MS4801 Week 1 Chapter 1

1
MS4801 Week 1Chapter 1 2Project Management
Concepts Needs Identification
2
Real World Example

• Vignette Beach Town Cleanup Avila Beach in
  California
• The popular beach and the towns business
  district had been contaminated by underground
  pipes from a petroleum facility.
• Project management techniques were used to
  restore the streets, all major utilities, and
  the beach itself.
• The remediation project was completed five months
  ahead of schedule!

3
3
3
Real World Example

• Vignette The Department of Energy
• Project build the worlds largest laser to
  monitor and maintain nuclear warheads
• Project costs soar 350 million above original
  estimates
• Project completion delayed by two years
• Clearly we had a major project management
  surprise!

4
4
Project, Defined

• A project is an endeavor to accomplish a specific
  objective through a unique set of interrelated
  tasks and the effective utilization of resources.

5
5
Attributes of a Project

• Has a well-defined objective
• Composed of a series of interdependent tasks
• Utilizes various resources
• Has a specific time frame
• Has a customer
• Involves a degree of uncertainty

6
6
Examples of Projects

• Planning a wedding
• Designing and implementing a computer system
• Hosting a holiday party
• Designing and producing a brochure
• Executing an environmental clean-up of a
  contaminated site
• Holding a high school reunion
• Performing a series of surgeries on an accident
  victim

7
7
Constraints

• Scope
• Cost
• Schedule
• Customer satisfaction

8
8
Unforeseen Circumstances

• Unforeseen circumstances may jeopardize
  achievement of the project objective.
• The challenge facing the project manager is to
  prevent, anticipate, and/or overcome such
  circumstances.

9
9
The Project Life Cycle

• Projects are born when a need is identified by
  the customer.
• Project life cycles vary in length, from a few
  weeks to several years.
• Not all projects formally go through all four
  phases of the project life cycle.

10
10
Phases of the Project Life Cycle 1

• The first phase involves the identification of a
  need, problem, or opportunity.
• The need and requirements are usually written by
  the customer into a document called a request for
  proposal (RFP).

11
11
Phases of the Project Life Cycle 2

• The second phase is the development of a proposed
  solution to the need or problem.
• This phase results in the submission of a
  proposal.
• The customer and the winning contractor negotiate
  and sign a contract (agreement).

12
12
Phases of the Project Life Cycle 3

• The third phase is performing the project.
• Different types of resources are utilized
• Results in the accomplishment of the project
  objective

13
13
Phases of the Project Life Cycle 4

• The final phase is terminating the project.
• Perform close-out activities
• Evaluate performance
• Invite customer feedback

14

14
The Project Management Process

• The project management process means planning the
  work and then working the plan.

15
15
The Project Management Process (Cont.)

• Clearly define the project objective.
• Divide and subdivide the project.
• Define the specific activities that need to be
  performed.
• Graphically portray the activities in a network
  diagram.

16
16
The Project Management Process (Cont.)

• Make a time estimate.
• Make a cost estimate.
• Calculate a project schedule and budget.

17
17
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.

18
18
Benefits of Project Management

• Satisfied customers
• Additional business
• Expansion of career opportunities
• Satisfaction of being on a winning team
• Improved knowledge and skills
• When projects are successful, everybody WINS

19
19
Chapter 2Needs Identification
20
Identifying Needs, Problems, or Opportunities

• Recognize a need, problem, or opportunity
• Clearly define the problem or need
• Quantify the problem
• Determine the budget
• Prepare a request for proposal
• Select the project(s) with the greatest benefit
  for the cost expended

5
21
Project Selection

• Develop a set of criteria against which each
  opportunity will be evaluated
• List the assumptions
• Gather data and information for each opportunity
• Evaluate each opportunity against the criteria

22
Preparing a Request for Proposal

• State, comprehensively and in detail, what is
  required, from the customers point of view
• Enable contractors or a project team to
  understand what the customer expects so that they
  can prepare a thorough proposal
• The need may be communicated informallyand
  sometimes only orally

6
23
Preparing a Request for Proposal (Cont.)

• Guidelines for drafting a formal RFP to external
  contractors
• statement of work (SOW)
• customer requirements
• deliverables
• customer-supplied items
• approvals required by the customer
• type of contract

7
24
Preparing a Request for Proposal (Cont.)

• the payment terms
• the required schedule for completion
• instructions for the format and content of the
  contractor proposals
• due date for proposals
• evaluation criteria
• occasionally will indicate the funds the customer
  has available

8
25
Soliciting Proposals

• Methods
• Identify a selected group of contractors in
  advance and sending each an RFP
• Advertise in certain business newspapers
• Process considered a competitive situation

9
26
Soliciting Proposals (Cont.)

• Dont provide information that is not provided to
  all contractors
• May hold a bidders meeting to explain the RFP
  and answer questions
• Not all use RFP

10