Satender Singh RawatROLL NO:-1405009075Satenderrawat001@gmail.com MB0049Project Management

ASSIGNMENT 3Q1. Explain the phases of project management life cycle.

ANS. Phases of Project Management Life CycleProject management is a rationally planned and organised effort to attain a specific goal. It comprises of organising, coordinating and managing differenttasks and resources for successful completion of project. A project lasts for a definite period of time and then finishes. Projects are usually made up of different diverse elements or mini-tasks that are completed separately and finally combined together to make the completed project.

Figure 1.3 depicts the phases of project life cycle which is followed by the project management.

Fig. 1.3 Phases of Project Life Cycle

Let us now discuss each phase in detail.

1. Project initiation: Project initiation is the first step in the project development cycle, and in simple terms: starting up the project. A project is initiated by defining its reason, business goals, and scope. Thecause for initiation and the suggested solution to be implemented must be defined. A project team is put together to define early milestones, and preliminary budget proposal. The information in project initiation assists in performing an end of Phase study for getting a “GO No GO” decision.

2. Project planning: Once the project is defined and project team is assembled, the next phase is the in-depth Project Planning phase. This includes developing the “PMP” (Project Management Plan), for guidingthe team throughout the project development stage. In this phase the required skills of development team, non-labour resources, risks plan, detailed action items and milestones are explained.

3. Project development: On the basis of inputs received in the shape of project feasibility study, preliminary project evaluation, project proposal and customer interviews, the following outputs are produced:System design specificationProgramme functional specification Programme design specificationProject plan

4. Project implementation: In this phase, the requirements are built and programmed. The product is presented for client acceptance and full implementation after the quality assurance analysis. If the client has accepted the final product, the project is finished and closed down.

5. Project closure: It includes giving the final output to the customer, handing the project documentation, manuals, source code, and network layouts. At last a Post Implementation Review is to be carried out toidentify the extent of project success and document review outcomes.

Q2. Write short notes on: Economic feasibility of a project Need for project planning Diversity management Rules for network construction

ANS. 1.Commercial and economic feasibilityThe economic feasibility aspect of a project relates to the earning capacity of the project. Earnings of the project depend on the volume of sales. Here, the following important indicators are taken into consideration: Present demand of the goods produced through the project i.e. market facility(or) getting a feel of the market.

Future demand of the goods. A projection may be made about the future demand.The period normally depends upon the scale of investment.

Determining the extent of supply to meet the expected demand and arriving at the gap.

Deciding in what way the project under consideration will have a reasonable chance to share the market.

Anticipated rate of return on investment. If it is positive, the project justifies the economic norm in the relationship between cost and demand.

2. Need of Project PlanningThe purpose of project planning is to identify various areas of the project work and the influencing factors, and subsequently define the boundaries of the project performance. Further it serves as a guide through its well defineddirections to perform the project.

Planning is basic to all human activities and requires common sense. It is a trap laid down to capture the future. It helps in bridging the gap between where you are to where you want to be. In a way, the complexity of the processaids in identifying the implication of such a plan and whether it relates to immediate future or a long term perspective.

Planning thus involves:

brainstorming on various possible alternative courses of action,choosing the most appropriate one (or ones)agreeing what you can expect to achievecalculating the human and material resources needed to reach your objectivesanticipating possible problems, andgetting agreement among all concerned about clear targets and timetables for the work in view.

Planning techniques can address many organisational problems and opportunities, including institutional development of your organisation and planning of disaster preparedness activities. It helps you to analyse and assess the present needs and future challenges.. The planning and scoping should be such that the project manager can assess every stage of the project and the quality of the deliverable of the project at every stage. First, let us list the steps involved in project scoping.

