1

Introduction

A project can be defined as an endeavor with a clear

start and finish, a set of defined goals and objectives
and a sequence of activities
.
Project management is the application of knowledge,
skills, tools, and
techniques to project activities in order to meet
project requirements
� Managing a project includes:
Identifying requirements
Establishing clear and achievable objectives
Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope,
time and cost
Adapting the specifications, plans and approach to the
different concerns and expectations of the various

A project manager is the person who has the overall

responsibility for the
successful planning and execution of a project.”

Project management is not a new management fad;

it is a professional
practice that has reached wide acceptance in many
industries from
government to technology. Organizations that have
adopted project
management as a key competency have benefited from improved
project outcomes to significant competitive advantage.

1
 2

Project management began to stretch its branches only a few

decades ago, yet it was mounting around civilization from the
beginning of history.

With an objective of maximum productivity with minimum

participation, and to breed imagination into realism, human need
for an optimal management system that can trigger workforce
efficiency to yield product, that is predetermined and objectified
was outlining a management system within the growth of human
perception though out its evolution.

“Henry Gantt” is considered to be the forefather of project

management, as his planning and organizing methods with the use
of the “bar charts” as a project management tool recognizes him as
the foremost precursor for contemporary project management
practices employed today.

However, civilization was practicing an anonymous management

system for accomplishing tasks carried out by them since the
beginning of civilization; as today we can witness Pyramids,
Roman structures, the great wall of China etc as one of most
exceptional achievements human workforces had ever delivered.

To consider these massive project missions without any proper

management would be an unjust platform to write about today for
our ancestors. The conception of project management was there in
the womb of our civilization from the beginning, but its name is
coined and structure is fabricated by our modern world.

As a discipline, project management has evolved from numerous

diverse fields, including engineering, construction, military
projects, etc. If we have to mark the date of identification for this
management system then we need to start not before the industrial
revolution, as this revolution sprouted a complex need of
organizational management and interaction. The need of budget
management, workforce utilization, demand and supply scaling,

2
 3

compels to develop the management system that was

methodological and goal oriented.

In today’s business environment The importance of project

management increased many folds because of the tighter
budgets, diminishing resources, more and more time
constraints, and competition to improve the ways we do
business. The awesome power of project management
makes it possible to focus on priorities, track and measure
performance, overcome challenges and problems, become
flexible enough to adapt to change and achieve higher
performance and a higher probability of success in each
project.

Some examples of projects include constructing a new

facility, developing a new product or service, restructuring
your business organization, planning a special event,
developing a strategic plan, information technology, software
etc.

Therefore,in view of the above discussion we see that the

role of Project Manager has increased a lot . Project
managers need to be very skilled in the management of
communications, human resources, procurement, quality,
time, cost, documentation, systems integration, etc as there
can be serious consequences and projects would definitely
crash or fail. the consequences that can be experienced with
the lack of or unskilled project manager include: missed
deadlines, cost overruns, poor workmanship, conflicts
among team members, redoing work to correct errors,
unclear directions for the project, continuous changes in
project scope, forgotten key tasks, poor morale of team,
duplication of effort, etc. Because of these potential

3
 4

consequences, the role of project manager is critical to a

project’s success. Effective project management will help:
meet or exceed customer expectations, maximize the use of
your resources (time, people, money, space, etc.), bring the
project to a successful conclusion on time and within budget,
document what was done for any need of future reference,
and build confidence in your team for future project

Triple Constrains- Cost,Time ,Scope

The scope, time and cost of a project being managed by the project
managers. Triple constraint is used to gauge whether a project’s
objectives are being met. During the planning process of a project,
the project management team define the project scope, time, cost
and quality of a project. As the process continues, the project
managers discover that there may be some changes or adjustments
to be made in one of the project’s scope, time and cost. When this
happens, the other factors of the triple constraint is likely to be
affected as well. For example, if the cost increases, it is logical to
assume that the scope and time will increase as well. The same
thing happens if the cost decreases, the scope and time will
decrease too. It is the job of the project management team to
respond to the project risk.

There are variations of the three constraints theme and name, but
the concept is generally the same. The idea has to do with priorities
in a project. The stakeholder must decide, in regards to a particular
deliverable, which of the three constraints of scope, time and cost
is most flexible, medium flexible, and least flexible. Let’s imagine
a stakeholder who decides that, for a particular deliverable, time is
the most flexible, scope is medium flexible and cost is least
flexible. This would mean that, if need be, they would prefer a

4
 5

deliverable be later than originally planned as opposed to the

deliverable costing more or having fewer features.

The rule is: if one of the triple constraints is changed, it will most
likely affect one or both of the other constraints in addition to
affecting the quality of the deliverable. An effective way to
demonstrate this concept is to say to the stakeholder, “I have three
cards: better, faster, and cheaper. You can only have two cards.
Which of the two cards?

