Report on Managing Projects: Task 1 and Task 2 Analysis and Findings

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of project management principles, structured around two key tasks. Task 1 delves into the fundamental characteristics of projects, explores reasons for project failures, and outlines the project lifecycle stages including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and termination. It also examines the significance of team dynamics and knowledge areas like integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, and procurement. The report further highlights attributes of a good manager and illustrates the calculation of a critical path using a network diagram, emphasizing its benefits. Task 2 focuses on the application of project management within HCL IT company, detailing the initiation phase with project objectives, time scales, and approaches. It defines the project scope, budgetary controls, and stakeholder analysis. The report includes a detailed task scheduling and management plan outlining the project timeline from initiation to deliverables.

MANAGING PROJECTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Question 1. A...............................................................................................................................3
Question 1. B...............................................................................................................................3
Question 2....................................................................................................................................3
Question 3:...................................................................................................................................4
Question 4:...................................................................................................................................4
Question 5:...................................................................................................................................5
Question 6....................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
Initiation:......................................................................................................................................7
Planning.....................................................................................................................................10
Execution...................................................................................................................................15
Monitoring.................................................................................................................................17
Termination................................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

TASK 1
Question 1. A
The key characteristics of the projects are as follow: -
 Understanding that every project is important and unique in its way. Unique ability
makes every project different from each other.
 Projects are the temporary activities which required something different to doing the
project to stand apart from others.
 Projects also involve unfamiliarity and for that it is important to understand the changes
in the projects and acceptance to it.
 A project is a process to achieve the goals and objective and the people or the
organization works hard to achieve the goal by the project.
Question 1. B
Reasons the project fails:
Lack of experience: - The lack of experience in the project management is one of the major
factor of getting the failure in project over the budget issues. The management need to be very
good when working on the project.
Scope Creep: - The additional thing the client asks while the project is going is one of the
reasons.
Project changes: - the changes in the projects accord to the situation and scope creep. Project
changes can affect the project in worst as it makes the whole changes.
Poor planning: - Poor planning and bad management is one way to get the project failed over
budget. Planning is one of the most important factor which they need to understand while
working.
Question 2
Initiating: The first stage of the project management is the initiating stage where the project is
initiated by the person and then the process of the project get started. The project management
begins from the initiating stage.
Planning: The second stage is the planning of project and making sure that every thing in the
project worked under proper planning to get best result.
3

Execution: the execution of the action taken in the planning stage in the project management is
done in this stage of project. The execution is being done here.
Monitoring: Monitoring refer to the process of monitoring the project and finding the issues and
the process of working and how the work is going to get the outcome from project (Bjorvatn and
Wald, 2018).
Termination: termination is the last stage of the project management and this stage include the
process where they terminate and do the closure procedure in the project after completing the
project.
The benefits of managing the project well structured is that a proper procity sedure and the
structured procedure helps in getting better outcomes and to get best result in project the process
need to be correct and structured.
Question 3:
Good team help in getting better results as it will enhance the good communication with each
other and the better understanding among the team will enhance the objective and goals. Good
team give a great benefit to the projects and help in development with the skills and talent.
Bad team work affects the whole project as the lack of communication and lack of understanding
between the team members can cause a lot to the project and decrease the efficiency of the
project which they are looking for.
Question 4:
Nine Knowledge areas of project Management:
1. Project integration Management
2. Project Scope management
3. Project time management
4. Project Cost management
5. Project Quality management
6. Project HRM
7. Project Communication management
8. Project Risk Management
9. Project procurement management
4

Project quality management: Project quality management refer to the quality standards to be
matched, whatever you do the quality is the only thing which satisfy an it requires on the big
project (Radujković and Sjekavica, 2017). The project needs to maintain all the quality standards
so that they can make the best use of the project
Project Risk management: Project management is a part of Risk management and it include the
risk in its working. The risk is of getting the best utilization of the process And resources for the
project and gets the objective done.
Question 5:
Attributes of the good manager are: -
Effective communication: The first and most important part of the manager is that they should
have a good communication skill and also have a way of communicating so that it become easy
for every person to understand and perform better.
Good decision maker: A good manager need to be a good decision maker as it is th right and
the responsibility of the manager to take good decision so that the work can improve and gets
beneficial for the company.
Question 6
Calculation of critical path and advantages of using a network diagram.
A network diagram is the logical illustration of all project tasks that define sequences of
all the activities or work in the project. The two major benefits of using a network diagram is it
helps in making informed decisions by giving insights onto web of tasks for knowing which
tasks go in what order. Another benefit is the estimation of accurate time as the network diagram
shows appropriate scheduling of all tasks from beginning to end.
5

