Project
management is quite
often the province and
responsibility of an individual
project manager. This
individual seldom participates
directly in the activities
that produce the end result,
but rather strives to
maintain the progress
and productive mutual
interaction of various
parties in such a way
that overall risk of failure
is reduced. A
project manager is often
a client representative
and has to determine and
implement the exact needs
of the client, based on
knowledge of the firm
he/she is representing.
The ability to adapt to
the various internal procedures
of the contracting party,
and to form close links
with the nominated representatives,
is essential in ensuring
that the key issues of
cost, time, quality, and
above all, client satisfaction,
can be realised. Time For
analytical purposes, the
time required to produce
a deliverable is estimated
using several techniques.
One method is to identify
tasks needed to produce
the deliverables documented
in a work breakdown structure
or WBS. The work effort
for each task is estimated
and those estimates are
rolled up into the final
deliverable estimate. The
tasks are also prioritised,
dependencies between tasks
are identified, and this
information is documented
in a project schedule.
The dependencies between
the tasks can affect the
length of the overall
project (dependency constrained),
as can the availability
of resources (resource
constrained). Time is
not considered a cost
nor a resource since the
project manager cannot
control the rate at which
it is expended. This makes
it different from all
other resources and cost
categories. Cost Cost
to develop a project depends
on several variables including
(chiefly): labour rates,
material rates, risk management,
plant (buildings, machines,
etc.), equipment, and
profit. When hiring an
independent consultant
for a project, cost will
typically be determined
by the consultant's or
firm's per diem rate multiplied
by an estimated quantity
for completion. Scope Requirements
specified for the end
result. The overall definition
of what the project is
supposed to accomplish,
and a specific description
of what the end result
should be or accomplish.
A major component of scope
is the quality of the
final product. The amount
of time put into individual
tasks determines the overall
quality of the project.
Some tasks may require
a given amount of time
to complete adequately,
but given more time could
be completed exceptionally.
Over the course of a large
project, quality can have
a significant impact on
time and cost (or vice
versa). Together,
these three constraints
have given rise to the
phrase "On Time,
On Spec, On Budget".
In this case, the term
"scope" is substituted
with "spec(ification)". Project
objectives define target
status at the end of the
project, reaching of which
is considered necessary
for the achievement of
planned benefits. They
have to be formulated
as S.M.A.R.T.
- Specific,
with
- Measurable
(or at least evaluable)
achievement,
- Achievable
(recently Acceptable is
used regularly as well),
- Realistic
and
- Time
terminated (bounded).
The
evaluation (measurement)
occurs at the project
closure. However a continuous
guardance on the project
progress should be kept
by monitoring and evaluating. To
properly control these
variables a good project
manager has a depth of
knowledge and experience
in these four areas (time,
cost, scope, and risk),
and in six other areas
as well: integration,
communication, human resources,
quality assurance, schedule
development, and procurement. The
traditional approach A
traditional phased approach
identifies a sequence
of steps to be completed.
In the traditional approach,
we can distinguish 5 components
of a project (4 stages
plus control) in the development
of a project: - Project
initiation stage;
- project
planning or design stage;
- project
execution or production
stage;
- project
monitoring and controlling
systems;
- project
completion stage.
Not
all the projects will
visit every stage as projects
can be terminated before
they reach completion.
Some projects probably
don't have the planning
and/or the monitoring.
Some projects will go
through steps 2, 3 and
4 multiple times. Project
control is that element
of a project that keeps
it on-track, on-time,
and within budget. Project
control begins early in
the project with planning
and ends late in the project
with post-implementation
review, having a thorough
involvement of each step
in the process. Each project
should be assessed for
the appropriate level
of control needed: too
much control is too time
consuming, too little
control is too costly.
If control is not implemented
correctly, the cost to
the business should be
clarified in terms of
errors, fixes, and additional
audit fees. Control
systems are needed for
cost, risk, quality, communication,
time, change, procurement,
and human resources Project
development stages Regardless
of the methodology used,
the project development
process will have the
same major stages: initiation,
development, production
or execution, and closing/maintenance.
Over
the course of any construction
project, the work scope
changes. Change is a normal
and expected part of the
construction process.
Changes can be the result
of necessary design modifications,
differing site conditions,
material availability,
contractor-requested changes,
value engineering and
impacts from third parties,
to name a few. Beyond
executing the change in
the field, the change
normally needs to be documented
to show what was actually
constructed. Hence, the
owner usually requires
a final record to show
all changes or, more specifically,
any change that modifies
the tangible portions
of the finished work. How
involved we become is
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