The document discusses various approaches to project management including PMBOK, PRINCE2, and Six Sigma. It provides details on: 1) The five process groups and ten knowledge areas that PMBOK recognizes as typical for almost all projects. 2) The key aspects that PRINCE2 emphasizes such as organizing/planning before starting work and controlling a project once started. 3) How Six Sigma uses green belts and black belts for projects and that these typically last 4 months, with management control through goals rather than formal project management.

1. Summary
The Project manager is responsible for the success or failure of a project. Project may be small or
large. First step is the feasibility study in which we determine where we have to make this project
or not .We consider the availability of the technology and affordability. Risk management is the
important part of the project management function in the planning phase the project manager needs
to perform a realistic assessment of risks and develop a plan for controlling these risks.
The factors that influence project risk are: project size, project structure, and experience with
technology. The larger the project, the less structured it is (i.e. the requirements are not well defined
and are likely to change during the project), and the less experienced the team with the technology
of the project, the greater the risk Large projects, particularly those with high structure, should be
managed by formal planning and control tools.
While the choice of appropriate management approach for dealing with project risk at high level
is important, a more detailed risk assessment is needed to address specific potential risks. Risk
assessment includes risk identification, risk analysis, and risk prioritization. The purpose of risk
identification is to develop a list of risks that can adversely impact project outcome. Project
planning culminates in a software project plan. It is a document that describes the overall approach
to software development, specifies all deliverables, resource requirements, schedules, budgets and
organizational responsibilities, and defines the management processes.
The project manager is usually selected at the end of the conceptual phase when the project is
approved. The project manager’s job is to provide visibility and manage commitments. Finding a
person who can handle these challenges successfully is not easy. Few people have the
qualifications and attitudes necessary to succeed in managing complex projects. Good project
managers are always busy on existing projects. Many companies create project or program offices
to provide better management oversight and develop a pool of future project managers. Effective
project managers should have the following skills which are Communication, Organization, Team-
building, Leadership, Negotiation, Goal orientation, Technical competence.
Good team members have high self-esteem and strong commitment to the project’s success. The
following four team structures have been used for software development projects Isomorphic
Team (An isomorphic team is organized along the structure of the main deliverable software
modules). Isomorphic teams are well suited for projects where different software modules are
relatively independent of each other. Specialty Team (The primary advantage of this structure is
that it allows special expertise to be used most effectively). Egoless Team (This type of team
structure, sometimes-called democratic programming team or self-managed team, does not have a
formal structure).
In software development, the chief programmer is backed up by an assistant chief programmer,
who works closely with the chief programmer and is able to take over in the chief programmer’s
absence Chief Programmer Team (all important decisions are made by the chief programmer).

2. The purpose of project control is to keep the project on course and as close to the plan as possible,
identify problems before they happen, and implement recovery plans before unrecoverable damage
is done. Cost and schedule tracking involves comparing current status against the project baseline
schedule and a time-phased budget that shows how budgeted costs are distributed across various
activities. Gantt charts and cost accumulation reports provide useful indicators of project status,
they have some limitations
Review meetings play a major role in project control. Their purpose is to assess progress and
identify areas of deviations from the plan so that corrective action can be taken. Project review
meetings are most effective when they are scheduled at regular time intervals (weekly for most
projects), and follow an established agenda. A typical agenda might include the following: Status
of high-risk areas, Overall project progress (major milestones, schedule, and cost), Progress of
specific activities, Status of action items, Future planning.
Technical performance control, the process of assuring that all technical requirements are met, is
normally exercised through a variety of design reviews. Quality assurance (QA) makes sure that
the product meets user requirements and that it provides the desired functionality and quality. The
main purpose of QA is to detect and correct errors as early as possible. Early detection and
correction of errors can result in significant cost and schedule benefits.
The basic tools for quality assurance are technical reviews and testing. Technical reviews are
effective because they find defects early and tend to find different types of errors than testing.
Change control is simple in concept, but complex in detail. Even the best prepared requirements
specifications will require changes as the software is being designed and tested.
Project evaluation is the process of periodic assessment of project status relative to its goals. Team
building is the process of transforming a collection of individuals from different backgrounds into
a cohesive high performance team and keeping it motivated and focused toward the goal.
leadership principles for team building Avoid compromising the team’s objectives with political
issues, Exhibit personal commitment to the team’ goals, Do not dilute the team’s efforts with too
many priorities, Be fair and impartial toward all team members, Be willing to confront and resolve
issues associated with inadequate performance by team members Be open to new ideas and
information from team members. These principles are given by Larson and LaFasto (1989).
Many project failures can be traced to a breakdown of communications. It’s the responsibility of
the project manager to create an environment for effective communications within the team and
manage the communication process with external stakeholders, particularly with the client’s
organization. Effective project managers keep all involved parties informed.

3. PMBOK
PMBOK recognizes five basic process groups and ten knowledge areas typical of almost all
projects. The basic concepts are applicable to projects, programmers and operations. The five
basic process groups are:
 Initiating
 Planning
 Executing
 Monitoring and Controlling
 Closing
Processes overlap and interact throughout a project or phase. Processes are described in terms of:
1. Inputs (documents, plans, designs, etc.)
2. Tools and Techniques (mechanisms applied to inputs)
3. Outputs (documents, products, etc.)
The ten knowledge areas are:
1. Project Integration Management
2. Project Scope Management
3. Project Time Management
4. Project Cost Management
5. Project Quality Management
6. Project Human Resource Management
7. Project Communications Management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project Procurement Management
10. Project Stakeholder Management (added in the 5th edition)
Each knowledge area contains some or all of the project management processes. For example,
Project Procurement Management includes:
 Plan Procurements
 Conduct Procurements
 Administer Procurements
 Close Procurements
Much of PMBOK is unique to project management, for example, critical path and work
breakdown structure (WBS). Some areas overlap with other management disciplines. General
management also includes planning, organizing, staffing, executing and controlling the
operations of an organization. Financial forecasting, organizational behavior and planning
techniques are also similar.

4. PRINCE2
PRINCE2 is both a methodology and a de facto standard used extensively by the UK
Government and is widely recognized and used in the private sector, both in the UK and
internationally. This makes it quite different from the Project Management Institute's publication
the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), which is not a methodology but rather
a broad collection of good practices.
The PRINCE2 Methodology says that a project should have:
 Organize and plan things properly before leaping in.
 When the project has started, make sure it continues to be organized and controlled.
When you've got what you want and the project has fin1ished, tidy up the loose ends
SIX SIGMA
In six sigma project world different user uses two type of activities for the project sponsors and
team leader usually they are green belt or black belt. It is best to keep six sigma project time
limited and to execute them with small teams and time for them should be four months or so.
Management control for projects of this nature may be in the nature of individual goals for the
sponsors or champions and belts. Six sigma practitioners may have a additional oversight from a
project office or other manifestations of professional project management.
The professional project management adds value to the larger projects and the same is not true
for smaller six sigma project. When Six Sigma projects truly follow the Six Sigma roadmap and
faithfully conduct tollgate reviews, the additional overhead associated with project office
controls and reviews may not be justified.
Six sigma is more oriented toward solution of problem at root cause and prevention of their
reoccurrence as opposed to attempting control potential cause of failure on a project by a project
bases. Six Sigma’s set of tools are more broadly applicable, than those commonly applied within
the discipline of professional project management. Recognizing that project management is itself
a process, Six Sigma is potentially applicable to its improvement
Conclusion
In the end, it is clear that Six Sigma complements and extends professional project management,
but does not replace it. Both disciplines make important contributions to successful business
outcomes.