This document provides an introduction to fundamentals of project management. It defines what constitutes a project, including that projects are temporary endeavors with defined start and end times undertaken to achieve unique goals. The document outlines key project features like objectives, resources, life cycles, and risks. It distinguishes projects from programs and defines project management as planning, controlling, and executing projects to ensure successful delivery. Benefits of project management include improved chances of achieving goals, prioritized resource use, and increased customer satisfaction.

1. Fundamentals of Project
Management
MPM 613
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

2. CONTENTS
• 1.1 Meaning and definition of Project
• 1.2 Features of a Project
• 1.3 Projects and Plans
• 1.4 Project and Program
• 1.5 Project Management

3. PROJECT
• Meaning of Project
• A project is a temporary endeavour involving a
connected sequence of activities and a range
of resources, which is designed to achieve a
specific and unique outcome and which
operates within time, cost and quality
constraints and which is often used to
introduce change.
•

4. • MEANING AND DEFINITIONS OF PROJECT
• Project – Definition:
• Project starts from a definite mission,
generates activities involving a variety of
human and non-human resources, all directed
towards fulfilment of the mission and stops
once the mission is fulfilled.
• According to the Project Management
Institute, USA, “a project is a one-set, time-
limited, goal-directed, major undertaking
requiring the commitment of varied skills and
resources”.

5. • It also describes a project as “a combination of
human and non-human resources pooled
together in a temporary organisation to
achieve a specific purpose”.
• The purpose and the set of activities which
can achieve that purpose distinguish one
project from another.

6. Nature of a Project
• A temporary process, which has a clearly defined start
and end time, a set of tasks, and a budget, that is
developed to accomplish a well-defined goal or objective.
• A temporary effort of sequential activities designed to
accomplish a unique purpose
• A group of inter-related activities, constrained by time,
cost, and scope, designed to deliver a unique purpose
• An undertaking that encompasses a set of tasks or
activities having a definable starting point and well
defined objectives.
• A clear set of activities with related inputs and outputs
aimed to achieve objectives and goals linked to
anticipated (desired) effects and impacts in a target
population

7. QUALITIES OF A PROJECT
• A project has a beginning and an end.
Time Schedule
• A project has limited resources – Fixed 4 M’s
• A project follows a planned, organized method
to meet its objectives with specific goals of
quality and performance.
• Every project is unique – All Projects are
different nature – Not repeated the same.

8. Features and Characteristics of Project:
• Characteristics, A Conventional Project Is:
• Purposeful as it has a rational and measurable
• Logical as it has a certain life-cycle
• Structured as it has interdependencies
between its tasks and activities
• Conflict as it tries to solve a problem that
creates some kind of conflict
• Limited by available resources
• Risk as it involves an element of risk

9. Examples of a Project are
• Developing a new product or service
• Constructing a building or facility
• Renovating the Road,DAMs,Hospital
• Designing a new transportation vehicle
• Acquiring a new or modified data system
• Organizing a meeting

10. Types of Project
• Public Sector Project
• Private Sector Project

11. • The characteristic and features of a project are as follows:
• 1. Objectives:
• A project has a fixed set of objectives. Once the objectives have
been achieved, the project ceases to exist.
• 2. Life Span:
• A project cannot continue endlessly. It has to come to an end. What
represents the end would normally be spell out in the set of
objectives.
• 3. Single entity:
• A project is one entity and is normally entrusted to one
responsibility Centre while the participants in the project arc many.
• 4. Team-work:
• A project calls for team-work. The team again is constituted of
members belonging to different disciplines, organization's and even
countries.
• 5. Life-cycle:
• A project has a life cycle reflected by growth, maturity and decay. It
has naturally a learning component.

12. • 6. Uniqueness:
• No two projects are exactly similar even if Die plants are exactly identical
or are merely duplicated. The location, the infra-structure, the agencies
and the people make each project unique.
• 7. Change:
• A project sees many changes throughout its life while some of these
changes may not have any major impact; then- can be some changes
which will change the entire character of course of the project.
• 8. Successive principle:
• What is going to happen during the life cycle of a project is not fully known
at any stage. The details get finalised successively with the passage of
time. More is known about a project when it enters the construction
phase than what was known say, during the detailed engineering phase.
• 9. Made to order:
• A project is always made to the order of its customer. The customer
stipulates various requirements and puts constraints within which the
project must be executed.
• 10. Unity in diversity:
• A project is a complex set of thousands of varieties. The varieties are in
terms of technology, equipment and materials, machinery and people,
work culture and ethics. But they remain inter-related and unless this is
so, they either do not belong to the project or will never allow the project
to be completed.

13. • 11. High level of sub-contracting:
• A high percentage of the work in a project is done
through contractors. The more the complexity of the
project, the more will be the extent of contracting.
Normally around 80% of the work in a project is done
through sub-contractors.
• 12. Risk and uncertainty:
• Every project has risk and uncertainty associated with
it. The degree of risk and uncertainty will depend on
how a project has passed through its various life-cycle
phases. An ill-defined project will have extremely high
degree of risk and uncertainly Risk and uncertainty are
not part and parcel of only R and h projects—there
simply cannot be a project without any risk and
uncertainty.

