REFERENCE MANUAL

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT ,,,,744,

NSW DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

Resources

PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
REFERENCE
MANUAL

REFERENCE MANUAL

CONTENTS

SUMMARY

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

INTRODUCTION

PLANNING A PROJECT

21

6.1 General

21

6.2 A Life Cycle

21

WHAT IS A PROJECT?

6.3 Work Breakdown Structure

23

2.1 Definition of a project

6.4 Project Responsibility Chart

25

2.2 Types of projects

6.5 Networks

25

2.3 Results wanted from projects

6.6 Bar Charts

26

2.4 Projects within projects

6.7 Estimating

27

6.8 Accuracy in Estimating

27

6.9 Value Management

28

PROJECT CONTROL

30

7.1 The Control Process

30

7.2 Project Meetings

32

PLANNING AND CONTROL

33

WHERE DO PROJECTS COME FROM?

10

3.1 The Client

10

3.2 Where does Project Management begin?

10

WHY DO PROJECTS FAIL?

11

MANAGING A PROJECT

12

5.1 General

12

5.2 The Role of the Project Director

12

- WHAT GOES WRONG?

5.3 The Role of the Project Manager

15

8.1 General

33

5.4 The Role of the Unit Manager

16

8.2 Action for out of control projects

35

5.5 The Role of Project Officers

16

EXPEDITING A PROJECT

37

5.6 The Role of the Project Review Board

16

5.7 The Role of the Steering Committee

17

5.8 Documentation of the Project

18

5.9 Managing Conflict

18

5.10 Good Project Management

20

10 COMPLETING A PROJECT
APPENDICES

38
40

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUMMARY

CI Management of a project is initiated by a

Project Director who establishes the
team responsible and oversees its progress.

tion as such. It must not be confused with

fundamental to the operation of planning

Estimates of costs

the Steering Committee.

software packages. If software is not used

Amendments to the project plan

Dealings with the client

Budget allocations

resource profiles, cash flows and budgets.

Project reports

Planning software will generate Bar Charts

Project Review Board proceedings

O Bar Chart. Bar Charts are required to

O Objectives. A statement of why the

project is being undertaken and what it is
that will be achieved, is essential.

71 Where several Divisions are involved with

O Lifecycle. The over-all Project is planned

with the aid of the , Lifecycle which

a project, each Division may appoint a

Project Manager one of whom will be

The project plan

ities identified in the WBS. They are

the network must be drawn by hand.

agreed time, cost and standard.

another project team and must not func-

PLANNING PROJECTS

it to achieve its objectives according to

The clients requirements

mary role of the PRB is control. It is not

71 Within a Division each project is managed

by a Project Manager who is responsible for planning the project and managing

O Network. Networks (CPM, PERT etc)

show the logical relationship of the activ-

priate standards are being met. The pri-

ORGANISATION ARRANGEMENTS

show the project schedule and to develop

automatically but if software is not avail-

0 Reporting. Reports will be required reg-

able, standard pro-formas may be used.

ularly on the progress of the project to:

describes the phases that most systems tend

the Co-ordinating Project Manager.

to follow during their life. Proper planning

and evaluation must consider all phases,

11 The Project Director and the Project

Managers comprise the Steering Corn-

not just the phases prior to operation.

mittee. It must not be confused with the

CONTROLLING PROJECTS
O Control means keeping the project on
track according to time, standard and bud-

Structure

get. Where a deviation between the

(WBS). A methodical listing of the

planned situation and the actual situation

O Project Officers assigned to carry out

activities to be undertaken. At a high level of

is identified, corrective action may be nec-

project work are accountable to the Project

planning this would go as far as major pieces

essary to put the project back on course.

Manager for carrying out that work and are

of work, often called "work packages",

accountable to their Unit Managers for

which can be handed over to a Unit or a Pro-

technical standards and administrative

ject Officer. For more detailed functional

matters.

level planning, the work packages would be

O Work

Project Review Board.

