Advanced Project Management

This article provides an overview of advanced project management techniques and tools for successful project delivery. It discusses the importance of project parameters, communication, quality, time frames, cost, scope, risks, and procurement of project resources. The article also explores the lean construction management methodology and various project management techniques/tools such as Gantt chart, PERT chart, CPM, critical chain technique, Kanban, WBS, Monte Carlo analysis, cost benefit analysis, PRINCE2, and MS Project.

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ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Name
Professor
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Advanced Project Management
1. Introduction
The main task in this project management plan is to plan and manage the proposed LC-01A
building project. The site of the project is located in Armstrong Creek West. The client has
already purchased the site, cleared and levelled it. The site has access to road infrastructure and
services. The client has obtained all the necessary permits for the project from relevant
government authorities and issued with the design documentation for construction. At this point,
the project is ready for construction. Project managers have a big influence on the success of
construction projects (Ali & Chileshe, 2009); (Larsson, et al., 2018). The project manager is in
charge of making key decisions in the planning and management of the project. Some of the key
duties and responsibilities of a project manager include: prepare the project plan, communicate
the plan to other stakeholders, allocate tasks, allocate resources, manage and control utilization
of resources, set milestones and lead and motivate the entire project team (Anantatmula, 2010);
(Shibani & Sukumar, 2015). This project management plan comprises of the following elements:
project parameters or boundaries, proposed project management practice/methodology, proposed
project management techniques/tools and how each of the project management tools will be used
when implementing LC-01A building project.
2. Project parameters/boundaries
The parameters of this project include the following:
2.1. Stakeholders
The key stakeholders to be involved in this project and their main requirements and
responsibilities include the following:

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Client – the main responsibility of the client is to provide the necessary resources
(especially financial resources) on time so that her needs may be met.
Contractors and subcontractors – their main responsibility is to carry out the actual
construction works contracted or sub-contracted to them. They will have their own staffs of
skilled tradesmen and labourers.
Government agencies – their main role is to issue necessary approvals and permits, and
carry out inspections at different stages of the project to ensure that all relevant regulations are
adhered to.
Design team – this team will be responsible for making any design changes proposed by
the client and inspecting and testing ongoing construction works to ensure that they meet the
specifications in the design documents.
Suppliers – these will be responsible for delivering the specified construction materials
and equipment/tools.
The power and interest of these stakeholders are varied but they will all have shared goals and
objectives. Therefore they will cooperate, coordinate and consult each other at all stages of the
project so as to achieve the goals and objectives. The project manager will provide leadership,
support, direction and motivation to all of them.
2.2. Communication
The main goal of this parameter is to ensure that all stakeholders communicate effectively so as
to share complete and accurate information on time. A wide range of communication methods
will be used including: meetings, phone calls, presentations, text messages, letters, emails, social
media pages, company websites, fax, legal documents, plans/drawings/photos, memos and

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reports. Electronic communication systems, including building information modelling (BIM) and
electronic document management systems (EDMS) will be majorly used because they have been
proven to improve effective communication among stakeholders involved in construction
projects.
2.3. Quality
This will be achieved by ensuring that construction materials used are of high quality and
sourced from reputable suppliers, tradesmen employed have the right professional qualifications
to ensure high workmanship, the right construction methods are used, and all ongoing
construction works are closely supervised. Necessary tests will be performed on completed
works and there will be approval of every competed phase before proceeding to the next phase.
2.4. Time frames
The main target is to complete the project within the stipulated time. The project manager will
promote this by ensuring that the required resources (high quality materials, efficient
equipment/tools and qualified human resources) are provided on time; potential risks are
identified, evaluated and prevented or managed; conflicts and disputes are resolved as quickly as
possible, and all construction works are supervised to minimize errors. A detailed work
breakdown structure (WBS) and Gantt chart will be prepared and followed strictly.
2.5. Cost
The main target is to complete the project within the stipulated budget. Some of the strategies
that will be used to achieve this include: ensuring proper allocation and utilization of resources,
monitoring and controlling utilization of resources on site, observe strict safety guidelines to
minimize safety and health risks/hazards, minimize wastage by applying lean construction
principles, use modern construction methods that speed up project delivery such as

