SOUTH EASTERN UNIVERSITY OF SRILANKA

BA IN ICT

ICT 41023
IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ASSIGNMENT-I

LECTURER IN CHARGE
MR. M.M AMEER

SUBMITTED BY:

M.F NATHEEFA

SEU/IS/10/AT/119

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1. Define a project. What are five characteristics that help differentiate projects
from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?

a)
Planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within
certain cost and other limitations
Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social
systems or work systems that are constituted by teams within or across organizations to
accomplish particular tasks under time constraints. An ongoing project is usually called
a program
A project is a complex, non routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resource, and
specifications

b) Differentiating characteristics of projects from routine, repetitive daily work are below:
A defined life span
The average or maximum length of time an organism, material, or object can be expected
to survive or last.
A well-defined objective
Typically involves people from several disciplines
A project life cycle
It isn't enough to just come up with a new idea and tell people about it, nothing is really
solved with a raw idea. Its up to you to come up with a clear and concise project life
cycle in order for everyone else to understand the steps involved in your plan.
4 stages of Project Life Cycle:
i) Defining: (GSTR)
a)Goals.

b) Specifications.

c) Tasks.

d) Responsibilities

ii) Planning: (SBRRS)

a) Schedules.

b) Budgets.

c) Resources.

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 d) Risks.

e) Staffing.

iii) Executing: A major portion of the project work take place both physical and mental.
(SCQF)

a) Status Reports

b) Changes.

c) Quality.

d) Forecasts.

iv)Closing: (TTREL)
a) Train Customer.

b) Transfer documents.

c) Release Resources.

d) Evaluation.

e) Lessons learned.

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2. What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way
projects are managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the
management of projects?

a) Some key environmental forces that have changed the way we manage projects are
The product life cycle
In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire
lifecycle of a product from inception, through engineering design and manufacture, to service
and disposal of manufactured products.[1][2] PLM integrates people, data, processes and
business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their
extended enterprise
Knowledge growth
Global competition
Organization downsizing
When the management of an organization determines that their organization is not operating
at peak efficiency, they typically look for ways to make the organization more productive.
This is frequently accomplished via organizational downsizing, which is a reduction in
organizational size and operating costs implemented by management in order to improve
organizational efficiency, productivity and/or the competitiveness of the organization.
Technology changes
Time-to-market
b) The impact of these forces :
more projects per organization
Project teams responsible for implementing projects
Accountability
Changing organization structures
Need for rapid completion of projects
Linking projects to organization strategy and customers
Prioritizing projects to conserve organization resources
Alliances with external organizations, etc.

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3. Why is implementation of projects important to strategic planning and the
project manager?
Strategic plans are implemented primarily through projectse.g.,
a) A new product
b) A new information system
c) A new plant for a new product.
The project manager is the key person responsible for completing the project
a) On time
b) On budget
c) Within specifications so the projects customer is satisfied.
If the project is not linked to the strategic plan of the organization, resources devoted to the
project are wasted and a customer need is not met. This lack of connectivity occurs more in
practice than most would believe.

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4. The technical and socio culture dimensions of project management are two
sides to the same coin. Explain.
The system and socio cultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the
same coin because successful project managers are skillful in both areas.
The point is successful project managers need to be very comfortable and skillful
in both areas

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5. What is meant by an integrative approach to project management? Why is
this approach important in todays environment?
According to Gray, Clifford F and Larson, Erik W (2008), An integrated project
management process that focuses all project effort towards the strategic plan of the
organization and reinforces mastery of both the project management tools/technique
and interpersonal skills necessary to orchestrate successful projects completion. For
some organizations, integrating projects with strategy will require reengineering the
entire business process. For others, integration will mean carefully establishing
linkages among the piecemeal systems already in place and altering the focus to one
of total system. At the individual level for some professional to become effective
project managers will require augmenting their leadership and team-building skills
with modern project planning and control methods. For others it will require
completing their administrative skills with the capacity to inspire lead divergent cast
of professionals to projects completion.
An integrative approach to project management is one in which all the parts are
interrelated. This approach is important because it can give an organization a
competitive edge in todays environment.
An integrative approach includes two parts.
a) Projects must have a strong link to the organizations strategic plan, which is
directed toward meeting the customers needs.
A project priority system reinforces this linkage by prioritizing projects according to their
contribution to the strategic plan and allocates resources by the priorities set.
b) An integrative approach provides an integrated system for the actual
implementation of the projects.
This includes an information system which supports decision making and a sociocultural
environment which creates a positive, active contribution from team members responsible for
completing the project.

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 References
1. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/project.html [Accessed on 14/08/2015]
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project [Accessed on 14/08/2015]
3. https://ekoppm.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/chapter-1-modern-project-management/
[Accessed on 14/08/2015]
4. http://www.studymode.com/essays/An-Integrative-Approach-To-Project-
Management-375588.html [Accessed on 15/08/2015]
5. http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/cameronk/PDFs/Downsizing/Strat%20Successful
%20Org%20Downsizing.pdf [Accessed on 15/08/2015]
6. http://study.com/academy/lesson/organizational-downsizing-definition-strategies-
business-impacts.html[Accessed on 16/08/2015]
7. http://productlifecyclestages.com/ [Accessed on 16/08/2015]