1
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Specials
Experience
THE EDITORIAL ‘Trying to manage a project without project management is like trying to play a football game without a game plan’ as rightly said by K. Tate.
Editorial
Keeping this in view, we have come up with Strive - the biannual magazine of Operations and Supply Chain (OPEP) club of IIM Raipur, which will develop a clear understanding of project management, recent trends and its application in various successful projects. The magazine contains interview of Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarathy, Partner Deloitte, which provides clear understanding of how Risk handling is done in project management. In the academia section we have article by Dr. Dinesh Likhi, who briefly describes the critical challenges for effective and efficient project management. He, in his article had given the 6 challenges that Indian project manager’s face and the ways to overcome them so as to make a project successful.
2
In this issue we have student articles describing the importance of project management and its future trends. One of them is, Pir panjal tunnel, which is Asia’s second largest and India’s biggest tunnel, costing around 1300 crores and had more than 1500 men. Another such project is the Story of Titanic. Gurumantra explains virtual project management and its present and future implications. We also have a book review of ‘Small Wonder- the Making of NANO’. We are thankful to Prof. B. S. Sahay, Director, IIM Raipur for his motivation and support. We also thank Prof. Parkshit Charan for guiding us throughout. We also thank all our authors for taking out time from their busy schedule and contributing to the magazine. Our editorial would be incomplete without acknowledging the support of Subhash Kumar, Anubhav Sood, Sujitha Tikka, Vanamamalai, Thousif, Manoj H., Sameer Pandey, Gautham Jayan, Bharat Arava and Jayant paul Tigga in bringing out this issue. Ruchi Sao Editor
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Specials
Experience
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
After the successful launch of five issues of strive, Operations and Supply Chain (OPEP) club of IIM Raipur, is launching the sixth issue of STRIVE with the theme of project
Director’s Message
management.
Every project involves coordination among the various domains of an organization. Implementing it using effective project management
techniques,
facilitates
the
organization to carry out the project on time and within budget. With the growing need for
Prof. B.S. Sahay
project management this upcoming issue will enable readers and future project managers to have a deeper understanding of project
management and its relevance. I wish them all the best for this issue and hope the readers enjoy the publication. Prof. B. S. Sahay Director, IIM Raipur
3
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
Specials
Experience
Book Review
INSIDE STORY
Student Article
March 2014
SPECIALS Project Management Trends in Project Management
5 9
In CONVERSATION with Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarathy (Partner in Deloitte)
Titanic- The Unsinkable Ship
28 32
EXPERIENCE
12
Application of Project Management practices in IT Mumbai International Airport Terminal II
ACADEMIA Critical Challenges for Effective and Efficient Project Management
Pir Panjal Tunnel
17
39 44 62
BOOK REVIEW Small wonder- The making of NANO
47
GURUMANTRA
24
50
CROSSWORD Industry Academia Article Academia Gurumantra Gurumantra Student Article Interviews Student Article Industry Experience Experience Book SpecialsSpecials Virtual Project Management BookReview Review
4
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Specials
Experience
Project Management
Project Management
Bhavana Ziradkar (pgp13118.bhavana@iimraipur.ac.in)
Electronics Engineer from Vishwakarma Institute of Technology Experience of around 28 months in Infosys ltd. Interested in Operations and Analytics. 5
Abstract: Any project undertaken goes through a process of planning, execution, monitoring, controlling and closing for its successful execution and completion. The basic motive behind such process is to avoid scope creep of the project and complete project in time and budget. Successful execution and completion of a project are outcome of combined efforts of the team. Proper guidance of the project manager is also very crucial in implementation of project. Konkan Railways is an excellent example of remarkable guidance and successful implementation of all the steps of project management.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Project Management
Student Article
Industry Article
Interviews
March 2014
Gurumantra
Academia
Specials
Experience
Project Management is a discipline of
tools and techniques are used to plan the
organising and managing resources in such
project. Tools such as work breakdown
a way that the resources deliver all the work
structure etc. are used which identifies
required to complete a project within
different tasks and activities. Next is
defined scope, time and cost constraints
scheduling which is done to provide
(Basu, Ron p. 14). According to Meredith
framework for accomplishment of tasks.
and
project
Time planning and estimation is done in
management is a social science and also
order to complete project tasks in time.
states that “Project Management has
Another tool is Budgeting which is most
emerged because the characteristics of our
important.
contemporary
the
performance baseline called performance
of
measurement baseline also known as S-
Mantel
(2003,
p.
society
development
of
1)
demand
new
methods
management”.
generates
cost
curve because of its shape. Project planning also includes human resources planning.
Project Management lifecycle undergoes 5
Human resource is key factor of any project
steps – initiation, project planning, project execution,
Budget
project
monitoring
and has to be managed and motivated in
and
order to get best results. Risk management
controlling, and project closing. First step
plays an important role in project planning.
of project management is initiation. In this
Potential risk must be identified in the
step the objectives, product description,
project and strategies must be developed to
requirements, scope, financials, duration
tackle them as and when encountered.
and risk are identified and described. The
STEPS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
•Objectives, Product description, requirements, scope, financials & risk
Project planning • Work breakdown structure, schduling of activities, planning and etimation of completion time • Budgeting • Risk management
Initiation
6
Monitoring & controlling
•Team development •Quality Assurance •Procurement
•Ensuring that all tools are provide to keep project on track
Project execution
•Contract closure •Lessons learned •Project closeout
Project closing
second phase of project management is
Quality management for a project must be
project planning. At this level different
evolved and developed. Tools like Total
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Project Management
Student Article
Interviews
Academia
Industry Article
Gurumantra
Specials
Experience
Quality Management (TQM) and Lean Six
controlling risk which is not only done in
Sigma
Procurement
beginning but throughout project life.
management takes care of different types of
Maintaining risk management plans is very
Contracts and their legal structure. A
important for any project. Final phase is
project management plan is developed in
Project closure. Three tools are used to
project planning which looks into all the
close a project- contract closure, lessons
necessary actions, execution, controlling
learned and project closeout. The contracts
and monitoring of project. Next phase in
undergone during the project must be
project management is Project Execution
closed in order to ensure closure of the
which ensures accomplishment of the
project.
project mission. Execution includes team
opportunities
development which helps managing human
practices in the organisation. Finally the
resource and achieve a combined efforts
documentation recording must be done and
through team activities. Quality assurance
archived for future reference.
helps
are
in
maintain
demand.
quality
identified
by
customers and stakeholders throughout the project.
Procurement
outsourcing
and
takes
care
services
of
needed.
Information distribution includes data gathering,
report
generation,
tracking
information at each and every stage. Monitoring and controlling plays a very important role in keeping the project in line with its mission. Different tools and techniques are used to keep project on track. Change control is used to control “scope
creep”.
Scope
creep
is
a
phenomenon which occurs when project features change and grow as the project progresses. One more tool used is Earned Value Management useful in budget management and to schedule performance. Another controlling 7
March 2014
aspect phase
of is
monitoring
and
managing
and
Lessons for
learned
provide
implementing
best
One of the examples of a successfully managed project is Konkan Railway. Konkan Railway was initiated in 1990 by Shri George Fernandez, the then Railway Minister and the project was headed by Shri E Shreedharan, Member (Engineering) Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India. In order to raise funds for the project the Konkan Railway Corporation was registered as a company on 19th July 1990 with 51% shares with Railway Ministry and 49% shares taken up by four beneficiary states – Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Mr. E Shreedharan was appointed as Chairman of one man committee of the project. Mr. Shreedharan started the project with surveys, administrative arrangements, geotechnical
investigations,
hydraulic
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014 Experience
Specials
Gurumantra
investigations of rivers, locations of bridges
rail welding, tele-communication network,
and tunnels.
tunnel ventilations. The project was given 5 years completion time and in order to
The Konkan Railway project is 760 km railway
line
connecting
Mumbai
achieve this Mr. Shreedharan had made the
to
administration of konkan railways a
Mangalore along west coast of India. The
transparent system, where each and every
760 Km long railway line consists of 93
person was aware of his objectives and
tunnels, 179 major bridges, 8000 minor
deadlines.
