Master in Business Administration Semester 3 Subject Name Introduction to Project Management

Assignment Set- 1
Q 1. Describe the three strategy levels in detail. Corporate Strategy Corporate strategy is basically related to the purpose and scope of the business to meet stakeholder expectations. This is often explicitly stated in a mission statement. It is heavily influenced by investors in the business, and acts to guide strategic decision-making throughout the business. Corporate strategy is about managing its business units and products so that each becomes competitive and can contribute to corporate purposes. Hence corporate level strategy is fundamentally concerned with the selection of businesses in which the company competes, develops and coordinates. Corporate level strategy addresses the following:

Reach: To define the corporate responsibilities. These include identifying overall goals of the corporation, selecting the types of business in which the corporation may be involved, and the way of integrating and managing the business. Competitive contact: To define the localisation of the corporate competition. Manage activities and business relationships: To develop synergies by having business units complement one another, both by sharing and coordinating staff and other resources across business units or by investing financial resources across business units. Management practices: To decide the ways of governing business units through centralisation and decentralisation. Corporate strategy can best be described as the overall plan that integrates the strategies of all businesses within a corporation. A diversified company has two strategy levels: Corporate level strategy: This strategy aims to create value for the corporation as a whole. Business level strategy: This strategy addresses the way to create competitive advantage in each business. Corporate Strategy Planning Two tools popularly used in the planning of corporate strategy are: Ansoff matrix BCG matrix

Business Unit Strategy Business unit strategy is concerned with how a business unit competes successfully in a particular market. It includes strategic decisions about choice of products, customer requirements, gaining advantage over competitors, creation of new opportunities and so on. A strategic business unit can be planned independently from the other business units of the firm. Business level strategy addresses the following:

technologies. cal actions. The detailed action of business level strategy is taken to provide value to the customers. Business level strategy is also adopted to gain a competitive advantage by exploring core competencies in specific, individual product or service markets. The four generic strategies to establish a competitive advantage over industry rivals are as follows: Cost leadership: The firm offers products to customers at the lowest price essentially by tight control over production and overhead costs. Differentiation: The firm provides value to customers by delivering products with unique features and characteristics rather than with the lowest price. For example, lower costs for buyers by ensuring better quality thereby leading to lesser breakdowns; by raising perceptions of buyers of the customer support provided by the firm by responding quickly. Focussed low cost: The firm not only sells its products at lowest price, but also selects a small segment of the market to provide goods and services. For example, sale of a product to only a Government department. Focussed differentiation: The firm not only competes with rivals based on differentiation, but also selects a small segment of the market as in focussed low cost strategy. A fifth strategy is also adopted sometimes, which integrates low cost and differentiation strategy. Here, the customer realises value based both on product features and a low price. Southwest Airlines is an example of a company that adopts this strategy. Operational Strategy Operational strategy is concerned with the process of organising business in order to deliver the corporate and the business-unit level strategic direction. It focuses the on issues of resources, processes, people and so on. Operational strategy is also termed as Functional strategy. Functional levels provide input (input, is usually information on resources and capabilities) into the business unit level and corporate level strategy. After developing the higher level strategy, the functional units translate it into discrete action-plans so that each department follows it to achieve success. Q 2. a. Describe the various roles undertaken by a Project Manager. [5 Marks] Project Management Roles It is important that a hierarchy is maintained in the organisation to report any project related issues to the top management such as status of the work, suggestions, or any other factors. However, it is important that the issues are reported systematically and in order. The following

steps illustrates the role of various members associated with the team Also, in some projects, where deploying manpower could be a problem, one person could execute more than one of the roles mentioned below: Project Expeditor: Responsible for monitoring and reporting the status of the project to the senior management. However, this role has no authority. A project expeditor acts only as a communication coordinator and does not possess the rights to enforce any decisions. Project Coordinator: The role is similar to that of a project expeditor. However, the project coordinator has some limited authority to make decisions. Programme Manager: The programme manager is also called as the change manager. The programme manager ensures that the delivery of projects benefits the business of the organisation. The programme manager has command of all the managers and leaders responsible for monitoring the project. Project Manager: Manages individual projects assigned. The project manager has project leaders as reporting employees. Project Leader: Responsible for managing the different stages of the project. A project leader can report either to a project manager or to a programme manager or to both.