Critical path for the given tasks: There are two paths in the project, i.e., 1-2-3-5-7 and 1-
2-4-6. The first one amounts to a total time of 32 weeks and the second path totals to a time of 37
weeks. Therefore, the longer duration path is the critical path, illustrated in red in the below
network diagram (Zeng and Dong, 2019).
2 3
4
5
6
71
6

TASK 2
In managing projects, the life cycle of the entire project can be divided into various stages
from beginning to end. The sequence and phases of the project cycle are determined by different
factors like nature and scope of the project, management, area of application and needs of the
HCL company. All the phases are defined and constrained by a time but are modified and
defined as per needs of the IT company HCL. The entire life cycle is based on nine knowledge
areas of the project management, that are project integration management, time management,
scope management, human resources management, quality management, Cost management of
the project, managing communication structures, risk management, and procurement
management (Rahman, Ismail and Jaber, 2018).
Initiation:
Project initiation document is created get insights on the basic foundation of the entire
project. It manages the success, scope, success and overall management of teams and operations.
It describes the initiation phase of the entire project (Mahon and et.al., 2019).
Project initiation Document
Objectives: The primary objective of this project is to establish, commission and install
the Communication and Information Technology equipment and infrastructure in the newly
constructed conference centre in the Docklands area of London, United Kingdom.
 To establish all required IT and communication infrastructure effectively as per the
requirements of the client.
 To successfully develop and implement all procedures and processes of the project and
optimisation of the necessary inputs in the project.
 To efficiently supervise the whole team through effective communication and leading the
team through the process.
 To effectively manage all problems and issues in the project and give the deliverables on
time.
Time scale: The total time duration for the project will be a period of 20 months from the
initiation to handling all the deliverables.
7

Approaches:
For conducting the project, all the resources and requirements have to be identified
according to the needs of the clients for establishing, installing, testing and commissioning the
Information Technology and communication infrastructure in the conference centre, i.e. the
pandemic centre. All the key stakeholders will be identified, key human resources, key
procurement vendors and suppliers and the methodology that will be sued is agile and on-time
approach. A proper collaboration of team members and task scheduling through Agile
methodology will help timely delivery of the project (Mozhei and Lukianov, 2019).
Scope:
The scope of the project extends to all objectives, tasks, deliverables, features, deadlines,
function, features and costs. The nature of the project is temporary and major feature is high
quality and properly finished tasks. The main product requirements are all hardware and software
equipment which includes CCTV, television screen, project screen and smart boards, telephones
and marketing management software required in all the meeting rooms of the conference centre.
The process requirements are ordering relevant equipment, supply-chain, transportation,
installation and quality check with other technical processes. The limitation of the project are
constraints of time and budget, which would affect the quality of equipment being installed.
Although the change management will be flexibly incorporated in the project with modifications
as per the instructions of the client.
Budgetary control
The budget describes the total operating and non-operating expenses in total with respect
to the total duration of the project which is 20 months.
Particulars Amount (£)
Operating expenses 490,000
Employee wages and salaries 150,000
IPO and legal expenses 15,000
Insurance 10,000
Travelling and transportation 55,000
Logistics and supply chain 40,000
8

Repairs and Maintenance 35,000
Expenses of vendors and suppliers 25,000
Technical expenses (Testing and quality check) 75,000
Petty Supplies 15,000
Import duties and taxes 30,000
Power consumption 25,000
Miscellaneous 15,000
Non-operating expenses 465,000
Equipment for Hardware installations 400,000
Projectors 20,000
Projection screens and Smart Boards 40,000
Television screen 4K 35,000
CCTV 20,000
Audio output systems 25,000
Distributed Antenna system 150,000
Printing devices 10,000
Telephones and microphones 5,000
Copper and transmission wiring 4,000
Wi-fi Equipment 20,000
Computer systems 60,000
Miscellaneous 11,000
Software installation 65000
Tools for cybersecurity of technological systems 20,000
Digital signage 12,000
MIS and ERP 18,000
Marketing and booking software 10,000
Other software 5,000
Total cost 955,000
Source: (Kivilä, Martinsuo and Vuorinen, 2017)
9

Stakeholder analysis:
Stakeholders Significance
Customers The installation and testing of IT and communication equipment
would need specific requirements from the client or customers and
all the functions have to be managed accordingly. The quality and
schedule will be aimed according to what customers want and
necessary changes and modifications will be done as per needs of
the end users.
Employees and workers All the workers and staff associated with the IT installation project
across different departments like procurement, installation,
technical assistance, supply chain and logistics, financing, quality
check and testing and other labourers are directly impacted by the
project. Relevant health and safety provisions, following employee
legislations is needed.
Sponsors The financial sponsoring of the entire project will be done by the
senior management of the HCL IT company; therefore, they have
to be regularly informed about the progress of the project. All cost
related decisions will be ultimately taken by the sponsors.
Suppliers and Vendors An efficient communication structure has to be developed with all
major vendors and suppliers. The costs determined by them will
directly affect the entire project as in the period of 20 months all IT
equipment will be purchased from them, therefore they are highly
significant for the success of the project (Wojewnik-Filipkowska
and et.al., 2019).
Planning
Task scheduling and management
Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Installation of ITC equipment In
The Pandemic Centre 602 days Thu 29-10-20 Fri 17-02-23
Initiation 60 days Thu 29-10-20 Wed 20-01-
21
10

