Section B
Project Management Characteristics
At one stage during my time at Cranfield, I thought that it would be a good idea to research the definition of project management. I decided it would not be a difficult task since books on the subject would either provide a definition in their introduction or in chapter 1. Consequently, I looked up all the project management books in the Cranfield library and, to my amazement, they were all different!
For a brief time, as chairman of the Association of Project Management (APM) education and training group, I was involved in the development of the original APM body of knowledge, an excellent document that defines what the various subjects are that a project manager needs to know. 5 Theirs was another definition. On a quick glance at the U.S. Project Management Institute, I discovered that they define how project management subjects should be performed, with yet another definition. Too many definitions are complex (trying to cover every aspect of project management) and mix up projects and project management. This was when I decided that I needed to provide a definitive definition and, consequently, modified something that I came across in the paperwork in my office. 6
Project Management is the multidisciplinary process of achieving a satisfactory end result.
The ‘multidisciplinary’ part (people working together as a team), creates complex relationships and a matrix organizational structure. It is what distinguishes project management from the individual functional disciplines. It is a work process. It is not a bunch of tools and techniques. The finite end result is the project, is always unique, and can be anything. Finally, successful project management does not have to produce the best; it just has to create something that is good enough, namely, satisfactory and on time and to budget. The purpose of this book is to help project managers achieve the necessary satisfactory end results.
Project management turns bright ideas into reality and is the means to achieving the end result and not the end in itself. Commitment to the project management concept is vital for the success of the project. Making things up as you go along is a route to financial disaster. Project management is the essential discipline that turns senior management's concepts, visions, goals, and strategies into practice. In June 2000 a survey in Fortune magazine showed that the single commonest reason for the failure of chief executives was their failure to implement their plans.
The challenge for the project manager is to manage complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty (risk), and urgency. In order to achieve success, a major effort must be mounted by all involved parties in the front‐end planning of the work. Unless studies are carried out thoroughly and unless the planning is comprehensive and competent and unless the organization conforms to the standard requirements of the project management process, it is extremely unlikely that the project will be a success.
Language is the first barrier that deserves mention in the project management business. The project world uses the same words but applies them quite differently (see Section A, paragraph 2.2.1; Figure I.A.4). For example, I use project launch for the start of a project since the term start up is used in the process industries for the stage when their facility is set to work. However, in the product development business, product launch is at the end of the project when the product is being introduced into the marketplace. Similarly, I used implementation for the stage when the bulk of the work was carried out, but the information technology world uses implementation for the setting to work stage. Consequently, execution has been used for the carrying‐out/doing stage. I avoid the use of the word development since it tends to bridge the last stage at which the project can be abandoned. (See paragraph 3.2.1 in this part and Figure I.B.5).
The second barrier in the project business is a cultural barrier. This cultural barrier is not just that between the French and the English, but it is between the various project management industries, where there is a reluctance to borrow good methods from each other. There is also a barrier between companies in the same business environment. One company will be design‐dominated, another project management‐focused, and another will be experienced in pharmaceuticals or in offshore work. Then there will be the companies that are the favourites of a particular client. If that lot is not bad enough, there is the cultural barrier within companies – the different mindset between the front end creative people and the practical back‐end applicators. It is now recognised that project management is an attitude of mind, and this is what makes it more of an art than a science.
There is a potential third barrier that requires skilled project management. In the project management process, there are interfaces where conflict can occur quite naturally, namely, between:
- Client and contractor
- The main functional departments of design engineering, procurement, and construction
- The individual design groups
- The line functions and the task force
There are two components to achieving the successful end result. Firstly, the hard subjects, the ‘hardware’ of project management:
- Strategy, contract and organizational
- Financial analysis
- Planning and scheduling
- Control techniques
- The four techniques that are the science of, and special to, project management:
- Product and work breakdown structures (P&WBS) should, on the whole, always be done manually as a team process.
- Critical path method using network analysis. The simple time analysis can often be done equally well manually, owing to the intricacies of the multitude of software packages. However, once the network is over a certain size it is safer to use a computer owing to people's ability to add. However, a computer will always be needed for serious project management if the real benefits of iii) are to be achieved.
- Resource analysis and allocation. Each type of resource (people, materials, money and so on) requires a different ‘calendar’ (working hours, shift patterns, shipping times, holidays and so on). Consequently, a computer is required for the complex analysis involved.
- Progress measurement using earned value and ‘S’ curves. This is the sophisticated part of project management and is avoided by many people. Further, owing to the effort required to implement the process it can often be compromised by simplification. (See Part V Section L).