b. List and explain in brief the qualities of a Project Manager. Key Qualities and Skills of a Project Manager Project manager plays a vital role in managing a project and is also responsible for defining roles and responsibilities of each member in the project team. A project manager ensures that the project meets its deadlines with expected quality output according to the specifications given by the client. However, for efficient management of the project, the project manager is expected to have the following qualities1: Leadership ability: It is the ability to lead a group with integrity, openness and receptiveness. A good project manager should strictly adhere to the values, morals and methods as defined by the organisation. Rather, it simply means that the words, actions and decisions of a project manager are bound to certain standards defined. A to suit their defined job roles. It is required to provide appropriate training sessions such good project manager has the ability to gather information from various sources and make a final decision based on the input. A project manager is able to take decisions strictly adhering to the framework and structure of the organisation and not based on unleashed emotions. A good project manager is able to solve the queries and prioritise the needs and concerns of the other members of the team. Project managers ideally possess critical management skills that enable to inspire and motivate the group leading towards a common goal. Ability to steer team growth: People are the most valuable asset of a company. Therefore, for an organisation to flourish and meet its successful deadlines, it is very

essential to develop people, by nurturing their skills, appreciating their work, and providing training that is necessary as communication skills, team building skills, time management skills and leadership skills. Ability to take decisions: A project manager should be well organised and able to meet specific targets within the allotted time. The project manager has skills to manage various tasks and responsibilities that are both internal and external to the project. The project manager makes decisions keeping in mind the resources available, the scheduled time targets and the expenses incurred. The project manager is self motivated, self initiated, creative, and is able to solve any queries from the team. The project manager anticipates and has solutions to problems associated with the project. Ability to manage the finances of the project: A project manager effectively analyses and keeps track of the project finances to ensure a balance between the planned budget and the incurred budget. Commitment: A project manager is committed to the roles and responsibilities allotted and also create a positive and energetic work environment for the team to work in. Excellent communication skills: 85-90% of project managers tasks are about communication. Good communication skills help project manager to express and communicate effectively with all the stakeholders and also the team. Communication does not imply only sending information and speaking effectively; it also includes Listening skills, which means receiving information and understanding the message communicated from the other end. Good interpersonal skills (Individual Skills): Good interpersonal skills are defined as those skills which are very essential to interrelate, interact or deal with others in the organisation. Project managers possess good interpersonal skills to ensure that work is done on time without hurting the sentiments of any of the member of the project team. Interpersonal skills are categorised into communication skills, people skills and soft skills. An efficient project manager has good interpersonal skills that facilitate various ways that are suitable for interacting with other team members in various situations. Technical Skills: A project manager should have technical skills relevant to the project. The project manager knows the tools and techniques used in the project to ensure proper utilisation of resources. Problem solving skills: Project managers should possess problem solving skills and provide solution to most of the anticipated problems. A project manager should have the ability to identify the problems and concerns that arise out of various social situations. A capable project manager is able to take timely decisions in case of any risks or uncertainties associated with the implementation of the project. Time management skills: A good project manager understands that time is a nonrenewable resource, thus plans and schedules tasks based on the priority that it has to be completed. A good project manager also ensures that scheduled tasks are implemented and executed on time as per the wants and demands of the client with the expected quality outcome. The project manager also ensures that there is ongoing interaction with the clients to determine whether there are any changes in the specifications from the clients.

Project managers base their decisions based on a sound understanding of the concepts and techniques used in the implementation of the project.Some of the skills that a project manager requires with respect to project implementation are as listed below: Agency responsibilities: A good project should possess ability to deal with the obligations and challenges during the development, implementation and execution of the project. For example, the implementation of a software development project, a project manager ensures that the project meets the requirements of the end user, performs perfectly , provides software that is user friendly, cost effective and that can be maintained and managed efficiently. Understanding the nature of the project: It is very important for the project manager to analyse the nature of the project to assign roles to various members of the team. Understanding the nature of the project ensures that suitable resources, tools and techniques are chosen for the implementation of the project. The nature of the project has to be in line with the companys structure, policies and planned budget. Conforming project feasibility: The project manager is able to manage the project in a manner that is feasible to various kinds of situations. Defining and setting the project scope: It is very essential that the objectives and the scope of the project are defined along with the shared decision by the senior members of the team. The probability of project failure increases when there is no clear definition and clear understanding of the objectives of the project. Once the goals and the objectives of the project are set, the task that follows is to identify the scope of the project. When scope has to be defined for a project, various factors have to be taken into considerations such as: o The amount of effort that has to be put in the project assigned o The duration of the completion of the project o Financial commitments o Duration and availability of the resources. Setting goals: Project managers ensure that the goals of the project benefit the organisation in terms of finance as well as the overall growth of the organisation. Assigning roles and responsibilities: It is vital that the job roles and responsibilities are assigned based on the skill set possessed by the employees.

