Project Management: A Literature Review

This assignment presents a comprehensive literature review on the topic of project management. It delves into diverse facets of project management, such as planning, scheduling, controlling, risk management, and communication strategies. The review draws upon numerous academic sources, textbooks, and online resources to provide a thorough understanding of contemporary project management practices and theories.

Project Management Consultancy Report
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
SECTION 1..........................................................................................................................................3
1. Defining the project in terms of outcomes and purposes.............................................................3
2. Project SMART objectives..........................................................................................................4
3 Specifying the project scope.........................................................................................................4
4. Cost estimation for the project budget.........................................................................................5
5. Clarifying project scheduling.......................................................................................................6
6. Gantt chart, breakdown of all activities, network diagram with critical path and key milestones
.........................................................................................................................................................7
7. Critical analysis of the project stakeholders i.e. Project Stakeholder Analysis.........................12
8. Assessment of project procurement strategies...........................................................................12
9. Critical analysis the uncertainties that may affect the project objectives by creating a risk
register...........................................................................................................................................13
SECTION 2........................................................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................18
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INTRODUCTION
Project Management can be considered as an art to manage the project and its outcomes with
a view to produce finished service or product. Without any significant approach of managing
project and achieve set objectives, it is hard for a company to successfully implement the plan with
the various constraints such as time, quality, scope, budget etc (Adak and Yumuşak, 2013). In
simple word, it can be said that there should be a framework and defined way to perform a work
and ensure that the plan work can be effectively manage and deliver the expected outcomes. So,
project management is about creating structure and managing the project to convey agreed results.
There are several reasons which promotes the usefulness of project management are organizing
chaos, managing risks, quality management, learn from mistakes, managing changes etc. The
present consultancy report is based on project management to understand its importance;
ProjectPlus Case Study is taking into the consideration (Burke, 2013). It is a small influential
advisory firm that specialises in project and programme management consultancy. It is particularly
strong in implementing the processes and systems for Project Planning, Risk Management, Project
Reporting and Benefits Realisation. Recently, firm has signed with new clients: Tesla Motors
(automotive), GE Healthcare (healthcare), and DropBox (could technology). These three companies
want that ProjectPlus help them in launching of their new product and service.
SECTION 1
1. Defining the project in terms of outcomes and purposes
As per the given case of ProjectPlus, it has identified that firm has signed with the three new
clients. There are Tesla Motors (automotive), GE Healthcare (healthcare), and DropBox (could
technology) and they have developed their new service and product and want the help of company
to launch them in the market (Gemünden, Huemann and Martinsuo, 2013). One of the projects
chosen by consultant is Tesla Motors new second generation product i.e. Tesla home battery:
POWERWALL 2.0. Project purpose is the reason why a venture establishes a project. It defines the
mission of that project and helps in understand about the viability of a plan. The purpose of
launching of the following project is to communicate the customers about new second generation
battery which transform solar energy into electricity and powers to home utilities in the evening
(Kerzner, 2013). This is the one of the stronger step of organization in the direction of energy
storage battery. There are some features and characteristics of POWERWALL 2.0 battery which will
be deliver to the attendees at the time of launching of products. These are as follows:
 Simplification to the handling and wiring requirements for installers,
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 Compactable with inverters,
 Store more than 6.4 kWh worth of energy and its backup provide electric energy to homes.
 Meet the large energy needs which reduce the dependence on the power grid all the time
(Colin and Vanhoucke, 2014),
 Based on ecosystem energy concept that brings the reduction in the cost of electric energy
bill of people,
 Easily compatible with single and three phase utility grid compatible,
 Low pricing and require less space to install in home (Gyawali, Tao and Müller, 2013),
 Also compactable for businesses, institutes etc,
 Rechargeable battery option more alluring to homeowners.
Therefore, the above stated points will be the purpose of POWERWALL 2.0 product launch.
These will satisfy the needs of social and environment needs in the right manner (Hazır, 2015).
