Project Management: The Managerial Process

Project Management: The Managerial Process

Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill.1 Chapter 1 Modern Project Management Chapter Outline 1.What Is a Project?A.What a Project Is Not B.Program versus Project C.The Project Life Cycle D.The Project Manager E.Being Part of a Project Team 2.Agile Project Management 3.Current Drivers of Project Management A.Compression of the Product Life Cycle B.Knowledge Explosion C.Triple Bottom Line (Planet, People, Profit) D.Increased Customer Focus E.Small Projects Represent Big Problems

4.Project Management Today: A Socio-Technical Approach

5.Summary 6.Text Overview 7.Key Terms 8.Review Questions

9.Snapshot from Practice: Discussion Questions

10.Exercises

11.Case 1.1: A Day in the Life—2019

12.Case 1.2: The Hokies Lunch Group

Project Management The Managerial Process 8e Erik Larson, Clifford Gray (Solutions Manual All Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+ Grade) All Chapters/Supplement files download link at the end of this file. 1 / 4

Project Management: The Managerial Process

Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill.2 Chapter Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

LO 1-1 Understand why project management is crucial in today’s world.

LO 1-2 Distinguish a project from routine operations.

LO 1-3 Identify the different stages of a project life cycle.

LO 1-4 Describe how Agile PM is different from traditional PM.

LO 1-5 Understand that managing projects involves balancing the technical and sociocultural dimensions of the project.

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Project Management: The Managerial Process

Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill.3 Review Questions

• Define a project. What are five characteristics which help differentiate projects

from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?

A project is a complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resource, and specifications. Differentiating characteristics of projects from routine, repetitive

daily work are below:

• A defined lifespan
• A well-defined objective
• Typically involves people from several disciplines
• A project life cycle
• Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.

• 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?

Some environmental forces that have changed the way we manage projects are the product life cycle, knowledge growth, global competition, organization downsizing, technology changes, time-to-market. The impact of these forces is more projects per organization, project teams responsible for implementing projects, accountability, changing organization structures, need for rapid completion of projects, linking projects to organization strategy and customers, prioritizing projects to conserve organization resources, alliances with external organizations, and so on.

• Describe the four phases of the traditional project life cycle. Which phase do you

think would be most the difficult one to complete?

• Defining: Project specifications objectives are defined, and teams are formed with

major responsibilities assigned. Much of this is referred to as defining the Scope of a project.

• Planning: The creation of a comprehensive plan that includes schedules, budgets,

staffing and risk assessment.

• Executing: Work begins, deliverables are produced, and progress is monitored.
• Closing: Putting the project to bed includes customer delivery, post project review

or audit, and redeployment of project team.

All things being equal, one would think that Closing would be the easiest phase to complete. However, there are times when this phase is the most problematic.Disagreements at the customer acceptance can lead to rework, tension and in many cases litigation. Veteran project managers answer to this question would be “It all depends”.

• What kinds of projects is Agile PM best suited for and why? 3 / 4

Project Management: The Managerial Process

Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill.4

Projects in which the scope or how the project will be completed are not well defined or stable. These kinds of projects would include software development, R&D work, technological breakthroughs, and creative endeavors.

• The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides

to the same coin. Explain.

The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the same coin because successful project managers are skillful in both areas. The point is successful project managers need to be very comfortable and skillful in both areas.

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 CAPM would be?

There is no data available on the value of the CAPM in the job market. Experts suggest at a minimum it demonstrates a strong interest in project management and a good understanding of the project management processes. Given the growing demand for people to work on projects, the CAPM may just separate you from other applicants.

• How valuable do you think being a certified PMP is?

Reliable data is hard to find. PMI reported that the median salary for a PMP is $108,200.Non-certified project managers, on the other hand, showed a median income of $91,000.According to a different survey, eighty percent of high-performing projects used PMP certified project managers.

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?

This will be a tough question for those not familiar with intense team sports. They will not be aware of the importance coaches devote to eliminating distractions that can disrupt team concentration and focus. Coach Carroll reportedly said, “There was no avoiding the fact that we were in a foreign country. Players and staff were curious and excited, so we decided instead of denying it we would let them explore London”.

• What are one or two lessons you learned from this Snapshot?

Several lessons can be gleaned from this Snapshot:

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