KONKAN Railways Stats
Project Management
Information
Konkan Railway Route corporation was floated Km on July 19, 1990 760 StakeholdersKarnataka, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra First train run January 26, 1998 Longest bridge- Across the Sharavati in Honnavar (2,065.8 m)
Stations
92
Minor bridges
Road Crossings
179
1819
300
meetings
all these strategic planning
and
execution,
the
project
was
completed
(64 Km)
years. Overcoming
in
7
all the difficulties
was divided into 7 zones and 7 Chief Engineers were appointed to handle each zone. The project initially faced difficulties such as land acquisition, difficult terrain,
such as government intervention, finance,
of 160 km per hour. New technology was used for construction of bridges, tunnels,
and
References:
J. Phillips, W. Brantley, Patrica Pulliam
Phillips
“Project
Management ROI : A Step-by-Step Guide for Measuring the Impact and
strategies. Hiring human resource for the
focus was on constructing high speed route
terrains
was successfully completed in 7 years.
different
project was given special attention. Main
difficult
considering the huge size of the project, it
variable climatic conditions etc. which through
maintained
Tallest Viaduct Panvel Nadi
under bridges. The 760 long railway line
overcomed
was
flow
with HOD’s. With
Major Bridges
bridges, 300 road over-bridges and road
were
Tunnels
through 59
Refernce:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/include -mangalore-region-in-konkan-railway/article4866610.ece
8
Book Review
ROI for Projects”
Phillips and Joseph “Project Management for Small Business : A Streamlined Approach from Planning to Completion”
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Specials
Experience
Book Review
Future Trends in Project Management
Future Trends in Project Management
Poorva Gadre (pgp13098poorva@iimraipur.ac.in Architect from Rachana Sansad’Academy Interested in Marketing and Analytics.
9
Abstract: As the world becomes smaller and more connected due to various technological innovations, project management takes a different stage altogether. Due to the growing GDP of developing countries, a number of projects of a huge scale across continents are in execution. Leaders of such projects have to be agile and manage cross cultural teams to the best of their ability.
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Future Trends in Project Management
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Specials
Experience
Project management is defined as planning,
The world is on the path of becoming an
directing and controlling resources to meet
interconnected
the technical, cost and time constraints of
Globalization is the reality of today and its
the project. It’s a skill that is required in all
intensity is increasing with every passing
the sectors. Projects in all the dimensions
day. The scale of the projects is increasing
are on the rise. The World Bank is presently
massively. This requires more efficient
funding 11,853 projects of massive scale in
skills of project management. Accordingly,
172 countries. The projects range from
the need for resources and kind of problems
agriculture, public administration, law and
faced is varied. Resources are required in a
global
village.
gigantic amount and The
World Bank is presently funding
the
project
costs
amount to thousands of
11,853 projects of massive scale in 172 countries.
millions. The time span justice, information and communications,
for the completion of the project is also
education, finance, health and other social
decreasing. The cross continental projects
service, energy and mining, transportation,
gives the opportunity to take the advantage
water, sanitation and flood protection and to
of the learning from various communities.
the largest sector of industry and trade.
The impact of globalization is directly felt
Such
and
in the cross cultural human resource
intricate projects are going to be on the rise
management challenges that comes up in
in the coming future. Between 2010 and
the execution of the project. Effective
2020, 15.7 million new project management
leadership skills to manage the tempers,
roles will be created globally, according to
cultural differences and communication
the Project Management Talent Gap Report
challenges needs to be developed in the
of March 2013 by the PMI. This is going to
field now. Leaders need to be more agile
change the scene of project management
and adjust themselves as the situations
and many factors are going to affect it in a
require.
huge manner. Certain trends that will affect
problems and demands different solutions.
the field of project management and its
An agile leader will be able to tackle them
demand are discussed in greater detail.
better. The project manager also needs to
elaborate,
inter-continental
Every
project
has
different
aware of the legal aspects of every country
10
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Future Trends in Project Management
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
Specials
Experience
that is affected by the project for easy
Taking decisions from across the world is
processing. Establishing economies of
no longer an issue of concern or doubt.
learning in a comparatively short span is
Transfer
also one of the challenges experienced by
documents has also become an easy task.
cross cultural teams of a huge scale. These
Huge amount of data flow is possible and
projects also increase every person’s
this help in more efficient implementation
knowledge about the various communities.
of cross boundary projects. Geographical
This helps in developing an understanding
distances don’t seem to be a barrier
and increasing the tolerance level of human
anymore. Various new engineering and IT
beings all across the world.
solutions help solve the problems that may
of
papers
and
other
legal
developing
come up while executing a global level
countries is causing a growth in the number
project. Technological progress not only
of projects that are being taken up. China
helps tackle the problems of globalization
and India will lead the growth in project
but also spurs the process of globalization.
management generating approximately 8.1
All these factors will affect the field of
million and 4 million project management
project management in great detail. The
roles respectively through 2020, according
methods will develop. The means will
to the Project Management Talent Gap
change.
Report of March 2013. Due to this, the
process. More technological innovations
price of resources is also increasing. Better
will cause the global scenario to change
methods to offset costs while remaining
more rapidly and project management will
competitive in the market need to be
be a challenging and essential science in
developed by the project managers.
the coming future.
Improving
Technology
GDP
is
of
the
progressing
at
an
exponential rate on a daily basis. Virtual Project Management seems to be one of the upcoming trends. With being globally connected due to various technological innovations, managing the various inter continental projects is becoming easier.
11
March 2014
It is an ever changing dynamic
References: 1. World
Bank
Website
www.worldbank.org/projects
2. Project Management Talent Gap Report March 2013, PMI Project Management Talent Gap Report March 2013, PMI
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarthy – Risk Handling in Project Management
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
In Conversation With MR. SRIVATSAN PARTHASARTHY on Risks Handling In Project Management
Mr. Srivatsan is managing the National Technology Risk & Security Service with over 20 years of proven success in developing, managing and advising global enterprise clients on technology, security and GRC strategy and solutions. Experienced in strategizing, designing and implementing solutions for enterprise infrastructure cloud and non-cloud, security, identity management / entitlement, disaster recovery, business continuity, fault tolerance, contingency and crisis management, application / infrastructure integrity, and GRC.
12
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
What are the primary factors you would
financial, client requirements. Any of the above
look into while assessing the risk of a
if not handled properly could cause risk. For
project?
example, if the mission and vision of the project is not defined well, then the project that would
When we are looking a project / program
roll out might not meet the expected result.
Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarthy – Risk Handling in Project Management
management one of the key things as a manager we needed to identify is, what is vision and mission of the project/program. After which we have to understand the various dependencies in the project. Based on this we would have a clear definition of success of the project and key
Can you share a story of a real project where risk management helped save project from massive failure?
performance indicators in the project. These are
Let me share with you the example of a project
going to be critical as this lends the view for
where managing risk across all of the elements
expectations in the project, sub programs in the
that I have previously described as critical. We
project, the stakeholders involved, the roles and
were doing a large project for a company which
responsibilities, and the inter-dependencies.
had very rigid deadlines related to legal and
Clear communication structure, escalation
regulatory compliances. The company had to file a mode of paying with
Identify Projects Mission, Vision are identified first to get clear definition of its success and their performance indicator.
position management and any evaluations that needs to be extracted has to be communicated ahead of time. A very clear and close monitoring of the project plan itself is needed.
critical from company’s perspective in terms of survival that they need to be managed. Here we were managing almost
mechanism, governance model has to be established for the project. Issue management,
the regulator and it is
close to 300 different stakeholder which included people who were part of company, regulators, auditors and third party vendors. There were several work streams involved and we had to work with key people who were present in various manufacturing plants of the
Beside that drawing linkages, for instance
company. After defining the mission, vision
there are two projects, defining the inter-
and objectives carefully we started with the
dependencies and defining linkages are
project. Whenever we are running such
critical.
programs we should also look into the people dynamics.
