Projects Management Course.pdf

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CHAPTER 1: Projects: Type and Purpose

Projects – common or unusual? Projects – big or small? Projects – constructions or ideas? Projects – work or fun? Projects and daily activities Projects – a definition Projects – key dimensions Project’s lifecycle Project leadership

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1. PROJECT – TYPE AND PURPOSE Nowadays, change has become an ordinary and common feature of life. Many of these changes take the form of "projects" and are often driven and controlled by managers whose experience and dexterity were acquired in daily basis operations. As every project is unique, there are a few conditions that need to be accomplished in order to reach an accurate and properly finalized project, together with a series of abilities and competencies, which are mostly different than the ones required in routine management activities. PROJECTS – COMMON OR UNUSUAL? During the 90’s, projects have become more frequent in the daily routine, especially among organizations for two main reasons: 1. The increasing awareness of the fact that a project can be a powerful tool for management – one that can increase the manager’s ability to plan, conduct and effectively use the organization’s resources. 2. Within the operating environment of any company there has been an increase in competition and volatility; in order to survive and thrive in this hostile and demanding environment, the companies need to use and develop the ability to react promptly to their customer’s needs . PROJECTS – BIG OR SMALL? Despite a large usage of projects, it is obvious that some of them – known by all of us – are extremely expensive and they expect important results (a modern example of those massive projects is “The man on the moon”, which is an American project). Thus, not all projects are as massive, and they do not need billions, decades or high technology in order to finalize them. The corporation projects are often shorter and they aim less expensive activities, such as launching a new product or redecorating a store. PROJECTS – CONSTRUCTIONS OR IDEAS? These projects do not refer entirely on tangible or material results, there are also projects that require collecting data, changing the corporation structures or influencing others behaviour or opinions (e.g. promotional campaigns which are meant to convince us to buy a certain product, to control the quota of alcohol we are consuming or a certain diet that can prevent heart diseases). Very often the purpose of these projects is to change the way we are used to behave in certain situations. For example, the key process in increasing effectiveness is seen by many companies as a continuous process which requires many baby steps. Sometimes, there are situations when a huge step is necessary. These steps are often referred to as projects and they vary considerably when it comes to the size, cost or duration of a project.

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PROJECTS – WORK OR FUN? The projects do not aim only organisational structures and they can therefore reflect individual needs and desires. Projects can:     

have any size, from small to big take days or decades to be finalized have costs between tens and billions aim tangible or intangible results reach a different number of participants, from individual to nation level

Despite the obvious diversity regarding the results, size, cost or duration of projects, there are a series of common characteristics among all projects: 1. Any project involves people: human is the core of the projects- they require, regardless of duration or results, human skills in order to create, plan and manage the processes and activities involved, and allowing the flow and content of the projects to adapt and change depending on the real world requirements. 2. Each project is unique: each project has, at its core, individual features; In some cases, the influence of these features is considerable, enabling the project to become singular – e.g. Chinese wall construction was a completely unique project, which will not be repeated elsewhere, whereas a project meant to build standard housing in a specific area limits its uniqueness, as the features must be specific on that area. 3. Each project exists for a limited and defined period of time: meaning that the project has a limited period of time (it cannot be endless) and will reach a point in time when it is considered to be finalized. 4. Each project has to face change: while current operations are mainly defined by continuity, predictability and stability, alleged activities of a project have to deal almost exclusively with the change - the overthrow of what is old and its replacement with what is new. 5. Any project requires clearly defined outcomes or targets: each project has goals, targets, objectives and desired sets of results, which can be divided further into sub-objectives, in order to ease the planning, control and the management of the project. 6. Any project needs a variety of resources: for example, a project for local crime reduction requires information on the nature and location of past offenses, offenders and victims, as well as the ability to analyse this information. All of this information can be obtained from various sources and will be required at different times during the project.

PROJECTS AND DAILY ACTIVITIES Projects have clearly defined purposes and results, they need to face change, they are unique and require flexible resources while routine operations are characterized by stability, continuity and repetition. Due to these differences, the projects should be organized, planned and conducted in ways that differ from those commonly used in everyday work.

Class Task (Check list): Think about a task you recently realized. Write in a sentence what did you realize by finalizing that task. Please answer accordingly to the following set of questions, based on your task:

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      

Did your task have a defined start date? Did your task have a defined ending date? Did you have to collaborate with other members? Did your task involve changing something? Did the task have a clear and well defined result? Was it an unusual result? If yes, it was unusual because:  It has not been done before?  You have never done it before?  Was unique?  The task involved the participation of people with different specializations?

Results: Give every “yes” answer 1 point.  If you accumulate 7 or more positive answers, then you were facing a project.  If you accumulate 5 or less positive answers, then you were facing a routine task.  If you accumulate between 5-7, then your task was not clearly defined or you had to deal with a very unusual routine task. PROJECTS – A DEFINITION When it comes to the considerable variety of the existing projects and what was already said and written in this area, the fact that there is a large number of definitions for a project in the specialized literature does not come as a surprise at all, starting as “a plan” or “a scheme” and reaching definitions which focus on “risk, uncertainty, steps into the unknown”. Definition: A project is a series of connected activities undertaken for a limited time, aiming to generate a unique and well designed result. You can, therefore, use a project for:     

Reorganizing the company or one of its departments Increasing the company’s performances Introducing new procedures Removing old procedures Influencing how people think or feel about something

PROJECTS – KEY DIMENSIONS The project is only one of many other tools that managers can use and they must understand not only when to use it but, perhaps more importantly, how to use it. Many managers fall into the project thinking trap by only considering the results or the performance of the. When we define, lead, plan, monitor and control a project we need to take into consideration all the project’s interrelated key dimensions: result or performance’s nature, necessary time to reach the set performance, the total cost of the resources used for the project. The presence and influence of the quality revolution in the late 20st century imposed adding a 4th dimension, quality dimension or “reaching the initial proposal" in the outcome of the project.

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PROJECT’S LIFECYCLE

Conception

Initiation and Development

Maturity

Aging and Finalizing

1. Conception: along this phase, the project is identified, its feasibility is analysed and the initial cost estimations are being set. The end performance and the necessary time are also predefined in this phase. At the end of this phase, along which the project is compared with other projects or performance standards, a decision will be made whether to implement or not the project. The decision of implementing the project will lead to the next phase of development, while the opposite decision leads to the end of the project. 2. Initiation and Development: along this phase, the project is developed in details and the decisions, such as “whom”, “what” and “when” will have to realize the proposed tasks and activities will be made. The estimation of the cost and necessary time will be redefined as well. 3. Maturity: the most intense work is made within this phase and requires careful monitoring, control and forecasting procedures, which can inform the manager what was made and what was not, what was spent or not, what should or should not have been done. At the end of this phase, the project will reach its end and the result will be transferred to the persons that are next to use it. 4. Aging and Finalizing: this phase implies a low rate of activity, reviewing, the audit of the project and lastly, dissolving the project team. The demands, effort and resources needed in the phases of the project are also different from each other. For most of the projects, the maturity, which aims the completion of the tasks, implies the highest usage of resources.

PROJECT LEADERSHIP The management process is often seen as a jugglery, in which the manager is struggling to maintain a balance between the often contradictory needs of the company, customers, team members, etc. A good manager will “negotiate” daily the 4 dimensions (time, performance, quality and cost) in order to satisfy different needs. Among the ways a project’s management process is perceived, a conversion process arises, in which the desired process is obtained using a variety of inputs – information (about time, costs, performance, quality, client), people (their perception, abilities, needs, experiences), resources (materials, time, money). The project manager’s role is essential in this transformation process, as he has to maintain a balance between the client’s contradictory needs, the project itself and his own team. The project manager has to assure the integrity of the project by decreasing the risk of conflicts and rivalries that may lead to deforming the initial definition of the proposed result, cost and duration of the project as well as solving any possible problems that may arise. As a project team leader, he needs to lead and motivate the members of his team, which will participate in the project just until the final result and which are often “borrowed” from other functional departments of the company. In selecting the team, the project manager has to assure that all members have all necessary abilities, and at the end of the project they will transferred to other roles.

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CHAPTER 2: Choosing the project

Risk and uncertainty Risk – revolution or evolution? Risk reduction The chance and consequences Choosing the right project Objectives Choosing the project

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2. CHOOSING THE PROJECT

RISK AND UNCERTAINTY All projects involve change, and the change process has an ambivalent action: as an opportunity for success as well as a risk of failure. Successful projects are not only lead, planned and carefully monitored, but also chosen with cleverness and with a better understanding of the involved risks. Uncertainty can occur due to a lack of information regarding duration, appearance or the importance of the future events. Risk is the estimated rate /level of uncertainty. RISK – EVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION? Projects are deliberate and committed changes regarding the actions we take and how we take them. Consequently, risk levels will follow similar steps to those of change. One of the key actions in successful project management is to ensure that the changes that may occur are acceptable and tolerable. In order to achieve this key action it is necessary to rigorously evaluate them. This process can not eliminate risks, but it can minimize them. RISK REDUCTION Since we can not eradicate risk and uncertainty from projects, what we should do, if we want to achieve success, is to limit their impact on projects. To do this, we need to: 1. Identify the type, level and source of the glimsed risk; 2. Follow the necessary steps(if possible), to reduce or eliminate that risk; 3. Decide whether to accept that risk or not; This 3-phase sequence is part of an important process of evaluation and choice of project, often used to examine a number of alternative projects which also allows us to choose which one we want to implement. The first step in reducing the level of risk is to identify the nature and source of risk. One way to achieve this is to use a risk matrix.

RISK MATRIX The project result: Was made before The change role

Low Risk

Was made before

over the project:

Has never been made

Moderate Risk Risk Matrix

Has never been made

Moderate Risk

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THE CHANCE AND CONSEQUENCES If we identified the cause and the risk level associated to the project, we will have to determine also its consequences. Therefore, we will have to check:  

The chance/probability of the considered risk to occur The risk’s potential consequences

For example, a risk with a higher probabability to occur needs more attention, for the simple reason that it has higher chances to appear while a risk with a lower probability needs less information for analysis purposes. Thus, this can change radically when we consider the risk consequences. For example, a risk that might occur every 100 years, will be a risk that should not get too much attention. Although, if that risk does occur and it results with the death of 2 milion people, then that risk should get more consideration. This connection between the risk’s probability of occurance and its consequences, if they will take place, is very important. This will provide, although we might have to guess or estimate the consequences or the frequency, a base for trying to reduce the risk. For example, if the result of multiplying the risk’s probability of occurrence and its consequence is high then we need additional data in order to (de)limit the risk. If the result is small, then we have 2 options: 1. We will decide on a strategy based on the data we hold; 2. We ignore the risk until its probability of occurrence or its consequences would increase. RISK REDUCTION The next step in the process of choosing a project is trying to reduce the level of risk involved. One way which can diminuate the impact of risks in the project is the use of feasibility studies which usually involves the participation of interdisciplinary teams consisting of 2-3 people that are aimed to address questions such as "how much will the project actually last, "" if it is possible ", or" how much it will cost”. A good feasibility study will remove misconceptions or false ideas, identify "no exit" paths, clearly highlighting the risks and benefits along with recommendations for the next step. This step includes an additional assessment of the risks involved and can be done with prototypes and or tests. A prototype is usually a first attempt to produce the intended result, while trying prototype consists of exposure result of users 'friends'. These actions will give us more information on the risks that may cause the project and the opportunity to reduce these risks. Although both prototypes and tests entail costs, they may be less than those that would be caused by failure of the project - in the absence of prototypes and tests. HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PROJECT? The techniques used for choosing and evaluating a project can be numeric or non-numeric. Whatever the type or the source, the techniques must be :      

Easy to use Inexpensive comparted with the cost of the project Flexible and pro change Compatible with modus operandi Capable to generate easy to understand and accepted results Realistic, from data entry until data manipulation

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For companies or firms , the techniques will be based on following terms:   

Profitability Competitive positioning Productive resource usage

When it comes to non profit organizations, successful projects will be measured based on resources allocation – limited and expensive – funds and human resources; making sure that all resources are effectively and efficiently used. OBJECTIVES – DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION Whichever the project’s objectives might be, in order for them to be successfull, they mulst be compatible with the company’s goals, which are often included in the company’s strategy. These refer to the company’s future, and it’s objectives refer to:   

