Managing Projects: Characteristics, Scope, Budgeting, Risks, Quality, and Gantt Chart

This document provides insights into managing projects, including key characteristics, scope statement, budgeting approaches, project risks and responses, quality methods, and Gantt chart formulation. It also explores the stages of a project lifecycle and control and management problems. The case study focuses on a refurbishment project at University of Sunderland London Campus.

Managing projects

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1. Describing key characteristics of a project..............................................................................1
1b. Discussing the integration management in project management setting...............................1
2. Description of scope statement for a project and role of WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
in this type of statement...............................................................................................................2
3. Different types of approaches that exists for the purpose of generating budget for a specific
project budget..............................................................................................................................2
4. Identifying four types of project risks and responses to deal with two of the risks that are
identified within the project management settings......................................................................2
5. Introducing a specific quality method for the purpose of ensuring a project is successfully
completed.....................................................................................................................................3
6. Formulation of Gantt chart and identification of critical path.................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
All the life cycle stages of project...............................................................................................4
Different types of processes which will be undertaken which working on the project...............7
Control and management problems that are associated with project..........................................8
All the possible actions that could be focused to achieve the set goals on time..........................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERNECES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Managing project is a procedure which is mainly focused with formulation of highly
effective policies for management of project. If they will not be able to form the strategies then it
will not be possible to meet the project goals. In order to accomplish all the tasks, it is very
important to pay attention towards main steps that can help to fulfil requirements of clients. If the
management will take charge of all the activities then it will help to meet the deadline which is
decided for the completion of project (Alioua and Simon, 2017). Present report is divided in two
tasks first one is focused with elements of project management. The topics that are covered in
this task are characteristics of project, scope statement, approaches to prepare budget,
formulating Gantt chart, quality method to be undertaken to analyse the success of project.
Second part of project is focused with a refurbishment project of University of Sunderland
London Campus. This task covers different topics such as stages of project lifecycle, processes
that will be undertaken to complete the project, actions related to management and control. Apart
from this, the recommendations for responding the problems are also provided in this project.
TASK 1
1. Describing key characteristics of a project
There are various types of key characteristics of a project. All of the could eb analysed
from following points:
 Time period: The duration in which all the tasks related to project will be accomplished
successfully.
 Scope of project: It provides brief about all the elements that will be focused while
completing the project.
 Quality: It is the spread which will be focused for the purpose meeting expectations of
clients.
 Resources required: These are the sources which will be required to meet project goals
(Bartels, 2017).
1b. Discussing the integration management in project management setting
Integration management is the process of applying knowledge, process, skills,
experiences and methods to reach the predetermined objective. With the help of it, all the
activities which are carried out to complete the project could be controlled systematically. It
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shows that it is very important in the setting of project. Apart from this, it also help to coordinate
all the processes properly.
2. Description of scope statement for a project and role of WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) in
this type of statement
Scope statement can be defined as a statement which is mainly formed for the purpose of
delivering information regarding success factors, assumption and constraints regarding the
project so that goals could be accomplished successfully. WBS is one of the key factors that
plays an essential role in the statement as it guides the managers to assess that all the activities
are performed in predetermined manner or not (Boutilier and Zdziarski, 2017).
3. Different types of approaches that exists for the purpose of generating budget for a specific
project budget
There are two main types of approaches which are available for generating a budget for a
project. All of them are discussed underneath:
 Bottom-up approach: When this approach is used by companies to prepare budget for
project then total cost of whole project is estimated. For this purpose, lowest level and
rolling up work packages are used.
 Top-down approach: If this approach is selected by the project managers then they
decide the cost of the project and allocate funds between all the work packages
(Gambardella, Khashabi and Panico, 2019).
4. Identifying four types of project risks and responses to deal with two of the risks that are
identified within the project management settings
There are various types of risks which are associated with project. Four major types of
them are described below:
 Scope: If the project manager is not able to provide details about the project as well as its
objectives to the staff then risk related to scope may affect successful completion of it.
