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CHAPTER
ONE
1
Modern Project Management
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All of mankind’s greatest accomplishments—from building the great pyramids to discovering a cure for polio to putting a man on the moon—began as a project.
This is a good time to be reading a book about project management. Business leaders and experts have recognized that project management is critical to sustainable economic growth. New jobs and competitive advantage are achieved by constant innovation, developing new products and services, and improving both productivity and quality of work. This is the world of project management. Project management provides people with a powerful set of tools that improves their ability to plan, implement, and manage activities to accomplish specific objectives. But project management is more than just a set of tools; it is a results-oriented management style that places a premium on building collaborative relationships among a diverse cast of characters. Exciting opportunities await people skilled in project management.
The project approach has long been the style of doing business in the construction industry, U.S. Department of Defense contracts, and Hollywood, as well as big consulting firms. Now project management has spread to all avenues of work. page 4Today, project teams carry out everything from port expansions to hospital restructuring to upgrading information systems. They are creating next-generation fuel-efficient vehicles, developing sustainable sources of energy, and exploring the farthest reaches of outer space. The impact of project management is most profound in high-tech industries, where the new folk heroes are young professionals whose Herculean efforts lead to the constant flow of new hardware and software products.
Project management is not limited to the private sector. Project management is also a vehicle for doing good deeds and solving social problems. Endeavors such as providing emergency aid to areas hit by natural disasters, devising a strategy for reducing crime and drug abuse within a city, or organizing a community effort to renovate a public playground would and do benefit from the application of modern project management techniques.
Perhaps the best indicator of demand for project management can be seen in the rapid expansion of the Project Management Institute (PMI), a professional organization for project managers. PMI membership has grown from 93,000 in 2002 to more than 565,000 in 2019. See Snapshot from Practice 1.1: The Project Management Institute for information regarding professional certification in project management.
It’s nearly impossible to pick up a newspaper or business periodical and not find something about projects. This is no surprise! Approximately $2.5 trillion (about 25 percent of the U.S. gross national product) is spent on projects each year in the United States alone. Other countries are increasingly spending more on projects. Millions of people around the world consider project management the major task in their profession.
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Most of the people who excel at managing projects never have the title of project manager. They include accountants, lawyers, administrators, scientists, contractors, coaches, public health officials, teachers, and community advocates whose success depends upon being able to lead and manage project work. For some, the very nature of their work is project driven. Projects may be cases for lawyers, audits for accountants, events for artists, and renovations for contractors. For others, projects may be a small but critical part of their work. For example, a high school teacher who teaches four classes a day is responsible for coaching a group of students to compete in a national debate competition. A store manager who oversees daily operations is charged with developing an employee retention program. A sales account executive is given the additional assignment of team lead to launch daily deals into a new city. A public health official who manages a clinic is also responsible for organizing a Homeless Youth Connect event. For these and others, project management is not a title but a critical job requirement. It is hard to think of a profession or a career path that would not benefit from being good at managing projects.
Not only is project management critical to most careers, but also the skill set is transferable across most businesses and professions. Project management fundamentals are universal. The same project management methodology that is used to develop a new product can be adapted to create new services, organize events, refurbish aging operations, and so forth. In a world where it is estimated that each person is likely to experience three to four career changes, managing projects is a talent worthy of development.
The significance of project management can also be seen in the classroom. Twenty years ago major universities offered one or two classes in project management, primarily for engineers. Today most universities offer multiple sections of page 6project management classes, with the core group of engineers being supplemented by business students majoring in marketing, management information systems (MIS), and finance, as well as students from other disciplines such as oceanography, health sciences, computer sciences, and liberal arts. These students are finding that their exposure to project management is providing them with distinct advantages when it comes time to look for jobs. More and more employers are looking for graduates with project management skills. See Snapshot from Practice 1.2: A Dozen Examples of Projects Given to Recent College Graduates for examples of projects given to recent college graduates. The logical starting point for developing these skills is understanding the uniqueness of a project and of project managers.
1.1 What Is a Project?
What do the following headlines have in common?
Millions Watch World Cup Finals
Citywide WiFi System Set to Go Live
Hospitals Respond to New Healthcare Reforms
Apple’s New iPhone Hits the Market
City Receives Stimulus Funds to Expand Light Rail System
All of these events are projects.
The Project Management Institute provides the following definition of a project:
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
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Like most organizational efforts, the major goal of a project is to satisfy a customer’s need. Beyond this fundamental similarity, the characteristics of a project help differentiate it from other endeavors of the organization. The major characteristics of a project are as follows:
An established objective.
A defined lifespan with a beginning and an end.
Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals.
Typically, doing something that has never been done before.
Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.
First, projects have a defined objective—whether it is constructing a 12-story apartment complex by January 1 or releasing version 2.0 of a specific software package as quickly as possible. This singular purpose is often lacking in daily organizational life in which workers perform repetitive operations each day.
Second, because there is a specified objective, projects have a defined endpoint, which is contrary to the ongoing duties and responsibilities of traditional jobs. Instead of staying in one job, individuals often move from project to project, working with different groups of people. For example, after helping to install a security system, an IT engineer may be assigned to develop a database for a different client.
Third, unlike much organizational work that is segmented according to functional specialty, projects typically require the combined efforts of a variety of specialists. Instead of working in separate offices under separate managers, project participants, whether they be engineers, financial analysts, marketing professionals, or quality control specialists, work together under the guidance of a project manager to complete a project.