The project managers always deal in success of their projects –

time, budget and scope. Known as the "triple constraints," these are
the mainstays of planning. But focusing more on these three
things, project managers may lose sight of other important
constraints on their plans ,therefore the must also taken into
consideration quality,schedule and resources(project management
scratchpad,a journal ).

Capabilities of a project manager to complete a

project within the given three constrains of
time,scope and cost.

The project manager has to be able to make decisions and

prioritize these constrains. . When sponsor prioritizes these
three, they can make decisions that will guide his\her project to
success.Any time you are having a hard time, making a project
decisions it's because you don't know these priorities, otherwise the
decision would be easy project manager must make the sponsor
understand that Scope is not a constraint but quality is. For the
same budget and use of resources (like money), I can deliver a lot

5
 6

of scope if it doesn't have to be done right. The more perfect it

needs to be the smaller the scope (under these conditions). Scope is
the "stuff" or deliverables that has to be create. When you have a
fixed scope, it isn't constraining you. Your resources, time, and
quality are what constrains you from delivering any amount of
scope.

Project management process and manager

role
9 Knowledge Areas –
Skills for Project Managers

Integration Management
� Ensuring that the various elements of the
project are coordinated
� Project plan development
� Project plan execution
�Overall change control
Scope Management
� Ensuring that the project includes all, and
only, the work required to complete the
project successfully.
� Initiation
� Scope planning
� Scope definition
� Scope verification
� Scope change control
Time Management
� Ensuring timely completion of the project
�Activity definition
�Activity sequencing

6
 7

�Activity duration estimating

� Schedule development
� Schedule control
Cost Management
� Ensuring that the project is completed
within the approved budget
� Resource planning
� Cost estimating
� Cost budgeting
� Cost control
Quality Management
� Ensuring that the project will satisfy the
need for which it was undertaken
�Quality planning
�Quality assurance
�Quality control
Human Resource Management
� Ensuring the most effective use of the
people involved with the project
�Organizational planning
� Staff acquisition
� Team development
Communications Management
� Ensuring timely and appropriate generation,
collection, dissemination, storage and
ultimate disposition of project information
� Communications planning
� Information distribution
� Performance reporting
�Administrative closure
Risk Management
� Ensuring appropriate identification,
analysis, and response to project risk
� Risk identification

7
 8

� Risk quantification
� Risk response development
� Risk response control

Procurement Management
� Ensuring the required acquisition of goods
and services from outside the performing
organization
� Procurement planning
� Solicitation planning
� Solicitation
� Source selection
� Contract administration
� Contract close-out

Project life cycle and manager role in it

Project Origination
� PURPOSE

8
 9

— To provide a formal mechanism to recognize and

evaluate potential projects, and reach consensus on
projects to be selected.
Activities:
� Formalize request
� Define goals, benefits,
objectives
� Cost/Benefit Analysis
Deliverables:
� Business Case
� Proposed Solutions
Project Initiation
� PURPOSE
— To verify assumptions and projections made during
Project Origination and to define and authorize the
Project
Activities:
� Refine goals, benefits,
objectives
� Identify stakeholders
� Document scope
� Identify risks
� Secure funding and
resources

Deliverables:
� Project Charter
� Initial project approval.

Project Planning
� PURPOSE— To define and refine objectives, and to establish a
plan
of action required to attain the objectives and scope of
the project

9
 10

Activities:
� Refine scope
� Define approach
� Identify major tasks and
deliverables
� Define milestones
� Develop Work Breakdown
Structure
� Develop schedule
� Define specific skills and
resource requirements
� Plan review points
� Develop plans for managing project.

Project Control
� PURPOSE
— To ensure that project objectives are met by
monitoring and measuring progress and taking
corrective actions when necessary
Activities:
� Measure progress
� Communicate with
stakeholders
� Manage expectations
� Manage changes
� Manage issues and risk
� Resolve conflicts
� Meet with team
� Report status
Deliverables:
� Project Plan Updates
� Project Financial Reports
� Change Control Process
and Log

10
 11

� Issue Log
� Risk Management Log
� Meeting Documentation
� Status Reports

Project Management proverb.

The first 90 perecnt of the task takes 90 percent of the time
and the reaining 10 percent task takes another 90 percent.

Project Control
Project Tracking:
� Team member assigned a task provides:
— Actual time spent on task
— Remaining time to complete the task
� Project Manager looks for:
— Tasks that exceed planned hours
— Tasks not completed on schedule
— New, unplanned tasks

On-Going Team Meetings:

� Keep team informed

� Share knowledge
� Solve problems
� Document decisions
and assignments

THE EFFECTIVE
PROJECT MANAGER
Basic Skills Needed
� Leadership skills
� People skills

11
 12

� Communication skills
� Technical skills
� Organizational skills

Leadership Skills
Decision Making - Focusing on Goal
Decision Making
� Gather facts
� Get input
� Don’t overreact
� Don’t procrastinate
� Don’t cover up
� Prioritize alternatives

