Project Management and Life Cycle

Introduction:

Project:

Project is a thing usually with very specific objectives. It is temporary, means it starts and end and it is some way unique, Roland and Bee (1998).

Project Initiation:

Project Life Cycle:

Project life cycle consist of four steps Concept or Idea, Planning, Execution and Termination, Field and Keller (2007).

Concept:

In concept stage firstly we have to develop project agreement, analyze the requirements of the project and build up beginning project scope report, Burke (2003).

Planning:

Planning stage consist of developing project management plan, plan and define scope than creating Work Break Down structure, which means to distribute the work according to schedule to different workers. Further sequence activities, activity resources, activity duration, cost, plan cost budget are estimated. Planning for quality assurance, communications, risk management, purchases and acquisitions is done. Moreover human resource planning is done to complete the planning stage, Burke (2003).

Execution:

Project execution is managed in execution with performing the quality assurance, developing the project team and distributing the information. Further project work is controlled and managed, scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk is verified and control. Contracts and project team are managed, Burke (2003).

Termination:

Project is closed and it contracts are closed as well, Burke (2003).

Project Manager:

Project Manager is the person who is appointed to manage as specific project and it is expected from him to achieve the goal keeping in mind the project scope, schedule and budget, Richman (2002).

Role and Responsibilities:

Project Manager’s responsibilities include estimating and planning the project including the collection of data, keeping in mind that what is to be done exactly and how to organize it properly within schedule and budget, Field and Keller (2007). Assembling a team is also a role of project manager. The success or the failure of the project totally depends on the project team. A project manager should motivate his team, manage any problems between the team members and ensure good communication between them, Field and Keller (2007). Project Manager is responsible for the whole project so he is the spokesperson of the project and its his job to answer his heads, the clients and every other person who is having part in this project, Field and Keller (2007). This is project manager’s responsibility to make sure that all the equipments and tools are there which will be needed for the project completion. Project manager after start of the project manages all the work done, coordinating with the team members and other staff, Field and Keller (2007). The changes due to any problem in the project are the role of project manager keeping in mind the budget and the schedule, Field and Keller (2007).

Skills:

There are some skills that a project manager should have like people skill. A project manager should have to skill to deal with people, how to handle them, how to motivate the employees and how to convince other people to make the project successful, Richman (2002). A project manager should be able to estimate the cost and able to make the budget plan. He should be able to perform audit reports, analyze progress information and able to plan and perform a project, Richman (2002). Project manager should have to knowledge of the organization which will help him to take decisions and achieve its task on time and within cost. He should also have technical and integration skills so that he can be able to understand anything provided by the civil engineer or other employee relating the project, Richman (2002). A project manager should be responsible, and he should have skills of accountability and authority, Richman (2002).

Planning:

Planning is a very important step of a project because the process of planning firstly establishes what have to be done and also helps in making it happen by smoothing the way, Burke (2003). Planning is everything about looking forward in time, Burke (2003).

Work Breakdown Structure:

It can be defined as a product oriented duty chain of command of all to be done to achieve the project objectives. The product can be anything documents, tests, reports or other, Rook (1991).

In Work breakdown structure the work of the project is divided and further sub divided for management and control purpose, Turner (1993).

Risk Management:

For a project to be successfully completed management of risk is very necessary, because of this a manger gets a clear idea about the risks a project might face in the future, Field and Keller (2007). Risk management is the active process of identifying, assessing and responding to the project risk, to ensure that the company meets its objectives and the project is successful, Field and Keller (2007).

Identify risk means to find out what type of risk a company might face during the project. Assessing involves the evaluation and estimation of levels of risks. Responding means to make precautions how to overcome these risks, Field and Keller (2007).

Scheduling:

Scheduling is one of the many important stages for a project manager. To ensure that the project finishes on time it is important to make a detailed schedule for every activity in the project and keep an eye on the process against this schedule, Field and Keller (2007).

Gant Charts:

Bar charts showing a schedule of activities are usually called Gant charts. Gant chart is very simple and effective and because of this it is an attractive way of conveying information about the timetable to the people concerned with the project, Field and Keller (2007).

Network Diagram:

Network Diagram is a visual illustration of the schedule of a project. It is useful in project management for tracking and planning the project from the start till the end. Critical path as well as the total float of the project is also presented in network diagram, Field and Keller (2007). Float is the extra time existing for an activity in addition to the duration estimated. A critical path is said to be a path with smallest amount of float, Field and Keller (2007).