These steps include:

classifying the different parametric forces related to the project and its stages,facilitating the team members to work on tools to keep track of the stages and thereby proceed in the planned manner,eradicating the factors accountable for inducing the problems,examining the financial implications and cost factor at various stages of theproject,knowing and developing the various designs necessary at various stages of theproject,identifying the key areas to be included in the scope through various meetings, discussion, and interviews with the clients,

providing a base and track to enable alignment of project with the organisation and its business objectives,finding out the dimensions applicable to the project and also the ones not applicable to the project,listing out all the limits, boundary standards and constraints in the project.

3. Diversity ManagementDiversity management is a management strategy to promote and maintain a positive workplace environment in the organisation. It is crucial for growth in today’s competitive marketplace. Diversity management works on the principle of “acceptance”. Diversity management inspires the employees to recognize that everyone is different. They should not be afraid or be biased about these differences. Employees are encouraged to live with the fact that there are different interests, different values, and different physical and emotional characteristics present in the organisation. Also, this does not have to obstruct the productiveness or produce conflict. Figure 4.14 depicts an example of a complete diversityManagement programme.

Fig. 4.14: Example of a Complete Diversity Management Programme

A strong diversity management program me encourages the development of skills and talents of the employees. It boosts the communication among employees and in the long run, increases the productivity of the department.

4. Rules for network constructionThe rules to be observed in constructing the network diagram are discussed below:

Every activity must have a preceding and a succeeding event. An activity is numerically represented by the pair of preceding and succeeding events. In thedinner project, for instance, the activity ‘send invitations’ is designated as(1-2).

1. Each event must have a distinct number. The number specified to anevent can be chosen in any way, provided this condition is fulfilled. Inpractice, yet, events are numbered in the manner that the number at thehead of the arrow is greater than that at its tail.

Fig. 5.2: A Network Diagram

2. There must not be any loops in the project network; a situation similar tothe one shown in Figure 5.2 is not permissible.3. The preceding and succeeding events are not same for more than one activity. This signifies that every activity is represented by a uniquely numbered arrow and a situation depicted in Figure 5.3 is not permissible.

Figure 5.3 depicts a loop.To make sure that each activity is uniquely numbered, at times it is necessaryto introduce dummy activities. A dummy activity is an imaginary activity that can be completed in zero time and it does not consume resources. It is

symbolised by a dashed arrow. Figure 5.4 shows a variant of Figure 5.3 with a dummy activity (3-2) introduced to conform to the rules of network construction

A dummy activity is also be used for representing a constraint, obligatory to show proper relationship between activities. Figure 5.5 shows part of a network diagram having a dummy activity (dotted arrow line).In Figure 5.5, X, represented as (7-6), is a dummy activity showing a certainlogical relationship. According to this figure, activities P (4-6) and Q (5-7)must be completed before activity R (6-8) can start.

Q3. What are the key steps for effective risk management? Explain any FIVE risk identification techniques.

ANS. Steps in Risk Management:-

In risk management, the following steps should be considered for effective risk management:

Step 1 – Recognition of assets at risk: The foremost step in the risk management technique is to carefully identify the assets which might generate risks in project operations. These assets may fall under various groups, such as tangible and intangible assets, movable and immovableassets etc. Step 2 – Valuation of assets: The assets identified and grouped in the previous step are to be valued and categorised into different classes such as critical and essential.

Step 3 – Identifying the intimidation: Threats can be distinct as anything that contributes to the intermission or devastation of any service/product. Various compulsions can be grouped into environmental, internal, and external threats.

Step 4 – Risk consideration: The process of risk appraisal includes not only assessment as to the provability of occurrence but also the assessment as to the impending severity of loss, if risk materialises. This will support in determining the appropriate risk lessening strategy, the residual risk, and the investment required to alleviate the risk.

Step 5 – Emergent strategies for risk management: After risks identification and assessment, one must apply various risk management techniques such as riskavoidance, risk reduction, risk retention and risktransfer etc.

Risk identification techniques:-

Assumption analysis: Assumptions made in planning stage of the project are taken as true, real, or certain. A closure scrutiny of these may reveal possible risks.