Breakdown

further broken down into smaller tasks.

O Unit Managers have the functional

The Project Director

The Client

The Project Review Board.

DOCUMENTING A PROJECT
71 Calculations, data, records of discussions,
sketches, etc. are maintained on Technical

O Planning and re-Planning. A project

Files by the Project Manager and Project

cannot be controlled unless a reasonable

Officers as appropriate.

project plan exists so that planned achievements can be compared to actual

achievements

developed and are available and that appro-

O Project Responsibility Chart. This

lists the activities or work packages of a

O Project Review Board. A PRB may be

priate standards are set and achieved for

project plan and describes the level of

established to oversee the progress of the

the expertise that their Unit provides. It is

responsibility of the Units involved in the

important to recognise that Unit Managers

project.

role of ensuring that necessary skills are

FINALISING A PROJECT
[71 Project work is complete when:

All work required has been completed

Technical Files have been finalised

A report on the project work has been

project and to identify where progress is

not going according to plan.

El Estimates. Estimates of the required

CI Project Control File. Items relating to

resources, time and costs must be pre-

the overall project should be placed on one

O Project Review Board. Important

pared. Ensure that time for any activity is

file. Other matters may be placed on sub-

projects will have formal PRB's to see that

expressed in lapsed-time and not work-

files. Typically matters on the Project

project has been prepared and placed on

things are going as they should and appro-

time or EFT's.

Control File would include:

the Project Control File.

are the ultimate authority for the expertise

under their control.

completed

A summary statement of the cost of the

REFERENCE MANUAL

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

PROJECT OFFICER

Officer of a functional unit responsible for the performance of some aspect of project work.

BAR CHART

Graph showing the duration of activities located in

PROJECT RESPONSIBILITY CHART (PRC)

the level of involvement.

calendar time. Also called Gannt Chart.

CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM)

A technique using networks to plan a project, iden-

Schedule showing Units involved in a project and

PROJECT REVIEW BOARD (PRB)

Committee established to review the project plans,

quality standards, progress and cost. Not to be con-

tify critical activities and allocate resources.

fused with the Steering Committee.

EFT

Equivalent full-time person: net of recreation, long

service and study leave, holidays etc.

FUNCTIONAL MANAGER

PROJECT TEAM

The project officers assigned to the project, responsible to the Project Manager for management

Manager in charge of a Unit providing specific

aspects of the project but responsible to their Unit

expertise.

Managers for technical and administrative aspects.

GANNT CHART

See Bar Chart

LIFECYCLE

Development of a project from conception to

STAGE

geographically based. Not to be confused with

termination.
MILESTONES

A major division of a project which may be time or

Phase.

Events within a project plan which serve as key indicators of planned progress.

STEERING COMMITTEE

The Project Director and the various Project Managers responsible for the management of the project.

NETWORK

Graph showing sequence and logical relationships

Not to be confused with the Project Review Board.

between activities in a project. Also known as PERT

Diagram, CPM Network, Precedence Diagram.
PERT

TARGET

A Milestone and its expected date of completion in

the project schedule.

Specifically the "Project Evaluation Review Technique" but often applied to any network-based
planning technique.

TASK FORCE

Project Officers assigned to work full-time on a project under direct management and administrative

PHASE

A division of the project Lifecycle.

PROJECT DIRECTOR

The officer responsible for initiating and co-

control of the Project Manager. Technical control

may still be exercised by functional managers.

ordinating project planning and overseeing the management process.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PMS)

The interrelated systems that together enable the

UNIT MANAGER

See Functional Manager

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS)

Breakdown of work activities from the major stages

conduct of project work.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION
SYSTEM (PMIS)

Information system on project activity

and performance.

PROJECT MANAGER

Officer in charge of the project ; responsible for plan-

of a project into "work packages" which can be

handed over to functional Units or specific individuals for planning, estimating and executing.
WORK PACKAGE

Project work which may be handed over to one indi-

ning and managing the progress of the project.

vidual or one Unit.