Planning organisational change: In situations, where an existing structure of the organisation is not matching the requirements of the project taken up, it requires changing or updating the framework or certain activities of the organisation to ensure accommodating of the new process tasks. Thus, the organisation should be well prepared for the transitions of the plan so as to meet the specifications and the requirements of the client. However, a delay in the transition planning of the project can impair the productivity of the organisation. The planning of the changes in the organisation hold good in various aspects such as policies, procedures, description of new job roles, and other services of the customers. Q 3. a. Describe the major types of stakeholders in a project. According to Stanford Research Institute5 stakeholders are those groups without whose support the organisation would cease to exist. The major stakeholders of a project are: Project Manager Customer

Performing Organisation Project Team Members Sponsor Society

Major Stakeholders of a Project

Project Manager Project manager is the interface between the customer and other internal stakeholders. The project manager holds the responsibility for the successful implementation of the project and is an important stakeholder. Customer Customers are the internal or external group of individuals who directly affect the project. The aim of the project is to create a product, service or facility based on customer requirements and to deliver it to the customer. Hence, the project team must consider all requirements of the customer while creating the deliverable. The customer can be any one of the following:

Internal customer: They are individuals within the parent organisation. For example, the IT department is assigned to provide a software package for the accounts department. The accounts department is the internal customer. Intermediate customer: They are external to the company but not the final user of the product. For example, distributors and wholesalers. External customer: They are individuals or organisations that pay for and use the final product. Performing Organisation The performing organisation is the enterprise whose employees are most directly involved in performing the work of the project. Therefore, the project contributes towards achieving the corporate goals of the performing organisation. In addition, there are several other stakeholders like project owner, fund providers, suppliers or contractors, government agencies and media outlets and the society. Stakeholder roles and responsibilities may overlap. For example, when an engineering firm finances a plant it is in the designing or construction field, the role of the engineering firm changes from performing organisation to sponsor for the projects undertaken by the designing or construction company.

The naming or grouping of stakeholders is primarily an aid to identify individuals or organisations who view themselves as stakeholders. Project Team Members Team members working in their individual areas of expertise play a crucial role in the success of the project. They work directly with or under the project manager depending on the organisation structure adopted for the project. The project manager, therefore, uses team building skills to ensure that the team members work as a team. Sponsor The sponsor is an individual or a group within or external to the parent organisation who arranges the financial resources in cash or in kind for the project. The sponsor may be a senior executive of an organisation or a junior manager with formal authority who is responsible for the project thus, acting as a link between the project and the performing organisation. b. Describe the major type of Organisational structure in Detail. Organisational Structure Organisational structure has a significant impact on the functioning of a project manager. To enable successful completion of a project, it is important that the resources required for project implementation flow freely from the organisation to the project. There are three types of organisational structures: Functional organisation is a hierarchical structure. It defines a clear Superior-Subordinate relationship, i.e, the line of control is clear. Each department carries out work in its area of specialisation and employees in each department work with its respective expertise within the department's line of control. In a manufacturing organisation, the different departments are production, finance, marketing, quality control, engineering, administration, personnel and so on. If a new product is to be developed, the engineering department handles only the design development phase of the product. If answers to questions concerning manufacturing, marketing or quality control are found, the query is passed on to the respective department through formal communication channels. Project-based organisations are designed to provide near total authority to the project manager. The project manager directs work and sets priorities to employees assigned to the project manager for the project. Functional departments exist in this organisation, but the groups working in these departments report directly to the project manager in the execution of various projects. Matrix-based organisations combine the features of functional and project-based organisational structures. In this type of organisational structure, project managers and functional managers have equal authority, which implies that the functional staff member reports to both project manager and their functional manager. This constitutes a dual reporting system for each functional staff member. Q 4. List and describe in brief the various qualities of the project management process.

Q.5. Write a short note on the following: a. SWOT Analysis as a Strategic Planning tool. Corporate Strategy Planning Two tools popularly used in the planning of corporate strategy are: Ansoff matrix BCG matrix

Ansoff Matrix The Ansoff matrix (originator Igor Ansoff in 1957) presents the product and market choices available to an organisation. The Ansoff matrix is used to aid decision-making concerned with market expansion and diversification. Markets may be defined as customers, products, or items sold to the customers. It considers two factors: Newness of the product to the company. Experience of the company with the intended market The table shows the four corporate strategies using an ANSOFF Matrix.
Table: ANSOFF Matrix (Source: Corporate Strategy by Igor Ansoff)

OLD Product OLD Market-Market Penetration

OLD Product NEW Market-Expansion (Market Development)

NEW Product Related Diversification-OLD Market (Product Development) NEW Product Unrelated Diversification-NEW Market

The explanations for the four strategies mentioned in the quadrants of Table are as follows:
Explanation for Ansoff Strategies Strategy Market Penetration Market Expansion Product Expansion customers Explanation Requires an increase of existing market share in existing markets. Requires identification of new customer for existing products. Requires development of new products for existing customers (Related diversification). Requires production of new products for new markets (Unrelated diversification).

