4- PROJECT MANAGEMENT Politics of Project Management The Project Life Cycle Project Actors & the job The Project Manager

4. P. Management… Politics of Project Management Politics is the art of influence. Six steps for good project politician (Block, 1983): 1. Assess the environment 2. Identify the goals of the principal actors 3. Assess your own capabilities (1-3 realistic) 4. Define the problem 5. Develop solutions 6. Test and refine the solutions

4. Management… The Project Life Cycle The project life cycle determines what should be done and which options are open. Six functions are addressed during the course of a project: [S-P-I-C-E-T] Selection Planning Implementation Control Evaluation Termination

4. Management & life Cycle: Project selection? Why project selection? Project selection: We select some projects and reject others because they involve OPPORTUNITY COSTS. External and internal project sources: Externally as a request for proposal or invitation for bid Internally from management or task force charged with reorganization.

4. Management & life Cycle: What does planning tells us? A plan is a roadmap from one point to another. Pre-plans: a rough idea of what the project: feasibility studies, cases, competitive analysis etc. Pre-plans are important for project selection. Detailed project plan - rarely static: Gantt charts, network diagrams, resource-allocation charts, resource loading charts, responsibility charts, cumulative cost distributions etc.

4. Management & Project life Cycle is control useful? Determine variances: between the plan and what has been done to date, based on the level of variances at the outset of the project. This is called Management by EXCEPTION in contrast to daily management. The collection and examination of data on project’s progress lies at the centre of the control process.

4. P. Management… Project Actors & the job Top Management: (high- vs.. low-visibility projects) The boss: Manage is specifications (most difficult) Create the daily working environment Colleagues: information, operational help, competitors in flattened organizations.

4. P. Management… Project Actors & the job Staff: often borrowed to matrix structure: to get the job done on time, within budget, and according to specifications. Scheduling tools: PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Techniques) or CPM (Critical Path Method) etc. Tools for managing human and material resources: Gantt charts, responsibility charts

4. Management… The Project Manager Project Manager Responsibilities Developing Staff Serving as Management/Staff Intermediary Conveying Lessons Learned Choosing a Management Style: Autocratic, Laissez-Faire & Democratic managers.

The opponents?

Case that simplifies the Octograph Read the case and, look at the sequence of events in the circle-model and try to imagine a similar case, as for instance buying a hybrid car.