REFERENCE MANUAL

lou INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS A PROJECT?

Much of the work of the Department is carried

2.1 DEMI-MON OF A PROJECT

out in the form of projects: non-routine activ-

Put simply a project is:

ities directed towards specific objectives.

"A collection of activities carried out to

The past functions of the Department (as the

achieve a specific objective".

4p.

Water Resources Commission or the Water

A project is something different to routine,

Conservation and Irrigation Commission)

repetitive work. It is to a greater or lesser

involved it in major water conservation

degree unique and is intended to bring about a

projects requiring considerable project man-

change in existing circumstances. A project

agement expertise.

requires concentrated effort and very often

creative processes because the project will be

Today the Department is dealing with projects

something new: nothing has been done

which are often multidisciplinary in nature

exactly like it in the past.

and cross Unit and Divisional boundaries. Projects are often small to medium in scale but
complex. More consideration needs to be given
to secondary impacts and impacts outside the
Department. Sound project management is
still important.
These procedures formalise much of what
would be regarded as good project practice. But
without formal processes, good practice has
often lapsed in the face of urgency or expediency. The objective is not to tie officers up in
"red tape" or time wasting administration. It is
to encourage well thought out, efficiently managed and well documented projects.
Like anything new the procedures may seem
awkward at first and the temptation to fall
back on old ways of doing things will be
strong. Success will require the support of everyone involved. This will be essential if the
Department is to be business-like and efficient in the way it functions and in the
"product" it delivers.

REFERENCE MANUAL

Projects are very often multidisciplinary in

designed for use in information system pro-

nature (engineering, economics, environment,

jects and should perform that job better than

Looked at in this way, sub-projects may be

nested quite deeply. We may well end up dealwe"

finance, human resources etc.) and sometimes

the more general procedures of this manual.

extremely complex. The scale may vary from

Of course, SPECTRUM would not be

work done by one person to the work of tens of

expected to work very well in the design and

thousands of people.

construction of a dam.

and the overall project objectives can be lost.

2.2 TYPES OF PROJECTS

2.3 RESULTS WANTED FROM PROJECTS

From the Department's point of view, the pro-

Five types of project may be identified:

To clearly identify the results wanted from a

and sub-projects treated as project work pack-

CI Construction

project, it is important to focus on the "prod-

ages. Avoid the creation of sub-projects. Keep

Design and construction of buildings, roads,

uct" of a project rather than the project work

everything relating to a particular project under

factories, dams, bridges, machines, etc.

itself. The project has been initiated with some

one management structure: one Project Direc-

ing with sub-sub-sub-projects etc. and this

would become unwieldy and confusing. Subprojects would tend to take on a life of their own

alr

ject must be defined at as high a level as possible

objective in mind, whether this be a dam, a

11 Manufacturing
Design and development of products for

more efficient work process or a computerised

manufacturing.

accounting system. Always keep this objective

in mind and make sure it is understood by eve-

Research & Development

The carrying out of research into unknown

ryone engaged in the project.

areas to develop new materials, processes,

For example, you may be involved in designing

systems etc.

a dam but is the "product" a dam? Is it not regu-

11 Management

lated flow? Is not the desired end-result increased

Promotional activities, organisational

agricultural production or better flood protection?

activities etc.

Of course by the time you are involved, these

Information Systems

questions may already have been answered. A

Computer-based systems for collecting,

decision has been made to build a dam on a

storing and reporting on information.

specific river and at a specific site. Your part

A quick job may cost more in cash but it

tor: one Project Manager per Division: one

may be economically beneficial for the

Project Review Board.

client to have it done this way. The system

Major projects may be broken into stages: a

would in place and functioning at an ear-

staged project is one which is broken into sev-

lier date.

eral more major divisions which may be

71 A higher standard job will normally cost

developed and implemented independently.

more and/or take a longer time but may be

The basis of the division may be function, time

more productive with less maintenance

or location. An example is the division of a

and repairs.

drainage scheme into major drainage basins.

