A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result with a defined start and end date, and scope and resources. Project management involves applying knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. It draws on 10 knowledge areas including scope, time, cost, quality and risk management. The project manager is responsible for managing the triple constraint of scope, time and cost to achieve project success.

2. What is a Project?
 A project is temporary in that it has
 a defined beginning and end in time, and
therefore
 defined scope and resources.
 A project is unique in that it is not a routine
operation, but a specific set of operations
designed to accomplish a singular goal.
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3. Examples of Projects
 development of software for an improved
business process
 construction of a building or bridge
 relief effort after a natural disaster
 expansion of sales into a new geographic
market
 designing a new material for a specialized use
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4. What is Project Management?
the application of knowledge, skills and
techniques to execute projects effectively and
efficiently.
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5. Project Lifecycle
Project Processes
 Initiating
 Planning
 Executing
 Monitoring
& Controlling
 Closing
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6. Project Management
PM knowledge draws on 10 areas:
 Scope
 Time
 Cost
 Quality
 Procurement
 Human resources
 Communications
 Risk
 Stakeholder management
 Integration (of the above)
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7. Project Success & Triple Constraint
PMI Phoenix Chapter - www.phx-pmi.org
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 Project Management is tasked with the control
and management of the Triple Constraint:
 Scope – end products (deliverables)
 Cost – including hidden costs
 Schedule – don’t miss the window

8.  Scope and Deadline were precisely defined by Kennedy (1961:
man safely to and from the moon, before the end of the decade) so
only the budget was in question.
 over $20 billion was spent (approximately $145 billion in 2008 dollars)
 using over 500 primary contractors
 creating over 1 million vehicle components
 in a program of about 18 missions (each its own project)
 At its peak, the Apollo program employed 400,000 people and
required the support of over 20,000 industrial firms and universities.
The coordination of these resources is considered one of the great
successes of project management.
 Success: 6 trips to the moon, the first before deadline. One of the
biggest triumphs for PM. Amazingly, estimates show that the
program was not more than 12% over the 1966 projected budget.
The Apollo Space Program
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http://users.business.uconn.edu/bday/PMDay2.pp

9. The Big Dig
 The plan (1982) was to alleviate congestion in Boston by
moving the Central Artery into a tunnel, in conjunction
with a number of smaller but substantial road
construction projects.
 Cost estimates when initiated: $2.8 Billion
 No clear deadline set for completion
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http://users.business.uconn.edu/bday/PMDay2.p
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~benh/matos/portfolio/index_lessscience.html

10. The Big Dig
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http://users.business.uconn.edu/bday/PMDay2.p
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~benh/matos/portfolio/index_lessscience.html
 Construction of some form continued for 16 years.
 Lack of oversight, poor management of material usage and
specifications, and fraud led to numerous leaks requiring additional
mitigation and correction projects.
 Collapsing tunnel pieces even caused one death.
 Final costs were estimated at $20 billion
 2008 Boston Globe report: traffic actually got worse!

11. Project Manager
PMI Phoenix Chapter - www.phx-pmi.org
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 The project manager is the person ultimately responsible for the outcome of
the project. Ideally:
 Formally empowered to use organizational resources (i.e. Project
Charter)
 In control of the project
 Authorized to spend the project’s budget
 Authorized to make decisions for the project.
 Along with resources, responsible for triple constraints: Time, Cost,
Scope
 Project managers are typically found in a matrix or projectized organization:
 Projectized – structured according to the projects instead of functional
departments. PM is both manager of the project and of the people.
 Matrix – Hybrid organization where individuals have both a functional
manager and a project manager for projects.

12. PM terminology
 PMO – project management office
 WBS – work breakdown structure
 Baseline
 CCB – change control board
 Stakeholders
 Kick-off
 Gantt Chart
 Critical Path
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13. Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)13

14. Critical Path Analysis
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15. Risk Management
 The plan to handle (minimize) changes to scope and
budget
 Risk is the #1 item to discuss in meetings, to avoid
undesired changes
 S.W.O.T. analysis – during Initiation and Planning
 Handle threats by:
 Acceptance
 Transfer (ex. insurance)
 Mitigation
 Avoidance
+ -
internal Strengths Weaknesses
externa
l
Opportunities Threats
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16. Expected Monetary Value (EMV)
analysis
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17. Project Processes
 Linear, sequential,
“directional” design
process
 Schedule (mostly) known
in advance
 For predictable, structured
projects
 Reduces costly changes to
an already costly design
process
 Common to construction
and manufacturing
 Incremental, iterative,
“evolutionary” design
process
 A recurring (typically
weekly) timeline
 For dynamic, hard-to-
predict projects
 Reduces up-front
expenses related to
multiple changes
 Common to software
development
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Waterfall (project
management)
Agile (scrum)

18. My PM lessons learned
Communication
 Establish communication protocols
 Ensure the team follows communication
protocols
 Document (and back-up) everything
 Provide both positive and negative feedback
 Be sure to involve all relevant stakeholders
prior to decisions
 Know your team
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19. PM lessons from ASU nanoscience
Ph.D.
 Take a macroscopic perspective first (as in root-cause failure analysis),
to avoid wasting resources
 Use PM tools like a Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram
 Then, what are your top 5 explanations?
 What data is needed to (in)validate those explanations?
 Large teams are tough to pull off
 Establish procedures
 Divide into groups of no more than 12
 Clearly identify and assign roles
 People get pissed when there’s a mistake (50/50)
 “Coming from grad school, ownership is important”
 At Intel, EVERYTHING has an owner:
 Tool
 Document
 Code
 Process
 Ownership ensures someone identifies and resolves a potential problem
before it becomes one.
 Find out where to place project buffers (click here)
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20. Project Management Institute
(PMI)
 Research: dollars lost to poor project
management
 2012: $120M for every US$1B spent on projects
 2013: $135M for every US$1B spent on projects
(due to increased % of projects not meeting goals)
 Education
 PMBOK
 www.pmi.org
 Certification: PMP, CAPM…
 Training, lectures, seminars, networking
 www.phx-pmi.org
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21. Questions?
Project Processes
 Initiating
 Planning
 Executing
 Monitoring
& Controlling
 Closing
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