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prefabrication, close supervision to avoid errors that could led to demolition of completed works;
and hiring qualified personnel.
2.6. Scope
This project involves construction of the proposed building in Armstrong Creek West, from start
to finish. The main goal is to ensure that the final structure (including the substructure and
superstructure) meets all the specifications in the design documents, is constructed in accordance
with the relevant Australian standards, is completed within stipulated time and budget, and is
able to perform the intended function efficiently throughout its design life.
2.7. Risks
Risks in this project are inevitable. Some of the risks include: construction, physical/natural,
performance, security, contractual & legal, financial & economic, organizational, project
management, and political & social risks. The project manager will prepare a comprehensive risk
management plan that will identify all possible risks, evaluate them and develop appropriate
strategies of preventing, controlling or managing them (Watt, 2014).
2.8. Procurement of project resources
The project manager will logically and competitively select suppliers of construction materials
and equipment/tools. A supplier selection criteria will be prepared and used for this purpose.
Every supplier will sign a contract.
3. Project management practice/methodology
The proposed project management methodology for the LC-01A building project is lean
construction management (LCM). LCM is a methodology that aims at minimizing waste of
materials, effort and time so as to create the maximum possible value for the client (Salunkhe &

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Vidhate, 2018). As aforementioned, the goal of this project is to complete construction of the
proposed building within the stipulated time and budget and to the required quality standards.
According to this methodology, the final product is determined by the means used to create it.
The methodology requires all key stakeholders to be brought on board at early stages so that they
can have a better understanding of the project and give their opinions in the planning and design
stages. Therefore the project manager will assemble the project team and involve it in the project
early. The project manager will also be responsible for ensuring that the stakeholders are honest
and trust each other, consult and work as a team, build strong working relationships, and discuss
frequently to find ways of improving project delivery.
LCM is deemed an appropriate methodology for dealing with one of the major problems
in the construction industry – waste (Ansah, et al., 2016). Traditional project management
methodologies remain ineffective in solving this problem (Bajjou, et al., 2017). The
methodology does not only focus on identifying waste areas but also on improving the planning,
design and construction processes of the whole project. When using this methodology, the
project manager ensures that all stakeholders are equally liable for the project’s success or
failure, and also share equally the profits or liabilities of the project.
Some of the benefits of LCM methodology are: improved collaboration and
accountability of the project team; higher work quality; greater customer satisfaction; improved
risk management; faster project delivery (Erol, et al., 2017); minimized waste; reduced cost; and
increased return on investment (ROI). This methodology also promotes sustainability, which is
of great importance in the construction industry (Jamil & Fathi, 2016); (Ogunbiyi, et al., 2014).
The main principles of LCM methodology include: improve communication among
stakeholders; eliminate errors and waste; ensure a safe, clean and efficient working environment;

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remove activities that add zero value to the project; specify the customer’s value needs; forward
scheduling; improve work planning; identify and adopt processes that deliver client needs; and
continuous improvement. There are several techniques that the project manager can use to
achieve the goals and objectives of LCM. These techniques include: use BIM to model and
visualize, plan and communicate the project; early planning that helps in improving workflow,
preventing mistakes, avoiding work duplication and focus on outlining deliverable tasks; forward
scheduling; just-in-time material and/or equipment deliveries; modular building and pre-
fabrication; integrating supply chain; value management approaches; critical path analysis;
benchmarking; and continuous improvement (Aziz & Hafez, 2013).
The main focus of LCM is to meet the needs of the client, eliminate potential risks or
hazards and problems, reduce waste and continually improve the efficiency of systems used
(Issa, 2013). All these save the time, money and efforts needed to complete the project without
tradeoffs on quality. Therefore considering the client needs and goals and objectives of this
project, LCM is a suitable project management methodology that will ensure successful project
delivery. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that this methodology will be supplemented by the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide, which provides standards and
guidelines for successful delivery of projects (Project Management Institute, 2017).
4. Project management techniques/tools
The type of project management techniques/tools have a significant impact on the success/failure
of the project (Patanakul, et al., 2010). Therefore it is important to ensure that suitable project
management techniques/tools are selected and used. The following are the proposed project
management techniques/tools that the team should use on the proposed LC-01A building project:

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Gantt chart – this is a tool that determines the timeline and resources needed for every
activity/task of the project. It will be used to specify the start and finish dates and the resources
needed to complete every activity of the proposed LC-01A building project.
Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) chart – this tool is used in estimating the
realistic amount of time needed to complete a project, and organizing and coordinating all tasks
of the project. The chart illustrates the project graphically showing sequence of tasks and
milestones of the project. PERT will be used for planning and tracking the progress of the project
from the substructure (foundation) to the superstructure (floor slabs, walls, columns, roof, etc.) of
the building.
Critical Path Method (CPM) – this is a project management technique that is used to
identify the longest sequence or path of tasks and define critical tasks – ones that affect the
deadlines of the whole project. Once the critical tasks are identified, they are closely monitored
and thoroughly controlled to ensure that they completed as planned. CPM will be used to identify
the building activities on the critical path so as to ensure that adequate resources are provided to
ensure timely completion.
Critical Chain Technique – this technique focuses more on the allocation and utilization
of resources to enhance the feasibility of the project plan (V, 2018). The technique ensures that
resources are levelled and time is used effectively for faster project completion. It emphasizes on
dependencies analysis, prioritization and improvement of time costs. The technique will be used
to ensure that resources provided by the client are located appropriately to each work package of
the entire building project.