Managing Stakeholders:

Stakeholders can be an individual or a group who have an interest in the project, they are affected by it and can influence its result, Field and Keller (2007). It is a part of project management to identify stakeholders, assess their interest in the project and with this information, try and mange relationships with such groups, Field and Keller (2007).

Building Team and Assigning Tasks:

People are the main source of any project. Success is achieved through people who work as a team, Field and Keller (2007). Project management is about working with people. Objectives, schedules, machines, plans are important but it is people who get things done, Field and Keller (2007). A manager should build a skilled team and assign them their tasks and make sure they get the point and than keep an eye on the team’s progress, Field and Keller (2007). The work breakdown structure should be the basic framework for assigning responsibilities, Field and Keller (2007).

Team Motivation:

Team motivation is a very important task to be performed by the project manager. A motivated team performs its responsibilities more efficiently and within given time, Field and Keller (2007). A team can be motivated through many ways, some are under:

• Encourage and support.
• Give rewards, awards and bonuses.
• Promotional opportunities.
• Give responsibilities.
• Have a democratic system.
• Staff training,
• X-Factor
• Recreational opportunities.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
• Lead by example.

Field and Keller (2007).

Controlling:

Project scope is defined, plan has been produced, the association has been set up, the assets have been allocated and the project has been approved. Now the project manager during the execution of the project has to keep in mind that the project is going according to the plan, the team is working as directed and the project is under estimated cost and time, Field and Keller (2007).

Managing Initial Stages:

The most important actions in start that a project manager should take are:

• Identify training needs and arrange workshops
• Arrange startup meetings with stakeholders.
• Get contract for work assurance from project staff.
• Setup the control change procedure.
• Agree to a timetable for monitoring and control reports and meetings.

Field and Keller (2007).

Monitoring and Controlling Cost:

Project costs are usually measured through accounting systems in any business but projects managers usually setup their own system for monitoring and controlling achievements and project costs, Field and Keller (2007). The system is known as earned value system. It tells the manager the cost of work performed so far and in addition it also tells the value earned by the work, Field and Keller (2007). The earned value of the task completed on a project is the amount that was estimated and attached to that work when the project budget was described, Field and Keller (2007). Controlling cost is more difficult than monitoring the cost. It is very difficult to recommend how it should be done, Field and Keller (2007). Cost controlling is only about controlling future cost, it’s not about expenses done it the past. But it is helpful for a manager because he can decide through the future to control the price and try and keep it within the allowed budget.

Maintaining the Schedule:

Maintaining schedule includes updating the network of the project, tracking of milestone and usage of earned value curves, Field and Keller (2007). As the monitoring and controlling of cost is necessary in the same way maintaining the project schedule is also necessary to see that whether the tasks are completed late, on time or early, Field and Keller (2007). If the project is on or before time than no schedule changes are required but if the project is behind its schedule than the project manager needs to make some changes in the schedule to make sure that the project finishes on time, Field and Keller (2007).

Maintaining Quality:

Product quality is a powerful tool. Quality is to assure the client that the product will be every time produced to the required condition, Burke (1992). If the quality is not up to the mark than it’s a manger’s job to make sure that the product meet its quality and control the quality. Its manager’s job to do the inspection of the products and take any needed steps to make sure that the quality of the product is up to the mark, Burke (1992).

Termination of the Project:

Project manager right from the beginning had in mind the target of successfully closing the project, Field and Keller (2007). The project manager tries his best to finish the project in good quality, within budget and schedule, Field and Keller (2007). There are many problems that might rise in the closure or termination of the project defined by Spirer (1983) as:

Staff might have the fear of no future work which might lose interest in remaining task. It might also lose motivation of the staff in project delivering, team identity might be lost and this might cause diversion of effort, Spirer (1983).

There is a possibility that clients may change their attitude, they might lose interest in the project and may change their personnel dealing with the project, Spirer (1983).

There might be some internal and external problems that might be faced at the closure of the project like control of changes to project, closure of work orders and work packages, obtaining needed certifications and many more, Spirer (1983).

Conclusion:

As a project manager of this huge project I have presented in this report the steps needed to successfully complete this project on time, within budget and with quality standards. This project is a dream come true for me and following the steps provided above I will easily achieve my objectives and the project will be successful.