Feasibility Analysis 30 days Thu 29-10-20 Wed 09-12-
20
Stakeholder Analysis 30 days Thu 10-12-20 Wed 20-01-
21 3
Planning 150 days Thu 21-01-21 Wed 18-08-
21
Budgeting 30 days Thu 21-01-21 Wed 03-03-
21 4
Human resource planning 30 days Thu 04-03-21 Wed 14-04-
21 6
Procurement Planning 30 days Thu 15-04-21 Wed 26-05-
21 7
Determining client requirements 60 days Thu 27-05-21 Wed 18-08-
21 8
Execution 295 days Thu 19-08-21 Wed 05-10-
22
Procuring Equipment 45 days Thu 19-08-21 Wed 20-10-
21 9
Assigning tasks 20 days Thu 21-10-21 Wed 17-11-
21 11
Installation 150 days Thu 18-11-21 Wed 15-06-
22 12
Quality Check and Testing 50 days Thu 16-06-22 Wed 24-08-
22 13
Status Meetings 30 days Thu 25-08-22 Wed 05-10-
22 14
Monitoring 75 days Thu 06-10-22 Wed 18-01-
23
Tracking Project 60 days Thu 06-10-22 Wed 28-12-
22 15
KPI 15 days Thu 29-12-22 Wed 18-01-
23 17
Termination 22 days Thu 19-01-23 Fri 17-02-23
Deliverables 10 days Thu 19-01-23 Wed 01-02-
23 18
Feedback from Client 7 days Thu 02-02-23 Fri 10-02-23 20
Releasing Resources 5 days Mon 13-02-
23 Fri 17-02-23 21
11

Gantt chart
Critical path/ Network Diagram
12

Work Breakdown Structure
13
Installation of ITC
equipment In The
Pandemic Centre
Initiation Planning Execution Monitorin
g
Terminati
on
Feasibility
Analysis
Stakeholde
r Analysis
Budgeting
Human
resource
planning
Procureme
nt Planning
Determinin
g client
requiremen
ts
Procuring
Equipment
Assigning
tasks
Installation
Quality
Check and
Testing
Status
Meetings
Tracking
Project
KPI
Deliverable
s
Feedback
from Client
Releasing
Resources

Risk register:
Risk Description Probability Impact Mitigation Strategy
Operations
Risk
Operational risks are the
risks in context of
improper installation of
IT and communication
infrastructure, problems
in supply chain,
deliverables, team errors
etc.
High Moderate A centralised
documentation and back-
up plan for all types of
operations. Contingency
plans for failure and
reduction of risk.
Cost risk Budgetary and financial
risks can incur if the
overall costs of projects
exceed the limit due to
increased costs from
vendors and suppliers or
increased import duties
or taxation or
transportation costs.
Moderate High To mitigate this risk, a
contingency budget has
to be created in advance,
quotations have to be
thoroughly revised and
confirmed and cost
reduction from
unnecessary activities an
pay cuts have to be
conducted.
Labour strike Labour strike is a major
risk as unionisation of
employees can lead to
problems with budget
and delivery of the
project on time. It can
result in delay or failure
of the project
Low High Hiring specialised
workers with legal
contracts which are fixed
for the duration of 20
months, Re-hiring
contractual workers if
the strike is not resolved
by agreeing to basic
demands.
Communication
risks
An improper
communication structure
Moderate Moderate To control this risk, the
teams can be reassigned,
14

can lead to failure or
delay in the project due
to team conflicts, lack of
cooperation and
coordination.
conflict resolution steps
can be taken, an
effective structure for
communication will be
established.
Time risk For multiple reasons,
there is a possibility of
installation delay due to
supply-chain issue,
operational
inefficiencies etc.
Low Moderate The delay has to be
conveyed to the senior
management and the
client and modifications
in future tasks have to be
done to reduced the
delay (O'Har, Senesi and
Molenaar, 2017).
Execution
Communication structure:
For the overall success of the project, an effective and robust communication structure
has to followed. Communication makes up most prominent part of the project as it has to be done
on a regular basis to employees and staff, vendors and suppliers, other service providers and
periodically with stakeholders, client and senior management. Therefore, established methods of
communication have to be set up for active and passive communication. For active
communication, methods like face-to-face communication, video conferencing with senior
management etc. Weekly meetings have to held and a proper hierarchy has to be structured. For
passive communication, telephones, emails, messages etc, can be implemented. Apart from that
weekly check-ins, meetings, status reports, formal presentations, project dashboards, to-do lists
can be used.
Project management methodologies:
For managing projects, there are various techniques, tools and software can be
implemented, such as PRNCE 2, Waterfall methodology and Agile. The methodology that’s best
suited for this project is Agile and scrum-based technique. It provides continuous iteration of
15

