Project management

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Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring
about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is sometimes
conflated with program management, however technically a program is actually a higher level
construct: a group of related and somehow interdependent projects.

A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end (usually constrained by
date, but can be by funding or deliverables[1]), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives[2],
usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands
in contrast to business as usual (or operations)[3], which are repetitive, permanent or semi-
permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these
two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct
technical skills and the adoption of separate management.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals[4] and
objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints.[5] Typical constraints are scope,
time, and budget.[1] The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation
and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives..

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History of project management

• 2 Project management approaches
o 2.1 The traditional approach
o 2.2 Critical Chain Project Management
o 2.3 Extreme Project Management
o 2.4 Event chain methodology
o 2.5 PRINCE2
o 2.6 Process-based management
• 3 Project Management Processes
o 3.1 Initiation
o 3.2 Planning and design
o 3.3 Executing
o 3.4 Monitoring and Controlling
o 3.5 Closing
o 3.6 Project control systems
• 4 Project management topics
 o 4.1 Project managers
o 4.2 Project Management Triangle
o 4.3 Work Breakdown Structure
o 4.4 Project Management Framework
o 4.5 International standards
o 4.6 Project portfolio management
• 5 See also
• 6 References

• 7 External links

[edit] History of project management

Roman Soldiers Building a Fortress, Trajan's Column 113 AD

Project management has been practiced since early civilization. Until 1900 civil engineering
projects were generally managed by creative architects and engineers themselves, among those
for example Vitruvius (1st century BC), Christopher Wren (1632–1723) , Thomas Telford (1757-
1834) and Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859) [6] It was in the 1950s that organizations
started to systematically apply project management tools and techniques to complex projects.[7]

Henry Gantt (1861-1919), the father of planning and control techniques.

As a discipline, Project Management developed from several fields of application including

construction, engineering, and defense activity.[8] Two forefathers of project management are
Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques[9], who is famous for his use of
the Gantt chart as a project management tool; and Henri Fayol for his creation of the 5
management functions which form the foundation of the body of knowledge associated with
project and program management.[10] Both Gantt and Fayol were students of Frederick Winslow
Taylor's theories of scientific management. His work is the forerunner to modern project
management tools including work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource allocation.

The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern Project Management era. Project management
became recognized as a distinct discipline arising from the management discipline.[11] In the
United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad hoc basis using mostly Gantt
Charts, and informal techniques and tools. At that time, two mathematical project-scheduling
models were developed. The "Critical Path Method" (CPM) was developed as a joint venture
between DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant maintenance
projects. And the "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT, was developed by
Booz-Allen & Hamilton as part of the United States Navy's (in conjunction with the Lockheed
Corporation) Polaris missile submarine program;[12] These mathematical techniques quickly
spread into many private enterprises.

PERT network chart for a seven-month project with five milestones

At the same time, as project-scheduling models were being developed, technology for project
cost estimating, cost management, and engineering economics was evolving, with pioneering
work by Hans Lang and others. In 1956, the American Association of Cost Engineers (now
AACE International; the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) was formed by
early practitioners of project management and the associated specialties of planning and
scheduling, cost estimating, and cost/schedule control (project control). AACE continued its
pioneering work and in 2006 released the first integrated process for portfolio, program and
project management (Total Cost Management Framework).

The International Project Management Association (IPMA) was founded in Europe in 1967,[13] as
a federation of several national project management associations. IPMA maintains its federal
structure today and now includes member associations on every continent except Antarctica.
IPMA offers a Four Level Certification program based on the IPMA Competence Baseline
(ICB).[14] The ICB covers technical competences, contextual competences, and behavioral
competences.

In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed in the USA.[15] PMI publishes A
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), which describes project
management practices that are common to "most projects, most of the time." PMI also offers
multiple certifications.

[edit] Project management approaches

There are a number of approaches to managing project activities including agile, interactive,
incremental, and phased approaches.

Regardless of the methodology employed, careful consideration must be given to the overall
project objectives, timeline, and cost, as well as the roles and responsibilities of all participants
and stakeholders.
[edit] The traditional approach

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional

approach", we can distinguish 5 components of a project (4 stages plus control) in the
development of a project:

Typical development phases of a project

• Project initiation stage;

• Project planning or design stage;
• Project execution or production stage;
• Project monitoring and controlling systems;
• Project completion stage.

