O NE S TOP

P ROFESSIONAL
P ROJECT
M ANAGEMENT
Dr. Archie Addo pmp,
Srini Centhala,
Senthil Dhandapani pmp,
Muthu Shanmugam
Ken Agar
O N E S T O P P R O J E C T M A N A G E M E N T

AU THORS

Dr. Archie Addo

Dr. Addo is committed to the transformation of business needs into successful ventures
through the use of proven project management tools and techniques. With experience of
over 20 years within interdisciplinary projects and academic fields of study he has
demonstrated the effective use of Project Management techniques. His specialties include of
computer science, project management, procurement, organizational design and
development, process engineering, quality management and project team facilitation. He
has successfully lead projects with responsibilities including multi-discipline, multi-million
dollar projects utilizing internal and external resources.

Dr. Addo holds a PhD in Computer Information Systems (CIS) from Nova Southeastern
University with emphasis in Electronic Commerce, Cryptography and Expert Systems and is
certified by the Project Management Institute as a Professional Project Manager. His
publications include UNDP research in Electricity, Water, Telecommunications and Waste
Management.

Ken Agar, MED(Admin)

Ken Agar is an entrepreneurial educator. Ken has over 30 years experience in Education at
all levels and has worked throughout the world. His experience includes, Vice President of a
University, Senior School Administrator, and a teacher of children, young adults, and adults.

Educated in Canada and the United States, Ken has brought the concepts and principles of
entrepreneurship to the classroom in practical and dynamic programs. Currently Ken has
published on effective learning in entrepreneurship and published a textbook on how to build
strategies for successful teaching.

Muthu Shanmugam

Muthu Shanmugam is a longtime software consultant with more than 15 years of

programming experience. He has designed and developed large scale web-based
applications for various clients spanning multiple industries including media,
telecommunications.

He is creating innovative web applications for Absolut-e Data com with the help of awesome
team in India. He now focuses exclusively on Ruby on Rails and iPhone development. Some
of the latest applications released are www.pairworks.com, www.pureapp.com,
www.eduHelp.in.

Muthu is currently experimenting on integrating agile methodology practices to Project

Management. In his spare time he enjoys watching movies and sports. He lives in Toronto
with his wife and a daughter.

Srini

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 Srini is an information technology architect and entrepreneur who has extensive experience
over 18 Years in building very large Systems for Fortune 100 clients. As the founder of
Absolut-e Data Com, Inc. he has focused his team on creating web based applications such
as www.eServicePlace.com, www.OneStopProject.com. The current development focus is on
creating web based on-demand data warehouse system which would enable the medium to
small sized companies to make informed decisions quickly.

His specialties include business process re-engineering, providing innovative business ideas
& concepts to solve business problems, Business Intelligence Solutions, decision support
systems and Dataware house Architecture in business data management systems. To
achieve his success Srini recognizes the significant support of his parents, the executive
team of Dr.Archie Addo, Muthu Shanmugam, Senthil Dhandapani, Britto Selvam, Absolut-e
India team, Ken Agar and also his friends.

Senthil Dhandapani, PMP

Senthil Dhandapani is a Manager in the Public Sector practice with Deloitte Consulting LLP.
He is practicing in the Health and Human Services segment with a specialty in the strategy,
design, and development of technology solutions for public sector clients. Senthil has led a
number of strategic and development initiatives for public sector clients in service
integration and systems development. His experience includes completed state government
projects for Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Wyoming and Georgia. Senthil has
more than 15 years of professional experience including the several private sector
organizations. Senthil has a Master in Software Systems from The Birla Institute of
Technology, Pilani India and a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from PSG College
of Technology, India.

ACKNOWLE DG EM E NTS

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Table of contents
(Interim)

IntroductionError! Bookmark not defined.

1.0 Real Life Project SampleError! Bookmark not defined.
2.0 Project Management Introduction
3.0 Project Life Cycle and Organization
4.0 Project Management Processes
Initiating Process Group
Planning Process Group
Executing Process Group
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
Closing Process Group
5.0 Project Integration Management
6.0 Project Scope Management
7.0 Project Time Management
8.0 Project Cost Management
9.0 Project Quality Management
10.0 Project Human Resource Management
11.0 Project Communications Management
12.0 Project Risk Management
13.0 Project Procurement Management
14.0 Professional and Social Responsibility
Appendices
Appendices A – Hints and Easy Memory Material
Appendices B – Templates
Appendices C
Appendices D
Appendices E

Table of Figures and Tables to Follow

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3) B UILDING
4) ON
5) K NOWLEDGE
A Reference for:

• Novice Project Managers

• Project Management Certification

• Business Management

Case Study: A Need for Project Management

• Introducing Project Management to the Novice

• Preparation for the PMP Certification

• Introduction to PMP Exam PMI Credentials

• What does it mean when you pass the PMP Exam?