Secondly, the soft skills, the ‘software’ of project management:
- Teambuilding
- Leadership
- Communication skills
- Presentation skills
- Motivation
- Influencing
- Negotiating
These elements have all been borrowed from the toolbox of general management. As we can see, there is a conflict. Is project management an art or a science? The skill of the project manager is to decide where to put the emphasis – onto the hardware or the software – and how to integrate the two. I have absolutely no doubt that the more one is involved in project management, the more one is surprised at the power of these soft skills. Without the software, the hardware will achieve little. However, without the foundations of some of the hardware of project management, the efforts of the software is dissipated, and failure will result.
The clever part of project management is that, as well as modelling the project (the phases), it uses models of the various processes. This enables the project manager to evaluate different options before having to commit to specific actions with their associated costs.
1 Models
1.1
The overall project management process is broken down into the discrete project management fundamentals and modelled, using whatever management tool is appropriate.
| Process | Model |
| Defining the scope and scope | Product & work breakdown |
| of work | structures (P&WBS) |
| Identifying the risks | Risk breakdown structure (RBS) |
| Fitness for purpose | Specifications |
| Risk and responsibility allocation | Agreement or brief |
| Forecast of costs | Estimating |
| Effect of changing variables | Risk and sensitivity analysis |
| Time value of money | Net present value (NPV) |
| Execution plan | Critical path network |
| Timing of activities | Bar charts |
| Project team | Organization structure (OBS) |
| Leadership | The project manager |
1.2
As well as these individual models, there is an overall project management model (see Figure I.B.1) 7 :
1.2.1
As can be seen, the model is composed primarily of the hardware techniques; all of the software being in the organization breakdown structure, with the communication links shown by the dotted lines.
1.3
In the model the Brief, or contract, defines the requirements and objectives of the project in terms of cost, time, and quality and determines which aspect will dominate the decision process.
1.4
The What, the scope of work, is defined by means of the product and work breakdown structures in order to identify manageable packages of work.
1.5
The What if identifies the risks using a risk breakdown structure developed using the product and work breakdown structures.
1.6
Who will lead the project, and who will form the team? The organization breakdown structure, is achieved by matching the requirements of the project and the abilities of the individuals.
1.7
Who does what transfers ownership and responsibility to the team (for example: full time – X, part time – P, support function – S) and communicates this through the responsibility matrix.
1.8
How the work should be performed is created through a team consensus for the execution plan and the relationship between the work elements.
1.9
When & how much is determined by the control documents that will provide the data (schedule, budget, and resources) from which trends and deviations from the plan can be identified and reported.
2 Characteristics
The project management process has certain characteristics, which differ from conventional management systems and brings with it certain advantages.
2.1 Project Management Objectives
The project management process takes the owner's or client's business objectives and translates them into specific objectives (Figure I.B.2) for managing the project (scope):
- By a specified time
- Within a specified budget
- To meet a specified standard of performance, which must include safety, other aspects being quality, value, and benefits
Since the prime objective is to complete the scope safely within the constraints of cost, time, and quality, some people put safety and scope at the centre of the triangle.
The natural instinct of owners is to ask for the lowest cost, the client project manager wants the shortest schedule, and the users want the highest quality.
All three of these extremes are not possible all together. The client should be asked to put an ‘x’ within the objectives triangle to show where the balance is. Do not accept an ‘x’ in the centre.
An insufficient budget or running out of money or missing schedule targets means that the scope of the project is compromised or cut. This results in a project that fails to achieve its objectives, and the consequence is dissatisfied users.
2.2 One Leader with Responsibility and Authority
A seminal requirement for any endeavour is that there is one person in charge; a single point of contact. Thus, senior management delegates the responsibility for managing the project to a project manager. The project manager is responsible for client relations and represents the client within their organization, and represents their organization to the client, as well.
In spite of this, in many organizations, senior management often says: “But we will make the decisions.” In these circumstances, you have to ask who is managing the project: you the project manager or senior management. Consequently, you need to manage upwards – “May we have a decision by day x? Otherwise it will cause a delay to the project.”
2.3 Multidisciplinary Teamwork
The primary characteristic that distinguishes project management from ‘ordinary’ management is that it is multidisciplinary. The difficulty is how to get these different disciplines to work together as a team. If it is achieved, there are two significant results:
- Teamwork. The personnel on the project are more motivated and communication is greatly improved.
- Synergy. The use of people with different skills, expertise, and experience to solve complex problems results in greater efficiency and innovation than ordinary groups could achieve.
