What is the project Management?

Application of knowledge, skills, tools & techniques to project activities in order to meet
stakeholder needs & expectations from a project.

Roles of Project management:

1. Project Sponsor:
Project Sponsor role if at all exists, reports into Executive Sponsor role. Executive sponsor
may delegate any of his responsibilities to project sponsor. Project Sponsor has the same
level of interest and control over project as Executive sponsor.

2. Project Manager
Person in this role is primary responsible for the completion of the project as planned and
agreed. He might be given people management responsibility also. He is one who drives the
team in required direction.

3. People Manager
This role is to manage people in a project and see to that they are given with all that is
required for them to work smoothly. Delivery is not a responsibility of this role.

4. Client/Customer
Who has a business need and our delivered product or service will satisfy their business need.
They are the one who pays for our services.

5. Vendors
They provide additional products and services necessary for the project. Usually they will be
contracted for a period.

6. Project Management Office

PM is a body with group of people. Its main purpose is to build set of standards and policies
for internal project management and to see that they are adhered across all projects. They
help creating standard templates for the organization.

7. Team Lead
This role is responsible for teams working and in most of the organizations he is the first
level of manager to who team reports into. Person in this role has the responsibility of
coaching, coordination, problem solving, information sharing, status reporting, and liaison to
higher
Characteristics of an Effective Project Management

1. Flexibility:
The ability to adapt to unique portfolio and project needs is a telltale sign of a good PM. Project
delivery styles are largely determined by organizational structures as centralized PM bring many
benefits to the business itself.

2. Communication skills:
Communication skills is considered to be one of the most important traits of a successful
executive, whether the CEO or PM. By creating a stable and transparent line of
communication between the technical team, managers, executives and stakeholders, a good
PM’s abilities are judged based on his/her capability of communicating clearly and honestly.

3. Organization:
Organizational skills are critical for a PM as they are responsible for scheduling and
budgeting in the project. The ability to prioritize tasks, assess as well as allocate resources
and keep a constant tab on the budget is key to the success of any project. With the right
organizational skills, a PM can remain in control of the project and ensure that no resources
are being wasted or misused.

4. Problem solving:
Regardless of the nature, size and urgency of a project, mistakes and problems are bound to emerge.
Instead of panicking or playing the blame game, a good PM determines the cause of the problem and
takes immediate steps to rectify the mistake. By effectively handling difficult solutions and taking
brave decisions, a project management officer can make a big difference in a project’s outcome.

What is Work Breakdown Structure?

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition
of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and
create the required deliverables. A WBS is the cornerstone of effective project planning,
execution, controlling, monitoring, and reporting. All the work contained within the WBS
is to be identified, estimated, scheduled, and budgeted.
Work Breakdown Structure Diagram
Quality of a Work Breakdown Structures
A well-designed WBS makes it easy to assign elements of the WBS to any project activity.
A good WBS should exhibit the following characteristics:
 Definable—can be described and easily understood by project participants.
 Manageable—a meaningful unit of work where specific responsibility and authority
can be assigned to a responsible individual.
 Estimate able—duration can be estimated in time required to complete, and cost can
be estimated in resources required to complete.
 Independent—minimum interface with or dependence on other ongoing elements
(i.e., assignable to a single control account, and clearly distinguishable from other
work packages).
 Integra table—integrates with other project work elements and with higher level
cost estimates and schedules to include the entire project.
 Measurable—can be used to measure progress; has start and completion dates and
measurable interim milestones.
 Adaptable—sufficiently flexible so the addition/elimination of work scope can be
readily accommodated in the WBS framework.

Project decomposition - why should you do it?

It’s tempting just to start entering tasks into your plan and skipping the work breakdown
structure (WBS), but you may be in for a surprise when you start to execute your plan.
Taking the time to do your decomposition allows you to work efficiently throughout your
project from the initiation phase right through to its closure. WBS in project management
is key in organizing the team’s work into manageable chunks. The sole tool used is called the
project decomposition.

What exactly is project decomposition/WBS?

Project decomposition is a technique used to break deliverables progressively into smaller
and smaller components. The WBS is the top layer encompassing the decomposition. Each
layer provides a further breakdown of the layer above. “A hierarchical decomposition of the
total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives
and create the required deliverables.”
 What are the benefits of project decomposition?
The work breakdown allows you to identify tasks in their granular form. When the work
packages are clearly identified, they allow you to:

 Produce more accurate time and cost estimates

 Clarify the scope
 Help to identify and contain risks
 Have more control when executing the project
 Create a more accurate plan
 Have a better understanding of the impact when there is a change in scope
 Utilize cost estimates for future projects
 Influence future WB