 Technology: If the technology, system and devices which are used for project are
defected then it may create the risk of technology and fail the project.
 Schedule: If the individuals who are working on the project are not able to follow the
schedule which is decided for project then this risk may affect the project (Invernizzi,
Locatelli and Brookes, 2017).
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 Resource: When project managers get failed in arranging sufficient resources for the
project then it may create resource risk.
From all the above described risks technology and resource risks are the major risks. These
could be resolved by taking following actions:
 Resource risk could be resolved by analysing requirements of project and then arranging
resources so that risk of lack of sufficient resources could be ignored.
 Technology risk could be resolved by analysing all the devices and systems before use it
will help to reduce the possibility of errors in the project due to this risk (Kerzner, 2017).
5. Introducing a specific quality method for the purpose of ensuring a project is successfully
completed
Project evaluation is one of the best quality methods which could be used for the purpose
of ensuring that the project is completed successfully. With the help of it, the manager will be
able to analyse that all the activities are performed properly or not. Along with this, it can also
help to determine that the tasks are completed appropriately or not.
6. Formulation of Gantt chart and identification of critical path
The days which will be taken to complete the project are 217 days because the project
will take 31 weeks to complete and each week has 7 days.
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TASK 2
All the life cycle stages of project
Overview of project: Project Xperts 20 is a company which is being awarded with a
project for University of Sunderland London. The project is related to the refurbishment of the
three main floors of campus which are second, first and ground floor. The project is having
different types of specifications which includes installation of 20 new work stations on the
second stage so that learning space for private study of students could be made. Apar from this,
five new workstations are also required to be installed so that all the students who are looking or
job can use it. Project is mainly related to the refurbishment of library, lecture threats and
classrooms of three floors. When all the work of refurbishment will be completed then it will be
the up-to-the minute learning campus. While refurbishing the calssrooms and threatres latest
smartboard and interactive gadgets will be used. It will help to increase the contemporary
learning experience of students who are getting education from the institute. The project manager
who is assigned to head the project is responsible to recruitment and selected highly
knowledgeable and experienced individuals who can handle all the tasks properly. Apart from
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this, the manager is good in managing the budget and project teams which will help to meet the
deadlines. The main concern which is required to be focused by project manager is about
resolving the problem of noise which is created by DLR training which are passing nearby the
college. The total budget of project is 8 million pounds and the duration which is provide by
University of Sunderland London is 2 years. The project manager is required to complete the
project in specific time limit (Project lifecycle stages, 2020). For this purpose, all the stages of
project lifecycle will be required to followed. Description of all of them in context of the project
of UoSiL is as follows:
Project initiation: This is first stage of project life cycle where the project manager is
mainly liable to analyse feasibility and sustainability of project. While working on the Sun-
Project 20X20 the responsible person will be required to analyse the resources which will be
required to complete the whole project successfully. If all the arrangements will not be made
properly then it will be very difficult to complete it in the specific duration which is 2 years.
While working on the project the manager will create the business case for whole project so that
details of key elements of project could be kept in a document. As the duration is 24 months so
the manager will have to make all the arrangements and assumptions according to it (McNiff,
2016). Some of the major requirements of project are knowledgeable staff, monetary resources,
controlling and planning actions, software for new workstations etc.
At the initiation stage, project manager also analyse feasibility with the help of feasibility
study of project. The main objective of Sun-Project 20X20 is to complete it in the predetermined
time limit so that expectation of client which is the University of Sunderland London could be
met. AT this stage, project manager of the project will form various teams by recruiting skilled
individuals who will be working on it. Apart from this, all the stakeholders will also be
identified. Some of them who are related to the project are board of directors of UoSiL, students,
contractors, suppliers, employees etc. One of the key elements which is also focused by project
manager at this stage is analysis of risk. Some of the major risks that may affect it are related to
resources, technology and schedule. When there will be lack of funds or skilled individuals then
it will create the resource risk, if the activities will not be performed according to their
specification then it will create schedule risk and technology will take place if it will be changed.