The other things that one has to look into involves planning with regards to resources,
13
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
As we were doing this, we did notice that there
of mainframe even after 25 years. It is just that
were a couple of stakeholders who were not
they have to think out of the box for continuous
completely
ROI and manage that particular environment.
focussed
to
overall
project
objectives. But what eventually happened is that time and again there were delays in the
Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarthy – Risk Handling in Project Management
deliverables. As they were working on the critical chain, we had to manage them. Since
How do we bridge the gap between project risk management to project uncertainty management?
there were challenges coming up, we shifted a
In any project there is going to be internal and
couple of project managers and started
external factors. Most often if there are internal
providing almost day to day oversight on this
factors we probably have better control over
particular project. Because of which we were
them. Accordingly we manage them in risk
able to meet the timeline.
management perspective by applying checks
With paradigm changes in technology happening, how do we plan to handle risks for projects closely related with technology?
and balances on them. But for external factors which we do not have any control, we need to have appropriate checks and balances which helps us spot these particular external factors
While
there
are
significant
changes
in
and identify how they can essentially impact the
technology happening in fast paced manner,
program or project. If it do happens, understand
there could be significant changes in mission as
the actions you need to take, as in some cases
well. For example, government embarked on
you need to potentially shut down the project,
building out state data centres which were
in which case you need to make a conscious
apparently done 5-6 years ago. RFP were
decision on that. As otherwise your money is
created in that particular point in time, but today
going to be continuously invested and we may
technology have significantly changed. Some
not have any return from the project. The aspect
of the technology that were in the original RFP
is that there are going to be continuous
is obsolete or near end of life. If they had to look
uncertainty, the question is about how we
at data centres now, then they would be looking
would mitigate the risk, which is effectively
at cloud based data centres. So one has to really
risk management.
look at these risks. How can cloud computing be used to But if an organization is doing a good plan, then
coordinate between different levels in a
a lot of time we can choose technology that
project and provide a competitive edge for
would possibly be helpful for us for next 10-15
the company?
years. Agreeing that new technology is yet to come they would still be able to leverage it. For example, take the case of mainframe, a lot of organizations are continuing to leverage the use
14
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
Collaboration and coordination are provided by
certification. The reason is that this person with
many knowledge portals and knowledge
experience has tested out his/her skills.
sharing that are already available. I do not see project
management
significantly
getting
changed because of cloud computing.
How does one keep pace with the changing technology? And how do we know if it would
Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarthy – Risk Handling in Project Management
be sustainable?
FOR BUDDING MANAGERS What competencies should the aspiring
is the tools that are available to help us manage
project managers develop, to be more
the project more robustly and interactively.
industry acceptable?
There are a lot of other techniques that can also be adopted. For example, if we are doing
I would essential look at good certifications like
finance management for a project you can use
PMI. Also knowledge on robust tools that are
techniques from outside project management.
available. It is a question of understanding this
However, to use these tools and technology
particular processes and the familiarity with the
effectively, one need to be an expert in the
Book of knowledge. Applying them in terms of
domain knowledge. Many tools such as MS
real life is essential more than the theory.
project, etc. provide a framework for managing,
Definitely a project manager with experience
but it is a question of how well the tool is
would be preferred to project manager with
applied to get what really we wanted to.
•
•
•
People are held accountable for the
Forums to disclose – Risk profilers,
opportunities they exploit as well as the
status reporting, pro-active risk tagging
risks they take. It is because of the
and disclosure committees are present
positive reinforcement in risk taking
in multiple levels such as unit, account,
that mature enterprises expand its
project, program and country to aid the
operations to several countries
quick
Emotional maturity of risk consultants
assessment
and
response
planning to risks.
– The corporate risk team members are
Though risk management can be
carefully selected to be placed in teams
reduced to a science with models and
as consultants based on their ability to
predictors, it definitely is an art to work
deal with tough situations, people and
with various cultures, attitudes and
attitudes. They also have long term
people to achieve success in highly
view of things and frequently come up
risky or troubled ventures to achieve
with initiatives to either totally remove
business growth.
the root causes of risks or prevent them. 15
What really has changed over a period of time
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Book Review
Critical Challenges For Effective And Efficient Project Management by Dr. DINESH LIKHI
Dr. Dinesh Kumar Likhi is a visiting faculty at IIM Raipur and Director (Production & Marketing) at MIDHANI. He holds additional charge of HR and Projects areas. He started his career with Escorts Tractor Ltd., Faridabad in 1981 and worked for Steel Authority of India Limited (at Rourkela Steel Plant, in Production/Operation/Process control, and corporate office of SAIL Delhi) for more than 31 years. He has wide experience in automobile, steel and special metal alloys Industry. Dr. D K Likhi is a life member of Indian Institute of Metals, National Institute of Personnel Management, Indian Institute of Materials Management and Global Institute of Flexible System Management. He has been awarded the Jawahar Award for Outstanding PSU Executive in 1995, group awards for his contribution in turnaround of SAIL and preparing growth plan for SAIL and new business development projects in 2011. In addition, he has been recipient of Netherland Fellowship in 1999.
16
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
Student Article
17
Industry Article
Interviews
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
A Project is defined as a temporary
discipline to a strategic discipline. Such
endeavour, undertaken to create a unique
transformation
output.
Success of project will depend
management to take strategic decisions at
upon on attainment of objectives generally
different levels, thus enhancing probability
defined with respect to time, cost and scope,
of success in implementation.
etc.
Indian Projects are plagued with
Furthermore, it has been highlighted that
traditional syndrome of time overrun, cost
management of uncertainty during a project
over-run and scope deviations leading to
implementation
wide criticism amongst academicians and
understood. These uncertainties need not to
professionals.
be termed as risk and may be treated as a
examples
of
Though, there are certain excellence
allow
needs
to
project
be
well
project
bundle of opportunities for the same project
management such as of Delhi Metro, there
or at best for subsequent projects. This can
are numerous projects, which do not get
be accomplished by clearly defining
such laudable credit.
difference between risk and uncertainties.
This article strives to bring out six critical
Linking with business objectives, project
focus areas for consideration by Indian
managers will be able to leverage such
project managers for turning around project
business opportunities, arising out of
management success in future.
uncertainties in project for greater success
(1) Focus on Organizational Context &
of their respective organisations.
Project Uncertainties:
(2) Focus on 14 Areas of Project
Firstly, there is a need to stress on the
Management:
linkage between an organization’s projects
Secondly, Indian project managers need to
implementation
its
move their stress from traditional project
organizational context. It can be achieved
management concept of managing only the
by exploring how underlining drivers of
time, cost and scope during project
organization environment might influence
execution. Areas and the processes as
not only nature of projects but also
defined by Project Management Institute
appropriateness of the arrangement which
(PMI) are to be understood and followed up
needs to be managed projects (Davies, et.al.
for higher probability of success in
2009). It has been analysed by authors that
execution of the project.
project management policy, people related
There are five phases such as Project
interventions, structural and process etc.
Initiation,
need to be transformed from operational
Implementation, Evaluation/Control and
capability
in
will
and
Conceptualization,
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
Close out.
Academia
Special s
Gurumantra
Experience
Similarly, there are nine
project managers with skills for better
knowledge areas with focus on Time, Cost,
awareness of individual values of project
Scope, Procurement, Communication, HR,
team and organization culture.
Integration, Quality and Risk. Such issues
leadership has to ensure to communicate
are often ignored mainly on account of time
individual
&
organization culture into the project
workload
pressures,
establishment difficulty
lack
of
procedure/expertise,
in
re-collecting
accurate
value
environment. confirmation
The
orientation
This of
holistic
governance
problem/failure, lack of support from top
transparency and accountability. Manager
management and lack of incentives, etc.
will be allowed project status to be
(3) Focus on Project Leadership:
communicated and manage effectively and
The role of human resource and leadership
efficiently in such context.
has to be understood by the Indian project
Leadership must be in a position to develop
managers
between
key change managers for prioritizing the
expectations from project and actual
change process during project management.
performance (Vincent, et. al. 2009). This
These measures will not be effective
will require understanding of human
without a robust communication including
resource planning with respect to the whole
use of mass media of communication such
project,
staff,
as social media platform like facebook etc.
reducing
challenging
development
gap
roles,
a
require
structure
for
through
will
and
information, fear of blame for project
well-defined
of
team,
measure
of
With better understanding of leadership and
and
team
performance,
human resources, projects will be managed
Responsibility Assignment Matrix, etc. The
with high potentials improvements/success.
management of human resource, structures
(4) Quality of Project Information:
of the project team and responsibility
Focus should be on the quality of
assessment matrix needs to be well defined
information during all phases of project life
by the Indian project managers (Melnic,
cycle.
et.al. 2011). Some may argue that such
evaluation information through which
processes are in place in their respective
organizations may travel its journey to
organizations; their relative focus needs to
different maturity levels (Mala, et.al. 2013).
be institutionalized to greater extent. This
Professor Strong (1997) has also described
will
project
leading causes of project failure on account
The strategy of the project
of information quality. Therefore, quality
leadership will be to create appropriate
information is the main pre-requisite of the
individual
require
leadership.
18
Industry Article
Interviews
March 2014
crucial
role
of
This will require collecting and
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Indian project management maturity levels
advantage in organization, software such as
need to be analysed by regularly conducting
MS project, Primavera also can help for
survey of their organization to identify gaps
better information quality and needs to be
in their project management capability. We
mastered
need to identify Indian project management
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
project success. Apart from its professional
management.
in
day-to-day
project
issues which will take into consideration systemic and cultured issues relevant to
19
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Special s
Gurumantra
Experience
Indian organizatns (Simangunsong et.al.
at ground level for effective cultural change
2013)
management in Indian organization.
