Management Studies: 2011

Procedures for Project Proposal

1. Executive Summary/ Summary Statement

Project proposal begins with an executive summary covering fundamental nature of the proposed project as well as the general benefits that are expected. It is written in simple and non-technical language. It is general outline of the project which depicts the essence or benefits of the project to the target group and reasons for project implementation. It visualize the concept and nature of the project in clear cut way. In fact it is the main body of the project proposal.

2. Cover Letter

Each project should be accompany by a cover letter. It is the marketing document that explains the things which are put inside the package of project proposal. It provides the prospective of the project. However it should be prepared in attractive and precise way because an evaluator of the project proposal and looks at the cover letter.

3. Technical Approach

This part of the project proposal is concerned with the analysis of technical issue. It high lights the technical problems to be tackled or the project to be undertaken. The general description of the problem are clearly noted so that a knowledgeable reader can understand what the proposal intense to do. The method of resolving critical problems are outlined. In addition to any special client requirement are listed along with proposed ways of meeting them. All tests and inspection procedure to assure performance, quality, reliability and compliance with the specification are noted.

4. Implementation Approach

It contain estimate of the time require, the cost require and material. Each major sub system of the project is listed along with estimates of its total cost. These cost are indicated for the old project and totals are shown for each cost category etc like administrative cost, equipment and machinery cost, overhead cost etc. The require time to complete the project is estimated. Likewise the require resources like men, machinery, materials etc are estimated for each system or project at a whole. The major milestone are indicated and contingency plans are specially noted.

5. Plan for Logistic Support and Administration

It refers to managerial analysis of the project. The proposal includes a description of the ability of the proposal to supply the routine facilities, equipment and skill needed during project implementation period. It explains how the project will be administered including an explanation of how the performance of contractors and sub-contractors will be evaluated. The nature and timing of all progress report and budgetary and audit reports and evaluation ways are covered. A description of the final documentation to be prepare for users, termination procedures are described including disposition of the employees, material, equipment etc. at the end of the project.

6. Past experience

It is the profile of proposing group. All the proposal are strengthened by including the section that described past experience of the proposing group. It contain a list of key project employers together with their title and qualification. For outside clients, a full resume for each principle should be attached to the proposal.

You may also like this:

Project Plan Authority

It is charter view of authority. It is the authority provided by approved project plan. The project plan defines the objectives of project and authority of project manager to handle the activities. The sources of project plan authority are;

Approved project plan
Approved project cost estimates/ budget
Approved project schedule
Project contract

Defacto (Real) Authority

It is competence view of project authority. It is the power granted by subordinates to superiors based on competency, expertise, credibility and interfacing ability of superiors. It means, the sources of defacto authorities are competent expertise, credibility and interfacing ability of superiors. The subordinates respect the judgement of superiors and willingly accept the authority in the project. The sources of Defacto Authorities are:

Technical competence/ knowledge
Negotiation skills with project team members
Conflict resolution skills
Decision making and communication skills
Informal organization

Dejure (Legal) Authority

It is a classical view of project authority. It is legal authority having legal right having legal right to act or to command or to direct the activities of project team members. The sources of dejure authority are as follows:

Organization charter
Organization's policies, rules and regulations
Job description
Delegation
Superior's right to command

You may also like this:

Multi-Lateral Project

The project which is carried on under the agreement between Multi-lateral agency and recipient country is called multi-lateral project. The main source of funding in multi-lateral project is multilateral agency like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union, UN Agency etc. In another word the project which is implemented under the assistant ship of multilateral agency is called multi-lateral project.

Generally multi-lateral agencies provides financial assistant ship in terms of concessional loans to under developed or developing countries under the special terms and condition. The loan must be repaid as interest on principal by recipient country according to previous agreement. Multilateral project are mega projects which are implemented through global bidding system.

Advantages of Multilateral Project

It gets chances of use concessional loan which is very cheap.
It facilitates for the development of infrastructure and social services.
It receives multilateral assistant ship.
It creates the better employment opportunities to the people of recipient country.
It helps to accelerate the economic growth of country.

Disadvantages of Multilateral Project

It promotes the dependency on multilateral loans.
It creates the situation of heavy debt burden to country which may adversely affect the economic condition of country.
It involves the repayment obligation.
Its implementation procedure is complex.
It is also an international project, so there is possibility of pressure to recipient country.
There may arise difficulty to co-ordinate the assistant ship.