Organization itself – rather than its departments Long term – rather than short or medium term Major goal of company’s activities

If the projects do not prove to be compatible with these strategic organizational objectives , they will only lead to failure and rejection. A way to avoid these situations and support its compatibility is to create and use trees and hierarchies of their objectives. They consist in some structured diagram linking the objectives to be achieved (and can help identify conflicts between the company) and the project's objectives, or those that may occur between different projects. Another way to ensure this compatibility is to use the checklist for project’s objectives, which provides the project creator a way to check the project and its consistency with the goals that the firm has set. The contents list will reflect, of course, the nature and direction of the company's objectives. CHOOSING THE PROJECT Choosing a project to implement calls for a conscious, formal decision, as its consequences involve costs and risks. This decision is often made by a senior manager or a group of superior managers. In large firms, these groups are often called "committees for capital investment" due to their role in controlling and allocating capital - often limited – needed for projects. In small companies or departments of large companies, the choice can be made by individuals,(the owner or the company’s owner), CEO or department head. Almost always, those who take the decision find themselves ahead of capital requirements that are higher than what is available, and based on that they must choose which project to implement. This choice can be made in different ways, but whatever the choice, it should ensure the security that whicever project is chosen to be implemented, it has to:   

Contribute to the survival and well-being of the company Not involve major foreseeable risks Be consistent with the company's objectives

NON-NUMERICAL CHOICE

Circumstances may arise when projects are not accompanied with sufficient information for its base. This can happen, for example, when rapid response is required in certain circumstances or when the necessary information is not available or obtaining them would be too expensive. Operational crises - this type of situation often occurs when we become aware of iminent events such as storms, floods, earthquakes, and when, for example, we need to purchase

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windows cardboard to protect us from the blow or to build a dike to protect the company from the effects of flooding. The failure of such operations would result in loss of ability to produce or sell goods subject to our work. Legal requirements - legally established laws and regulations that tell us what we can and can not do in our company are often subject to change or re-interpretation and therefore will change the mode of operation within the company. Projects aimed at the welfare of employees - are generally concerned with the provision or improvement of facilities to employees: canteens, gyms, parks. These projects involve high levels of cost and therefore careful management because they rarely generate financial returns. Competitive advantage - in the highly competitive business environment and often these volatile times, the ability of a firm to maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals can make a major contribution in terms of profitability. In these circumstances, a company may apply to a project without following the standard evaluation procedures to save time, to be the first in a particular market or decrease the risk that the information possesed "leaks" to rivals. Ordering/positioning - is a technique often used to order a group of similar projects. It is based on evaluation of projects after a series of major parameters. The project with the best score is then chosen to be implemented. Selected parameters will reflect the nature of the project but will be applicable to all projects. NUMERICAL CHOICE

For many projects, the type and size of the implications and risks involved require much more attention to assessing what can be done through the use of methods based on numerical data. Payback period - for example, a project whose implementation cost is $ 10,000 may cause annual profits of $ 2,500. The payback period will then be 4 years (cost of implementation / annual profit). When comparing the projects, the one which is going to be chosen is the one with the lowest payback period. The disadvantages of this method are based on the assumptions that:  

No interest in cash flows occurring after the payback period - despite the fact that if the project involves equipment, it will have fractional values and may also entail, operating costs and increase maintenance up at the end of his life; The money value does not change over time.

Payback index - calculated by dividing the annual profit to the cost of project implementation. In the given example, the payback rate will be 25%. When using this method will choose the project with the highest rate of return on investment. Although the method is simple and easy to use, it has a number of limitations:   

Disregarding the change of the money value in time Calculates only an average index on return on investment for the period considered; Can ignore that the equipment will have split values, increased operating and maintenance costs by the end of its service life. This drawback can be overcome by using methods for estimating changes in the value of the equipment followed by recalculation of capital and income values for each year.

Net present value - is a method that takes into account that the value of money changes over time by reporting all project future earnings to present value (current). Used equation:

Vf Vp  (1  r ) n

Vp = present value Vf = future value n = years r = estimated interest rate or cost of capital.

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With an estimated interest rate of 10%, a project whose implementation cost is $ 400 and estimated profits are: Year Annual profit

1 120

2 150

3 140

4 160

Net present values shall be as follows: Year Annual profit

Total :

0 -400

447.57

1 120

2 150

3 140

4 160

(1+0.1)¹ 109.10

(1+0.1)² 123.97

(1+0.1)³ 105.20

(1+0.1)⁴ 109.30

Total present value = 447.57 Net present value = 447.57 – 400 = 47.57 This process converts all cash flows projected in their value at the time of the decision. If the sum is less than the cost of implementation, and the value of the company is increasing, then the project is successful and it brings more funds. The higher the difference, the profitable the project is. Profitability rate - the ratio between the sum of net present value and the needed capital for the project. For a project to be acceptable, this indicator should be above par and if this value is higher, the more chances for the project to be chosen. In the given example, 447.57 / 400 = 1,119.

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CHAPTER 3: Project organization/management

Disagreement and conflict Clubs, companies, conglomerates and countries Organizing projects-summary Projects and organizations Organizing projects-summary Choosing the right type of organization Execution of the project Projects and organizations

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3. PROJECT ORGANIZATION DISAGREEMENT AND CONFLICT Successful projects should contribute to the survival and well-being of the organizationcustomer, do not involve the foreseeable risk of excessive and have associated objectives compatible with the General objectives of the organization-customer. In addition, they must be organized, structured and managed so as to meet the needs of the client organization, often conflicting, the project itself and the team has been called upon to implement. To meet these needs, the customer would be able to desire:  a strong involvement and influence all decisions relating to the project;  freedom to change or modify the project objectives as and when required to do so;  a team made up of his obedient people. In contrast to this, the project team might want to:-the presence of a project manager with a clear and unconditional authority in respect to all matters relating to the project;  members who are directly responsible only in front of the project manager;  the freedom to make decisions without being constrained by interference from outside;  a clear, separate identity from that of the client company This conflict already obvious between the 2 types of needs intensifies further when we look at the requirements of the project in terms of its objectives, which must be clear, unambiguous, specific and fixed. These objectives must also be expressed in terms of dispute relating to the time, money, performance and quality. Another imperative need is the existence of sufficient resources in terms of money, equipment and qualified personnel to ensure that all the objectives set.

CLUBS, COMPANIES, CONGLOMERATES AND COUNTRIES The organization is often defined as "a systematic arrangement of parts and components with a specific purpose, but it can be regarded as a voluntary association of individuals acting in the direction of the chosen objectives. The word "organization" is often used to describe many of the clubs, groups, institutions or societies in which we work or have fun and these can vary significantly in size and complexity. They can be, for example, hierarchical, with formal roles and clearly defined levels of power, or almost organic in shape, very limited in terms of formal structures and hierarchies. These organizations provide us with goods and services, we educate children, influencing policy decisions and we offer money in Exchange for services or skills that we have. It also provides resources for most of the projects and can often be, in one form or another, for which they are created and run the projects Despite this diversity, variety and all organizations have two basic features:  

consisting of associations of individuals who share a common goal; They have or use both systems of formal and informal style.

These organizational systems are concerned with:  "policy" of power and influence;  decisions on the allocation and use of resources, financial and information materials;  powers and responsibilities relating to occupations, roles, posts

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 These common characteristics do all organizations have:  Leaders-with varying levels of formal and informal power;  Structures-which may be flexible or rigid and pertain to the roles, responsibilities and occupations;  Procedures- concerned with the ways in which the objectives of the Organization are achieved. However, even if there are leaders, structures and procedures, we need the vital ingredient that represents the people. The people are the ones that give the Organization life and without them the leader can't lead and the structures and procedures will remain ineffective PROJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS At a first glance, the comparison of projects and organizations leads us to the conclusion that they have a lot in common: both are pursuing objectives, targets and goals-as results and both men are vital element; both have leaders, structures, systems and procedures. However, at a closer look, we observe that differences appear (and they are major) respecting the manner in which the projects and organizations that are organized and operated. The first difference relates to the temporal horizon of activity: organizations are concerned about a particular long existence and long-term objectives. Their main objective is the continuation of existence, survival, and to achieve it, they are often ready to sacrifice the original purposes or to radically alter the shape or structure. Survival is not an objective related to time but one continuous, permanently. None the less, however, organizations shall conduct, coordinate and monitor activities and details of short-or medium-term. Instead, the projects are by their very nature ephemeral. They exist only for a short period of time in comparison with the organizations and their goals are in direct connection with the time factor. Once met these objectives, projects voluntarily ceases its activity. While projects pursue "unique" results, to organizations are specific the replication, repetition, or "hybridization" of the objectives. Organizations

Projects

Time horizon

Long- term, continuity

Short-term/ Medium, Defined and limited

Objectives

Time survival

Fulfillment and completion

Results

Replicates/ Duplicates

Unique

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Projects are often used to create the change that is necessary to enable activities to be conducted in a manner more effective and more efficient. They can be used to redirect or even restructure the Organization in order to achieve the objective of survival. ORGANIZING PROJECTS-SUMMARY We should remind us that if we want these projects to be conducted successfully, they need to be organized, structured and managed so as to meet the needs of the client organization, the project itself and the project team. But, as I noted before, these needs are often contradictory. Any organisation involved in a project must be not only strong enough to cope with these conflicts, but also responsible enough to be able to achieve practical and pragmatic compromises between these conflicting needs to ensure the success of the project. The nature of the organization involved in the implementation of the project is also influenced by a number of other factors, ranging from previous experience in realization of projects and their management to project himself. Key traits relate to: duration- in days, decades, years, semesters etc.; size of the cost-tens, hundreds, thousands, millions; complexity-10-10000 interconnected activities; importance to the customer-"vital for survival" or "simply another project"; innovative nature-"rocket to Mars" or "another store." ORGANIZING PROJECTS-SUMMARY Project’s Organization is one that should be strongly influenced by the needs of the customer. Therefore, execution of the project is likely to involve:  a structure which reflects the needs of the client;  a project leader completely involved;  team members employed on a temporary basis. The project will integrate into the existing management system and in the control one. In comparison, a project that is very costly means a longer period for implementation involving technology or new systems, as well as the introduction of a system of complex information management, powerful, integrated in the entire hospital, is likely to have different needs. This is reflected in an organization that involves :  a separate project team/different;  a management and control system of its own;  a structure closely related to the needs of the project rather than a "mirror" of the structure of the client organization. Such an organization will allow the project to be conducted efficiently and effectively. So far as achieving these desiderata will be that for any given project, fulfilling project in temporal limits, costs, performance and quality of the set. A project of this size and complexity will require:  -high levels of training in the planning and management of large projects;  a strong project management and independent. All these will need to be supported by:  -the knowledge and experience of the management information system;

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 -experience setting up and introduction of information systems management.

DETAILS RELATING TO THE ORGANIZATION OF PROJECTS There are 3 types of organization of projects: customer-focused organization, organization and organizational matrix oriented project. To make sure that we have chosen the Organization "fit" for a particular project, we must look at the motivations of "pro" and "contra" of each type of organization. CUSTOMER-FOCUSED ORGANISATION

This type of organisation in the project integrates the existing organizational structure of the client organization. This usually means that the project is run by the people who work for the Organization and may also mean that it is carried out only on part time basis. Other advantages include:  compatibility with the systems and procedures of the Organization;  compatibility with the objectives of the Organization However, this type of project and organizational disadvantages, such as:     

the daily needs of the organization often dominate the decisions of resource allocation; the project has a reduced ability to induce change, especially with respect to attitudes, norms and standards; Project-client contact is often indirect; the project team loyalty is directed more towards his "domicile" and less to the project; Project Manager's authority is limited.

Placing the project inside the client organization will depend on the nature of the project results. For example, a project with strong orientation towards production will be placed under the supervision of the Division of production and a project whose aim is to change the standards and procedures of quality will find "hosting" section on the quality of the organization. PROJECT-ORIENTED ORGANIZATION

The project team exists as an autonomous unit with its own resources and personnel. This team is separate from the rest of the Organization and communicate with it via the reports at regular intervals or before/after the crucial activities of the project. Advantages:    

has a strong team identity and its members are committed to the project; the team is led by a project manager who has full control over the project; communication is direct; making decisions and solving problems can be fast and timely manner.