2. Project SMART objectives
By seen the above listed POWERWALL 2.0 product launch project purpose and outcomes, it
will require to develop some SMART objectives that will be fulfilled in order to complete the
following project (Flyvbjerg, 2013). All kind of businesses needed to define or set some objectives
to achieve the particular outcomes because it helps the firms to know what it is trying to achieve. In
the context of the product launch project, the reason of developing SMART objectives is it is clearly
know exactly what needs to be accomplished. Another motive behind adopting the following
concept to successfully complete the plan is it is easy to monitor the progress of associate project
plan time to time (Azimi and et.al., 2011). Along with this, it assists in identify the missing targets
and make necessary changes to achieve them. So, as per the need, list of SMART objectives in the
context of POWERWALL 2.0 product launch project is as follows:
For the company
 Achieve a 90% Tesla Motors satisfaction rating for the launching of its new product project
by the end of October 2016.
 To increase the market share from 30% to 60% by the end of launching project.
 To raise the sales of project consultancy services from 25% to 40% by the end of October
2016.
For the project manager
 Decrease the time from 10 minutes to 5 minutes to responses to client queries.
3 Specifying the project scope
According to given case of ProjectPlus, it has determined that Tesla Motor wants help of a
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consultancy company to launch its product POWEWALL 2.0. The scope of this project is very wide
because it will meet all types of customers needs related to energy. Basically, project scope is the
part of project planning that involves determining and enlisting a list of particular goals, tasks,
deliverables, deadlines and costs (Lanata and et.al., 2015). At the time of developing scope for a
project, it contains three key components: boundaries, deliverables and requirements. In the context
of launching of POWERWALL 2.0 product project, a statement of project scope is as follows:
This project will deliver a new concept of storage of energy for the long time. The new
power storage battery equipment will transform solar energy into electrical energy that will be use
by the homeowners and other customers to lighten the houses, buildings, institute etc (Meredith and
Mantel Jr, 2011). This new concept will reduce the bill of energy and provide the facility of
integrate various equipments to new battery.
Apart from this, it is important to set some project boundaries because it is a key component
of project scope. It can be defined as it is a measurable and auditable characteristic that defines what
belongs to the project and what does not belong to it (Mubarak, 2015). Project boundaries are
closely linked to project objectives and create a holistic perception related to the plan. With the help
of this, it becomes easy to define the content of work in the terms of expected outcomes. So, a clear
project boundary statement assists in to direct the things which are applicable to those areas within
the scope of a project. In the context of launching project of POWERWALL 2.0 product of Tesla
Motor, project boundaries are as follows:
Project Includes: As per the set SAMRT objectives, some boundaries have determined that
needed to be considered are as follows:
Characteristics and features of product, project goals, key project phases and milestones,
roles and responsibilities of key project participants, stakeholder needs, client satisfaction level,
deliverables of project launch and scope creep (Müller and et.al., 2013).
Project Excludes: Some exclusions criteria for POWEWALL 2.0 project launch are as
follows:
 This project will not include integration of other products of Tesla Motors to launch
on same day.
 This project will not include other employees of Tesla Motors if they want to shift
launching of POWERWALL 2.0 product (Nicholas and Steyn, 2012).
4. Cost estimation for the project budget
Project budget is the total amount of authorized financial resources allocated for the specific
purpose of sponsoring project for a particular time period. Budgeting is an important part of the
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project planning process. The reason of determining or setting of budget is not to lose money at the
time of managing project (Svejvig and Andersen, 2015). At the time of cost estimation of a work, it
is essential to consider different expenses in to the budget.
