This document summarises Project Management 2 (PRM202B). These notes include information from the lecture notes, slides, study units, and the textbook.
*Exam mark: 86%
*Final mark: 84%
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Glossary & Contingency - An allowance or plan of action to respond to
unforeseen problems.
& Activity - An item of work, task or job. A list of activities can be
developed from the WBS and is required for the CPM calculation.
& Control - The process of measuring the project’s actual progress
with planned progress and making corrective changes to keep the
& Backward pass - After completing the CPM’s forward pass, the
project on track.
backward pass calculates the late start and late finish.
& Critical path method (CPM) - Develops a network diagram and
& Bar chart - Another name for a Gantt chart.
calculates the start date, finish date and float of all the activities to
determine the critical path. Activities on the critical path have no
& Baseline plan - The approved original project plan that can be
slack/float.
changed only through formal change control procedures. Used as a
basis for comparison of actual progress vs. planned progress.
& Customers - The people who receive and pay for the benefit of
consuming the project (product, facility or service).
& Build-method - Outlines how to make the project with the
facilities available.
& Deliverables - Any distinct, unique and verifiable product, result or
capability which a project phase produces that combines with other
& Business case - The business case develops a solution to address
deliverables to produce the project’s main deliverable.
the problems, needs, and opportunities outlined in the statement of
requirements. The business case then seeks justification and
& Duration - The total time to complete an activity from start to
permission to use company resources for undertaking a project.
finish.
& Client (or project sponsor) - The key customer who has the
& Estimating - A technique to predict the likely outcome in the future
requirements for the project initiates the project, accepts the project
and is usually applied to cost, resources, effort and duration.
and will pay for the project.
& Execution - Makes the project as per the project plan, build-method
& Closeout report - The process of finalising all project matters,
and execution strategy.
carrying out final project reviews, archiving project information and
redeploying the remaining project team members.
& Feasibility study - A process conducted to assess if the project
can be performed according to the requirements, with the effective
& Communication plan - Outlines how to achieve the project
use of resources and within the defined constraints.
communication objectives.
& Float - Also referred to as slack. It is the amount of time activity, not
& Constraints - The identification of boundaries the project has to
on the critical path, which can be delayed without delaying the total
work within. Could be internal or external constraints and are
project.
formally assessed during the feasibility study.
,& Gantt chart - A scheduling tool where each activity is represented & Milestone - A significant event that acts as a progress marker of
as a horizontal bar. The length of the bar is proportional to the achievement. Also known as a key date.
duration of the activity.
& Monitoring - Capturing of data and determining what happened on
& Governance - A safety feature that ensures that the project the project and its status.
selection process follows established procedures. It assists in ensuring
that the selected business case/project will address the requirements. & Network diagram - A graphic presentation of the logical sequence
Project governance also ensures that the management of the project is of activities. Developing the network diagram is part of the CPM
consistent with corporate, cultural and ethical values. analysis.
& Implementation strategy - Describes how the project is & Percentage complete - Measuring to work actually completed up
implemented. to date.
& Initiation process - The first of the project management processes & Plan - The intended future course of action in order to achieve a
that starts the project. The output from this process is the phase defined objective.
charter or project charter that outlines what the project is to achieve,
how to achieve it and assigns responsibility to the project manager as & PMBOK - Project Management Body of Knowledge
well as the authority to use company resources.
& PMI - Project Management Institute
& Integration management - Pulls together all aspects of the
project. Integration techniques include the project management & PRINCE2 - Project management methodology. An acronym standing
process, the project plan, and the project life cycle. for PRojects IN Controlled Environments (second edition).
& Job description - Outlines the person’s duties, responsibilities and & Project breakdown structure (PBS) - Subdivides the project
authority on the project. into a number of deliverables. The deliverables combine to form the
complete project.
& Key date - An event that serves as a marker of achievement also
known as a milestone. & Project charter - The document outlines the purpose of the
project and how it should be managed.