The fourth characteristic of a project is that it is nonroutine and has some unique elements. This is not an either/or issue but a matter of degree. Obviously, accomplishing something that has never been done before, such as building an electric automobile or landing two mechanical rovers on Mars, requires solving previously unsolved problems and using breakthrough technology. On the other hand, even basic construction projects that involve established sets of routines and procedures require some degree of customization that makes them unique. See Snapshot from Practice 1.3: London Calling: Seattle Seahawks versus Oakland Raiders for an unusual change in routine.
Finally, specific time, cost, and performance requirements bind projects. Projects are evaluated according to accomplishment, cost, and time spent. These triple constraints impose a higher degree of accountability than typically found in most jobs. These three also highlight one of the primary functions of project management, which is balancing the trade-offs among time, cost, and performance while ultimately satisfying the customer.
What a Project Is Not
Projects should not be confused with everyday work. A project is not routine, repetitive work! Ordinary daily work typically requires doing the same or similar work over and over, while a project is done only once; a new product or service exists when the project is completed. Examine the list in Table 1.1 that compares routine, repetitive work and projects. Recognizing the difference is important because too often resources can be used up on daily operations, which may not contribute to longer-range organization strategies that require innovative new products.
TABLE 1.1 Comparison of Routine Work with Projects
| Routine, Repetitive Work | Projects |
| Taking class notes | Writing a term paper |
| Daily entering sales receipts into the accounting ledger | Setting up a sales kiosk for a professional accounting meeting |
| Responding to a supply-chain request | Developing a supply-chain information system |
| Practicing scales on the piano | Writing a new piano piece |
| Routine manufacture of an Apple iPod | Designing an iPod that is approximately 2 × 4 inches, interfaces with PC, and stores 10,000 songs |
| Attaching tags on a manufactured product | Wire-tag projects for GE and Walmart |
Program versus Project
In practice the terms project and program cause confusion. They are often used synonymously. A program is a group of related projects designed to accomplish a common page 8goal over an extended period of time. Each project within a program has a project manager. The major differences lie in scale and time span.
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Program management is the process of managing a group of ongoing, interdependent, related projects in a coordinated way to achieve strategic objectives. For example, a pharmaceutical organization could have a program for curing cancer. The cancer program includes and coordinates all cancer projects that continue over an extended time horizon (Gray, 2011). Coordinating all cancer projects under the oversight of a cancer team provides benefits not available from managing them individually. This cancer team also oversees the selection and prioritizing of cancer projects that are included in their special “Cancer” portfolio. Although each project retains its own goals and scope, the project manager and team are also motivated by the higher program goal. Program goals are closely related to broad strategic organization goals.
The Project Life Cycle
Another way of illustrating the unique nature of project work is in terms of the project life cycle. The life cycle recognizes that projects have a limited lifespan and that there are predictable changes in level of effort and focus over the life of the project. There are a number of different life-cycle models in project management literature. Many are unique to a specific industry or type of project. For example, a new-software development project may consist of five phases: definition, design, code, integration/test, and maintenance. A generic cycle is depicted in Figure 1.1.
FIGURE 1.1
Project Life Cycle
The project life cycle typically passes sequentially through four stages: defining, planning, executing, and closing. The starting point begins the moment the project is given the go-ahead. Project effort starts slowly, builds to a peak, and then declines to delivery of the project to the customer.
Defining stage. Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are established; teams are formed; major responsibilities are assigned.
Planning stage. The level of effort increases, and plans are developed to determine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, what quality level should be maintained, and what the budget will be.
Executing stage. A major portion of the project work takes place—both physical and mental. The physical product is produced (e.g., a bridge, a report, a software program). Time, cost, and specification measures are used for control. Is the project on schedule, on budget, and meeting specifications? What are the forecasts of each of these measures? What revisions/changes are necessary?
Closing stage. Closing includes three activities: delivering the project product to the customer, redeploying project resources, and conducting a post-project review. page 10Delivery of the project might include customer training and transferring documents. Redeployment usually involves releasing project equipment/materials to other projects and finding new assignments for team members. Post-project reviews include not only assessing performance but also capturing lessons learned.
In practice, the project life cycle is used by some project groups to depict the timing of major tasks over the life of the project. For example, the design team might plan a major commitment of resources in the defining stage, while the quality team would expect their major effort to increase in the latter stages of the project life cycle. Because most organizations have a portfolio of projects going on concurrently, each at a different stage of each project’s life cycle, careful planning and management at the organization and project levels are imperative.
The Project Manager
At first glance project managers perform the same functions as other managers. That is, they plan, schedule, motivate, and control. However, what makes them unique is that they manage temporary, nonrepetitive activities to complete a fixed-life project. Unlike functional managers, who take over existing operations, project managers create a project team and organization where none existed before. They must decide what and how things should be done instead of simply managing set processes. They must meet the challenges of each phase of the project life cycle and even oversee the dissolution of their operation when the project is completed.
Project managers must work with a diverse troupe of characters to complete projects. They are typically the direct link to the customer and must manage the tension between customer expectations and what is feasible and reasonable. Project managers page 11provide direction, coordination, and integration to the project team, which is often made up of part-time participants loyal to their functional departments. They often must work with a cadre of outsiders—vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors—who do not necessarily share their project allegience.
