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Teaching project management: Advantages and challenges for the XXIst century. Dr Andrea Petroczi. What is Project Management?. Managing a temporary endeavour undertaken to provide a unique product and service Project is different from production/process One time endeavour
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Teaching project management: Advantages and challenges for the XXIst century Dr Andrea Petroczi
What is Project Management? • Managing a temporary endeavour undertaken to provide a unique product and service • Project is different from production/process • One time endeavour • Definite beginning and end • Definite resources • Temporary team of people • Examples: • Construction, events, software development, research, etc.
What is not? • Project management is not equivalent to operational research • OR • is concerned with planning and predicting • is described and analysed in numerical terms • deals with constrains and limitations • deals with objectives to be optimised • works with uncertainties • OR intends to assist managers in decision making by • analysing problems, constrains and objectives using a given data
Operational Research (OR) • Operational research is an important management tool. • The distinctive approach is to develop a scientific model of the system incorporating measurement of factors such as chance and risk, with which to predict and compare the outcomes of alternative strategies or controls. • Emphasis is on mathematical modelling • Programming • Simulations • OR is part of Project Management
History Project management in its modern form began to take root only a few decades ago • Communicate and integrate work across departments and professions Historically: • Late 19th century • Rising complexities and large scale government projects • Early 20th century • Taylor’s scientific management • Mid 20th century • Consequences of WW II (scarce resources), system theories • Today • Complexity, competition and co-operation, globalisation, speed, sudden and unexpected changes, information technology
Multidisciplinarity • Organisation studies and management • Work structure • Human resource management • Teams and leadership • Finance • Budget • Mathematics • graph theory • network planning • Monte Carlo simulation • Marketing • Project marketing/sponsorship
PM Triangle (a.k.a. ‘triple constraint’) Schedule Cost CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Scope
Project Management in education What to teach?
How to start a project? • Decide on a project/define goals • Set project baselines • Create a WBS • Secure resources (including HRM) • Delegate tasks and responsibilities • Consider risks, evaluate and decide on risks • Develop a time based plan • Evaluate your plan • Chose the best alternative and finalise your plan
Work Breakdown Structure • Work based plan • Breakdown by work packages, activities and tasks • Easy and understandable graphical representation of the project • Shows responsibility • Helps to create a complete list of tasks needed to be completed • Can be done by work or phases or the combination of both • Does not show time
Time based plan: Scheduling • List of activities • Task duration • Task sequence • Task interdependencies • Parallel tasks • Milestones • Deadlines • Evaluation: • Critical Path method, PERT, Risk Analysis
Drawing a picture of activities, their relationship and the duration of each task Bar charts (Gantt) Network diagram: Activity on Arrow (AOA) Network diagram: Activity on Nodes (AoN) Graphical representation
Mathematical foundation Depending on students’ background in operational research and mathematics: • Linear and non-linear programming, dynamic programming • Graph theory • Network planning • Minimal spanning tree algorithm • Shortest route algorithms (Dijkstra algorithm, Floyd algorithm) • Maximal Flow model/algorithm; minimum cost capacitated flow • Greedy algorithm • Capacitated network simplex algorithm • Critical path computation
Risks • Due to uncertainty • Plans are about the future • Risks are typically related to: • Time (being late) • Resources (not have enough or not adequate) • Technology • Environment (unexpected changes) • Force Majeure • Effect: • Liability, costs, reputation, etc. • Should be assessed and managed • Assessment: severity and likelihood • Management: avoidance, transfer, reduction • Should not be confused with constraints
Risk Management Continuum Proactive Management Anticipate Risks • Central Oversight Active Management Timely Response • Standard Operating Procedures • Compliance Standards • Understanding and Evaluation of Risks Reactive Crisis Management • Protection of Reputation • Decreased Crisis Response • Improved Services • Improved Work Place Harvard University
Risk impact PROJECT SCHEDULE Contains inherent unknowns If unresolved, impact on schedule RISKS ISSUES Occur to become
Evaluating plans • Critical Path method • Longest route (red) based on estimated time • PERT method • Program Evaluation and Review Technique, based on optimistic, most likely and pessimistic duration • Risk analysis (Monte Carlo simulation) • Criticality Index (number of times the activity was found on the critical path) • Critical value (CI x variance of duration)
Applications: 2012 Olympics • Has been used for the bidding procedure • Construction of new sites, transportation • Construction/alteration of existing venues • Event management • Scheduling transportation, events, trainings, etc. • Resource management • Human resources (organising team), financial resources, etc. • Marketing and Sponsorship
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACHIEVE? Project Plan Time Management Cost monitoring Resource Management Calculate the risk of delays OUTCOMES Bar chart Precedence Network Resource Graph Risk Graph Using software for PM
Software • Microsoft Project • Prince (UK government) • Pertmaster • Gantt chart with links • Precedence network • Resource graph • Risk analysis (Monte Carlo simulation) • Quote from Pertmaster (www.pertmaster.com) “Pertmaster software is ideal for education because it uses "proper" planning techniques, and presents its sophisticated analysis and planning tools through an incredibly quick-to-learn interface”.
Teaching Project Management • Understanding of the ‘building blocks’ • Practice time based planning using very simple tasks • Focus: sequence and parallel tasks • Transferring hand-calculated plans to computer software • Training in computer software • Solving with ‘case studies’
Benefits • Develop strategic thinking • Allows to see and compare several alternatives (develop decision making and problem solving skills) • Helps to understand complexity • Allows practicing ‘real life situations’ without real consequences
Difficulties • Some students may not see the relevance • Students sometime jump ahead (relying on computer software without having understanding of the fundamental concepts) • Requires significant preparation (developing cases, exercises) • Individual projects are time consuming to mark • Requires computer lab (lab time) and software
Do I recommend incorporatingproject management into the curriculum? Absolutely! Managing projects effectively and efficiently is a skill that is required in almost any field of employment… to a greater extent in some (e.g., engineering!) than in others.