Diversification Markets

Based on management of time availability, skill of personnel, and fund mobilisation capacity the company decides to adopt one or more of the four strategies. The fourth strategy provides high growth potentials but requires careful planning and analysis prior to taking any decision. If the firm decides to expand in all four areas, some of its businesses could end up being badly managed. The limitation of Ansoff matrix is that the matrix tells us one part of the strategy story, but it is imperative to look at other strategic models like Strength Weakness Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis2 in order to view how the strategy changes in the future. b. Net Present Value (NPV) as a Project selection criterion.

Net Present Value (NPV) as Project Selection Criterion NPV is the present value of the future revenues after deducting future costs. This is a very popular and valid method for selecting a project from the financial viewpoint. Some factors that companies use to enhance NPV are: Government policy. For example, special tax benefits and exemptions for an industry or a location. Economies of scale: In manufacturing, unit cost is substantially reduced by adopting high production volume. For example, petroleum refining, steel production, and mining. Product differentiation: This is achieved by innovative product features, high quality products, customised service and so on. Technology superiority: DRL outperformed its competitors in the drug-manufacturing industry because of their technology based on research and development.

Q 6. Describe in brief the Human resource management process in a project.

Human Resource Management Process Human Resource Management includes various processes that are vital to make the most effective use of the people involved with a project. The main process involved with the HR Management process includes: Acquiring the project team.
Developing the project team. Managing the project team.

Acquiring a Project Team The members who belong to different groups and functions and are allocated to the activities of the same project, form a project team. A team can be divided into sub-teams if required. Generally, the project teams are only used for a defined period of time. However, they are disbanded when the project is complete. Sometimes, due to the nature of the specific formation and disbandment, project teams are usually agile in organisations. Acquiring a project team is the process of acquiring the specific people needed to accomplish all phases of the given project. Ultimately the team members will bring all the specific qualifications and capabilities to the project team. However, the project management team has control over the selection process. Selection of team mates involves certain concerns which need to be evaluated. A number of factors are considered while deciding the team members. These factors include a series of environmental factors (such as work experience, availability, and cost), derivation of clear and concise project organisation charts, and formulation of a thorough staffing management plan. Once the team is properly staffed, the next steps (or outputs) of the process involve staffing out assignments to the team, determining availability of resources, and updating the staffing management plan. Important factors that are considered during the process of acquiring the team are:

The project manager should efficiently discuss and induct others who are in a position to supply the required Human Resources in a project. Failure to obtain the essential Human Resources for the project will affect project agenda, budgets, consumer satisfaction and quality. It declines the probability of success and eventually results in project cancellation.

The figure depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of acquiring a project team.

Acquiring a Project Team: Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output

The inputs for acquiring a project team are: Enterprise environmental factors: Team members are available from internal and external sources. When selecting the team members, it is important to evaluate the following factors: Availability Ability Experience Interests Costs Assets of organisational process: Assets of organisational process covers reviewing the documented policies, procedures, and guidelines governing staff assignments. Roles and responsibilities: The roles and responsibilities document should be assessed to determine a team members roles, responsibilities, skills, levels of authority, and competencies. Project organisation charts: The project organisation chart is an input/output device that serves a valuable role for the Project Management team and team leader in the process of keeping a thorough and careful organisational record of the project s processes. Staffing management plan: The staffing management plan with the project schedule is reviewed to ascertain when team members are needed. For successful completion of a project, it is always beneficial to gather the best team available. With the right team, one will have good foundation. The common tools and techniques utilised to ensure quality output from a good project team are: Pre-assignment: Pre-assignment is commonly done when the project team positions are known in advance. This is usually completed when the project is dependent on the expertise of an individual. Negotiation: Negotiation is used when the project manager needs to assure that the project receives skilled staff within the required time frame. Another situation which calls

for negotiation is when particular or scarce resources are needed to complete the project plan. Acquisition: When organisations do not have the in-house staff needed to complete the project, staff acquisitions is done to provide new resources, consultants, or subcontractors to the project. Virtual teams: Virtual teams are utilised in the following situations: The teams encompass individuals who are not located in the same region. The teams comprise employees who work from home. The teams consist of individuals working in different shifts. The teams consist of individuals with mobile handicaps.

