Project Management: Context and Concepts

1. Module 3: Projects & Managing for Performance Project Management I P D Rwelamila, PhD, PrCPM Professor of Project Management Graduate School of Business Leadership University of South Africa (UNISA) rwelapmd@unisa.ac.za

2. PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1 CONTEXT & CONCEPTS • What is a Project & What is not • Programme, Portfolio & Project Management • A Project as a Complex Undertaking – looking at a 3-Dimensional Maze – Environment • Features of a Project

3. What is a Project? (1) “The major Characteristics of a Project • An established objective; • A defined life-span with a beginning and an end; • Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals; • Typically, doing something that has never been done before; and • Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.” :Larson & Gray (2011): College of Business, Oregon State University, USA

4. What a Project is not (2) “A Project is not routine, repetitive work! Ordinary daily work typically requires doing the same or similar work over and over, while a project is done only once; a new product or service exists when the project is complete.” :Larson & Gray (2011): College of Business, Oregon State University, USA

5. WHAT IS A PROGRAMME? “A group of related projects, which may include related business-as-usual activities, that together achieve a beneficial change of a Strategic nature for an organisation.” - Association for Project Management (2006)

6. WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO • “A grouping of an organisation’s projects, programmes and related business-as-usual activities taking into account resource constraints. Portfolios can be managed at an organisational, programme or functional level.” - Association for Project Management (2006)

7. PROJECT MANAGEMENT • “…the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet stakeholders needs and expectations from a project.” -(PMI, 2013):PMBOK • “The process by which projects aredefined, planned, monitored, controlled and deliveredso that agreed benefits are realised.” –(APM, 2012): APMBOK

8. Knowledge, skills, tools & techniques= PM (1) • Knowledge – formal training outside organisation/ within organisation/RPL • Skills– developing from experience (PM practice) • Tools – to facilitate process of making decision/or meeting requirements • Techniques – to help decision making process/balanced reflection on project issues

9. Knowledge, skills, tools & techniques= PM (2) • 2 Dimensions within PM process • The technical side of the management process – the formal, disciplined, pure logic part of the process (this relies on the formal information system available) – sometimes referred to as the ‘science’ (‘the hard side’) • The sociocultural side of the management process – this involves the much messier, often contradictory and paradoxical world of implementation (it centres on creating a temporary social system within a larger organisational environment) – sometimes referred to as the ‘art’ (‘the soft side’)

10. The technical side – ‘the science’ (1) • This side includes: • Planning and scheduling & controlling of projects • Clear project scoping • WBS • Estimating and price analysis, etc. • Ability to learn these skills is partly linked to intelligence quotient (IQ) – which is established early in every human being’s life • This is one side of the PM knowledge coin

11. The technical side – ‘the science’ (2) • There is enough evidence to suggest that a good number of PMs (‘accidental ones’) become infatuated with PM, Gantt diagrams, and performance variances and attempt to manage a project from a distance!!!!!

12. Thesociocultural side – ‘the art’ (1) • This includes people skills, such interpersonal communication, commitment to success, negotiation, consensus problem solving, leadership and motivation.

13. Thesociocultural side – ‘the art’ (2) • This includes the need to shape a project culture that stimulates teamwork and high levels of personal motivation as well as a capacity to quickly identify and resolve problems that threaten project work. • It also involves managing the interface between the project and external environment – shaping expectations of client(s), sustaining the political support of top management, negotiating with functional managers, etc.

14. Thesociocultural side – ‘the art’ (3) • Overall, the ability of the PM to build a cooperative social network among a divergent set of allies with different standards, commitments and perspectives. • Skills under this side are more related to emotional quotient (EQ) or emotional intelligence (EI), which can continue to develop as human beings mature or through training – PM at PG = ideal

15. Thesociocultural side – ‘the art’ (4) • EQ is equivalent of IQ. • At the PM (individual level) level –EQ could be defined as: ‘the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions’ (Salovey & Mayer 1990). • An emotionally intelligent PM must be able to recognise and use his or her own and others’ emotional states to solve problems and regulate behaviour

16. Thesocio-cultural side – ‘the art’ (5) • There is enough evidence (from PM practice), that a PM with a high EQ is someone who picks up more deftly, and more quickly than others, developing conflicts that need resolution, and team and organisational vulnerabilities that need addressing.

