The Discipline of Planning and Managing Resource - Essay Example

?Project Management Project management is essentially a systematic approach to planning and guiding project processes from start to finish (Walesh, 2000). Lock (2007) defines project management as the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to result in the completion of a particular project. For Sanghera (2008), project management is the process of applying knowledge, skills, and tools and techniques to the activities of the project in order to meet its objectives. As a systematic process, project management is divided into different stages. The literature has a variety of views on the stages of the project cycle. Kerzner (2009) points out four different phases of the a project life cycle and these are the Conception Phase, Definition Phase, Execution Phase, and Operation Phase. On the other hand, Hira and Parfitt (2004) provide five phases in the project cycle which are Identification, Preparation, Appraisal, Implementation, and Evaluation. Perhaps the most popular view divides the project cycle into five stages, or process groups as some references have called them, which are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing (Rubin, 1995; Owen & Rogers, 1999; Elia, 2004; Elearn Limited, 2005; Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007; Sanghera, 2008; Mihelcic, 2009). Within these stages, there are also a set of processes involved that are part of the knowledge required to manage a particular project. These knowledge areas are Communication Management, Cost Management, Human Resource Management, Integration Management, Procurement Management, Risk Management, Scope Management, and Time Management (Sanghera, 2008). While a large portion of this paper will focus mainly on the different stages of the project cycle and the processes within each of these stages, the discussion will also incorporate these knowledge areas. An actual example of how the particular phase in discussion is applied in an actual project management situation in a construction project is likewise provided. Initiating As its name implies, the Initiating stage (or for some sources, the Initiation and Definition stage) occurs at the beginning of the project. For large-scale projects, initiating occurs at the beginning of each project phase. It is important that a particular emphasis is placed on this stage because if this stage is merely skimmed over because the group is rushing to get started on what most would perceive as the actual work, the group will have a hard time implementing the project, not to mention needing more time to achieve it and thus, the project will most likely fail. This is the phase which examines and decides whether the project is worth doing or not. This process group provides approval to commit the organization’s resources to working on the project or phase (Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007). The most important objectives of the project are identified and defined and financial commitments are undertaken to determine exactly what resources will be needed to complete the project (Elia, 2004). The project manager is assigned and authorized to begin working on the project. This is also the stage where the expectations for the project are formalized and communicated to all of the stakeholders. More specifically, the processes involved in this stage include the development of the project charter and the preliminary project scope statement, which are covered by the knowledge area of integration management (Sanghera, 2008). These outputs become inputs into the Planning process group. The Initiation phase for a contractor most likely starts once the firm is awarded a contract and has received a notice to proceed. Sometimes, there are also companies who move forward with less certain conditions. The estimate now becomes a project and a job or work order number is given to it. The project manager is assigned who then prepares to receive the handoff, or the transitional stage between project phases, from the estimating department (Elia, 2004). Planning The planning phase is which involves the development of the procedures that explain to all project stakeholders how and when the objectives outlined in the initiation phase will be achieved (Elia, 2004). Thus, the main goal of the planning stage is to plan and schedule the work to perform the project. This is the stage where alternative courses of action are determined and consequently selected to produce the project’s goals. Planning has more processes than any of the other project management process groups and, in fact, the succeeding project management stages rely heavily on the processes and documentation produced in this stage. Sanghera (2008) identifies the specific processes involved in this stage which are communication planning, cost estimating and budgeting, human resource planning, project management plan development, purchases and acquisitions planning, contracting and quality planning, risk management planning and identification, qualitative risk analysis, risk response planning, scope planning and definition, activity definition and sequencing, activity resource and duration estimating, and schedule development. This phase is where the project manager, together with the project management team, refines the project objectives and requirements and aim to produce a project management plan that contains supplementary plans that constitute a course of action required to achieve the objectives and meet the requirements of the project (Mihelcic, 2009). This project management plan is considered as the output of the planning stage and this contains a scope management plan and a schedule management plan, and a quality management plan, among others. Thus, deciding what specifically is to be provided together with the creation of work scopes, budgets, activities and schedules takes place in this phase. In the construction project example earlier mentioned, the Planning phase is when the project manager and the superintendent, together with the lead estimator, develop a comprehensive plan for the performance of all major work activities, which must be consistent with and fulfill the customer’s requirements. They then establish a baseline schedule and budget against which actual performance is to