Not all the projects will visit every stage as projects can be terminated before they reach
completion. Some projects do not follow a structured planning and/or monitoring stages. Some
projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Many industries use variations on these project stages. For example, when working on a brick
and mortar design and construction, projects will typically progress through stages like Pre-
Planning, Conceptual Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Drawings
(or Contract Documents), and Construction Administration. In software development, this
approach is often known as the waterfall model[16], i.e., one series of tasks after another in linear
sequence. In software development many organizations have adapted the Rational Unified
Process (RUP) to fit this methodology, although RUP does not require or explicitly recommend
this practice. Waterfall development works well for small, well defined projects, but often fails
in larger projects of undefined and ambiguous nature. The Cone of Uncertainty explains some of
this as the planning made on the initial phase of the project suffers from a high degree of
uncertainty. This becomes especially true as software development is often the realization of a
new or novel product. In projects where requirements have not been finalized and can change,
requirements management is used to develop an accurate and complete definition of the behavior
of software that can serve as the basis for software development[17]. While the terms may differ
from industry to industry, the actual stages typically follow common steps to problem solving —
"defining the problem, weighing options, choosing a path, implementation and evaluation."

[edit] Critical Chain Project Management

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing projects that
puts more emphasis on the resources (physical and human) needed in order to execute project
tasks. It is an application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to projects. The goal is to increase
the rate of throughput (or completion rates) of projects in an organization. Applying the first
three of the five focusing steps of TOC, the system constraint for all projects is identified as are
the resources. To exploit the constraint, tasks on the critical chain are given priority over all other
activities. Finally, projects are planned and managed to ensure that the resources are ready when
the critical chain tasks must start, subordinating all other resources to the critical chain.
Regardless of project type, the project plan should undergo Resource Leveling, and the longest
sequence of resource-constrained tasks should be identified as the critical chain. In multi-project
environments, resource leveling should be performed across projects. However, it is often
enough to identify (or simply select) a single "drum" resource—a resource that acts as a
constraint across projects—and stagger projects based on the availability of that single resource.

Planning and feedback loops in Extreme Programming (XP) with the time frames of the multiple
loops.

[edit] Extreme Project Management

In critical studies of Project Management, it has been noted that several of these fundamentally
PERT-based models are not well suited for the multi-project company environment of today.
[citation needed]
Most of them are aimed at very large-scale, one-time, non-routine projects, and
nowadays all kinds of management are expressed in terms of projects.

Using complex models for "projects" (or rather "tasks") spanning a few weeks has been proven
to cause unnecessary costs and low maneuverability in several cases. Instead, project
management experts try to identify different "lightweight" models, such as Agile Project
Management methods including Extreme Programming for software development and Scrum
techniques.

The generalization of Extreme Programming to other kinds of projects is extreme project

management, which may be used in combination with the process modeling and management
principles of human interaction management.

[edit] Event chain methodology

Event chain methodology is another method that complements critical path method and critical
chain project management methodologies.

Event chain methodology is an uncertainty modeling and schedule network analysis technique
that is focused on identifying and managing events and event chains that affect project schedules.
Event chain methodology helps to mitigate the negative impact of psychological heuristics and
biases, as well as to allow for easy modeling of uncertainties in the project schedules. Event
chain methodology is based on the following principles.

• Probabilistic moment of risk: An activity (task) in most real life processes is not a
continuous uniform process. Tasks are affected by external events, which can occur at
some point in the middle of the task.
• Event chains: Events can cause other events, which will create event chains. These event
chains can significantly affect the course of the project. Quantitative analysis is used to
determine a cumulative effect of these event chains on the project schedule.
• Critical events or event chains: The single events or the event chains that have the most
potential to affect the projects are the “critical events” or “critical chains of events.” They
can be determined by the analysis.
 • Project tracking with events: Even if a project is partially completed and data about the
project duration, cost, and events occurred is available, it is still possible to refine
information about future potential events and helps to forecast future project
performance.
• Event chain visualization: Events and event chains can be visualized using event chain
diagrams on a Gantt chart.

[edit] PRINCE2

The PRINCE2 process model

PRINCE2 is a structured approach to project management, released in 1996 as a generic project

management method.[18] It combined the original PROMPT methodology (which evolved into the
PRINCE methodology) with IBM's MITP (managing the implementation of the total project)
methodology. PRINCE2 provides a method for managing projects within a clearly defined
framework. PRINCE2 describes procedures to coordinate people and activities in a project, how
to design and supervise the project, and what to do if the project has to be adjusted if it does not
develop as planned.