Project managers are ultimately responsible for performance (frequently with too little authority). They must ensure that appropriate trade-offs are made among the time, cost, and performance requirements of the project. At the same time, unlike their functional counterparts, project managers often possess only rudimentary technical knowledge to make such decisions. Instead, they must orchestrate the completion of the project by inducing the right people, at the right time, to address the right issues and make the right decisions.
While project management is not for the timid, working on projects can be an extremely rewarding experience. Life on projects is rarely boring; each day is different from the last. Since most projects are directed at solving some tangible problem or pursuing some useful opportunity, project managers find their work personally meaningful and satisfying. They enjoy the act of creating something new and innovative. Project managers and team members can feel immense pride in their accomplishment, whether it is a new bridge, a new product, or a needed service. Project managers are often stars in their organization and well compensated.
Good project managers are always in demand. Every industry is looking for effective people who can get the right things done on time. See Snapshot from Practice 1.4: Ron Parker for an example of someone who leveraged his ability to manage projects to build a successful career in the glass products industry. Clearly project management is a challenging and exciting profession. This text is intended to provide the necessary knowledge, perspective, and tools to enable students to accept the challenge.
Being Part of a Project Team
Most people’s first exposure to project management occurs while working as part of a team assigned to complete a specific project. Sometimes this work is full time, but in most cases people work part time on one or more projects. They must learn how to juggle their day-to-day commitments with additional project responsibilities. They may join a team with a long history of working together, in which case roles and norms are firmly established. Alternatively their team may consist of strangers from different departments and organizations. As such, they endure the growing pains of a group evolving into a team. They need to be a positive force in helping the team coalesce into an effective project team.
Not only are there people issues, but project members are also expected to use project management tools and concepts. They develop or are given a project charter or scope statement that defines the objectives and parameters of the project. They work with others to create a project schedule and budget that will guide project execution. They need to understand project priorities so they can make independent decisions. They must know how to monitor and report project progress. Although much of this book is written from the perspective of a project manager, the tools, concepts, and methods are critical to everyone working on a project. Project members need to know how to avoid the dangers of scope creep, manage the critical path, engage in timely risk management, negotiate, and utilize virtual tools to communicate.
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1.2 Agile Project Management
Traditional project management focuses on thorough planning up front. Planning requires predictability. For plans to be effective, managers have to have a good understanding of what is to be accomplished and how to do it. For example, when it comes to building a bridge, engineers can draw upon proven technology and design principles to plan and build the bridge. Not all projects enjoy such predictability. Figure 1.2 speaks to this issue.
FIGURE 1.2
Project Uncertainty
Project uncertainty varies according to the extent the project scope is known and stable and the technology to be used is known and proven. Many projects, like the bridge project, product extensions, events, marketing campaigns, and so forth have well-established scopes and use proven technology, which provide the predictability for effective planning. However, when the project scope and/or technology is not fully known, things become much less predictable and plan-driven methods suffer. Such was the case for software development projects where it was estimated that in 1995 American firms and agencies spent $81 billion for canceled software projects (The Standish Group, 1995).
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Enter Agile project management (Agile PM). Agile methodologies emerged out of frustration with using traditional project management processes to develop software. Software projects are notorious for having unstable scopes in which end user requirements are discovered not defined up front. Agile PM is now being used across industries to manage projects with high levels of uncertainty. Examples of people encountering high-uncertainty work include software systems engineers, product designers, explorers, doctors, lawyers, and many problem-solving engineers.1
Fundamentally, Agile PM employs an incremental, iterative process sometimes referred to as a “rolling wave” approach to complete projects (see Figure 1.3). Instead of trying to plan for everything up front, the scope of the project evolves. That is, the final project design/outcome is not known in great detail and is continuously developed through a series of incremental iterations (waves). Iterations typically last from one to four weeks. The goal of each iteration is to make tangible progress such as define a key page 14requirement, solve a technical problem, or create desired features to demonstrate to the customer. At the end of each iteration, progress is reviewed, adjustments are made, and a different iterative cycle begins. Each new iteration subsumes the work of the previous iterations until the project is completed and the customer is satisfied.
FIGURE 1.3
Rolling Wave Development
Agile PM focuses on active collaboration between the project team and customer representatives, breaking projects into small functional pieces, and adapting to changing requirements.
It is not simply a question of either/or. Agile methods are often used up front in the defining phase to establish specifications and requirements, and then traditional methods are used to plan, execute, and close the project. Agile methods may be used to address certain technical issues on a project while most of the project work is being managed in the traditional way.
The internal dynamics on Agile projects is quite different from the traditional PM approach. Agile works best in small teams of four to eight members. Instead of directing and integrating the work of others, the project manager serves as a facilitator and coach. The team manages itself, deciding who should do what and how it should be done.
Agile PM will be discussed in depth in Chapter 15 and where appropriate throughout the text.
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1.3 Current Drivers of Project Management
Project management is no longer a special-need management. It is rapidly becoming a standard way of doing business. See Snapshot from Practice 1.5: Project Management in Action: 2019. An increasing percentage of the typical firm’s effort is being devoted to projects. The future promises an increase in the importance and role of projects in contributing to the strategic direction of organizations. Several reasons for this are discussed briefly in this section.