• Approaching Business From A PM Point Of View

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HOW DO YO U S T ART A NEW PRO JE CT ?

Starting a new project requires good planning that consists of the following:

• Visualizing the end product, service, or result

• Carry out necessary feasibility study
• Get the project charter authorized to provide the project with power to get money
and acquire appropriate resources
• Acquire appropriate resources
• Determine the scope of the project

Visualizing the end product, service, or result

Organize meeting with the project sponsor and agree on the product, service or result of the
project completion. Also, agree on the completion date of the project. There must be a
rationale behind the completion date of the project to enable the project to get a proper
buy-in in the project success. For example, if the project is to build a stadium to be used for
special activities that has a set timeline. Completing the project after the set timeline could
prove to be disastrous. Having such knowledge and rationale will enable the team to act
appropriately.

Carry out necessary feasibility study

Now that the project team and the project have an agreement on the project product,
service or result, it is important that necessary feasibility study is carried out to ensure that
the project is a go or no go. The feasibility study will determine whether the anticipated
project product is feasible or not. Also, will determine if the project is going to be beneficial
or not.

Get the project charter authorized

On agreeing with the sponsor about project product, service or result, the next step is to
develop a project charter documenting all the high-level requirements and cost project. This
document has to be signed to allow the project manager with the necessary authority to hire
the best resources and to use funds to implement the project.

Acquire appropriate resources

Now that the project charter is signed, it is time to recruit the best resources that can
deliver the project successfully. Remember, best resources are not cheap. Therefore, the
sponsors should be convinced to spend money to get the best resource that can make the
project successful. Good resources are usually easy to manage, and you know they can
deliver taking off a lot of pressure off the project. Prior to hiring the resources, plan well that
you know the roles they will play on the project and respective background for the roles.
Organize the interview well not to take too much time. Remember, time is money!

Determine the scope of the project

The in-scope (work you are suppose to do on the project) and out-scope (work you are not
to consider on the project) of the project is defined in the project charter. Here, there is a
need to expand the in-scope of the project to see the delivery of the project. Describe the
deliverables in detail requiring that the seller work closely with the customer to identify the
business benefits. By understanding the deliverables clearly, the project will be in a situation
to determine if the completion date is feasible or not. If it is not going to be feasible then it
may require asking for more time to complete the project, get more resources, or reduce
the scope of the project requirements. Don’t forget to identify possible risks that may come
on the project. Risks can cause problems on the project extending the duration of tasks and
eventually extend the length of the project.

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From this point, the whole project must be planned and work starts.

IN TR ODU CING P RO JECT MAN AG E MENT T O THE NOV IC E

For those new to project management this text is a good starting point to gradually
introduce you into project management. You are not alone. Most of us do projects everyday
in our personal lives and at work such as preparing for exams, building a house, planning a
wedding and group vacation. There are a lot of people finding out that project management
is a good tool that can help their projects successful.

We will use the Project Management Institute (PMI) methodology, which is well proven
methodology for managing projects that are small, medium, and large. The methodology
will be described in detail in this book. The PMI methodology will help navigate you step–by-
step into managing any project.

Trying to complete a project without a proper process can be a frustrating experience. Often
the steps to complete a particular project can be disjointed and there may be
misunderstanding among people involved in completing that project. There may be other
things that can make completing project more stressful, such as missing deadlines and lack
of finance or mishandling of finance. Looking at project management from another angle
could be fun and successful. By reading this book and applying the skills learned you will be
able to complete projects in a fun and successful way. We are confident that reading and
understanding this book will improve the success of all your projects.

To understand project management we need to identify basic concepts such as: What is
project? Building a custom house is a project. A builder building houses over and over is a
process for the builder. Your custom house is a project for you. The custom house is
temporary event, not a recurring one, and it is unique. In the case of the builder, he
continually builds houses that bring about a process of building houses. Building your
custom house would require a team (staff or human resource) that may consist of masons,
plumber, electricians, carpenters, etc. Another example of a project is having a wedding is a
project. There is a beginning, the proposal and acceptance. A planning and initiation phase
of getting ready for the event. The actual wedding it self (what project managers call the
implementation) and then the final closing to the event which would be the reception,
honeymoon and paying the suppliers.