17. Thesociocultural side – ‘the art’ (6) • Over the past decade, PM initiatives (in Europe & North America) have helped increase efficiency, but often with significant hidden costs, including crumbling trust, increasing uncertainty, greater distance between PMs and those they manage, stifled creativity, festering cynicism, increasing volatile anger, and vanishing loyalty and commitment. Now, EI is beginning to make a contribution to the understanding of successful leaders with respect to: decision making; open, honest communication; building trusting relationship; teamwork; client loyalty; and creativity and innovation.

18. You need both ‘science’ & ‘art’ • PM, then is the managerial task of accomplishing a projectin time, within budget, toagreed technical and quality stands (right first time),and withinappropriate utility considerationsin order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations by using an appropriate mix oftechnical & sociocultural management skills.

19. PM Knowledge = technical + sociocultural= EQ +IQ = ‘pm science’ + ‘pm art’ • A well balanced project management course should cover broad topic areas (project management coal-face knowledge (PMCK) and executive project management knowledge (EPMK) – for HR Professionals in PBOs .

20. A Project - Part of a Complex System • Inputs & outputs • Sector/Industry environment • Country/Economy environment • Global environment • the need to understand the dynamics of environments

21. Cost Project stakeholders H&S +Env. Quality Utility Schedule Project & POO forces Inputs Output(s) Sector/Industry forces Country/Economy forces Global Forces A 3-Dimensional maze –environment H&S – Health and Safety; Env. - Environment

22. FEATURES OF A PROJECT • Primary features: • a project anatomy (life cycle) (a beginning and end, with a number of distinct phases in between) – linear model? -Fig.1-1 • a budget with an associated cash-flow • activities that are essentially unique and non-repetitive • use of resources, which may be from different departments & need co-ordinating • a single point of responsibility (I.e. the project manager) • team roles & relationships that are subject to change & need to be developed, defined & established

23. Accumulative Effort Total Project Life Cycle Time Plan Accomplish • Phase 3 • IMPLEMENTATION • Execute • (E) • Set up • organisation • communications • Motivate team • Detail technical requirements • Establish: • work packages • detailed schedule • information control • systems • Procure goods and services • Execute work packages • Direct/monitor/forecast/ • control: • scope, quality, time, cost • Resolve problems • Phase 1 • CONCEPT • Conceive • (C) • Gather data • Identify need • Establish • goals, objectives • basic economics, • feasibility • stakeholders • risk level • potential team • Guesstimate resources • Identify alternatives • Present proposal • Obtain approval for next • phase • Phase 4 • TERMINATION • Finish • (F) • Finalize product(s) • Review and accept • Transfer product • responsibility • Evaluate project • Document results • Release / direct resources • Reassign project team Project Life-Cycle [generic] (developed from the PMBOK series. Volume 1, Wideman and Fellow, 1991, p111-2) Operation/ Use • Phase 2 • DEVELOPMENT • Develop • (D) • Appoint key team members • Conduct studies • Develop scope baseline: • end product (s) • equality standards • resources • activities • Establish: • master plan • WBS • policies and procedures • Assess risks • Confirm justification] • Present project brief • Obtain approval to proceed • Phase 6 • TRANSFER • Finish • (H) • Quality of Facility/ • service • Evaluation process • Phase 5 • OWN & OPERATE • Finish • (G) • Project operate • commercially • Project produces • cash flow to pay • lender’s debts interest • and principal • repayment. • Cost (operation & • maintenance, etc.) • Training?