Project management three legged stool

Project Management: A Systems Approach To Planning, Scheduling and Controlling (11th Edition)

By

Harold Kerzner, Ph.D.

Chapter One
Overview

OVERVIEW OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

TIME

COST

PERFORMANCE/TECHNOLOGY

RESOURCES

9.unknown
Project Characteristics

Have a specific objective (which may be unique or one-of-a-kind) to be completed within certain specifications
Have defined start and end dates
Have funding limits (if applicable)
Consume human and nonhuman resources (i.e., money, people, equipment)
Be multifunctional (cut across several functional lines)
Project Management

Project Planning
Definition of work requirements
Definition of quantity and quality of work
Definition of resources needed
Project monitoring
Tracking progress

Comparing actual outcome to predicted outcome

Analyzing impact

Making adjustments

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS THE ART OF CREATING THE ILLUSION THAT ANY OUTCOME IS THE RESULT OF A SERIES OF PREDETERMINED, DELIBERATE ACTS WHEN IN FACT IT WAS DUMB LUCK !

PM

LM

LM

LM

PM = Project Manager

APM = Assistant Project Manager

LM = Line or Functional Manager

APM

APM

SPONSOR

GM

Multiple Boss Reporting

WHY USE PROJECT MANAGEMENT ?

Project Management and productivity are related!
MATURITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS LIKE A THREE - LEGGED STOOL.

THE LEGS REPRESENT THE:

Project Manager
Line Manager(s)
Executive Management (i.e... Project Sponsor)
Maturity cannot exist without stability

The Three-Legged Stool

Project

Manager

Line

Management

Management

Senior

(I.e. Sponsor)

TOP OF THE THREE - LEGGED STOOL

ORGANIZATIONAL

STRUCTURE

ORGANIZATIONAL

BEHAVIOR

TOOLS &

TECHNIQUES

How important is Project Management training ?
Part-time Project Management - is it good or bad ?
Critical Questions

Role Of The Project Manager

Negotiating For Resources

The Project Kickoff

Meeting

Establishing The Project’s Policies and Procedures

Laying Out The Project Workflow And Plan

Establishing Performance Targets

Obtaining Funding

Executing The Plan

Acting As The Conductor

Putting Out Fires

Counseling And Facilitation

Encouraging The Team To Focus On Deadlines

Monitoring Progress By “Pounding The Pavement”

Evaluating Performance

Develop Contingency Plans

Briefing The Project Sponsor

Briefing The Team

Briefing The Customer

Closing Out The Project

Why is a Project Management System Necessary?

Project Management

Time

Resources

Cost

Quality/Technology

Benefits

Identification of functional responsibilities to ensure that all activities are accounted for, regardless of personnel turnover.
Minimizing the need for continuous improvement
Identification of time limits for scheduling
Identification of a methodology for trade-off analysis
Measurement of accomplishment against plans
Benefits (continued)

Early identification of problems so that corrective action may follow
Improved estimating capability for future planning
Knowing when objectives cannot be met or will be exceeded
Obstacles

Project complexity
Customer’s special requirements and scope changes
Organizational restructuring
Project risks
Changes in technology
Forward planning and pricing
Humor

Project management is the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it was dumb luck.
Classical Management

Planning
Organizing
Staffing
Controlling
Directing
Which of the above is Usually NOT

performed by the project manager?

Resources

Money
Manpower
Equipment
Facilities
Materials
Information/technology
Successful Culture

A good daily working relationship between the project manager and those line managers who directly assign resources to projects
The ability of functional employees to report vertically to their line manager at the same time they report horizontally to one or more project managers
Interface Management

Managing human interrelationships within the project team
Managing human interrelationships between the project team and the functional organization
Managing human interrelationships between the project team and senior management
Managing human interrelationships between the project team and the customer’s organization, whether an internal or external organization
As part of interface management, the project manager’s role also includes integration management.