Disadvantages:  incompatibilities between procedures, systems and project objectives and those of the Organization;

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 the loss of experience and skills of team members at the time of termination/completion of the project;  "duplication" in the case of personnel carrying out several projects concurrently.

MATRIX ORGANIZATION

Is often seen as a compromise-a middle position between the two extremes-above-projectoriented organization and customer-focused organization. Advantages:  possibility to attract the client organization's resources when and as needed;  compatibility between procedures, systems and project objectives and those of the Organization; Disadvantages:  team members have 2 heads-one functional and one of the project;  the balance of power between the client organization and the project manager is often delicate balance;  the project manager shall take administrative decisions with respect to functional managers and project organisation take technical decisions about the project. This form of project management has been regarded lately as an efficient and effective organizational project management. However, its popularity is affected by its high potential to degenerate into disorganized mayhem and the fact that team members thus formed are difficult to work at the same time for two heads. CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPE OF ORGANIZATION The choice of "suitable" organization for a project can have a considerable influence on the way in which the project is conducted and even in terms of its acceptability on the part of the client organization. There is no "golden rules"-that is, like many other managerial decisions, a problem related to personal experience and the exercise of their own judgment. The judgment refers to the type of Organization compatible with the customer's organization and experience relate to the types of project which may or may not have been successful in the past. Courts should also take into account what it already knows about project-related risks, costs and duration, along with any special knowledge or technology required or implied. EXECUTION OF THE PROJECT Once you chose the type of project you're considered suitable, the next step is to start the process of organizing the project. This is a demanding and complex task that is based on the corresponding specialization on many a manager and developed them in everyday activities. PROJECT SPECIFICATION

The prime objective of providing a description of the project and to define its objectives. It can consist, for a relatively expensive and with a short duration, in a single piece of paper, or

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for a complex project, and with the high cost, in a whole file. Regardless of the size and structure of these specifications, its roots go back in time to the time that the project was only a glimmer in the eyes of the customer "and it has been modified and amended accordingly to the development project. Once the project and its implementation have been approved, the specification should make as little as the object changes. They must become the definitive source of information on the objectives, organisation, project budget. ROLES AND RESPONSABILITIES

Clear definition of the roles/responsibilities and positions are key to the success of projects. They must be established for all team members and must include:      

the objectives of each role; how to measure the success of each role; involving every role; who shall report each role; that authority rests with each role; what responsibilities does every role in communicating with the client through reports or meetings

Budgets and accounts projects – they have different functions and purposes, can make a significant contribution to the success of the project. At this stage it is important to define the schema of the project budget and the procedures for approval and payment. Change control-a change is a departure from anything previously established, and for a project it may mean removal of the plans, specifications, pre-established contracts. All these will have implications on the duration, costs, results and quality of the project. In spite of all efforts to prevent changes, they all show up, as they may be needed (mistakes, changes in legislation) or improvements (new technologies, superior design).

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CHAPTER 4 :

Planning-something to concern ourselves with? Planning and designing Bars graphics Networks Project planning on the computer Projects and organizations

Project planning

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4. PROJECT PLANNING PLANNING-SOMETHING TO CONCERN OURSELVES WITH? In the last decade of the twentieth century the term "planning" has begun to acquire a notion of increasingly inappropriate. It does planning an unfashionable concept, or is it a flexible leadership means that today's managers would have to re-learn to use? Successful projects require schedule-they aren't born simply-and these plans must be able to withstand the economic environment is in constant evolution. The concept of planning process defines which take a birth plan. According to the plan is a continuation of the chart, a table or a program that shows the relationships between a group of objects, places, times, etc., related to the actions you want them to run. The plans relate to our actions, so that they may contribute to the success of these actions, then they will have to indicate:  time to be carried out on those actions;  what must be done then;  What equipment we will be needed in those situations. PLANNING AND DESIGNING A project plan is a tool that convert the objectives of a project from the stage of intentions into something tangible, real. If we fail to create such a plan, then either we risk we cannot achieve the desired result or we risk to achieve this result but with a high cost-sensitive, or over a period of time much larger, or even having a dubious quality. The following example may be enlightening in this respect:

Class Task (Example): The project goal: redecorating a bedroom Action to be taken: 1. the removal of furniture, curtains and light 2. protect the floor 3. peel off the old wallpaper and removing glue from the walls 4. correcting the flaws of the walls by filling 5. cleaning paint from old remedial 6. .remedial filling grout (if necessary) 7. removing dirt and dust 8. cleaning the ceiling and his portrayal of 9. application of layers of paint on the woodwork, 10. wallpapering 11. cleaning the dirt left over from previous operations and removal of material for floor protection 12. the rearranging of furniture/replacing curtains and chandeliers Deadline: 10 December Time: 4 days in 2 week breaks Who deals: Elvira and Daniel Palmer

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Tools, equipment and materials needed: brushes, skim or gypsum, step stools, wooden or metal, plastic foils, wood paint, wallpaper, vacuum cleaner, detergent, paint rollers, wallpaper glue, scissors, tape measure, washable paint for the ceiling. Also, it's very important to know what the estimated cost of the project is and in what way is the quality of the result obtained, since both can affect the way we run the necessary actions, or even actions in their entirety. For example, in the project of redecoration of a bedroom, a tight budget can influence the quality of the wallpaper and paint used, as well as materials and tools to work with. All these decisions related to budget can have influences on other dimensions of the project:  the quality of the outcome-the inviolability of the wallpaper and the paints;  lifetime achievement-less time needed for carrying out the project;  how the outcome may or may not keep him beneficiary. You also need to know if any of these actions can be started before any other actions to be completed. In design terms this is called interdependency, and in the case of the example above, a possible order of actions might be the one below: Can be done only after action no. :

Action 1. removal of furniture, curtains and chandeliers

-

2. protect the floor

1

3. peel off the old wallpaper and removing glue from the walls 4. correcting the flaws of the walls by filling

2 3

5. cleaning paint from old remedial

2

6. remedial filling grout (if necessary)

5

7. removing dirt and dust

4 and 6

8. cleaning the ceiling and his portrayal of

2

9. application of layers of paint on the woodwork 10. wallpapering

5 and 7 4,8 and 9

11. cleaning the dirt left over from previous operations and removal of material for floor protection 12. the rearranging of furniture/replacing curtains and chandeliers

10 11

When we look at this list of activities and interdependencies between them start to get an idea of how the project will be carried out. Everything at this point may occur, however, and questions like: "I could clean up the walls of the old wallpaper and woods of old paint at the same time?" or "I can clean there and wash the ceiling at the same time?" Before we can answer these questions we need to know the duration of each task in the list. The process of estimating the duration of each activity can be considered a mix between science, experience and intuition. It is one of the key points that lead to credibility and the ability to meet

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the requirements of each project. Estimates can be made using information such as those on packaging materials we use ("for drying each layer of paint are needed about. 5 hours "), those obtained from friends or other people who have made such operations or information previously withheld from previous experiences of this kind (" when I did this the last time? "). Whatever the accuracy of our initial estimates, a well-designed project must meet the following standards: • to have content-the plan must contain enough detail to make it available, but not too many, so as not to complicate it unnecessarily. Content must be clear and unambiguous;  easy to understand-it is very important that all those who use the plan to understand how easier;  to be easily changed a plan effectively must be modified, updated and revised with ease;  to be useful-in what form is the plan must be drawn up in such a way that it can be used to monitor the progress that you record the project. A good plan will be necessary skills, people skills and creativity to turn it into reality. BAR GRAPHICS One of the oldest and simplest forms of representation of the project plans is bar graph known as a Gantt chart. This was achieved in the second decade of the 20th century by an American engineer named Henry I. Grant chart.

Hour

Time Activity

1

2

3

4

5

6

4

5

6

A B C

Gantt chart is made up of:  a temporal scale, placed horizontally;  a list of activities, placed vertically;  a horizontal bar for each task, a length proportional to the length of time required to carry out the task.

Hour

Time Activity

1

2

3

A B

The example is presented in a Gantt C chart. The four successive activities are and have duration of 90, 90, 60 and 90 minutes (first figure). The chart provides information not only about the project plan, but also has the role of monitoring the implementation of the project. If everything was held as Hour Time planned, after the passage of three hours the graph will look like in the second Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 figure. A In those projects in which certain activities are conducted in parallel, this B can very easily be symbolized using Gantt chart (the third figure). C Another important feature for project D management is the critical path of the project. This is a sequence of activities E that lead to achieving as soon as possible in the project. This way we show what the critical activities are on which we should focus attention to ensure timely completion of the project.

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This method has certain limitations: for example, updating or revising a Gantt chart may be manually built an operation far too time consuming and editor, observing the deficiency especially when updating must be completed in a day relatively low. Other deficiencies are caused by the fact that this graph cannot highlight the interrelationship between activities. For this reason it is not recommended the use of Gantt charts for complex projects or those projects that involved frequent changes. NETWORKS One of the methods by which we can eliminate the shortcomings of Gantt chart scheduling system is to use the network type. This system became popular in the 1950s and was very quickly implemented in carrying out large-scale projects. Two primary types of plans are structured networks network type to describe sequences of activities of the project and the connections between these activities. They also arrange these tasks: • in order from left to right;  use the arrows to build your network;  locate the squares or circles in nodal network of arrows;  Stores information in these nodes. a) networks in which the activities are represented by arrows and circles through the nodes which symbolizes a start and/or end of activity (AOA network) b) networks in which activities are represented by boxes located at nodes and liaison activities by arrows (AON networks) Activities Activity

Painting the ceiling

Beginning of activity

Washing the ceiling

Painting the ceiling Nodes

End of activity

AOA network

AON network

Resources of any of the types of project plans presented so far does not take into account the physical resources needed for the activities concerned. All models shown from the presumption that the necessary resources are available in the required quantity and at the appropriate time. In reality, however, resources are often used for other purposes, in the same project or in others, or are available in insufficient quantities to ensure the good condition of the planned activity. In general, resource issues arise either because of a lack of time or because of a lack of resources. This kind of problems can be overcome by the two methods described below. Slowing of activity-as we have seen in the representation of networks by arrows, we can correct the way we handle an activity through:  start a delay activity and the use of resources originally allocated to this activity for other purposes;

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 their assignment at the time of planned and extending the activity by using a smaller quantity of resources or other resources than planned. These are two typical examples of what is called "use of resources at the appropriate time". The gain is that these adjustments allow the use of project resources in full accordance with the smallest or largest of work carried out. The process is simple enough to be done by hand for small projects, which have a limited number of resources. but it is becoming more and more complicated in the case of more complex projects. Previous experience-when we are dealing with issues related to the allocation of resources in a project, the time you have to make a logical analysis is often insufficient. This is all the more evident when the discussion is a complex project because it would take too much time to study carefully each option and the most appropriate decision should be taken in a short time. Because of this, the experience gained previously could be very useful in circumstances where we will face such a situation. PROJECT PLANNING ON THE COMPUTER Without a doubt, the advent of personal computers, improved permanently, has radically changed the way in which your projects can be made. In recent decades, the types of computers used in project planning has changed, starting with those huge cars surrounded by experts and technicians, some which may be ordered by a single user. This is the cause for the projects drawn up manually before-for reasons of cost-are currently drawn up by computer, using software/strong and sophisticated programs. All these have resulted in a higher quality of plans and the performance of projects.