Brain storming: Brain storming is a useful tool to generate the possible riskevents in quick time. It is performed by a cross-function team following set procedures

Checklist: The checklist is developed based on past experience. It provides auseful guide in listing foreseeable risks.

Delphi: Delphi study is carried out with the help of a group of experts. Since the experts are people who have a deep insight into the system functioning, it is possible to gather useful information in this way.

Interview: Interview may be held with knowledgeable people to identify or to gain more in-depth knowledge of certain risks or to create a list of control measures.

Observations: We may visualize the risks by directly examining/ observing thecurrent process.

Q4. Write a short notes on:- Parametric estimating tool of cost estimating Procurement process Project team’s responsibilities in project execution Project termination

ANS. 1: Parametric estimating tool of . Cost estimating It is a technique that makes use of a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (e.g., square footage in construction, lines of code in software development, requisite labour hours) to compute a cost estimate for a schedule activity resource. This technique can generate higher levels of accuracy depending upon the sophistication, the underlying resource quantity and cost data build into the model. A cost-related example consists of multiplying the planned quantity of work to be executed by thehistorical cost per unit to obtain the estimated cost.

2. Procurement process:-An effective procurement process plays in important role in the successful implementation of a project. A procurement process starts with the identification of the required materials and equipments.

A project procurement process covers the following functions:

Request to invite bids or tenders: This covers the listing requirements of equipment, preparing specifications, and sending request to invite bids.

Shortlist suppliers: This includes identifying the required number of suppliers out of the possible ones.

Invite bids: This element covers the invitation of bids to receiving them.

Evaluate, negotiate, and choose bid(s): This involves making comparative statement of various elements of price, negotiate technical and commercial aspects including price, select the lowest bidder(s), and get the approval of a competent person.

Prepare and place orders: This includes writing the purchase order which describe the products and state all the commercial terms in simple and clear words, obtaining the signature of a competent, authorized person, and send order to supplier and get his or her acknowledgement.

Order fulfillment: This includes monitoring the progress of manufacturing of equipment, its quality, packaging, and associated documentation.

Transport and shipping: This covers all the formalities needed to get the equipments from the supplier to the project site.

Receive, inspect and store equipment at site: This includes activities like general inspection, marking the identification number, and inspecting and storing it at a secure place.

3. Project team’s responsibilities in project execution:-

The project team members are expected to assist in the management of the project as well; albeit, at a more functional level. The critical project management elements for the project team to provide assistance with include:Performance monitoring: Implement an execution plan to measure the actual performance as compared to planned performance. For example, the actual project schedules will need to be reviewed periodically and compared to baseline schedules in order to discern if the project is performing according to plan. If the project is not performing according to baseline, steps will betaken to get the project back on track. The same monitoring and analyzing should take place on budgets, quality, risks, scope, etc.

Provide project status: While the project manager is responsible for relayingproject status to parties outside the project team, the project team is expected to report the status to the project manager. Thisincludes communicating information both on a formal and an informal basis.

4. Project termination:-Project termination is one of the most serious decisions of a project management team and its control board. The decision of project termination affects all the stakeholders of the project and can put some negative impact on the organization’s growth. So it is important to critically evaluate all the aspects before taking the decision. The project manager and his or her team members will feel that they personally failed. It can also put a negativeimpact on the team member’s motivation level and their productivity.

The following are the key reasons to terminate a project:

Technological reasonsResults of project requirements or specifications are not clear or impracticalFundamental change in project requirements or specifications, so that the underlying contract cannot be changed accordinglyLack of project planning, especially risk managementThe planned result or product of the project turn into obsolete, is not any longer neededSufficient human resources, tools, or material are not accessibleThe increase in project cost leads lower profit than expectedThe parent organisation do not exist longerThe change in strategy of parent organisation, leads towards the project doesnot support the new strategyEssential conditions disappearLack of management supportInsufficient customer support

Q5. What is Quality planning? Explain the inputs, tools and techniques and outcomes of quality planning.