The results from the right project team are a good foundation to start a project when the project manager has negotiated and secured the services for successful completion of the project. The output of acquiring a project team process is: Assignments of project staff: Assignments of project staff illustrates who has been assigned to the project. These assignments should be documented in team directory, in project organisation charts and in schedules. Availability of resources: Availability of resources gives the time periods that each project team member can work on.

Updates of staffing management plan: Changes in the staffing management plan is needed in order to update the plan with the real team. Developing a Project Team Developing a project team is a process of enhancing interaction among the team members and also the project manager. The process refers to increasing competencies of individuals and building up team spirit, which finally leads to a quality project2. To achieve project success, there should be good communication among the team members. Project managers should administer the development of the project team. The project manager should create the relevant environment for teamwork, provide new goals for the team to compete and achieve. Project managers should encourage feedback from the team. The project manager should provide effective review and good support to the team staff. Open communication between the project manager and team reduces conflicts. The management should also support the project managers. The project stakeholders should provide the required support to the development of the project team. Projects are done in diversified environments. The project team may experience variance in language, industry and culture while at work. The project team should be dedicated to the project and the team members should work together, without losing their individuality. The goals for developing a project team are: To develop technical knowledge about the project, this leads to quality output and meeting delivery schedules with reduced cost. To enhance trust among team members, thus reducing conflicts. To develop cohesiveness in the project.

To allow sharing knowledge among team members The figure depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of developing a project team.

Figure : Developing a Project Team: Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output

The inputs for developing a project team are: Project staff allocation: Project staff allocation deals with listing the members of the project team. Staffing management plan: Staffing management plan deals with staff attainment, guidance and release. The project staff should be recognised individually and also as a team. Resource availability: Resource availability deals with assigning the project team members according to the time available.

The project team development requires a good knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the team members. Developing a synergistic project team means knowing the team members, helping them build upon their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses while promoting productive working relationships within the team. The following tools and techniques help to identify the team assets: Team management skills: The Project Management team should know the skills of each person to understand the individuals of the team. These skills improve a team s communication, creativity and performance. Team management skills unite a team amidst cultural differences. Team training: The project team should be trained in every technical aspect involved in the project. The training can be classroom training, online learning, on-the-job training and mentoring. The training should be planned according to the Human Resource plan. Team developing activity: The team developing activities are effective means for achieving team trust. The team should communicate effectively even if the team is placed in remote locations. The first factor in team effectiveness is the diversity of skills and personalities, where different personality types balance and complement each other. The second critical element for a successful team is that all the team efforts are directed towards the teams goal. This relies heavily on good communication in the team and harmony among the members. The third factor involves resolving issues in project development. Even if the team s goals are clear and accepted by everyone, there may be issues due to lack of communication, differences in approach, limited resources, difference in personalities and interdependency. The project manager should consider these three factors and introduce team building activities accordingly. The five stages of team development are: Forming: Forming involves knowing every team member individually. The team members are inclined to work independently. They find out about each other and know whos who.

Storming: Storming involves the actual Project Management process. This stage promises action. There is a struggle for project team control, and momentum builds as members have to lead the project team. During this phase, the team members figure out the hierarchy of the team and the informal roles of team members. Norming: Norming is working together, socialising, and providing constructive criticism. The team develops a strong commitment to the teams goal and work to achieve it. Performing: Performing means smooth movement of project development by a wellorganised project team. The team members blend into their roles and focus on completing the project work as a team. Adjourning: Adjourning implies completion of the project so that the team is ready for a new one. The various factors in project development team are listed below: Ground rules: Ground rules make certain clear expectations regarding appropriate team behaviour. The project team members should have a clear idea about these rules to decrease misunderstanding and increase productivity. Co-location: The team members should be placed in the same physical location to increase team building opportunities. Team staff rewards: The Project Management should recognise and reward the team members to improve project work. Empathy establishment: The project team should have an empathetic approach to each other. Developing a project team is a continuous process that needs to be assessed on an ongoing basis. When tools and techniques are used to develop the project team, the project manager or Project Management team needs to assess the team's improvement.

The output of developing a project team is: Team performance assessment: Developing strategies and working according to it increases the team performance. It enhances the teams chances of meeting the project objectives. The teams performance can be measured by the following factors: Performance of tasks assigned. Competencies to build a better team. Project cohesiveness.

