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Project Management and Management Tools

Geography 176CThanks to: Sean Benison

What is Project Management?

Framework and tools for planning, managing, and completing large-scale projectsNew professional fieldBottom line: IT tools can apply to all stages of project management and improve it

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Formal DescriptionA way of thinking systematically about the behavior of people at work in an organizational settingA vocabulary of terms, concepts, theories, and methodologies that allow work experiences to be clearly analyzed, shared, and discussedTechniques for dealing with many of the problems that commonly occur in the work setting (Springer 2006)

Why It’s Important

Tremendous growth in recent yearsTools are increasingly used in businesses and organizationsMeasurable benefitsNew career possibilitiesEspecially critical in large projects such as GISSource and systems integration

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History

“Scientific” approach to industry and business in early 20th Century

Ford, Taylor, etc

Advent of very large projects in Second World War

Realization that new management techniques were needed for such projects

P-51 MustangOutstanding

P-39 AiracobraPoor

P-38 LightningFairly Good

Outcomes: WW2 Fighter

Projects

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History (2)Project management techniques developed in 1950s-1960s

Primarily military projectsIncreasing popularity in variety of businesses & organizations from 1980s-present

Creation of “Project Manager” as distinct occupationProject Management Professional (PMP) and other certifications

Paradigm

General systems theory (Bertalanffy 1936)Tools and diagrams formalized for GSTFlow diagrams -> ProgrammingLed to structuring of industry, e.g. vertical and horizontalCritical pointsJIT planningAlso, complex systems theory

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Basic Tools

OrganizationProject LifecycleProject ProposalWork Breakdown Structure

Scheduling and visualization Gantt ChartPERTCritical Path Method

Organization Tools

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Project LifecycleUnderstanding and planning for entire lifespan of projectFour basic stages

InitiationPlanningExecutionClosure

Project Proposal

Document outlining and arguing for proposed projectProvides foundation for project planningOften in response to Request for Proposal (RFP)

Open or targeted call for proposed projects to address given need

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Project Proposal (2)

Typical componentsProblem definitionMission, goals, and scopeStakeholdersBenefitsResources needed (incl. budget)Tasks and milestones (SOT)RisksOutcome/deliverables

Work Breakdown Structure

Defines and organizes work elements of projectWork broken down into set of major tasksValues assigned for portion of total work represented by each task

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Scheduling and Visualization Tools

Gantt Chart

Developed in 1917 by Henry Gantt as tool for managing factory productionDepicts start times and lengths of major tasks (i.e. WBS)Can be used to monitor ongoing progress

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Gantt Chart Example

Blue bars show time periods for tasksArrows depict dependenciesBlack inner lines and percentages show amount of progress

Program Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)

Developed in 1958 for Polaris missile programUsed extensively in Cold War projects such as CORONA and SR-71Time estimates, scheduling, and interdependencies of WBS tasksVisualized in network model

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PERT Network

Illustration of WBS with time estimatesNodes = “mile-stones”(completion of major tasks)Arcs = “activities”(tasks) with required times

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Similar to PERT (and developed at same time)Different emphases

“Critical path”: Longest set of tasks –determines overall time for project“Crash” time estimates: Shortest time required in “emergency” situation

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CPM Chart

Time estimates given on nodesIncluding crash times

Critical path highlighted

Implications

Project “Success” can be measuredCan use customer satisfaction as the metricIn business, can use salesIn problem-solving, can establish metrics at each project phaseCan tie goals to metricsBUT No Child Left Behind

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Software

Dozens of programs!Commercial desktop

Microsoft ProjectPrimavera

Open sourcedotProject

Web-basedeProject

Examples: Projette (add on to MS Project)

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Example: Open Project

Some newer project methods

BrainstormingRapid prototypingFocus groupsScenario-based planningSWOTRed teamingDelphi methodsSource code control systemsFault tolerant systems planning

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Geog 176C Projects

First stage in project planning

Define a projectSet project objectivesIdentify data sourcesDiscuss collective and individual responsibilitiesSet up a timeline

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Conclusion

Project Management provides a framework for planning large-scale projectsTools aid in organizing, scheduling, and visualizing required workLikely to encounter in your future career