In the method, each process is specified with its key inputs and outputs and with specific goals
and activities to be carried out. This allows for automatic control of any deviations from the plan.
Divided into manageable stages, the method enables an efficient control of resources. On the
basis of close monitoring, the project can be carried out in a controlled and organized way.

PRINCE2 provides a common language for all participants in the project. The various
management roles and responsibilities involved in a project are fully described and are adaptable
to suit the complexity of the project and skills of the organization.

[edit] Process-based management

Capability Maturity Model, predecessor of the CMMI Model

Also furthering the concept of project control is the incorporation of process-based management.
This area has been driven by the use of Maturity models such as the CMMI (Capability Maturity
Model Integration) and ISO/IEC15504 (SPICE - Software Process Improvement and Capability
Estimation).

Agile Project Management approaches based on the principles of human interaction management
are founded on a process view of human collaboration. This contrasts sharply with the traditional
approach. In the agile software development or flexible product development approach, the
project is seen as a series of relatively small tasks conceived and executed as the situation
demands in an adaptive manner, rather than as a completely pre-planned process.

[edit] Project Management Processes

Traditionally, project management includes a number of elements: four to five process groups,
and a control system. Regardless of the methodology or terminology used, the same basic project
management processes will be used.

The project development stages[19]

Major process groups generally include:

• Initiation
• Planning or development
• Production or execution
 • Monitoring and controlling
• Closing

In project environments with a significant exploratory element (e.g., Research and development),
these stages may be supplemented with decision points (go/no go decisions) at which the
project's continuation is debated and decided. An example is the Stage-Gate model.

[edit] Initiation

Initiating Process Group Processes[19]

The initiation processes determine the nature and scope of the project. If this stage is not
performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’ needs.
The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and
making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should
be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

The initiation stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas:

• Analyzing the business needs/requirements in measurable goals

• Reviewing of the current operations
• Financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget
• Stakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the project
• Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule

[edit] Planning and design

Planning Process Group Activities[19]

After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of detail. The main
purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to
effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the Initiation process group, a failure
to adequately plan greatly reduces the project's chances of successfully accomplishing its goals.
Project planning generally consists of

• determining how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or rolling wave);

• developing the scope statement;
• selecting the planning team;
• identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure;
• identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the
activities in their logical sequence;
• estimating the resource requirements for the activities;
• estimating time and cost for activities;
• developing the schedule;
• developing the budget;
• risk planning;
• gaining formal approval to begin work.

Additional processes, such as planning for communications and for scope management,
identifying roles and responsibilities, determining what to purchase for the project and holding a
kick-off meeting are also generally advisable.

For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product
may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the
planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.

[edit] Executing

Executing Process Group Processes[19]

Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project
management plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves
coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the
project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as
outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan.

[edit] Monitoring and Controlling

Monitoring and Controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution
so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be
taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project
performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project
management plan.

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Processes[19]

Monitoring and Controlling includes:

• Measuring the ongoing project activities (where we are);

• Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project management
plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be);
• Identify corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we get on track
again);
• Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved
changes are implemented

In multi-phase projects, the Monitoring and Controlling process also provides feedback between
project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into
compliance with the project management plan.

Project Maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:

• Continuing support of end users

• Correction of errors
• Updates of the software over time

Monitoring and Controlling cycle

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are
resolved.

Over the course of any construction project, the work scope may change. Change is a normal and
expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design
modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes, value
engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the change in the
field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually constructed. This
is referred to as Change Management. Hence, the owner usually requires a final record to show
all changes or, more specifically, any change that modifies the tangible portions of the finished
work. The record is made on the contract documents – usually, but not necessarily limited to, the
design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry terms as-built drawings, or
more simply, “as built.” The requirement for providing them is a norm in construction contracts.
When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re-assessed. It is
important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes
accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in the project.

[edit] Closing

Closing Process Group Processes.[19]

Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative
activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned.

This phase consists of:

• Project close: Finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close the
project or a project phase
• Contract closure: Complete and settle each contract (including the resolution of any
open items) and close each contract applicable to the project or project phase

[edit] Project control systems

Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time and within budget.
Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-
implementation review, having a thorough involvement of each step in the process. Each project
should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too time
consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly, the
cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors, fixes, and additional audit fees.