Rate of staff turnover. Managing a Project Team Managing a project team is the process of delegating responsibilities and tasks, monitoring team performance, providing feedback, solving issues, and coordinating changes to enhance overall project performance. Managing the team is one of the most critical aspects of project management. The project manager should encourage building competencies among the team members and reward them accordingly. Key aspects of managing a project team are: Assigning work and observing the commitment level in each team member. Building co-operative working relationship and ensuring effective communication among all members of the project team.

Monitoring team spirit. Providing effective performance review and appraisal to inspire the project team.

The figure depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of managing a project team.

Figure : Managing a Project Team: Inputs, Tools, Techniques and Output

The inputs for managing a project team are: Assets of organisational process: Assets of an organisational process include policies, procedures and systems which are used to reward the project team. Project staff allocations: Project staff allocations are the list of duties assigned to the members of the project team. Staff allocation documents are used during the monitoring and tracking process to evaluate individual team members. Team roles and responsibilities: The roles and responsibilities document include the tasks assigned to the project team members. Project organisational plan: Project organisational plan represents the reporting relationship among the project team. Staff management plan: The Staff management plan describes the team member requirement and list of training plans.

Assessment of team performance: Team performance assessments are the documented formal or informal assessment of the project teams performance. The project manager should identify and solve problems, reduce conflicts and improve overall team work. Work performance: The team members performance is measured and documented as work performance documents. Project performance reports: Performance reports illustrate project performance information compared to the project plan. These reports provide a base for determining the actions needed for successful project delivery. The tools and techniques used for managing a project team are: Inspection and discussion: The project manager monitors the progress toward project goals, interpersonal relationships, and work of every team member.

 Project performance reviews: Performance reviews are used to clarify team member responsibilities and to achieve future goals. Project performance reviews facilitate team members to receive feedback from supervisors. Managing conflicts: Managing conflicts reduces critical disagreements within the project team. The project manager uses informal and formal intrusions to resolve problems before the conflict damages the project. Issue log: An issue log is a list of action items and the names of the team members responsible for carrying them out. An issue log helps project managers to monitor outstanding items. The output of managing a project team is: Requested changes: Requested changes are project staffing changes (either planned or unplanned) which affect the project plan. An integrated change control is processed in case of a disrupting change in project plan. Recommended corrective actions: Recommended corrective actions involve overcoming the addition or removal of a team mate, additional training, or actions relating to disciplinary processes. Recommended preventive actions: The recommended preventive actions are taken to reduce the impact of expected problems. Updating of organisational process asset: Updating of organisational process assets are either inputs to team members performance appraisals or lessons learned documentation. Staffing management plan updates: A staffing management plan is a supplementary plan of the project management plan. The staffing management plan updates approved staffing related change requests.

Master in Business Administration Semester 3 Subject Name Introduction to Project management

Assignment Set- 2 Q 1. List and explain in brief the inputs to the following processes a. Acquiring a project team.
Acquiring a Project Team The members who belong to different groups and functions and are allocated to the activities of the same project, form a project team. A team can be divided into sub-teams if required. Generally, the project teams are only used for a defined period of time. However, they are disbanded when the project is complete. Sometimes, due to the nature of the specific formation and disbandment, project teams are usually agile in organisations. Acquiring a project team is the process of acquiring the specific people needed to accomplish all phases of the given project. Ultimately the team members will bring all the specific qualifications and capabilities to the project team. However, the project management team has control over the selection process. Selection of team mates involves certain concerns which need to be evaluated. A number of factors are considered while deciding the team members. These factors include a series of environmental factors (such as work experience, availability, and cost), derivation of clear and concise project organisation charts, and formulation of a thorough staffing management plan. Once the team is properly staffed, the next steps (or outputs) of the process involve staffing out assignments to the team, determining availability of resources, and updating the staffing management plan. Important factors that are considered during the process of acquiring the team are: The project manager should efficiently discuss and induct others who are in a position to supply the required Human Resources in a project. Failure to obtain the essential Human Resources for the project will affect project agenda, budgets, consumer satisfaction and quality. It declines the probability of success and eventually results in project cancellation.

The figure depicts the inputs, tools and techniques and the output of acquiring a project team.

Acquiring a Project Team: Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output

The inputs for acquiring a project team are: Enterprise environmental factors: Team members are available from internal and external sources. When selecting the team members, it is important to evaluate the following factors: Availability

 Ability Experience Interests Costs b. Communication plan Communication Plan Planning communication is the process of ascertaining the information and communication needs of the project stakeholders. Communication plan helps to communicate the right information, to the right people at the right time. It is a schedule of communication events used to make sure that the project stakeholders are kept properly informed. The various factors such as the time, effort and resources that are required to perform these planned communication activities are the part of the Project Management. The communication goals, strategies and stakeholders are described in the communication plan. The best time for planning communication is at the start up phase of the project life cycle. It ensures that the plan includes the tasks needed to communicate effectively throughout the project cycle. The key features influencing the communication plan includes Project Management team structure, scope of the project and feedback from the stakeholders. There are two ways of planning communication: Constant communication: Constant or regular communication involves communicating to the project team, managers and project stakeholders on a regular basis. These types of communication include regular status reports, project team meetings and monthly status updates about the project. The constant communication also includes the regular stakeholder report updates. Event driven communication: The event driven or one-time communication includes sessions discussing critical issues, stakeholder meetings, training schedules and wrap up sessions.