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There are therefore several ingredients or processes and a significant knowledge needed in
a project.
A project is temporary; it has a defined beginning and a specified
end. It produces a unique output or deliverable, and has no
predefined work assignments. The project is unique.

The Wedding is yours, not for someone else, and it will occur on a date not on a series of
dates. When we speak of deliverables we refer to what will be accomplished or product at
the end of the project. The deliverable is what the customer wants. In the case of the
house it is a finished house in the manner that you wish it to be.

To complete a project successfully, it is recommended that you use project management

approach. The management is a series of decisions that directly affect the project. Project
Management formalizes the process and provides a systematic method that assists in
making good management decisions. The project can be looked at as being successful
based on the following:

• The customer is satisfied with the final deliverable.

• The deliverable is given to the customer on time.
• The project is completed within budget and staffing allocations.
• The people involved in the process have learned something. Their skills have
improved and have become more competent in the completion of this project and,
hopefully, future projects
• People involved have benefited from the lessons learned (things that are happening
during the project, and can learn from the experience).
Once you have a project defined then you must manage the project. Project management is
a set of tools, techniques, and knowledge that is used to help produce successful project
results, product or output. To complete a project you need a game plan and that is the
project management approach. Using project management has a lot of benefits to both the
customer and the team doing the project such as:

• Help plan, keep the project on track, and help solve problems as they arise.
• Avoid excessive work load for some individuals
• Acquire team member with right skills
• Avoid staffing conflict with other projects or assignments
• Have control on the scope or work requirement changes
• Avoid work being redone or duplicated
• Avoid insufficient resources
• Avoid missing deadlines

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You can successfully manage your project by paying attention to the landmarks for your
project team:

Creating the project charter – This document includes the scope (or the work to be done) of the project
It includes the limits, how much you are going to do, and constraints, what will stop you from working. The
project charter template can be found in Appendix A.
Working as a team – Projects require teams. The ability to work with others and communicate effectively
supports the completion of the project. Every project will require specific skills and competencies that not
just one person has. Team membership development including comments, clarification; and team meeting
guidelines during development help to improve the final outcome of the project.
Developing the plan – A plan will tell you what you need to do. There are a large number of activities
and items to consider in any plan. The planning process accounts for these details and processes
through specific consideration of defined activities. These activities include: details added to the project
scope; determining project boundaries; creating schedule, budget and staffing estimates, risk
assessment, quality assurance among others.
Doing the project – The implementation of the plan is monitored. The project progress and any changes
to the project are identified, discussed, approved and implemented.
Closing out the project – When the project is at the completion of the plan this is called closing out of
the project. The item or deliverable is ready to be given to the client. But this is not the actual end of the
project. The other process at this stage is to evaluate the deliverables before customer acceptance, and
document lessons learned on the project and to ensure that all of the appropriate processes have been
finalized.

The above items have a series of templates that can be used to capture appropriate details of the project,
and samples are provided in the appendix A of this book.

To help guide you through the process it is an effective technique to gain an understanding
of your experience in managing projects. A simple questionnaire has been provided to help
you understand your current skills in project management.

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Current Personal Assessment

Initial Phase - Initiation Process
To what extent I have completed work
in the identified area
Significant Activity
Very Very
Little Some
Little Often

Identification of Clients 1 2 3 4

Negotiate agreements 1 2 3 4

Manager Project 1 2 3 4

Obtain Agreement / Contract Approved 1 2 3 4

Intermediate Phase - Planning Process

To what extent I have completed work
in the identified area
Significant Activity
Very Very
Little Some
Little Often

Work with a team to develop a project 1 2 3 4

Identify specific work to be done 1 2 3 4

Create a budget for a project 1 2 3 4

Delegate responsibilities to people 1 2 3 4

Lead a Project Team or other team 1 2 3 4

Resolve issues with teams or clients 1 2 3 4

Complete a risk assessment 1 2 3 4

Create a work schedule created 1 2 3 4

Change management procedures created 1 2 3 4

Establish a Quality control plan 1 2 3 4

Training staff or team members 1 2 3 4

Know who the Stakeholders of a project are 1 2 3 4

Establish standards of performance 1 2 3 4

Purchase Equipment for a project 1 2 3 4

Project documentation needs identified 1 2 3 4

Intermediate Phase Project Execution/Implementation

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