BSBPMG510A Manage projects

Define project

Reading

What is a project? 2

What is project management? 2

General management skills 3

What makes a good project manager? 3

The 5 phases in a project 4

The initiate phase 6

Project scope 6

Use the scope document during the whole project 9

Project sponsor 10

Project stakeholders 10

Internal and external stakeholders 10

The impact stakeholders have on a project 12

Project team responsibilities 12

Project reporting requirements 13

Relationship to other projects 13

Relationship to organisational objectives 14

Project resources 14

Acknowledgment:

Adapted from the UpFront! Toolbox (601) © Commonwealth Australia 2004.

What is a project?

A project is a sequence of activities that is intended to achieve a unique purpose. Projects are different from ordinary daily work activities. Most projects are done only once.

For example, a Human Resources (HR) Manager would monitor staff training and professional development and record this information in staff records. This would be ordinary work. However, if the head of the HR department requested that the HR Manager plan, design and implement new OH&S training for all staff, then that would be a project.

Five features that differentiate projects from ordinary work are that they:

·  have defined beginning and end dates

·  have a unique purpose with specific objectives that meet the client goals and requirements within specified quality and performance criteria

·  use resources, such as money, time, people and equipment that have been allocated to the project

·  usually follow a planned and structured approach to meet their objectives

·  have a primary sponsor or stakeholder that provides direction and funding.

Projects can be simple and easily handled by one person or large and complex projects requiring many resources and the specialised skills of a dedicated project manager.

What is project management?

Project management is about striving to meet specific time, cost, quality and resource objectives for projects. At the same time it must facilitate the entire process so as to meet the needs and expectations of all people affected by project activities.

Project management is about making change through the use of techniques, tools and resources that manage change throughout the life of the project.

General management skills

Managing projects is more than simply listing tasks and entering them into a computer program. It is about managing people and resources to ensure the successful completion of the project.

Like all management activities, managing projects is based on sound general management principles, so that all activities of a project are managed in order to achieve a desired goal on time, and within budget.

These general management principles include:

·  planning the objectives, work estimates, work schedules, and budgets to reach the project goal

·  organising the people and initiating the activities needed to complete the project

·  assembling all the necessary resources needed to complete the project (as per your plan)

·  controlling the project, by tracking and monitoring the progress against the initial project plan

·  leading the project team

·  communicating, which involves creating a reporting structure to ensure that all stakeholders and other interested parties receive timely and proper information during the life of the project.

What makes a good project manager?

Project managers need strong management skills to be able to lead people, to communicate, negotiate, organise and plan, solve problems, influence people, analyse, set goals, listen to people, motivate people, and achieve targets.

A project manager must focus on leadership and teamwork skills to lead the team in the most effective way to achieve the project goals. They must use their communication and political skills to build positive relationships that enable them to understand and meet stakeholders’ needs and expectations.

A project manager must also have good organisational skills, to be able to plan, analyse, set and achieve project objectives, work plans and schedules.

Organisations employ specialised project managers because they have skills in collectively managing aspects of a project including:

·  the budget

·  the schedule

·  the team members

·  stakeholders

·  functional managers (other managers within the organisation)

They do not manage a permanent department like functional managers do. They manage a given team over a given time period. Then, with a new project, they do it all over again with a different team, budget and schedule.

The 5 phases in a project

There are five general phases in a project:

1.  initiate phase

2.  plan phase

3.  organise phase

4.  control phase

5.  close phase.

During each phase, you need to use the principles of general management needed for that phase. This usually involves using a set of controlled steps and procedures to ensure that each phase is completed satisfactorily. The following table shows the main activities that are required in each of these five general phases of a project life cycle. They usually are grouped into:

·  planning processes, and

·  implementation processes.

This reading takes a close look at the initiate phase.

Major activities that occur during each project phase

Initiate / Plan / Organise / Control / Close /
Define the overall project goal / Develop detailed task list / Obtain necessary resources / Lead and support the team / Complete final deliverables
Identify all stakeholders, their needs and expectations / Estimate all task times and all costs / Recruit necessary personnel / Establish control tools and methods / Write and issue final report, close the accounts, hand over project files
Identify the project objectives / Arrange best sequence of all tasks / Organise and lead the project team / Monitor the project plan and make any necessary corrective actions / Release all resources
Identify initial work and resources and basic milestones / Develop workable schedule and identify critical milestones / Assign all project tasks / Assess and implement change / Obtain stakeholder acceptance and signoff
Identify all constraints, assumptions and risks / Write detailed project plan and obtain approval from stakeholders / Communicate with stakeholders and all necessary parties / Prepare and distribute status reports / Evaluate the project

The initiate phase

In the initiate phase you will:

·  define the overall project goal

·  identify all stakeholders, their needs and expectations

·  identify the project objectives

·  identify initial work and resources and basic milestones

·  identify all constraints, assumptions and risks.

Project scope

One of the most difficult aspects of project management is defining the scope of a project. The word ‘scope’ means extent or depth. When applied to project management, it refers to how much work there is to do.

The scope is all work needed to fulfil the project goals. It includes all the resources and processes used to do this.

The project scope must provide a clear and refined description of:

·  the project goal

·  what is to be achieved

·  how is it to be achieved

·  who will achieve it

·  when it will be achieved

·  with what resources it will be achieved.

Once these have been determined, they are written down in a scope document.