Compression of the Product Life Cycle
One of the most significant driving forces behind the demand for project management is the shortening of the product life cycle. For example, today in high-tech industries the product life cycle is averaging 6 months to 3 years. Only 30 years ago, life cycles of 10 to 15 years were not uncommon. Time-to-market for new products with short life cycles has become increasingly important. A common rule of thumb in the world of high-tech product development is that a 6-month project delay can result in a 33 percent loss in product revenue share. Speed, therefore, becomes a competitive advantage; more and more organizations are relying on cross-functional project teams to get new products and services to the market as quickly as possible.
Knowledge Explosion
The growth in new knowledge has increased the complexity of projects because projects encompass the latest advances. For example, building a road 30 years ago was a somewhat simple process. Today, each area has increased in complexity, including materials, specifications, codes, aesthetics, equipment, and required specialists. Similarly, in today’s digital, electronic age it is becoming hard to find a new product that does not contain at least one microchip. The same is likely to be true soon for artificial intelligence (AI). Product complexity has increased the need to integrate divergent technologies. Project management has emerged as the key discipline for achieving this task.
Triple Bottom Line (Planet, People, Profit)
The threat of global warming has brought sustainable business practices to the forefront. Businesses can no longer simply focus on maximizing profit to the detriment of the environment and society. Efforts to reduce carbon imprint and utilize renewable resources are realized through effective project management. The impact of this movement toward sustainability can be seen in changes in the objectives and techniques used to complete projects. For example, achieving a high LEED certification award is often an objective on construction projects.2
Increased Customer Focus
Increased competition has placed a premium on customer satisfaction. Customers no longer simply settle for generic products and services. They want customized products and services that cater to their specific needs. This mandate requires a much closer working relationship between the provider and the receiver. Account executives and page 16sales representatives are assuming more of a project manager’s role as they work with their organization to satisfy the unique needs and requests of clients.
Increased customer attention has also prompted the development of customized products and services. For example, 25 years ago buying a set of golf clubs was a relatively simple process: you picked out a set based on price and feel. Today there are golf clubs for tall players and short players, clubs for players who tend to slice the ball and clubs for those who hook the ball, high-tech clubs with the latest metallurgic discovery guaranteed to add distance, and so forth. Project management is critical both to developing customized products and services and to sustaining lucrative relationships with customers.
Small Projects Represent Big Problems
The velocity of change required to remain competitive or simply keep up has created an organizational climate in which hundreds of projects are implemented concurrently. This climate has created a multiproject environment and a plethora of new problems. page 17Sharing and prioritizing resources across a portfolio of projects is a major challenge for senior management. Many firms have no idea of the problems involved with inefficient management of small projects. Small projects typically carry the same or more risk as large projects. Small projects are perceived as having little impact on the bottom line because they do not demand large amounts of scarce resources and/or money. Because so many small projects are going on concurrently and because the perception of the inefficiency impact is small, measuring inefficiency is usually nonexistent. Unfortunately, many small projects soon add up to large sums of money. Many customers and millions of dollars are lost each year on small projects in product and service organizations. Small projects can represent hidden costs not measured in the accounting system.
Organizations with many small projects going on concurrently face the most difficult project management problems. A key question becomes one of how to create an organizational environment that supports multiproject management. A process is needed to prioritize and develop a portfolio of small projects that supports the mission of the organization.
In summary, there are a variety of environmental forces interacting in today’s business world that contribute to the increased demand for good project management across all industries and sectors.
1.4 Project Management Today: A Socio-Technical Approach
Managing a project is a multidimensional process (see Figure 1.4). The first dimension is the technical side of the management process, which consists of the formal, disciplined, purely logical parts of the process. This technical dimension includes planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Clear project scope statements are written to link the project and customer and to facilitate planning and control. Creation of the deliverables and work breakdown structures facilitates planning and monitoring the progress of the project. The work breakdown structure serves as a database that links page 18all levels in the organization, major deliverables, and all work—right down to the tasks in a work package. Effects of project changes are documented and traceable. Thus, any change in one part of the project is traceable to the source by the integrated linkages of the system. This integrated information approach can provide all project managers and the customer with decision information appropriate to their level and needs. A successful project manager will be well trained in the technical side of managing projects.
FIGURE 1.4
A Socio-Technical Approach to Project Management
The second and opposing dimension is the sociocultural side of project management. In contrast to the orderly world of project planning, this dimension involves the much messier, often contradictory and paradoxical world of implementation. It centers on creating a temporary social system within a larger organizational environment that combines the talents of a divergent set of professionals working to complete the project. Project managers must shape a project culture that stimulates teamwork and high levels of personal motivation as well as a capacity to quickly identify and resolve problems that threaten project work. Things rarely go as planned and project managers must be able to steer the project back on track or alter directions when necessary.
The sociocultural dimension also involves managing the interface between the project and external environment. Project managers have to assuage and shape the expectations of customers, sustain the political support of top management, and negotiate with their functional counterparts, monitor subcontractors, and so on. Overall, the manager must build a cooperative social network among a divergent set of allies with different standards, commitments, and perspectives.
Some suggest that the technical dimension represents the “science” of project management, while the sociocultural dimension represents the “art” of managing a project. To be successful, a manager must be a master of both. Unfortunately, some project managers become preoccupied with the planning and technical dimension of project management. Often their first real exposure to project management is through project management software, and they become infatuated with network charts, Gantt diagrams, and performance variances; they attempt to manage a project from a distance. Conversely there are other managers who manage projects by the “seat of their pants,” relying heavily on charisma and organizational politics to complete a project. Good project managers work with others to balance their attention to both the technical and sociocultural aspects of project management.
