📦Operations Management Unit 10 – Project Management

What's Project Management?

• Discipline involving planning, organizing, and managing resources to successfully complete specific project goals and objectives
• Applies knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
• Involves balancing competing project constraints including scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, and risk
• Requires effective communication and coordination among project stakeholders (project team, sponsors, customers, and other interested parties)
• Aims to deliver a unique product, service, or result within a defined timeframe and budget
• Differs from ongoing operations due to its temporary nature and focus on creating a specific deliverable
• Requires a dedicated project manager to oversee and coordinate all aspects of the project from initiation to closure

Key Project Management Concepts

• Project scope defines the boundaries of the project, including the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver the project's objectives
  • Scope creep occurs when the project's scope expands beyond its original boundaries without proper approval or justification
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the project's scope into smaller, manageable components
• Critical path is the longest sequence of activities in a project plan that must be completed on time for the project to meet its deadline
  • Determines the minimum project duration and has no slack or float time
• Resource allocation involves assigning available resources (people, equipment, materials) to project tasks efficiently
• Gantt charts visually represent the project schedule, showing the start and finish dates of project tasks and their dependencies
• Earned Value Management (EVM) is a method for measuring project performance and progress by comparing the planned work to the actual work completed
• Change management is the process of identifying, documenting, approving, and controlling changes to the project's scope, schedule, or resources

Project Lifecycle Stages

• Initiation phase involves defining the project's objectives, scope, and key stakeholders, and obtaining approval to proceed
• Planning phase includes developing a detailed project plan, defining the project schedule, budget, and resource requirements, and identifying potential risks
• Execution phase is where the project work is performed according to the project plan, and progress is monitored and controlled
  • Involves coordinating and managing project resources, communicating with stakeholders, and addressing any issues or changes that arise
• Monitoring and controlling phase occurs concurrently with the execution phase and involves tracking, reviewing, and regulating the project's progress and performance
  • Aims to identify any variances from the project plan and take corrective actions to keep the project on track
• Closing phase involves finalizing all project activities, obtaining acceptance of the project deliverables, documenting lessons learned, and releasing project resources
  • Includes administrative tasks such as archiving project documents and closing contracts

Planning and Scheduling Tools

• Gantt charts visually represent the project schedule, showing the start and finish dates of project tasks and their dependencies
• Network diagrams (PERT or CPM) show the sequence of project activities and their relationships, helping to identify the critical path
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) decomposes the project scope into smaller, manageable components
• Resource histogram displays the allocation of resources over time, helping to identify over-allocation or under-utilization
• Critical chain method focuses on managing resource constraints and reducing project duration by adding buffers
• Milestone charts show key events or achievements in the project timeline
• Kanban boards visually represent the workflow and progress of project tasks, often used in agile project management

Risk Management in Projects

• Risk identification involves identifying potential risks that could impact the project's objectives, such as technical, financial, or organizational risks
• Risk assessment evaluates the likelihood and potential impact of identified risks, prioritizing them based on their severity
• Risk response planning determines the appropriate strategies for addressing identified risks, such as avoidance, mitigation, transfer, or acceptance
  • Avoidance involves changing the project plan to eliminate the risk
  • Mitigation reduces the likelihood or impact of the risk
  • Transfer shifts the risk to another party (insurance)
  • Acceptance acknowledges the risk and plans for its potential impact
• Risk monitoring and control involves continuously tracking identified risks, monitoring residual risks, and identifying new risks throughout the project lifecycle
• Contingency planning develops alternative actions to be taken if a risk event occurs, minimizing its impact on the project
• Risk register is a document that records identified risks, their assessments, and planned responses, serving as a central repository for risk management information

Project Team Dynamics

• Team formation involves bringing together individuals with the necessary skills and expertise to complete the project successfully
• Tuckman's stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning) describe the typical progression of team dynamics over time
• Effective communication is essential for fostering collaboration, trust, and shared understanding among team members
  • Includes regular team meetings, status updates, and clear channels for information sharing
• Conflict resolution strategies (confrontation, compromise, smoothing, forcing, withdrawal) help address and resolve conflicts that may arise within the team
• Leadership styles (autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire) influence how the project manager guides and motivates the team
• Team building activities help improve team cohesion, morale, and performance
• Performance evaluation and feedback provide team members with constructive input on their contributions and areas for improvement

Monitoring and Controlling Projects

• Progress tracking involves comparing actual project performance to the planned schedule, budget, and scope
• Earned Value Management (EVM) is a method for measuring project performance and progress by comparing the planned work to the actual work completed
  • Key metrics include Schedule Variance (SV), Cost Variance (CV), Schedule Performance Index (SPI), and Cost Performance Index (CPI)
• Regular status reports communicate project progress, issues, and risks to stakeholders
• Change control process manages and documents any changes to the project scope, schedule, or budget
  • Includes evaluating change requests, assessing their impact, and obtaining necessary approvals
• Quality control measures ensure that project deliverables meet the required quality standards and specifications
• Risk monitoring involves continuously tracking and updating the risk register, and implementing risk response plans as needed
• Corrective actions are taken when the project deviates from the plan, aiming to bring it back on track

Project Closure and Lessons Learned

• Project acceptance and sign-off involve obtaining formal approval from the project sponsor and key stakeholders that the project deliverables meet the agreed-upon requirements
• Administrative closure includes collecting and archiving project documents, closing contracts, and releasing project resources
• Lessons learned review identifies and documents the successes, challenges, and areas for improvement encountered during the project
  • Captures best practices and recommendations for future projects
• Knowledge transfer ensures that the knowledge and expertise gained during the project are shared with relevant stakeholders and incorporated into organizational processes
• Post-project evaluation assesses the project's overall performance, including whether it met its objectives, delivered the expected benefits, and satisfied stakeholders
• Celebration and recognition acknowledge the team's hard work and accomplishments, boosting morale and motivation
• Continuous improvement involves incorporating lessons learned and best practices into future project management practices and organizational processes