Project costs may decline as more time

Project work can proceed on these stages in

becomes available to do the work ; but only

parallel or sequentially. Large projects, or pro-

up to a certain point. Eventually waste,

jects whose development will take a long time,

overheads, change of personnel, etc. will

may be broken into stages from the point of

make a drawn out project more expensive.

view of project management and each stage

There is an optimum point.

treated as an individual project. But care is

Apart from manufacturing, the Department is

in the project is to get the dam designed and

involved in all of the above projects. Each tends

built to an appropriate standard, within bud-

to have its own traditions, approaches and ter-

get and within time.

minology. However, basic principles tend to be

Time, cost and quality (TCQ) are interrelated

2.4 PROJECTS WITHIN PROJECTS

the same. This manual will be general in its

but the client may place more importance on

It is easy to think of projects as sub-projects of

orientation and the procedures described may

one requirement than the others. There may

larger projects. Someone designing a bridge across

(Do not confuse a project Stage with a project

be usefully applied to any project of any scale.

be a limited budget. There may be strict dead-

a channel forming part of a drainage scheme will

Phase. A Phase refers to the location of the

However, it is not expected to replace specific

lines to meet. A certain standard or quality

reasonably see it as a project in its own right.

project in its Lifecycle. A Stage is a major divi-

PMS's established for specific types of pro-

may be required. This must be viewed from

The bridge is a sub-project of a sub-project (the

sion of the project work. It does not refer to

jects. For example, SPECTRUM has been

the client's perspective. For instance:

channel) of a project (the drainage scheme).

the Lifecycle.)

needed to keep the objectives of the total pro-

ft-

ject in view and the project as a whole under

one management.

REFERENCE MANUAL

171 WHY DO PROJECTS FAIL?

WHERE DO PROJECTS COME FROM?

It is vital to the success of the project to gain a

For any large complex project to proceed with-

El Undefined responsibilities: respon-

good understanding of the client's require-

out change in plans, mistakes, problems in

sibility for each aspect of the project must

ments. A lot of work and money may be

bugeting and performance is perhaps unusual.

be specified and communicated.

wasted if this understanding is not established

as first priority in the project. This task may

In projects of high risk, it is a miracle if they

021r.

El Unclear objectives:it is essential to be

even come close. There are a large number of

not be easy; the client may be vague about

what is required or may not even know. It may

factors which have the potential to cause a pro-

take some to-ing and fro-ing to establish clearly

includes:

very clear about what the project is to

achieve.

ject to fail. A summary and incomplete list

the project objectives.

El Not finding the "best" solution:

II Not meeting the client's require-

this failure may not even be recognised.

Note that the client will expect that oral infor-

ments: mostly due to poor objectives

Just because a project is completed within

mation, given informally early on in the project,

resulting from poor communications.

time, budget and standard, does not nec-

will be understood and assimilated. On the

other hand, you may be totally confused and

El Poor planning: unclear objectives ; poor

overwhelmed with detail. It is therefore advis-

communication of objectives; lack of con-

3.1 THE CLIENT

able to commit all dealings with the client, even

sideration of broad systems aspects ; not

Projects originate with somebody's desire to do

telephone conversations, to writing and place

considering all Phases in the Lifecycle of

something new or bring about a change to an

your notes on the Project Control File. If the

the project.

existing situation. Without this desire all our

client does not provide a clear brief, write your

activities would be routine administrative

own and confirm it with the client.

ones; the outcomes of past projects.

MANAGEMENT BEGIN?

This Department will generate projects, directly

from its strategic planning process, or indirectly
from its programs. Clients external to the Department may also want projects undertaken. In
either case the Project Manager will be responsible for satisfying the client's requirements.
Projects may occur at different levels in the
organisation. The Executive may want a pro-

was adopted.
Two traps must be clearly recognised.