Summary
Project management is a critical skill set in today’s world. A project is defined as a nonroutine, one-time effort limited by time, resources, and performance specifications designed to meet customer needs. One of the distinguishing characteristics of project management is that it has both a beginning and an end and typically consists of four phases: defining, planning, executing, and closing. Successful implementation requires both technical and social skills. Project managers have to plan and budget projects as well as orchestrate the contributions of others.
Text Overview
This text is written to provide the reader with a comprehensive, socio-technical understanding of project management. The text focuses on both the science and the art of managing projects. Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 focuses on how organizations go about evaluating and selecting projects. Special attention is devoted page 19to the importance of aligning project selection to the mission and strategy of the firm. The organizational environment in which projects are implemented is the focus of Chapter 3. The discussion of matrix management and other organizational forms is augmented by a discussion of the significant role the culture of an organization plays in the implementation of projects.
The next six chapters focus on developing a plan for the project; after all, project success begins with a good plan. Chapter 4 deals with defining the scope of the project and developing a work breakdown structure (WBS). The challenge of formulating cost and time estimates is the subject of Chapter 5. Chapter 6 focuses on utilizing the information from the WBS to create a project plan in the form of a timed and sequenced network of activities.
Risks are a potential threat to every project, and Chapter 7 examines how organizations and managers identify and manage risks associated with project work. Resource allocation is added to the plan in Chapter 8, with special attention devoted to how resource limitations impact the project schedule. After a resource schedule is established, a project time-phased budget is developed. Finally, Chapter 9 examines strategies for reducing (“crashing”) project time either prior to the initiation of the project or in response to problems or new demands placed on the project. Throughout all these technical discussions, the sociocultural aspects are highlighted.
Chapters 10 through 12 focus on project implementation and the sociocultural side of project management. Chapter 10 focuses on the role of the project manager as a leader and stresses the importance of managing project stakeholders within the organization. Chapter 11 focuses on the core project team; it combines the latest information on team dynamics with leadership skills/techniques for developing a high-performance project team. Chapter 12 continues the theme of managing project stakeholders by discussing how to outsource project work and negotiate with contractors, customers, and suppliers.
Chapter 13 focuses on the kinds of information managers use to monitor project progress, with special attention devoted to the key concept of earned value. The project life cycle is completed with Chapter 14, which covers closing out a project and the important assessment of performance and lessons learned. Agile project management, a much more flexible approach to managing projects with high degree of uncertainty, is the subject of Chapter 15. Finally, so many projects today are global; Chapter 16 focuses on working on projects across cultures.
Throughout this text you will be exposed to the major aspects of the project management system. However, a true understanding of project management comes not from knowing what a scope statement is, or the critical path, or partnering with contractors, but from comprehending how the different elements of the project management system interact to determine the fate of a project. If by the end of this text you come to appreciate and begin to master both the technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management, you should have a distinct competitive advantage over others aspiring to work in the field of project management.
Key Terms
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Review Questions
Define a project. What are five characteristics that help differentiate projects from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?
What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way projects are managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the management of projects?
Describe the four phases of the traditional project life cycle. Which phase do you think would be the most difficult one to complete?
What kinds of projects is Agile PM best suited for and why?
The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the same coin. Explain.
SNAPSHOT 
FROM PRACTICE
Discussion Questions
1.1 The Project Management Institute
If you were a student interested in pursuing a career in project management, how important do you think being a CAPM would be?
How valuable do you think being certified PMP is?
1.3 London Calling: Seattle Seahawks versus Oakland Raiders
Why was it important to give players and staff a chance to explore London one evening?
What are one or two lessons you learned from this Snapshot?
1.4 Ron Parker
Do you agree with Ron Parker’s statement “To be successful, you must also be willing to run at problems/opportunities when everyone else is running away from them”?
Exercises
Review the front page of your local newspaper and try to identify all the projects contained in the articles. How many were you able to find?
Individually, identify what you consider to be humanity’s greatest achievements in the last five decades. Now share your list with three to five other students in the class and come up with an expanded list. Review these great achievements in terms of the definition of a project. What does your review suggest about the importance of project management?
Individually, identify projects assigned in previous terms. Were both sociocultural and technical elements factors in the success or difficulties in the projects?
Check out the Project Management Institute’s home page at www.pmi.org.
Review general information about PMI as well as membership information.
See if there is a local PMI chapter. If not, where is the closest one?
Use the search function at the PMI home page to find information on Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). What are the major knowledge areas of PMBOK?
Explore other links that PMI provides. What do these links tell you about the nature and future of project management?
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References
Benko, C., and F. W. McFarlan, Connecting the Dots (Boston: HBS Press, 2003).
Cohen, D. J., and R. J. Graham, The Project Manager’s MBA (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001).
Darnell, R., “The Emerging Role of the Project Manager,” PM Network, 1997.
Derby, C., and O. Zwikael, “The Secret of (Defining) Success,” PM Network, August 2012, pp. 20–22.
Gray, Clifford, “Program Management, a Primer,” PM World Today, August 2011, pp. 1–7.
Jonas, D., “Empowering Project Portfolio Managers: How Management Involvement Impacts Project Management Performance,” International Journal of Project Management, vol. 28, no. 8 (2010), pp. 818–31.
Mortensen, M., and H. K. Gardner, “The Overcommitted Organization,” Harvard Business Review, September/October 2017, pp. 58–65.