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CHAPTER 5: Leadership projects

Projects and project managers Project managers, teams and experts A quiet life or a happy one? The ability to conduct Communication Organising activities Motivation Decision-making

Projects and organizations

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5. LEADERSHIP PROJECTS PROJECTS AND PROJECT MANAGERS The project manager's role is not primarily a little easier. This role is one applicant and that exerts a significant influence on the success of the project. A good project manager may be able to turn a loser into a thriving, but is equally valid and that a manager can compromise a slouch who have created all conditions for success. The most important reason to be the role of the project manager is the efficiency and effectiveness of the project's objectives, but also the way in which individuals appointed to this role must demonstrate that they have the potential or ability to achieve these objectives. PROJECT MANAGERS, TEAMS AND EXPERTS Project managers often lead teams of specialized personnel. For example, the team must implement the project a new corporate headquarters will have to include, among others, architects, civil engineers, specialists in systems of heating and ventilation, etc. Not just in the team example above, but all the other teams in the running projects, the project manager must be able to:  gain confidence in the specialists ' team;  to understand what they want (so to have minimum knowledge related thereto);  to communicate with them;  to transform the Group of specialists in a team. Project managers inexperienced often consider that it is necessary that they possess specialist knowledge at least as good as those of the specialists from the team. This is a wrong idea, since they only need to know to some extent the field (if it is other than that of their specialization), to be able to ask questions and to be able to understand the answers they receive. A QUIET LIFE OR A HAPPY ONE? The role of a project manager is not the one for amateurs or for those who long for a quiet life, but it requires skill, training and experience to be able to be carried. When you compare the role of a project manager with that of a manager daily, noted that the project manager must:  be able to consolidate and integrate rather than to divide;  be able to guide rather than supervise;  Demonstrate qualities of a generalist open to any possibility to solve a problem rather than a very good specialist who has a vision "tunnel" (narrow, closely related to its domain). These differences are significant, an effective project manager may be recognized after the way he leads the team. Examples related to the behavior of an effective project manager may include: a) in terms of financial and economical commercial advantage, exploitation: the exploitation of opportunities for recovery of investments, seeking ways to fully satisfy customers, taking calculated risks only, etc.; b) in terms of planning and carrying out projects: identification of all tasks, efficient use of resources, the establishment of targets and deadlines, anticipating and resolving problems rapidly, etc.; c) in terms of relationships with team members and clients: effective implementation of communication with team members, establish close relations with them and with customers, understanding and accepting others ' opinions, dialogue partners gaining the involvement of all team members in solving problems etc. If the project manager wishes to successfully draft November-he leads, he must:

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    

be responsible for oversight of the project and progress; have clear objectives and targets both for him and for others; lead project team with skill; communicate clearly, effectively and accurately with everyone involved in the project; organize the resources, personnel and the necessary information so that they may be made available where they are needed and when they are needed;  motivate actions and ideas, project team  Quick and efficient decisions. THE ABILITY TO CONDUCT All project managers are leaders. They lead teams of people who can reside in one or other of the following circumstances:  capacity of team members or join it only for a few hours per day;  are involved in the project for a period of time, which is really in need of their knowledge in the framework of the project;  have been "borrowed" from other departments or from other teams;  are the only team members to that project;  Have accumulated a life work in the client organization. Authors who have dealt in their ability to work leads have identified numerous ways to influence others and even more ways to describe them. Many of these, such as the autocratic or democratic styles of leadership, are generalized types, while others-the pragmatic or integrative style-are much more closely related to everyday behaviour. It is not surprising to find that, despite the large number of studies, the authors have failed to uncover that unique style that always produce the best results. However, these studies indicates that other factors (the nature of the tasks, the way in which those who are led to be led) affects as much as driving style. Our experience confirms this, if we think of how different it would be our reaction to requests of a leader if they would be drafted on the battlefield or in the conditions of work of the Office daily. In the end, how should a project lead is a matter of judgment, which we must take into account a number of factors, including:  the nature of the project;  the composition and experience of the project team;  previous experience of the project manager;  Constraints of time or funds. We conclude that the ability to effectively lead a project relates to obtaining the required results at the appropriate time. COMMUNICATION Project managers are forced to communicate with each other all the time during the project. This means that they must explain, to inform and to convince others. The process of communication is often regarded as a trial conducted in one sense it's a wrong idea for or all communication processes are processes that are carried out in two ways. For example, when the Project Manager gives explanations and indications of his team, even if its members do not talk, there is communication, because these project manager gives a feedback. This type of non-verbal feedback, known as the language of the body, can be received by watching the faces of team members, positions in which they are staying or how they track manager, which can uncover:  if the message was received;

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 if the message was understood;  What I feel and what your team members are thinking about those told by manager or even about it. The two elements of the communication process-message and your feedback-are essential. Without the existence of any feedback we can't speak of communication. Project Manager communicates with the team members whenever they speak, they convey something in writing or even when you look at them. In order for the Manager to communicate effectively with his team members, you need to keep in mind that they might:  not use the same:-jargon or language;  be distant towards him;  may not be able to receive his message.\ The habit of communicating is one of great importance for all project managers. They need to communicate effectively with their team members-to be able to write, to wear a discussion, listen to and read body language. ORGANISING ACTIVITIES Organize project managers who turn out to be good organizers lead projects that have welldefined objectives, detailed work plans and a set of clear priorities and well understood by everyone involved. These projects will have systems and procedures which allow the team and employees to organize and to control effectively the activities. The procedures are often contained in a draft manual and to look at:  the type of contractual arrangements;  the selection and evaluation of staff;  planning methods to be used;  the assessment procedures and accounting used. The project manager's ability to organize the team and often emerges of how team members held meetings. In a successful project, they will be focused on monitoring the progress, agreement on future operations and the establishment of tasks and responsibilities. In any case these sessions there will be opportunity to apologize for failure or political tasks. They must be driven from the project manager, to comply with previously established agenda, to have a precise purpose, are limited to a duration of less than 90 minutes, issues important to be mentioned in a report of the meeting, etc. MOTIVATION It’s not easy answer to the question "what makes people work well?". Older approaches argued that the more you pay the better someone with so it will work longer, being concerned about the effects of factors such as the level of salaries, provision of health facilities or employees of the company. However, none of these items, whether or not carried out a strong link between pay and performance, we can provide the answer to the above question.

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The need for self-fulfilment: creation and complacency Need to be respected and admired: reputation, prestige, recognition The need for affection and attachment: love, affection, work in a group that is compatible with your own person Needs related to security and protection, safety, slips to be shielded from the risks and threats Physical needs: food, water and warmth

Even though it's obvious that the money earned for work performed are no doubt important people work to satisfy other needs than economic ones. From this point of view, Maslow's approach seems to be one more easy to understand. He started from the assumption that all seek to be happy, fulfilled, and that the work is one of the ways we can get it. Maslow divided people's needs in five categories arranged pyramid, pointing out that the influence that these needs are high enough when these needs are unmet. Project managers must be able to motivate all persons involved in the project, but primarily on its team members. One way to do this is widening or enrichment of their roles. Widening roles relate to the expansion of tasks-for example, an electronics engineer is asked to take over the tasks of maintenance and supervision of the computer network of the project. Enriching involves adding roles to other role assignments, much more interesting and exciting. DECISION-MAKING All managers take decisions concerning resources ("how to allot for this?"), the policies ("when we launch a new product?"), the people, the changes or negotiations etc. Decisions may relate to aspects of the most minor (if it will serve tea or coffee) to some of the real significance (whether or not it will build a new production unit).    

A project-related decisions can be taken: the project manager alone; project Manager, after consultation with others; the project manager, together with the customer; what are the project team, led by the project manager.

In any measure or modality is involved, the information seems to be one of the basic elements in decision-making. In an ideal world, when we take a decision we should have available all the necessary information. The decision-making process has the following steps: 1. Identifying problems ("what shall we have for dinner tonight?"); 2. Objectives ("a cold, quick snack or a 3-course dinner consisting of");

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3. Information collection and analysis of their ("Let's see what we have in the fridge"); 4. Identify the alternatives ("low beans with meat" or "white sauce with mushrooms"); 5. The choice of the alternative which will be implemented; 6. Implementation (meal preparation). In reality, however, the project manager is often forced to make decisions without having enough information, or when they are doubtful in terms of quality or accuracy. Constraints of time or cost can make obtaining more detailed information take too long or cost too much compared to the benefits received as a result of the decision. In these circumstances, a project manager may be required to take a decision "good enough" rather than "best" decision.

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CHAPTER 6: Project teams

Teams What is a team? What is the role of a team? Small teams or large teams? Project teams Projects and organizations

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6. PROJECT TEAMS TEAMS

The manager of a good project is a person that holds the integrative qualities, able to lead, motivate you to communicate with people, is a good organizer and at the same time the average person to make decisions. Finding a person who possesses all of these qualities is not an easy task. Once found, however, that person must be interested to work for the project in question. If this happens and this can always intervene other setbacks: the person concerned can get sick or even may go to work for someone else. These difficulties and risks shows us why it is so popular teams in an organization. A welded, efficient team, not based on skill, ability, or the presence of a single member, it acts on the basis of all its members and synergistic effect it creates that they are together. The teams are able to mature, to adapt to the new needs, and to recover when you lose one member. WHAT IS A TEAM? In terms of businesses, the word "team" means a group of people who work in the same Department/compartment in which, typically, are involved in the same process productively. In general, the teams are characterized by the fact that:  are structured, each Member having a certain functional role;  make activities in a constructive way or productive in team spirit. Not always, though, the results are positive. Often may occur and other results, less fortunate, because teams can, for example, to inhibit, suppress or oppose the initiative and creativity of individuals, whether they are in the team or outside them. As a rule, the teams are flexible and productive mechanisms, consisting of people who belong to such organizations and whose purpose is their welfare. The results of this are not only desired productivity, but also welcome for an organization, which are essential for the success and effectiveness of the project's operations team to run. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A TEAM? According to the activities they carry out, teams can be grouped into three broad categories: 1. Information teams: collect and process information, to be able to make recommendations in various fields. Examples: research teams (which carries out surveys) or teams of consultants; 2. Production teams: creating products or services. Examples: a team of builders, a team of social workers, etc.; 3. Leadership teams organized and lead the people and resources. Examples: executive committees, the General Assemblies of Associates (AGA), project teams. In spite of this diversity of purposes and activities, all teams have a number of common characteristics, namely those that their members are pursuing the same goal, all the same objective and cooperate in order to achieve it. One of the most important qualities of a team is the ability to mobilize efforts, skills and creativity of all its members in order to achieve the common goal. Because of that, the teams

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have a considerable potential to contribute to the success of our projects running. For this, however, they must have the ideal size and be composed of the persons best suited to what needs to be done.

SMALL TEAMS OR LARGE TEAMS? When we try to find out what is the right size for a particular team project, we must take into account:  project applications;  high level of skill, knowledge and experience that can be found in a great team;  high level of involvement of the members met in a small team. Over time, many teams have been studied and came to the conclusion that it can benefit from the limitation of the number of people from a team. Moreover, in the participation and involvement of members are very important (such as teams carrying out the managerial studies), team size should be limited to 5-7 members. Finding the right size of teams is not the only factor contributing to the success of a project. It may be very important and the composition of the team. THE COMPOSITION OF THE TEAM The teams can sometimes be very pleasant work environments, but sometimes can make it or limit the ability of their members, for reasons difficult to understand. To ensure the success of the project, we must take into consideration some of these reasons. A. The maturity of the team The teams are dynamic organisms Teams; they are changing, develops along their existence. In the first part of the life of a team, its members will be more foreigners each others, their actions rather than the individual being coordinated and based on experience acquired before entry into the team. As time, differences between team members will become more apparent, resulting in an increase in number of conflicting situations. Once overcome this phase, team members will begin to integrate more and more, will cooperate to achieve common goals, with results in cohesion increasingly more of the team members. It also outlines more clearly the role and place of each team, although, at the end of the project team to achieve a maximum degree of integration. During these stages, the team will be able to be found working in different atmospheres and therefore its productivity will be different. B. Team behavior How people behave in the teams is essentially similar to the one in which they behave outside teams. They are motivated by a host of needs, their action is often complex. When we work in a team, our behavior is influenced by the behavior of the team tasks to other team members. Expectations in terms of behavior, that each person in the team from the other members, are often called "behavioral standards" of the team. Those expectations are that each team member to manifest so as to be expectations that his colleagues have at it, otherwise it will be excluded from the team. C.Team members

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In the case of many team members, team members are elected on a platform of their capabilities, particularly in light of the duties they perform outside the team. Other teams, however, may be co-opted to certain members because they are easily persuaded, they do what they are told, not oppose the general trend and think in the same way that you select. In none of the above cases the resulting team will not be productive and effective. Results teams will not have a balanced set of goals, and their members will live under the impression that their skills are not used to the maximum. If we want to form a successful team, we need to ensure that all its members have other qualities than those required for their job and that they will be able to make decisions, to solve problems and to cooperate with his teammates. A successful team is made up of a number of people who own a palette of features necessary for carrying out the tasks of individual members of a team. Such a team will not depend on a particular person never within them, will have the ability to adapt permanently and will be able to obtain results. When we choose the members of a team, we will be able to get information about them from many sources:  from the behaviour that they had other teams;  in their reaction to the training programmes attended by;  from what I think current or former superiors about them;  the assessment questionnaires of the team roles, etc. The task of selecting the members of a team is the key to success for that team. If you elect not to meet the conditions, capabilities and experience, the team will not be able to achieve a successful project. If, instead, you make the right choice, the results of the team will be much higher than the amount you might get its members individually. PROJECT TEAMS Team Role in the management of a project is vital. At a first glance, the composition of the project team will be defined by the needs and nature of the project. For example, a project whose outcome is the development of a training program for mid-level managers, will require a team consisting of people who have knowledge and skills related to:  the subject in question, in the case of our project management;  the needs of the subject, in our case the needs of aspirants to the position of mid-level manager;  how the program should be made to meet the customer's needs;  how to promote the program, so making a list of potential applicants and program advertising;  how to administrate, so enrollment applicants, tax collection, preparation of materials for printing and copying additional material;  how has offered this program, so the ability of teaching and its credibility in front of the customers. Also, the project team needed to integrate people who have skills related to decision-making and conflict resolution, as well as interpersonal skills and who are willing to use them as part of a team.

