@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
SOLUTION MANUAL
Project Management in Practice, 7th Edition by Meredith
Chapter 1-8
Chapter 1
The World of Project Management
This chapter introduces the topic of project management. Projects are defined as temporary
endeavors undertaken to create a unique product or service. The chapter points out that
recent interest in project management is based on a recognition that many organizational tasks
do not fit neatly into business-as-usual. The significant differences between project
management and general management are overviewed. The chapter points out that the two
primary roles of the project manager are managing trade-offs among the three interrelated
project objectives and managing risk. The three interrelated objectives of budget, schedule,
and specifications are also introduced. In addition, two alternative project life cycles are
presented and the importance of understanding this distinction is discussed. Also included in
the chapter is a discussion of project selection including both non-numeric and numeric
selection methods. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the aggregate project plan and
an overview of the organization of the remainder of the text.
Cases and Readings
Some cases appropriate to the subject of this chapter are:
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Harvard: 9-688-040 Boeing 767: From Concept to Production (A); 9-688-041 (B) 9-888-519
Videotape. This 19 page best-selling case shows how a massive corporation manages the
evolution of an enormously complex and risky project from conception to manufacture. The 1-
page B case is a supplement update about whether Boeing needs to change the way they
manage such projects. The video shows the assembly process of an airplane, compressing 10
weeks of work into ten minutes. Good introductory case to the idea of large-scale projects. An
18 page teaching note is available for this case (9-689-027).
Harvard: 9-396-311 BAE Automated System (A): Denver International Airport Baggage-
Handling System. This 15-page case describes the difficult, continually-delayed Denver airport
project from the viewpoint of one of the contractors. Includes issues of budgeting, scheduling,
planning, contracting, and other managerial aspects of this large project. There is also a (B)
case, described in Chapter 7: Monitoring and Controlling the Project. A 32 page teaching note is
available for this case (5-399-099).
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Harvard: 9-692-083 BMW: The 7-Series Project (A); 9-695-013 (B). This 20-page best-selling
case describes the situation of a manufacturer with a high-quality product trying to select
among two processes for producing its new model. The proposed project for initiating a new
production process promises to eliminate start-up production problems and improve quality
but may be less flexible for downstream product improvements. A 13 page teaching note is
available for this case (5-692-094).
Harvard: 9-689-073 Plus Development Corp. (B) (Abridged); 9-693-064 (C). These two cases,
normally meant to follow the (A) case (see Chapter 2), describe the need for this corporation to
select between alternative methods of product development. The situation is exacerbated by
competitors’ aggressive actions in the market and mixed results with current development
procedures. A 21 page teaching note is available(5-690-093).
Some readings appropriate to the subject of this chapter are:
J.K. Pinto et al. Lessons for an Accidental Profession (Business Horizons, March-April 1995).
This reading describes the common occurrence of someone suddenly being appointed a project
manager and finding he or she has been inadequately trained for the task. Based on the
authors’ own experiences and interviews with dozens of senior project managers, they distill
twelve guidelines for new project managers. The guidelines run the gamut from project
initiation, through planning, to execution, to close-out. Some are technical, some are
uncommon sense, and many are philosophical, and sometimes political. But they are sage
advice, not only for the novice but for the experienced project manager as well.
1. Cooke-Davies (2002). The real success factors on projects (International Journal of
Project Management, vol. 20, #3, pp 185-190).
This reading uses three questions to question on which factors are critical to project
success. The questions are: ‘‘What factors lead to project management success?’’,
‘‘What factors lead to a successful project?’’ and ‘‘What factors lead to consistently
successful projects?’’ This paper is based on empirical research from more than 70 large
multi-national or national organizations It i identifies 12 factors that are, in one way or
another, critical to project success.
2. Thomas, G & Fernández, W. (2008), Success in IT projects: A matter of definition?
(International Journal of Project Management, 26, 733-742). This reading investigates
how project management success is defined and measured within companies in
different industries. The study was done in Australia and provides an international
perspective on project success. The authors suggest that when success criteria are
formally defined and then measured, IT project outcomes are improved and project
resources are better utilized.
, @PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Answers to Review Questions
1. What is the primary role of a project manager? How are the primary roles related to one
another?
The primary roles of the project manager are managing the tradeoffs among the three
project goals (cost, scope, time) and managing risk. The primary roles are related to one
another in that to some extent they can be traded-off for one another. For example,
managing risk is about managing uncertainty. One uncertainty is whether the project will
be completed on time. One way to manage the uncertainty associated with the project
being completed on time is to pad the project due date.
2. Contrast a project from a nonproject.
The difference between a project and a nonproject is not always crystal clear. At base,
however, projects are unique, have a specific deliverable, and have a specific due date while
nonprojects usually do not have all these characteristics.
3. Contrast win-lose negotiation, lose-lose negotiation and win-win negotiation and explain
why the latter is so important in project management.
Win-lose negotiation is like a zero-sum game. Anything one side wins is a loss for the other
side. In win-win negotiation, the outcome is such that both parties gain something from the
interchange.
Win-lose negotiating is dangerous for project managers who will have to deal with the same
parties over and over again. The project manager who forces a functional manager to lose
will have created a permanent enemy.
4. Identify the three goals of a project. What does it mean for a project to be
“overdetermined?”
The three goals of a project are:
1. On time,
2. On budget, and
3. To specification (i.e., including “quality” and “client satisfaction”).
An overdetermined project is one that has a fixed budget, fixed delivery time, and fixed
specifications (i.e., all three goals are fixed). In reality, projects must have some flexibility to
allow for chance events. In the case of an overdetermined project, there is no allowance for
any such events.
