Introduction to Project Management Fast Track Management Guide: Š MBA 2007
Mark Butcher
An MBA Fast Track Management Guide
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Introduction to Project Management Fast Track Management Guide: © MBA 2007
Contents Introduction
2
What is ‘Project Management’?
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What do we mean by ‘Project’?
5
Part 1. Designing the project
7
Establishing purpose
8
Establishing risk
9
Clarify outcomes
11
Getting the job done – who must do what
12
Getting the job done – skills, talents and people
16
Evaluation
18
Costing
21
Timetabling, scheduling and sequencing
23
Part 2. Delivering the project
25
Managing quality
25
Monitoring progress
26
Managing the team
29
Part 3. Developing your project
32
Learn from your experience and write it up
32
Manage change
33
Refine your process
34
Project management reading list
35
About the author
36
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Introduction to Project Management Fast Track Management Guide: © MBA 2007
Introduction About MBA
MBA, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, is one of the U.K.'s leading providers of training, consultancy and information to voluntary, community and statutory sector organisations. In the past 14 years we have worked with hundreds of organisations across Europe, Africa and the U.S.A. including the National Trust in London, the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam and the Carmichael Centre in Dublin. Our mission is to enable not-for-profit organisations and the individuals within them to exceed expectations and operate at a higher level.
About MBA Fast Track Management Guides Each Fast Track Guide is designed to give you a quick overview of a specific management issue, covering all of the points and issues.
Other titles in the series include:
21 Ways to Manage Your Time
The 10 Golden Rules of Not-for-Profit Marketing
Peak Performance
The Magic Circle – Strategic Planning for Nonprofits
Influencing and Negotiating Skills
High Impact Presentation Skills
Leading Your Team
Improve Your Fundraising
Did you know? By joining MBA’s Online Membership Programme, you would gain access to four of our Fast Track Management Guides, hundreds of other management resources (the Knowledge Bank) and our monthly fundraising bulletin. Visit our web-site for more information (www.mba-consulting.co.uk).
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Introduction to Project Management Fast Track Management Guide: Š MBA 2007
About this Management Guide There are two ways to benefit from this publication. You can read it from cover to cover (we have kept it nice and short to help you). This will give you access to all of the key ideas, themes and issues related to the subject.
If you have more time though, you can work through the exercises, apply the learning to your own organisation and share your thinking with colleagues. Although this will demand more time, we strongly believe it will give you better results and real solutions to your specific challenges.
Taking your learning further You can find full details of the publications, training, consultancy services and information resources available from MBA Consulting at www.mba-consulting.co.uk .
ŠMBA 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without permission. The contents must not be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form, by way of trade or otherwise. Please feel free however to print hard copies for internal use within your organisation or team. www.mba-consulting.co.uk. Tel: 0191 226 7304/6
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Introduction to Project Management Fast Track Management Guide: © MBA 2007
What is ‘project management’?
Project management has been around for centuries. From the pyramids to the ‘D’ Day landings, from the construction of St Paul’s
development and co-ordination of a major relief
Cathedral to the building of the Panama Canal,
operation in response to a natural disaster) many of
history is filled with massive projects which could
us will face daunting challenges which the formal
not have been accomplished without a clear plan
discipline of project management can help to
and controlled management. Project management
simplify and bring to a successful conclusion. The
is today widely used in the private, statutory and
NSPCC’s Full Stop Campaign, The Wishing Well
voluntary sectors and is recognised as a complex
Appeal, and Sense’s campaign to have
technical discipline using a variety of formal
deafblindness officially recognised as a disability by
planning, management, control and monitoring
the European Parliament – all would have been
tools. Many of these tools came about as a result of
likely to fail if it were not for some significant degree
the programme to develop the Polaris Missile
of project management input. In fact every
System in the 50s and 60s. This massive effort to
fundraising event, campaign or open-day that gets
coordinate an incredibly complex project involving
organised each year by thousands of village hall
many separate technical specialisms was the
committees, community centre trustees and
moment when Project Management became
charitable managers draws on some of the tools we
recognisable as the formal discipline it is today.
will discuss in this Fast Track Guide.
A sceptic may argue that setting up a visiting service for older people or launching a telephone helpline for families in distress are hardly projects of the same order of complexity as a major feat of engineering prowess or military planning such as those mentioned above. So do we really need formal project management tools? The answer is yes! Although few of us will be involved in a truly labyrinthine effort in our careers (such as the
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Introduction to Project Management Fast Track Management Guide: Š MBA 2007
What do we mean by ‘Project’?
Have you ever moved house? Organised a
There are clearly delineated (and usually limited)
wedding? Or invited 6 friends for dinner? If so you
resources, in the form of people, money,
are a project manager! All of these examples have
information or materials, involved in the delivery of
a number of things in common:
the work.
they have a definite start and finish.
they entail thinking about a number of
It is timelimited, with a defined start and end.
activities at the same time and juggling priorities.
there are desirable and measurable outcomes attached.
What can go wrong?
there is a clearly defined sequence of tasks and some are dependent on the completion
There are many things that can go wrong with
of others before they can be attempted.
projects. We think that some of the more common
there are usually budget constraints.
problems are caused by:
they are stressful.
they are likely to be a disaster if no
planning takes place!
Projects being dumped on top of an existing workload, without appropriate consultation.
Broadly it is fair to say that a piece of work can be
New relationships not being managed well.
viewed as a project as opposed to the ongoing
No clear lines of authority.
activity of your organisation if:
Not everyone in the organisation seeing the project as important.
A clearly defined product or result will be brought
Vague objectives.
into being as a result of the work.
Vague roles and responsibilities.
Unrealistic schedules.
Unforeseen activities/workload.
Weak leadership.
A focus on activity, rather than results.
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