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CHAPTER 7:

Cost estimation Budgets and budgeting processes Projects and organizations

Cost estimation budgeting

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and

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7. ESTIMATION OF COSTS AND PROJECT BUDGETING COST ESTIMATION The successful Projects are based on estimates which take into account:  the objectives and the expected results of the project;  the activities to be undertaken;  costs of similar activities carried out previously Information held in connection with project activities vary considerably throughout its lifecycle: in the phase of conception information available is very few, their volume will increase only after they submit to mature, the adult phase of the project. As a result, the accuracy of the estimates differ from one phase to the other (according to estimates by specialists CA. 30% of initial phase assessments are wrong). The result of an approximate initial estimates is materialized in one of the following: (1) abandoning the project or (2) continue the preparations for starting it. The last of these, the decision to continue the project, will lead to the implementation of the following activities, which will require more information than those held by then. This increase in the quantity of necessary information will allow us to achieve an accuracy estimates higher, generally referred to as preliminary estimates or feasibility studies. These are the ones that help us in making the decision to start the project, their accuracy depending on the amount of information that I had on hand. In the case of projects involving high costs or risks, preparatory work will be carried out within a margin of accuracy of the estimates of 15-20%. In terms of smaller-sized projects, estimates will be based on comparisons with other similar projects, or on a smaller amount of data. This means that the margin of accuracy of the estimates in this case can reach up to 25%. Once decided, we will carry out commissioning to defining goals and shape has to take the results of the project, details of which appear in the specification. When we use all the information available to us, the result will consist in what we call the definitive estimates or projections of the project. Their margin for error is very small, 5-10%, which are used for this reason for the project's budget. Information on the results of the project are more consistent and more detailed as the project progresses from concept phase to the maximum extent touches. Project specification is version that contains information about the project the most realistic; It offers a line of clear project, based on which it can build the project budget and time planning can be made of the various activities. The process of creating information-related costs may be based on a variety of sources, including: the experience acquired in previous projects; suppliers ' catalogues; quotations received from vendors and contractors; standard costs within their own company; commercial cost indices and the Government; outlet stores; professional publications; bibliographic references or materials; industry standards; their own experience or colleagues. All estimates, regardless of the quality of the sources from which we collect information, have a number of basic components: A. Salary Costs: can be charged as direct costs and indirect costs. Direct labor costs are those that can be assigned to a particular project activity, while indirect costs are related to all project activities cannot be assigned one. The administrative costs of the project are treated as costs arising from the project manager salaries, the Secretaries and officials engaged in the project.

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B. Material Costs: are, in one way or another, direct costs. Required materials differ from one project to another type, depending on the results you have obtained; for example, in the case of construction activities: bricks, cement, sand, wood, glass, PVC tubes etc.; in the case of training activities: paper, projectors, transparencies etc.; in the case of various installations: electrical cord, wires, connectors, doses etc. C. Equipment costs: development of projects may require certain equipment that can be rented, leased or purchased, each of the three variants involving a different level of equipment costs. D. Security costs and other costs: estimates will be required to cover the insurance costs of the staff involved and of the equipment used-against disaster or against the claims of other persons in connection with the project. Under the category "other costs" could be included in expenditure on consultancy services, for periodic inspections or the realization of design plans (where applicable). E. Provisions for inflation: the value of money as it changes over time, in the case of projects extending over more than six months, must be taken into account and an additional amount of money, in the form of provisions for financial safety throughout the project. The provision can be calculated with the help of Government forecasts concerning inflation in the period ahead. F. Other provisions: all costs related to future projections are subject to errors. Can occur for various reasons: errors in appreciation, omitting certain information or costs, the emergence of new information, increases in costs higher than forecasts, currency exchange rates, production of natural disasters etc. Estimates relating to the costs may include provisions intended to cover partly or wholly possible errors of assessment costs. The average size of these reserves is generally 5% of total costs and may be influenced by a number of factors: previous experience gained in similar projects, the level of risk of the project and of the technologies used, the probability of natural disasters. Such provisions are not intended to cover changes in the objectives of the project, but only for unknown or events that have impacted hardly appreciated. The great variety of results that may be obtained from a project involves the use of a large number of techniques or estimation methods, each being more or less suitable to a particular type of project: 1. Exponential Method -is most often used in the early stages of the project, when the amount of information available about the project results is limited. In order to use this method, you should know:  at least one contributor to inform us about the size or capacity of a project-such as the number of pages of a book, build a dwelling to be erected or duration of a course of refresher training;  data related to the cost of a previous similar project. This information will be used to estimate the cost of the new project on the basis of the following formula:

 Mnp  Cnp  Cvp     Mvp 

0 , 66

where, Cnp = cost of the new project; Cvp = cost of the old project ; Mnp = size ( capacity ) of the new project ; Mvp = size (capacity ) of the old project.

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With this formula can be calculated, for example, the cost of a book of 200 pages, based on the cost of a similar previously printed books but which has only 150 pages, knowing that it was $ 35,000. The approximate cost of the new books will be on:

 200  Cnp  35000    150 

0 , 66

 42320

If I have done the calculation using only three simple rules, the result would have been, so the Lions 46.670 cca. 10% higher. Using this method we need to ensure that we can make a comparison between the two projects. It would have been wrong, in the book, if we had started from the cost of a book printed in monotone to appreciate the cost of one printed in full colour. 2. Learning Curves. One of the key features of each project is the uniqueness of its results. This uniqueness may involve us in carrying out activities that you've never had before, and when we estimate the associated costs must take into account what we call "the learning curve". This tells us that our performance improve as you repeat a certain task, which means that when we do something for the first time we'll do much worse than when we have some experience. In its primary form, learning curve suggests that the time required to carry out an operation with a simple fraction decreases as the doubling of the number of operations performed. For most operations, this fraction is between 80% and 90%, which means that if an operation requires 15 hours when they realize the first time, the second time we will get only 15 x 0.85 so just 12 hours and 45 minutes, the fourth time just 0.85 x 0.85 x 15, so about 10 hours and 50 minutes and so forth until we arrive at a value relatively stable. If we calculate the time it takes the operation for 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 1024 iterations, then represent graphically these results, we conclude that the curve starts to flatten after aprox. 250 iterations, around 4 hours. If we did not take into account the learning curve effect, our estimates regarding the duration of the operation to a specified number of iterations would be very likely wrong. 3. Stages of the project estimate. During the project, the work of the team is not always the same. Set up project-related activities and those related to its completion, usually requires less effort and so fewer hours of work. Instead, the main activities will require several hours of activity. For example, if the project requires 400 hours of work and shall be completed within 2 weeks of 40 hours of work, that means we would need 5 people for its completion. If, however, the initial phase should be completed in 2 days, the final phase should be completed in 3 days, it means that for the phase peak of activity will remain 5 days allocated. If we assume that in the initial period and the final activities in a linear, rising from level 0 to level and then from it dropping to level 0, it means that we can make the following calculation: 400 hours of activity = (2 days / 2 + 5 days+ 3 days / 2) x the leading edge of the activity from which it follows that: leading edge of the activity = 400 / 7,5 = 53,3 hours of activity per day , so 53,3 / 8 = 6,66 workers

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We conclude that a number of 5 workers could face the initial and final dates (and even would have been more than enough), but could not meet all the needs of the work force during the peak of activity. 4. Factorial Estimates. Under this title hides a method of estimating the costs often used in engineering projects. The method starts from the total cost of a project's results and it breaks down on it, on the basis of a number of factors to determine the costs of project components, activities that lead to obtaining the final result. Factors used in finding out the cost of components are produced on the basis of significant amounts of data taken from previous similar situations. BUDGETS AND BUDGETING PROCESSES Expected costs and provisions/reserves calculated previously are brought together in what is called a project budget. It is, however, more than a mere summary of these costs. It is used for identification of costs: project implementation; to inform the customer of the amounts required to be allocated; to inform the project manager on the amounts needed for various activities and moments in which these amounts are required; to provide a way to monitor the expenditure related to the project. To be effective, a project budget must tell us not just what amounts to be spent, but what moments have made these expenses. This brings us to the close relationship between the budget and project plan, which include, for each task, the start point, end point, time, personnel and the necessary equipment. We conclude that the budget plays an important role in the management of each project, among other things, by the fact that facilitates project monitoring.

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CHAPTER 8: Projects and change

Key factors for the success of the action The management of the changing process Projects and organizations

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8. PROJECTS AND CHANGE A recent contribution and of great importance for research into ways to coordinate the process of change has brought sociologist Kurt Lewin. His view is based on the fact that individuals react in a certain way to change due to the effects of opposing forces. Individual behaviour, as well as the organizations, represents a balance between the forces that seek to coordinate us towards opposite directions, but neither behaviour nor balance are not static, they are both expressions of the dynamic interactions with the Constructive forces environment. Everything that surrounds us is in constant motion; as a result, and the forces that create balance changes. It is sufficient to just one insignificant change in any of these forces to generate imbalance. To restore the balance in a new position requires a rational move, a new change. The forces acting on that balance, there will be, of course, a specific situation, depending on your specific problem concerned. Forces, along with statements it generates, can be simplified as represented in the figure below. When you want to make a change you need to commence within a process has 3 steps: (1) balance the current destabilization; (2) moving into a new position; (3) the restoration of a new equilibrium.

Balanced situation

Restrictive forces

Initial step: identify the forces costs; decisions to change you want; the choice of labour that requires to be adjusted; weakening the resistance or amplify them, depending on requirements. This technique, called "force field analysis", gives us the opportunity to identify the next step; to reduce a major problem to one that can be easily solved; to bring the people involved in the change process on the same wavelength. a). Research has revealed that in general, people reject and avoid the change primarily because they are afraid of it or of its consequences. This fear can be caused by a number of factors, real or imaginary, including: all that is new and unfamiliar, unknown, lack of trust, involving involuntary and forced, the possibility of damage, the need for security and safety, a previous unsuccessful change, that this change is not important, it is not good or ignoring important factors. b). There are also situations when people regard change with enthusiasm and conviction, among the reasons within themselves: the new challenge, an important reward resulting from change, voluntary change, electing trust staff who performed the change, a previous successful experience in a process of change, familiarity with what is the nature of the damage which may occur as a result of that change, the fact that I agree with the targets and objectives that change and see it as a contribution to achieving better results. KEY FACTORS FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE ACTION It has been observed that if people are involved in decisions on change, they will react with more confidence, in a positive way; on the other hand, it was observed that when someone requires a change, the person or persons concerned would react negatively, between the resistance or even sabotage the action. In order for change to be targeted effectively and achieve the intended purpose and coordination are needed in the balance the following key aspects of the process of change: information, communication, people and power, whereas all of them contribute significantly to the effective realization of the process of change.