Peters, T., PM Network, January 2004, p. 19.
PMI/Agile Alliance, Agile Practice Guide (Chicago: Independent Publishers Group, 2017).
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) (Newton Square, PA: PMI Publishing, 2017).
Project Management Institute, Leadership in Project Management Annual (Newton Square, PA: PMI Publishing, 2006).
Schwaber, K., Agile Project Management with Scrum (Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 2004).
The Standish Group, CHAOS Summary 1995 (Dennis, MA: Standish, 1995).
The Standish Group, CHAOS Summary 2009 (Dennis, MA: Standish, 2009).
Stewart, T. A., “The Corporate Jungle Spawns a New Species: The Project Manager,” Fortune, September 1996, pp. 14–15.
Case 1.1
A Day in the Life—2019
Troi, the project manager of a large information systems project, arrives at her office early to get caught up with work before her co-workers and project team arrive. However, as she enters the office she meets Neil, one of her fellow project managers, who also wants to get an early start on the day. Neil has just completed a project overseas. They spend 10 minutes socializing and catching up on personal news.
Troi walks to her desk and opens her laptop. She was at her client’s site the day before until 7:30 p.m. and has not checked her e-mail or voice mail since 4:30 p.m. the previous day. She has 2 voicemails, 16 e-mails, and 10 posts on her team Slack channel.1 She spends 15 minutes reviewing her schedule and “to do” lists for the day before responding to messages that require immediate attention.
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Troi spends the next 25 minutes going over project reports and preparing for the weekly standup meeting. Her manager who just arrived at the office, interrupts her. They spend 20 minutes discussing the project. He shares a rumor about a potential acquisition he’s heard about. She tells him she hasn’t heard anything but will keep him posted if she does.
The 9:00 a.m. project status meeting starts 15 minutes late because two of the team members have to finish a job for a client. Several people go to the cafeteria to get coffee and doughnuts while others discuss last night’s baseball game. The team members arrive, and the remaining 45 minutes of the progress review meeting surface project issues that have to be addressed and assigned for action.
After the meeting Troi goes down the hallway to meet with Victoria, another IS project manager. They spend 30 minutes reviewing project assignments, since the two of them share personnel. Victoria’s project is behind schedule and in need of help. Troi offers to free up some of the team’s time to help her get back on track.
Troi returns to her office and makes several phone calls and returns several e-mails before walking downstairs to visit with members of her project team. Her intent is to follow up on an issue that had surfaced in the status report meeting. However, her simple, “Hi, guys, how are things going?” elicits a stream of disgruntled responses. After listening patiently for over 20 minutes, she realizes that among other things several of the client’s managers are beginning to request features that were not in the original project scope statement. She tells her people that she will get on this right away.
Returning to her office, she tries to call her counterpart, John, at the client firm but is told that he is not expected back from lunch for another hour. At this time, Eddie drops by and says, “How about lunch?” Eddie works in the finance office and they spend the next half hour in the company cafeteria gossiping about internal politics. She is surprised to hear that Jonah Johnson, the director of systems projects, may join another firm. Jonah has always been a powerful ally.
She returns to her office, answers a few more e-mails, catches up on Slack, and finally gets through to John. They spend 30 minutes going over the problem. The conversation ends with John promising to do some investigating and to get back to her as soon as possible.
Troi goes outside to the company’s atrium, where she sits next to a creek, meditating for 30 minutes.
Troi then takes the elevator to the third floor and talks to the purchasing agent assigned to her project. They spend the next 30 minutes exploring ways of getting necessary equipment to the project site earlier than planned. She finally authorizes express delivery.
When she returns to her desk, her watch reminds her that she is scheduled to participate in a conference call at 2:30. It takes 15 minutes for everyone to get online due to problems with the technology. During this time, Troi catches up on some e-mail. She spends the next hour exchanging information about the technical requirements associated with a new version of a software package they are using on systems projects like hers.
Troi decides to stretch her legs and goes on a walk down the hallway, where she engages in brief conversations with various co-workers. She goes out of her way to thank Chandra for his thoughtful analysis at the status report meeting. She returns to find that John has left a message for her to call him back ASAP. She contacts John, who informs her that according to his people, her firm’s marketing rep had made certain promises about specific features her system would provide. He doesn’t know how this communication breakdown occurred, but his people are pretty upset over page 23the situation. Troi thanks John for the information and immediately takes the stairs to where the marketing group resides.
She asks to see Mary, a senior marketing manager. She catches up on Slack updates on her phone while she waits for 10 minutes before being invited into her office. After a heated discussion, she leaves 40 minutes later with Mary agreeing to talk to her people about what was promised and what was not promised.
She goes downstairs to her people to give them an update on what is happening. They spend 30 minutes reviewing the impact the client’s requests could have on the project schedule. She also shares with them the schedule changes she and Victoria had agreed to. After she says good night to her team, she heads upstairs to her manager’s office and spends 20 minutes updating him on key events of the day. She returns to her office and spends 30 minutes reviewing e-mails, her team Slack channel, and project documents. She logs on to the MS Project schedule of her project and spends the next 30 minutes working with “what-if” scenarios. She reviews tomorrow’s schedule and writes some personal reminders before starting off on her 30-minute commute home.
How effectively do you think Troi spent her day?
What does the case tell you about what it is like to be a project manager?
