An Introduction to Project Management

The purpose of this briefing paper is to introduce key project management terms and concepts
to provide a common language for discussion, including what is:

• A project
• Project management
• Project success
• A project manager
• A project management plan

To understand the value of project management, it is necessary to understand the fundamental

nature of a project; the core characteristics of project management processes; how success is
evaluated, the roles, responsibilities, and activities of a project manager and the expertise
required; and the context in which projects are performed.

What Is a Project?

We form projects in order to fix the responsibility and authority for the achievement of an
organizational goal on an individual or small group when the job does not clearly fall within the
definition of routine work. “A project is a set of activities that has a beginning and an end, and is
carried out to meet established goals within cost, schedule, and quality objectives”. The
fundamental nature of a project is that it is a “temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service, or result.” Projects are distinguished from operations and from
programs.

Temporary Endeavor

To be temporary signifies that there is a discrete and definable commencement and conclusion;
the management of a project requires tailored activities to support this characteristic, as such, a
key indicator of project success is how it performs against its schedule—that is, does is start
and end on time.
Unique Deliverable

The uniqueness of the deliverable, whether it is a product, service, or result, requires a special
approach in that there may not be a pre-existing blueprint for the project’s execution and there
may not be a need to repeat the project once it is completed. Uniqueness does not mean that
there are not similarities to other projects, but that the scope for a particular project has
deliverables that must be produced within constraints, through risks, with specific resources, at
a specific place, and within a certain period; therefore, the process to produce the deliverable
as well as the deliverable itself is unique.

Progressive Elaboration

This unique process and deliverable produces the third characteristic of a project: progressive
elaboration. Project management is a group of interrelated processes, implemented in a
progressively elaborative manner, in which to produce the deliverable. Progressive elaboration
is the revealing and focusing of details through time. For example, in the engineering design
process, a general and broad concept may be a starting point for the design team; but through
the design process, the concept is narrowed to a specific scope and is further elaborated to
achieve the completed design; moreover, it may continue to be elaborated and not be finalized
until the product, service, or result is delivered.

A Project versus an Operation

The operations of an organization are continuing and repetitive activities that are executed to
achieve its mission and sustain the business, but without a definable end to their performance
and without a unique output—that is, it is not produced or provided only once.

A Project versus a Program

A project differs from a program in that “a program is a group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.
Programs may include elements or related work outside the scope of discrete projects in the
program.”
What Is Project Management?

“Project management is the process of the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.” That is, project management is
an interrelated group of processes that enables the project team to achieve a successful
project. These processes manage inputs to and produce outputs from specific activities; the
progression from input to output is the nucleus of project management and requires
integration and iteration. This progression requires project management acumen, expertise,
tools and techniques, including risk management, contingency development, and change
control.

What Is Project Success?

A standard must be established by which to define and measure project success.

Fundamentally, project success is the delivery of the required product, service, or result on time
and within budget. To meet these objectives is to deliver a quality project. This paper illustrates
project quality through the concept of the triple constraint—project scope, time and cost.
Project quality is affected by balancing these three interrelated factors. “The relationship
among these factors is such that if any one of the three factors change, at least one other factor
is likely to be affected.” Following Figure illustrates this constrained relationship, sometimes
called the “iron triangle.
Cost and time are intuitive, but the role played by scope warrants further discussion. To
understand the significance of scope, one must appreciate the relationship between scope and
the project objectives. For the scope to contribute to project quality, it must be managed to
meet the demands of the project objective by reliably providing the required functions, nothing
more or nothing less. It is not simply a matter of keeping the scope from creeping, or a matter
of completing the cheapest and fastest project; it is establishing the appropriate scope and
delivering the commensurate product, service, or result.

What Is a Project Manager?

The key responsibility of the project manager is to successfully accomplish the project
objectives by balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time, and cost. Derivative
responsibilities include identifying the project requirements; establishing clear and achievable
objectives; and adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and
expectations of the various stakeholders. Fundamentally, the project manager must direct the
project from its inputs, through its nucleus, to delivery of its outputs. In order to accomplish
these multifaceted responsibilities, the roles of the project manager include that of a leader,
administrator, entrepreneur, facilitator, arbitrator and mediator, liaison, and coordinator. The
project manager must lead teams to operate cross functionally towards a common objective
while assuring cohesiveness and continuity as the project progresses through project processes
and project phases. “The project manager acts as the key catalyst to stimulate effective
communication and coordination between design, procurement and construction activities.” In
order to effectively manage these responsibilities and assume these roles, a project manager
must have experience in the following project management knowledge areas: project
integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and
procurement management.

What Is a Project Management Plan (PMP)?

A project management plan is a fundamental tool for the project manager to deliver the
project successfully. This document is a strategic and formalized roadmap to accomplish the
project’s objectives by describing how the project is to be executed, monitored and controlled,
which includes creating a project work breakdown structure, identifying and planning to
mitigate risk, identifying manners in which to effectively communicate with stakeholders and
other project team members, and developing a plan to manage changes. It is essentially a guide
for executing the project, and a manner in which to gain buy-in and approval from stakeholders
and sponsors prior to commencement. This plan is a living document that is updated and
revised throughout the project at strategic milestones or significant events to accommodate
the progressive, elaborative nature of the project. The project management plan will vary based
on size, complexity, risk, and/or sensitivity of the project. Implementing the project
management plan requires competency in all of the project management knowledge areas and
is critical to the success of the project.

Summary

A project is temporary, unique, and the product of a multifaceted and progressively elaborated
process that produces a solution for a specific objective. For the endeavor to be successful, the
project must be accomplished on time, within budget, and to the appropriate degree required
to satisfy the objective. For success to be achieved, the project manager must be skilled and
operate in an environment which enables a project team to function. Excellence in project
management should be viewed as the positive trend in the performance of successful projects.
Source: Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge:
PMBOK® Guide, 3rd Edition. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, Project Management Institute, available at
https://www.usbr.gov/excellence/Finals/FinalIntroPM.pdf