As per the given case study, it has identified that Tesla Motors develop second generation
battery equipment and ready to launch in the market. For this purpose, company contract to the
ProjectPlus organization in order to launching of new brand. The total available budget for this
product launch project is £150,000 (Pritchard, 2013). So, cost estimation for the overall work is as
follows:
Particulars Cost in £
Human resources
Consultant 1 2000
Consultant 2 2000
Consultant 3 2000
Consultant 4 2000
Consultant 5 2000
Consultant 6 2000
Booking of venue 10000
Giving ads in various source of information 3000
Live broadcasting over the internet 50000
Booking catering 5000
Event execution logistic requirements such as registration, crowd control, health
and safety etc. 6000
Promotion of event 3000
Arranging sound and lighting facilities 6000
Transportation of staff 4000
Invitation to the VIP guests 1000
Miscellaneous expenses 20000
ProjectPlus service fee 30000
Total 150,000
5. Clarifying project scheduling
Project scheduling is the tool which communicates what work needed to be performed,
which kind of resources of the organization will execute the task and timeframe in which that
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activities needs to be performed. Without proper scheduling of a work, it is difficult to complete the
project within the given time period (Svejvig and Andersen, 2015). Effective project scheduling
plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of project. With the help of it, it becomes easy for the
project manager to update status of the work. Along with this, it helps in estimating start and finish
dates. In the context of the POWERWALL 2.0 product launch project scheduling is as follows:
Task Name Duration Start Finish
POWEWALL 2.0 product launch
project 31 days Mon 8/1/16 Mon 9/12/16
Planning 13 days Mon 8/1/16 Wed 8/17/16
Market research 3 days Mon 8/1/16 Wed 8/3/16
Identify the needs of clients 3 days Thu 8/4/16 Mon 8/8/16
Looking for vendors 4 days Tue 8/9/16 Fri 8/12/16
Prepare team 3 days Mon 8/15/16 Wed 8/17/16
Execution 7 days Mon 8/15/16 Tue 8/23/16
Prepare product launch plan 5 days Mon 8/15/16 Fri 8/19/16
Booking venue 3 days Thu 8/18/16 Mon 8/22/16
Selection of vendor 1 day Mon 8/22/16 Mon 8/22/16
Communicate progress to the
client 1 day Tue 8/23/16 Tue 8/23/16
Monitoring 9 days Wed 8/24/16 Mon 9/5/16
Managing contractual relationship
with suppliers 1 day Wed 8/24/16 Wed 8/24/16
Review project plan 5 days Thu 8/25/16 Wed 8/31/16
Make corrective actions 3 days Thu 9/1/16 Mon 9/5/16
Project closure 5 days Tue 9/6/16 Mon 9/12/16
Taking feedback from client 2 days Tue 9/6/16 Wed 9/7/16
Closing of contracts 2 days Thu 9/8/16 Fri 9/9/16
Project Launching 1 day Mon 9/12/16 Mon 9/12/16
6. Gantt chart, breakdown of all activities, network diagram with critical path and key milestones
Project plan:
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Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
POWEWALL 2.0 product
launch project 31 days Mon 8/1/16 Mon 9/12/16
Planning 13 days Mon 8/1/16 Wed 8/17/16
Market research 3 days Mon 8/1/16 Wed 8/3/16
Identify the needs of
clients 3 days Thu 8/4/16 Mon 8/8/16 3
Looking for vendors 4 days Tue 8/9/16 Fri 8/12/16 4
Prepare team 3 days Mon 8/15/16 Wed 8/17/16 5
Execution 7 days Mon 8/15/16 Tue 8/23/16
Prepare product launch
plan 5 days Mon 8/15/16 Fri 8/19/16 5
Booking venue 3 days Thu 8/18/16 Mon 8/22/16 6
Selection of vendor 1 day Mon 8/22/16 Mon 8/22/16 8
Communicate progress to
the client 1 day Tue 8/23/16 Tue 8/23/16 9
Monitoring 9 days Wed 8/24/16 Mon 9/5/16
Managing contractual
relationship with suppliers 1 day Wed 8/24/16 Wed 8/24/16 10,11
Review project plan 5 days Thu 8/25/16 Wed 8/31/16 13
Make corrective actions 3 days Thu 9/1/16 Mon 9/5/16 14
Project closure 5 days Tue 9/6/16 Mon 9/12/16
Taking feedback from
client 2 days Tue 9/6/16 Wed 9/7/16 15
Closing of contracts 2 days Thu 9/8/16 Fri 9/9/16 17
Project Launching 1 day Mon 9/12/16 Mon 9/12/16 18
Work Breakdown
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Key milestones:
Key milestones Expected date of completion
Planning Wed 8/17/16
Execution Tue 8/23/16
Monitoring Mon 9/5/16
Project closure Mon 9/12/16
Gantt chart:
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10

Critical path
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7. Critical analysis of the project stakeholders i.e. Project Stakeholder Analysis
In the context of launching of POWEWALL 2.0 project, it is important to identify the roles
and responsibilities of key stakeholders to ensure successful project completion. For this, RACI
chart is as follows:
Task Projec
t
Manag
er
Consul
tant 1
Consul
tant 2
Consu
ltant 3
Cons
ultan
t 4
Cons
ultan
t 5
Co
nsu
ltan
t 6
Market research A R I I I
Identify the needs of clients A R
Looking for vendors A,R C C C C
Prepare product launch plan I I I C A,R
Booking venue A C R C I
Selection of vendor A R C C I
Communicate progress to the
client
I I C A R
Managing contractual
relationship with suppliers
I A,R
Review project plan A I R C
Make corrective actions I A R
Taking feedback from client A R I
Closing of contracts A R
Project Launching A,R C C C C
8. Assessment of project procurement strategies
Project procurement is a systematic process of determining and procuring important project