(5) Focus on Post-Project Analysis: Avoiding post-project assessment can be a
Apart from it, Innovation in project
risky and costly strategy for organization.
management needs to be built for better
While analysing post-completion, both
productivity & performance.
“Science Skills” and “Art Skills” are to be
construction to ‘Off-site’ construction,
examined for better learning in future.
‘Modular-approach’,
Illustrative examples for such skills are
‘Frugal Innovation’ are example such new
given in the table 1 (Adapted from
paradigms.
Schroeder
Conclusions:
and
Schroeder,
2013
and
‘On-site’
‘Open-Innovation’,
describe in page 21). Indian Project
The above focused areas are illustrative in
Managers have to adapt to above skills for
nature and not exhaustive in nature.
increasing probability of success of their
However, it is felt that by focusing on the
projects.
above
(6) Challenging Existing Paradigms of
managers may shift to new way of projects,
Project Management:
management which may allow them to
The focus needs to shift from professional
finish project are completed within time,
concepts such as Critical Path Method,
cost and scope. This will also allow them to
Programme Evaluation Review Techniques
widen their project land scope from
etc. to the concepts of Critical Chain
‘Domestic
method advocated by Goldartt (1997)
market’.
through is exemplary work based on theory
References:
of constraints. This will bring a paradigm shift in the Indian project management by identifying constraints and starting project activities at earliest and taking challenges in time estimate of each activity.
Any
uncertainties during execution of project can be taken care through “feeding buffers and project” buffer. The tradition of critical chain needs to be understood first by Indian project leaders then by the project managers
20
March 2014
focused
areas,
market’
to
Indian
project
‘International
1. Davies, T.J.C, Crawford, L.H. and Lechler,
T.G.
(2009)
‘Project
Management Systems: Moving Project Management From an Operational to a Strategic
Discipline’
Project
Management Journal, pp.110-123 2. Goldratt, E (1997) ‘Critical Chain’ North River Press
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
3. Iyer, K.C. & Jha, K.N. (2005) ‘Factors
Management Practices and Critical
affecting cost performance: evidence
Success Factory-A Developing Country
from Indian construction projects’
Perspective’ International Journal of
International
Business and Management, Vol. 8, No.
Journal
of
Project
Management 23, pp. 283-295
21;
pp. 14-31
4. Lechler,T.G., Edington, B.H. and Gao,
8. Ong,V., Richardson, D., Duan, Y., He,
T. (2012) ‘Challenging Classic Project
Q. and Johnson, B. (2009) ‘The Role of
Management:
Project
Project
Business
Effective
turning
Uncertainties
Into
Leadership
in
Project
Achieving
Management’
Opportunities’ Project Management
Proceedings of the 5th European
Journal,
conference
pp. 59-69
on
Management,
Leadership and governance, 5. Mala, J., Cerna, L. and Ruskova, D.
pp. 157-
163
(2013) ‘ The Quality of Information in Project
Management’
European
9. Schroeder,
H.,
Schroeder
and
conference on intellectual capital, pp.
Schroeder, Inc. (2013) ‘Post Project
532-538
Assessment: An Art And Science Approach’ Academy of Information and
6. Melnic, A.S. and Puiu, T. (2011) ‘The Management of Human Resources
Management Sciences Journal, Volume 16, Number 1, 2013, pp. 37-45
within Projects: the Structures of the Project
Team,
Assignment
the
Responsibility
10. Simangunsong, E. and Da Silva, E.N.
Economy
(2013) ‘Analyzing Project management
Matrix’
Transdisciplinarity
Cognition,
Vol.
XIV, Issue 1/2011, pp. 476-484
Maturity Level in Indonesia’ The South East Asian Journal of Management ©, Vol.7, No. 1, pp. 72-83
7. Ofori,
21
Experience
D.F.
(2013)
‘Project
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014 Special s
Gurumantra
Experience
Book Review
Gurumantra: Virtual Project Management Q) What is Virtual project management? Virtual project management (VPM) is
Build diverse organization culture
Employee sharing across different virtual projects helps in increasing
managing a project by a virtual team and
their utilization rate while reducing
a virtual team (Geographically dispersed
cost of travelling or hiring
team, distributed team, remote team) is as
Virtual Project Management
proposed by Cantu consists of any of three
Q) What are the challenges involved in
components:
VPM for a project manager?
Team members are spread across
Challenges are:
different geography or locations.
Team members are from different or
project manager to keep all team
from same part of organization.
members updated and in same line as
Members work together in different durations or lengths of time.
Time differences make difficult for
per the planned project schedule
Communication problem which may
Q) What are the reasons that companies are
arise due to accents, writing skills and
opting for VPM?
words having different meaning. It would
The following are the reasons:
lead
to
misunderstandings
among team members leading to
Cost
constraints
-
Offshore
outsourcing reduces cost by utilizing
Lack of coordination among team members
Also
managing
extension of critical path and hence the
administration reduces in case of
estimated time of completion of project
VPM. Thereby gaining competitive
increases.
the
cost
of
leads
to
unnecessary
Sharing of data is very crucial as
the quality of product does not
information required is huge for proper
deteriorate
interpretation of problems and results.
A
problem
solving
exchange of ideas
22
cheap labour in other parts of world.
advantage by organization provided
internal conflict.
strategy by
Also, Transferring of data is timely affair.
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Building trust among team members is
Gurumantra
another challenge.
Virtual Project Management
False consensus
Unresolved overt conflict
Underground conflict
Organizational context
Closure avoidance
Geographical context
Calcified team meetings
Communications support
Uneven participation
Other environmental contextual factors
Lack of accountability
Individual characteristics
Forgetting the customer
Technology adoration
Management of critical supporting work processes
Hence by providing proper guidance, support to above factors alleviate the goal of solve problem
A face to face meeting would remove
Fisher & Fisher suggest a shift in
the hesitation between members and
project leadership. Project Manager
build trust between them. Also, some
should act as seven clusters: leader,
issues are better handled if discussed
results
face to face. Project manager should be
catalyst,
facilitator,
barrier
buster, business analyser, coach, and
able to prioritize the work
living example Lipnack and Stamps suggest that setting up e-mail list, opening chat rooms, and
Setting a standardized code of conduct which would avoid delays
Peterson and Stohr suggest that senders
mounting desktop conferencing will
take responsibility for prioritizing their
help
communication
in
increasing
understanding
between members Xerox,
for
instance,
encourages
imbedding pictures of team members
23
Manheim & Medina proposed that
Work nature
challenges?
Experience
behaviours:
Q) What are the ways to overcome these
Special s
below factors influence the virtual
The term ‘Team killers’ include:
March 2014
Schilling through his study suggests the following:
into collaborative and communicative
Participation must be voluntary teams
technologies in order to “see” the other
are destined to fail if not supported by
member (Fisher & Fisher).
its members.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Academia
Industry Article
Interviews
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Team member selection
Project manager team building
Stakeholder team building
The employee must be able to perform
Project implementation
with limited supervision and feedback,
Project completion
Members
must
demonstrated
have
previously
satisfactory
work
responsibilities and habits.
reduced social interaction, have good organizational and time management
Each of the step requires different set of
skills, be self-motivated, demonstrate
strategies to fit and align virtual team
good performance, and be able to
together.
concentrate if away from a worksite.
Virtual Project Management
Virtual project is fundamentally different Q) It is claimed that in future VPM would
from traditional projects as it involves
be unavoidable. What could be the reason?
adding concerns of telecommuting and collaboration of culture, time zones,
Market has a dynamic nature forcing
language etc.
companies to quickly deliver superior quality which would require engagement of
References
best of talents forcing to engage distributed team culture. Also as the penetration of smart phones, internet connectivity is increasing employees start asking for flexi time and work from home system. This would lead to use of VPM.
1. http://blog.bootstraptoday.com/2012/0 4/13/why-you-cannot-avoid-virtualproject-management-2012onwards/#sthash.0Hk4ANLn.dpuf 2. http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis /488_f01_papers/rolfes.htm
Q) How is VPM different from traditional PM?