ANS. Quality planning :-

Quality planning is the process of identifying the quality standards that are related to the project anddetermining how to these standards can be achieved.

Inputs to quality planning:-

Quality policy: Quality policy refers to the overall intentions and directionof an organisation pertaining to quality, as formally expressed by top management.

Scope statement: The scope statement comprises the key objectives of the project that are needed by different stakeholders.

Product description: It includes the details of technical issues and other concerns which may influence quality planning.

Standards and regulations: The project management team must acknowledge all the relevant standards or regulations that may influence the project.

Tools and techniques to quality planning:-

Benefit/cost analysis: The quality planning process should acknowledge benefit/cost trade-offs. The benefits should cover higher productivity, lower cost and high customer satisfaction.

Benchmarking: In this, we compare actual or planned project practices to practices of other projects to produce ideas for improvement and to find a suitable standard to measure performance.

Flowcharting: It is a diagram that depicts how different elements of a systemrelate to each other.

Design of experiments: It is an analytical technique that helps identifying which variables affect the overall income the most.

Outcomes from quality planning

Quality management plans: It provides input to the overall project plan and must deal with quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement forthe project.

Operational definitions: It particularly explains what something is, and how it is measured by the quality control process.

Checklists: It is a structured tool that helps in verifying if a set of required steps has been performed.

Inputs to other processes: The quality planning process may discover a need for further activity in some other area.

Q6. Describe the various types of project performance evaluation techniques.List any FOUR benefits of performance measurement and evaluation.

ANS. Types of project performance evaluationThe following are the types of project performance evaluation techniques:

(i) Process (or implementation) evaluation: It is also called formative evaluations which are designed to improve the implementation of a program, policy or strategy as it unfolds. In this type of evaluation we measure the level to which a program is effective as it was planned. It usually considers the program activities’ conformance to statutory and regulatory requirements, program design, and professional standards or customer expectations.

(ii) Outcome evaluation: It is also called summative evaluations which are designed to judge a program, policy or strategy’s relevance, success and/or cost-effectiveness which includes its relative contribution to the intended outcomes. This type of evaluation measures the level to which a program attains its outcome-oriented objectives. It mainly focuses on outputs and outcomes including unintended effects to evaluate program effectiveness but may also consider program process to understand how outcomes are produced.

(iii) Impact evaluation: This is a type of outcome evaluation that measures the net effect of a program by evaluating program outcomes with an estimate ofwhat would have happened in the absence of the program. This type of evaluation is used when external factors are known to influence the program’s outcomes, in order to isolate the program’s contribution to achievement of itsobjectives.

(iv) Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses: Cost-benefit and cost effectiveness analyses compare a program’s outputs or outcomes with the costs (resources expended) in order to produce them. When applied to existing programs, they are also regarded as a variety of program evaluation. It measures the cost of meeting a single goal or objective, and can be used to identify the least cost alternative to meet that goal. This analysis aims to recognize all relevant costs and benefits, generallyexpressed in dollar terms.

Benefits:- It is tools to develop management and improve decision making at all levels. Participatory approaches, on the other hand, can assist to build capacity for ongoing improvement at local levels. The following chart shows some of the keybenefits of performance measurement and evaluation and how they can be used.

Table 11.2: Benefits of Performance Measurement and Evaluation

Benefits of Performance Measurement and Evaluation

Policy and programme planningand development

Results may confirm policy and programmedirection or identify gaps that need to beaddressed.

Decision making about funding. Finding out what works well/not so well

can be used to guide future funding decisions/priorities

Clarifying goals At the outset, developing a “road map”clarifies goals, explains the “big picture” andensures that everyone shares a commonfocus.

Tracking progress Enables monitoring and if required, permitsadjustments to be made along the way.