Summary Project management a practical approach by Grit

Project management
Summary book Grit
By Claudia Kreileman

,Table of content

Table of content........................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1, The project................................................................................................ 2
Chapter 2, people working on projects........................................................................6
Chapter 3, The project from start to finish................................................................12
Chapter 4, planning and scheduling..........................................................................18
Chapter 5, drawing up a project plan........................................................................21




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,Chapter 1, The project
Groups of activities within an organization:
1. Improvised activities: reaction is an ad how one: not according to a laid down
plan, but decided on as events unfold. Because of this new situations can be
met in a flexible manner, but it carries the risk of chaos and could put
pressure on the organization.
2. Routine activities: activities that are repeated frequently and are relative
predictable. To perform these activities work procedures or instructions have
to be developed.
3. Project-based activities: non-recurring and h. to increase this predictability,
the work should be done according to a plan, which illuminate each phase of
the process. Before starting the project a project plan is formulated. Projects
often have an organization on their own, one created specially to deal with
the needs of the project.

Improvised Project-based Routine
When? Ad hoc Predictable Repetitive
Result? Uncertain Reasonable certain Certain
Familiarity? New, sudden New, planned Well-known
Freedom? A lot of A suitable amount Little freedom
Procedures? Chaotic Increasingly clear Clear

Project = a group of people, usually from various fields of expertise, collaborating
temporarily with the aim of reaching a predetermined goal within a predetermined
budget.

Features of a project:
 A project should have a clear starting point: project start-up or kick-off.
 Since it has a limited duration, a finishing date needs to be set.
 A project has a unique and clearly defined goal. The outcome is the product.
 Usually has a client who has commissioned the project and who pays for it.
This is the person who has an interest in the result, provide the project team
with clarity and make important decisions.
 Has a budget which needs to be determined in advance.
 The project group consists of people from various fields of expertise working
together as a team.
 It has its own organization set-p including a project manager.
 Project is initiated as a purposeful move. It never starts spontaneously.

Types of projects:
 Technical projects: aim is to effect some change in technology or to come up
with a new product. Relatively easy to plan. End result is obvious. Also known
as “hard” projects.
 Social projects: outcomes not quite as evident. Their aim is often to change
the corporate culture or organizational structure, dealing with the way people


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, work together. Since people tend to resist changes, social projects can be
really difficult. Also known as “soft” projects.
 Commercial projects: goal is to earn money.
 Mixed projects: combine aspects of technical and social projects.
 Events are a special kind of project, as the end only appears at a certain point
in time.




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, Things to keep in mind as a project manager:
1. Request planning time from the sponsor.
2. Consult everyone involved.
3. Work from the top down: dividing a project into phases in one way of keeping
it manageable:
 Preparation (think)
 Execution (act) phases mall project
 Aftercare (maintain)
4. Thinking things through: from start to finish and from finish to start: since
project work is work on a new situation, you can’t rely on your experiences.

Project phases:

Project proposal

Project plan

Preliminary design

Detailed design

Project results

Using the project results and
adapting the project results

Concept: the project exist only as an idea or problem. If a decision to proceed is
made at the managerial level, a number of activities may be carried out:
 An investigation into the current state of affairs.
 A rough estimation of the extent of the problem.
 A determination of the aims or the desired results of the project.
 A determination of the feasibility of the project.
This phase often results in a project proposal, if this is approved by management,
the next phase may commence.
Definition: project’s objectives emerge. At the end of this phase there should be a
project plan wherein the project is defined in detail.
Design: a way of resolving the problem has to be found. This phase makes a
demand on the creativity of the participants, it can be stimulated by holding
brainstorm sessions. In order to determine whether the proposed solution conforms
to the requirements as laid down, one option is to make a prototype of it. At the end
of this phase there should be a design that does the following:
 Shows the client exactly what he will be getting.
 Shows those who will be actively involved in the next phase exactly what has
to be produced.
Preparation: the design that was prepared during the previous phase is made
ready for production. This phase result in a detailed plan, the product itself is not
produced. The aim is to create the conditions that allow the production phase to
take place.



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