SOLUTION MANUAL
Project Management in Practice, 7th Edition by Meredith
Chapter 1-8
Chapter 1
The World of Project Management
This chapter introduces the topic of project management. Projects are defined as temporary
endeavors undertaken to create a unique product or service. The chapter points out that
recent interest in project management is based on a recognition that many organizational tasks
do not fit neatly into business-as-usual. The significant differences between project
management and general management are overviewed. The chapter points out that the two
primary roles of the project manager are managing trade-offs among the three interrelated
project objectives and managing risk. The three interrelated objectives of budget, schedule,
and specifications are also introduced. In addition, two alternative project life cycles are
presented and the importance of understanding this distinction is discussed. Also included in
the chapter is a discussion of project selection including both non-numeric and numeric
selection methods. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the aggregate project plan and
an overview of the organization of the remainder of the text.
Cases and Readings
Some cases appropriate to the subject of this chapter are:
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Harvard: 9-688-040 Boeing 767: From Concept to Production (A); 9-688-041 (B) 9-888-519
Videotape. This 19 page best-selling case shows how a massive corporation manages the
evolution of an enormously complex and risky project from conception to manufacture. The 1-
page B case is a supplement update about whether Boeing needs to change the way they
manage such projects. The video shows the assembly process of an airplane, compressing 10
weeks of work into ten minutes. Good introductory case to the idea of large-scale projects. An
18 page teaching note is available for this case (9-689-027).
Harvard: 9-396-311 BAE Automated System (A): Denver International Airport Baggage-
Handling System. This 15-page case describes the difficult, continually-delayed Denver airport
project from the viewpoint of one of the contractors. Includes issues of budgeting, scheduling,
planning, contracting, and other managerial aspects of this large project. There is also a (B)
case, described in Chapter 7: Monitoring and Controlling the Project. A 32 page teaching note is
available for this case (5-399-099).
,@PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Harvard: 9-692-083 BMW: The 7-Series Project (A); 9-695-013 (B). This 20-page best-selling
case describes the situation of a manufacturer with a high-quality product trying to select
among two processes for producing its new model. The proposed project for initiating a new
production process promises to eliminate start-up production problems and improve quality
but may be less flexible for downstream product improvements. A 13 page teaching note is
available for this case (5-692-094).
Harvard: 9-689-073 Plus Development Corp. (B) (Abridged); 9-693-064 (C). These two cases,
normally meant to follow the (A) case (see Chapter 2), describe the need for this corporation to
select between alternative methods of product development. The situation is exacerbated by
competitors’ aggressive actions in the market and mixed results with current development
procedures. A 21 page teaching note is available(5-690-093).
Some readings appropriate to the subject of this chapter are:
J.K. Pinto et al. Lessons for an Accidental Profession (Business Horizons, March-April 1995).
This reading describes the common occurrence of someone suddenly being appointed a project
manager and finding he or she has been inadequately trained for the task. Based on the
authors’ own experiences and interviews with dozens of senior project managers, they distill
twelve guidelines for new project managers. The guidelines run the gamut from project
initiation, through planning, to execution, to close-out. Some are technical, some are
uncommon sense, and many are philosophical, and sometimes political. But they are sage
advice, not only for the novice but for the experienced project manager as well.
1. Cooke-Davies (2002). The real success factors on projects (International Journal of
Project Management, vol. 20, #3, pp 185-190).
This reading uses three questions to question on which factors are critical to project
success. The questions are: ‘‘What factors lead to project management success?’’,
‘‘What factors lead to a successful project?’’ and ‘‘What factors lead to consistently
successful projects?’’ This paper is based on empirical research from more than 70 large
multi-national or national organizations It i identifies 12 factors that are, in one way or
another, critical to project success.
2. Thomas, G & Fernández, W. (2008), Success in IT projects: A matter of definition?
(International Journal of Project Management, 26, 733-742). This reading investigates
how project management success is defined and measured within companies in
different industries. The study was done in Australia and provides an international
perspective on project success. The authors suggest that when success criteria are
formally defined and then measured, IT project outcomes are improved and project
resources are better utilized.
, @PROFDOCDIGITALLIBRARIES
Answers to Review Questions
1. What is the primary role of a project manager? How are the primary roles related to one
another?
The primary roles of the project manager are managing the tradeoffs among the three
project goals (cost, scope, time) and managing risk. The primary roles are related to one
another in that to some extent they can be traded-off for one another. For example,
managing risk is about managing uncertainty. One uncertainty is whether the project will
be completed on time. One way to manage the uncertainty associated with the project
being completed on time is to pad the project due date.
2. Contrast a project from a nonproject.
The difference between a project and a nonproject is not always crystal clear. At base,
however, projects are unique, have a specific deliverable, and have a specific due date while
nonprojects usually do not have all these characteristics.
3. Contrast win-lose negotiation, lose-lose negotiation and win-win negotiation and explain
why the latter is so important in project management.
Win-lose negotiation is like a zero-sum game. Anything one side wins is a loss for the other
side. In win-win negotiation, the outcome is such that both parties gain something from the
interchange.
Win-lose negotiating is dangerous for project managers who will have to deal with the same
parties over and over again. The project manager who forces a functional manager to lose
will have created a permanent enemy.
4. Identify the three goals of a project. What does it mean for a project to be
“overdetermined?”
The three goals of a project are:
1. On time,
2. On budget, and
3. To specification (i.e., including “quality” and “client satisfaction”).
An overdetermined project is one that has a fixed budget, fixed delivery time, and fixed
specifications (i.e., all three goals are fixed). In reality, projects must have some flexibility to
allow for chance events. In the case of an overdetermined project, there is no allowance for
any such events.
