1. Chapter 1 Introduction Introduction Basic definitions
Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you
Project management past and present
Summary
Project Management in Practice: Three project managers with distinctly different roles

2. Introduction ‘Life is one big project.’ The trick is managing it.
There are many successful projects
Fixed duration, array of interlinking activities, definable benefits, achieve change
Managing them is an art and science
Gleeful press pick up on the project failures and their consequences
Vital we start by defining projects (what is and what is not a project) and project management (a profession with a career path)
Projects represent significant parts of all economic activity, they are important to individuals, organisations and society

3. 1.1 Basic definitions
Projects are unique, transient endeavours undertaken to achieve a desired outcome. [Association for Project Management, 2004]
A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service. [Project Management Institute, 2004]
A unique set of coordinated activities, with definite starting and finishing points, undertaken by an individual or organisation to meet specific performance objectives with defined schedule, cost and performance parameters. [British Standard 6079, 2000]

4. 1.1 Basic definitions (Continued)
A management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified business case. [Prince2, 2009]
A temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and predefined outcome or result at a given time using predetermined resources. [Prince2, 2009]
A project refers to a value creation undertaking based on a specific mission, which is completed in a given or agreed timeframe and under constraints, including resources and external circumstances. [Project Management Association of Japan, 2005]

5. 1.1 Basic definitions (Continued)
Common themes:
Unique
Or aspects of uniqueness
Temporary
Organisation, finances
Focused
Delivering a result (product or service
Business case (Prince2)
Or at least a mission to deliver benefits
Emergence
High level benefits known
Exact objective and means to achieve them evolve after a certain amount of work has been done
Uncertainty
The future is unpredictable
Unknowns : achievable objective, costs, durations
Change
Any new system (deliverable) will impact on the way people work
Social construction
People and systems of people have complex and dynamic interactions
Integration
People (staff and end users; training and media coverage), systems, technology, knowledge

6. 1.1 Basic definitions (Continued)
Figure 1.1 Project characteristics

7. 1.1 Basic definitions (Continued)
Organising to deliver a project as a process:
Low volume/high variety process
First-timers
Unique
Allure of the complex, difficult and risky
Need highly skilled project managers
‘as…buts’
Similar to previous work in terms of either process followed or product delivered
Decrease in risk and uncertainty
Painting by numbers
Process and outcomes are well known
Even less risk and uncertainty

8. 1.1 Basic definitions (Continued)
Figure 1.2 Volume versus variety and projects

9. 1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you
Projects are central to our economy
Siemens estimate 50% of revenue is from projects
Management consultants earn 90% revenue from projects
Whole sectors of industry are project based organisations
Engineering
Construction IT

10. 1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you
Projects and you
Accidental: e.g. festival organisers, politicians launching new policy
Professional with the title of project manager
Used to be a transition from a technical role
Today formal training available
Formal qualifications not always mandated

11. 1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you (Continued)
Table 1.1 Accidental profession or profession of choice?

12. 1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you (Continued)
PM and line management
Figure 1.3 Project organisational structure (for project of medium complexity)

13. 1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you (Continued)
PM and line management
Functional/line managers
Responsibility for people who work in the organisation
Maintenance, maintaining the status quo
Project managers
Responsible for projects that may run across several functions
Innovation
PM’s may be line managers for a proportion of their time
Career paths
Project office
Project manager
Programme manager
Project or programme support office manager
Project director

14. 1.2 Importance of successful project management to an organisation and to you (Continued)
Figure 1.4 Innovation and maintenance activities in project and line management

15. 1.3 Project management past and present
Table 1.3 Historical development of project management

16. 1.3 Project management past and present (Continued)
Current issues
‘Ready, aim, fire’
‘It’s all in my head’
‘We work in a nanosecond environment, we don’t have time to do this stuff’
‘Project management – we have a procedure for that’
‘It’s all just common sense, isn’t it?’
‘I’ve got the badge, therefore I am a project manager’
‘We’ve done this lots of times before. It never worked then, why should it this time?’
‘It won’t work here!’

17. 1.3 Project management past and present (Continued)
Academic subject
Project management taught extensively in management, engineering and science schools
Growth of research, writing, teaching, consultancy
Academic and practitioner journals

18. Summary Projects are important to individuals and organisations
Limited view if we think in terms of large scale constructions, projects and associated basic tools and techniques
Project management is live, going on around us all the time
A profession, growing recognition, covers the entire spectrum of management knowledge, not confined to tools and techniques

19. Summary (Continued) Projects are on going in every organisation
Vital for organisations: execution of vision, mission and objectives
Vital in personal life: pursuing study, buying a house
Complexity varies, delivers a result at a point in time, can provide competitive advantage
The first steps to understanding projects are the definitions
Diversity in characteristics which require different approaches to management
High profile bodies of knowledge at the core of the professional discipline