testing and development in the entire lifecycle of the project. It is a simple and effective software
for comprehensive documentation, scheduling task and activities, collaboration with client and
customers and doing modifications as per client requirements (Sanghera, 2019).
Procurement and Human resource management
When execution of procurement takes place, focus on proper quotation and
communication with all suppliers and vendors have to take care of. The materials that have to be
procured will be hardware such as TV screens, CCTV, Computer systems, Audio equipment,
Installation equipment, WI-FI equipment, telephones and intercoms, printing system, digital
projectors etc. as per the budget. Proper invoices and documentation have to be conducted.
Advanced booking has to be done and negotiations have to be conducted with both local and
international suppliers. When it comes to human resources, contractual employees have to be
recruited and skilled or specialist worker has to be selected for meeting the requirements of the
project. All employees have to be assigned into teams and their progress has to be tracked
periodically.
Leadership and Control challenges:
As a project manager, there are various leadership, administrative and management issues
that can be encouraged. Challenges like lack of staff, low morale of the work staff, gaps in the
operations and work, inefficient work, inconsistency in the support from stakeholders, lean
funding or monotony. There are issues like conflicts, less collaboration and communication
issues within team members. As a leader, project manager can initiate candid conversations,
conduct motivational activities, employ quality management techniques like lean management,
total quality management, Kaizen and six signa for dealing with control problems. Where ever
there are gaps in the performance, training can be provided through on-the-job training
approaches and diligent communication and support from senior management is required (Niazi
and et.al., 2016).
16

Monitoring
Monitoring is the process in which they monitor the working of the business and monitor the
process and working of the project.
KPI: Key performance indicators help in monitoring the process and also provide the results to
focus on the strategies and operation improvement. Good kpis provide the objective
evidence and progress towards desired results (Kerzner, 2017). It also helps in measuring of
what intended to get help from better decision makers.
Project Tracking: Project Tracking is the process in which the manager tracks the project and see
that how the work is going and how the process is being done. The tracker also helps in
getting the knowledge about the things which are important and track whatever they are
buying the product are where and when will arrive.
Termination
It refers to the process in which the termination and the closure process of the company take
place.
Feedback of client: The termination after getting the feedbacks from, the client and also
understanding the value of the project and get to aware about the working of it and the
response of the client (Madsen, 2018).
Project delivery: Project delivery comes in this factor as it is the completion process and the
project which is completed goes to the delivery process and delivered to client on the given
time.
Releasing all resources: Releasing of the resources which include the workers, employee, other
resources which are required in the project working. Releasing the resources after the final
working and providing the final payment and releasing them.
17

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bjorvatn, T. and Wald, A., 2018. Project complexity and team-level absorptive capacity as
drivers of project management performance. International Journal of Project
Management, 36(6), pp.876-888.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and
monitoring project performance. John Wiley & Sons.
Kivilä, J., Martinsuo, M. and Vuorinen, L., 2017. Sustainable project management through
project control in infrastructure projects. International Journal of Project
Management, 35(6), pp.1167-1183.
Madsen, E., 2018. Expert advice and optimal project termination. Available at SSRN 3155328.
Mahon, M., and et.al., 2019. Project initiation workflow for research involving personal data.
Mozhei, К.A. and Lukianov, D.V., 2019. Contemporary approaches in project management
education in Belarus.
Niazi, M., and et.al., 2016. Challenges of project management in global software development: A
client-vendor analysis. Information and Software Technology, 80, pp.1-19.
O'Har, J.P., Senesi, C.W. and Molenaar, K.R., 2017. Development of a risk register spreadsheet
tool for enterprise-and program-level risk management. Transportation research
record, 2604(1), pp.19-27.
Radujković, M. and Sjekavica, M., 2017. Project management success factors. Procedia
engineering, 196, pp.607-615.
Rahman, I.A., Ismail, I.B. and Jaber, M.M., 2018. Risk assessment of time and cost overrun
factors throughout construction project lifecycle: Pilot study. Int. J. Eng.
Technol, 7(3.20), pp.717-723.
Sanghera, P., 2019. Managing Execution of Project Work. In PMP® in Depth (pp. 345-379).
Apress, Berkeley, CA.
Wojewnik-Filipkowska, A., and et.al., 2019. Obstacles and challenges in applying stakeholder
analysis to infrastructure projects. Journal of Property Investment & Finance.
Zeng, X. and Dong, J., 2019. Calculation in Seconds for Time-Parameters and Critical Path of
the Network Diagram.
18