VCB 4043/VDB 4053 ENGINEERS IN

SOCIETY
TOPIC: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Lectured by:

IR. DR. IDRIS OTHMAN

Dept. of Civil Engineering, UTP
Topics covered
 The world of project management, the
manager, the organization and the
team,
 planning, budgeting, scheduling,
allocating resources,
 monitoring and controlling, evaluating
and terminating,
References

1. Nicholas, J.M. Project Management for Business and

Engineering: Principles and Practice. 2nd Ed. Elsevier, 2004
2. Levy, S.M. “Project Management in Construction”
Mc Graw-Hill, New York, 4th Ed., 2002
3. Project Management Institute. A Guide to the
Project Management Body of Knowledge,
PMI, 2000
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 LECTURE 1 :
INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
Project Slide Show
on :
- PM Application in Civil Engineering and
- The Multidisciplinary Nature of Civil Projects
 Topics for
today’s lecture
- Definitions-
- Importance-
- Organization-
- Approaches-
 definitions: project
Project: “A temporary endeavor undertaken to create
a unique product or service (PMI,* 2000)”
or
“Simply anything in which you invest time,
money and resources in hope of a return.”

c.f. Operation: “A permanent or semi-permanent functional

work to create the same product or service
OVER-AND-OVER again”
* Project Management Institute, U.S.A.
Characteristics of engineering projects
 Have specific goals eg build a house, build a car, etc
 Have a set of different activities to do e.g. in building:
piling, erect formwork, pour concrete, build brick-wall
 Have a defined start & finish date (so has a “life cycle”)
 Consume resources : e.g. people), money, materials, etc
 Temporary and one-time
 Often complex and fragmented (many parties involved)
 Often large in size and cost,
 Has risk and uncertainty
 Unique in some way
Project life cycle

 Defining stage
• Inception, definition of project, proposal preparation
 Planning Stage
• Planning, organizing, design
 Execution Stage
• Construction or manufacturing or production
• Pre-construction planning (for civil)
 Delivering stage
• Handing over /commissioning
• Occupation / operation
definitions: project management
Project Management:

“The art of directing and coordinating human and

material resources through the life of a project by using
modern management techniques to achieve pre-
determined goals of scope, cost, time, quality and
participant satisfaction” (PMI, 2000) or

The discipline of organizing and managing resources in

such a way that these resources deliver all the works
required to complete a project within defined scope, time
and cost constraints. (BSI)
Pre-defined objectives
 Based on the definitions, the pre-defined
objectives are

to complete the project on time,

to complete the project within budget
to complete the project with the desired quality
Importance
 Why do we need to think about Project Management

 Is it a MUST
 Is it a REQUIREMENT
 Can we do WITHOUT it

(Project Management is a field originated from

“Construction Management”- a knowledge developed in
Civil Engineering. Since 1969 it has diffused to other
industry e.g. agriculture, manufacturing, IT, etc).
PM is a necessity because…
 The inherent characteristics of engineering projects
(complex, fragmented, large in size, unique, etc)
require a systematic approach in managing the
activities and the resources

 Resources – e.g. time, money, materials and

manpower are limited (unlike in ancient times)
Challenge of PM
Apart from trying to achieve the 3 objectives,
the challenge of Project Management is then:

the optimized utilization, integration &

allocation of the resources (inputs) needed to
meet the pre-defined objectives
The resources are:
Time Materials
Money Energy
People space
 The Project Manager
 From the definition of PM, Project Manager’s duty is
PLOC:
• Planning - tactical (short term planning at PM level to satisfy
top management objectives); or operational (planning at PM
level to set schedule and standards for the works). N.B. –
strategic (long term planning to set up organization, and
policies and strategies for use of resources) is done at top
management level
• Organizing – creating an organization or team to execute the
managerial objectives and establish how people within it relate
and interact each other
• Leading - directing, motivating, specializing, communicating
• Controlling –measuring what is actually achieved wrt time,
cost, quality and the corrective appropriate measures taken
 Organization
 “Organization” is the creation of a control and
communication system that allows management to
achieve its objectives.
 Involves the setting up a structure that defines
hierarchies, roles, authorities, control, interaction &
communications mechanisms.
 No universal or standard structure for organization –
must suit particular project situation
 Though temporary in nature, it must also interact
with permanent external and internal organizations.
 Example organization structure (site-civil project )
 PM needs good organization to execute his/her duties
 Approaches in project
management
A. The Traditional Approach to Project
Management: Five Components
based on the project life cycle

1. Project Initiation Stage

2. Project Planning & Design Stage
3. Project Execution Stage
4. Project Monitoring / Control Systems
5. Project Completion

But still not all projects will have all components

This approach involves pre-planned tasks, so its systematic
Approaches in project management
(cont.)
Other Approaches in Project Management

B. Waterfall Development:
Generally used in software development, one series of tasks
after another in linear sequence

C. Agile Project Management Approaches;

Based on the principles of human interaction management and
founded on a process view of human collaboration.
The project is seen as a series of relatively small tasks conceived
and executed as the situation demands in an adaptive manner
rather than as a completely pre-planned process ( rather, an ad-
hoc type of project management)
Thank You