Construction Management

INTRODUCTION

Lecture # 1
Basic Terminology
 Basic Terminology

▪ Projects Many definitions for

these words have been
▪ Subprojects
proposed.
▪ Programmes
▪ Portfolios Sample definitions along
with practical examples
▪ Processes
are contained in the
▪ Project Management following slides.
 What is a Project? (Definition #1)

(Guide to the Project Management – Body of Knowledge,

the Project Management Institute, 4th. Ed., 2008, p. 5)
 What is a Project? (Definition #2)

(Robert Wysocki / Robert Beck Jr. / Daniel B. Crane:

Effective Project Management, John Wiley & Sons,
2002, p.65)
 What is a Project? (Definition #3)

(Clifford F. Gray / Erik W. Larson, Project Management:

The Managerial Process, 2. ed., p. 15)
 What is a Project? (Definition #4)

(J.R. Turner, The Handbook of Project-Based

Management: Improving Processes for Achieving Your
Strategic Objectives, Mcgraw Hill: New York, 1992)
 What is a Project? (Definition #5)

(David I. Cleland / Lewis R. Ireland, Project Management:

Design and Strategic Implementation, 4th ed., p. 10)
 What are Subprojects?
Subprojects are smaller, more
manageable components of larger, more
complex projects

Subprojects have their own goals and

outputs or deliverables which together
constitute the final deliverable.
Subprojects have, analogous to the
main project in which they are
integrated, their own scope, schedules,
costs, human resources, risks etc.

Subprojects are comprised of project team members and are headed by

subproject managers who, similar to the project manager, must have
excellent decision-making, communication and other requisite skills, and
be in a position to manage the implementation of the subproject work
effectively and efficiently.
 Subprojects
Example: The Sydney Olympic Games 2000

Human Resources Test Games and

Events
and Volunteers Trial Events

Venues, Facilities Sponsorship

Cultural Olympiad
Accommodation Management

Transport Pre-Games Training The Sydney Olympic

Games 2000 was a highly
Media Facilities complex project which
IT-Projects comprised several
and Coordination
distinct work areas, each
Opening and Closing of which could be con-
Telecommunications sidered as subprojects,
Ceremonies
in their own right, and
Security which all had to be in-
Public Relations tegrated and coordinated
Arrangements
within the framework of
the overall olympic
Medical Care Financing project.
 What is a Programme?
Afforestation

E X AM P L E S
A programme is basically a group of Primary Education Promotion
related projects managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits Electrification
and control not available from
managing them individually Immunization

O F
Poverty Alleviation

P R O G R AM M E S
Privatization

Project A Project D Space Exploration

Programme Urban Regeneration

Project B Project E
X
Water Resource Development
Project C Project F
Weaponization
 Example of a Programme

Project for Upgrading Equipment

A CAPITAL
INVESTMENT
PROGRAMME
Project for Training Personnel

may Project for Expanding

comprise Production Lines
following
projects

Project for Acquiring Large-Scale

Funding
 Programmes & Projects: Similarities
✓ Programmes and projects have goals and objectives which define
their purpose of existence

✓ Programmes and projects have life-spans defining a starting and

ending point in time

✓ Programmes and projects consume resources and necessarily incur

a cost

✓ Programmes and projects require application of a methodo-logy

and must be managed properly to bolster their chances of success

✓ Programmes and projects aim at helping organizations achieve

their mission and adding value to them.
 Programmes & Projects: Differences
X Programmes may have multiple overarching goals whereas
projects have one prime goal

X A programme has a comparatively longer life-span, and

obviously costs more than the combination of all the projects
which constitute it

X A programme is inherently more complex than a constituting

project – it has a broader scope and may require extensive
coordination between its various constituting projects

X Whereas a project results in the creation of an output and is then

ended, a programme must integrate and maintain the
operationality of that output for a specified period of time
The Project Portfolio
The project portfolio is the set of projects which
an organization is undertaking. Projects usually
differ in their type, complexity, cost, time
requirement, risk level, priority, etc.

Some portfolios may be quite large, comprising

dozens or hundreds of single projects,and
consume a large chunk of an organization‘s
resources

The projects comprising the portfolio may be in

various stages of initiation, planning, and
implementation

Portfolios are dynamic. Their composition will

change over time as some projects end or are
prematurely terminated and new projects are
added

A major challenge for organizations is to devise

a system for identifying, selecting and
monitoring projects which are aligned with its
mission, goals and objectives and add value to
them
What is a Process?
 What is a Process?