To respond all of them properly it is essential for the managers to make sure that they identify all
the risks and formulate strategies to deal with them (Morozov, Kalnichenko and Liubyma, 2017).
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Project planning: At this stage, the managers are required to formulate effective plans so
that the goals which are formulated to complete the project could be achieved. It is considered as
the essential and very important stage of life cycle of a project because if the plans are not
formed properly then it will affect the success of project. The manager working on Sun-Project
20X20 is mainly liable to make sure that highly effective and efficient plans for making
arrangements for project are formulated. Main role of plans is to make sure that the strategies
that are formed previously are applied successfully. The specific plans which will be formed by
manager of Sun-Project 20X20 are analysing availability of resources, measuring quality of
work, monitoring performance of project, identifying appropriate software for workstations etc.
In the project planning stage, the manager is also responsible to assign roles to all the
individuals working on the project so that they can help to complete the project successfully. All
the staff members will get proper guidance from manager so that they can meet requirements of
their job role. Additionally, the project manager will also be responsible to select a specific
leadership style so that the employees can get proper supervision and project could be completed
in the time limit which is decided for project. The best leadership style for Sun-Project 20X20
will be democratic as the time limit is very long so the managers can take opinion of staff to
complete the project appropriately. As the employees have practical knowledge of working in
field so they will be more eligible to provide advise on completing the project more specifically
(Nunes and Abreu, 2020).
Project execution: After formulation of plans for project, strategies for executing them
are formed as it is required to meet the deadlines. This stage is related to the planning stage if
plans will not be created properly then it will be very difficult to execute them. If the project
manager handling Sun-Project 20X20 will not be able to manage this step of lifecycle then it will
be not easy to meet the project goals. The aim of this step is to build all the deliverables that can
help to satisfy requirements of client. At this stage, the responsibility of team leaders will be to
assess that responsibilities are allocated properly to the staff members. The project manager will
have the liability of analysing that all the individuals are performing all their jobs properly or
not. At this stage, all the options that are available for using the software in workstations will
also be analysed so that they could be used to refurbish the classrooms. There are various types
of options for this purpose. These are Proofhub, Podio, Workzone, Jira, Asana etc. Any one of
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them could be selected while planning to use them in the new work stations (Radujković and
Sjekavica, 2017).
Project control: This stage of project management is mainly focused with taking
appropriate actions so that all the possibilities of failure could be ignored. Execution and
controlling stages are linked with each and the manager working on Sun-Project 20X20 will be
responsible to take control over all the activities that are performed in execution stage. The
manager will also be responsible for selecting one of the best software which could be used as
project management software in workstations. One of the best suitable one will be Proofhub as it
will help the students of college to complete all their effectively and experience the digital
learning. While completing all the activities related to this stage the manager will also be
responsible to take control over the performance of all the individuals so that the deadline which
is 24 moths could be met. Additionally control over spending of funds is also required to be take
otherwise it may create the situation of lack of funding for operations in future.
Project closing: This stage of the last step of project lifecycle where the manager closes
the project as all the tasks are completed at this stage. All the activities that are performed
according to the specifications of clients are completed in the closing step of project. The manger
working on Sun-Project 20X20 will interact with all the stakeholders such as contractors,
supplier, employees, main client etc. to analyse that their values are being met or not. Apart from
this, the manager will also analyse the mistakes that were made currently so that specific plans to
ignoring their possibilities in future could be ignored.
Different types of processes which will be undertaken which working on the project
When the project of Sun-Project 20X20 will be undertaken by the manager then different
processes will be undertaken. All of them will be focused with meeting the predetermined
objectives. Some of the processes are described below:
Allocation of funds to all the activities: It is the main process which will be undertaken
by the project manager of Sun-Project 20X20 so that sufficient funding to all the teams working
on different tasks could be allocated. It will help to perform all the activities properly.
Scheduling the activities: This process is mainly focused with formulating time limits
for all the activities. If it will be undertaken by the project manager of Sun-Project 20X20 then it
will be very easy to perform all the tasks in specific time limit and meet the objective.
