Introduction Back

1. Importance of project management

• A 1995 Standish Group study (CHAOS) found that only 16.2% of IT projects were successful in meeting scope, time, and cost goals; over 31% of IT projects were canceled before completion.
• A PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that overall half of all projects fail and only 2.5% of corporations consistently meet their targets for scope, time, and cost goals for all types of project.
• Advantages of using formal project management:
  • Better control of financial, physical, and human resources
  • Improved customer relations
  • Shorter development times
  • Lower costs
  • Higher quality and increased reliability
  • Higher profit margins(利益邊際)
  • Improved productivity
  • Better internal coordination
  • Higher worker morale(士氣)

2. Definitons

• Projects:
  • projects are unique.
  • operations(業務) is work done to sustain(支撐) the business.
  • end when:
    • their objectives have been reached
    • the project has been terminated.
  • can be large or small, and take a long or short time to complete.
• Stakeholders: the people involved in of affected by project activities.
  • the project sponsor
  • the project manager
  • the project team
  • support staff
  • customers
  • users
  • suppliers
  • opponents(競爭對手) to the project

3. The triple constraint

• there is a triple constraint of project management:
  • Scope:
    • What work will be done as part of the project?
    • What unique product, service or result does the customer or sponsor expect from the project?
    • How will the scope verified(證實)?
  • Cost:
    • What should it cost to complete the project?
    • What is the project's budget?
    • How will costs be tracked?
    • Who can authorize changes to the budget?
  • Time:
    • How long it take to complete the project?
    • What is the project's schedule?
    • How will the team track actual schedule performance?
    • Who can approve changes to the schedule?
• quadruple constraint includes quality as well.

4. The frameswork of project integration management

• Knowledge Areas(KA):
  • Stakeholders(有權益關係者) Management: Helps you identify and manage relationship with people who can impact(衝擊) or who get impacted by the project.
  • Procurement(採購) Management: If at all some part of yor project work is to be done by an expert seller, this KA has all the know-how(專業知識) of how to deal with it.
  • Risk Management: There will be plenty of threats as well as opportunities. Identify them. Analyze them. Prepare for them. When they do happen, address and control them!
  • Communication Management: Helps you keep all stakeholders in the know. Distribute right information to the right people at the right time.
  • Human Resources Management: People, People, People! A crucial(至關重要的) element of success for any project. And, most challenging for the Project Manager. Why? Because dealing with people needs great deal of interpersonal(人際) skills!
  • Integration Management(the start point): integrating processes covers from Initiating to Closing of the project or phase.
  • Scope Management: Helps you understand stakeholders' expectations out of the project. (very crucial)
  • Time Management: You will be able to identify project activities, identify dependencies, estimate ther resource and durations are estimated, and create project schedure right here!
  • Cost Management: Address all type of costs - direct & indirect costs, related to quality, resources, risks and procurement.
  • Quality Management: Figure out what is needed to ensure that project produces PSR(product/service/result) that is in line with stakeholders' expectations - not more, not less!

5. Factors to help projects succeed

• User involvement
• Executive support(行政支持)
• Clear business objectives
• Emotional maturity(情感成熟度)
• Optimizing scope(樂觀領域)
• Agile process
• Project mangement expertice(專業知識)
• Skilled resources
• Execution
• Tools and infrastructure(基礎設施)

6. Q&A

• What is the difference between projects and operations?

answer: Projects are temporary endeavors whereas an organization's operations are ongoing in nature.

• Which project management knowledge areas is an overarching function that affects and is affected by the different knowledge areas?

answer: Project Integration Management

• Is checklist a tool used in quality management?

answer: Yes.

• Which of the following tools can best hep in efficient communication management?
  • Kick-off meetings
  • Requests for quotes
  • Impact matrices
  • Fast tracking

answer: Kick-off meetings.

• What is the difference between project management and portfolio management?

answer: Project management addresses specific short-term goals whereas portfolio management focuses on long-term goals.

• Martha works as a project manager at a bank. Due to certain changes in external factors, Martha needs to make a few alterations in the tactical goals of her project. In such a scenario, which of the following will best help Martha cope with the change?
  • Negotiation
  • Project environment knowledge
  • Motivation
  • Soft skills

answer: Project environment knowledge.

• Which is the organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organization?

answer: Project Management Office.

• Which of the following provides certification as a Project Management Professional?
  • PMS
  • PMI
  • PMC
  • PMP

answer: PMI.

• Which of the following refers to a set of principles that guides decision making based on personal values of what is considered right and wrong?
  • Ethics
  • Civics
  • Laws
  • Politics

answer: Ethics.