2.4 Matrix Organization
Because of the temporary nature of projects, a matrix organization is necessary to:
- Reassign personnel
- Carry out long‐term personnel planning
- Audit the quality of the work
Organizations vary from the functionally organized with a project coordinator (a weak matrix) to the task force with a project manager (a strong matrix). See Section D, subsection 2.
2.5 Control
Project management achieves control of a project by ensuring that meticulous attention is paid to every aspect of the job.
3 Key Management Decisions and Phases
There are a number of key management decisions relative to the project phases.
3.1
Firstly, the owner may need to purchase additional expertise or resources at different stages (the phase breaks between feasibility, planning, and execution – Figure I.A.3) to perform portions of the work, as mentioned in Section A paragraph 2.3.
3.1.1
The first purchasing/contracting option is to negotiate with a contractor. This will have the minimun impact on the project duration (See Figure I.B.3).
3.1.2
The second purchasing/contracting option is to invite competitive tenders for the performance of the work.
3.1.3
The client may wish to retain complete control over the work by approving the deliverable outputs from each of the stages in Figure I.B.4. Consequently, an owner approval stage must be scheduled at the end of each stage. This option will significantly extend the project duration.
3.1.4
The owner/client may use the same contractor for every phase/stage or, alternatively, may use one contractor for the basic design and planning phase and then be tempted to invite competitive tenders for the execution phases. It is crucial for the contractor to maintain good relationships if they are to survive the transition from one phase to the next.
3.2
Project management (as well as deciding the contracting strategy in the early phases), must satisfy the criteria to move from one phase to the next phase, namely:
- Is the project still appropriate to the company business plan?
- Is the financial model still viable?
- Will the project work technically?
3.2.1
The first two sets of vertical lines in Figure I.B.5 indicate where there is a natural break between the phases and an opportunity to stop the project. At the third set of vertical lines, the break is less natural, and the project can drift into the execution stage without proper evaluation. If the project cannot pass these ‘decision gates’ the project should be killed off. This is one of the most important decisions a project manager has to make and one of the most difficult to implement.
3.2.2
Product development introduces more and more formal senior management gate reviews before the start of each numbered phase shown in Figure I.A.4.
3.2.3
For a client or sponsor, the gate review process starts at the identification of a business opportunity, and the most important gate is the one before any contracting arrangements are implemented. The last gate is a review of the project's success and the lessons learnt.
3.3
Thirdly, at the end of the planning phase, project management must decide how quickly to move into the execution phases and how much overlap of the phases there should be.
3.3.1
Starting the next phase before the previous phase is complete, fast tracking, means that rework will be required. The client may perceive this as contractor inefficiency, and yet the client is the person to benefit from an earlier completion date.
3.4
The last key decision is when to start construction. Just because the programme says one should be starting does not mean that one should start if you are not ready.
3.4.1
Some simple rules of thumb: 8
- Construction can't start until engineering has reached 30 per cent.
- Construction can't achieve more than 30 per cent if engineering has not reached 90 per cent.
- Between 10 per cent and 90 per cent complete construction can achieve 1 per cent progress per week. Less than this means that something is wrong. More than this means the key people in the project's management are deluding themselves. Ask what special plan or short cuts are being implemented, for example, pre‐ordering of long lead items, extended working, using dedicated shipping, and so on.
3.4.2
Once construction begins, the construction people start demanding information, often in a different order to that which the home office is working. This must be controlled. Construction must be reminded of how they said they were going to work when their representative was involved in the design process (see Part IV, Section Q Installation and Construction, paragraph 1.3). Otherwise chaos will result.
4 Project Management Patterns
4.1 Number of people involved
Projects have a definite start date before which the staff level is zero. The project manager has to find the resources required to get the project going. Consequently, projects start slowly. Conveniently, the number of people involved in the early phases, that is the study and planning phases, is very small compared with those required during the execution phases, see Figure I.B.6.
Once construction or production starts, the number of people rises very rapidly. The personnel build up to a peak and then fall back to end again at zero at project completion.
4.2 Increase in costs for one week's delay or cost of accelerating project by one week
If the project is delayed for any reason, the cost of a delay during the early phases is relatively less expensive because fewer people are involved and few, if any, commitments have been made. If the job is delayed when the workforce is at its peak and a major part of the investment has been committed, the cost of a week's delay is very high, see Figure I.B.7. Thus, if a major design error is found, which involves rework, the cost impact can be serious. This highlights the importance of good design quality assurance.