Control systems are needed for cost, risk, quality, communication, time, change, procurement,
and human resources. In addition, auditors should consider how important the projects are to the
financial statements, how reliant the stakeholders are on controls, and how many controls exist.
Auditors should review the development process and procedures for how they are implemented.
The process of development and the quality of the final product may also be assessed if needed
or requested. A business may want the auditing firm to be involved throughout the process to
catch problems earlier on so that they can be fixed more easily. An auditor can serve as a
controls consultant as part of the development team or as an independent auditor as part of an
audit.

Businesses sometimes use formal systems development processes. These help assure that
systems are developed successfully. A formal process is more effective in creating strong
controls, and auditors should review this process to confirm that it is well designed and is
followed in practice. A good formal systems development plan outlines:
 • A strategy to align development with the organization’s broader objectives
• Standards for new systems
• Project management policies for timing and budgeting
• Procedures describing the process
• Evaluation of quality of change

[edit] Project management topics

[edit] Project managers

A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can
have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to
construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software
development. Many other fields in the production, design and service industries also have project
managers.

A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key
project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives,
building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which is cost,
time, and scope.

A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact
needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to
the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the
nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and
above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.

[edit] Project Management Triangle

The Project Management Triangle.

Like any human undertaking, projects need to be performed and delivered under certain
constraints. Traditionally, these constraints have been listed as "scope," "time," and "cost".[1]
These are also referred to as the "Project Management Triangle," where each side represents a
constraint. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. A further
refinement of the constraints separates product "quality" or "performance" from scope, and turns
quality into a fourth constraint.

The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost
constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers to
what must be done to produce the project's end result. These three constraints are often
competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight
time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean
increased time and reduced scope.

The discipline of Project Management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the
project team (not just the project manager) to organize their work to meet these constraints.

[edit] Work Breakdown Structure

Example of a Work breakdown structure applied in a NASA reporting structure.[20]

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a tree structure, which shows a subdivision of effort
required to achieve an objective; for example a program, project, and contract. The WBS may be
hardware, product, service, or process oriented.

A WBS can be developed by starting with the end objective and successively subdividing it into
manageable components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems, subsystems,
components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages), which include all steps necessary to achieve
the objective.[17]

The Work Breakdown Structure provides a common framework for the natural development of
the overall planning and control of a contract and is the basis for dividing work into definable
increments from which the statement of work can be developed and technical, schedule, cost,
and labor hour reporting can be established.[20]

[edit] Project Management Framework

Example of an IT Project Management Framework.[19]

The Program (Investment) Life Cycle integrates the project management and system
development life cycles with the activities directly associated with system deployment and
operation. By design, system operation management and related activities occur after the project
is complete and are not documented within this guide.[19]

For example, see figure, in the US United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the
program management life cycle is depicted and describe in the overall VA IT Project
Management Framework to address the integration of OMB Exhibit 300 project (investment)
management activities and the overall project budgeting process. The VA IT Project
Management Framework diagram illustrates Milestone 4 which occurs following the deployment
of a system and the closing of the project. The project closing phase activities at the VA
continues through system deployment and into system operation for the purpose of illustrating
and describing the system activities the VA considers part of the project. The figure illustrates
the actions and associated artifacts of the VA IT Project and Program Management process.[19]

[edit] International standards

There have been several attempts to develop Project Management standards, such as:

• Capability Maturity Model from the Software Engineering Institute.

• GAPPS, Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards- an open source standard
describing COMPETENCIES for project and program managers.
• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
• HERMES method, Swiss general project management method, selected for use in
Luxembourg and international organisations.
• The ISO standards ISO 9000, a family of standards for quality management systems, and
the ISO 10006:2003, for Quality management systems and guidelines for quality
management in projects.
• PRINCE2, PRojects IN Controlled Environments.
• Team Software Process (TSP) from the Software Engineering Institute.
 • Total Cost Management Framework, AACE International's Methodology for Integrated
Portfolio, Program and Project Management)
• V-Model, an original systems development method.
• The Logical framework approach, which is popular in international development
organisations.

[edit] Project portfolio management

An increasing number of organisations are using, what is referred to as, project portfolio
management (PPM) as a means of selecting the right projects and then using project management
techniques[21] as the means for delivering the outcomes in the form of benefits to the performing
private or not-for-profit organisation.

Project management methods are used 'to do projects right' and the methods used in PPM are
used 'to do the right projects'. In effect PPM is becoming the method of choice for selection and
prioritising among resource inter-related projects in many industries and sectors.