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Kanban – this is a very useful project management tool for enhancing continuous
communication, integration and collaboration of stakeholders. The tool helps stakeholders to
visualize workflow (what they need to do), limit the amount of activities in progress to avoid
over-commitment by stakeholders, and improve flow. The tool encourages active participation of
stakeholders, continuous learning and improvement through description of the best team
workflow (Sinnaps, 2019). In this project, Kanban will be used to enhance workflow and
collaboration of the client, project manager, design team, contractors, subcontractors and
suppliers.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – this tool divides the project deliverables into
manageable work packages that are easy to schedule, cost, manage and assign to specific
stakeholders. WBS will be used to breakdown all the work packages of the building project,
based on the project scope, and indicate the estimated time, cost and persons responsible for
completion.
Monte Carlo Analysis – this technique will be used to simulate the project’s outcome.
The technique will be used to perform simulations to determine the likelihood of completing
each task within the stipulated time and budget and to the required quality standards. It will also
be used to determine the overall project risk, and probability of particular activities being on the
critical path.
Cost Benefit Analysis – this technique will be used to weight the potential benefits of the
project versus the costs so as to determine the most appropriate construction materials and
methods. This technique will be used to determine appropriate strategies that stakeholders should
use to maximize benefits and reduce the cost and time of completing the building project. This
include the appropriate procurement and resource management methods to be used.

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PRINCE2 – this is a project management tool that is used to divide the project into stages
and levels, each with its own set of procedure to be used (Akinyele & A.P, 2012). The tool will
be used to divide the building project into stages such as foundation, floor slab, columns, walls,
roof, finishes and external works. It will also describe the steps to be used to compete each of
these stages.
MS Project – this is the main software that will be used in this project for planning and
organizing workflow. Other software that may be used include: Skype and Slack for
communication; actiPLANS for scheduling; actiTIME for time management; and QuickBooks,
Freshbooks or Zoho for finance and accounting; among others.
A combination of the proposed project management techniques/tools above will ensure that all
the PMBOK areas are addressed. These areas include management of project integration, scope,
schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risks, procurement and stakeholders.
5. How to use the proposed PMBOK tools
Below are explanations on how the proposed PMBOK tools will be used during the LC-01A
building project lifecycle:
Gantt chart: this tool will be used to show and communicate the overall schedule and of
the project and dependency relationships between different tasks. The tool will help to determine
if the project is on schedule or if resources are being wasted yet the project is behind schedule.
PERT chart: it will be used to calculate the realistic time for completing each activity,
show sequence and progress of the project. It will help to determine if gas for wastage have been
completely sealed.

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CPM: it will be used to identify tasks along the critical path and develop strategies to
ensure that they are completed as planned and with use of minimal resources possible.
Critical chain technique: it will be used to ensure early procurement and proper allocation
and utilization of resources so that there is no wastage.
Kanban: it will be used to maintain effective communication, integration and
collaboration of all stakeholders. This will facilitate implementation of lean construction
principles and techniques and completion of the project on time and within stipulated budget.
WBS: it will be used to breakdown the project into manageable deliverables and tasks.
This will help in simplifying the project scope and make it easier to monitor use of resources so
as to improve quality and minimize waste.
Monte Carlo analysis: it will be used to identify potential risks that could result to
wastage and affect completion of the project on time and within budget. It will also help in
identifying the most suitable time for resource procurement.
Cost benefit analysis: it will be used to determine ways of maximizing the benefits of the
project, and minimizing waste and costs. It will also help to identify the resource procurement
and allocation approaches that minimizes cost and wastage.
PRINCE2: it will be used to simplify the project scope hence enabling the project
manager to plan on the best methods of achieving high quality at minimal cost. The breakdown
will also promote communication because it will be easier for other stakeholders to understand
the project scope.

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MS Project: it will be used to improve workflow planning and stakeholder management.
With it, stakeholders will be able to know the progress of the project and their responsibilities
until completion. The tool will also help to determine if resources are being wasted or not.
Therefore application of the proposed project management tools will play a key role in
successful completion of the LC-01A building project because they address all core PMBOK
areas.

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