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Recruiting skilled individuals: This process is focused with hiring skilled individuals
for the successful execution of all the activities. The project manager of Sun-Project 20X20 will
be responsible for making sure that knowledgeable individuals are hired for refurbishment of
University of Sunderland London (von Danwitz, 2018).
Control and management problems that are associated with project
While working on the project of Sun-Project 20X20 the manager may face different types
of problems. All of them are discussed below:
 Overspending of budget: This problem is related to control of budget. This may take
place for Sun-Project 20X20 if the managers will not be able to control the funds which
will be used for project.
 Not meeting the deadline: This problem is related to management, when the project
manager of Sun-Project 20X20 will not be able to manage the time properly then this
problem will take place. This problem is required to be dealt to meet the project deadline
which is 24 months.
All the possible actions that could be focused to achieve the set goals on time
While working on Sun-Project 20X20 the project manager can take various actions so that
the goals could be met in time. All of them are as follows:
 Project manager of Sun-Project 20X20 should analyse the quality of work so that it could
be determined that requirements of client will be met or not.
 The manager should also analyse requirements of all the activities and then allocate funds
to all of them so that the issue of overspending of budget could be ignored.
 The individuals who are working on the project should be inspired to work effectively as
it can help to meet the project goals (Walker, de Vries and Nilakant, 2017).
 The project manager of Sun-Project 20X20 can set specific time limit for all the activities
so that the time limit could be met.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report, it has been concluded that managing project is the process
which is followed by project manager for the purpose of maintaining and controlling the progress
of project. In order to make sure that all the project goals are met or not different elements are
required to be focused by managers. These are key characteristics, scope statement, budgeting
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approach, Gantt chart, critical path etc. When the project is required to be completed in the
predetermined time limit different components should be taken in to consideration. These are
project life cycle, different processes, analysis of problems related to control and management.
Along with this, steps that could be taken to deal with the problems are also required to be
focused by project manager.
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REFERNECES
Books and Journals:
Alioua, H. and Simon, F., 2017. Managing time pacing in organizations transitioning to a
project-based mode–3 cases studies of two multinational companies. International
Journal of Project Management. 35(8). pp.1427-1443.
Bartels, L., 2017. Swift, Certain and Fair-Does Project Hope Provide a Therapeutic Paradigm for
Managing Offenders?. Swift, Certain and Fair-Does Project Hope Provide a
Therapeutic Paradigm for Managing Offenders.
Boutilier, R.G. and Zdziarski, M., 2017. Managing stakeholder networks for a social license to
build. Construction management and economics. 35(8-9), pp.498-513.
Gambardella, A., Khashabi, P. and Panico, C., 2019. Managing Autonomy in Industrial R&D: A
Project-Level Investigation. Organization Science, forthcoming.
Invernizzi, D. C., Locatelli, G. and Brookes, N. J., 2017. Managing social challenges in the
nuclear decommissioning industry: a responsible approach towards better
performance. International Journal of Project Management. 35(7). pp.1350-1364.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
McNiff, J., 2016. You and your action research project. Routledge.
Morozov, V., Kalnichenko, O. and Liubyma, I., 2017, July. Managing projects configuration in
development distributed information systems. In 2017 2nd International Conference on
Advanced Information and Communication Technologies (AICT) (pp. 154-157). IEEE.
Nunes, M. and Abreu, A., 2020. Managing Open Innovation Project Risks Based on a Social
Network Analysis Perspective. Sustainability. 12(8). p.3132.
Radujković, M. and Sjekavica, M., 2017. Project management success factors. Procedia
engineering. 196. pp.607-615.
von Danwitz, S., 2018. Managing inter-firm projects: A systematic review and directions for
future research. International Journal of Project Management. 36(3). pp.525-541.
Walker, B., de Vries, H. P. and Nilakant, V., 2017. Managing legitimacy: The Christchurch post-
disaster reconstruction. International Journal of Project Management. 35(5). pp.853-
863.
Online
Project lifecycle stages. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
< https://www.professionaldevelopment.ie/project-life-cycle>
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