14. 1.3 Projects and Plans
• PLANNING:
• Definition: Planning is the fundamental
management function, which involves deciding
beforehand, what is to be done, when is it to be
done, how it is to be done and who is going to do
it. It is an intellectual process which lays down an
organisation’s objectives and develops various
courses of action, by which the organisation can
achieve those objectives. It chalks out exactly,
how to attain a specific goal.

16. What Is a Project Plan ?
• A project plan is a series of formal documents
that define the execution and control stages of
a project.
• The plan includes considerations for risk
management, resource management and
communications, while also addressing scope,
cost and schedule baselines.

17. How to Create a Project Plan ?
• Project plan is essential to the success of any
project. Without one, your project may be
susceptible to common project management
issues such as missed deadlines, scope creep
and cost overrun. While writing a project plan
is somewhat labor intensive up front, the
effort will pay dividends throughout the
project life cycle.

18. The basic outline of any project plan can
be summarized in these five steps:
• 1. Define your project’s stakeholders, scope,
quality baseline, deliverables, milestones,
success criteria and requirements. Create a
project charter, work breakdown structure
(WBS) and a statement of work (SOW).
• 2. Identify risks and assign deliverables to
your team members, who will perform the
tasks required and monitor the risks
associated with them.

19. • 3. Organize your project team (customers,
stakeholders, teams, ad hoc members, and so
on), and define their roles and responsibilities.
• 4. List the necessary project resources, such as
personnel, equipment, salaries, and materials,
then estimate their cost.
• 5. Develop change management procedures
and forms.
• 6. Create a communication plan, schedule,
budget and other guiding documents for the
project.

20. 1.4 Project and Program
• • A project is a temporary endeavor
undertaken by a company or organization
(such as the creation of a new product,
service, or result)
• • A program is a group of projects that are
similar or related to one another, and which
are often managed and coordinated as a
group instead of independently.

21. • Differences Between Projects and
Programs
• • Projects vary in duration, while a program
is generally of longer duration, since the start
of the program will be the start of its first
project, and the end of the program will be
the end of its last project.
• • Projects focus on desired results or
outputs, where programs focus on desired
outcomes or benefits.

22. • The efficiency and effectiveness of the project
can be measured based on metrics like budget,
schedule, quality, etc. However, the efficiency and
effectiveness of the program will be measured in
terms of the benefits realization of the program.
• A project fulfills project objectives (“Why” the
deliverable/s is/are required), and the program
generally focuses on generating organizational
benefits.
• Projects have defined objectives, and scope is
iteratively developed; programs have a scope that
encompasses the scope of the collection of
projects.

23. • Project managers expect change and
implement processes to keep change
managed, where program managers accept
and adapt to change to optimize the delivery
of benefits.
• Success has majored within projects through
product and project quality, timeliness,
budget compliance, and customer satisfaction;
success in a program measured by the
program’s ability to deliver its intended
benefits to the organization.

24. 1.5 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
• Definitions of Project Management:
• • According to “A Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge, PMI, Third Edition”, “Project
management is the application of knowledge, skills,
tools, and techniques to a broad range of activities in
order to meet the requirements of a particular
project”.
• • The ISO 10006, a standard for quality in project
management defines it as; “Unique process consisting
of a set of coordinated and controlled activities with
start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an
objective conforming to specific requirements,
including constraints of time, cost and resources”.

25. • PRINCE2, the UK standard for project
management, has this definition: “a
temporary organization that is needed to
produce a unique and predefined outcome or
result at a pre-specified time using
predetermined resources”.
• International Project Management
Association, defines a project as “a time and
cost constrained operation to realize a set of
defined deliverables up to quality standards
and requirements”.

26. • Project management is the art of planning,
controlling and executing a project in a way
that ensures successful delivery of the desired
outcome. It is widely used in organizations as
a complex of tools for delivering strategic
goals and objectives.

27. Benefits Of Project Management
• The main advantage of project management is that it helps you to
manage your projects effectively, enabling you to resolve problems
more quickly.
1. Improve your chances of achieving the desired result
2. Gain a fresh perspective on your project, and how it fits with your
business strategy
3. Priorities your business' resources and ensure their efficient use
4. Set the scope, schedule and budget accurately from the start
5. Stay on schedule and keep costs and resources to budget
6. Improve productivity and quality of work
7. Encourage consistent communications amongst staff, suppliers
and clients
8. Satisfy the various needs of the project's stakeholders
9. Mitigate risks of a project failing
10. Increase customer satisfaction
11. Gain a competitive advantage and boost your bottom line

28. 5 Benefits of Project Management
1. Clear, organized plans improve team
collaboration.
2. Defining everyone's role eliminates confusion.
3. Well-defined goals improve team effectiveness. .
4. Defining a communication plan keeps your team
aligned and focused.
5. Project management tools help increase
efficiency.

29. Work in a Variety of Industries
• Project managers are needed in a wide variety of industries.
Some of the most common industries that need project
managers include:
• Architecture & Construction
• Engineering
• Finance
• Healthcare
• Insurance
• IT
• Manufacturing
• Pharmaceuticals
• Real estate development
• Software development
• Telecommunications