[I A tendency to want to jump quickly over

consideration of alternatives. Most of us

3.2 WHERE DOES PROJECT

That somebody may be referred to as the Client.

essarily mean that the best solution or plan

El Poor estimating: not considering risk ;

want to get on with the job. This can mean

poor estimating of money, resources and

unclear objectives, not considering all the

time.

implications and failing to find the best

solution.

CI Failure to control: failure to monitor

Project management begins at as high a level as

the progress of the project, to relate actual

El A tendency to forget about risk once a deci-

possible. The total system must be defined and

achievement to planned progress and to

sion has been made. The risk does not go

justified initially before detailed work on sub-

take corrective action where necessary.

away and it should be explicitly recognised

systems may begin. In large complex systems,

CI Failure to document: absent or sloppy

in estimating and with contingency plans.

this is usually a complex and difficult task and

documentation gives rise to uncertainty,

a major cause of problems and poor per-

repetition and inability to learn from mis-

formance. In any system design there are two

takes.

Finally, beware of the optimistic estimator.

Most people will greatly under-estimate the
time and cost factors. Generally they will be

major sources of error:

ject undertaken and delegate the responsibility to the Project Director. A Unit

El Sub-optimisation - optimising the per-

Manager or supervisor may want a project

formance of a sub-system to the detriment

undertaken to achieve a goal of the Unit Busi-

of the system as a whole.

ness Plan. The Project Director, Unit

71 Failure to take account of inter-

Manager or supervisor stand in the position of

the client for the project.

relationships and secondary effects among

LI Delegation to unqualified people:

quite consistent in doing this and a Project

delegation is often a good management

Manager must learn to factor estimates up to a

practice but it is not abdication.

more realistic level.

%b.

a system's sub-systems and components.

10

11

MANAGING A PROJECT

Figure I

MATRIX STRUCTURE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Where the term "Steering Committee" is used

5.1 GENERAL

LC)

it will be applied to the combination of Project

Many Department projects will be managed

a)
.011,

F-1

b.o

Director, Divisional Project Managers and oth-

within the boundaries of a functional Unit

ers, who are together responsible for managing

and will not impinge greatly on other Units.

the project. It must not be used to describe a

Some projects will be broader in scale and will

group with review functions since this is the

require input from several functional Units.

role of the Project Review Board.

The latter situation results in a matrix organisational structure as shown in Figure 1.

For major or important projects, a Project

Alternatively, in the case of a particularly

Review Board (PRB) may be established. The

urgent or important project, the project may

function of the PRB is to provide an inde-

be undertaken by a special Task Force - the

pendent assessment of the project: its plan,

resources required will be devoted solely to

budget, performance, progress and any

the project under the direct control of the

changes to these. Approval by the PRB is an

Project Manager.

indication to the Executive that all is well

71"
N-1
0/3

with the project.

In most cases there will be a Project Director who has responsibility for initiating a

It is particularly important to recognise the role

project and maintaining a general oversight

of the Unit Manager in this process. The Unit

of its progress.

Manager Is considered to be the ultimate

source of advice to the Department on the

In all cases, project work will be managed by a

expertise represented by the Unit. No project

Project Manager who will be the person

can be considered sound if Unit Managers do

accountable for the project plan and project

not support its technical work.

control. The Project Manager must negotiate

The general relationships of the project man-

with Unit Managers in the development of pro-

agement process and the officers involved is

ject plans, schedules, allocation of resources

shown in Figure 2.

and performance standards.

For projects which cross Divisional boun-

5.2 THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT

daries, there may be a Project Manager in each

DIRECTOR

Division to manage the components of the project within that Division and provide the

Project Directors are responsible for:

communication links across Divisions. In such

cases, a Co-ordinating Project Manager may be
required to co-ordinate the process. This function will be delegated by the Project Director to
one of the Divisional Project Managers or to
someone else.