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services, goods etc from external vendors via purchase or acquisition. Usually, it is a work of the
project manager because he looks entire work and easily recognized the needs of the action plan in
effective manner (Turner, 2014). In the context of POWEWALL 2.0 product launch project, there
are some services which will needed to outsource by ProjectPlus because it is a consultancy project
management organization. There are some activities such as catering, decoration; lighting and
sound, place booking etc that will be outsourced by the cited organization. For this, there are some
methods that help in selection of the vendors for several activities (Chiu-Chi and et.al, 2013). The
suitable method is vendor rating technique which assists in selection of the right supplier to arrange
several services which has been decided by ProjectPlus to outsource. Under this project
procurement strategy, the first stage will be plan procurement which involves analysis of the
requirements for the project. In second conduct procurements stage, cited company will invite the
bids of various vendors by giving ads in various sources. The third major process is Administer
Procurements where company develop relationship with the suppliers by selecting them on the basis
of the allocated budget (Darren, 2012). Final stage is Close Procurements where ProjectPlus end
contracts after the completion of launching of product project. With the help of this, it will be easy
to keep control over the procurement and chose right vendors to outsource some tasks (Dey, Clegg
and Bennett, 2010).
9. Critical analysis the uncertainties that may affect the project objectives by creating a risk register
Risk assessment is very essential part of a project to minimize the impact of the risk on the
work. It increases the chances of success up to a great extent. It helps in to avoid any big hazards
and enhance money by saving expenses. Along with this, it ensures the successful completion of
project (Bentham, 2012). In the context of POWEWALL 2.0 product launch project, it is important
to analyse the uncertainties because that may affect the project objectives by creating a risk register.
For the same, some possible risk events, their cause and effects are as follows.
Risk Event Cause Effect
Lack of financial
resources
Due to the technological advancement
ProjectPlus Organization requires large
investment which increases the financial
requirement of the organization (Cullen,
2014).
Quality of the POWEWALL 2.0
project launch can hamper
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Improper
assumptions during
the planning phase
Inappropriate planning Different phases of the project
can be negatively affect or needs
to invest huge time in re-
planning of whole project.
Inflation or other
market forces
Technologies are growing faster in UK
(Mar, 2013).
Cost increment
Inaccurate estimates Lack of skills and knowledge in team
members
Negative affect the project
deliverables and delay in project
Lack of change
management system
Last minute changes in human resources
and cost of server
Increment in the cost and affect
the quality of project
(Kloppenborg, 2011)
Project delay Inappropriate planning and project
manager leaves the project in mid
Delay in developing online store
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Stakeholder conflict Disagreement between stakeholders over
the different issues and challenges of
project
project planning and
deliverables of the project can
negatively affect
Poor quality Inappropriate assessment of the business
requirements
Development of poor plan for
POWEWALL 2.0 project launch
Lack of timing This project uses advance technologies
which takes time in implementation
(Mochal, 2004)
Project delay
Improper
communication
Due to Last minute changes project
manager was unable to communicate all
information to all team members
Comparison with project quality
and delay in project
Rest information of Risk register attached in excel file.
SECTION 2
The present consultancy report is based project management where a company takes help a
consultancy firm in order to launch a product in the market. At the time of doing this assignment, I
have faced various kind of challenges and difficulties. Along with this, I have also learned some
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knowledge and skills from this. With the start of challenges, I have explored from the following
research that I have unable to defined project outcomes and purposes. Before doing this project, I
have felt that project outcomes and purposes both is the similar thing. But after completing this, I
have realized that both are different from each other. For the same, I have not able to state clearly
project results and purpose. But, at the time of doing this study, I have now learned how to write
project purpose and outcomes in effective manner.
Apart from this, I have face another problem which is relating to how to enlisted project
scope. During this, I have does not know what things or areas include or exclude at the time of
defining project scope. For this, I have study various kinds of project and try to understand about
how to write scope in effective and short way which can explain the main point of product to the
readers. On the other hand, I have also faced difficulty regarding setting different objectives.