3. http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vm ware-solution-opex-reducing-opex-wpen.pdf
According to Gray & Larson following are the ways teams are made:
24
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Pir Panjal Tunnel
Pir Panjal Tunnel
Reference: http://sureshtvn.blogspot.in/2013/06/pir-panjal-railway-tunnel.html
Trsiha Gajbhiye Trsiha Gajbhiye (pgp13118.tisha@iimraipur.ac.in) (pgp13118.tisha@iimraipur.ac.in) She has completed her Graduation in Electronincs and Instrumention from SSCET, Bhillai Her interest lies in Operations and Marketing
25
Abstract: Pir Panjal rail tunnel, the longest in India, constructed after a three-year delay, technical snags and several complications is a ground breaking feat accomplished in the field of construction. The project involved use of the latest technology and construction procedures for providing a tunnel that could solve the problem faced in the valley during winters. The tunnel is proposed to help in the transportation and connectivity issues in the state of J&K and thereby boosting the trade and economy in the valley.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
Pir Panjal Tunnel
“First have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.” -Aristotle
In June 26, 2013, the Prime Minister of
Initially, the Udhampur - Srinagar -
India- Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated
Baramulla rail link project of Northern
the much awaited Pir Panjal Tunnel- Asia’s
Railways was bifurcated and awarded to
second longest and India’s longest tunnel,
two construction subsidiaries of Indian
by flagging off the first train from Banihal
Railways–70 Km of the section of
Railway station. The 11.215 Km long
Udhampur side to M/s Konkan Railway
tunnel
Hindustan
Corporation Ltd. and 191 Km on Baramulla
Construction Company Ltd. (which also
side to M/s IRCON International Ltd.,
constructed the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea
which included the Pir Panjal range of the
Link), runs below the Jawahar Tunnel,
Himalayas. IRCON Ltd. completed the
connecting
with
railway line from Qazigund to Baramulla
Qazigund in Kashmir and is a part of the
(119 Km). In order to speed up the balance
constructed
ambitious
Banihal
Udhampur
by
in
Jammu –
Srinagar
–
work of the project, IRCON International Ltd. divided the remaining section into 6 zones and the contract for zones-IV,VA and VB was entrusted to HCC. After the successful completion of these zones, the Pir Panjal Tunnel Project was awarded to HCC Ltd in August 2005 by IRCON Ltd. with an estimated construction budget of US $ 150 million (INR 690 crore approx.).
Reference: http://indiandefence.com/threads/jammu-kashmirrail-link-to-be-inaugurated.28204/
A section of tunnel (approximately 585 m) in VB zone on the soft ground was
Baramulla rail link project of Northern
constructed by Gammon India and rest by
Railways. This tunnel is a solution to the
HCC Ltd. The project emanated with the
problems faced by the masses during winter
tunnel excavation in November 2005, with
and rainy seasons due to snow falls and
a sole objective –“To successfully execute
landslides.
this project of National importance” as quoted
by
Mr.
Arun
Karambelkar,
President & Whole Time Director, HCC.
26
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Pir Panjal Tunnel
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
During the course of work, the project team
owing to its lengthiness, the tunnel is
faced several challenges. Firstly, on its
accessible during snowfall, unlike the
inception the project faced geographical
Jawahar Tunnel. The tunnel used ballast-
obstacles due to the dynamic and complex
less tracks, which have a high installation
geology of the Himalayas, where folding
cost
and faulting is common. Due to varying
maintenance. Also, these tracks help in
ground conditions, large deformations and
improving the operational efficiency for
high over burden, sequential excavation
very high loading routes, like that of the Pir
method was used. This method along with
Panjal range. Apart from this, the tunnel is
support techniques is called as the New
made totally water proof by lining the
Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM),
tunnel internally with a membrane, bought
which was used for the first time in India on
from Italy, thus enabling the tunnel to
a large scale. This method included three
remain dry in all seasons.
excavation techniques as per the geology type, namely- Excavation by Tunnel Excavator, by Road Header and by Drill and Blast method. Various geotechnical instruments for the purpose of routine monitoring,
assessing
the
stress
redistribution and stabilization before final Lining, were also used.
27
March 2014
but
provide
greater
ease
of
Thirdly, the security issues posed a challenge for the project due to the proximity of the site to the LoC. This led to strict security checks by the armed forces, on the movement of labourers and machineries. Also, the various incidents such as terrorist violence and infiltration, the 2009 Baramulla Assembly elections,
Secondly, being on such a varying terrain,
the Amarnath Yatra and the curfew
the tunnel needed a design that focused
imposed in Baramulla and nearby districts
more on the safety. Therefore, the Pir Panjal
in 2010, affected the pace of the project.
tunnel is designed on single tube concept
Next, the project engaged 1300 workers and
with 3m wide road alongside the track in the
150 engineers working in three shifts every
same tube, so that the tunnel is easily
day. Lack of skilled labour and a low
accessible to provide prompt emergency
retention rate among workers during
relief. The two stations at Banihal and
winters were the other challenges to the
Qazigund are located close to both ends of
project. However, these did not halt the
the tunnel. The tunnel also consists of a fire
project completely but reduced its pace
fighting system along the entire length of
drastically.
the tunnel. Being at a lower height and
mentioned challenges, the procurement of
Apart
from
the
above
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Pir Panjal Tunnel
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Special s
Experience
raw materials and logistics were yet another
supposed to bring down the freight costs for
major hindrances to the project. During
transporting goods, given the traders use
winters, heavy snowfall blocked the
rail over road transportation. Adding to
National Highway, the Jawahar tunnel and
that, the tunnel will make travelling easier
the other routes used for transporting the
for the localities residing in the two
raw materials needed for construction. All
connecting areas, by reducing the distance
these challenges coupled with working
as well as the cost of travelling. Leveraging
under extremely low temperatures (-10째C)
on the operational success of the Pir Panjal
did not deter the team from progressing and
tunnel, the completion of the whole
completing this mega project successfully
Udhampur - Srinagar -Baramulla rail link
with a Zero Accident record.
project would boost the development of
As a consequence of all these challenges, the project was delayed by three years and became fully operational only in 2013; however a successful execution of 6.4 km of the tunnel was performed in a single phase by October 2011. The project also exceeded the initial budget of INR 690 crores to a final cost of INR 1,691 crores. However, keeping aside the delay and the budget overshoot, the tunnel has proved to be a major contributor in improving the economy of the state and helping in the industrialization of Jammu& Kashmir. It is
28
Gurumantra
March 2014
Jammu &Kashmir in terms of economic, social and technological growth thereby, connecting the state to the rest of the country. Reference: 1. J&K Govt. official site 2. Business Standard 3. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/efeatures.aspx ?relid=96997 4. HCCIndia.com (http://www.hccindia.com/news.php?n ews_id=29)
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Titanic –The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
Titanic – The Story behind the Unsinkable Ship
Reference: http://wheredmyjobgo.blogspot.in/2011/05/titanic-blue-cheese-turkey-meatloaf.html
Arnab Sen (pgp13069.arnab@iimraipur.ac.in) He has completed his B. Tech in mechanical engineering from NIT Warangal. He have 3 years of work experience in L&T
29
He is interested in Project management and Leadership & Strategic roles.
Abstract: Project activity is on the rise, so are the failure rates. In such a scenario, Mark Kozak Holland, author of the Lessons from History series says that we should focus on “Lessons from the past that assist the projects of today to shape the World of tomorrow”. The Titanic project was one of the biggest blunders to have been ever made in the field of project management. The lessons learnt from such blunders be used to make project management more effective in today’s World.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Titanic –The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
In the current economic environment,
tomorrow”. The Titanic project was one of
value-for-money is a priority. Many
the biggest blunders to have been ever
businesses have drastically reduced their
made in the field of project management. In
spending in recent times. In this scenario,
1912 Titanic sank with a loss of 1328 lives,
an effective project management practice
the greatest maritime disaster in the 20th
works to control the added risks that project
century. Weighing over 45000 tons, the
activity introduces to normal business
Titanic was the largest vessel in the World
practice. Various reports in the past have
to sail on Sea in its time. The passenger
shown that project failures have been on the
facilities aboard Titanic were of the highest
rise. A recent survey report – ‘The 2013
standards of luxury. It was referred to as the
project management survey report by
‘Unsinkable ship’. We shall now dwell in
KPMG’ indicates that while project activity
understanding the various stages of the
is on the rise, so are the failure rates. It is
Titanic project-
thus imperative that we discuss the lessons learnt from the blunders made in the past.
Project Initiation: In the early 1900s the transatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and competitive. White Star and Cunard were the major ship lines vying to transport wealthy travellers and immigrants in this route. In 1907, White Star faced stiff competition when Cunard Lines launched two of its vessels -
Reference:http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dannawi/archive/2009/05/ 15/2009-standish-chaos-report-we-are-successful-in-thefailure.aspx
The lessons learnt can then be used to make project management more effective in the modern business. Mark Kozak Holland, author of the Lessons from History series
2010
2012
Consistently on budget
48%
33%
Consistently on time
36%
29%
Consistently delivering stated deliverables
59%
35%
very rightly says that we should focus on “Lessons from the past that assist the projects of today to shape the World of
Lusitania and the Mauretania. The two ships were poised to set new speed records for crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
30
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Titanic –The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
Special s
Integration
fleet. So it came up with an idea to invest in
analysis showed a 2 year breakeven and 75
emerging technologies in gigantic ships.
