Project Based Management

Question: Write an essay on "Project Based Management". Answer: 1. Introduction Project management is defined as that particular discipline of management studies that deals with the initiation, planning, execution, control and management of all the activities that are essential for meeting a set of objectives and goals, in accordance to a predefined success criteria. Researchers Hwang et al. (2012) are of the opinion that the word project is used to define temporary endeavors aimed at developing specific and unique products or services. Thus project are generally characterized with a beginning and end date: the entire time span in between these two dates being allocate to the management of the tools and techniques being used by the project team to meet the goals of the project. Researcher Turner (2014) has commented that this very temporary nature of a project generates several challenges in the process of managing it: the primary challenge being the adherence to the success criteria and fulfilling the goals while overcoming the financial, environmental and tech nological constraints associated with the project itself. Yet another school of scholars are of the opinion that amidst the various constraints associated with a project, the scope, budget, time and quality of the end products should be considered as the primary constraints, whereas allocating the available project resources is the secondary constraint: the primary challenge of project manager is reach the project goals while maintaining a balance between the above mentioned set of constraints (Kerzner 2013). The primary objective of this report is to provide an insight into the project management procedures being utilized in the construction sector. The case study of a construction project has been chosen, with the aim of gaining information on the organizational background and the environment of the project. The report would also shed light on the project management procedures that are generally utilized in similar projects, with the aim of comparing the identified methods with those that have been utilized in the project under consideration. Finally, recommendations would be provided to the project managers regarding the optimal utilization of the selected project management strategies. This report explains the background of the project with clear justifications. Audience and project management plan is also analyzes in this report. Apart from that, based on the identified loopholes, certain recommendations have been made to overcome the possible options to mitigate. 2. Background and environment of project The project in consideration is aimed at the seismic strengthening of a residential complex located at the Wellington city, New Zealand (Mirzaei and Mabin 2014). It is a well known fact that the entire country, being located in the Pacific ring of fire, is prone to severe earthquakes, which might lead to the loss of money and lives alike: thus, the seismic strengthening of old buildings are some of the mostly commonly conducted construction projects of this region. The building under consideration was constructed in 1978: the 15 storied building has been leased to several families, all of whom had agreed on the conduction of the project. An assessment of the seismic strength of the building was conducted prior to the commencement of the building ( since the building does not adhere to the New Building Standards): the results indicated that the seismic performance of the said building was approximately 70 percent of the said standard (Mirzaei and Mabin 2014). Needless to say, the value was satisfactory (taking into consideration the age of the building and the fact the construction processes used in developing the building were much different from those defined in the Building Standards). It has already been mentioned that Wellington City lies in an earthquake prone region: thus buildings constructed in this region have to abide by the New Building Standards which predicts the chances of life safety in case of earthquakes occurring once in 500 years. Thus, the building in consideration was not being considered as earthquake risky or earth quake prone in accordance to the guidelines of New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering. However, the owners of the said building were interested in strengthening the building to an extent such that it is capable of achieving a hundred percent mark on the NBS levels. The building owners were of the opinion that the seismic strengthening of the building would not only reduce the chances of loss of money and lives due to earthquakes in the near future, but would help in retaining the interest of the tenants in the said building (Mirzaei and Mabin 2014). Thus, it can be concluded that the owners of the building were aimed at securing the financial value of the building, along with its architectural structure through the project (Kerzner 2013). 3. Audience and structure of the PMP The following section of the report is aimed highlighting the audience of the PMP process (that is the stakeholders associated with the project), along with the project management plans that were utilized in the construction project under consideration. Discussions would be made on the various information requirements of the stakeholders (section 3.1), along with the modes to be used in sharing such information. Information regarding the PMP process would be discussed in Section 3.2 of the report. 3.1 Audience of PMP: 3.1.1The intended audience for the PMP Researcher Burke (2013) is of the opinion that the stakeholders associated with any construction project can be classified into the following groups: The client: According to Walker (2015), since construction projects are conducted with the aim fulfilling the business requirements of any individual or an organization, the said client is considered as the primary stakeholder of the project, besides being one of the key audiences of the PMP. The project under consideration was initiated at the interest of the owners of the residential complex and thus are being considered as the primary stakeholder of the entire project (Verzuh 2015). The consultants: According to Kerzner (2013), the construction and legal consultants associated with any project need to be considered as the stakeholders of the project. The information provided in the case study indicates that the consulting firm associated with the project played a dual role: the representatives of the organization were to play the role of the construction consultants, beside being the project management consultant of the very same project (Mirzaei and Mabin 2014). As the sole construction consultant of the project, the said firm was responsible