SMART objectives have completely different from ordinary objectives. On the basis of the purpose,
outcomes and project scope, it had not easy for me to state in them in write manner. Along with this,
I have also unable to create project budget because of less knowledge of finance. In this, I have not
clearly estimating the costs of various activities accordance to the state objectives and scope
requirements.
The major problem that I have also faced is use of MS Project for developing project. Due to
this, I have unable to create project scheduling, deciding start and end date to perform the activities,
allocation of resources, cost etc in the project plan. Beside this, because of less knowledge, I have
face difficulty in stakeholder analysis in proper way. To identify the roles and responsibilities of key
stakeholders to ensure successful completion of launch project, I have not found a suitable method.
So, these are the challenges controlled throughout the course and face difficulties while preparing
the course of assessment.
To overcome those difficulties, I have set some goals so that after achieving those
objectives, I can able to minimize my weaknesses and enhance knowledge level. In this context,
first thing which I have seen improvement is my research skills. The present course has required
huge research to clearly mention point to point answer of all questions. This thing has brought
enhancement in research skill which is now my strength. Another improvement is in my knowledge
area. At the time of doing the study, I have learned many things such as project scope, project
boundaries, difference between purpose and outcomes of a project, project deliverables etc. By
studying various researches, I have gained knowledge about how to write project scope, purpose,
outcomes, deliverables etc.
On the other hand, I have also learned how to use MS Project tool in estimating the
completion time of product launch project with start and end day. Along with this, I have gained the
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knowledge about how to resources and costs in the following software to estimate the expected cost
and human resources needed to complete the work. Beside this, I have gained the effective
knowledge of using Excel sheet for budget preparation. From this, I have learned some formula
shortcuts to calculate various types of questions. Along with this, I have explored different methods
and types of procurements that need to deliver the project, propose viable vendor solicitation and
vendor selection criteria. For the same, from this, I have also understood about how the
procurement can be contractually controlled and specific the procurement closure process.
Apart from this, I have learned the application of Stakeholder Power / Interest Matrix to
identify roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders to ensure successful project completion. On
the basis of this, stakeholders can be suitably mapped in accordance to their degree of power and
interest in the project. Rather than this, I have analyzed that every project contains different kinds of
risks which may affect the outcomes a work and bring the changes in the final outcomes. In this
context, I have gained the knowledge of risk register for various kind of risk includes their impact
on the action plan. So, these are the some improvements which I have got from the entire course of
assessment. It has helped me to learn several kinds of skills, software etc. Along with this, it has
brought the improvement in my existing knowledge level which has assisted me to lead my career
in the future.
CONCLUSION
From the above research it can be conclude that a project management has an important part
of every project. Every kind of action plan needed to manage and for this, project management has
used. The present study has based on launching of a product of Tesla Motors and for this,
ProjectPlus has helped as consultant. The scope of POWERWALL 2.0 has very wide and it has
delivered unexpected outcomes to the users. There have some project boundaries which define the
project scope in more clearly. The budget of the following project has about to £150,000 and
completed within 31 days. The plan has begun with 4th July 2016 and finished on 12th October 2016.
For the same, different kinds of aspects have considered at the time of creation of budget such as
resources, material, capital expenses etc. Apart from this, RACI matrix has used for identification of
roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders to ensure successful completion of project.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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control system for steel fabrication projects. Automation in Construction. 20(1). pp. 88-97.
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Chiu-Chi, W. and et.al, 2013. Assignment of project members considering capability and
personality balance. Kybernetes. 42(7).Pp.1016 - 1028.
Colin, J. and Vanhoucke, M., 2014. Setting tolerance limits for statistical project control using
earned value management. Omega. 49. pp. 107-122.
Darren, D., 2012. The nature of project management: A reflection on The Anatomy of Major
Projects by Morris and Hough. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.
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Dey, K. P., Clegg, T., and Bennett, J. D., 2010. Managing enterprise resource planning projects.
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monitoring and control. International Journal of Project Management. 33(4). pp. 808-815.
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controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Kloppenborg, T., 2011. Contemporary Project Management. 2nd ed. Cengage Learning
Lanata, A. and et.al., 2015. Complexity index from a personalized wearable monitoring system for
assessing remission in mental health. Biomedical and Health Informatics, IEEE Journal
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