According to the Project Management Institute,

a process can be defined as:
 Project Management Process Illustration
PROCESS INPUTS
(Typical)
Information
Technology
Qualitative & Quantitative
Tools
Outputs of Other Processes
Material Inputs
Stakeholder Interaction
Requests, Instructions
Quality of Process Inputs,
Knowledge, Competence,
Experience, Insight, Ability,
Communication, Cooperation,
Coordination
Process Maturity, Methodology,
Benchmarking and Optimization, PROCESS OUTPUTS
Constraints, Templates, Infrastruc-ture, (Selected Examples)
Policy and Cultural Framework
Project Business Case
PROCESS STEPS Opt. Project Portfolio Mix
Project Feasibility Report
Project Master Plan
1 2 3 N (or Subsidiary Plans)
Customer Change Request
Transformation of Inputs to Outputs
Revised Cost and Schedule
TIME & COST Baseline
Process Effectiveness and Efficiency Project Status Report
Project management uses
Given that the output of one project management process processes extensively to produce
normally becomes input to another, deficiencies in one or “deliverables” (see small sample
more processes will consequently reverberate across the above). Some processes are quite
complex and have a high risk of
entire process chain error.
 Project Management Process Diagramme
(Screening A Project)

Project Proposal Idea

Data Collection and

Back-Up
Need / Strategic Fit/ ROI /
Payback Risk

Self-Evaluation of
Project Criteria

Priority Team Evaluates

Proposal and Reviews
Periodic assessment of Portfolio for Risk Return for More
Priorities Balance Information

Assign Priority, resources,

Reject Hold for
Project Manager &
Resources
Evaluate Progress
 What is a Project Management

(Guide to the Project Management – Body of Knowledge,

the Project Management Institute, 4th. Ed., 2008, p. 6)
 What is Project Management?

(Robert K. Wysocki / Robert Beck Jr. / David B. Crane, Effective Project

Management, 2. ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2002, p. 79).
What is Project Management?

[ISO 9001:2000]
 What is Project Management?

(Harold Kerzner, Project Management: A Systems Approach to

Planing, Scheduling and Controlling, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York et. al., 7. ed, 2001, p. 4)
Essential Functions of Project Management

Project Management helps organizations

tackle the pressure of change in environments –
global, economic, market, social, political,
regulatory, technological and others – which are
characterized by a high and increasing degree of
complexity, dynamism and uncertainty
 Essential Functions of Project Management

Project Management offers a focused, systematic,

integrated and process-driven framework of
application of an organization’s resources for
effective and efficient realization of its projects, and
therewith its goals, objectives and mission. It is,
hence, an important “strategic tool” indispensible
for an organization’s survival and growth.
 Essential Functions of Project Management

Project Management is primarily about leadership,

integrating work occurring in all project areas, steer-
ing the project in the right direction and effectively
managing stakeholders and complexity. Specialized
technical tasks and the tools used in project
management - often the prime focus of interest by
students of the subject and novice project
managers - are of secondary concern.
 Essential Functions of Project Management

Project Management teaches “best practices” based

on years of experience with projects in diverse fields
across the globe. It should be kept in mind, though,
that what works well in one project situation may not
at all work well in another.

Use good judgement and always be cognizant of the

context-sensitivity of Project Management!
Essential Functions of Project Management

Using Project Management is no guarantee that

the project will be sucessful – i.e. that it achieves
its goal within time and allocated budget to the
satisfaction of all stakeholders concerned. What
Project Management essentially does, though, is
offer a systematic but flexible framework which
can increase the chances of the project suceeding
or, conversely, decrease its chances of failing.
 Essential Functions of Project Management

The intensity with which Project Management is

applied must be proportional to the need and
complexity of that project. Just as one wouldn’t
commission a bazooka or a flame thrower to kill a
cockroach, it would be an error of judgment to apply
the full gamut of project management processes and
tools to a project which can probably be successfully
managed more effectively and efficiently using a
simpler and intuitive approach.
 Essential Functions of Project Management

Project Management seeks at least to meet - and pre-

ferably to exceed - stakeholder needs (i.e. the identi-
fied requirements) as well as stakeholder expecta-
tions (i.e. unidentified requirements) from a given
project within the constraints of scope, cost,
time and quality.

Project Management is an evolving area of knowledge

striving for continuous self-improvement over time.
 The Project Management Institute‘s
Publications
The PMI has published numerous very insightful books on
project management and its areas which are available from
its bookstore along with other publishers‘ books (samples
below):
 End Note

Project Management does not guarantee the success, But

it increases the likelihood of the success of the project.
THANK YOU!