– Definitions
II - History
III – Project Management’s Purpose
IV – Project Types
A project is an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
A project is a temporary organization that is created for a purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case.
A project is a time and cost constrained operation to realize a set of defined deliverables (the scope to fulfill project’s objectives) up to quality standards and requirements
Clear goals (e.g. new product or solution to a problem)
Fixed schedule, settled START and END date
Own resources, fixed budget
Works according to the settled project plan
Own project organization
Divided in sequences which are dependent on each other
Might be wide and complex, consisting of several sub-projects
Unique
Learning process
Includes risks and uncertainty
Project is
Once-off activity, organized process making input and output to achieve the certain goal(s).
”Project has series of complex and interdependency sequences, which have a common goal or aim. Project should be implemented in a certain time period, by a certain budget and should follow the project specifications. “
”Project is a temporary organization, which will be collapsed when the goal has been achieved”.
Academic research history of project management is young. In real life, a human being has implemented project thousands of years. The starting point in human history has been construction field and still today we have many of them
•pyramids
•monuments
•Roman aqueducts and canalization systems
•castles
It is not surprising that project has quite often symbolic, political or even religious importProject management enables to organize resources so that the project can be implemented according to the project plan.
Quality
Schedule
Budget
Resources; money, staff, materials, machinery and
equipment, premises, energy
ance
4. I -DEFINITIONS (1)
Project Management Skills 4
A project is an individual or collaborative enterprise that
is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service, or result.
A project is a temporary organization that is created for a
purpose of delivering one or more business products
according to an agreed business case.
A project is a time and cost constrained operation to
realize a set of defined deliverables (the scope to fulfill
project’s objectives) up to quality standards and
requirements
5. I- DEFINITIONS
Typical project characteristics:
Project Management Skills 5
Clear goals (e.g. new product or solution to a problem)
Fixed schedule, settled START and END date
Own resources, fixed budget
Works according to the settled project plan
Own project organization
Divided in sequences which are dependent on each other
Might be wide and complex, consisting of several sub-projects
Unique
Learning process
Includes risks and uncertainty
6. I - DEFINITIONS
Project Management Skills 6
Project is
Once-off activity, organized process making input and
output to achieve the certain goal(s).
”Project has series of complex and interdependency
sequences, which have a common goal or aim. Project
should be implemented in a certain time period, by a
certain budget and should follow the project
specifications. “
”Project is a temporary organization, which will be
collapsed when the goal has been achieved”.
7. I - DEFINITIONS
Project Management Skills 7
”Crazy people try to make the unwilling people to do
impossible things”
Project in the Finnish region Savo (North-Savo, South Savo):
“It’s almost finished, only needs to be started”
”In principle, common sense should be enough for any project
- but it is not always enough”.”
9. Project Story
Project Management Skills 9
This is a short story about four people,
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and
Everybody was asked to do it.
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody would.
Somebody got angry about that because it was
Everybody's job to do it.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, and
Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't. It
ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody. In
the meantime, Nobody got the job done..
11. HISTORY (1)
Project Management Skills 11
Academic research history of project management is young.
In real life, a human being has implemented project
thousands of years. The starting point in human history has
been construction field and still today we have many of them
•pyramids
•monuments
•Roman aqueducts and canalization systems
•castles
It is not surprising that project has quite often symbolic,
political or even religious importance.
13. HISTORY (2)
Ancient project, like construction of pyramids, required huge among of human labor and
coordination of the operation. Only few of people could become leaders of the operation. Labor
consisted of slaves and poor people.
Pharaoh Zoser’s burial monument was built in 2780 BC.
His High Priest and architect Imhotep was the leader of
the construction work. It represented a giant leap in
building techniques. It is the world's oldest standing
stone monument.
Pyramid of Cheops was built in 2650 BC. The height
was 148 m and it consisted of 2 300 000 stone
elements. It required work for 100 000 people in time
period of 20 years. Workers were changed in every 3rd
month. That time the equipments and tools were
developed for the efficiency of the work.
Meaning for the
project
management
development:
Project Management Skills 13
”creation” –
coordination of
construction
(projects)
14. HISTORY (3)
The history of purchases management and contract
management started in the ancient Rome. History
documents proves that construction work or parts of it has
been managed by several contracts. E.g. construction work
of Colosseum (ca. 70–80 AD) was divided between four
subcontractors. The contracts included in detail the
descriptions of the work, materials to be used, guarantees
and terms of payment.