1 Slack is a communications program designed to manage the flow of information on a project. See slack.com.
Case 1.2
The Hokies Lunch Group1
PART A
Fatma settled down for lunch at the Yank Sing Chinese restaurant. She was early and took the time to catch up on her e-mail. Soon she would be joined by Jasper and Viktoria, two fellow 2014 grads from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Jasper worked as a software engineer for a start-up company that wanted to expand the boundaries of sharing economy. Viktoria was an electrical engineer who worked for a German healthcare company in San Francisco. They had met each other at a Silicon Valley alumni reception hosted by Virginia Tech. Each of them felt a bit like a fish out of water on the West Coast, so they decided to have lunch together each month. The lunch evolved into a professional support group. A major part of each of their jobs was managing projects, and they found it useful to share issues and seek advice from each other.
Fatma worked for a very successful Internet company whose founders believed that everyone in the firm should devote three days a year to community service projects. The company was partnering with several companies in the construction industry to renovate abandoned buildings for low-income families. The next project was the renovation of an empty warehouse into eight two-bedroom apartments. Fatma was part of the core team in charge of scheduling and managing work assignments.
Viktoria and Jasper entered the restaurant together. Viktoria was the first to move to the Bay Area. She was currently working on the next-generation neural stimulator (“PAX 2”). Neural stimulators are electronic devices that doctors implant in patients with wires connected to sources of pain in the patient’s spine. In the past, patients would have to have an operation to replace the stimulator battery every 10 years. PAX 2 was being designed to take advantage of new battery technologies and page 24use a rechargeable battery. In concept, this battery system would eliminate the need for replacement surgeries and allow the implanted battery to be recharged externally. Viktoria’s team had just completed the second prototype and was entering a critical testing phase. It had been tricky trying to predict the lifespan of the new rechargeable battery without testing it in real time. She was anxious to begin seeing the test results.
Jasper was working for a start-up company after doing contract work for his first nine months in San Francisco. He was sworn to secrecy about the project and all Fatma and Viktoria knew was that the project had something to do with sharing economy. He was working with a small development team that included colleagues from Bangalore, India, and Malmo, Sweden.
After ordering and chit-chatting a bit, Fatma started the discussion. “I will be glad when this week is over,” she said. “We’ve been struggling defining the scope of the project. At first glance our project seems relatively simple, build eight two-bedroom apartments in an old warehouse. But there are a lot of unanswered questions. What kind of community space do we want to have? How efficient should the energy system be? What kind of furniture? Everybody wants to do a good job, but when does low-income housing morph into middle-income housing?”
Viktoria offered, “Scope defining is one of the things my company does very well. Before a project is authorized, a detailed scope statement is developed that clearly defines the project objectives, priorities, budget, requirements, limits, and exclusions. All of the key stakeholders sign off on it. It is really important to identify priorities up front. I know on the PAX 2 project that scope is the number one priority. I know that no matter how long it takes it is imperative that my work is done right.”
Fatma responded, “That’s exactly what my project manager is preparing for Friday’s meeting. I guess that one of the things you have to do as a project manager is end discussions. He is going to make the tough calls and finalize the project scope so we can begin planning.”
Jasper interjected, “You guys are so lucky; for the most part your scope remains the same. In my work the scope is constantly changing. You show the founders a feature they wanted, and they say, well, if you can do that, can you do this? You know it’s going to happen, but you really can’t plan for it.”
Jasper went on, “We do know what our number one priority is: time. There are a lot of players trying to move in to the ‘space’ we are working on. We have to demonstrate we are ahead of the pack if we are going to continue to get VC funding.”2
Jasper said that despite the pressure, his project had been a lot of fun. He especially liked working with his Swedish and Indian counterparts, Axel and Raja. They worked like a global tag team on their part of the project. Jasper would code and then pass his work on to Raja, who would work on it and pass it on to Axel, who would eventually hand it off to Jasper. Given the time zones, they were able to have at least one person working on the code around the clock.
Jasper said it was hard at first working with someone he hadn’t met personally other than on a video screen. Trust was an issue. Everyone was trying to prove himself. Eventually a friendly competition arose across the team. The programmers exchanged funny cartoons and YouTube videos. He showed Fatma and Viktoria a YouTube video about scope creep that got a chuckle from everyone.
They made plans to meet next at the new Peruvian restaurant on SE 8th Street.
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PART B
The Peruvian cilantro/lime ceviche was a big hit at the next lunch. Viktoria began their discussion by reporting, “I have good and bad news. The bad news is that our first prototype failed its tests miserably. The good news is that I have a smart project manager. She knew this could happen, so she mitigated the risk by having us working on two alternative battery technologies. The alternative technology is passing all of the tests. Instead of falling behind months, we are only days behind schedule.”
This precipitated a discussion of risk management. Fatma reported that there had been a two-day session on risk management for the renovation project. They spent the first day brainstorming what could go wrong, and the second day coming up with strategies for dealing with risks. A big help was the risk report that was generated after the last project. The report detailed all of the problems that had occurred on the last renovation project as well as recommendations. Fatma said, “I couldn’t believe how much time and attention was devoted to safety, but as my project manager said, ‘all it takes is one bad accident to shut down a project for weeks, even months.’”
Jasper reported that on his project they spent very little time on risk management. His project was driven by a build-test mentality. “Everybody assumes that daily testing eliminates problems, but when it’s time to integrate different features, that’s when the real bugs will emerge,” Jasper said.