Integration Management

Capital

Materials

Equipment

Facilities

Information

Personnel

Resources

Inputs

Integration
Management

Products

Services

Profits

Outputs

Integrated
Processes

The Functional Role

The functional manager has the responsibility to define how the task will be done and where the task will be done (i.e., the technical criteria)
The functional manager has the responsibility to provide sufficient resources to accomplish the objective within the project’s constraints (i.e., who will get the job done).
Functional Obstacles

Unlimited work requests (especially during competitive bidding)
Predetermined deadlines
All requests having a high priority
Limited number of resources
Limited availability of resources
Unscheduled changes in the project plan
Unpredicted lack of progress
Functional Obstacles (continued)

Unpredicted lack of progress
Unplanned absence of resources
Unplanned breakdown of resources
Unplanned loss of resources
Unplanned turnover of personnel
Most projects also have a project sponsor which may or may not reside at the executive levels of management.

The Project Sponsor Interface

Priority Projects

Maintenance Projects

Project Team

Project
Manager

Project Manager

Project
Sponsor

Objective Setting
Up-Front Planning
Project Organization
Key Staffing
Master Plan
Policies
Monitoring Execution
Priority-Setting
Conflict Resolution
Executive-Client Contact
Relationship:

Project Sponsor:
Lower/Middle Management

Project Sponsor:
Senior Management

Project Necessities

Complete task definitions
Resource requirement definitions (and possibly skill levels needed)
Major timetable milestones
Definition of end-item quality and reliability requirements
The basis for performance measurement
Results of Good Planning

Assurance that functional units will understand their total responsibilities toward achieving project needs.
Assurance that problems resulting from scheduling and allocation of critical resources are known beforehand.
Early identification of problems that may jeopardize successful project completion so that effective corrective action and replanning can occur to prevent or resolve problems.
Promises Made???

Promotion
Grade
Salary
Bonus
Overtime
Responsibility
Future work assignments
Project Management in Non-Project-Driven Groups

Projects may be few and far between
Not all projects have the same project management requirements, and therefore they cannot be managed identically. This difficulty results from poor understanding of project management and a reluctance of companies to invest in proper training.
Executives do not have sufficient time to manage projects themselves, yet refuse to delegate authority.
Project Management in Non-Project-Driven Groups (Continued)

Projects tend to be delayed because approvals most often follow the vertical chain of command. As a result, project work stays too long in functional departments.
Because project staffing is on a “local” basis, only a portion of the organization understands project management and sees the system in action.
There exists heavy dependence on subcontractors and outside agencies for project management expertise.
High-level Reporting

The project manager is charged with getting results from the coordinated efforts of many functions. He should, therefore, report to the man who directs all those functions.
The project manager must have adequate organizational status to do his job effectively.
To get adequate and timely assistance in solving problems that inevitably appear in any important project, the project manager needs direct and specific access to an upper echelon of management
High-level Reporting (continued)

The customer, particularly in a competitive environment, will be favorably impressed if his project manager reports to a high organizational echelon.
Low-level Reporting

It is organizationally and operationally inefficient to have too many projects, especially small ones, diverting senior executives from more vital concerns.
Although giving a small project a high place in the organization may create the illusion of executive attention, its real result is to foster executive neglect o f the project.
Placing a junior project manager too high in the organization will alienate senior functional executives on whom he must rely for support.
DELEGATION

OF AUTHORITY TO

PROJECT MANAGER

EXECUTIVE

MEDDLING

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PROJECT

MANAGEMENT SHOULD WORK

LACK OF TRAINING IN COMMUNICATIONS /

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

THE TIP-OF-THE-ICEBERG SYNDROME

MANY OF THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT WILL

SURFACE MUCH LATER IN THE PROJECT AND RESULT IN MUCH HIGHER COSTS

Project Vs. Functional Influences

Project Influence

in Decision-Making

Dual Influence

Functional

Organization

Matrix

Project

Organization

Relative Influence

Functional Influence

In Decision-Making

Organization