You may also like this:

Project Authority

Authority is legal power to command, act or direct the activities of others towards the attainment of organizational goal. It is the right to implement the management decision. It is essential to integrate the contribution of each individual of a group in an organization.

Project authority is legitimate (legal) power that is exercise by project manager to direct or command or influence the activities of project team members and to make decision about the project resources such as men, machine, materials, money, information and technology etc. for the effective implementation of the project. The authority is generally associated with job position. The project authority is delegated form the top level management to project manager. the authority can be increase, decrease or revoked by the top level. Project a manger is the single responsibility center of the project who is fully responsible to manage all the project task for the attainment of defined objectives. S/he cannot discharge the responsibility without clear and sufficient authority so that he should be provided necessary authority to fulfill his responsibility in the project. If project authority is ambiguities and insufficient, the project may be failure. Therefore, project authority is key factor of project management process. The factors such as poor communication, misleading information, poor working relationships etc. could result in failure to establish authority in the project.

Failure of Project Authority

The project authority is created according to their project need.
The authority creates through organizational structure.
Authority determines management information system.
Authority is essential for project team.
Authority helps to manpower management.
Authority may be formal and informal.
Authority determines resources, budgeting and time schedule.

You may also like this:

Pure Project Organization

Project organization is a separate form of functional unit in which all the members of project work force are directly responsible to project manager. The project organization become a self contained unit with its own technical staffs, administration, resources, tied to parent organization only through periodic progress report. Some parent organization may prescribe administrative, financial, employees and control procedure in detail as a guidelines and rules. Others allow the project almost total freedom within limits of final accountability. It means project manager is given full line authority to handle the project activities for the attainment of defined objectives. There is no any interference by parent organization during the project performance period. There is unity of command.

Since the project is separated from the functional division, the lines of communication are shortened. Project manager directly communicates with senior management. There is no need of permission of functional manager before making technological and other decisions. It reduces the hierarchy and facilitates quick decision. However the pure project organization is useful for big projects and mega projects.

You may also like this:

Statement of Work (SOW) in Project

Statement of Work incorporates the parameters of the project. It defines:

Scope and objectives of the project and outputs the project will deliver.
Roles and responsibilities of project participants.
Other parameters, such as schedule, cost and quality.

Statement of Work (SOW) works as a mechanism to identify points of agreements among the project participants. It is also very helpful to solved the disagreement in the project. It serves as a formal contract when all parties sign it. Project scope is defined as:

Products for delivery to customer are defined.
Critical planning assumptions are defined.
Key stakeholders of the project are identified.
Project constraints in terms of schedule, budget, quality and personnel are analyzed.

You may also like this:

Selection of Idea for Project Formulation

The last step for project identification is selection of idea for project formulation. It analyszed ideas which are classified as:

Promising ideas: Promising ideas are possible alternatives for new projects.
Marginal ideas: Marginal ideas are stored for future uses. They are not immediately useful.
Reject ideas: Reject ideas are dropped due to various limitations and constraints.

A choice is made from among promising ideas for project formulation. The selected idea becomes a project.

You may also like this:

Risk Analysis and Risk Management

Risk Analysis

Assessment of risk is used to identified and evaluated potential risk. Anticipation of what may to wrong is done. The assessment can be:

Qualitative: It is mainly judgmental or subjective, based on previous experience.
Quantitative: It manipulates past data for forecasts, especially to assess cost and time overruns.

Based on the probability of occurrence, the identified risk can be ranked as High, Medium and Low.

b) Possible Actions:
They are actions required to contain the risk and minimize its impact on project success.

Risk Management

Risk management involves:

Monitoring of Risk: The changes in the risk are monitored over time.
Containing of Risk: Corrective actions are taken promptly to control risk.
Contingency Planning for Risks: Contingency planning is done to deal with changing environmental forces.

You may also like this:

Preliminary Analysis of Ideas

After developing project ideas, the project ideas are carefully screened in terms of objectives, constraints, resource capabilities and risk. Generally a committee is formed for this purpose.

Risk Analysis

Risk analysis is the one of the preliminary analysis of ideas. A risk is any event that could prevent the realization of project objective. The consequences of available alternatives are not known but the probability estimates are possible. Risks is present throughout the project cycle. Higher the risks higher will be the yield and lower the risks lower will be the yield. Risks can be:

Project Risks: Project Risks are associated with technical aspects of the project. Any project has many unknown factors.
Process Risks: Process risks are associated with project process, procedures, tools, techniques and performance.