% of revenue from was targeted from 1st
The plan was to build three gigantic ships
class.
Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Olympic
Project Financier- JP Morgan funded but
and Titanic projects would run in parallel.
was not thorough in analysis,
Britannic would be built with the profits of
Project Charter- Transform the business
the first two projects. Titanic was built by
and replace the aging fleet. Luxury attracts
Harland & Wolff, one of the premier
over speed.
shipbuilders of the World. Looking to
Project Objectives- Deliver 3 ships in 7
answer his rival, White Star chairman J.
years. Profits from first 2 ships were to be
Bruce Ismay met with William Pirrie, who
used for 3rd ship.
controlled the Harland and Wolff, which
Scope management- Scope was based on
constructed most of White Star's vessels.
scale up of previous ships.
of large liners that would be known for their comfort instead of their speed. Project justification was based on unparalled luxury driving customers back, rather than speed on crossing. Project Planning: The planning phase included the following -
management-
Experience
White Star also needed to replace its aging
The two men devised a plan to build a class
31
March 2014
Profitability
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
Time management- The first two ships
Triple stacked lifeboats, a total of 48
were to be built in parallel, with delivery 9
numbers were used in the design. With so
months apart.
many precautions taken for the safety of the
Cost management- Costs were scaled up based past project experience. Quality management- Harland & Wolff
Titanic –The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
March 2014
had the best reputation for quality &
passengers, there grew a perception within the team that the ship was unsinkable. But the design was compromised by
Changing from 48 to 16 single
craftsmanship, perfect quality standards
lifeboats. This was done due to the
were used in procurement of materials.
perception that having such a large number of lifeboats on the ship would
Human Resources management- The
make
large workforce consisted of sponsors,
it
less
luxurious.
Lifeboat
regulation was outstripped as the ship
operations team - captain, officers, and
needed to have a minimum of 20
crew from White star and the design team
lifeboats as per the increased size of the
& remaining workforce from Harland &
ship. Also, 1178 instead of 3600
Wolff.
lifeboat places were accommodated on Communications, Risk and Procurement
board with the assumption that the ship
management were also taken into account.
would remain afloat for long enough for
Project was signed in April 1907 and construction started with huge project investments reconfiguring the shipyards for the next 50 years.
rescue of the passengers.
To accommodate the dinning salon, largest room ever to go to sea, height of 2 of the 15 feet bulkheads ( every 60 feet) was compromised
Design: Thomas Andrew led the design team. The ship was designed taking into account the non -functional requirement of safety. Ship builder's model was used to test the worst case failure scenarios - like groundings and collisions. A double skin hull was selected for groundings and for collisions 15 vertical bulkheads were designed. There were increased numbers of look-outs in the forepeak and bridge wings.
32
Construction:
Construction
went
on
without any hassles and Olympic was successfully launched. Newspapers spread the word that the ship was 'Practically Unsinkable'. Ismay added safety to size, luxury and comfort in his promotions. Even the fitting out of the Olympic was carried out without any flaws.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Experience
for the project. To catch up on the
Olympic had completed 8 weeks of trial,
lagging project schedule, Titanic’s
and it was then ready for its maiden voyage.
workforce was shifted on Olympic.
Titanic was also launched on the same day.
Project Titanic was cannibalized
(Planning
&
Two spectacular events coincided on the
Titanic –The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
Special s
Execution):
Testing
Olympic hit a floating wreck in Grand
same. Through maximum publicity the
Banks, under the surface and lost a
perception of unsinkable ship was passed
propeller blade. The propeller blade had
on from the core team to the public.
to be repaired. Work on titanic was
During
Titanic’s
fitting
out
Ismay
suggested 3 major changes in the ship:
stopped. While Olympic was being pulled out of dry dock, its port side got grounded. This further delayed Titanic's
- increased class accommodation by 100
schedule, also not much cash was left.
- created cafe parisian - Open promenade deck 'A' to stop sea spray All the above changes were blindly accepted, even though it was affecting project
deadlines.3
major
incidents
happened with the Olympic:
Tug Hallenback was pulled under Olympic's propeller during docking
There was collision between Olympic and Hawke in the Isle of Wight due to Bernoulli effect. Both the ships were severely damaged. Olympics’ 2 aft compartments were flooded, starboard engine stopped working. Propeller blades got damaged, internal frames twisted, propeller shaft got damaged and it could not be repaired (had to be replaced). Cost of repair was 17 % of the original cost of the project. Lead time for new orders would take months. This meant cost and time implications
33
Gurumantra
March 2014
As a result of this delay in the project Olympic, Titanic’s sea trials were cut from 8 weeks to half a day. She went for her maiden voyage as soon as she got her 1 year certificate. Implementation & Operations: There were 100 articles on Olympic, only 30 for Titanic. To revive public interest, Ismay planned the strategy to beat Olympics’ best crossing time. Strategy was to race towards Iceberg Alley, navigate slowly and then speed up again. Officers were aware of French liner Niagara's collision in Iceberg Alley. Titanic left harbour in haste; it pulled New York Liner towards her and broke her moorings. But fortunately the collision was avoided. Lessons from Olympic had not been learned. Officer's still carried on compromised testing to meet the new crossing time record. Lifeboat drill was performed with only one lifeboat. This gave
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
Book Review
it a certificate to sail. 3 feedback
arrived at Halifax port within a few days’
mechanisms were used to alert the
time. Second damage assessment group
proximity of field ice.
reported that pumps were not keeping up
with flood. The compromised design of Lookouts - Lookouts in the crow's nest were missing their binoculars from day1. Officers refused to share theirs,
bulkhead heights increased flooding and after more than an hour the captain ordered that lifeboats be filled.
Titanic –The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
because of rank.
Ice bucket test - Rope was too short to
Major Blunders in the project: The
collect sea water for temperature
Titanic project had a very good business
measurement. Mariner took tap water
model, with the breakeven point being
and fudged the test.
achieved in 2 years and 75 % of the revenue
Wireless Marconigram - It received
being generated from first class. But the
iceberg warnings from other ships but
perception of the core team about Titanic
operators
being an ‘Unsinkable Ship’ led them to
commercial
were traffic.
overloaded
by
Around
250
messages were sent and received. At 7: 30 pm in the evening last ice warnings
Compromises in design and testing.
Elevation of expectations of end
were passed to the bridge, Captain at
deliverable allowed business pressure
dinner. 37 seconds after the lookouts gave a
to override operational procedures.
warning, there was a collision but not
Lack of stakeholder management.
severe. Two damage assessment teams
Further
were sent for inspection. No damage was reported by the first group. Ismay got impatient, and did not wait for the reports from the second assessment team. He assumed that Titanic was safe to sail again. Engine was started and Titanic sailed again.
34
make the following blunders –
compromises
in
the
implementation. References: 1. KPMG Project Management Survey 2013. 2. Project
Management
Blunders
–
This caused the plates to further get
Lessons from the Project that Built,
ruptured and increased flooding. Had it not
Launched and Sank Titanic by Mark
been so at 8 knots the Titanic would have
Kozak Holland.
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Book Review
Project Management Experience in IT
Applications of Project Management Practises in Infosys
Abstract:
Kiran Tippani (pgp13085.kiran@iimraipur.ac.in) Mechanical engineer from VNR VJIET Hyderabad. Experience of around 44 months in Infosys ltd. Interested in Marketing and Operations.
35
Abstract: Every day is a challenge in this business world, there will be many important decisions to be taken, many projects to be initiated or closed, and many deals to be signed. In each of these tasks efficiency and conversion ratio is very important, i.e. out of how many initiations how many are getting closed. Once a project is initiated, it has to go through many different stages crossing several constraints. There is always a risk of the projects getting cancelled or resources ramped down, to avoid these situations projects have to be managed more efficiently, planning and execution should be perfect with “Zero Tolerance level� of errors. This article contains two of the projects I had worked in my IT work experience on how I had effectively implemented project management methods.
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Project Management Experience in IT
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
Introduction:
through effective planning, organizing,
Projects have a defined beginning and an
motivating and controlling the resources.
end, they are designed to meet unique goals
There are many project management
and objectives within the time constraints.
methods, few of them are – Traditional
Most of the projects are repetitive,
Approach,
permanent or semi-permanent. The two
management, Event chain methodology,
forefathers of project management Henry
process based management, Agile project
Gantt and Henri Fayol best known for their
management, Lean project management
work on Gantt’s chart and work break down
and extreme project management.
structure, have contributed so
Critical
chain
Book Review
project
much
towards the project management system.
