1. Project
Management

2. The Rise of Project Management
$10T spent annually on projects of all kinds
16M individuals consider themselves professional Project Managers
> 1M new PMs projected need per year in the next decade

3. What is a Project?
Temporary undertaking to meet a customer’s needs

4. 2500 BC – Great Pyramid of Giza – 2
2500 BC – Great Pyramid of Giza – 2.3 million stone blocks (2 to 50 tons each); extremely accurate alignment to true north
Courtesy

5. 550 BC - The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus –
127 columns
As it may have appeared, courtesy

6. 200 BC - Roman Aqueducts – 260 miles serving 200 cities
Courtesy and

7. International Space Station - $100 billion; 100,000 people in 15 nations; 220 miles above the Earth
Courtesy

8. 210 million cubic meters of rock and sand
The Palm, Dubai –
210 million cubic meters of rock and sand
Courtesy

9. Saudi Arabia to Build World’s Tallest Building –
1 Kilometer into the Sky
Courtesy

10. Project Management
All science and engineering involves routine labor
Research may take a turn for the unexpected
A PI’s or an engineering lead’s job involves keeping the project afloat while providing excellent leadership and encouraging creative insight
Few scientists and engineers are trained to do this; most learn from experience; many never master it

11. Project Management
To be successful, many aspects of management aspects must be attended to
These include managing stakeholders, budget, communication, hiring, the project schedule, risk, and many other areas. And all of these must be surrounded by positive, supportive, and nurturing leadership.
So, the question is: How?
The answer is: Effective Project Management

12. Project Management
One needs to manage the project (be it student research, R&D, small project teams) with the same discipline as we use for our science and engineering:
Bold but methodical
Purposeful but opportunistic
Project Management, then, provides the tools to systematize (processes, procedures, tactics, techniques) the management of your team.

13. Project Management
Project: Temporary undertaking to meet a customer’s needs
Project Management:
Has existed for all of recorded history
Was formalized about 50 years ago
Is not just graphs, charts, procedures, and reams of paper.
Is, instead, very similar to being the conductor of an orchestra, drawing harmony from cacophony.

14. Project Management Applied to Science and Engineering
Does it apply?
Our tasks often may lack specific definition
Funding may be fluid
Ambiguity always exists.
Outcomes are somewhat provisional. We revise them as new information arises.

15. Project Management Applied to Science and Engineering
Tips for successful management of your endeavors?

16. Project Management Applied to Science and Engineering
Plan
Organize
Control

17. Project Management Applied to Science and Engineering
Plan
Build a vision of what the project will achieve
Determine all of the stakeholders
Break the project down into smaller, more manageable elements
Determine dates of accomplishment of these elements
Budget each element
List the risks to successful accomplishment and how you will reduce them

18. Project Management Applied to Science and Engineering
Organize
Based on your project breakdown, find and hire the right person for each element
Write down role and responsibility for each of those element leaders
Verbally explain them to each individual
Work together to map-out (draw) a schedule of events with start dates and end dates

19. Project Management Applied to Science and Engineering
Control
Lead by walking around
Ask each element lead to track their team’s progress; meet regularly to review the overall project accomplishments, schedule, and cost
Make changes when appropriate and map the effects to all parts of the project
Ensure element leads are keeping everyone informed
Establish regular risk management meetings

20. Project Management
Key Premises
PM is a way of thinking and behaving, not just a way of analyzing and presenting data.
One can attempt to control all aspects of a project (micro-managing). A better way might be to break the project into smaller parts and assign responsibility for each of them to an individual.

21. Project Management
The Project Manager is the orchestra conductor
They provide a vision of what the project will accomplish
They align people and responsibilities
Ultimately, the orchestra creates the music, not the conductor
A well-trained and well-led orchestra can achieve synergy – a product greater than the team

22. Project Management – It’s What They Talk About
at the Conference Room Table . . .
Engineering Management Program