12

Initiating a project.

Overseeing the progress of the project.

Deciding on the PRB.

Chairing the PRE.

Dealing with conflict.

13

Figure 2

The Project Director should not be deeply

Rarely will the Project Manager have authority

involved in day-to-day management of the pro-

to simply order things to be done. Each project

ject. This is the role of

will be competing for resources and priority.

the Project Managers.

Unit Managers have demands placed on them

In some ways the Pro-

by other project work as well as their Unit

ject Director represents

responsibilities. They will not appreciate eager-

the interests of the

beaver PM's trying to order them around.

client and should not

In general, the priorities and budget allocations

be considered as an

will have been worked out in the budget devel-

THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS

WIN

Project
Director

integral part of the pro-

opment process which took place perhaps 12

ject team. The Project

months before the cur-

Director would prob-

rent

ably delegate much of

However adjustments,

the co-ordinating func-

amendments, additions

tion to the Project Manager from the Division

and deletions to the

Unit
Manager

WHAT
(Project Plan)

financial year.

with the major involvement in the project.

Department's works pro-

Formal contact with outside parties would nor-

gram will take place.

mally be conducted over the signature of the

The Project Manager

Project Director.

will need to reassess the

resources allocated ; the

Divisional
Project
Manager

WHEN
(Project Schedule)

5.3 THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT

Unit
Project
Officer

Executive will need to

MANAGER

reassess priorities.

Project Managers are responsible for:

HOW MUCH
(Budget Allocation)

The Project Manager must be more than a co-

Developing and maintaining project

ordinator. It will not be sufficient to send off

plans.

minutes requesting action and sit back safe in

Giving project schedule and budget

the knowledge that someone else must now

direction.

run with the ball. The Project Manager "owns"

the project and must also "own" the problems.

Evaluating and reporting project per-

A good Project Manager will keep informed,

formance.

provide leadership, help solve problems and

Maintaining contact with clients, con-

above all seek the best way to get things done

sultants and management.

effectively. If the plan fails to work, if some crit-

OW.

In many ways the Project Manager is a general

ical input fails to eventuate or was not even

manager carrying out the functions of leading,

included in the plan, it is the Project Manager

planning, communicating and controlling.

who will be asked:

Technical knowledge is important but as the

Why did this happen?

disciplinary input, so must the Project Manager

Wasn't there any warning?

exercise management skills that extend beyond

Couldn't something have been done to

project becomes larger, or has increased multi-

knowledge of a narrow speciality.

14

avoid it?

15

REFERENCE MANUAL

The Project Manager is the person expected to

The primary role of a Unit Manager is to staff

Considering reports on progress.

Project Managers in managing their projects or

integrate the technical aspects with time, cost,

and organise a Unit to provide some specific

Considering any changes in plan,

to solve their problems but to represent the

resources and human factors necessary to get

expertise required by the Department. The

schedule, budget or qiialiry standards.

interests of the client and senior management in

the job done.As well as the technical skills, good

Unit Manager is the ultimate source within

The composition of a PRB will vary to suit par-

project management requires people man-

the Department of advice on the expertise rep-

ticular projects but would not generally include

agement skills. In a project of any size, Project

resented by the Unit. The Unit Manager will

Managers will never be able to do everything

schedule allocation of resources within the

that might be required. They must be able to

Unit and decide who will handle project work

achieve things through people. The Project

tasks and the performance standards that must

Manager will need the attributes of a good gen-

be met.

seeing that the project has been soundly planned

and is being properly executed.

Oa.

eral manager: communicating, motivating,

negotiating, conducting effective meetings,

5.5 THE ROLE OF PROJECT OFFICERS

planning organising, prioritising, etc.

Project Officers are responsible for:

5.4 THE ROLE OF THE UNIT MANAGER

Unit Managers are responsible for:

package plans.

Accomplishing the Unit's work tasks

Achieving technical standards.

on schedule and within budget.

