Project Management can be defined as “ The Planning, control and co-ordination of a undertaking from construct to completion ( including committee ) on behalf of the client. It is concerned with the designation of the client ‘s nonsubjective in footings of public-service corporation, map, quality, clip and cost, and the constitution of relationships between resources. The integrating, monitoring and control of the subscribers to the undertaking and their end product, and the rating and choice of options in chase of the client ‘s satisfaction with the undertaking result are cardinal facets of building undertaking direction ” .
The work of houses in the building industry and its professions nowadayss two types of direction issue: the job of managing houses and that of pull offing undertakings. This leads to a instead complex sort of matrix construction. Normally there will be different mixes of professional patterns, general contractors and subcontractors on each undertaking. Even if the patterns are the same, by utilizing competitory tendering it is really improbable that the general contractor and subcontractors will stay the same. Construction undertakings are hence undertaken by an amalgam of houses, which change from undertaking to project. The houses involved in each undertaking are independent companies, which are organisationally mutualist in footings of the undertaking. This state of affairs creates possible for struggle between the demands of each house and of each undertaking. Each house has aims which are expressed in footings concerned with the efficiency of the house, such as:
Increasing productiveness
Bettering service
Maintain bing clients
Attracting new concern
The major intent is to better effectivity and hence service and net incomes. The aims of the undertaking direction, which ideally should besides be the aims of the houses involved in the undertaking are, as has been said, the aim of the client. These will associate straight to the undertaking and will be:
Functional satisfaction
Aesthetic satisfaction
Completion on clip
Completion without budget
Value for money
As mentioned above there is a big figure of houses involved n the building procedure. These houses are normally independent units which are mutualist in footings of the work they undertake – the design and production of building work. At any given clip a individual can happen himself involved in a assortment of state of affairss as it is non unusual for person to be working on a figure of undertakings at the same time.
“ Undertaking direction is the direction of the part to the undertaking who will be from different houses expect where they are wholly ‘in-house ‘ to the clients administration. The exclusive aim is the satisfactory completion of the undertaking on behalf of the client ” . Dedication to the undertaking should heighten a house ‘s repute, and dedication to houses should heighten net income in the short tally. If this is non accomplishable, a tradeoff between them takes topographic point to the hurt. Such a state of affairs demands sensitive and adept direction if both repute and net income are to be optimised and if the staff are to be motivated and retain occupation satisfaction. Staff should be seen to be rewarded for accomplishing the appropriate balance.
The complexness of undertaking direction structures raises the issue of how best the undertaking squad should be integrated with the client ‘s administration. The two terminals of the spectrum are illustrated by, at one terminal, the undertaking director or other leader of the undertaking squad as the lone point of contact between the squad and the client, with all instructions and advice being passed through this channel. At the other terminal, all the members of the undertaking squad have direct entree to the client and in this agreement the leader of the undertaking squad co-ordinates the instructions and advice given. Either of these options is likely to be unsatisfactory in most instances and the appropriate integration mechanism will likely lie someplace between. The design of the mechanism will be dependent to a big grade on the sum of authorization delegated by the client to the director of the undertaking squad. Where significant authorization is delegated, most of the contact between the client and the undertaking squad is likely to be straight with the director of the undertaking squad moving as the alternate client. In such instances, for facets for which the director of the squad does non hold authorization to move, the client may good prefer the leader of the undertaking squad entirely to present recommendations to him. Alternatively, the client may necessitate the undertaking squad director to do recommendations for his determination, so that the client can discourse them with the whole group.
Where there is direct entree by squad members to the client, the squad director will necessitate to guarantee that the client receives a balanced position and that determinations are made in the visible radiation of all factors impacting the undertaking, instead than a consequence of the statements of the strongest personality in the squad. For illustration, some building companies do non hold a formal elaborate brief. The elaborate brief emerges through the designer puting a series of sketch designs before the client, which are amended or rejected. The ‘brief ‘ therefore returns incrementally until the client ‘sees what he requires ‘ on the drawings. In such a procedure it is indispensable that the other members of the squad be present and involved. Otherwise of import elements, such as cost and clip restraints and certain important elements of design may be ignored through concentrating upon other facets. However, the undertaking squad trough can act upon most clients and should guarantee that whatever is devised is clearly laid down and understood by everyone involved, peculiarly the client.
Undertakings are directed at accomplishing specific consequences – that is, they are end orientated. These ends drive the undertaking, and all planning and execution attempts are undertaken so as to accomplish them. The fact that undertakings are end oriented carries with it tremendous deductions for their direction. For one thing it suggests that an of import characteristic of pull offing undertakings is to place relevant ends, get downing at the highest degree and so working down to grassroots. It besides suggests that a undertaking can be viewed as the chase of carefully chosen ends and that advancement on the undertaking entails accomplishing of all time higher degrees of ends, until eventually we have attained the ultimate end.
