Week 4

As stated in PMBOK (2008) Project management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools, & techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements". At the same time if we think why project management is different from other managements, it is quite clear that,

• PM focuses on a finite project, while other managements are on going
• PM uses part-time resources

According to Haughey (2011) All projects are carried out under constraints, which is also called as Triple constraint of project project management.

• Scope goals - Projects must be delivered within cost.
• Time goals - Projects must be delivered on time.
• Cost goals - Projects must meet agreed scope, no more - no less.

Triple constraint of project management

Project management has 6 segments which are

• Planning
• Directing
• Controlling
• Minimum cost
• Acceptable System
• Specified time frame

PMBOK (2008) elaborates on 9 knowledge areas typical of almost all projects. The five basic process groups are:

• Initiating process - (SWOT, PEST, Stakeholders, Analysis)  In the initial phase of project management, obtaining the necessary permissions and approvals to begin is the main goal.
• Planing Process -  Project manager defines goals, develop objectives, schedule deadlines in this phase . Also this is where  in which the project manager puts together a staff and begins to assign tasks and roles.
• Controlling process - (Check on requirements gathering is correct, feasibility study)  project manager should begin making sure everything is going according to plan
• Execution process - This is where the team start to create the end product.
• Closing Process -  Project management group marks the end of the project. Project manger delivers the final product to the client.

There are 9 knowledge areas as listed in PMBOK (2008) in project management. Project management knowledge areas include all the aspects of the project management that are required for the successful completion of a project on time with the best output.

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

Program management is breaking your project into multiple projects. 

Week Three

Before starting of any project, cost for that particular project can be estimated roughly. To calculate this approximate cost there are two ways which are called as Historical cost, where you look at other previous similar projects & estimate the cost & the other method is "Expert judgment" where knowledge of expertise are taken into the consideration.

We have done few calculations regarding project cost calculation & learnt how to calculate the payback period & how it effects the project. When selecting a project solution we must select the project with the shortest payback time.

We have done a case study of implementing an edm for APIIT & identified what is the cost effective method (PHP or .NET) when developing the software.

Also it is identified how to proceed with projects based on NPV (Net Present value).

If :-

NPV > 0 Accept the project

NPV = 0 Accept the project

NPV < 0 Reject the project

NPV 1 < NPV 2 Then Choose NPV 2

Week two

As it is stated in (visitask.com, 2011) The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish the project’s goals or objectives. In every project there are 4 main stages, which are Introduction, Planning, Execution, & Close. There is first an Initiation or Birth phase, in which the outputs and critical success factors are defined, followed by a Planning phase, characterized by breaking down the project into smaller parts/tasks, an Execution phase, in which the project plan is executed, and lastly a Closure or Exit phase, that marks the completion of the project.

It is identified that the ultimate success criteria for a project is called "customer satisfaction".

Projects are:

Always temporary

Have a definitive start time & end time

Project abandon

Project is to bring a Product, service, or a result that didn't exist before

Unique

Operations are totally different from projects. Operations are on going repetitive, involves continues work with out an ending date. The purpose of operations is to keep the organization functioning.

After assigning a team to do a project, the team goes under 5 stages, & that are :

Forming - Introducing themselves to other team members

Storming - Problems arise

Norming - Compromise each other and negotiating

Performing - Start performing

Adjoining - Team is disabled

stakeholder are group of people who have got vested people on that project. also they can be primary/secondary or direct/indirect.

Intro

Hii,

I'm shanaka, 22 years old & currently reading for my BSc at Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology in Sri Lanka . As one of the final year modules, i'm learning Project Management &  i'm posting here what i'm learning from my lectures everyday.

From this module I'm expecting to learn different types of Project Management methodologies, tools & techniques available & different scenarios that we can apply them into & how to gain success. also to understand  the common issues that arise in projects & how to avoid them.

As I'm in the initiating stage of this module I think project management is  a well planned & well organized effort to gain success in a particular project.Project mangers apply theirs skills, project management tools & various techniques to project activities to make their project a success.

I hope Project Management will help me in both my career plan & professional life. As  I'm learning another module called Group Case Studies simultaneously in this semester, what i'm learning here will be very helpful for that module too, because i can directly apply my learning out comes in this PM module to successfully develop the application which i have to submit as a part of GCS module. Also I hope the things that I learn from  here will be quite supportive & will make my tasks easier in my professional life.