Chapter 1 Introduction to Project Management

Learning Objectives

• Understand the growing need for better project management, especially for information technology (IT) projects
• Explain what a project is, provide examples of IT projects, list various attributes of projects, and describe the triple constraint of project management
• Describe project management and discuss key elements of the project management framework（基本框架), including project stakeholders（利益相关者）, the project management knowledge areas, common tools and techniques, and project success
• Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio management and the contributions each makes to enterprise success
• Understand the role of project managers by describing what they do, what skills they need, and career opportunities for IT project managers
• Describe the project management profession, including its history, the role of professional organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI), the importance of certification and ethics（规范）, and the advancement of project management software

What is a project?

A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)

Difference between Projects and Operations

Project Attributes:

A project

• has a unique purpose
• is temporary
• is developed using progressive elaboration (渐进明细)
• requires resources, often from various areas
• should have a primary customer or sponsor
  The project sponsor(项目发起人) usually provides the direction and funding for the project
• involves uncertainty

Project and Program Managers:

• Project managers work with project sponsors, project team, and other people involved in a project to meet project goals
• Program: group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)
• Program managers oversee programs; often act as bosses for project managers

Large Team Standard Communication Paths

The Triple Constraint of Project Management

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Quality is often a key factor in projects , as is customer or sponsor satisfaction （满意）.

Quadruple Constraint of project management, which included quality as wells as scope, time and cost.

What is Project Management?

• Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements” (PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition, 2013)
• Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint (project scope, time, and cost goals) and also facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of project stakeholders

What Is Software Project Management?

• IT Project:
  • The combination of software system and the computer hardware in which the software system will be running.
    • For example, a business software application for doing transactions may be a complete IT system when the software system is installed in the computer hardware system and is ready to be used by end users.
• Software Projects:
  • Software development projects
  • Software maintenance project
• Tasks in software projects:

Tasks in software projects

In a nutshell, software project management can be defined as applying project management and software engineering methods to develop/maintain a software product so that the goal of developing/maintaining a software product can be achieved using minimum possible resources and money and within the minimum time possible.

Project Management Framework

Project Stakeholders

• Stakeholders(利益相关者) are the people involved in or affected by project activities
• Stakeholders include
  • the project sponsor
  • the project manager
  • the project team
  • support staff
  • customers
  • users
  • suppliers
  • opponents to the project

10 Project Management Knowledge Areas

• Knowledge areas （ 知识领域 ） describe the key competencies that project managers must develop
• Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10 knowledge areas (project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management)
• This text includes an entire chapter on each knowledge area

1. Project scope management(项目范围管理) involves defining and managing all the work required to complete the project successfully. 它主要关心的是确定与控制那些应该与不应该包括在项目之内的过程。
2. Project time management(项目时间管理) includes estimating how long it will take to complete the work, developing an acceptable project schedule, and ensuring timely completion of the project.
3. Project cost management (项目成本管理) consists of preparing and managing the budget for the project.
4. Project quality management (项目质量管) ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken.
5. Project human resource management (项目人力资源管理) is concerned with making effective use of the people involved with the project.
6. Project communications management(项目沟通管理) involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information.
7. Project risk management(项目风险管理) includes identifying, analyzing, and responding to risks related to the project.
8. Project procurement management (项目采购管理) involves acquiring or procuring goods and services for a project from outside the performing organization.
9. Project stakeholder management (项目干系人管理) includes identifying and analyzing stakeholder needs while managing and controlling their engagement throughout the life of the project.
10. Project integration management (项目集成管理) is an overarching function that affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas.

10 Project Management Knowledge Areas

Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management
• Some specific ones include
  • Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope)
  • Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time)
  • Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)
  • See Table 1-1 for many more

Project Success

There are several ways to define project success:

• The project met scope, time, and cost goals
• The project satisfied the customer/sponsor
• The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy

What Helps Projects Succeed?*

1. Executive support (行政支持)
2. User involvement
3. Clear business objectives
4. Emotional maturity (情感的成熟)
5. Optimizing scope
6. Agile process
7. Project management expertise
8. Skilled resources
9. Execution
10. Tools and infrastructure

Top Three Reasons Why Federal Technology Project Succeed

• Adequate funding
• Staff expertise
• Engagement from all stakeholders

Program and Project Portfolio Management

• A program is “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)
• A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program
• Examples of common programs in the IT field include infrastructure, applications development, and user support
• As part of project portfolio (投资组合) management, organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success
• Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective

Project Management Compared to Project Portfolio Management

The Role of the Project Manager

• Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities like planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals
• Remember that 97% of successful projects were led by experienced project managers, who can often help influence success factors

Suggested Skills for Project Managers

• The Project Management Body of Knowledge(项目管理知识体系)
• Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations
• Project environment knowledge
• General management knowledge and skills
• Soft skills or human relations skills

Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies for Project Managers

1. People skills 交际能力
2. Leadership 领导
3. Listening 听
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent 诚信、道德行为一致
5. Strong at building trust 强大的建立信任
6. Verbal communication 口头沟通
7. Strong at building teams 擅长团队建设
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management 解决冲突，冲突管理
9. Critical thinking, problem solving 批判性思维，解决问题
10. Understands, balances priorities 了解到，余额优先

Successful Software Project Manager

The Project Management Institute

• The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international professional society for project managers founded in 1969
• PMI provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP)项目管理专家

Ethics in Project Management

• Ethics(伦理学), loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is “right” and “wrong”
• Project managers often face ethical dilemmas
• In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must agree to PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
• Several questions on the PMP exam are related to professional responsibility, including ethics

Chapter Summary

• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result
• Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
• A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way
• Project portfolio management involves organizing and managing projects and programs as a portfolio of investments
• Project managers play a key role in helping projects and organizations succeed
• The project management profession continues to grow and mature