In the Middle Ages (500–1500 AD) was the golden era for
construction of cathedrals. The aims of the projects were
mostly for the beauty and esthetic value of the buildings.
The value of beauty was preferred instead of tight schedule
and money. That is why the projects sometimes lasted for
many generations.
Meaning for the
project
management
development:
Project Management Skills 14
”problem solving”
– aiming at better
solutions and
problem solving
from the business
point of view, work
efficiency via
business
15. HISTORY (4)
Viking conquerors (900th–1100th
centuries) and other war related
operations
Meaning for the project
management development:
”conquering” – progressing,
project management in tactical
and operational levels
Project Management Skills 15
16. HISTORY (5) – INDUSTRIAL ERA
Since 19th century technical and industrial
development projects became more common, e.g.
Henry Gantt (1861-1919) - ”father of project
management”
•developed planning and monitoring techniques
e.g. GANTT scheme.
•Gantt developed work sequences management
as well (WBS). Project is divided in a smaller
units which makes it easier to manage and
disseminate tasks for staff members.
Meaning for the
project management
development:
Project Management Skills 16
”development” – to
make a change by a
project management:
e.g. new product,
goal, market
mechanism,
practice,
organizational
structure etc.
21. III PROJECT MANAGEMENT PURPOSE
Project Management Skills 21
Project Management is
to plan, lead and monitor resources (people, equipment and
materials) in such way, that technical, budgetary and
timeliness of the project will be achieved.
Principles of project management remains the same in all
projects
”Project management is to apply leadership methods to
gain the project’s aims and goals”” (Artto et al. 2006)
Project Management in Business
The business is more and more organized so that the work
is organized to be done in project teams (because of the
need for tailor made solutions to the clients)
22. III PROJECT MANAGEMENT PURPOSE
Project Management Skills 22
Project management enables to organize resources
so that the project can be implemented according to
the project plan.
•Quality
•Schedule
•Budget
•Resources; money, staff, materials, machinery and
equipment, premises, energy
23. III PROJECT MANAGEMENT PURPOSE
Project Management Skills 23
• Project definition
• Planning of goal and work
• Analyzing goals
• Risk management
• Project scope management
• Evaluation of resources
• Dividing resources
• Set-up of project organization
•Organizing the work
• Catch up of resources
• Dividing the tasks
• Project general management and
follow-up
• Analyzing results
• Quality management
• Preventing mistakes
• Close-up of project
• Stakeholders’ need analysis
• Project communication
24. III PROJECT MANAGEMENT PURPOSE
Project quality
Project risks
Project indicators
Cost estimations
Project schedule
Reporting and communication
Human resources
Other resources
Follow-up of project progress
Project Management Skills 24
26. SOME PROJECT TYPES
Project Management Skills 26
Company’s internal development project
Delivery project
Research and development (R&D) project
Technical implementation project
Construction project
Product development project
Pre-feasibility and feasibility projects
27. COMPANY’S INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT
PROJECTS
Project Management Skills 27
Examples:
Taking into use a new information
system
Company development, change
or turnover
Opening new distribution channel
Moving to new premises
New product and it’s launch
To new markets
(internationalization)
Characteristics:
Project staff works a part-
time in a project
Project reflects the
general team spirit and
motivation
Brings often required
change to routine work
Time resources are usually
small ones as routine work
keeps also going
External expertise is quite
much in
Amount of meetings
increases
Aim is to make a specific
change to an operation or
products
28. DELIVERY PROJECT
Project Management Skills 28
Examples :
Assembling and taking in the use
of a software
Delivery of machinery
Delivery of computers
Repairing projects
Characteristics:
Delivered to an external
customer
Unique to a customer, routine
to a seller/deliverer
”basic operation”
Project duration varies (days-
years)
Often deliveries to abroad
Delivery is made by several
contractors/sellers
Much parallel tasks, multi-
tasks
29. R & D PROJECTS
Project Management Skills 29
Examples:
Market surveys and studies
Product and service
development
Academic research in HEIs
Characteristics:
Intensive pre-planning to get
Usually external financer(s)
Discrepancy between academic and
private companies
Time-frame usually quite short
compared to a traditional form of
research; ”research quick-delivery”
Results are difficult to be defined
beforehand?
How to measure a success or failure?
