Projects are singular, but non-routine, events with precise objectives which must be achieved within a

set timeframe. Projects are broken into a set of activities designed to fulfil the stated objectives.

Project Management requires the organization of people, equipment and procedures in an appropriate
way to get a project completed within a set timeframe and budget.

Project Manager is responsible for it.

The following need to be considered when planning a project

 Purpose and aim of the project.

 Resources available both human and material.
 Costing, human and time constraints.
 The tasks, procedures or activities required to complete the project.

Project management techniques are used by organizations because they ensure that organizational
objectives and system objectives are being met in a timely, accurate, relevant and complete manner.

 controlling people, resources and procedures.

Modern project management tools were, however, not developed until the early 1900s with the
creation of the GANTT chart method.

Further refinement in project management came with the development of the Critical Path Method
(CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Three tools form the basis for
documenting and managing the progress of projects.

Project Management methodology:

This Information Technology resource reviews the phases of Project Management.

There are several distinct phases or steps involved with managing a project.
INVESTIGATION:

Once a project is defined, further research is needed in order to determine whether or not it is
worthwhile pursuing.

 Involves the initial commissioning of the project

 Involves the identification of the initial aim and goals
 Involves investigation into the possible ways the project could be completed
 Is undertaken by top level management or strategic planners

PLANNING AND DESIGN:

It provides the foundation for the following phases. The aim of this step is to ensure that the objectives
can and will be met within the set time and budgetary constraints.

 Exact purpose of the project and defining objectives

 Breaking the project into tasks or activities and defining the purpose of each.
 Estimating the shortest and longest possible time required for each activity.
 Identifying milestones and key time markers in the project.
 Determining the sequence of activities and any constraints affecting the sequence.
 Deciding which activities should be completed before others can commence.
 Identifying activities that can be done simultaneously or must be done at the same time.
 Assigning resources, people, materials and equipment to activities.
 Estimating the cost of resources.
 Drawing up a calendar of events.

PRODUCTION:

During this phase the plan is put into operation. It ought to provide a completed project, ready to be
'handed over to' clients. Alternatively, it may end in a full implementation:

 Providing the resources

 Completing the activities
 Monitoring, controlling and recording the progress of the project on the GANTT chart
 Comparing the current progress to the planned schedule
 Updating and refining the schedule as required
 Monitoring resource use to ensure no budgetary blowout
 Ensuring milestones and overall goals are met

EVALUATION AND MONITORING:

The initial part of this phase is the transferal or hand over of the project. Of course this project may not
always have a single product as the final result.

Once the project is transferred to the client the project team is 'decommissioned',

Management will assess the success of the project. This assessment is based on the elements of
efficiency and effectiveness:
  Quality
 Cost
 Time
 Timeliness
 Accuracy
 Relevance
 Completeness

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLSET:

GANNT CHART:

It contains all activities and milestones.

A GANTT chart displays tasks and costs along a horizontal time scale, much like a calendar.

Activities can be done in parallel or sequentially, and the GANTT chart shows this clearly.

 Has a duration of 10 days

 Must be done after Order Production Materials and Final Code Release
 Must be done before Ship Product
PERT diagrams or critical path networks use a graphical form to show relationships between activities
and time frames.

They differ from GANTT charts in that they are better at identifying the relationship between tasks
rather than the progress of tasks over time.

 Activities - list of activities in the project and their dependencies.

 Nodes/Events - indicating the beginning or end of an activity.
 Network lines show the interdependence of events.
 Indication of the critical path - the sequence of dependent events that have the sum of
longest duration.
 Indication of slack time - events not on the critical path usually have slack time, extra time for
that event that does not effect the timing of other events thus not effecting the project time.

Estimation Activity Time:

When estimating the duration of the project, consider each task separately, the people doing
the task, normal working times and, above all, be realistic.
Project Managers may be able to use historical data or experience to estimate duration.
Scheduling and Expediting:
Projects rarely follow the plan laid out. During the project the Project Manager should assess each step.
If there are delays they should identify alternate actions to bring the project back within the time
constraints.
After the critical path and the slack time in other activities have been identified, it may be possible to
expedite (hasten) or crash the schedule. This involves identifying tasks that could possibly be reduced in
time if enough money or resources were available.

DOCUMENTATION:

Documentation is essential for the success of any information system.

Provides an overview of the system capabilities and its software.

It may also include specific procedures which must be followed or be used to provide training or
reference material.

Application and Information systems If there is inadequate documentation to support them.

Program Documentation:

When developing a software solution the developer or programmer will document all steps of the
process.

System and Technical Documentation:

System documentation involves developing and documenting all the processes of system development.

User Documentation:

User documentation is a set of documents that assist the user use the system, software or hardware
being implemented.

Electronic Documentation:

Over the last few years electronic documentation has become a popular way to give employees and/or
end users the assistance they require to complete tasks.

There are other forms of documentation. All are useful depending on the user and their needs.

Documentation Levels for users:

Novice: Need quick start guides, troubleshooting tips and user manuals that explain basic processes in
detail.

Intermediate: Need more detailed user manuals which assume some prior knowledge, troubleshooting
guides and simple technical guides.

Expert: Need manuals with explanation of complex or advanced features.

Specialists: These users depend on the use of information systems to do their work. They may include
data entry operators, web developers and graphic designers.

Adjunct: People for whom information technology assists them in their work but is not essential.

Incidentals: Occasional users of an information system.

When developing user documentation the level of knowledge and involvement should be considered.
Documentation must be geared directly towards the needs of a particular user or group of users.

There are four phases in Project Management - 1. investigation, 2. planning & design, 3. production and
4. monitoring and evaluation.

Project managers can use various tools to help plan, schedule and track project activity.

GANTT chart Tracks tasks and costs along a horizontal time scale, much like a calendar

PERT Diagrams use a graphical form to show relationships between activities and time frames.

(network
diagrams)

Critical Path The critical path is a series of activities which are vital to the event being
Method completed on time.

Documentation is essential for the success of any information system. Documentation provides anyone
who interacts with a particular system an overview of the system capabilities and its software. It may
also include specific procedures which must be followed or be used to provide training or reference
material.