Q 2. Write short notes on the following idea generation technique: a. Mind mapping Mind Mapping Another way to look at the human levels of thinking is the mind mapping concept. Mind mapping exercise is aimed at increasing mental energy to utilise creative thinking skills, enabling the mind to track out ideas which normally lie in obscurity on the edge of thinking. Following example is taken from the software Buzans iMind Map which was chosen for the brainstorming session aimed at planning for the future of young and developing minds. The software replicates the organic shape, form and use of colours and images to convey a thought or idea a graphic technique for stimulating creativity and unleashing the truth, often untapped potential of the mind. This was used in June 2008 at Petra, Jordan, where 30 Nobel Prize winners (scientists, entrepreneurs, academics, and humanitarians) participated in the conference focused on the theme Reaching for New Economic, Scientific and Educational horizons. Two of the many conclusions of the brainstorming session were - elimination of child

poverty worldwide is essential to move forward with educational development; new and innovative learning tools are the foundation for a positive future for the next generation.

b. Delphi technique Delphi Method This is a systematic, interactive, forecasting method that relies on a panel whose members are carefully selected independent experts. It is based on the principle that forecasts from an unstructured group of individuals are comparatively inaccurate than forecasts from a structure group of experts. The experts answer prepared questionnaires in two or more rounds. After each round, a facilitator provides an overall summary of the experts forecasts from the previous round as well as the reasons they provided for their judgments. The participants revise their earlier answers by knowing the responses of other members of the group. The process stops after a predetermined stop-criterion like number of rounds or achievement of consensus. Usually, participants maintain secrecy even after completion of the final report. The facilitator, who is the coordinator of the Delphi method, sends out the questionnaire, collects and analyses responses, and identifies common and conflicting viewpoints. c. Brainstorming Brainstorming This method aims to give people freedom of mind and action to create and reveal new ideas. All spontaneous ideas from a group are gathered to find a solution for a specific problem. The rules followed during brainstorming are as follows: No criticism of ideas Go for large quantity of ideas Build on each others ideas Encourage wild ideas

Brainstorming consists of a facilitator who composes the brainstorming panel and an idea collector to record the suggested ideas. Sometimes the facilitator is also the idea collector. Some of the leading questions that a facilitator asks during the session are Can we combine these ideas? and How about looking from another perspective? The idea collector also numbers each idea for future reference. When a participant exhausts all ideas, the creativity and experience of another participant is brought out. This often makes group brainstorming sessions enjoyable experiences. This also facilitates in bringing team members together. Individual brainstorming is effective in generating many ideas, but not at developing the ideas. Brainstorming is used to generate ideas, for others to evaluate and select. The strategy is more effective when the brainstorming group evaluates and selects a solution to the problem proposed. In either case, the organisation offers incentives so that participants maintain their brainstorming efforts. Brainstorming is a lateral thinking process. It is employed particularly when new ways of thinking are called for and when there is a need to break out of old established patterns of thinking. Some instances where brainstorming is used are when there is a need to look at new opportunities, when there is a need to improve the service offered, or when existing approaches are just not giving the right results.

d. Nominal Group technique Nominal Group Technique This is a type of brainstorming. This technique encourages all participants to have an equal say in the session. Participants are asked to write their ideas anonymously. The moderator collects the ideas and each idea is voted on by the group. The process of voting can be simply by show of hands. The top ranked ideas are sent back to the group or subgroups for further brainstorming. Each subgroup comes back to the whole group for ranking the listed ideas. Sometimes the group revaluates the ideas that were previously dropped. This method requires a trained facilitator. Q 3.Describe in brief the various sources of project financing.

Q 4. Explain the important concepts in Research design?