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Information-is composed of realities and significant figures. For a successful project it is necessary for the information to be based on facts and data about the project objectives, its financial resources, goals, timelines and other important milestones proposed. Their existence, however, is not enough, they must be understandable, relevant and accessible. Communication-information cannot be effective if it is not communicated to those who need itthe process of communication is not just limited to the transmission of information, but should be based on the ability to listen as well as to convey information effectively. It is also a process that, when done properly, it will contribute in a considerably at the realization of the project. People-human involvement in the process of change is a basic requirement. If this involvement is encouraged and allowed to develop, it will be tantamount to empowerment rather than with a submission, encouraging those involved or affected by the change to influence the content and progress without talking about surrendering, however, decision making by the project manager. The team plays an important role in the coordination process for the success of the project. Moreover, the success of the project depends on the collaboration of a team with the people involved in the project, but which are outside of the team. Power-can be defined as the ability or the ability to do a thing. There are several reasons why people are seen as strong: (1) have a role that gives them authority over others; (2) controls or have the means to weaken or strengthen valuable resources: the financial resources, technology, or knowledge and information; (3) have the support of others who hold power or benefit information; (4) are charismatic or are recognized as thought leaders; hold means to punish or discipline the others. The project manager holds a formal role as power it holds by virtue of this role, and he was the one controlling it costs: under the project; There are times when these expenses; recruitments in the project team; how and when they are offered or requested information reviews. The project manager must be a charismatic individual who trust those who work for him and who exercised a considerable influence on the team and the customer. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE CHANGING PROCESS The way in which we choose to coordinate the change process will be influenced by a number of factors: the time available; previous relations of those involved; the risks and rewards involved; the pressures on the market; the actions of competitors; political pressures or administrative exercise. How can a project manager to react in the event of conflict and resistance? The answer is that an effective change will be achieved by obtaining cooperation, support, loyalty and involvement of those people affected by the change. We will achieve this only through cooperation, by accepting and encouraging the creativity of the people. The process cannot begin before it consider the following important steps: 1. you must accept, nay, even to anticipate the objection and resistance; 2. you have to anticipate conflict and use it constructively; It is desirable to discuss problems rather than to challenge everyone's activities; 3. do I have to act as project managers, in the spirit of achieving clear, unambiguously, the steps above. Once you have done these steps, we will be prepared to begin the process of implementing change. Just use of power in order to destroy the resistance or other frequent strain to support a change will lead us to increasing resistance against that change, weakens stability after the implementation of change and diminish its effectiveness. The results of such actions could lead to a rapid change, but one that has little chance to maintain. Generally speaking, people don't like to be constrained, and if they are, more often

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than not they will quell the outrage or anger regarding this situation. These feelings will diminish your ability to cooperate fully in respect of changes implemented. This use of the power, just will not generate permanent structural changes which are often required by our projects. Or the other extreme, which implies ignorance toward the opposition doesn't help or makes too much change. The actions that you need to take to comply with in order to achieve a change in a project are described by the diagram below. As can be seen, the process starts with the implementation of constraint-based but are evolving towards more "peaceful" methods, based on the exposure of facts and getting agreement or cooperation of those involved. The process will evolve towards the negotiation of what will change, when and by whom will change, and the last phase will be delegated responsibility and authority regarding the design and implementation of change. This involvement continues to grow, the other is not a movement of rotation, but one of evolution. It is also a process by which we can all contribute to the achievement of the Visual image to the direction of the growth of the project and the means of achieving change, but also to the ways in which those two objectives to be achieved.

Enhancing the implementation of change

The Division of responsibilities and authority with regard to the design and implementation of

change

Modifying the results of processed changes through negotiation The rising level of information, human involvement and exposure of the communication

The exposure of the facts, options and feelings

Exposure of facts and opinions Exposure of facts

Setting up change

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Reduction of the degree of use of power and coercion

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CHAPTER 9: Solving problems related to the project – Conflict resolution

Analysis of the techniques Finding the answer Choosing the solution Project-related conflicts Conflict management

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9. SOLVING PROBLEMS RELATED PROJECT.CONFLICT RESOLUTION

TO

THE

Projects may face a whole range of issues related to: (1) the differences between what was planned and what can be done; (2) the fact that there is a system of effective project monitoring, which leads to the impossibility of knowing the permanent stage where the project is located; (3) the absence of undue persons or of some important equipment when they are needed; (4) the wrong understanding of the messages, instructions or requests submitted. The changing nature and limited duration of projects provides the environment favorable for the emergence of problems, all of which can have a large number of cases but also a large number of solutions. The manner in which the project manager collects, analyzes and uses information is essential for identifying the right solution for every problem related to the project. All projects are based on human resources, material and informational-elements that can contribute to the generation of problems. The first step you should take is to identify the actual cause of the problem. a). one of the ways by which one can identify the true nature of the problems that may arise during the progress of a project involves obtaining answers to the following questions: what happened?; where it happened?; When it happened?; why it happened? To continue the example, suppose we get about the answers below: what happened? Answer: the activities of b), c) and (f)) were not employed in the allotted time; where it happened? Answer: the main delays occurred at the printing stage; When it happened? Answer: the delays became apparent during the week with number 32; why it happened? Answer: we don't know for sure, but some causes could be: delays in the procurement of raw materials; unsatisfactory performance; improper conduct surveillance activities; shortcomings in the process of establishing the tasks; insufficient information on tasks; inadequate equipment. Even if the answers to these questions we may not fully enlighten our problem, they at least give us a clearer picture of the possible causes. In order to get closer to what we need to apply the above technique, this time bowing to the response received on the last question ("why?"): what materials were received with delay? Answer: the red ink; where were these delays? Answer: to the supplier; When these delays have arisen? Answer: I began to appear in the week with the number 29; Why were these delays? Answer: the supplier is considered that this order is not a priority in front of others. As a result of this analysis we will find much closer to the heart of the matter, which makes the project manager to be able, at the moment, to take the appropriate decision to fix deficiencies: either to turn to another provider or to push the person concerned to comply with previously established delivery schedule. b). Another way to discover the true nature of the problems involves the use of Ishikawa diagram (also called "fish bone diagram" or "cause-effect" diagram). This begins by drawing the diagrams on the right side of the sheet of paper, a frame in which we enter the problem we face. We will then draw an arrow across the sheet of paper, with the tip pointing towards drawing border previously, and the other four side arrows, two on each side, previously drawn arrow pointing. Each of the four arrows represent a group of causes that could lead to the emergence of the problem stated in the frame. These groups of causes might be related with the people involved in the project, with the equipment, with working methods or materials used.

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If we use this technique in the previous example, the result will be similar to the figure below, which, if carefully designed, we can provide a complete list of possible causes that can generate the effect of edge on the right. Persons

Lack of experience

Negligence

Methods Unclear objectives

Lack of judgement

Improper motivation

Data recording inadequate reports

and

Unclear methods

Flawed planning Inadequate supervision

system

Inaccurate measurement activities

Insufficient practice

The activities of b), c) and (f)) were not employed in the allotted time

Improper performance Inadequate capacity

Inappropriate equipment

Inadequate availability

Other type than as set out

Insufficient

Equipment

Poor quality

Not available at the time

Materials

Both of the above mentioned techniques, if properly implemented, will give us a better understanding of the causes that led to the problem that we face. What we need to do next is to discover how to be collected and analysed information necessary to: (1) to ensure that the problem is discovered the real and not just a symptom of another, more serious problems; (2) to identify potential solutions to this problem. Project managers, just like everyone else, managers are often forced to make decisions without holding sufficient information or having some information whose quality and accuracy are questionable. Due to time constraints and cost they are forced to take a decision now "quite good", but not "the best". In any case, it is obvious that the decision will take a project manager will hardly be able to be better than the information on which it is based, but the time spent for such information and analysis of the possible alternatives is well used. In many of the projects we participate during may be an additional resource, if used effectively. Some of the techniques that allow this are detailed below.

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1. Representation through diagrams to help us in solving our projects we run. They can be used: a). in order to assist us in identifying all inputs and outputs associated with a process, as in the example below:

Activity list Detailed plan

Interdependence of information

Planification process of the

Data about resource requirements Planning mechanism

Activity database

project Increasing the planner’s experience

Experience, knowledge and skills of the planner

b). to make sure that we have identified all the causes of a problem, as you can see in the example below. This chart type is often referred to as "the chart multiple causes" and can be used in the identification of relevant effect relations issues arising in the implementation of projects. 2. Sampling-when you have to make judgments on how it is carried out a project, the instinct requires us to follow step by step, every phase of the project, without realising, in the first instance, that it involves high costs and the accumulation of data that require a long time for interpretation. These efforts are not necessarily required, since we can only track a few phases of the project, or Fragments of them, chosen at random, to generalize the findings thus obtained and for the rest of the project. This process is designed to reduce costs and increase the speed of the interpretation of the information gathered by reducing their volume. We sample everything can be comensurat between the data that can be sampled included: the activities of persons involved in the project; the use of key equipment. Cost of acquisition

Rental cost

Variable costs

Fixed costs The costs of service contracts-services

Cost of acquisition

Operational costs Direct salary costs

Consultancy costs

Usage effectiveness

Equipment costs Salary costs Material costs

COST OF THE PROJECT

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Indirect salary costs

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3. Use proportions — can lead us to getting some pretty interesting information: rate of failures in key activities, expressed as a percentage of the total number of tests; the degree of use of a machine or equipment, expressed in hours of work/total hours available; the level of activity of staff, expressed in hours worked/total hours available; number of telephone complaints per hour; the average number of days on which employees were not presented to the service on the case of disease; the average number of orders received from customers. These rates are calculated with reference to a number of operations, or tasks, the world-beating us those parts of the process that are not as productive as the other. Possible causes of this low productivity are many in number, and may include: the use of inefficient equipment; delays in the procurement of raw materials; difficulties in carrying out their duties; managerial decisions taken late. The rates we may not say anything about the causes, but we will alert about a pregnancy, a car or an operation that probably did not give the expected yield. A rule relating to the calculation of the rates is the Pareto 80: 20 rule or, which tells us that a small proportion of the activities they examine (approx. 20%) will be responsible for a large part (approx. 80%) of the effects. Pareto's rule gives us the opportunity to focus attention on the less productive activities, to use the extra time allocated less important tasks to others, which can produce significant changes fast, relying on a minimum of input data. ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNIQUES Techniques that can be used to improve the quality and speed with which decisions are taken. A. Environments: when we work with a number of values, it is often more convenient to represent this group with a single value. This can be achieved in several ways: a simple arithmetic average), obtained by the sum of all figures on the number of values taken into account. b) median value is Group located in the middle of the group, when it is set up. For example, in Group 5, 8, 8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 25, the median is the value of Group 9. c) representative value is the most common value in a group. In the above example the representative value will be 8. The values in this category, media, can be used in several ways. We can use them to represent the whole group, or we can monitor this value representative for the track if you have changed the composition of the group. The median can be used to represent the group even when we don't know exactly all the values in the group but we know their number and how many of them are higher or lower than the median. B. moving averages: allow us to determine if the value of any intended changes to factor in what sense. For example, in the case of a project which should be completed by editing a book, number of pages edited per week shall be amended as follows: Week 1 2 3 4 5 6

No. of pages written 12 13 10 15 17 9

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The average number of pages written over periods of three weeks will be: Time period

The average number of pages written 11,66 12,66 14,00 13,66

weeks 1-3 weeks 2-4 weeks 3-5 weeks 4-6

These mobile environments allow us to monitor the trend of the average number of pages edited, without being misled by extreme values or regular fluctuations in the values. C. decision trees: when the Manager must make a decision with which to solve a problem, he will be faced with several uncertainties relating to the results of its decisions or of the alternatives available. Decision trees are often used to estimate these results on the basis of their appearance and the financial consequences they entail. For example, a manager whose project is out of the initial planning will be faced with the decision to allocate additional funds to re-enter an activity in the time graph. The estimates for the success of this action are 60% and where it would not allocate additional funds to re-enter the chances in the graph are of only 10%. In this case, the decision tree would look like this:

Re-entry schedule

in

0,6

With allocation of funds

0,4

All out of the schedule

- costs: 1000 USD - fără penalităţi

- costs 1000 USD - penalties: 200 USD

Nodes distributing opportunities

Decisional node

0,1

Without allocation of funds

0,9

Chance achieving

of

49

Re-entry

-no costs

în grafic

- withoud penalties

All out of the schedule

- No costs - Penalties:: 200 USD

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The cost of these alternatives would probably be: -version with allotment of funds: 1000 x 1200 x 0.4/0.6 = 1080 USD -variant without allocating funds: 0 x 200 x 0,1 0,9 = 180 USD these results show us that, due to the low penalties, the best decision is the one that does not require the allocation of additional funds. If, however, the penalties would be $ 3000 instead of $ 200, the cost of the alternative probably would change accordingly: -version with allotment of funds: 1000 x 0,6 x 0,4 = 4,000 USD 2200 -variant without allocating funds: 0 x 3000 x 0,9 0,1 = 2700 USD These results will change our decision, in the sense that we choose in this case for the version with additional funding allocation. It's good to note that the results obtained using the decision trees depend largely on the quality of our estimates regarding the chances of possible alternatives. Unfortunately, this technique does not allow us to discover: which of these estimates is the most important; What are the effects of alternatives. FINDING THE ANSWER Our problems must be found Solutions often given that the information available is limited or unconfirmed. The processes by which we try to identify and evaluate potential solutions to our problems must be: robust enough to survive a lack of factual data; capable of limited data that we have; capable of producing consistent results. These processes include the following examples. Brainstorm-the process is a consistent attack, structured over a problem subject to debate, involving a group of people who spontaneously emit a series of ideas which they then discuss and evaluate them. This process takes a few basic rules: 1. the Group shall not involve those who are going to decide who is the final solution to be adopted, to be made up of a number of 8 to 15 people from a variety of areas as possible; 2. the Mission of the group is to identify or even to create solutions, but under no circumstances to evaluate them; 3. all the proposed solutions will be discussed, no matter how bizarre, illogical, impractical or ridiculous as it may seem. In its full form, brainstorming process has three stages: A. Generating ideas phase -this phase shall be drawn up in the group, after which it is subject with respect to the problem to be resolved. One of the Panel members will be appointed manager of discussions. In this task falls to remind members of the core ideas-all ideas are accepted and are not issued any kind of assessment during the talks but also to jot down on a flip chart issued for all the ideas that they do not get lost. The ideas issued by members of the group will be noted but not require no explanation. Duration of this stage depends on the experience of participants and the complexity of the problem, but it must be somewhere around 30 minutes. Under no circumstances does silence moments should be interpreted as the end of the activity-it can be a time of deep reflection that will be followed by a new set of ideas. B. The selection of ideas phase-at this stage the group will divide ideas into multiple categories, of which the most common are: good ideas; bad ideas; unusual ideas. More may exist, however, and some other categories: possible ideas, impossible ideas, eccentric ideas. Grouping ideas into categories above may prove useful in the sense that we will discover whether unusual or eccentric ones ideas can be included in any of the other categories.

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C. Selection phase - Round-group members are required at this stage to write down on a sheet of paper which they believe are the best ideas, following that of centralization made to designate the point considered by the group as the most promising. Closed-thinking when we are faced with the need to solve a problem, most of the times our thinking is influenced by previous experiences and knowledge gained. They use to dissect the problem in structural elements, to be able to get a solution easier. But there are times when the solutions they seek do not achieve through logical reasoning, but simply appear, "out of the blue". Closed thinking encourages this process, leaving a free hand to creativity to work with available information and to find an unexpected solution. This is possible: firstly discovering factors that limit or dominates the courtroom-for example that a certain activity should be carried out in a particular way or that it is always followed by another activity; Secondly, using a few simple techniques to incite or induce creativity. Collateral thinking is usually used as a complementary solution to conventional ways to solve problems, being able to generate ideas that can be analyzed and then through logic. CHOOSING THE SOLUTION The methods previously described are meant to generate more alternative solutions to the problems of our projects, and what we need to do is to choose the solution that is to be implemented. This choice can be made in many ways, two of which are exemplified below. a) The Delphi Technique- initially, the Delphi technique was used for technological and expert forecasts implied analysing the results of questionnaires sent to a number of experts who have never worn the discussion related to the topics covered in these. Like brainstorming, this method mobilizes a group of people to whom they are offered a number of solutions to a problem and are asked to choose the solution that they consider appropriate. The choice will be made individually, without any debate or discussion group with other members of the group. Election of members of the group will be noted on a sheet of paper and handed his driver. It will cover the results, then the group will announce the solution that received the lowest number of votes. It will be removed from the list of alternatives, then the process will be repeated until it will outline a clear solution. This process allows the ability, skills and insight group to be used without birth difficulties or pressures that generate the group thinking. b). Ranking-is a method that can be used for choosing a project to be implemented. Ordering can be used as well, and the choice of an alternative available to solve a problem. Method is based on the arrangement of these alternatives depending on a number of features. The alternative which will total the best score will be one which will be implemented. The features mentioned will be linked with the stage project and the nature of the issue concerned, but should be applicable to all alternatives. Caracteristics B Note 3

Alternative solutions C Pdr. Note Pdr. 3 2 2

D Note 4

Pdr. 4

1

1

0,5

3

1,5

4

2

2

3

6

2

4

4

8

1,5

1

0,75

4

3

3

2,25

A Note Pdr. 1 1

Cost (weighting factor = 1) 2 Time (weighting factor = 0,5) 1 Result value (weighting factor = 2) Quality of result (weighting 2 factor = 0,75) Total

5,5

10,25

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10,5

16,25

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In a more nascent stage of the project will probably be preferred alternatives which have a lower implementation time, while flying toward the end of the project phases will be preferred, the alternatives which have a larger deployment, the nature and quality of the result showing a stronger influence on the choice we make. An example of a weighted ranking is the above table. In this example, in which he used a reverse ordering scale from 1 (highest note) to 4 (lowest note), the alternative to generated the lowest total (5.5 points), which will be selected for implementation. PROJECT-RELATED CONFLICTS Conflicts may arise in the case of projects as: the client wants to be able to influence decisions on details: the project; have the discretion to change or modify the project objectives as and when he wishes; hold a project team to be loyal, faithful subject to; the project needs clear objectives, specific, unambiguous, established or to be established at the earliest opportunity; the project team needs: a project manager with a clear and unconditional authority; Members loyal to the project; the freedom to make decisions without interference from the outside. These conflicts often appear around some themes as well as plans and programmes:-who makes what and when?; priorities-what you need done first and why?; technical problems-what processes, techniques should be used?; administrative procedures-what is accounting system used?; estimates and cost-monitoring-"can't have cost so much!"; personalities-"does not support it on that man!". All these typical conflicts can occur throughout all phases of the life cycle of the project, but the balance between them and their relative importance will change as the project passes through various stages. For example, the phase of maturity they are specific conflicts relating to: differences between what was planned/scheduled and what has been accomplished and of the ways in which these issues can be resolved; the ways of solving the technical problems that may arise; the definition of priorities for the allocation of people and the allocation of other resources scarce. On the other hand, in the phase of decline and in the terminal will be able to emerge: conflicts over the allocation of resources so as to ensure completion of the project; assigning new missions project team members or their transfer to old jobs; the final result of the project handover to the customer. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Conflict can be treated in several ways, and the variety of conflict management styles reflect not only the great variety of the nature and causes of conflicts but also the different behavioral styles. For example, the conflict can be solved through: • Avoidance of: ignoring him and hope that it will disappear; the imposition of a "third workarounds"; the imposition of "discretion"; imposing rules or procedures; • "dissipation" or "melting" of careful behaviour, such as: where would pour oil on the troubled waters; the invocation of a higher purpose, and more importantly, so that the conflict to minimize the importance of; • always keeping it under control: the appointment of a third person to arbitrate or representing the warring parties; political bargaining or negotiation; • dealing with similar situations: use cases known to resolve situations. The style will be chosen for the conflict resolution will be affected and will be dependent upon the circumstances in which it arose or was the problem. For example: a manager who acts under pressure to achieve certain goals or some huge hits, may choose to lead a conflict by deferring action or "buying" time, using one of the styles of avoidance. In other circumstances, it

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might be possible and desirable to confront the issues and people involved and to think in time to a solution. Although everyone has a favorite style of dealing with a conflict, each of the ways of solving the above may be appropriate at one time or another. A good project manager is one who accepts the immediacy of conflict and resolve it so as to give the energy project and to generate situations where people are keen to/prepared: take risks; able and willing to tell others what I feel (to share their experience with others). A bad project manager is one who ignores constant or suppress the conflict consuming the energy project and creating situations in which persons are: unwilling to trusts; unwilling to be open towards some; frustration. Whatever the quality of management or conflict management style chosen, conflicts should be resolved if desired as projects succeed. Unresolved conflicts are manifested in ways that not only limited the commitment of the members of the project team but also diverts energy from the project goals, as some areas of work that are to follow the further competition or "revenge" at the expense of cooperation. But either managers or employees may, as individuals, to make the choice in terms of how to respond to conflict situations. One way to illustrate these alternative options is that of gain-loss matrix illustrated below. This matrix shows that in the face of a conflict with an individual or group behavior can take one of the following forms: ­ reactive, responding with "ferocity" equal to or greater than that of the attackers and thus allowing the conflict to Ascend, which results in the loss of both sides-a result of 0-0; ­ aggressive, wanting to overcome or defeat the other-a result of type 1-0; ­ passive, but seeks to minimize losses, with an unfavorable result-a result of type 0-1; ­ positive, without it dominating the other, but still with the force and wanting it to accept compromises with the result as both teams to win-a result of type 1-1. Person or group B

Person or group A

win

loss

win

win– win

win -loss

loss

loss - win

loss -loss

Win- loss Matrix Of all these variants, common sense and self-preservation instinct that guides the overall human behavior toward achieving a result type 1-1 or 1-0. Although both types of conflict management results are effective in the short term, only the results of type 1-1 are those which, in the long run will generate effects that lead to the success of the project. The results of the type 1-1 lead to increasing confidence and involvement and allow building future successes based on the past successes of the company, while the gain-at the expense of each other, they will make it to redouble its efforts to be the one who wins next time. One of the most effective ways to get that result from type 1-1 is given by negotiation. In the case of projects, negotiations may concern: the moments that will be initiated and undertaken activities; the costs it will assume them; the people that we will resolve. But the negotiations could also result in more significant proposals, such as changing or modifying the project

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specifications. They will be able to relate to: what additional costs will arise; the extra time required; the implications of the results of the project quality plan. In order for the negotiations to contribute to the success of projects, they shall result in gain for both parties-a result of type-1-1 and thus rely more on cooperation than on competition and on trust or reconciliation than on avoiding or hiding problems.

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CHAPTER 10: Project monitoring and control. Project completion

Completion of the project Post project auditing Post project evaluations The management of the power transfer

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10. PROJECT COMPLETION

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MONITORING

AND

CONTROL.

PROJECT

A. Project monitoring involves the project manager in the following actions: (1) measurement or test the performance; (2) processing of data collected in forms meaningful and easy to understand. For monitoring to be effective in its contribution to the success of the project, first it is necessary to decide on: (1) what should be monitored; (2) how often should be monitoring. This is a key step that will determine not only the value of monitoring, but also the manner in which the process of monitoring contributes to the success of the project (for example, if we decide to monitor many aspects of the project, then our ability to see and react to deviations from the project plan will be limited so a very large volume of information and the time it takes to analyse this information. If, however, too few monitor issues, I can "escape" from the changing direction of another key aspect, unable to react until it is too late). There are a few general rules which, if followed, will make it possible to monitor process contributes to the success of the project. These rules tell us that we should focus on project monitoring and measurement issues: easily monitored; at the right time; easy to understand; credible; relevant. Monitoring the project plan-project plan refers to the actions of the project and so he will show: when you made those shares; who must make them; What equipment and tools, are needed to undertake them. However, no matter how sophisticated or detailed would be this plan, he is just an expression of intentions and wishes of the project manager, or, in other words, what you want to happen in respect of the project. As the project develops, it will be noticed, inevitably, that things are not proceeding as hoped or planned, which may force the project manager to deviate from the plan, or even to change it. When the plans for monitoring and recording the progress of the project, it uses the comparison of what was done with what was planned; This can be done either by filling the bar-graph graph Gantt, numeric-either by recording data in network nodes AON or arrows of AOA. Project terminals -project progress terminals can be recorded and compared by using so-called borne of the project. These are events that can be used to mark the project's progress through various stages of growth and decline, and thus they must be: clearly identified; significant; on the critical path of the project. They may represent: the end of a sequence of activities-such as those associated with creating the Foundation of a House; the beginning of a sequence of activitiessuch as the acceptance by the editor of the manuscript of the book, a writer who starts a sequence of activities associated with the image editing and printing. The terminals may be indicated:  graphic-as empty bars (plane) or full (completion) of Gantt chart;  with the words and the data of a report- such as: Terminal number scheduled date accomplished date 1

25.12.2002

27.12.2002

Monitoring the project budget-budget plays an important role in the management of all projects, allowing the project manager to see: how much money is needed and when they are needed.