You may also like this:

Development of Project Ideas

The second step for project identification is development of project ideas. The projects really begin as ideas. The project ideas need to be developed. The source for project ideas can be:

Situation Survey
Internal Sources
External Sources

Situation Survey: The situation survey involves the survey of current situation in the environment. The different changes are studied and identified. Changed already under way are detected. The changes that are found in environment may be political-legal, economic, socio-cultural and technological.
Internal Sources:

Corporate vision, mission, objectives, strategies and plans provide ideas for projects.
Management efforts to overcome problems or identify opportunities can suddenly provide new ideas for projects.
Suggestions made by research and development department, committees, task forces, work teams and quality circles can provide useful ideas for projects.

External Sources:

Needs and requirements of project clients are an important source of project ideas.
Outside consultants and experts can provide promising ideas for new projects. So can research laboratories.
Technological developments and competitor's activities provide new project ideas.
Legal provisions can also be the source of project ideas.
Politicians identify projects to serve the interest of their constituencies. Most government-financed road projects in Nepal are the brainchild of politicians.
Donor agencies identify project ideas that fit-in with their aid priorities.

You may also like this:

Objectives and Constraints of Project

The main objectives of the project to be accomplished should be clearly defined.
The customer and his needs should be clearly understood. What is needed to satisfy these needs is determined.
The different constraints i.e. time, cost and quality of project activities should be identified. They constrain the use of resources. They can be:

Time: Schedule for the delivery of project result.
Cost: Resources available for the project, including people.
Quality: Specifications and standards to be achieved.

Project Progress Control, Financial Management, Change and Conflict Management, Output Delivery

Project Progress Control

Control is monitoring and correction of performance to achieve project objectives. It consists of :

Tracking actual progress of the project.
Comparing actual progress with the targets.
Analyzing deviations between actual and targeted progress.
Corrective actions to address deviations. Problems are dealt with.
Informing stakeholders about the project progress.

Financial Management

More on: Corporate Financial Management

The project manager is responsible for efficient and effective use of financial resources. Budgetary control and cost control techniques are used for making effective use of resources. Waste is eliminated.

Change and Conflict Management

More on: Conflict Management

Project implies change. The project manager is responsible for managing change. He should also identify and manage risks in the project. Conflict is inevitable in project. The project manager should communicate and negotiate with all the parties involved in the conflicts. He should avoid management by crisis.

Project Output Delivery

The project manager is responsible to deliver the project deliverable to the customer.

Project Termination Management

The project manager is also responsible for handover of the project after its termination.

You may also like this:

Project Planning, Organizing, Implementing

Project Planning

The project manager is responsible for preparation of detailed project plan. It involves:

Definition of work requirements
Scheduling of project
Definition of resources needed
Definition of quantity of work and specifications.

Project Organization Design

The project manager is responsible for designing the project structure by:

Dividing project workload into tasks for job specialization.
Grouping task and people into project divisions.
Establishing authority-responsibility relationships for project personnel.
Coordination mechanism for integration.
Management of interfaces with the parent organization.

Project Implementation

The project manager is responsible for project implementation. The activities consist of:

Awarding and managing contracts
Appointing consultants
Mobilization of resources
Procurement of goods and services
Solving problems as they arise
Providing leadership
Building a solid information network

You may also like this:

Project Definition, Team Selection & Stakeholders Management

Project Definition

The project manager is responsible for defining the project to all project participants and stakeholders. The project objectives and constraints are specified. The project integrity is maintained.

Project Team Selection

The project manager is responsible for making a careful selection of project team. Members are drawn from various functional departments. They belong to various disciplines. They possess varied experiences. The project manager is also responsible for training and development of the project team members. He also leads the team and manages the performance of each member. He motivates team members to excel in performance.

Stakeholder Management

The project manager is responsible for identification of key project stakeholders. He effectively manages them through their involvement in the project and satisfaction of their needs. He gets top management commitment to the project. They can be customers, contractors, suppliers, consultants, government, unions etc.