Command of planning tools is highly helpful in pull offing undertakings, but even an expert with good tools can non make the prefect program. Planing entails the hereafter, and covering with the hereafter means covering with the uncertainness. A cardinal world of planning, so, is that it involves uncertainness, which means that even the really best programs are estimations, mere estimates of what the hereafter may keep.
Work Breakdown Structure
The work dislocation construction ( WBS ) is a top – down position of the undertaking that shows how the pieces of the undertaking tantrum together.
When people begin scheduling a undertaking, the first thing they frequently do is to bring forth a list of all the undertakings that will be included. First, they take a large image position of the undertaking and name the major stages that must be addressed. Then they begin adding item to each stage, they subsequently add item to detail. Typically so the undertaking agenda takes signifier in a top – down manner, gazing with the large image and working down to the minute. ( See figure 1.1 )
( Fig 1.1 )
Gantt chart
Frequently, the most popular and most useable manner to show undertaking information is to utilize a Gantt chart. “ A Gantt chart is a undertaking chart that shows undertakings and agendas. It may demo undertaking continuances and resources ” . The Gantt is utile to demo position and supply a inactive position of the undertaking at one clip, but it has its restrictions. As seen in ( figure 1.2 ) except for the enumeration system for the undertakings, there is no discernible manner to find how tasks interrelate.
( Fig 1.2 )
Precedence Diagram Method Schedule Network
Although Gantt charts portray the start and finish day of the months for undertakings, they do non demo the undertaking broad effects of agenda alterations on a specific undertaking. This is, they look at undertakings as if they were independent activities and do non take into the history their interrelated nature.
The first measure in constructing a PDM web is to make a undertaking WBS for the undertaking. The following measure is to make a particular sort of flowchart organize the information contained in the WBS. PDM networks incorporate scheduling information into a basic flow chart diagram. ( See figure 1.3 )
( Fig1.3 )
One major duty of many undertaking directors is developing and adhering to a budget from the undertaking. Often they will be rated a success or failure as a undertaking directors harmonizing to whether the undertaking comes in under, on, or over budget. Over hiting the budget can hold serious effects for undertaking directors and the organisations in which they work. See a undertaking that is funded through a contract: a cost overproduction may take to a judicial proceeding, punishments, and fiscal losingss for the acting organisation. If the undertaking is funded internally, an overproduction may take to a serious drain of scare organisational resources. In position of the importance of budgeting, it is non surprising that many organisations focus much of their direction attending on that country. Consequently, many organisations have well-developed budgeting techniques that are custom made for the organisation ‘s peculiar environment and operating manner.
“ The Project Execution Plan ( PEP ) is a papers which acts as a primary mode by which the Undertaking is planned, monitored and managed. It assists the direction in guaranting the effectivity and control of their twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours maps. It should be noted that the Project Execution Plan is a dynamic papers, and so for it to function as a communicating tool, it has to be kept updated as the undertaking progresses through its design phases ” . To run into the peculiar province of personal businesss of a undertaking, the Project Execution Plan needs to be modified consequently. However, a typical PEP should include programs refering to the undertaking as a whole ; merchandise buying, merchandise development and hazard direction. To do certain that everyone understands and carries out their duties, the Project Execution Plan should clearly specify the functions, duties and governments. It should put out the mechanisms and processs refering the quality and coverage. Finally, the PEP should cover the major agendas and budgets of the undertaking and resources applicable to it. An effectual Undertaking Execution Plan brings with it assorted benefits for the undertaking.
Undertaking Managers who manage new executions use undertaking programs to document the undertaking ‘s undertakings, the duty for each undertaking and associated mark day of the months and undertaking dependences on each other.
Using an effectual undertaking execution program is indispensable to be an effectual undertaking director. The undertaking program stands as the individual most of import certification of the mileposts and cardinal facets of the undertaking.
Effective planning and control are necessary for undertaking success. It is hard to visualise how the undertaking can accomplish its ends if the undertaking squad has non done a good occupation planning agendas, budgets, resource demands, and proficient executions and the does non carefully supervise the work attempt as the undertaking is really executed. All though good planning and control will non guarantee undertaking success, their absence will surely vouch some grade of failure. Undertakings are carried out through squads, but these squads are typically disconnected and ill defined owing to the exigencies of matrix direction. It is non plenty merely to choose an appropriate squad construction ; nevertheless squad members must be encouraged to place with the squad, develop squad spirit, and do whatever is necessary to do the undertaking win.