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The budget can be used also for the monitoring of project expenditures and for obtaining information about the emergence of the need for an adjustment or change in cash flow. One of the ways that you can do this is by using what is called a S curve often has, as is illustrated below:

Total cost

Total budget Planned expenditure

Actual expense Time

This curve shows the model project costs and budget allows us comparing it with the actual expense. But the actual expense, which is recorded in the accounting records of the project may be higher or lower than expected expenditure through budget or because the work done has cost more or less than planned, either because there has been less work than planned, but with a greater expense. The differences between these are very notable-on one hand, the situation may arise in which future expenditure is likely to be below the level planned in the budget, and on the other hand, future spending is likely to exceed that level. Project progress reports -project progress can be recorded and compared with the plan or with the help of project progress reports. They can be ordinary:-once a month; specials-when problems or significant events-such as the terminals, for example. A typical project, of medium size, will have, for example, reports of progress from ordinary to different specialists:-how are software programmers, trainers, etc.; the project team, which reports to colleagues and project manager; Project Manager-reporting progress and achievement of client terminals. This project may also have a series of special reports drawn up as and when required and which can deal with issues such as addressing unforeseen problems and pressing arising; detection and removal of errors arising in the case of a software algorithm; identifying the causes of delays in the completion of a key. The regular reports that the project manager is a client in communication between her important, contributing greatly to the quality of the relations between them and therefore the success of the project. The structure and frequency of these reports will depend on the course of their purpose. In general, brevity is not only desirable but also necessary if the report will be submitted to the attention of a reader busy. For this reason, explanatory information, where required, should be included in the appendices, and a condensed version of the conclusions and recommendations of the report should be contained in a summary on the new page. He who draws up a short report will often adopt the following structure: title; Summary; motivation and introduction; findings; recommendations.

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On the other hand, the progress report on the project's routine may consist only in tables containing figures, graphs or Gantt AOA networks with little or no analytical comment. Whatever their structure, these reports are often issued to coincide with the appearance of the following methods to monitor the progress of the project: meetings on the draft. Meetings on the draft-projects -successful meetings are meetings whose purpose is to contribute to the effective and efficient management of the project and so are concentrated to the achievement of results and objectives. These meetings are a key element in the process of monitoring and controlling project progress, and among their objectives can be listed: Exchange of factual information; the exchange of opinions, views and feelings; contribution to the decision-making process of the project manager. In order to achieve its objectives in an effective and efficient manner, these sessions should be: to be chaired by the project manager; to have a program or an agenda; not to bring together more than 10 participants; to involve participants who have, on the one hand, functional skills and relevant knowledge, and on the other hand, appropriate interpersonal skills; last no more than 90 minutes. Hearing documents project will consist of:  an agenda drawn up in advance-through which shall be communicated to the members participants: where and when the meeting is held; What topics will be discussed; in which order will be subject to discussion;  reports-prepared, in turn, before the hearing and giving details or relevant issues relating to the project and its problems;  Minutes (minutes)-issued after the session and providing a written record of what has been decided; the persons responsible for the implementation of what has been decided; the time at which implementation will have to be completed. B. Control In addition to monitoring progress of the project, it is necessary to be able to do anything in respect of any activity or expenditure which differ from those planned, and this in a manner that is both timely and effective. Project control process is carried out in order to reduce or eliminate differences between what was planned that should happen and what happened in reality. One way of looking at this process relies heavily on what is called the theory of system control (or control system theory), which tells us that systems are often controlled by their results: measuring; reconcile it with a desired target level; adjusting the input system in correlation with the size and purposes of (positive or negative) of the reported differences-if any. C. Completion of the project Despite the major differences over the pace and content of this phase of the project compared to previous ones, need to treat and resolve issues regarding the completion of the project in a coordinated and effective manner, however, remains a key task of the project manager. To do so, it will need to consider issues such as:  the fact that the members of the project team: they will be concerned about their future; will lose their interest in the remaining tasks to be carried out; will be lower levels of motivation; they are no longer as committed to teamwork as they were in the early stages;  client: will show less interest in relation to the project when it is in an advanced stage; will not attend meetings about the project or will not be available when you need it; will be increasingly interested in the operational staff, the details of the results of the project;

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 The project will require: superior results, identifiable and complete; completion of contracts and work orders; making your physical assets; collation and analysis of data; guarantees and their mode of operation. The project manager will have to reckon with the fact that the issue of completion must be dealt with in special circumstances, where: (1) the authority shall reduce its role; (2) acceptance by the customer is reduced; (3) team shrinks. People management -in the final phase, the needs and concerns of the people involved are starting to exceed the limits of the project and to focus on long-term issues. This means that project team members will become concerned about issues such as: the fact that the project team has lost in consistency and is about to be dissolved; the next project that will work; When you will leave this team; If they will get back their old jobs or not. In turn, client staff will be concerned about: the moment at which the project will be implemented; how the project will respond to requests; the next project; the need to receive the completed and packaged. " The reallocation or transfer of project team members often raises special problems of project manager: on the one hand, the need for the project to maintain, to the end, an effective team of experienced people; on the other hand, the need felt by the team members, who can be motivated only by satisfying this need to have certainty about the future job or future missions. The project manager must carefully look at this situation, to take into account both the individual's needs and the needs of the project. Leadership communication-effective communication in both directions is a vital ingredient of a complex mix that determines the success of a project, and the last phase of it is no exception to the rule. Indeed, some argue that the pressures and difficulties of this phase lead to the increasing need for better communication. This requirement, if it is not satisfied, it can result in difficulties, misunderstandings and problems that lead to a final draft of the confusing and too much extended instead of one radical, clear and efficient as it should be. Examples of areas where this requirement manifests increased presence will include moments in which: - the customer needs to: plan and its personnel training; examine the need to adapt and modify procedures and systems; plan the increase or modification of the type of raw material needed to be stored; plan dealing with the press and advertising - The project manager needs to: planning new missions for project team members; ensure completion of the project; gather all the information necessary to ensure that the lessons learned and experience gained are recorded/retained. Information management-when you get to this stage of the project: almost all the money was spent or allocated; the vast majority of the results were obtained; most of the resources were consumed. What kind of information we need and why we need them? The answer to these questions can be found in our need to: establish what activities remained to be done; record the current nature of the results; generate history project; check if we have achieved what we intended. Finding the answer to these problems we will be able to: complete the project; ensure that the client organization can conduct operations effectively while maintaining the project results; post audit project lead and its appreciation. COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT

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In order to complete the project we need to determine what has been done and what remained to be done. Using this information as a starting point to be checked what was actually accomplished and compared the results with what needed to be done. The differences between these two issues they will tell us what remained to be done and what has been done over the planned and necessary. In this direction, the project manager must adopt, together with the client, contractors and a completion of what remained to be done and establish priorities in order to carry out this program. In the case of large projects, the completion of the project can get itself a form close to that of a project and for this reason it can be led by a professional manager in the completion of projects. There may be still quite a few doubts related to the completion of the project, so that it can be driven by anyone especially if you use the specific checklist completion, which can be made much easier and efficient completion stage and how it is run: The specific checklist of completion: Activity

Completion date

Enforcer

1. Project specification ­ setting changes in terms of the specification ­ verification and revision of the specification when it takes 2. Project plan ­ real documentary on the delivery dates for the actual data ­ documentation of implementation ­ keeping the final session 3. Financial ­ costs establishment and pricing ­ final preparation and support of final financial statement 4. Contracts and work orders ­ the conclusion of all contracts and orders in course ­ preparation of reports to the contractor/supplier 5 .Working stations ­ close all working points ­ making equipment 6. Staff ­ bringing up to date the record ­ setting new staffing assignments ­ final meeting with keeping members of team 7. Customer ­ delivery project completed 8. Overview ­ completion of the report on the draft _____________________________________________________________________________ ________

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POST PROJECT AUDITING Where auditing is performed a post project, most of the actions and specific project activities in question were carried out and the results of the project are about to be handed over to their lawful owner. As a result, the objectives of the post-project auditing are to identify: ­ for client: If the results of the project are completed or not; What's left to be done; whether it is justified an overrun of costs; ­ for manager: If budgeted costs were incurred; If project management techniques used were the most suitable; What to do with the assets of the project-as well as places of work or equipment purchased-to contribute to the smooth running of the project. If these issues can be answered by a simple and regular auditing, it depends on the nature of formal relations between the project manager and his team on the one hand, the client organization, on the other hand. When they're all made by the same organization, a single audit is not only reasonable, but also desirable. However, where the project team and/or its manager employed by a (sub) contractor/entrepreneur, then you need separate audits that will reflect the specific needs and potential of the two divergent parts. The result of the audit after the project is materialized in a formal report, whose size, shape, and nature will be pursued according to the cost, nature and results of the project. But, whatever the manner in which the audit is run and whatever form it takes the report contains, he must emphasize that its results are not just a simple accounting. He may, for example, reveal the defects that will be the subject of upcoming legal processes between the client and the project organization. Even though they generate positive conclusions, however, can be used in a future mission to justify, for the client, the expenditure to the contractor or to provide a basis for a better estimate of the cost of the project or a better system. In these cases post project audits should be conducted accurately and honesty.

POST PROJECT EVALUATIONS What post audit project does not tell us whether the project has fulfilled the promises that are often made in order to justify allocation of sums required for the implementation costs? These estimates of some activities and cash flow next time may refer to: sales volume and revenuewhen the project is considering placing on the market of a new product; equipment-performance when the project aims at the selection and purchase of a photo-copy machine more efficient or faster; the performance of the Organization aimed at changing the project-when the organizational structure of the company through centralization, decentralization, or reengineering; human performance-when the project is considering creating new trainingtraining schemes. Post project evaluation is, without exception, initiated by the customer and may be headed for the sake of impartiality, or related to the content of the project, by a third party. In large organizations with many projects and high levels of capital expenditure, post project evaluation is often led by a specialized department reports directly to senior management. Post project evaluation takes into account the entire project, from conception to 2-3 years after completion and delivery of the objectives of this evaluation are to determine in what way the project and its results were: led and implemented; integrated into customer operations; operationalized; verified, reviewed the proposal/bid. The results of this type of evaluation, which takes in large projects, several months and involves a team of Auditors, is materialized in a formal report. This report and its conclusions are mainly improving the performance of the organization. Examples of how this can be achieved are: better cost-estimate whereas the estimates are based on real historical data more characterised by

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accuracy; better risk assessment-whereas the planning and risk assessment is based on better data; a better assessment of their performance-whereas entrepreneurs are evaluated and monitored more closely; a better management of the project-due to the use of project management tools better suited to more experienced project managers. THE MANAGEMENT OF THE POWER TRANSFER In a successful project, the project manager is used with skill and understanding to empower, to make operational the project team and to ensure that resources are used in an effective and efficient manner. But when approaching the final stage of this project, most of the team members have left and almost all the resources devoted to the project have been consumed, leaving the project manager with a team and very few resources. The attention of the customer's key personnel involved in the project were already turned towards the next project issues or those concerning the operation of the project results. But does this mean that the role of project manager has lost the final at this stage? He became a "person of yesterday ', or simply the role is changed? The answer to these questions that we find in the role of project manager, rather than to be become stale or outdated, it was changed, becoming one in which the focus of its activities was as follows: ­ from achieving partial targets at the completion of the whole; ­ from the General questions of detail; ­ From imposing and maintaining the authority to delegate and transfer of power. To accomplish this one actually is the real skills needed by the project manager. However, experience says that: ­ the client may have difficulty in accepting such a radical transformation in the project manager's behaviour; ­ Project Manager himself may encounter difficulties in trying to achieve this change. ­ ­

For these reasons, often deserve to be taken into account: the introduction of a formal ceremony due to approve the transfer of authority to the client; Introduction of a new role-that of the project manager tasked with the completion of the project.

Anyway takes place this empowering, he must be led with skill and accurate completion.

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