� Communicate decisions
be?
Decision Making
The Lily Pond
� A water lily doubles in size each day.
� It will completely cover the pond in 30 days.
� You decide to wait to
do something until the
pond is half covered.
� On what day will that be?
People Skills
Organizing a Project Team:
� Centralized
� Decentralized
� Geographically Dispersed
� Dedicated

Dedicated
Team Building - How do you do it?
� Project purpose and goals

12
 13

� Individual team member goals

� Clear roles
� Team rules
� Build on strengths
Team Building - How do you do it?
� Individual attention
� Weekly team meetings
� Consistent performance information
� Give credit
� Praise in public; criticize in private
Negotiating skills.
Separate people from
issues
� Focus on interests
� Generate options
� Use objective criteria
Technical Skills
Organizational Skills

Additional PM Skills &

Characteristics
A-� A focus on the customer and the business
� Ability to clearly communicate the vision
� A sense of urgency to meet deadlines and
deliverables
� Ability to manage and control scope � Skilled at conflict and
issue resolution
� Good team facilitation skills
� Ability to motivate team to deliver quality results

Project Management Proverb.

,,Careful steering is more important than loud horn blowing,,

13
 14

B-Project manager relations with

other roles:

Prject manager must be capable of having a

decent,well balanced ,friendly and close relationship
with all the others roles to bring mutual
coordination,integration,transparency and hence will
improve the quality of the end product or service.the
different roles are given below:

�Customer/Business
� Project Sponsor
� Project Manager
� Project Steering Committee
� Project Team Members
� Other Stakeholders
Customer/Business
� The organization or
individual receiving
the final product.
� Responsible for
business requirements
that must be met.
Project Sponsor
� Manager/Executive with demonstrable interest in the
outcome of the project
� Responsible for executing tasks
and producing deliverables
— as outlined in the Project Plan
— as directed by the Project

14
 15

Manager
— at the level of effort or
participation defined for them
Other Project Stakeholders
� Individuals and
organizations actively
involved in the
project, or with
interests that may be
positively or
negatively affected as
a result of the
completion of the
project.

C-Project manager must be capable of knowing :,

a-Why Projects Fail to complete?
� Lack of user input and involvement
� Incomplete and changing requirements
� Lack of executive support
� Technology incompetence
� Lack of resources
� Unrealistic expectations, unclear objectives
� Unrealistic timeframes
� Lack of planning
b-how Projects Succeed and complete?
� User involvement
� Executive management support
� Clear statement of requirements

� Proper planning � Realistic expectations

� Smaller project milestones
� Competent staff

15
 16

� Ownership
� Clear vision and objectives
� Hard working, focused staff
c-Management Disciplines:
Project manager must be capable of management
disciplines,such as:,

� Project Mgmt Knowledge and Practice

� Human Resources Knowledge

and Practice

� General Mgmt Knowledge and Practice

� Information Technology Knowledge and Practice.

Project Manager responsibilities.

Providing Leadership and vision

“ Management without leadership is bureaucracy
and leadership without management is chaos
“
� Project management entails both management
skills and leadership skills
Two aspects of Project vision
� 1. Vision should define the primary objectives of
the
Project
Planning and organizing the project
� Estimating the size of the project

16
 17

� Defining project milestones

� Developing a detailed list of tasks
� Assigning resources to the task
� Developing and maintaining a schedule

Organizing and Managing the Project

team
� Recruiting and obtaining staff for the team
� Assigning team members to work groups and
tasks
� Ensuring team members are well trained
� Ensuring that the teams develop into effective
work teams

Estimating Costs and developing the

Project budget
Monitoring and Controlling the Project
schedule
�Tracking progress using the schedule and
defined milestones
�Maintain an open items control log
�Understanding and utilizing corrective
procedures carefully
�Implementing consistent status review and
communication techniques
�Managing the client expectations
Ensuring the Quality of the final result

Profile of an Effective Project Manager

� Enthusiastic
� Handles ambiguity

17
 18

� Good negotiator
� Sees potential
problems before they arise
� Persistent
� Open
� Responsive
� Flexible
� Sense of Humor
� Persuasive
� Self-confident
� Innovative
� Encouraging

CONCLUSION
“The Project Manager is a key ingredient in the
success
of a Project. In addition to providing leadership
in
planning, organizing and controlling the
Project, the
manager should possess a set of skills that will
both
inspire the project team to succeed and win
the
confidence of the customer. Effective Project
Managers have strong leadership ability, the
ability to
develop people, excellent communication
skills, good
inter personal skills, the ability to handle
stress,

18
 19

problem solving skills and time management

skills”.

References:
1-Project management by Dr.Ali sajid(MGMT627_01 to 45)
2-Project management book for busy persons, by Rob and
Camilla Thomsett.
3-Project management fundamentals by PMI (PMBOK 3rd
edition)
4-Project management book by Michael harding Roberts .
5-Principles of project management by Meri Williams
6_net browsing

19