Quản lí dự án - Chapter 1: The world of project management

Chapter 1The World of Project ManagementWhy the Emphasis on Project Management?Many tasks do not fit neatly into business-as-usualOrganizations need to assign responsibility and authority for the achievement of their goalsCharacteristics of ProjectsUniqueSpecific deliverablesSpecific due dateFormal Definition of a Project“A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.”Project Management Institute, 2007Formal Definition of Project Management“The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project.”Project Management Institute, 2007Other Common Characteristics of ProjectsMultidisciplinaryComplexOften involve conflictsPart of programsTrends in Project ManagementAchieving strategic goalsAchieving routine goalsImproving project effectivenessVirtual projectsQuasi-projectsComparison of Project Management and General ManagementTable 1-1Project BudgetsProject budgeting differs from standard budgeting in the way budgets are constructedBudgets for non-projects are primarily modifications of budgets for the same activity in the previous periodProject budgets are newly created for each project and often cover several “budget periods” in the futureProject SchedulesIn manufacturing, the sequence of activities is set when production line designedSequence is not altered when new models are producedEach project has a schedule of its ownPrevious projects with deliverables similar to current one may provide a rough templateHowever, specifics unique to project at handProject Organizational StructureRoutine work of organizations takes place within a well-defined structureThe divisions, departments, sections, and similar subdivisions of the total unitTypical project cannot thrive in this structureThe need for technical knowledge, information, and special skills requires that departmental lines be crossedAnother way of describing the multidisciplinary character of projectsGlobalizationWhen large firms establish manufacturing plants or distribution centers in different countries, a management team is established on siteFor projects, globalization has a different meaningMembers of project teams may be spread across countries and speak different languagesSome project team members may never have a face-to-face meetingNegotiationWith little authority, the project manager depends on negotiation skills to gain the cooperation of departments in the organizationThose departments have their own objectives, priorities, and personnelThe project is not their responsibility and the project tends to get the leftoversThree Different Types of NegotiationWin-winWin-loseLose-loseThree Goals of Project ManagementScopeCostTimeScope, Cost, and TimeProject Performance TargetsFigure 1-1UncertaintyAll projects are always carried out under conditions of uncertaintyProjects are all about uncertaintyEffective project management requires an ability to deal with uncertaintyProjects are complex and include interfaces, interdependencies, and assumptions, which may turn out to be wrongPeople add to the uncertaintyUncertainties Encountered in Project ManagementTime required to complete a projectAvailability and cost of key resourcesTiming of solutions to technological problemsMacroeconomic variablesThe whims of clientsActions taken by competitorsCan Uncertainty be Eliminated?No, uncertainty cannot be eliminatedHowever, if managed properly, it can be minimizedManaging RiskThe first step in managing risk is to identify potentially uncertain events and likelihood of occurrenceCalled risk analysisDifferent organizations approach this differentlyThe essence of risk analysis is to make assumptions about key risk parameters and to use models to evaluate the desirability of certain managerial decisionsFourth Project GoalThere is a relationship between uncertainty and the three traditional project goalsTherefore, we adopt the view in this book that managing uncertainty is a fourth goal of project managementThus, the primary role of the project manager is to effectively manage the trade-offs between cost, time, scope, and riskAbilities Needed For Effective Project ManagementAbility to resolve conflicts Creativity and flexibilityAbility to adjust to changeGood planning skillsNegotiation skillsThe Life Cycle of ProjectsAll organisms have a life cycle, they are born, grow, wane, and dieSo do projectsSome projects follow an S-shaped curveThey start slowly, develop momentum, and then finish slowlyOther project follow a J-shaped curveThey start slowly , proceed slowly, and then finish rapidlyThe Project Life CycleFigure 1-2An Alternate Project Life CycleFigure 1-3Selecting Projects To Meet Organizational ObjectivesProject selection is process of evaluating projects and choosing them so firm objectives are metEnsure that several conditions are consideredIs the project potentially profitable?Is the project requiredDoes firm have the skills to complete the project Does the project involve building strategic competenciesDoes it have capacity to carry out the project Can project be economically successfulSelection MethodsThere are many different methods for selecting projectsThey may be grouped into two fundamental typesNonnumeric: does not use numbers for evaluationNumeric: uses numbers for evaluationNonnumeric Selection MethodsThe Sacred Cow: a pet project advocated by a senior executive of the firm. The operating/competitive necessityComparative benefitsRank-ordering a small number of projects is not difficultWhen the number of projects exceeds 15 or 20, the difficulty of ordering the group rises rapidlyA Q-sort is a convenient way to handle the taskThe Q-sort MethodFigure 1-4Numeric Selection MethodsFinancial assessment methodsPayback periodDiscounted cash flowFuture opportunity analysis Scoring methodsUnweighted 0-1 factor methodWeighted factor scoring methodPayback PeriodDiscounted Cash Flowwhere I0 = The initial investment Ft = The net cash flow in period t k = The required rate of return or hurdle rateThe Weighted Scoring Modelwhere Si = The total score of the ith project sij = The score of the ith project on the jth criterion wj = The weight or importance of the jth criterionSteps in the Project Portfolio ProcessEstablish a project councilIdentify project categories and criteriaCollect project dataAssess resource availabilityReduce the project and criteria setPrioritize the projects within categoriesSelect the projects to be funded and those to be held in reserveImplement the processCategories of ProjectsDerivative projects: those that are only incrementally different from existing offeringsPlatform projects: major departures from existing offeringsThe next generationBreakthrough projects: involving a newer technologyPossibly a “disruptive” technologyR&D projects: “blue sky” or visionary endeavors The Materials in This TextChapter 2 focuses on the behavioral and structural aspects of projects and their managementChapter 3 covers the process of planning and launching the project, construction of the WBS, and responsibility chartsChapter 4 discusses the construction of a project budget and presents a method of improving one’s estimating skillsThe Materials in This Text ContinuedChapter 5 covers scheduling, PERT, CPM, and Gantt chartsChapter 6 covers resource allocationChapter 7 covers monitoring and controlling projectsChapter 8 deals with evaluating, auditing, and terminating projectsCopyrightCopyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.All rights reserved. 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