Establishing technical standards.

Providing technical policy and pro-

Developing and maintaining work

Establishing detailed schedule and

operating budgets.

Carrying out work on the Project.

Controlling and reporting work pack-

cedural advice.

Providing adequately trained staff.

Maintaining technical excellence.

Developing Unit works programs, busi-

age performance.
Project Officers are accountable to their Unit
Manager for the administrative performance of

ness plans and budget control.

duties relating to their employment in the

Department and for achievement of the appropriate technical standards. They will be
accountable to the Project Manager for the
achievement of their component of the project.

the Project Manager or any Project Officers. It

The PRB should prepare its own minutes of

will include the Project Director and may

proceedings and see that these and its rec-

include the Unit Manager with prime tech-

ommendations are placed on the Project

nical responsibility, if that person is not already

Control File. The Project Director will act as

the Project Director, and a client representative

convenor and chair of the PRB.

or representatives. It is desirable to include at

5.6 THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT REVIEW
BOARD

01.

5.7 THE ROLE OF THE STEERING

the project to provide an objective viewpoint.

COMMI1TEE
The Steering Committee is responsible for:

A Project Review Board (PRB) may be estab-

The PRB provides an independent assessment of

lished for important or complex projects and

the project and its progress in meeting its objec-

The co-ordination of project work.

will be responsible for:

tives. For this reason it is important that the PRB

Identification of problems.

does not become another project team or Steer-

Assessment of progress.

Reviewing the project plan, schedule,

budget and performance standards.

16

least one person not directly concerned with

ing Committee. Its prime role is not to assist

The Steering Committee comprises the Project

17

REFERENCE MANUAL

Director, the Divisional Project Managers and

important to date any money figures.

perhaps a Project Manager representing the

Maintenance of good records is an important

client. It must not be confused with the Project

aspect of managing a project and is vital if the pro-

Review Board whose function is review only:

ject is being undertaken for an external client.

not management. In many cases a Steering

Committee will not be necessary. The co-

5.9 MANAGING CONFLICT

ordination function will be given to a Co-

In any organisation with limited resources and

ordinating Project Manager in those cases

many projects cutting across organisation

where there are a number of Divisional or

boundaries, conflict is inevitable. Studies show

client Project Managers

the following rank order of conflict intensity

"RP

over a project Lifecycle:

5.8 DOCUMENTATION OF THE

1. Schedules

PROJECT

2. Project priority
3. Personnel resources
4. Technical opinions and performance

It is the responsibility of the Project Manager

and the Project Officers to maintain proper and
adequate documentation of plans, meetings,

trade-offs

discussions, telephone calls, calculations, data,

5. Administrative procedures

field inspections, drawings etc. If proper

6. Personality

records are not maintained, if calculations are

7. Costs

done on the back of an envelope, if information

These conflicts will vary according to the

is hidden away in cupboards, then within a

phase in the Lifecycle. For example, admin-

short time that information is effectively lost.

istrative procedures can cause problems

Confidence in project work will diminish if fig-

initially but these tend to reduce as the project

Clearly defined plans.

essential: do not procrastinate or assume it will

ures cannot be justified or conclusions

settles in. Considering only the first three,

Feedback on project needs.

go away. Unresolved conflicts may be veil?'

explained. Disputes over what was decided or

what can be done about resolving them?

Recognition of Department work

approved may become serious. Work may need

Schedules

to be repeated and unnecessary costs incurred.

Assume that in the years ahead someone unfa-

Develop commitment in advance of

commencement by agreement and co-

miliar with the project will want to know why

things were done, where the data came from

and how calculations were undertaken.

Present information in such a way that it will

later changed.
It is not sufficient to store heaps of paper in
folders. Some effort must be put into selecting,

Calculations should be checked wherever possible, signed and dated. It is particularly

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Director, the parties to the dispute should

Personnel Resources

attempt to resolve it by negotiation. Failing

Forecast personnel requirements early.