be measured. Then, subcontracts and purchase orders are issued. Afterwhich, a communication protocol is established and safety and quality assurance programs are enacted (Elia, 2004). Executing The Executing phase involves putting the project management plan, which is the output of the planning stage, into action (Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007). This is where the project manager coordinates and directs project resources to meet the objectives of the project plan. According to Nicholas & Steyn (2008), while the stages differ from one project to another, the Execution phase typically includes the stages of design, production or build, and implementation. For example, hardware development projects undergo the stages of design, development and production while consulting projects undergo background research and report outline, compilation, and presentation stages. The specific processes involved in this phase are information distribution, project team acquisition and development, project execution direction and management, seller response requests, seller selection, and quality assurance execution. These processes cover the knowledge areas of Communication Management, Cost Management, Human Resource Management, Integration Management, and Procurement Management (Sanghera, 2008). Basically, the Executing process keeps the project plan on track and ensures that succeeding project plans are likewise executed in such that they remain in line with the objectives of the project. This is where approved changes, recommendations and defect repairs are implemented, (Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007). These changes and recommendations come from the various stakeholders involved in the project and also from monitoring and controlling the project. This shows that project management stages actually overlap at one point or another. In addition, these changes contribute to the fact that this stage utilizes the most project time and resources Thus, costs are usually the highest during the Executing phase which churns out the project deliverables, whether these are in the form of products, services or results. In the Executing phase of the construction project cycle, all of the administrative procedures and physical work required is put into place according to the plan. In particular, shop drawings, product data and work plans are submitted to the design professional for review and approval. Then, progress payments are submitted, approved and issued in accordance with contract requirements. Also, safety and quality assurance plans are implemented and certifications and reports are assembled and distributed (Elia, 2004). Monitoring and Control As the execution stage is under way, it is crucial that the actual performance of project operations is compared with the planned performance in terms of schedule, budget, and quality. More importantly, the appropriate actions must be taken to remedy any identified insufficiencies. This responsibility falls under the Monitoring and Control stage of project management. Monitoring denotes the methods for comparing actual with planned performance while control refers to the actions taken to attempt to bring deficient aspects of the project into conformance (Bennett, 2003). The basic purpose of monitoring and control is to identify problems as soon as possible and to apply corrective action to control the work of the project and ensure the success of the project. For example, in a building construction project, if there are variances in the planned schedule and costs against the actual schedule and costs generated by the construction of the building, corrective actions must be applied to get the project activities realigned with the project plan (Elia, 2004). Thus, the project manager needs to go back to the Planning processes to correspondingly adjust the project activities, resources, schedules, budgets, and all other plan particulars that apply. The processes involved in this phase as identified by Sanghera (2008) include performance reporting, stakeholder management, cost control, project team management, project work monitoring and control, integrated change control, contract administration, quality control execution, risk monitoring and control, scope verification and control, and schedule control. These processes eventually lead to change requests and recommendations for preventive and corrective actions. Picking up from the construction project cycle example, man-hours, material quantities, equipment expenses, subcontract and other costs are booked, calculated and then reported in the Monitoring and Control phase. Work progress is monitored so that actual performance in terms of cost and schedule can be measured and compared to the baseline plan requirement. If performance falls short of baseline goals, corrective action should be appropriately taken. More importantly, the effectiveness of these corrective actions should likewise be monitored closely. In addition, changes in the work scope must be managed according to the protocol established for such situations (Elia, 2004). Closing The Closing phase is usually the one that gets skipped among the five process groups of project management. However, the team must maintain their vigilance to ensure that the work is completed and it is done so in a timely manner. This phase brings a formal and orderly end to the activities of a project phase or to the project itself. This phase is important because this is where all the project information is gathered and stored for future reference (Rubin, 1995). This is especially crucial because it is usually easy for the good effort of execution to be lost as some team members look forward to the next project, become airy with happiness or have low morale. The documentation collected during the Closing phase can be reviewed and utilized to prevent potential problems on future projects (Heldman, Baca, & Jansen, 2007). The team’s focus must be switched back to the project’s main purpose. There are basically only two processes involved in the Closing phase of a project cycle and these are the closure of the project and the closure of the contract (Sanghera, 2008). In addition, formal acceptance and approval are obtained from project stakeholders because this is where the concerns of the