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project planning and evaluation
chapter 6 developing a project plan
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Project planning process
Top management releases funds to prepare an initial plan, schedule and cost estimate for the project proposal, after a business need, contrast request, or RFP has been received. The project is authorised to begin by approval of the project and the signing of a contract, starting with the definition of system requirements and preparation of a project master plan. A project charter is sent to stakeholders to announce and briefly describe the project, for internal projects. If not already assigned or involved, the project manager is then identified to oversee the planning process and produce a plan that elaborates on any earlier plans as prepared for the proposal, business case study or charter.
Each project poses new questions regarding what, how, by whom, in what order, for how much, and by when, and the purpose of planning is to answer them, because each project is unique, there is never a priori, established way of how the project should be done.
The planning process answers the questions in the following steps:
(i) What?
The process, defines the project objectives, scope, and system requirements and these specifies the project deliverables, end- items, and other sought results, as well as the time, cost, and performance targets.
(ii) How?
The process defines the work activities, tasks, or jobs
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No project is ever totally unique, so in developing the project plan it makes sense to refer to earlier, similar projects, their plans, procedures, success, and failures. Ideally the project manager is provided with planning, assistance in the form of lessons learned, best practices, suggested methodologies and templates and even consultation based upon experience from past projects. Sometimes the project manager receives this assistance from the project management office
Gray, C., Larson, E. (2008). Project Management: The managerial Process. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
The Project Manager will be responsible for managing and reporting on the project’s cost throughout the duration of the project. During the monthly project status meeting, the Project Manager will meet with management to present and review the project’s cost performance for the preceding month. Performance will be measured using earned value. The Project Manager is responsible for accounting for cost deviations and presenting the Project Sponsor with options for getting the project back on budget. The Project Sponsor has the authority to make changes to the projec...
Step 1: Determine project goals. It is important to define what the project is, as well as what the expected inputs and outputs are. According to Project Management Tutorial Online, in order for project goals to be accomplished, this must be a team oriented decision. “Give everyone the opp...
Thanks to this approach the project manager is able to control the project from start till finish through the multiple evaluation and decision moments. Numerous processes are described like how to handle deviations and the various communication channels between the project members, the project and all the stakeholders.
Harvard Business Review Press (2012). HBR Guide to Project Management. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. P123-124
The plan phase consists of developing the project plan (Balaji Sivasubramanian, 2010). The project plan will be in line with the requireme...
These include: Project Mission – the initial clarity of the goals and general direction; Project Schedule/Plans – a detailed specification of specific individual action steps required for project implementation; Top Management Support – the willingness of top management to provide the essential resources and authority for project success; Client Consultation – communication, consultation, and active listening to all impacted parties; as well as Personnel – recruitment, selection, and training of the essential personnel for the project team; Technical Tasks – availability of the required technical Expertise
One way to provide clear description of a project is to prepare project charter. A Guide to the Project Management Body Of Knowledge (2008), “it is the process of developing a document that formally authorizes a project or a phase and initial requirements that satisfy the stake holder needs expectations” (pg.71). Preparing a project charter is the initial step for project manager to start any project. In Project charter we can describe different components of the projects. To start any project, preparing a project charter is the initial steps for project manager. Some of the essential components are described below.
For the creation of an environment for successful projects as identified by Graham and Englund (2004) and PM good practices to be effectively inherent in a project based organisation requires that both people issues and structural issues be addressed. The project management process consists of planning (forecasting), organising (staffing), commanding (motivation), directing (co-ordinating) and controlling (Burke, 2007). Project Firecracker was approached without any planning. Jeff Groenewald had clearly identified the gaps in the current processes, he realised the normal channels would cause delays and problems. Any attempts to address planning and organise the project were met with resistance by upper management as Esther Mokonyane dismissed his efforts.
“Project definition provides a complete understanding of project and serves to guide the project Manager and project team in planning and implementation. It also provides the basis of decision making for executives who need to evaluate the potential for project success and completion on time, within budget, and according to performance specifications.”(Hill 2008)
Statement of work describes the purpose of the project (answering questions what and why?), scope statement (what is the input and output?), Deliverables (trained personnel and instructions), Schedule estimates (phases, stages), Participant, and last but not least Chain of command (who is
However, in some cases we need to develop strategies for them to improve their efficiency, improve their machinery, install backup generation, etc. In these scenarios, a team is developed with the consultant being the project manager or point man. Therefore, these projects require the four functions to be followed so we can develop the best possible solution. The first function used is “Planning”, which allows us to outline a strategy catering to the specific needs of our client. The “Planning” function also gives us a time table on how long the project will take to complete, who needs to be involved, and how we expect to accomplish each goal.
Project management involves all activities that encompass scheduling, planning, and controlling projects. A successful project manager ensure that an organization’s resources are being used both efficiently and effectively. Most projects need to be uniquely developed require a sense of customization and the ability to adapt to any posed challenges. The scope of effective project management includes defining what the project is and what is being expected to be accomplished. Projects are imposed to fulfill a certain need and project managers must have the ability to create the proper definition. Goals and the means used to attain those goals have to be clearly stated. Project Managers must also have the ability to plan
When planning a new project, how the project will be managed is one of the most important factors. The importance of a managers will determine the success of the project. The success of the project will be determined by how well it is managed. Project management is referred to as the discipline that entails the processes of carefully planning, organizing, controlling, and motivating the organization resources so as to foster and facilitate the achievement of specific established and desired goals and meet the specific criteria of success required in the organization (Larson, 2014). Over the course of this paper I will be discussing and analyzing the importance of project management.
Project planning falls in the Planning Process Group which consists of those processes to establish the projects total scope, define the projects objectives, and courses of action to achieve those objectives. During the planning process, all the documents that are needed to carry the project through the project lifecycle will be developed such as the project management plan. Project management requires repeated feedback loops as additional information becomes available and is better understood. The planning process delineates the strategy, tactics, and path to successfully complete the project. With that, the planning of a project must walk through all the those processes from executing, monitoring and controlling through the closing process.