Traditional Approach:
The basic definition of project management
Project management was developed from
is “Project management is a process or
several domains as civil construction,
activity to meet a unique goal or objective INTIATION •Interactions with clients to exactly know their requirments to avoid rework •Bottom line responsibility of PM team to gather information •Estimate scope of project •Obtain all approvals •Complete all paperwork
PLANNING AND DESIGN •Allocate resources •Prepare team structure •Work breakdown structure of project •Identify deliverables •Prepare all design documents • Back up plan considering all risks
MONITORING AND CONTROLLING
EXECUTION
•Measure the ongoing project activity •Conduct weekly status meetings •Monitor progress with respect to plan and compare with standards •Collect regular feedbacks
(Synchronization is the key) •Direct and manage project execution •Assure quality of deliverables •Manage stakeholders expectation •Thorough testing of deliverables
Delivery / Closure
36
Academia
Industry Article
March 2014
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Project Management Experience in IT
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Special s
Experience
engineering and heavy defence. Traditional
teams. In these meetings all details
Approach is most commonly used project
regarding the current progress of the
management method in the world, it is also
projects, comparison of this progress with
referred as System Development Life Cycle
the pre-planned schedule, other constraints
(SDLC) and in software industry it is used
were all discussed. This project is a clear
as “Waterfall model” approach in handling
example of a waterfall model used in
the projects. The structure of this model is
software companies, the whole structure of
“Initiation,
Design,
initiation, requirement gathering, planning,
Executing, Monitoring and Controlling,
designing, executing, monitoring, rework
Closing or Delivery”.
and delivery, all go in a cyclic manner till
Planning
Project Experience:
and
The project is to
maintain and rewrite a new application for existing legacy code. The biggest challenge we faced is information gathering. The team who wrote the code for this legacy application were long gone from the company,
and
there
is
no
proper
documentation done on that project. Initially the higher management team had taken the requirement specifications and the lower management or floor managers had designed the work breakdown structure and allocated the work packets to each team. The team leads in each team had designed the schedule and estimated work hours for each resource in their team. I was the module lead for 4 membered team, I had to create estimates for all the work packets assigned to my team and send a high level design document with all work packets flow and work structure plans to the clients. Every week there were status meetings with all the clients, other managers and other
37
Gurumantra
March 2014
the project gets completed. Generally long term project use waterfall model, as it carries less risk and burden to the project. The major challenges we faced were – unexpected switching of resources from company to company, the new resources again needs training and lot of time was wasted to get them to speed with remaining team members. We made sure that all the work done in the project is documented properly, and no code gets delivered with bugs. Other important objective to be kept in mind is managing the stakeholders, I have implemented flexi time for the team members so that there will be some resource at all times to handle the showstoppers and to provide continuous support to testing teams and clients. Every day’s efforts are filed and tracked to maintain flaw less budget allocations to the project. In the last i.e. closure stage, the deliverables are tested 3 to 4 times in different levels to check functionality, performance, response time, load/stress
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
handling and bug free before delivering the
project plan, identifying the objectives,
project to clients.
understanding the goals and results which clients were expecting, designing the complete
Agile Project Management:
interaction management, it is typically used in software technology, creative and industries.
This
contrasts
completely from traditional approach. In
Project Management Experience in IT
of
the
project,
gathering the resources, allocation of
Agile project mostly depends on human
marketing
framework
Agile, the whole project is divided into small tasks and executed as the situation demands by continuously adapting to the change rather than a preplanned project. Agile is most of the time used for small term projects which has very less time frame and high cost. Most of the critical projects are done in agile methodology.
resources to teams, documentation of whole project work, planning the schedule of the project and training of team members. Agile project is never a smooth project, there will be daily hurdles on the way, and either it be time or functional constraints. Agile projects are very hectic, as regular interactions with the client or strategy team is must, and regular review of the project progress is done. The major challenges in agile project are that the teams should be highly flexible and adaptive, because the requirements changes almost daily or regularly, the team has to stretch a lot and
Reference: http://www.alginerozan.com/
has to complete the changes required by the Project Experience: In my experience I had worked in an agile project, I was part of the initiation to completion of the project. I had the responsibilities of creating the
38
clients then and there. Very efficient and talented resources are generally taken in these projects, there won’t be much time to document all the activities in these projects.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Project Management Experience in IT
So
39
Interviews
these
projects
Industry Article
mostly
focus
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
on
I had learned so much in these two projects
functionality and performance. Drawbacks
that planning or performing is not just
in these agile projects are that most of the
sufficient for the success of a project, for a
time agile projects either gets cancelled or
project to succeed all the factors should be
ramped down. The reasons are that most of
in sync and maintain the quality of the
the resources feel the pressure of the job,
work. Time, cost, resources, paper work,
daily stretching and reworks, cost piles up
design,
day by day and very less projects get
estimations, integration, avoid rework,
delivered in the right time. The project
multiple testing and delivery on time, these
manager has to ensure the motivational
all factors make a project successful. For
levels of the resources under him and at the
making a project successful, the project
same time monitor and control the flow of
management methods which the company
the project as per the preplanned schedule.
follows should be effective and efficient.
training,
communication,
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Mumbai International Airport terminal 2 Experience
Mumbai International Airport Terminal II Experience
Amit Gandhi (pgp13017.amit@iimraipur.ac.in) Mechanical engineer from Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technology Mumbai Experience of around 22 months in Blue Star
40
Interested in Operations.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Prime
Industry Article
Minister
Manmohan
Academia
Singh
inaugurated the Mumbai International Airport Terminal 2 (MIAL T2) on 10th Jan’ 14 and it will be fully functional from 12thFeb
2014.
Creating
a
unified
environment to establish an emotional bond with travellers. Every element of the airport
Mumbai International Airport terminal 2 Experience
is tailored to the aesthetic preferences of our
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
especially the temperature, moisture in air, velocity of air flowing. Blue Star Ltd. had won the contract worth Rs
93
Crore
for
Centralized
this project. It was a great challenge to execute this project. I was responsible for all
the outsourced
travellers.
material
Through
required
creative
HVAC in this
of the space is
project
to
of
fixtures
and
fittings
and
right
from enquiry
incorporate a mosaic
for
installation of
design, much
modified
Air
conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) of
target
to delivery of material Reference:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=347144&page= 488
reveals architectural details. The airport appeal is integrated into a variety of creative vignettes and displays designed that represent various aspects of the Indian culture. The airport covers floor area of 439,000 m2 (4,730,000 sq. ft.) with capacity of 40 million passenger per annum. This space is divided into departures, arrival gates and is designed ergonomically and has a high aesthetic appeal. An important part of this project was to ensure that the aesthetic appeal is maintained to the highest standard. Cooling is one of the features that was given prime importance in the project
41
March 2014
on
time including the
payment
for suppliers. Timely Delivery with Best Negotiated price along with Best Industry Standards of specified products / material was my role as Sr. Engineer in procurement for this project. It’s very difficult to achieve all the three, but with proper planning and your relations with supplier’s you can achieve it. It was great challenge to make relations with suppliers with maintaining cash flow required by company & bargaining with suppliers having just 10 months of experience before this project. There were more than 300 worker’s working
in
this
project
for HVAC
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Industry Article
Interviews
Academia
Experience
and company, it was like managing supply
material shortage was huge cost to
and demand. Ultimately my experience
company. This project also taught me the
say’s your relation with supplier is key for
optimizing cost of inventories for C class
win-win situation for any buyer in any
(low value) materials while delivering A &
industry.
(Just In time).
More than 5000 types of material with 200+ Suppliers made job more challenging to
Mumbai International Airport terminal 2 Experience
Special s
dependent on material supply, so a single
B class (High value) JIT
keep a track of materials required for this project. The negotiating techniques were used while finalizing order:
Learning from this project is very difficult to share and without good team coordination is not possible to complete any project. I thank my entire MIAL team for supporting me for this project. Special thanks to Project Manager Mr. Ashish
Anchoring
Jain, Sr. Manager Mr. Mayur Mehta &
Bulking
Mr. Karan Kalra and Site Engineer Mr.
Rate Contracts
Mohammad Sameer & Mr Navnath
Reverse Costing
Hadavale for giving me the opportunity for
Reverse Auction
executing this project.
