organizing the manual labor of thousands of workers and the manufacturing and assembly of unprecedented quantities of raw material. Near the turn of the century, Frederick Taylor (18561915) began his detailed studies of work. He applied scientific reasoning to work by showing that labor can be analyzed and improved by focusing on its elementary parts. He applied his thinking to tasks found in steel mills, such as shoveling sand and lifting and moving parts. Before then, the only way to improve productivity was to demand harder and longer hours from workers.

Taylor's associate, Henry Gantt (18611919), studied in great detail the order of operations in work. His studies of management focused on Navy ship construction during WWI. His Gantt charts, complete with task bars and milestone markers, outline the sequence and duration of all tasks in a process. Gantt chart diagrams proved to be such a powerful analytical tool for managers that they remained virtually unchanged for nearly a hundred years. It wasn't until the early 1990s that link lines were added to these task bars depicting more precise dependencies between tasks. Taylor, Gantt, and others helped evolve management into a distinct business function that requires study and discipline (Sisk, 2011). The Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed, in 1969, to professionalize and modernize through formalizing project management tools and techniques. In addition, today with rapid technological advancement, thriving IT industries, and globalization, project management solutions are in demand throughout the world as a fundamental force to complete projects within a defined scope, time, and within cost constraints. (Bista, 2006) Case Study #1: AT&T AT&T, a worldwide leader in technology communications, established a Project Management Center of Excellence (PMCOE) in order to institute common standards, foster a project management culture and improve individual and organizational competencies. This program targeted over 10,000 project managers, program managers and their supervisors with the mission to be recognized internally as the resource for project management consulting, mentoring, training, processes, tools and techniques. In 2005, Southwestern Bell Corp, SBC, and AT&T finalized a merger. This merger brought together two distinct project management improvement organizations with slightly different areas of focus which was a challenge for the PMCOE. This change forced the PMCOE

to re-evaluate the project and determine how to appropriately fuse the strengths of the two organizations. With 10,000 employees that make up AT&Ts project management community, the PMCOE was also finding it difficult to determine the best way to necessitate and support this large community that in which each unit has different needs and concentrations. Finally, effective and efficient communication was also a large challenge due it is sizable and worldwide project management population. Without appropriate communication, the PMCOE risked going unrecognized and not being used to its full potential. As a solution to these challenges the PMCOE applied a project management methodology that was in complete alignment with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). They instituted 5 steps for successful project management: Initiating Process, Planning Process, Executing Process, Monitoring and Control Process, and Closing Process. They also establish consultants and distributed surveys to identify problem areas. As a result, the PMCOE project was achieved within budget and ahead of schedule. The first PMCOE Client Satisfaction Survey showed greater than anticipated awareness and appreciation of the PMCOE mission, objectives, and offerings (Project Management Institute, 2011). Case Study #2: IBM For almost a century, IBM shaped the way business works. But by the early 1990s, consecutive years of billion dollar losses led some to conclude that it would become a casualty of the personal computer revolution that it had helped create. As the worlds largest technology

services company and ranked by Business Week as possessing the most valuable technology brand in the world, ahead of Microsoft and Google, they needed to make some changes in order to survive. IBM, for ten years, has been a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) and It currently employs more people with the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential than any other organization in the world. This participation in the R.E.P. program and employing PMP credential holders helped IBM deliver tangible value to their business, from increasing operational efficiency to aiding business development. They declared IBM a Project-based Enterprise, one whose success relied upon project management providing tangible benefits in two areas: making internal operations more efficient and providing external value to its customers. In order to achieve this transformation, they created the Project Management Center of Excellence (PM-COE), which would work with senior executives, business units and individual employees to establish project management as a core competency across their global enterprise. As a result, IBM has had an increase in performance, profitability, and growth (Project Management Institute, 2011). Case Study #3: Chile Soccer Stadiums The problem: build four stadiums, from the ground to the sky, in only nine months time. In 2008, Chile won the right to host the 2008 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under-20 Womens World Cup. Due to FIFAs strict regulations, 4 cities in Chile had to build soccer stadiums in order to comply within less than a year in order to host this event. This massive undertaking had one equally large challenge: though the return of democracy led to a substantial growth in investment funds and a project portfolio ten times larger than it was before, the quantity of people available to plan and execute these projects did not change. So they now

had a far higher number of complex projects with very aggressive deadlines, but very limited experienced and certified project managers with which to accomplish these high-profile projects. The associated timelines, costs, and requirements were too complex to use outmoded project management principles and practices. The MOP, Chiles Ministry of Public Infrastructure, had to modernize with new techniques and practices. By adopting standards from the Project Management Institute (PMI) the MOB was able to implement the structure it needed. Based on PMIs standards, the MOP created a compact team with a central point of command and a single project manager. Each potential host city was represented by a satellite team of three people, which supervised the engineering and construction of each stadium. The projects were supported by staff of 250 workers in each stadium and a total of 1,000 workers for the entire project. It was critical to have a common vision and understanding of the plan, procedures, and ultimate goals and to act as a single entity. Through modern practices of project management, they reached their goal, on time and on budget, in October 2008 in plenty of time for the event (Project Management Institute, 2011). Case Study #4: Colorado Springs Welcome Home Parade Home to multiple branches of the US military, Colorado Springs had the large task of putting on a Welcome Home parade for approximately 11,000 troops that were returning home from Iraq in 2004. The project management team used competencies found in PMIs de facto guide to the project management profession, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) for this event. As with most projects, they had a short amount of time and a limited budget. They also had many last minute changes to the agenda which proved problematic.