You may also like this:

Responsibilities of Project Manager

The success and failure of project depends upon the quality of project manager. He/ she is the single responsibility center of the project. Responsibility is the obligation to perform duties and carry out tasks. It flows from authority, It can not be delegated. The project manager has total responsibility for the project from inception to completion. The responsibilities of project manager are:

Definition of Project
Selection of Project Team
Stakeholders Management
Project Planning
Project Organization Design
Implementation of Project
Project Progress Control
Financial Management
Change and Conflict Management
Project Output Delivery
Project Termination Management

You may also like this:

Information & Decision Role of Project Manager

Information Role

As a communicator, the project manager:

Gathers information from the project. Provides status reports.
Disseminates information inside the project and outside the project through downward, upward and lateral channels.
Removes barriers to communication.
Acts as a spokesperson for the project.

Project communication can be through correspondence, Internet, audio-visual presentations, reports, meetings and trainings.

Decision Role

The project manager is a decision maker about project's day to day activities. He is also a troubleshooter when problems arise.

The decision role is concerned with:

Resource Allocation: Allocation of resources to meet project needs.
Negotiation: The project manager negotiates resolution of disputes both inside and outside the project.
Disturbance Handling: The project manager makes decisions about unexpected disturbances in the project, such as strikes, natural disasters etc.
Manage change: The project manager manages all changes in project.

You may also like this:

Balancing Role of Project Manager

The project manage creates a balance between the interests and conflicting needs of :

Customer (client)
Functional Departments
Project
Project Team
Stakeholders

The project manager maintains a customer focus in the project to satisfy customer needs. All projects have customers (clients) and groups of beneficiaries.
The project manager manages interfaces with the functional departments of the organization to acquire project people and resources to get things done. He interacts with the on-going operations of the parent organization.
The project manager performs the front person role for the project. He preserves integrity of the project at all time.
The project manager balances the needs of the team members by bringing harmony in project goal and individual goal.
The project manager satisfies the needs of stakeholders who have interest in the project and can impact project outcome. He manages the contractors, consultants, suppliers and financiers of the project. He develops trusting relationships with the project stakeholders.

You may also like this:

Roles of Project Manager

Roles are the organized set of behaviors related to an identifiable position. The project manager is responsible for project results in a changing environment. His role is difficult because he is managing people who have dual responsibilities.

Leadership Role

The project manager is the chief of the project and leader of the project team.

the project manager provides overall leadership to the project by directing and influencing the project related activities of the people in the project. He is a coach as well as a facilitator.
The project manager as leader of the project team organizes and integrates people from various disciplines and departments. He motivates team members, manages conflicts, builds team loyalty and creates team identity. He directs team efforts towards project objectives.

You may also like this:

Conceptual and Team Building Skill

Conceptual Skill

Conceptual skill are the ability to relate the project to environmental forces with a systems perspective. These skills are essential for optimization of project performance. The project manager should have mission, foresight, judgment and intuition. Mission is the reason for performing the project work.

Team Building Skill

Team building skill are the ability to integrate people from many disciplines and departments into an effective team. The project manager should build and maintain effective team. He should create a conductive environment for teamwork by:

Setting guidelines and targets for team members and helping them to prioritize workloads.
Assigning responsibilities.
Creating commitment and strong sense of identity and loyalty for the project by sustaining team spirit and focusing on performance. Individual efforts should result in positive synergy.
Getting timely feedback and keeping everyone informed of project progress.
Maintaining accountability.
Showing concern for continuous quality improvement in the project. Revisiting work designs.
Leading and motivating team members to participate actively to attain project objectives. Shared leadership roles.
Managing conflicts. Creating functional conflicts.
Taking sincere interest in the growth and development of team members through training and coaching.
Taking risks in the project interests.
Providing a good work environment.

You may also like this:

Human Skill of Project Manager

The another skill required for the successful manager is human skill. It is the ability to get along with people and get the work done through other people. It is also the interpersonal skill. It is related to human factor of project management. They are:

Communication Skill: For the successful completion of project within the constraint of time and cost, there should be smooth flow of information from the top to bottom and bottom to top. It is the flow of information and understanding of meaning between sender and receiver. It keeps everyone informed about project progress. Active listening and feedback skills are important for successful project manager.
Motivation Skill: For getting work done through others, motivation is required. Motivation skill is required for successful manager to be work done. It induces project team for higher productivity to excel in achieving project objectives. It sustains employee involvement.
Negotiation and bargaining Skill: It is needed to acquire needed human and non-human resources from line managers. It sustains support of key stakeholders of the project. It manages interfaces to build favorable relationships. It is listening carefully and persuading.
Conflict Management Skill: It is the ability to resolve all kinds of opposition or antagonistic interaction in the project. Dysfunctional conflicts that adversely affect project performance are managed.
Stress Management Skill: A project manager is bombarded by various pressures that cause stress. He should have skills to manage stress. He should cultivate low stress environment.