& Level of effort - A measure of the amount of work planned or
performed. & Project life cycle - Subdivides a project into a number of sequential
phases. A phase consists of a number of related activities that come
& Matrix - An organisation structure where the project manager is together to produce a specific deliverable. A project life cycle consists
responsible for coordinating multi-disciplined teams and the functional of strategy phases, project phases and operational phases.
managers responsible for supplying the resources.
,& Project management - The management of a project using the & Schedule - The timetable for the project showing how the project
project management principles and special planning and control tools activities and milestones are planned. It can be presented in Gantt
and techniques. chart format.
& Project manager - A person appointed to manage and achieve the & Scope change control - The management of scope changes
project’s objectives (time, cost and quality). through the approved scope change control system and helps to limit
scope creep.
& Project office (PO) - Also known as project management office
(PMO). The ‘home’ of the project team members responsible for the & Scope creep - The continual extension of the scope that does not
supporting of the information and administration needs of the project add significant value to the project.
manager.
& Scope management - Identifying and defining what is included and
& Project plan - The integration of all the individual plans through a excluded in the project scope in order to achieve the stated
process of trade-offs and compromises that converge on an optimum objectives.
arrangement leads to the development of the project plan.
& Stakeholders - An individual or group that can be impacted or that
& Project sponsor - Owns the business case and is responsible for can have an impact on the project.
the initiation of the project and to realise the benefits for the
company. & Terminating a phase or project - The process to formally end
the work. Closing of the project and final hand-over to the client.
& Project - A temporary endeavour to create a unique product,
service or result. It has a definite start and end date. & Tools and techniques - Tools refer to project management
templates and checklists and techniques describe how to use the tools
& Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) - A joint venture between or procedures to accomplish a specific activity or task.
the public and private sectors adding value for both sectors in the
implementation of projects. & Validation - Providing evidence that the project meets the needs of
the project sponsor, users, customers, and other stakeholders.
& Resource management - Forecasting resource loading and
smoothing resources to level out the demand on a resource and to & Verification - The process of confirming the project complies with
match supply and demand. specific requirements and regulations.
& Resource - The machine or person who performs the work. & Work breakdown structure (WBS) - A division of the work
required for the project into work packages which can be more easily
& Risk management plan - The process of identifying, analysing and planned, controlled and have responsibilities assigned to.
assessing risks, quantifying risks, responding to risks and controlling
risks.
, Project management concepts Study unit 1 / Chapter 1
1. Project Management Attributes 2. Project Constraints
& A project is a time-bound endeavour to achieve a specific objective The objective of a project might be constrained by many factors including:
through a set of interrelated activities and the effective utilization of
resources. • Cost is the budget approved for the project including all necessary
expenses needed to deliver the project. Within organisations, project
A project has distinctive attributes that distinguish it from ongoing work managers have to balance between not running out of money and not
or business operations: underspending because many projects receive funds or grants that have
• Clear objective contract clauses with a ‘use it or lose it’ approach to project funds.
• End product or deliverable, schedule and budget Poorly executed budget plans can result in a last-minute rush to spend
• Expected benefits or outcomes. the allocated funds. For virtually all projects, the cost is ultimately a
• Interdependent activities or tasks limiting constraint; few projects can go over budget without eventually
• Utilizes resources. requiring corrective action.
• Specific time frame
• The scope is all the work that must be done in order to produce the
• Unique or one-time endeavor
project deliverable, satisfy the customer that the deliverables meet the
• Has a sponsor or customer.
requirements and acceptance criteria, and achieve the project objective
• Involves a degree of uncertainty.
• Quality is a combination of the standards and criteria to which the
In contrast with projects, operations are ongoing and repetitive. They
project’s products must be delivered for them to perform effectively. The
involve work that is continuous without an ending date and with the same product must perform to provide the functionality expected, solve the
processes repeated to produce the same results. identified problem, and deliver the benefit and value expected. It must
The purpose of operations is to keep the organisation functioning while also meet other performance requirements, or service levels, such as
the purpose of a project is to meet its goals and conclude.
availability, reliability, and maintainability, and have acceptable finish and
Therefore, operations are ongoing while projects are unique and temporary. polish. Quality on a project is controlled through quality assurance
(QA), which is the process of evaluating overall project performance on
a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the
relevant quality standards.
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