Carefully monitor schedules during the

Feedback on project needs.

the issue;

project work and communicate them

Recognition of Department work

the impact on the project and the organ-

this they should agree upon:

isation;

priority.

the alternatives ;

Consider reallocation of resources to

An appeal to hierarchical authority should be

those activities prone to falling behind

the last resort. This will place the problem of

and make their separate recommendations.

schedule.

resolving the conflict with the Project Director

Conflict is not intrinsically bad. What is bad is

and ultimately with the Executive. Naturally

failure to work constructively for

Joint decision-making with affected

this is something they can do without. Nev-

and indulge in personal attacks, passive resis-

parties.

ertheless, timely resolution of conflict is

tance or petty jealousies.

Project Priority

summarising, presenting sources and indexing.

Before seeking intervention of the Project

priority.

operation.

to those concerned.

be useful if the parameters of the project are

damaging to the outcome of the project.

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a resolution

REFERENCE MANUAL

5.10 GOOD PROJECT MANAGEMENT

paper in a way that someone else can

Good project management can cover a large

make sense of it; ensure that the source

number of issues. It is generally agreed that the

and date of information are given.

key issues include the following:

Clear objectives: why is the project

being undertaken; establish clearly the

as well as the components of those phases right

the plan: change can be disruptive

down to the basic work packages.

All the elements must be integrated and co-

plan, cost and other systems.

clearly what it is you are trying to do.

Various phases of the project must be planned

Taking care with changes to

and costly; check implications for the

client's objectives ; involve users; state

ordinated to achieve the project plan and this is

Critical items: identify and con-

one of the essential activities of project man-

Plan well: it is essential to have a

centrate on the critical items

plan before activity starts, specifying

Pareto or 80:20 rule: but note that

the schedule, the standards, the costs

unimportant things can become critical

The various techniques described in this man-

and the risks.

if ignored for too long.

ual may be used at any level in the planning

Keep control: consistently check

the

agement.

process. They include:

Anticipation of problems: do not

actual performance against the plan

rely on the formal reporting system ; by

the Project Lifecycle

and take action when things go wrong.

the time it turns up on a computer

the Work Breakdown Structure

Update the plan regularly.

printout it may be too late. Keep your

6.1 GENERAL

the Project Responsibility Chart

Planning is determining how some future goal

Networks

is to be achieved. The general elements of any

Bar Charts

Budgets

finger on the pulse. Watch for trends.

These three points are essential and may seem

obvious but adhering to them requires discipline and dedication. Factors to watch are:

PLANNING A PROJECT

Documentation: get it down on

plan are:

Communication: do not sit around:

talk to people; see for yourself; let people know what is going on.

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What activities need to be undertaken

Targets

Who undertakes them

Cash Flows

When should they be carried out

These techniques are described in the following

the Resources required

sections. Bar Charts, Budgets, Cash Flows and

the Cost

Targets are also applied in Project Control and

illustrate the close connection between Plan-

Identification of high risk

Routine activities may not require a formal

ning and Control. The relationships between

areas: have contingency plans ready ;

plan but projects do. Project planning is impor-

them are shown on Figure 3.

avoid unnecessary risk ; remember Mur-

tant, vitally important. Without a plan there is

phy's Law: Anything that can go wrong

no guarantee that the desired goal will be

6.2 A LIFECYCLE

will go wrong.

achieved and if it is, it will almost certainly be

A Lifecycle is useful in providing an overview

at greater cost.

of a project and identifying the broad categories

Planning must take place at various levels. The

of work required. It is based on the observation

Department Strategic Plan identifies the organ-

that organisms, structures, organisations etc.

isational goals and the programs needed to

are systems which tend to pass through phases

achieve them. A Project must be planned in

of a Lifecycle from conception to death. The

broad terms over the lifecycle of the project.

phases used in the DVVR Project Lifecycle are:

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