A scope document shows the scope, or extent, of a project. Let’s look at the key sections and an example of a project scope document.

The things you will find in a project scope document

Key sections of a scope document

Section / Details /
Scope statement / This clearly states the project goal, objectives and deliverables. If it is not specified in the scope statement then it is outside the scope of the project and is not relevant. Project tasks should only address work that is relevant to the project goal and objectives.
Project constraints / These are any limiting factors that prevent the project from moving in a particular path. Examples include:
·  You have dependent tasks that impact on specific areas of the project, for example, tasks that cannot begin unless another one has started.
·  You have a deadline that cannot be changed.
·  The implementation work for a system upgrade can only be done on the weekend, when staff are not at work.
Assumptions / These are aspects that the project manager builds into the scope document to allow for any uncertainties that may occur. Examples of assumptions include:
·  Fifteen new personal computers need to be purchased for the project.
·  All staff need yearly training in OHS.
·  All resources for the project will be sourced from outside of the company.
Tasks list / You need to specify a list of tasks (and deliverables) to be achieved during the project. They are all the activities that need to take place to bring the project to completion. The deliverables include all the documentation, reports, contracts and products that need to be produced and signed-off on by those in authority.
Estimates (cost, time and human resources) / You need to make initial estimates in relation to cost, time and human resource requirements. These identify the boundaries of the project to enable you to expand into the more detailed estimates that are needed to develop the full project plan.
Contract statement / This will include the names of those authorised to initiate contract work, sign contracts and completion acceptances. It also includes any contractual limitations and penalty statements for possible contract variations. (Variations and penalties apply equally to the client and providers.)

The following is an example of a scope document, in this case for a project to install animal litter bins in local parks.

Sample scope document

Project Scope
Project Information (Please complete all)
Project Sponsor
Bob Smith
General Manager / Project Name
Animal litter bins
Sponsoring Department/Client
Directive from Council Meeting
Parks & Gardens
Project Leader
Arens Sirkel
Scope the project
The project will encompass the installing of animal litter bins and bag dispensers in all council parks. The bins and bags are to be purchased from Animal Litter Limited after recommendations from neighbouring councils.
Description of the project
What is the vision? What will the finished product look like?
The animal litter bins will be installed in prominent locations in each park, while also being close to entrances to allow efficient removal of waste by our waste management contractor.
Identify the strategic objectives at which relate to this project
To reduce animal litter by encouraging owners to pick up after their pets.
Identify the main target audience
Pet owners.
What are the intended outcomes/deliverables of the project?
That pet owners will use the bags provided to clean up their pets’ litter and deposit the bags in the bins provided, other bins or their own bins at home.
What are the particular aspects of the project?
Installation of bins.
Other comments
Collection of waste and replacement of bags has been contracted to our waste management contractor.
A public awareness campaign will be conducted by council after the bins have been installed.
Proposed project timeline
Dates/Time / Notes
Project lifespan: include dates or total time required for completion
Phase 1: Scoping and feasibility / not required / Directed by council, scoped by General Manager
Phase 2: Planning / 4 days
Phase 3: Implementation / 3 weeks
Phase 4: Evaluation / 2 days
Proposed budget
Detail proposed budget or financial constraints for the project.
Overtime wages/contractor payments $ 7,000
Bins & posts $ 15,000
Materials (cement, etc) $ 2,000
Annual bag replacement program $ 6,000
Annual additional charge by Waste Management Co. $ 18,000
Scope signoff
This scope has been approved by: Bob Smith______Project Sponsor
Department: General Manager Date_____/_____/_____

Use the scope document during the whole project

It is a good idea to revisit the scope document while the project is running, to check that the project is meeting its objectives and to make sure that activities are within its scope.

During the plan phase you should use the scope document as a basis to expand into a detailed activity list of the project deliverables.

Project sponsor

A good scope document will clearly define the project sponsor. The project sponsor is a key stakeholder for the project. The sponsor is the person or organisation that has taken the idea for a project and developed it into a structure, or who has identified the idea for the project and initiated its further development.

The sponsor may be the manager, client, department or work team that has initiated the project. The sponsor usually provides the resources and approvals for the project, and has the final say on project deliverables, costs, schedules and risk.

Project stakeholders

Stakeholders are the individuals or organisations that are involved in, or may be affected by, the project. These might include the project sponsor (company management, department head, client etc), staff, contractors, suppliers, project team, external clients, government agencies and the public. This group will vary greatly from one project to another.

There are always a number of stakeholders involved in workplace projects. For example, stakeholders could include members of the following groups:

·  employees, contractors

·  unions and labour hire companies

·  managers

·  customers

·  suppliers.

Internal and external stakeholders

Stakeholders can be internal or external to an organisation, and beyond the main group of interested parties, they can be quite diverse, depending on the nature of the project. The table below lists some possible internal stakeholders and what their interest is.

Examples of internal stakeholders are as follows:

Stakeholder / Details
Sponsor / The person or business unit that initiated the project and provides funding for the project.
Project Team / The project manager and team members who carry out all of the tasks required to complete the project on time and within budget.
Senior management / Senior management obviously have an interest in projects undertaken by their organisation, and their approval will be required.
Functional Managers / They become involved when they are directly affected by the project or offer their staff to take part in the project.
Shareholders / As they usually provide the funding they have a vested interest in the success of the project.

External stakeholders can include: