Project Management Fundamentals

1. © AAA University
PMP® Preparation Course
Framework

2. Project Management Framework
At the completion of this module, you should be able to:
 Define terms & concepts
 Identify project management challenges
 Know the triple constraint
 Recognize skills of an effective project
manager
 Understand organizational influences
 Be familiar with organizational structures
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3. All Rights Reserved
 These materials may not be copied
without express written permission
from the author, Dr. S. Hasnain Rizvi,
PMP, PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP,
OPM3 CC.
3
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4. WHAT IS A PROJECT?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service, or result.

5. Characteristics of a Project
 Is temporary
 Creates unique products, services, or results
 Provides progressive elaboration
 The outcome may be tangible or intangible
 A product that can be a component of another item
 An enhancement of an item,
 Or an end item in itself;
 An improvement in the existing product or service
 A result, such as an outcome or document

6. Examples of Projects
 Creating a new product
 Creating a new service
 Constructing a new building
 Deploying a new business process
 Buying a new information system

7. Operations, Programs, Plans &
Portfolios
 Both projects and operations:
1. Have people perform them
2. Are constrained by limited resources
3. Are planned, executed, and controlled
 Operations differ from projects because they:
a. Are ongoing and repetitive
b. Have objectives that are continuous
c. Adapt to new objectives so work continues to sustain business.

8. Operations, Programs, Plans &
Portfolios
 Programs are groups of projects managed in a coordinated
way to obtain greater benefits and control, which could not
be achieved from managing the project separately. They are
a combination of related projects.
 Plans are characterized and classified according to:
1. Their function or use to which they are applied
2. Their objectives, policies, procedures, methods and rules
3. Whether they short-term or long-term in duration

9. Operations, Programs, Plans &
Portfolios
 Portfolios are collections of projects or programs and their
associated operations that are grouped together to facilitate
effective management, as well as to meet strategic
objectives.
 Portfolio management:
1. Satisfies strategic business objectives
2. Aids in selecting appropriate projects and programs to
maximize the portfolio value
3. Typically requires senior managers to be responsible for an
organization’s portfolio management.

10. Projects and Strategic Planning
 Projects are often utilized as a means of directly or
indirectly achieving objectives within an organization’s
strategic plans.
 Market Demand
 Strategic opportunity/business need
 Social need
 Environmental consideration
 Customer request
 Technological advance
 Legal requirement

11. Project Management Office
 The Project Management Office (PMO) can be
referred to as a program management Office, Project
office, or Program Office.
 A Project Management Office (PMO) is a management
structure that standardizes the project-related
governance processes and facilitates the sharing of
resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.
 There are several types of PMO structures:
1. Supportive
2. Controlling
3. Directive

12. Interpersonal Skills of a Project
Manager
 Leadership
 Motivation
 Communication
 Conflict
management
 Coaching
 Team building
 Influencing
 Decision making
 Political and
cultural awareness
 Negotiation

13. Key Definitions
 Project
 A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or result
 Subproject
 A more manageable component of a project
 Subprojects are often contracted out to an
external enterprise or to another functional unit
 Program
 A group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way
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14. Key Definitions (cont.)
 Knowledge Area

An identified area of project management defined by its knowledge
requirements and described in terms of its component process,
practices, inputs, outputs, tools & techniques
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15. 15
The PMBOK Guide- 5th Ed
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10 knowledge areas that are used on most projects
most of the time:
• Project Integration Management
• Project Scope Management
• Project Time Management
• Project Cost Management
• Project Quality Management
• Project Human Resource Management
• Project Communications Management
• Project Risk Management
• Project Procurement Management
• Project Stakeholder Management

16. Key Definitions (cont.)
 Portfolio

A collection of programs, projects, and additional work managed
together to help achieve business goals
 Project Life Cycle

A collection of various phases that make up a project.
 Product Life Cycle
 The collection of stages that make up the life of a product
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17. Key Definitions (cont.)
 Project Management Office (PMO)

An organizational unit formed to centralize and coordinate the
management of projects within its domain
 Management by Objectives (MBO)

Establish unambiguous and realistic objectives

Periodically evaluate if objectives are met

Implement corrective action
 OPM3

PMI’s organizational project management maturity model

Designed to help organizations determine their level of maturity in
project management
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18. What is a Project Manager?
“The individual
responsible for the
project”
-The PMBOK Guide
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19. What is Project Management?
 The application of knowledge, skills,
tools & techniques to activities to meet
project requirements
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20. Organizations Perform Work
 Work involves either operations
(processes or systems) or projects
 Operations & projects share many
characteristics:
 Performed by people
 Constrained by limited resources
 Planned, executed, and controlled
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21. How Do Operations & Projects
Differ?
 Operations:
 Are ongoing and repetitive
 Objective: Sustain the business
 Projects:
 Are temporary and unique
 Objective: Attain project objectives and
terminate
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22. Objectives of Projects
 Create Change
 Implement Strategic Plans
 Deliver a product, service or result
 Fulfill Contractual Agreements
 Solve Specific Problems
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23. Key Characteristics of Projects
 Creates a unique outcome
 Has a well defined beginning and end
 Has boundaries and constraints
 Produces a product, service or result
 Uses resources in the form of persons,
places, things, or money
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24. Rank Reason or Problem
1. Insufficient front-end planning
2. Unrealistic project plan
3. Unclear project objectives
4. Customer-management changes
5. Insufficient contingency planning
6. Inability to track progress
7. Inability to detect problems early
8. Insufficient number of checkpoints
9. Staffing problems
10. Technical complexities
11. Priority shifts
12. No commitment by personnel to plan
13. Uncooperative support groups
14. Sinking team spirit
15. Unqualified project personnel
Exercise - Reasons Why Projects Fail
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25. Defining Project Success
 Within the allocated time and budget
 At the proper performance or specification
level
 Acceptance by the customer/user
 Mutually agreed upon scope changes
 Without disturbing ongoing operations
 Using the customer’s name as a reference
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26. The “Triple” Constraint
Time Cost
Scope
Resources Risk
Others
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27. Personal Characteristics of an Effective
Project Manager
 Honesty and integrity
 Accountability
 Analytical skills
 Decision maker
 People skills
 Communication skills
 Adaptability and flexibility
 Effective application of project management disciplines
 Be focused on customer needs
 Energy, endurance and toughness
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28. Project Manager “Skills”
Skills
Leadership
Technical
Entrepreneurial People
Organizational Administrative
Sales
Flexibility Networking
Decision Making Market Awareness
Planning
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29. PMs’ Expectations
of Top Management
 Clear expectations
 Strategic direction
 Political Protection
 Clearly defined decision channels
 Conflict Resolution Assistance
 Action on Request
 Feedback
 Personal & Professional Growth
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30. Top Managements’ Expectations of
the PM
 Results & Accountability
 Effective Reporting of Information
 Recommendations - Not Alternatives
 Strong Interpersonal Skills
 Self-discipline
 Problem Solving Skills
 Analytical Skills
 Clear Communication
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31. The Project Teams’
Expectations of the PM
 Leadership
 Facilitate Problem Solving
 Create a Team Atmosphere
 Support
 Manage Conflict
 Protect the team from outside pressures
 Remove Obstacles
 Be a Liaison
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32. The Project Managers’
Expectations of the Team
 Consensus building
 Teamwork
 Willingness to listen to ideas
 Communication of red-flags or issues
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33. Project Life Cycle-
2 Types of Phase-to-Phase Relationships
Sequential
Phases
Overlapping
Phases
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34. Project Life Cycles-
3 Types
Predictive
Iterative/Incremental
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Adaptive

35. Fast Tracking
Planning
Initiating
Monitoring &
Controlling
Closing
Executing
Planning
Initiating
Monitoring &
Controlling
Closing
Executing
Design Phase
Implementation Phase
Prior Phase
Subsequent Phase
• The practice of overlapping phases
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36. P-D-C-A Cycle
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37. Project Stakeholders
 Project Stakeholders are individuals and organizations
who are involved in or whose interests may be affected
by project activities. E.g. The:
 Project Manager
 Portfolio Managers/portfolio review board
 Team Members
 Performing Organization
 PMO
 Sponsor
Customer
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38. The Influence Curve
Ability to
Influence
Project
Success
Cost of
Change
Time
Influence Cost
Project start Project end
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39. Phase End Reviews
 Phase Exits/Phase Gates/Decision
Gates/Stage Gates
 Kill Points
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40. Enterprise Environmental Factors
 Refers to internal and external
environmental factors that surround
or influence a project’s success
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41. Enterprise Environmental Factors
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42. Organizational Process Assets
 Processes and Procedures
 Organizational policies, procedures, and guidelines
for any area (risk, financial, reporting, change, etc.)
 Corporate Knowledge Base
 Templates for common project documents
 Examples from a previous project plan
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43. Organizational Influences
 Projects are influenced by the initiating organization
 Culture, style, organizational structure & PMO
 Project based versus non-project-based
 Authority level of the project manager
 Approach to risk
 Types of Organizations:
 Functional (Pure, Project Expeditor, Project Coordinator,
Composite)
 Matrix (Strong & Weak)
 Projectized
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44. Functional Organization
(Bolded boxes represent staff engaged in project activities)
Staff
Staff
Functional
M anager
Staff
Staff
Functional
M anager
Staff
Staff
Functional
M anager
Chief
Executive
Project
Coordination
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45. Pros & Cons - Functional
Organization
PROS CONS
 Flexibility in staff use
 Availability of experts for
multiple projects
 Grouping of specialists
 Technological continuity
 Normal advancement path
 Client is not the focus of activity
 Function rather than problem
oriented
 No one fully responsible for the
project
 Slow response to the client
 Tendency to suboptimize
 Fragmented approach to the
project
Both project and operational work are performed by
resources within the functional department
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46. Projectized Organization
Staff
Staff
Project
M anager
Staff
Staff
Project
M anager
Staff
Staff
Project
M anager
Chief
Executive
Project
Coordination
(Bolded boxes represent staff engaged in project activities)
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47. Pros & Cons - Projectized
Organization
PROS CONS
 One boss
 Project Manager has great deal
of independence and authority
 Team members are collocated
 Team members are treated as
insiders
 Most resources are involved in
project work
 If not tracked closely, hourly
costs may become inflated while
specialists are waiting between
assignments or are on call
 Bureaucracy, standards,
procedures, and documentation
may result in an abundance of
red tape
 Worry about jobs as project
winds down
People resources are mostly involved in
project work.
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48. Staff
Staff
Functional
Manager
Staff
Staff
Functional
Manager
Staff
Staff
Functional
Manager
Project Manager
Project Manager
Manager of
Projects
Chief
Executive
Project A
Coordination
Strong Matrix Organization
(Bolded boxes represent staff engaged in project activities)
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49. Pros & Cons - Matrix Organization
PROS CONS
 Project is the point of emphasis
 Access to a reservoir of
technical talent
 Less anxiety about team future
at project completion
 Quick client response
 Better company-wide balance
of resources
 Minimizes overall staff
fluctuations
 Two boss syndrome
 More time and effort needed to
acquire team members
 Functional managers reluctant
to share top performers
 Conflict of authority between
project manager and functional
manager
 Careful project monitoring
required
 Political infighting among
project managers
A blend of Functional & Projectized organizations
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50. Weak vs. Strong
Matrix Organizations
 Administrative Relationship
 Physical Proximity
 Time spent on Project
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51. Weak Matrix/Projectized Roles
 Project Expediter- assistant (no authority)
 Project Coordinator- some authority
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52. Pros & Cons – Using a PMO
PROS CONS
 Emphasis on project
management career paths
 A center of competency for
project management skills and
knowledge
 Project managers/team have
less anxiety about future
assignments
 Standardization of the project
management system
 Centralized management
 Additional layer of hierarchy
 Some of the adverse effects of
a matrix organization
 All of the adverse aspects of a
projectized organization
 Lack of application knowledge
by the project managers
A Project Management Office (PMO) can exist in
any organizational structure
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53. Tips for Success
 Obtain Charter from top management
 Anticipate and constructively channel conflict
 Develop methods to promote teamwork
 Obtain written approval of objectives, plans and
budgets
 Obtain management and task leader approvals
 Avoid conflict with functional managers
 Reduce project risk through careful and continuous
planning
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54. Framework Review
 What is a project/project manager/project
management?
 Name the 10 knowledge areas
 What is the triple constraint?
 Name some aspects of a project life cycle
 Describe the 3 primary types of organizational
structures

Name a pro and con from each type

In what type of organizational structure can a
PMO exist?
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55. Questions/Comments
 S. Hasnain Rizvi, PMP, CBAP, PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, CSM, CPCU, CISA, CISM, CRISC, CSSGB,
CSSBB, CMBB, CITP (Fellow), CDIA+, Project+, OPM3 CC, MBA, PhD
 HRizvi@AAA-U.com
 Skype: GlocalPM
 818-428-7768
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