client, the host organization, and the project team are addressed (Cobb, 2006). In the last phase of the construction project cycle example provided, punch list deficiencies, warranty related work, delivery of turnover materials, spare parts and written guarantees must be completed. The final payment must be submitted and the written customer project acceptance must be received. The project manager has to make sure that important documents are archived and the performance of the construction project has to be performed. Lastly, all the resources that are no longer needed should be released in one way or another (Elia, 2004). The Project Manager The key player in the success of a project is undoubtedly the project manager. Their roles include managing the project throughout the project cycle, balancing technical, schedule, and cost performance, solving problems expeditiously as they arise, and inspiring and motivating the entire team (Forsberg, Mooz, & Cotterman, 2005). So that the project will be completed successfully and in a timely manner, the project manager must be proficient with project management methods and tools. That is, it is very important that the project manager has a thorough understanding of the basic management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control, and closing. In addition, the project manager must be familiar with the instruments that the organization or the individual can use to organize and provide structure to the project (Snyder & Parth, 2006). Schwalbe (2009) identifies the ten most important skills and competencies for project managers as: 1) people skills; 2) leadership; 3) listening; 4) integrity, ethical behavior, consistent; 5) strong at building trust; 6) verbal communication; 7) strong at building teams; 8) conflict resolution, conflict management; 9) critical thinking, problem solving; and, 10) understands, balances priorities. While the line manager is more concerned with the long-term strengths of the organization, the project manager should focus on the relatively short-term results of the project (Forsberg, Mooz, & Cotterman, 2005). Thus, the project manager must strike a balance between technical and business skills. Technical skills include the skills needed by the project manager in the industry such as software development and networking in IT or engineering concepts in construction. On the other hand, business skills include budgeting, developing presentations and reports, monitoring performance and other business duties that the project manager needs to be competent at in order to function effectively in an organization. These skills are very crucial in the initiating and planning stages because these skills will allow the project manager to effectively foresee the necessary activities for the completion of the project. Aside from these, the project manager also needs to have effective communication skills because communication practically comprises most of the project manager’s job. This involves written, formal and informal communication. Because of the many problems that arise in the duration of a project, the project manager must have the ability to describe complex information in ways that different audiences can grasp and understand (Snyder & Parth, 2006). A project manager must also possess skills in synthesis and analysis because he/she must be able to synthesize information by collecting pieces of data and arranging these into a meaningful whole (Elia, 2004). During the monitoring and control phase, the project manager must also be able to balance stakeholder expectations by balancing the various needs of the customer, end user, sponsor, team members and other stakeholders. More often than not the needs of the stakeholders are not aligned and so it takes a skillful project manager to keep all stakeholders satisfied. In this aspect, a project manager’s negotiation skills are very important because it allows the project manager to obtain the resources and priorities needed when other projects or functional managers want the same resources. While management skills are important, effective project managers also need to possess leadership skills. One of these leadership skills is leadership ability or the quality in a project manager that makes people want to follow him / her. A project manager also needs to have team skills and people skills since he / she constantly works in a team environment. A project manager must be able to set expectations and give and receive both positive and negative feedback when needed. In addition, a project manager must possess team building and team motivation skills so that he / she will be instrumental in assisting team members in developing trust, communication, and an effective working relationship even when the circumstances are less than optimal. Good project managers must also be able to balance their management style as the situation requires. Part of this is having cross-cultural communication skills so that he / she is able to deal with a variety of people from different backgrounds. Other than these management, leadership and technical skills, project managers also need to possess certain traits that will allow them to hasten the completion of the project. According to Dinsmore and Cabanis-Brewin (2010), first on the list is honesty. Since project managers are role models for the entire project team, they must conduct themselves honestly and ethically to instill a sense of confidence, pride, loyalty and trust throughout their project team. An honest and trustworthy project organization leads to a greater efficiency, fewer risks, decreased costs, and improved profitability. The next trait that project managers must possess is ambition. While this is an important factor in business goal achievement, project managers must be careful that their ambition doesn’t make them ruthless or selfish. They must make sure to use their determination to accomplish goals for the organization, as a whole, rather than for their own personal gain. In addition, project managers must also possess a certain level of confidence. They must be confident that the decisions they make will most likely result to the success of the project. Confident project managers believe that they have full control of their actions and decisions rather than thinking that outcomes are