© DR. Oualid (Walid) Ben Ali Chapter 1: An Introduction to Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Introduction to Project Management

© DR. Oualid (Walid) Ben Ali

Chapter 1:An Introduction to Project,

Program, and Portfolio Management

Introduction to Project Management

© DR. Oualid (Walid) Ben Ali 2

Learning Objectives

• Understand the growing need for better project, program, and portfolio management.

• Explain what a project is, provide examples of projects, list various attributes of projects, and discuss the triple constraint of project (Scope, time, cost) management.

• Describe project management and key elements of the project management framework, including project stakeholders, project management knowledge areas, common tools and techniques, and project success factors.


Learning Objectives (continued)

• Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio management and their contribution to enterprise success.

• Describe the project management profession, including suggested skills for project, program, and portfolio managers, the role of professional organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI), the importance of certification and ethics, and the growth of project and portfolio management software.


Introduction• Many organizations today have a new or renewed

interest in project management.

– The U.S. spends $2.3 trillion on projects every year, or one-quarter of its gross domestic product, and the world as a whole spends nearly $10 trillion of its $40.7 gross product on projects of all kinds.*

– In 2003, the average senior project manager in the U.S. earned almost $90,000 per year, and the average project management office director earned more than the average chief information officer ($118,633 vs. $103,925).**

– Project management certification is popular worldwide

*PMI, Inc., The PMI Project Management Fact Book, Second Edition, 2001.**PMI, Inc., Project Management Salary Survey, Third Edition, 2003.


What Went Wrong?• A 1995 Standish Group study (CHAOS) found that

only 16.2% of information technology (IT) application development projects were successful in meeting scope, time, and cost goals.

• Over 31% of the projects were canceled before completion, costing over $81 billion in the U.S. alone.

• The authors of this study were adamant about the need for better project management.


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• Improved productivity• Better internal coordination• Higher worker morale


What Is a Project?

• DEFINITION: A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”*

• Operations is work done to sustain the business.

• Projects end when their objectives have been reached, or the project has been terminated.

*Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (2004), p. 5.


Examples of Projects

• Exp1: A young couple hires a firm to design and build them a new house.

• Exp2: A college campus upgrades its technology infrastructure to provide wireless Internet access.

• Exp3: A television network develops a system to allow viewers to vote for contestants and provide other feedback on programs.

• Exp4: A government group develops a program to track child immunizations.

• Others: See the projects list of the course


Examples of Projects

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Project Attributes

• A project:– Has a unique purpose.

– Is temporary (has limited time).

– Is developed using progressive elaboration or in an iterative fashion.

– Requires resources, often from various areas.

– Should have a primary customer or sponsor.• The project sponsor usually provides the direction and

funding for the project.

– Involves uncertainty and risks.


Lost For Words

A good project manager is crucial to a project’s success. Project managers work with the project sponsors, the project team, and the other peopleinvolved in a project to meet project goals.


The Triple Constraint

• Every project is constrained in different ways by its:– 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?

– Time: How long should it take to complete the project? What is the project’s schedule?

– Cost: What should it cost to complete the project? What is the project’s budget?

• It is the project manager’s duty to balance these three often competing goals.


The Triple Constraint of Project Management


More on the Triple Constraint

• It may be good enough to hit the target, or range of triple constraint goals, but not the bull’s-eye.

• It’s important to determine which aspects of the triple constraint are the most important.

• The “quadruple constraint” includes quality as well as scope, time, and cost.


What is Project Management?

• DEFINITION: Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.”*



Project Management Framework




Project Stakeholders

• DEFINITION: Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities.

• Stakeholders include:– The project sponsor– The project manager– The project team– Support staff– Customers– Suppliers– Opponents to the project– etc.




Project Management Knowledge Areas

• Four (4) core knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives.– Project scope management involves defining and managing all the

work required to complete the project successfully.

– Project time management includes estimating how long it will take to complete the work, developing an acceptable project schedule, and ensuring timely completion of the project.

– Project cost management consists of preparing and managing the budget for the project.

– Project quality management ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken.




Project Management Knowledge Areas (continued)

• Four (4) facilitating knowledge areas are the means through which the project objectives are achieved. – Project human resource management is concerned with making

effective use of the people involved with the project.– Project communications management involves generating,

collecting, disseminating, and storing project information.– Project risk management includes identifying, analyzing, and

responding to risks related to the project.– Project procurement management involves acquiring or procuring

goods and services for a project from outside the performing organization.

• One knowledge area (project integration management) affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas.

• All knowledge areas are important!




Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management.

• Note that a tool or technique is more than just a software package.

