Project Management Techniques and Applications

Project Management
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 Understand Project Management Principles (LO1)...............................................................1
(a) Describe the main principles of project management process and linked to the project life
cycle (1.1).........................................................................................................................................1
(b) Suitable success and failure criteria for the new project (1.2)....................................................3
(c) Principles behind project management systems and procedures (1.3)........................................4
(d) Key elements involved in terminating projects and conducting post-project appraisals (1.4)...5
TASK 2 Be able to manage a project’s human resources (LO2)..........................................................6
(a) Most appropriate organizational structures, roles and responsibilities of participants within a
project (2.1).......................................................................................................................................6
(c) Assessment of skills and qualities in project leader of ACME project (2.3)...............................7
(d) Planning and specifications of human resources and requirements for a project (2.4)..............8
(e) Work Breakdown structure of ACME project (2.2)....................................................................9
TASK 3.................................................................................................................................................9
(a) Final duration of project (3.2).....................................................................................................9
(b)Delays in the activities ( 3.1/3.2)...............................................................................................10
(c) Use of Gantt chart and Resource histogram in order to improve the management of ACME
project (3.1).....................................................................................................................................10
(c) Crash some activities in project to complete it more quickly( 3.2)...........................................11
(d) Analysis of cost and time performance for ACME project (3.2)..............................................11
(e) Methods of managing changes that are likely to be required during the life of ACME project
(3.4).................................................................................................................................................12
(f) Ways to close the project (3.1)...................................................................................................12
(g) Evaluation of complete project (3.3/3.4)..................................................................................13
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................13
References..........................................................................................................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
Project management is mainly associated with a systematic process which is considered by
an organization or manager for planning and managing changes within business entity. The concept
of project management is applied to the staffing and management of people, selection of an
appropriate process for manufacturing and production, quality management, operations
management along with handling different operations related to purchase management. In the
present era, the term project management has been addressed as a science or art through which an
individual is able to manage different components of the project with an appropriate manner
(Boulmetis and Dutwin, 2014). For managing the project as per the predetermined schedule, an
individual has to manage certain set of skills and knowledge as per the objective and goals of the
project. The present research determines different aspects of project management and its importance
in the business with reference to business operations ACME Products PLC. The areas which will be
covered under the following study are project management principles, ways to manage human
resources along with implementation of different plans and policies within business entity as per
predetermined schedule to generate appropriate outcomes.
TASK 1 UNDERSTAND PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES (LO1)
(a) Describe the main principles of project management process and linked to the project life cycle
(1.1)
As per the given case study, it has been addressed that the management of the ACME's is
implementing a new production process and unit for some new product (Cheng and Teizer, 2013).
In the context, business entity has to consider below mentioned principles of project management
process that are playing crucial role in the project life cycle:
Element Description
Project structure It is considered as a most important element of project management process
which is based on three different element such as project goal, project
timeline & order and project milestones (Gido and Clements, 2014). By
considering the elements, the project manager in ACME is able to determine
the objectives, cost and outcomes of project.
Definition phase In this section, the evolution of involvement of all the stakeholders in every
stage of project is carried through which the project manager can express
their own commitment about whole project.
Clear goals The success of project is greatly depending on clear goals and objectives
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therefore it is very important for the project manager of External Project
Management Consultants to meet project objectives with an appropriate
manner. In this regards, the SMART objectives are developed as per the
nature of project.
Transparency
about project
status
By considering this principle, project manager of ACME has to formulate
short report on the status of project with reference to each stage of plan
(Killen and et.al, 2012). This evaluation provides information related to
costs, deliverables and remaining time during completion of project.
Risk recognition A project contains wide range risk therefore it is responsibility of project
manager to examine wide range of risk in different aspects of project. This
process reduces the chances of losses during implementation of project plan.
Responsibility of
the project
manager
For managing different operations of the project, the project manager
performs different roles and responsibilities in different phase’s t as per the
project objectives (Turner, 2014). As per the program goals, the project
manager is responsible for managing changes, integration of several sub-
system, proper monitoring of project status, delivering the project within
time and costs etc.
Project success It is the most critical element of the project planning process in which
management determines the certain criteria through which different kinds of
deliverables and outcomes are measured. In this context, project manager
considers different elements.
Commitment The management of project manager requires ensuring about the team
member's 'commitment towards their work. They must show the adequate
level of commitment regarding goals, quality, time duration, overall cost of
the project etc.
Primary
communication
channels
It plays important for establishing efficient communication between project
managers along with the client (Wright and Adviser-Gottwald, 2013). This
communication plays most important role for ensuring the success of
project.
Cultural
environment
With reference to this principle, project manager formulates an appropriate
culture by using an appropriate team management strategy along with
motivational tools that would assist project manager to attain deliverables of
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