due to luck, fate, or chance. Snyder and Parth (2006) further specifies the traits that a project manager must have into management traits and leadership traits. Management traits include: a willingness to address tough issues head on in a level-headed fashion; being a problem solver, who always looks for ways to make things work; being able to say “No!” in a manner that does not create problems especially when negotiating with project stakeholders; and, being able to delegate and realizing that a project manager’s job is to manage results and not create them. On the other hand, leadership traits of an effective project manager include: being supportive, either by encouraging someone or letting a person know that although the result achieved was not exactly what was expected, he or she can still improve on the work to achieve the desired results; being a risk taker, one who takes calculated risks and is comfortable in facing a certain number of variables and a considerable amount of risk; being assertive in one’s decisions; being optimistic that despite the hard times that a project goes through, it will still be successful; being facilitative in the discussions and meetings to get one’s team meambers’ knowledege and options laid down and eventually finding a solution to the situation; being flexible and adaptable to the changes that the project and the project environment encounter; being open-minded enough to listen to, and consider, different, new, or innovative ideas coming from other project stakeholders; and, being slow to panic especially in a crisis so that the project manager becomes the rational voice when people are beginning to lose their cool. The right combination of these skills, competencies and traits make a project manager effective in his / her job of successfully completing a given project in a timely manner. The Role of Computer Packages The dawn of the computer age and planning methods such as PERT/CPM/PDM network planning and scheduling have brought with them the development of computer software applications for project planning, scheduling, and control. These computer software applications have undoubtedly been vital tools for project management processes ever since (Archibald, 2003). Even the simple Microsoft Excel program aids a lot of project managers in simulating different scenarios and allows them to find the most optimal one. It can also be used to efficiently and accurately forecast costs and returns of a particular project. Most organizations now use computer databases for their accounting, human resource and inventory systems. These databases can even be linked to one another so that all the aspects of the project can be overseen and controlled from a main server accessible to the project manager. Although smaller firms and organizations may still afford to manage the processes and produce and deliver products to customers without the right technology, insightful project managers have realized the benefits that computer packages provide in analyzing and measuring internal processes. Indeed, project management and computer software packages have increasingly become tightly woven together in ensuring the success of project completion. The Role of Project Stakeholders Sanghera (2008) describes project stakeholders as the individuals and organizations whose interests are affected, either positively or negatively, by the project execution and completion. The most obvious stakeholder in a project is the project manager. In a house construction project, the project manager is most likely the chief engineer or in some cases, the homeowners themselves. The project sponsor is also a very important stakeholder because this is the individual or group which provides financial resources. In this case, the owner of the house being built serves as the project sponsor. Next, the performing organization employs the people who are doing the project work, such as the construction company hired by the home owner. Together, engineer, architect, construction firm, and construction workers make up the members of the project management team. These are the people who are actually performing the project work, which is the actual construction of the house. The customer or the user is the individual or organization for whom the project is being performed and will eventually be the users of the product resulting from the successful completion of the project. Obviously, the homeowners and their family serve as the customer of the given house construction project example. These are individuals are considered to be positive stakeholders because they benefit from the success of the project and thus would perform actions that will facilitate the success of the project. Aside from these positive stakeholders, there are also influencers who serve as either positive or negative stakeholders. The influencers are individuals or groups that are not direct customers or users of the product or service resulting from the project, but they can influence the course of the project due to their positions in the customer or performing organization. Positive influencers may come in the form of the homeowners’ relatives and friends who would contribute in terms of cash, kind or labor, to hasten the completion of the housing construction project. On the other hand, an envious neighbor may be a negative influencer and come up with devious schemes to prevent the completion of the project. As such negative stakeholders like the envious neighbor in the example, are frequently overlooked by the project manager and the project team, thus increasing the project risk. Thus, it is very important that project stakeholders are identified at the onset of the project to ensure that risk is minimized and the project completion is facilitated accordingly. References Archibald, R. (2003). Managing high technology programs and projects. John Wiley & Sons. Bennett, L. (2003). The management of construction: a project life cycle approach. Butterworth-Heinemann. Cobb, A. (2006). Leading project teams: an introduction to the basics of project management. SAGE Publications, Inc. Dinsmore, P., & Cabanis-Brewin, J. (2010). The AMA handbook of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Elearn Limited (Great Britain). (2005). 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