Project Management Applications Software Skills. By: Ahmad Al-Ghoul Philadelphia University

Learning Objectives Explain what a project is, list various attributes of projects. Describe project management, discuss Who uses Project Management. Discuss The Project Management Process. Explain Benefits of Project Management Discuss how to control projects. Discuss Suggested Steps in Project Management Discuss the activities in a Project Life Cycle Philadelphia University

Learning Objectives Explain Project Initiation Phase, Project Planning Phase, Project Execution Phase, Project controlling Phase and Project Close-out Phase. Discuss Project Constraints includes, scope, time and cost Understand the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Explain and understand Project Scheduling. Discuss and implement GANTT CHARTS. Discuss and implement PERT and CPM Philadelphia University

What is Project Management? Project : A group of milestones or phases, activities or tasks that support an effort to accomplish something Management : is the process of Planning, Organizing, Controlling and Measuring Philadelphia University

Project... A collection of linked activities, carried out in an organized manner, with a clearly defined START POINT and END POINT to achieve some specific results desired to satisfy the needs of the organization at the current time Philadelphia University

What Is a Project? A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”* Operations is work done to sustain the business. A project ends when its objectives have been reached, or the project has been terminated. Projects can be large or small and take a short or long time to complete. Philadelphia University

Attributes of a Project Has a well-defined objective Composed of a series of interdependent tasks Utilizes various resources Has a specific time frame May be a unique or one-time endeavor Has a customer Involves a degree of uncertainty Philadelphia University

Project Management A dynamic process that utilizes the appropriate resources of the organization in a controlled and structured manner, to achieve some clearly defined objectives identified as needs. It is always conducted within a defined set of constraints Philadelphia University

Why Need Project Management? Complex project needs coordination of: Multiple people Multiple resources (labs, equipment, etc.) Multiple tasks – some must precede others Multiple decision points – approvals Phased expenditure of funds Matching of people/resources to tasks Philadelphia University

Who uses Project Management? Nearly Everyone to some degree People plan their Days, their Weeks, their Vacations and their Budgets and keep a simple project management form known as ‘’To Do’’ list Any Process or Means used to track tasks or efforts towards accomplishing a goal could be considered Project Management Philadelphia University

The Project Management Process The project management process means planning the work and then working the plan. Clearly define the project objective. Divide and subdivide the project. Define the specific activities that need to be performed. Graphically schedule the activities in a project. Make a time estimate. Make a cost estimate. Calculate a project schedule and budget. Philadelphia University

Benefits of Project Management Less overall project cost Effective use of resources More timely project completion Higher quality of the final product Philadelphia University

Controlling Projects Establish a baseline plan. Monitor progress. Measure actual progress and compare it to planned progress. Take corrective action if the project is behind schedule, overrunning the budget, or not meeting technical specifications. Philadelphia University

Suggested Steps in Project Management Generate a formal definition of the project, with goals, constraints, assumptions Identify project start/end dates, any mandatory milestones, including reports, signoffs, deliverables, etc. List constraints – money, equipment availability, holidays, etc. Identify tasks to be accomplished – high level (i.e., by categories), then details within each, using brainstorming method – green light Philadelphia University

Suggested Steps, cont. Refine detailed task list, dropping/ combining, adding things omitted Then, for each task in list: Estimate time (person hours, calendar period) Identify dependencies among tasks Identify resources (people, money, parts, etc.) Philadelphia University

Suggested Steps, cont. Organize task groups roughly by starting date List dependencies that should or MUST hold Use MS Project to make a GANTT chart First capture tasks and task groups, milestones Identify critical path, see if it can be shortened Assign person-hours and specific team member(s) to each task – identify “task leads” Philadelphia University

Suggested Steps, cont. As project progresses: Monitor, record progress on all tasks, at least weekly – use “Tracking Gantt Chart” Pay particular attention to those on critical path Revise plan as needed to take into account changes, adapt to meet milestones Philadelphia University

Project Life Cycle Initiating Processes Planning Controlling Executing Closing Philadelphia University

Project Initiation Phase To commit the organization to a project or phase To set the overall solution direction To define top-level project objectives To secure the necessary approvals and resources Validate alignment with strategic objectives To assign a project manager Philadelphia University

Project Planning Phase Organize and staff the project Develop a Project Plan Sign off on the Project Plan Philadelphia University

Project Execution Phase Execute the Project Plan Manage the Project Plan Implement the project’s results Sign off on project’s completion Philadelphia University

Project controlling Phase To keep the project on track in order to achieve its objectives as outlined in the project plan by: Monitoring and reporting variances Controlling scope changes Controlling schedule changes Controlling costs Controlling quality Responding to risks Philadelphia University

Project Close-out Phase Document the lessons learned during the project After-implementation review Provide performance feedback Close-out contracts Complete administrative close-out Deliver project completion report Philadelphia University

Project Constraints Philadelphia University

project scope definition Project scope is the part of project planning that involves determining and documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, tasks and deadlines.  Philadelphia University

Project Constraint The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers to what must be done to produce the project's end result. These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope. Philadelphia University

Time For analytical purposes, the time required to produce a deliverable is estimated using several techniques. One method is to identify tasks needed to produce the deliverables documented in a work breakdown structure or WBS. The work effort for each task is estimated and those estimates are rolled up into the final deliverable estimate. Philadelphia University

Project Time Management processes include: Define Activities Sequence Activities Estimate Activity Resources Estimate Activity Durations Develop Schedule Control Schedule Philadelphia University

Cost To develop an approximation of a project cost depends on several variables including: resources, work packages such as labor rates and mitigating or controlling influencing factors that create cost variances. Philadelphia University

