Project Management – Olaf Passenheim
Additionally to external challenges, project teams are forced on a macro
level to deliver satisfying results for internal or external customers and
stay within the restrictions of budget, time and resources (quality and
quantity). In parallel to these deliverables, executives are also asking the
project management on a micro level to ensure the use of modern
management tools, such as (1) customising the project organisation to it
the operational style of the project teams and respective team members,
(2) informing the executive management about the project’s progress on a
real-time basis, (3) ensuring that critical task deadlines are met and (4)
ensuring that project team members know about and monitor project risk
and share accurate, meaningful and timely project documents.
According to Johansson [Johansson et al. (1993)], a process can be deined
as the constitution of links between activities and the transformation that
takes place within the process. his can include the upstream part of the
value chain as a possible recipient of the process output. therefore, every
process has the following characteristics:
- Deniability: It must have clearly denied boundaries, input and
output.
- Order: It must consist of activities that are ordered according to their
position in time and space. Customer: here must be a recipient of
the process’ outcome, i.e. a customer.
- Value-adding: he transformation taking place within the process
must add value to the recipient, either upstream or downstream.
- Embeddedness: A process can not exist in and of itself; it must be
embedded in an organizational structure.
- Cross-functionality: A process regularly can, but not necessarily
must, span several functions.
Every project has the following characteristics:
- Consists of temporary activities that have predetermined start and
end dates
- Uses restricted resources
- It has a single goal or a set of goals
- All events are to be realized to develop a single and new output
- Usually has a budget
- Usually a project manager is responsible for co-ordinating all
activities
Projects are usually chartered as a result of one or more of the following
features:
- A market demand
- A business need
- A customer request
- A technological advance
- A legal requirement
- A social need
,
, The common understanding of project managers nowadays is that there is
not a single best option for setting up a project organisation. he chosen
organisational structure has to relect the requirements of the project and
the organisations, has to it the possible requirements as well as
technological opportunities of the future and therefore is the best balance
between technological and human-social factors.
The project sponsor is the manager or executive within an organisation
who is not directly involved in the operational work of the project but who
can oversee a project, delegate authority to the Project Manager and can
provide support as a trainer or coach to the Project Manager.
The steering committee is a group of senior managers responsible for
business issues afecting the project. hey usually have budget approval
authority, make decisions about changes in goals and scope and are the
highest authority to resolve issues or disputes.
Both the project sponsor and the steering committee also have to
carry out the project governance of a project.
An advisory committee is a group of people that represents key project
stakeholders and provides advice to the project. Like steering committees,
advisory committees are generally recruited from senior management.
Unlike steering committees, advisory committees can not make decisions
regarding a project. heir role is to provide insights to the team regarding
stakeholder interests, technical advice and other relevant initiatives.
The project manager is naturally the key person within the project
organisation and has the overall responsibility for meeting project
requirements within the agreed to time, cost, scope and quality
constraints which form the framework of the project plan. Project
managers report to the steering committee, which has delegated its
authority to the project manager. he general tasks of a project manager are:
- Supervision and guidance to the project team
- Regular project status reports to the project sponsor/steering
committee
- Chair risk and change control committees (if applicable for a project)
- Attend steering committee meetings and prepare supporting
materials with the project sponsor
- Execute project management processes: risk, issues, change,
quality, and document management
- Ensure project plan, schedule and budget are up-to-date; detect and
manage variances
A team leader is a person responsible for managing one part of a project,
or a “subproject.” his position only exists on larger projects where
subprojects are required due to the number of employees involved or
diferent project goals allow the parallel work.
Additionally to external challenges, project teams are forced on a macro
level to deliver satisfying results for internal or external customers and
stay within the restrictions of budget, time and resources (quality and
quantity). In parallel to these deliverables, executives are also asking the
project management on a micro level to ensure the use of modern
management tools, such as (1) customising the project organisation to it
the operational style of the project teams and respective team members,
(2) informing the executive management about the project’s progress on a
real-time basis, (3) ensuring that critical task deadlines are met and (4)
ensuring that project team members know about and monitor project risk
and share accurate, meaningful and timely project documents.
According to Johansson [Johansson et al. (1993)], a process can be deined
as the constitution of links between activities and the transformation that
takes place within the process. his can include the upstream part of the
value chain as a possible recipient of the process output. therefore, every
process has the following characteristics:
- Deniability: It must have clearly denied boundaries, input and
output.
- Order: It must consist of activities that are ordered according to their
position in time and space. Customer: here must be a recipient of
the process’ outcome, i.e. a customer.
- Value-adding: he transformation taking place within the process
must add value to the recipient, either upstream or downstream.
- Embeddedness: A process can not exist in and of itself; it must be
embedded in an organizational structure.
- Cross-functionality: A process regularly can, but not necessarily
must, span several functions.
Every project has the following characteristics:
- Consists of temporary activities that have predetermined start and
end dates
- Uses restricted resources
- It has a single goal or a set of goals
- All events are to be realized to develop a single and new output
- Usually has a budget
- Usually a project manager is responsible for co-ordinating all
activities
Projects are usually chartered as a result of one or more of the following
features:
- A market demand
- A business need
- A customer request
- A technological advance
- A legal requirement
- A social need
,
, The common understanding of project managers nowadays is that there is
not a single best option for setting up a project organisation. he chosen
organisational structure has to relect the requirements of the project and
the organisations, has to it the possible requirements as well as
technological opportunities of the future and therefore is the best balance
between technological and human-social factors.
The project sponsor is the manager or executive within an organisation
who is not directly involved in the operational work of the project but who
can oversee a project, delegate authority to the Project Manager and can
provide support as a trainer or coach to the Project Manager.
The steering committee is a group of senior managers responsible for
business issues afecting the project. hey usually have budget approval
authority, make decisions about changes in goals and scope and are the
highest authority to resolve issues or disputes.
Both the project sponsor and the steering committee also have to
carry out the project governance of a project.
An advisory committee is a group of people that represents key project
stakeholders and provides advice to the project. Like steering committees,
advisory committees are generally recruited from senior management.
Unlike steering committees, advisory committees can not make decisions
regarding a project. heir role is to provide insights to the team regarding
stakeholder interests, technical advice and other relevant initiatives.
The project manager is naturally the key person within the project
organisation and has the overall responsibility for meeting project
requirements within the agreed to time, cost, scope and quality
constraints which form the framework of the project plan. Project
managers report to the steering committee, which has delegated its
authority to the project manager. he general tasks of a project manager are:
- Supervision and guidance to the project team
- Regular project status reports to the project sponsor/steering
committee
- Chair risk and change control committees (if applicable for a project)
- Attend steering committee meetings and prepare supporting
materials with the project sponsor
- Execute project management processes: risk, issues, change,
quality, and document management
- Ensure project plan, schedule and budget are up-to-date; detect and
manage variances
A team leader is a person responsible for managing one part of a project,
or a “subproject.” his position only exists on larger projects where
subprojects are required due to the number of employees involved or
diferent project goals allow the parallel work.