• Specific tools and techniques include:– Project charters, scope statements, and Work Breakdown

Structure (WBS) (scope)

– Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analyses (time)

– Net present value, cost estimates, and earned value management (cost)

– See the table (next slide) for more examples


Common Project Management Tools and Techniques by Knowledge Areas


Project Management Tools and Techniques

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What Went Right? Using Project management

• The number of successful IT projects has more than doubled, from 16% in 1994 to 34% in 2002, although that number dropped to 29% in 2004.

• The number of failed projects was cut in half, from 31% in 1994 to 15% in 2002, although that number increased to 18% in 2004.

• The amount of money wasted on challenged projects and failed projects was down to $55 billion in 2002 compared to $140 billion in 1994.*

*The Standish Group, “Latest Standish Group CHAOS Report Shows Project Success Rates Have Improved by 50%” (March 25, 2003) and “CHAOS Demographics and Project Resolution” (2004).


Why the Improvements?

“The reasons for the increase in successful projects vary. First, the average cost of a project has been more than cut in half. Better tools have been created to monitor and control progress and better skilled project managers with better management processes are being used. The fact that there are processes is significant in itself.”*

*The Standish Group, “CHAOS 2001: A Recipe for Success” (2001).


Project Success

• There are different ways to define project success:– The project met scope, time, and cost goals.

– The project satisfied the customer/sponsor.

– The project produced the desired results.


What is a Program?

• DEFINITION: A program is:– “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated

way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.”*

– A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program.



Project Portfolio Management

• DEFINITION: Project portfolio management is an emerging business strategy in which organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success.

• Pacific Edge Software’s product manager, Eric Burke, defines project portfolio management as “the continuous process of selecting and managing the optimum set of project initiatives that deliver maximum business value.”*

*Eric Burke, “Project Portfolio Management,” PMI Houston Chapter Meeting (July 10, 2002).


Project Management Compared to Project Portfolio Management


The Project Management Profession

• Project, program, and portfolio managers need to develop specific skills.

• Certification is available for project managers.

• There are many software tools to assist in project, program, and portfolio management.


Suggested Skills for Project Managers

Knowledge of the following:• All nine project management knowledge areas• The application area, including specific standards and

regulations• The project environment• General management• Human relations


Media Snapshot – Good Project Management Skills from The Apprentice

• http://www.nbc.com/the-apprentice/

35


Media Snapshot – Good Project Management Skills from The Apprentice

• Leadership and professionalism are crucial.

• Know what your sponsor expects from the project, and learn from your mistakes.

• Trust your team, and delegate decisions.

• Know the business.

• Stand up for yourself.

• Be a team player.

• Don’t be overly emotional and stay organized.

• Work on projects and for people you believe in.

• Think outside of the box.

• Some luck is involved in project management, and you should always aim high.


Most Significant Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Project Managers


Importance of Leadership Skills

• Effective project managers provide leadership by example.

• A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals.

• A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals.

• Project managers often take on the role of both leader and manager.


Additional Skills for Program and Portfolio Managers

• Program managers normally have experience as project managers. They often rely on their past experience, strong business knowledge, leadership capability, and communication skills to manage programs.

• Portfolio managers must have strong financial and analytical skills and understand how projects and programs can contribute to meeting strategic goals.


Project Management Certification

• PMI provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP): http://www.pmi.org/

• A PMP has documented sufficient project experience, agreed to follow a code of ethics, and passed the PMP exam.

• The number of people earning PMP certification is increasing quickly.



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Growth in PMP Certification, 1993-2004


Ethics in Project Management

• Ethics is an important part of all professions.

• Project managers often face ethical dilemmas.

• In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must agree to the PMP code of professional conduct.

• Several questions on the PMP exam are related to professional responsibility, including ethics.


Project Management Software

• There are hundreds of different products available today.• Three main categories of tools are the following:

– Low-end tools: Handle single or smaller projects well; cost under $200 per user.

– Midrange tools: Handle multiple projects and users; cost $200-500 per user; Microsoft Project 2003 (or 2005 or 2007) is the most popular (this text includes a trial copy).

– High-end tools: Also called enterprise project management software; often licensed on a per-user basis; example is VPMi Enterprise Online (www.vcsonline.com); see front cover for trial version information.

• Project 2003 or 2005 or 2007 includes a standard and an enterprise version. See the Guide to Using Microsoft Project 2003.


Project Management Software• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Project_management_software• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Comparison_of_project_management_software

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Project Management Software

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Sample Screen from the Microsoft Enterprise Project Management Solution


VPMi Portfolio Management Software by VCS

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Sample Screen from VPMi Portfolio Management Software by VCS


Project simulation software

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• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_simulation

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Management_Simulator


Chapter Summary

• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

• Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.

• A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.

• Project portfolio management involves organizing and managing projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success.

• The project management profession continues to grow and mature.

Documents

© DR. Oualid (Walid) Ben Ali Chapter 1: An Introduction to Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Introduction to Project Management