Organizational commanding norms
do
not work necessarily
30. Technical Implementation Project
Project Management Skills 30
Examples
fairs, exhibitions
festival, event
play, concert
seminar, training
promotion event for clients
marketing campaign
Other technical implementation
Characteristics
Schedule is the critical point
Work load is progressive
Many external risk factors
Success is possible to estimate
afterwards
Often includes voluntary work
Economic success hard to forecast
31. Characteristics
Tough time schedules
Tendering – the best/most suitable wins the implementation
Many partners
Controlling and monitoring
Implementing staff and employees are of project professionals
Time schedule matching is challenging
Delay in one phase may postpone the whole project
Progress is concretely recognizable
Project Management Skills 31
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
32. PRODUCT (OR SERVICE)
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Project Management Skills 32
Characteristics:
Exact goals, but starting point may be unclear
Only a small number or ideas become to the implementation
Idea generation and collecting is nowadays planned and
processed activity
Feedback from potential clients is to be collected, preferably the
project is nowadays user-driven (participates concretely in the
project)
There is quite often a lack of commercialization skills; the launch
of the innovations is not automatically a success story
33. GENERAL MEANING OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT FOR BUSINESS AND
STUDIES
Project Management Skills 33
34. Why are projects needed ?
Growing requirements in operational environment:
Increased competition
Today’s work includes several collaborants like
subcontractors, distributors etc. which nowadays
locate abroad as well
Information flow is harder to manage
Rapid development of information systems
Other standards, like quality systems, create new
requirements
MORE EFFECTICITY
Project Management Skills 34
35. Why to learn project management skills?
Project Management Skills 35
Develops skills which help in operating in unexpected and
real world situations
Coaches to project work and collaboration
Helps to create more work contacts
Enriches studies and make studies more versatile
Projects are essential part of today’s working life
The first engineering salary work is easier (and more
likely) to get from a project
36. Project based learning (PBL)
Project Management Skills 36
Customer orientated planning and activities
Development approach from a working life
Multi-skilled team work and sharing knowledge
Develops self-discipline, flexibility, tolerance for uncertainty
Searching and applying information and knowledge, defining
problems and finding solutions, setting goals and working for
them
Student has a active role, teacher is a facilitator and
coordinates
37. Project based learning (PBL)
Project Management Skills 37
PBL is also ”learning by doing”
Learn to settle concrete goals and time schedules
Group work/team work, but everybody has his/her own
area and tasks of responsibility
Student participates in assessments, self-assessment is
also possible
Concrete output(s)
Problem solving skills
Communication skills
38. PROs of project work…?
Project Management Skills 38
Clear organizational structure
Flexible structure
Big volumes of operations
are possible with skilled
project work
Goal orientation and clear
objectives
Follow-up and measurability
Project can also release some
resources
Flexible allocation of resources
is possible
Possibility to share work and
get support from colleagues
Team work
Learning from each others
Project work committed people
Intensivity of a work
39. Battle for resources
Contradicted goals of key
persons
Plan is not realistic
Milestone schedules change
continuously – delays
Lack of project leaderhsip
Continuous change
Discontinuity
Short term partial
optimization
Project Management Skills 39
Project is ”a box” inside the
organization
Stress peaks
Lack of project management
skills among staff
Disability to work in teams
Transfer of knowledge
Internal communication
Dissemination to target
groups
Too high and long-term work
intensity
CONs of project work…?
40. Challenging factors
Project Management Skills 40
Big size of the project (many partners, big budget, strategic
importance)
Long duration
Heavy interdependency between activities
No pre-knowledge or experience about new solutions
Exceptional quality requirements
Publicity, political factors
New operational environment, new cultures
Too big pressure to succeed
41. Project pitfalls (1)
41
Action is just called as a project
Action is called project but is managed by a
division manager
Project is somebody’s parallel job; side job
Project management tools are not known or used
Systemic approach and follow-up are missing
42. Project pitfalls (2)
42
No project guidelines, everybody works as likes
Attitudes like ”It is not possible to schedule mywork”
Communication is not a tool; managers don’t know the
project implementation and work load concretely
Unclear START and END dates
No professional project manager
43. to conclude…a good project is or has:
Projektiosaaminen 43
1) Based on the real need and it makes the required change
2) Clear goals and activities to achieve the goals
3) Realistic project plan
4) Cost-efficient and efficiently implemented
5) It results to the future activities
6) There are more beneficiaries than an implementing body
solely.