Jasper went on to say that things were not going well at work. They had missed their second straight milestone, and everyone was feeling the pressure to show results. “I even slept by my cubicle three nights ago,” Jasper confessed. Fatma asked, “How many hours are you working?” “I don’t know, at least 70, maybe 80 hours,” Jasper answered. He went on to say, “This is a high-stakes project, with a BIG upside if successful. I am doing some of my best programming and we’ll just have to see what happens.”
Jasper showed them a cartoon that was being circulated across his team. The caption read “When did you want it done? Yesterday.”
Fatma turned to her friends and said, “I need some advice. As you know, I’m responsible for scheduling work assignments. Well, some of my colleagues have been pretty aggressive lobbying for choice assignments. Everyone wants to work alongside Bruno or Ryan. Suddenly I am everyone’s friend, and certain people are going way out of their way to do favors for me. I am sure they think it will influence my decisions. It’s getting awkward and I am not sure what to do.”
“Quid pro quo,” answered Jasper, “that’s how the business world works. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Within reason, I don’t have a problem with someone taking advantage of her position to garner favors and build relationships.”
Viktoria said, “I disagree. You don’t want to be seen as someone whose influence can be bought. You need to think what’s best for the company. You need to ask yourself what Bruno and Ryan would want you to do. And if you don’t know, ask them.”
After much discussion, Fatma left the restaurant leaning toward Viktoria’s advice, but she wasn’t sure what the guidelines should be.
PART C
It took two months for the Hokies lunch group to get together again. Jasper had canceled the last meeting because of work, so Viktoria and Fatma saw a movie together instead.
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Jasper was the last person to arrive and it was clear from the look on his face that things were not going well. He sat down, avoiding eye contact, before blurting, “I’m out of work.” “What do you mean?” Fatma and Viktoria cried. Jasper explained after months and months of work they had been unable to demonstrate a functional product.
Jasper went on to say, “Despite our best efforts we couldn’t deliver. The founders couldn’t get an ounce of second-round venture funding, so they decided to cut their losses and kill the project. I just spent the best six months of my programming life for nothing.”
Fatma and Viktoria tried to comfort their friend. Fatma asked Jasper how the others were taking the news. Jasper said the Swedish programmer, Axel, took the news very hard. He went on to say, “I think he was burning a lot of bridges at home with the long work hours and now he has nothing to show for it. He started blaming us for mistakes we never made.” Raja, his Indian counterpart, was a different story. “Raja seemed to shrug his shoulders.” Jasper added, “He said, ‘I know I am a good programmer. There are lots of opportunities here in Bangalore.’”
Fatma broke the silence that followed by saying to Jasper, “Send me your resume. My company is always looking for top-notch programmers and it is a really great company. Can you believe it, the two founders, Bruno and Ryan, are working side by side with everyone on renovating the warehouse? In fact, people were amazed at how good Bruno was with sheet rock. A big part of my job now is scheduling their time so they can work with as many different people as possible. They really want to use the project to get to know their employees. This hasn’t been easy. I have had to juggle their calendars, their abilities, and work opportunities.”
Viktoria interjected, “You’re using Microsoft Project to do this?” “Not really,” responded Fatma. “At first I tried scheduling their work in Microsoft Project, but it was too cumbersome and time consuming. Now I just use the Project master schedule and each of their calendars to schedule their work. This seems to work best.”
Viktoria added, “Yeah, Microsoft Project is a great program, but you can get lost trying to get it to do everything. Sometimes all you need is an Excel sheet and common sense.”
Viktoria felt awkward, given what had happened to Jasper. She was just wrapping up the successful PAX 2 project. She was also getting ready for a well-deserved holiday in Vietnam paid for by her project bonus. “I hate closing out a project,” Viktoria said. “It’s so boring. Document, document, document! I keep kicking myself for not tracking things when they happened. I am spending most of my time scouring my computer for files. I can’t wait to take off to Vietnam.”
Viktoria went on to say, “The only thing I liked doing was the project retrospective.”
Jasper asked, “What’s a project retrospective?” Viktoria answered, “It’s when the project team gets together and reviews what went well and what didn’t and identifies lessons learned that we can apply to future projects. For example, one of the things we learned was that we needed to bring the manufacturing people on board a lot sooner in the design process. We focused on designing the very best product possible, regardless of cost. We found out later that there were ways for reducing production costs without compromising quality.”
Fatma added, “We do that, too, at the end of our projects, but we call it an audit.”
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Fatma asked Viktoria, “Do you know what your next assignment will be?” “No,” she replied, “I will probably go back to my department and do some testing. I’m not worried. I did good work. I am sure someone will want me for their project.”
Jasper chimed in, “I sure hope someone wants me for their next project.” Fatma and Viktoria immediately went into action, trying to lift their friend’s spirits.
A little while later, they walked out of the restaurant and gave each other hugs. Fatma reminded Jasper to send her his latest resume.
For each part (A, B, C), what phase of the project life cycle is each project in? Explain.
What are two important things you learned about working on projects from the case? Why are they important?
1 Hokies is the name associated with Virginia Tech athletic teams.
2 New venture capital funding.
Design elements: Snapshot from Practice, Highlight box, Case icon: ©Sky Designs/Shutterstock
1 It should be noted that PMBOK also includes Incremental and Iterative as two additional approaches, which are beyond the scope of this text. Search pmi.org for further details.
2 LEED certification was developed by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and is one of the most popular green building certification programs used worldwide.