Lecture 5

• Every project is somewhat unique
• Basic questions about the project must be addressed and answered before work can begin

  1. What is the desired end?

  2. How will the result be achieved?

  3. Who will do it?

  4. When and in what order?

  5. How much?

  6. How well?
• Project management


  1. In the conception and definition phases, preparing a plan that specifies the project requirements, work tasks, responsibilities, schedules, and budgets

  2. During the execution phase, executing the work in the plan and tracking progress versus the plan
• The difference between a proposal summary plan and a project execution plan is that the former is aimed at the customer, while the latter is aimed at the project team
• The planning effort in preparing the proposal is directed at estimating the project duration, cost, and needed resources
• The proposal summary plan includes just enough information about the project and the price to enable the customer to make a decision
• Contents of execution plans

  • Size
  • Complexity
  • Nature of the project
• The project execution plans contains

  • Scope, charter or Statement of Work (SoW)

  Management and organisation section

  Technical section

  User requirement

  Work breakdown structure

  Responsibility assignments

  Project schedules

  Budget
• Project scope


  The overall size of the project and the range or extent of work it encompasses
• Scope definition


  Specifying the breadth of the project and the full span of its outputs, end-results, or deliverables

  Defining inclusions and exclusions to avoid confusion at a later state

  Determining outputs and deliverables, not on time and cost
• Scope statement


  Describes the main deliverables of the project, criteria for acceptance of the deliverables, assumptions and constraints

  Functions to be fulfilled by the deliverables, brief background about the problem being addressed or the opportunity being exploited, project objectives, user requirements or high-level specifications, and high-level project tasks or major areas of work
• The scope statement sometimes also lists outcomes or consequences to be avoided
• The scope statement normally refers to other documents that contain them
• For a unique project, the preliminary scope statement defined during project initiation might be somewhat vague; it should however be expanded and clarified during project definition as detailed plans for the first phase of the project are developed
• Once the scope statement has been approved, it becomes a controlled document that can be modified only through a formal change process
• Statement of Work (SOW)

  A description of the project that includes a scope statement, but often goes far beyond that

  It describes deliverable specifications and requirements, deliverable schedules, management procedures for communication, planning, and handling risks and changes
• The term SOW and its usage are commonly associated with contracted projects, and the SOW appears in documents associated with the contracting or procurement process
• The project charter described in Chapter 4 might also contain a SOW
• Work definition


  Translating project objectives and deliverables into specific, well-defined work activities

  Specifying the tasks and jobs that the project team must do
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

  A method for subdividing the overall project into smaller elements to divide the total project into "pieces of work" called work packages
• Levels of a typical WBS

  • Project

  Sub-project

  Work package

  Activity
• Product-oriented WBS


  Work Packages comprise of project scope
• Elements of a Work Package

  • Comprehensive SOW: work task or activity to be done

  Resource requirements: labor, equipment, facilities, and materials needed for the task

  Time: estimated time to perform the task

  Costs: estimated resource, management, and related expenses for the task

  Responsibility: parties, individuals, or job titles responsible for doing and/or approving the task

  Outcomes: requirements, specifications, and associated deliverables, enditems, or results for the task

  Inputs: preconditions or predecessors necessary to begin the task

  Quality Assurance: entry, process, and exit conditions to which the task must conform; as specified in the quality plan

  Risk: uncertainties about time, cost, and resources associated with the task

  Other: additional information as necessary
• Managers, subcontractors, and others responsible for the project are identified during the WBS process and involved in defining the work. Their involvement helps ensure completeness of work definition and gains their commitment to that work
• Work packages in each phase are logically related to those in earlier and later phases; this ensures that predecessor requirements are met and no steps overlooked
• Work packages identified in the WBS become the basis for budgets and schedules. The project budget is the sum of budgets for the work packages plus overhead and indirect expenses. The project schedule is a composite of the schedules for the work packages
• The project organization is formed around the work packages, with resources and management responsibility assigned to each work package
• The project is managed by managing people working on the individual work packages
• The project is controlled by controlling the work packages. During project execution, work completed and costs accrued are compared to schedules and budgets for the work packages, suggesting which work packages are in need of corrective action
• Responsibility Matrix


  Also known as assignment matrix, it gives the individuals responsible for work packages in a chart

  The rows represent work packages and activities in the WBS

  The columns is for the groups/persons responsible

  The letters in the matrix is for the kind of responsibility (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed)
• Events


  Represent a moment in time, different from tasks or activities

  Interface event denotes the completion of one task and simultaneous start of one or more subsequent tasks

  Milestone event represents a major project occurrence such as completion of a phase
• Kinds of Schedules


  • Project schedule (for managers)

  Task or activity schedule (for people doing the tasks)
• Gantt or bar chart


  The most common scheduling technique

  Created to visually portray the status of the program

  Helps to view and assess progress and each element status with respect to time

  The horizontal scale is divided into time units (days, weeks or months)

  Vertical scale shows elements-tasks, activities or work packages
• Gantt charts do not show the effects of one work element falling behind schedule on other work elements, and how delays in some work elements impact other elements and the project as a whole
• Line of Balance (Linear Scheduling Method)

  A method for planning repetitive activities (e.g. construction of 20 town houses of the same plan)
• Procured Goods, Work and Services (GWS)

  • Equipment/Materials

  Off the Shelf equipment (OTS) – the readily available products

  Bulk Materials

  Consumables – bolts and nails

  Equipment for construction like cranes, scaffolding etc

  Administrative equipment e.g. computers
• Soliciting and Evaluating Bids


  Potential vendors are solicited to offer bids or proposals

  Negotiation of the contract is done between the supplier and the customer if one supplier is involved (sole sourcing)

  When the scope is simple and requirements well defined, the customer can advertise for bids online and other media using an RFP or RFQ (Request for Quotation, a simple price quote)
• Procurement planning and Scheduling


  Estimation of the procured items, labor, or services needed for the project

  Items to be procured are identified during the WBS process, either from planning the work and resources needed for particular work packages, or from knowing that entire work packages must be outsourced

  Managers responsible for each work package identify the GWS within the package that must be procured
• Logistics Plan


  Relates to the transport and storage of materials

  In projects that are materials-intensive, the loading, unloading, transportation, inspection, clearances and approvals, and storage of materials can be major issues

  Whenever GWS items cannot be scheduled to arrive just in time, provision must made to store and protect them, which on large projects can be very costly
• Project planning helps determine which, when and how project goals are to be achieved