Cost Process Areas Cost Estimating is an approximation of the cost of all resources needed to complete activities. Cost budgeting aggregating the estimated costs of resources, work packages and activities to establish a cost baseline. Cost Control – factors that create cost fluctuation and variance can be influenced and controlled using various cost management tools. Philadelphia University

Scope Requirements specified to achieve the end result. The overall definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish, and a specific description of what the end result should be or accomplish. A major component of scope is the quality of the final product. The amount of time put into individual tasks determines the overall quality of the project. Some tasks may require a given amount of time to complete adequately, but given more time could be completed exceptionally. Over the course of a large project, quality can have a significant impact on time and cost (or vice versa). Philadelphia University

Stakeholder Relations The triple constraint Stakeholder Relations Time Cost Quality Philadelphia University

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Breaks large project into manageable units Total project Subprojects Milestones (completion of an important set of work packages) Major activities (summary tasks) Work packages (tasks, activities, work elements) Philadelphia University

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Helps to: Identify all work needing to be done Logically organize work so that is can be scheduled Assign work to team members Identify resources needed Communicate what has to be done Organize work using milestones Philadelphia University

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Philadelphia University

Scheduling Scheduling - Determination of timing and assembly of project activities to give overall completion time Philadelphia University

Basis for Project Schedule Project objectives Project scope Project milestones Project estimate (budget) Resource availability Philadelphia University

Purposes of Project Scheduling Shows the relationship of each activity to others and to the whole project Identifies the precedence relationships among activities Encourages the setting of realistic time and cost estimates for each activity Helps make better use of people, money, and material resources by identifying critical bottlenecks in the project Philadelphia University

PROJECT SCHEDULING MODELS Gantt charting and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Both are schematic models, but the PERT also is a mathematical model. Philadelphia University

A Gantt chart is a tool to monitor progress A Gantt chart is a tool to monitor progress. Showing both planned and actual outcomes for each phase, a Gantt chart allows you to isolate and solve scheduling problems in a methodical manner. While the project as a whole might be overwhelming, a Gantt chart helps in managing a large project by breaking the project into a series of smaller phases. As each phase is completed, you can see if the final deadline is likely to be met. If you are behind schedule, you can attempt to get back on track by absorbing the delay in one phase by making it up in another phase A Gantt chart may be constructed using several techniques involving different combinations of lines and symbols. The actual and planned beginning and ending points for each phase are plotted along a time line. The first phase is plotted at the top and the last phase is plotted at the bottom. Gantt charts may be constructed by hand or through computer software packages. GANTT CHARTS Philadelphia University

Steps to create Gantt chart What the various activities are When each activity begins and ends How long each activity is scheduled to last Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much The start and end date of the whole project Philadelphia University

Gantt chart Philadelphia University

PERT and CPM Network techniques Developed in 1950’s CPM by DuPont for chemical plants (1957) PERT by Booz, Allen & Hamilton with the U.S. Navy, for Polaris missile (1958) Consider precedence relationships and interdependencies Each uses a different estimate of activity times Philadelphia University

Six Steps PERT & CPM Define the project and prepare the work breakdown structure Develop relationships among the activities - decide which activities must precede and which must follow others Draw the network connecting all of the activities Philadelphia University

Six Steps PERT & CPM Assign time and/or cost estimates to each activity Compute the longest time path through the network – this is called the critical path Use the network to help plan, schedule, monitor, and control the project Philadelphia University

Questions PERT & CPM Can Answer When will the entire project be completed? What are the critical activities or tasks in the project? Which are the noncritical activities? What is the probability the project will be completed by a specific date? Philadelphia University

Questions PERT & CPM Can Answer Is the project on schedule, behind schedule, or ahead of schedule? Is the money spent equal to, less than, or greater than the budget? Are there enough resources available to finish the project on time? If the project must be finished in a shorter time, what is the way to accomplish this at least cost? Philadelphia University

PERT Diagram Example Philadelphia University

PERT Diagram Example Philadelphia University

PERT Diagram Example For example, the optimistic time for completing activity H is 2 days, the most likely time is 4 days, but the pessimistic time is 12 days. The next step is to calculate an expected time, which is determined as follows: te (expected time) = (a + 4m + b) / 6 For example, for activity H, the expected time is (2 + 4(4) + 12) / 6 = 30 / 6 = 5 days Philadelphia University

PERT Diagram Example As a measure of variation (uncertainty) about the expected time, the standard deviation is calculated as follows: σ = (b - a) / 6 For example, the standard deviation of completion time for activity H is: σ = (12 - 2) / 6 = 10 / 6 = 1.67 days Philadelphia University

COMPUTATIONS OF EXPECTED TIME AND STANDARD DEVIATION Activity Predecessors a m b te σ A None 1 3 5 3.0 .67 B None 1 2 3 2.0 .33 C A 1 1 7 2.0 1.00 D B 7 9 17 10.0 1.67 E B 2 2 2 2.0 0.00 F E 2 5 8 5.0 .67 G C,D,F 3 7 17 8.0 2.33 H E 2 4 12 5.0 1.67 Philadelphia University

Critical Path An easy way to find the critical path involves the following two steps: 1. Identify all possible paths of a project and calculate their completion times. 2. Pick the one with the longest amount of completion time, which is the critical path. Philadelphia University

Critical Path In the example, we have: Path Completion time A-C-G 13 days (3 + 2 + 8) B-D-G 20 days (2 + 10 + 8) B-E-F-G 17 days (2 + 2 + 5 + 8) B-E-H 9 days (2 + 2 + 5) The critical path is B-D-G, which means it takes 20 days to complete the project. Philadelphia University

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