Bidding
For details on project:
As any other project event this project was not an exception of dynamicity. The bottleneck’s shifted from one material to other due to change in specification, quantity, delay in sample approval, invoice booking. Even strike from transporters, supplier
not
supplying.
Effect
of
International price of commodities (London Metal Exchange) & Exchange rate was also clearly visible not only on cost price of the material imported but even from domestic market. How does monopoly, oligopoly and competition effect the cost was clearly visible while bargaining. Being a buyer it my task to make a balance between supplier
42
Gurumantra
March 2014
1. http://www.storypick.com/seen-brandnew-terminal-t2-mumbai-airportprepared-go-wow/ 2. http://www.bluestarindia.com/pressroo m/default.asp#96 3. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/sl ideshows/infrastructure/mumbaiairports-t2-set-to-outshine-delhis-t3/xshaped-terminaldesign/slideshow/19090787.cms 4. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/sl ideshows/infrastructure/mumbaiairports-new-t2-beautiful-interiorshots/beautifully-litt2/slideshow/28672488.cms
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
Book Review
Small Wonder The making of NANO
Small Wonder - The Making Of Nano
Rishab Raj (pgp13104.rishab@iimraipur.ac.in) He has completed his graduation in mechanical Engineering from BITS Pillani. He is having around 35 months of experience in Bharat Petroleum Corporation limited.
43
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Small Wonder The making of NANO
Student Article
44
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
A visionary businessman, caught up in the
as to how the team had jelled together in the
traffic of Bangalore, notices an entire
earlier days through informal meetings,
family on a scooter and thinks of creating a
assumed innovative techniques as target
people’s car for the Indian market.
costing to keep the product in the one lakh
Thereafter began a decade long journey for
barrier and also how they had a moving
India’s most powerful business house, one
target approach as they had no standards to
that would bring India on the map of world
look up to. The authors have also clearly
automobile industry. The book talks about
described the cost and time constraints
the nano story right from the inception of
which the project faced at times getting into
the idea to the execution part and challenges
the technicalities of the project but all has
faced during the same. The book mentions
been explained in a simple language. The
a series of chronological events along with
way the book links the learnings from the
opinions by top management involved in
TATA Ace; TATA Indica projects to the
the TATA NANO project.
making of the Nano helps one know the
The authors have tried to show the real picture behind the success of TATA Nano and also to make people aware of the kind of effort that goes into the making of a successful product. The way the book brings out the main protagonists of the
importance of flexibility and innovation. The different ideas such as distributed manufacturing, limited suppliers, supplier flexibility, and inbound logistics all keep the reader interested and also involved as to how the final picture turns out to be.
project namely Mr.Ravi Kant, Managing
But the book loses out on certain fronts. The
director of company’s commercial vehicles
Singur plant story and the issues faced have
division; Mr,Girish Wagh , pioneer of
not been clearly mentioned. Major focus
TATA Ace project ; Ramakrishna , Chief
has been on the protests that took place but
Financial Officer and their roles in moving
appropriate
the project forward is commendable. Not
actually did to alleviate the issue has not
only these few but many others have been
been mentioned. This makes the reader feel
mentioned who hold key responsibilities in
discontent especially when the build-up up
areas such as manufacturing , marketing ,
to that point has been so good. Another
sourcing etc. to make one realise that it is
drawback which one can find in the book is
not only the leadership that counts but the
the improper description of the shifting of
team as well. The book gives a lot of insight
the plant. Shifting of a fully-built passenger
mention
of
what
TATA
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Small Wonder The making of NANO
Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
car plant from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat
description of the TATA Nano launch story
— a distance of about 2,000 km. That
and the world’s reaction to it especially the
journey — undertaken by over 3,340 trucks
part where bringing India on the world
using 495 containers over seven months
automobile industry map is mentioned.
certainly deserved a worthwhile mention.
Adding to this, the reaction from the first
This was an intricate operation. The team
few owners of the Tata Nano who were
zeroed in on two routes — Kolkata-Agra-
chosen by a lucky draw also lend an
Jaipur-Ahmedabad with a distance of 2,163
emotional touch to the book. The strategies
kilometres and Kolkata-Raipur-Nagpur-
implemented,
Ahmedabad which was 1,843 kilometres.
companies acquired and other stories
However, a highway survey was conducted
regarding TATA Motors explain as to how
through trial runs on both the stretches and
important the success of the project really
what they concluded was startling: the
was to the company.
longer route had only 390 km of singlecarriage road, while the shorter route had 1,633 km of single-carriage road. The road survey also revealed that the shorter route was more prone to accidents (because of many narrow and weak bridges) and had more security problems on road, while the longer route had better infrastructure and support system through the entire stretch. The cost and time (ten days for each truck) taken to travel through the longer route would be more but the team opted for it since the primary objective was to transport the equipment safely. There are several other aspects of this critical operation which are missing in the book.
shortcomings
with
an
projects
launched,
All in all, the book gives you a fair, unbiased picture of the TATA Nano story. The book has its ups and downs but maintains a constant pace not letting the reader feel stagnant at any point of time. Projects catering to projects sometimes tend to go into intricacies too much which are unwanted and act as distractions for the reader. The book is highly recommended especially for the future engineers and managers as it lets you know the importance
of
flexibility,
innovation,
decision making and time aspects of a project. The book especially makes you feel proud as an Indian company was never been seen as technological leader by the world in
The book however makes up for the
45
March 2014
enthralling
automobile industry.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014
Gurumantra
Special s
Experience
Crossword 1
2
3
4
5
CROSSWORD
6
8
9
7
10 11
12 13 14 15
17
18
16
19
20
EclipseCrossword.com
Across The Palm Islands project in the coastline of Dubai was concerned with building an ____ began in 2001. 5. The crucial component of the PPT triangle in project management is 9. The_____ is a mega project that will become the longest man-made canal (75km) on completion. 12. _______ is a mega project which was a major blunder in the history of project management and referred as "The Unsinkable ship" 13. The stage in team management where the rules are communicated and the productivity of the team is increasing is called _____ 14. The steel required for the construction of the Chenab bridge was procured from Bhilai 3.
46
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
15. 17. 19. 20.
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014 Special s
Experience
plant of ______ The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), known unofficially as Boston's ______ , was the expensive public works project of The US. This famous German car company BMW is pursuing research in mobility for future related to______management _____ facilitates employee sharing across different locations in a cost effective manner for a project. The project which was completed in 1010 AD by Rajarajan I of the Chola dynasty and is a UNESCO world heritage site.
CROSSWORD
Down 1. 2. 4. 6. 7. 8. 10. 11. 16. 18.
47
_____ development philosophy focusses on minimizing or eliminating the wastages in the project. The project of building three ships Olympic,Titanic and Britannic was taken up by_____ _______ canal is named as one of the seeven wonders of modern world by American Society of Civil Engineers handling about 815000 vessels every year. The wind farm project completed within a year by Meridian energy in the southern hemisphere by employing right project tools and techniques. ________ is a method of shortening the project duration by reducing the time taken for one or more activities in the projectwhile minimizing the cost The new method of excavation used in Pir panjal tunnel is _____ ______ bridge is a 2000crore project and will be the world's highest bridge on completion. _____ dam was China's largest engineering marvel after the The Great Wall of China This company is credited for developing Critical path method This multinational automobile company has decided to make India its global production base for compact cars through its project codenamed as B562.
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2 Student Article
Interviews
Industry Article
Academia
March 2014 Special s
Gurumantra
Experience
Answers 1
2
L
W
E
H
3
A R T
I
F
I
C
I
A L
I
N
T 4
5
P
P E O P L E 6
CROSSWORD
A N 8
9
N
S L A N D
7
T E
C
S
R
A R A B
I
T 10
A N C A N A L 11
A 12
T
I
M
P
T A N
I
S C
H
H
R
T
E
H
13
M
T 14
S A
I
I L
N G
17
B R
I
R
A
E
15
B
I
16
G D
I
G
E
U
G
V P M
O
O
O
R
R
N
G
18
T R A F F
20
N O R M
I
C
19
H A D E E S W A R A R T E M P L E S
EclipseCrossword.com
48
Book Review
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
Team Anubhav Sood
Manoj H
Subhash Kumar
Sujitha Tikka
Thousif Mohammed A
49
Bharath Arava
Gautham Jayan
Ruchi Sao
Sameer Pandey
Vanamamalai. R
March 2014
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2
March 2014
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
For details, contact: Operations & Supply Chain Club Indian Institute of Management Raipur GEC Campus, Old Dhamtari Road, Sejbahar Raipur 492015, India Email Id: opep@iimraipur.ac.in
50