1.1 What is a Project

A project is a one-time task with a specific goal in a specific situation. It is a general term for a number of related tasks that meet a set of specific goals within a certain period of time.

1.1.1 Features of the Project

  1. uniqueness
  2. temporary
  3. Progressive detail

1.1.2 Objectives of the project

The goals of a project include achievement goals and binding goals (management goals), sometimes referred to as project goals.

The objectives of the project have the following characteristics:

  1. Project goals have different priorities
  2. Project goals are hierarchical
  3. Efficiency and results

1.2 What is Project Management

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the requirements of the project.

Specifically, it is reflected in the following aspects:

  1. The object of project management is the project or the transaction that is handled as a project.
  2. The whole process of project management runs through the thought of systems engineering.
  3. The organization of project management has its particularity.
  4. The way of project management is management by objectives.
  5. The system of project management is a kind of individual responsibility system based on team management.
  6. The point of project management is to create and maintain an environment in which projects run smoothly.
  7. The management methods, tools and means of the project are advanced and open.

Effective and efficient project management is a strategic capability of the organization that enables the organization to link project success to business objectives, to compete more effectively in the market, to support the development of the organization, and to respond to the impact of changes in the business environment through appropriate adjustments to the project management plan.

1.3 Project set management and portfolio management

Organization-level Project Management (OPM), as defined by PMI, is a systematic management system that includes project management, large-scale project management, and portfolio management, as well as the establishment of organization-level project management capabilities.

Organizational strategy can be obtained in two ways, one is day-to-day operations and the other is projects. Organizations pursuing sustainability look at at least three types of projects

  1. New products, new business research and development projects. These projects prepare the organization for its future survival.
  2. Customer value projects. By providing products or services, the organization can meet customer needs and provide value to customers, from which the organization can get due benefits.
  3. Operation optimization project.

There are three types of project organization:

1.3.1 Project set management

Project set management is the centralized and coordinated management of a project to achieve the strategic goals and benefits of the project set.

Itemsets have the following characteristics:

  1. An item set may include work that is outside the scope of the individual projects to which it belongs, and that work may itself be considered a project.
  2. An item set can be long-term sustainable, that is, a continuous execution of various projects.
  3. Some ongoing daily operations can be viewed as a set of projects and then broken down into many projects for project-based management.

1.3.2 Portfolio management

Portfolio management refers to the projects, project sets, subportfolio, and operations that are managed together to achieve strategic goals.

  1. Portfolio Management Overview: Risk assessment and increased resource utilization are two essential elements of portfolio management.

  2. Break-even point: the point at which sales are equal to costs and the project is neither losing money nor making a profit.

    Unit Selling price (P), Unit Variable cost (VC), Total Fixed cost (TFC)

    Breakeven point BEP = TFC/P – (VC) BEP = TFC/(P – VC) BEP = TFC/P – (VC)

  3. Role of portfolio management:

    Portfolio management adopts a bottom-up management approach, that is, data is collected from the bottom level of project management and transmitted to the top level for management and control after analysis.

  4. Project selection and prioritization

    Maximizing the value of a portfolio requires careful examination of the components of the portfolio. Prioritize the components. The following tools are used to determine the priority of a project: 4.1 Decision Table technique: The decision table technique is a qualitative or quantitative analysis of the various features of a project, which is calculated and compared according to a weighted method.

    4.2 Financial analysis: Financial analysis has always played an important role in project selection. The specific methods will be discussed later.

    4.3 DIPP analysis: Defined as:

    Sum of product of each payment value and payment probability (EMC), cost to complete (ETC)

    Project performance index DIPP=EMC/ETCDIPP =EMC/ETCDIPP =EMC/ETC

    The higher the DIPP value, the higher the resource utilization, and the higher the priority for resource support.

1.4 Projects and strategies

  1. The process of strategic management

    Organizational strategy is in accord with and guarantee under the condition of achieving an organization’s mission, in make full use of the opportunities that exist in the environment and create new opportunities, on the basis of organization and the environment, the relationship between organization engaged in the business scope, growth direction and competitive strategy, reasonable adjustment of organization structure and distribution of all the resources of the organization.

    Strategic management is divided into the following three parts:

    1.1 Strategy Formulation

    2.2 Strategy execution

    2.3 Strategic monitoring and evaluation

  2. Relationship between project and strategy: Projects are often used as a means to achieve an organization’s strategic plan.

1.5 Project and operation

The main difference between projects and operations is that operations are sequential and repetitive, whereas projects are temporary and unique.

There is a fundamental difference between the goals of a project and the goals of an operation. The goal of the project is to achieve this goal and end the project, while the goal of the operation is to sustain the business.

1.6 Project Manager

According to THE DEFINITION of PMI, a project manager is an individual appointed by the executive organization to lead the team in achieving project objectives. The role of project manager is different from that of functional manager or operations manager. Generally speaking, a functional manager focuses on the management and supervision of a functional area or business unit, while an operations manager is responsible for ensuring the efficiency of business operations.

1.6.1 Project Manager’s influence

  1. Impact on the project: The project manager leads the project team to achieve project objectives and expectations of stakeholders, using available resources to balance competing constraints. The project manager is not required to take on all the roles in the project, and is more concerned with project management knowledge, technical knowledge and experience, coordinating the project team through communication, and using soft skills to balance the conflicting and competing goals of the project stakeholders in order to reach consensus.

  2. Impact on organization: due to any organization’s resources are limited, there may be competition for resources between multiple projects, and that may cause influence each other in multiple projects before, so the project manager needs to actively communication and coordination with other project managers, it helps to have a positive impact, to meet the various needs of the project; The project manager should work with the project sponsor to address internal political and strategic issues that may affect the viability or quality of the team or project.

  3. Impact on industry: Project managers should keep an eye on the latest industry trends and consider whether they have an impact on or are available to the current project. These trends include, but are not limited to:

  • Product and technology development
  • A new and changing market space
  • The industry standard
  • Technical Support Tools
  • Economic forces affecting the current project
  • The forces that affect the discipline of project management
  • Process improvement and sustainable development strategy
  1. Impact on professional disciplines
  2. Impact on interdisciplinary fields

1.6.2 Skills of project manager

  • Necessary project management skills.
  • Leadership: The ability to coach, motivate, and bring the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed by a team
  • Strategy and business management

  1. Apply domain knowledge, standards, and rules: e.g., industry rules and national standards

  2. Project environment

    2.1 Social Environment

    2.2 Political Environment

    2.3 Natural Environment

  3. General management knowledge and skills

  4. Interpersonal skills

1.6.3 Quality of project manager

  1. Extensive knowledge
  2. Rich experience
  3. Good work ethic
  4. Good communication and coordination skills
  5. Good leadership skills

1.7 Professional responsibility and ethics

  1. responsibility
  2. respect
  3. justice
  4. honest