In order to combat the limited budget and timeframe, the project team used every stakeholders resources, asking what each organization could contribute to the event. The project was then approached in reverse order; the scope of a project is typically established before the resources, but the project team had to establish resources to determine project scope. Project management techniques enabled the project team to coordinate the event, raise funds and accommodate last minute changes within a remarkably short time frame. As a result, the Colorado Springs Welcome Home Parade was the largest event of its kind ever held in Colorado Springs (Project Management Institute, 2011). Case Study #5: Marriott Bedding Program In 2004, Marriott International set out to upgrade their bedding across all Marriott brands by providing new sheeted duvet covers, soft linens, down pillows and pillow-top mattresses for their customers. With more than 2,400 properties in 68 countries and territories, Marriott International, Inc. is one of the leading hospitality companies in the world. As a management company, Marriott is responsible for daily operations in both company-operated and franchised properties. Giving Marriott International an important advantage and unique selling point over competitors, The Marriott Bedding Program set out to develop and implement a bedding package for over 628,000 beds across 10 Marriott lodging brands in two years. The $190 million global project would require a professional and experienced project management team. The project team, composed of Project Management Professional, certified project managers, managed by a program manager out of Marriotts Lodging Program Management Office (PMO). The team conducted extensive market, product development and product and operational testing research

to get inside the minds of their customers and affirm that the linens products adhered to their requirements. With so many moving parts and dependencies and 21 internal project teams the project scope became a clear challenge. Project teams had to work across time zones, languages and a variety of cultures and government regulations to achieve a successful outcome, making effective and efficient communication and coordination a significant challenge. To bring the project down to size, the team implemented several project management techniques, the most important being communication. Project teams used meetings, emails, status reports, memos, conference calls, conferences, and etc. to communicate to the global audiences affected by the program. Solid record keeping and documentation also played a large part in keeping the team organized with the numerous elements of the project. In addition, the project had several levels and processes, all depending on project teams and milestones, thus it was important to ensure that dependencies between project teams and key milestones were identified in a timely manner. In March 2006, two years after commencement, the Marriott Bedding Program completed the conversion of the 628,000 beds under budget with the help of the extensive project management team. (Project Management Institute, 2011) Conclusion Project management is an essential and important element in businesses today. Project managers and team members are also key elements, because without these people there would not be any organization or success in a project. As a first-hand experience, I am employed at an electrical contracting company. The project manager, manages anywhere from 10-20 projects per day, with approximately 40-50 active projects at one time. This individual coordinates each project, by selecting foremen to carry out the projects. The project manager does not use any

elaborate technology, other than a cell phone and e-mail, to manage these projects. However, he does have some flaws in his method. He has learned through twenty years of experience on how to manage, however, society and businesses has evolved in those years and he has not evolved with them. After reading the case studies above, I have discovered the main source of success for these projects is communication. Communicating between team members and clients to come to a common goal is critical. As an office assistant, I have had to deal with customers, co-workers, and other contractors alike to help complete these projects. The one thing, I believe, the project management teams is missing is communicating effectively. I also believe using the technologies available to us can make projects go a lot smoother. For example, being able to instantly see emails pertaining to crucial information about a project on a smartphone is a great way to effectively manage a project quickly. Also to have the same software and technologies as other companies make things easier to gather and share important information. If I had the chance to implement project management, I would use the suggestions I mention above to manage my projects. The one thing I will keep in mind is that, businesses do not have to be project-based in order to utilize project management. As with Case Study #5, Marriott wanted to implement a new program in which required a large amount of man-power and resources so they turned to project management to help them accomplish this project. Project management is an effective tool that has helped and will continue to help many businesses globally. We just need to learn how to utilize it properly in order to succeed.

Works Cited
Bista, B. (2006, June 15). Project Management: History and Evolution. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from EZinearticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?Project-Management:-History-andEvolution&id=340860 Project Management Institute. (2011). PMI Case Study: AT&T. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from Project Management Institute: http://www.pmi.org/BusinessSolutions/~/media/PDF/Case%20Study/ATT%20Case%20Study-FINAL%2010-23.ashx Project Management Institute. (2011). PMI Case Study: Chili. Retrieved December 3, 2011, from Project Management Instittue: http://www.pmi.org/BusinessSolutions/~/media/PDF/Case%20Study/Chile_case_study.ashx Project Management Institute. (2011). PMI Case Study: Colorado Springs Welcome Home Parade. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Project Management Institute: http://www.pmi.org/BusinessSolutions/~/media/PDF/Case%20Study/Case_Colorado%20Parade.ashx Project Management Institute. (2011). PMI Case Study: IBM. Retrieved November 19, 2011, from Project Management Institute: http://www.pmi.org/BusinessSolutions/~/media/PDF/Case%20Study/IBM_case_study.ashx Project Management Institute. (2011). PMI Case Study: Marriott Bedding Program. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Project Management Institute: http://www.pmi.org/BusinessSolutions/~/media/PDF/Case%20Study/MarriottBeddingDraft.ashx Sisk, T. (2011). The History of Project Management. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from Project Managers : http://www.projmgr.org/pdf/articles/PMHistory.pdf