Q 5. Explain the following a. Project Vs. Program Vs. Portfolio

Difference between Project, Program and Portfolio Management Project Management: A project has a definite start and end date with a clearly mentioned deliverable produced and project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, techniques and processes to effectively manage a team to achieve this final deliverables, which means the management of a specific project. Project management focuses on delivering the specific objectives of the project. Program Management: A program is a group of related projects which are managed together to obtain specific benefits and which cannot be obtain if the projects are managed individually. Program management is focused on achieving the strategic objectives of the integrated project. Portfolio Management: A portfolio is the collection of projects or programs grouped together to facilitate effective management of effort to meet strategic business objectives and this typically includes identifying, and prioritising projects and programs to achieve specific strategic business objectives.

b. Project work and Traditional functional work . Differences between Project Work and Traditional Functional Work Project work and traditional functional work differ in many ways. It is important to understand these differences. Functional work is routine ongoing work. Each day machine operators, car salesmen, secretaries, accountants, financial analysts and quality inspectors perform functional work that is routine, notwithstanding some variations from day to day. The functional worker gets training from a manager assigned to the specific function, and the manager supervises and manages the worker according to standards of productivity and quality set for the particular function. In contrast to functional work, project work is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique, non-routine product or service. A project manager manages a specific project with people and other resources assigned to him only for project management support on the specific project, and not on an ongoing basis. The project manager is responsible for the approved objectives of a project such as budget, schedule and specifications. Project terms are typically not organised in the same hierarchical structure as that of functional group. Q 6. Describe the following quality control tools: [2.54=10 Marks] a. Ishikawa diagram b. Flow chart c. Pareto chart d. Scatter diagram Cause and Effect Diagram: This is also known as fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram was developed in 1960 and named after Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese quality control statistician. It is one of the seven basic tools of quality management. It is named fishbone diagram because of its fish-like appearance. It is a systematic way of analysing effects and causes that creates or contributes to the effects. This tool is employed by a problem solving team for assembling all inputs systematically and graphically. All the inputs given to this tool is obtained from a brainstorming session. It enables the team to focus on why the problem occurs and not on the symptoms or history of the problem. It also displays a real-time snapshot of the collective inputs of the team as it is updated. The possible causes are represented at various levels of detail in connected branches. The level of detail increases as the branch goes outwards which means that an outer branch is a cause of the inner branch it is attached to. Therefore, the outermost branches in a cause and effect relationship diagram usually indicate the root causes of the problem. Figure 11.4 shows an example of cause and effect diagram.

Flowchart: It is an essential project management technique. It is used by the project manager and project management team to discuss about the project. Flowchart is a specific graphical representation of order and process that must take place during the life of a project. This represents and highlights fundamental elements of project like every single mode of input, processing action, and output. Flowchart is not meant to represent a formal and unyielding plan that describes how the project must be conducted. It is a brainstorming type of activity that is meant to merely illustrate the anticipated course that the project and its anticipated components will take, with the idea that it may in fact become obsolete as the project advances. Flowcharts are also used to represent a document process flow. This is used to figure out bottlenecks or breakdowns in current processes. Flowcharts are also be used to show changes in process, when improvements are made or to show a new work flow process

Pareto Charts: This quality control tool is based on Paretos rule. The Pareto rule states that 80 percent of the problems are often due to 20 percent of the causes. The basic assumption is that most of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes and helps to identify the vital few contributors that account for most quality problems. The Pareto chart is a form of histogram that orders the data by frequency of occurrence. It shows how many defects were generated, by a type of category of identified cause. For example, to determine the errors in the collection of beneficiary data, a project team identified five causes and frequency of errors, of each cause. The bars represent each category and, the line the cumulative percentage of the errors. The chart indicates that that 80% of the errors could be reduced just by improving the data collection in two categories, instead of focusing efforts to correct all categories.

Example of Pareto Chart

Scatter Diagrams: It is a graphical technique used to analyse the relationship between two variables. It determines and shows whether or not there is correlation between two variables. Correlation means the measure of the relationship between two sets of numbers or variables.

Two sets of data are plotted on a graph, where y-axis is used for the variable to be predicted and the x-axis is used for the variable to make the prediction. A scatter diagram shows the possible relationships. It should be noted that two variables might appear to be related but they might not be. Hence those who know well about the variables must evaluate the variables. Correlation does not refer a direct cause and effect relationship. If the values of one variable can be predicted, based on the value of the other variables, then there exists correlation. All relationships between variables are not linear. A visible slope of line does not provide any information about the strength of correlation since the scales of the graph can be expanded or compressed on either axis of the scatter diagram. The direct or strong correlation between the variables does not necessarily imply cause and effect relationship. If a correlation is shown by scatter diagram, investigate for further confirmation. For example, volume of ice cream sold per day is strongly correlated to the daily number of fatalities by drowning. Neither of the variables is a result and strongly correlated to third variable which is the outside temperature.