You may also like this:

Managerial Skills of Project Manager

The most required skill for successful attainment of project goal remains on managerial skill. Managerial skill is the ability to practice management concepts, tools and techniques. The specific skills needed are:

Planning and control skills: Planning is ability to set targets and decide actions to achieve targets. Control is to measure performance to take corrective actions.
Organization skills: It is getting the project team together and assigning authority and responsibility to each member.
Decision making skills: It is to understand the problem, identify and evaluate alternatives and make a choice and implement the decision.
Human resource management skills: It is effectively utilizing the energy and potential of project team by managing people.
Leadership skills: It is directing and influencing the project team to achieve project objectives willingly and enthusiastically.
Budgeting skills: It is allocating, utilizing and controlling project resources.

You may also like this:

Technical Skills of Project Manager

Project manager is a single responsibility center with full accountability for project results. The success and failure depends upon the management done by project manager. Management of project is a challenging job. Proper handling of project will lead to success of the project. The skills required for project manager are as follows:

Technical Skills

Technical skills are the ability to perform a specialized task. Project manager must have some how technical knowledge but should not be the technical expert. However, project manager should be able to:

understand technology involve in the project.
evaluate technical concepts and solutions.
communicate in technical terms with project team.
assess technical risks, trends and innovations.

You may also like this:

Limitations of Project Management

Lack of Long Range Planning: Organizations are involved in achieving the objectives of temporary projects. This may adversely affect strategic planning for long-term direction and scope of the organization.
Organizational Disruption: Projects compete for people and resources with functional departments. This may disrupt the normal functioning of the organization.
Constrained Human Resource Development: Shifting people form project to project may constrain the training and development of new employees by experienced employees.
Reluctance for Authority Delegation: Senior line mangers may be unwilling to delegate authority to project managers. They may be afraid of losing their positions to project managers. Top management support may also be lacking.
Organizational Restructuring: Organizational restructuring for project management may require changes. They may be resisted by employees in functional departments.
Team-related Problems: Members of project team lack stability. This constrains effective team work. Team identity and norms development take a long time. Team members have divided loyalty if they work on multiple projects and also report to line managers.
Conflicts: Conflicts in project team may not be managed effectively. They can disrupt the project. Project autonomy may create with line department.
Unsuitable: Project management may not be suitable for all tasks. It is not suitable for small organizations which lack resources.

You may also like:

Benefits of Project Management

1. Change Management

Project Management serves as a vehicle for introducing and managing change. It facilitates introduction of new technologies. It breaks down functional barriers which resistance to change.

2. Environmental Adaptation

Project management operates in a dynamic and risky environment. It has flexibility in operations. Adjustments can be made to adapt to changing requirements during the life cycle phases of a project.

3. Results-orientation

Project management is results-oriented. It gets the jobs done. It aims at continuous improvement of performance. It achieves project objectives within the constraints of time, cost and quality. It promotes efficiency and eliminates waste. There is greater accountability.

4. Coordination

The project manager has total responsibility and accountability for project results. The project manager serves as a single responsibility and accountability center. There is minimal hierarchy. This facilitates coordination across functional lines. The resources are efficiently utilized with customer focus. Decision making is faster. Conflicts are managed effectively.

5. Team Development

A project has a multi-disciplinary team drawn from various departments. Project management creates conditions for good team work by building trust and respect. It encourages development and creativity of team members through participation. A team identity is created. Moreover, team members can be changed as needed.

6. Re-engineering

Project management is based on temporary organization structure. It can be pure project structure or matrix structure. Generally, matrix structure is used which cuts across functional lines. The work flow is both vertical and horizontal. This facilitate re-engineering. Its temporary nature causes minimum organizational disruption. There are no long term commitments to employees. Business processes are radically redesigned.

7. Timely Correction

Project management requires integrated planning and control. Actual performance is measured against plans. Identification of deviations is done to take corrective actions. Problems are solved as and when they arise. This improves capacity for future planning. This also ensures adherence to objectives and to time-cost-quality constraints.

8. Customer Satisfaction

Project management is customer focused. The results are achieved within the constraints of time, cost and quality. The needs of customers are satisfied. Satisfied customers tend to be lifelong customers.

You may also like:

Pages