for the advising the constructional and architectural changes to be included in the building so as to fulfil the objectives of these seismic strengthening project. On the other hand, as the project management consultant of the project they were responsible for managing the scope of the project, along with the activities associated with the project, the budget of the project and risks associated with it (Phillips 2013). Besides this, the project manager appointed by the consultant firm was also responsible for meeting the expectations of the clients and the other stakeholders of the project. The project under consideration had no formal legal consultant associated with it: the legal procedures associated with the project were managed by the representatives of the construction consultancy firm. The project manager: It has already been mentioned that the construction consultancy firm itself had appointed one of their representatives as the manager of the project. The said project manager was responsible for the following activities associated with the project: The management of all the administration of all the administration and the engagement of all the stakeholders associated with the project (Turner 2014). The management of the expectations of the stakeholders associated with the project. The documentation of the entire project (Phillips 2013). The reporting process associated with the project. Figure 1: The intended audience for the PMP In addition to the above mentioned groups, the following stakeholders were also associated with the project in consideration: The tenants: According to the information provided in the case study, the first six levels of the building were occupied by several families, the 7 floor being solely occupied by one of the major tenants: the other two floors were unaccented at the time the project initiated (Mirzaei and Mabin 2014). The families residing in the complex added further constraints the seismic strengthening process as the project team had to face several restrictions while moving their tools and bringing about structural changes in the said floors. As for example, the major tenant solely occupying the seventh floor was an IT professional and all the construction works associated with the project had to be constructed with without making any alterations to their delicate IT infrastructure. Contractors: Researcher Heagney (2012)is of the opinion that the contractors associated with a construction project should also be considered as the stakeholders of the project. According to the information available in the case study, the following contractors were associated with the project: The building contractor (Mirzaei and Mabin 2014). The fire engineering specialists 3.1.2The information requirement of the audience The information requirement of the above mentioned stakeholders is being depicted in the following table: Sl. No Stakeholder Information requirement Mode of sharing 1 The client i. The progress reports of the project ii. The financial reports of the project (Chia 2013). iii. The final NBS assessment report i. Monthly reports sent by official mails ii. Monthly reports sent by official mails iii. Presented at the end of the project, during the project closure phase 2 The consultants i. The progress reports of the project ii. The financial reports of the project (Crawford 2014). i. Well documented reports generated twice in a month (Heldman 2013). ii. Well documented reports generated twice in a month 3 The project manager i. The progress reports of the project ii. The financial reports of the project i. Well documented weekly reports ii. Well documented weekly reports 4 The tenants i. Changes being incorporated in specific sections of the building ii. Tentative date from when the project starts iii. Tentative date when the project ends i. Information to be shared at the very beginning of the project. ii. Information to be shared at the very beginning of the project. iii. Information to be shared as and when requested (Crawford 2014). 5 Contractors i. Changes being incorporated in specific sections of the building ii. Any changes in the scope of the project iii. Occurrence of any accidental or unwanted incident (Heldman 2013). i. Information to be shared at the very beginning of the project. ii. As and when required iii. As and when required Table 1: The information requirement of the stakeholders 3.2 Structure of the PMP 3.2.1 Established structure of PMP AuthorsHwang et al. (2012) have commented that the Project Management Framework recommends any project, irrespective of its size and aim, should be conducted through the following five phases: Project initiation: Researchers Pemsel and Wiewiora (2013) are of the opinion that the project initiation is the very first phase of any project and the primary objective of this phase is to develop a broad level definition of the project. Out of the various activities performed in this stage, the development of the business case, defining the scope and objective of the project and conducting the feasibility test of the project are considered as the most critical activities. Project Planning: The primary objective of this project is to develop the blueprint that would be followed throughout the project. The following tools are used for developing the said blueprints: Work Breakdown Schedule or a WBS helps in defining the activities associated with the project (Teller, Kock and Gemnden 2014). Milestones are used to define the high level goals of a project that need to be met so as to conduct the project in a successful manner. Figure 2: Established structure of PMP It is worth mentioning the steps need to be conducted in accordance to the precedence mentioned in the list. Researchers Young (2013), on the other hand mention that the above mentioned steps must ensure the management of the under mentioned domains of the project: Project Communications Management b.. Project Cost Management Project Human Resource Management (Shields and Rangarajan 2013). Project Integration Management Project Procurement Management Project Quality Management Project Risk Management Project Scope Management (Fewings 2013). Project Stakeholder Management Project Time Management 3.2.2 PMP structured in the domain of construction Expert in the domain of construction management are of the opinion that most construction projects initiate with the process of biding: the term being used to refer the process using which construction consultants inform client organizations of the probable budgetary requirements of a specific project (Hill 2013). The authors also mention that the initiation phase of the project starts only after a successful bidding process. According to researcher Flyvbjerg (2013) construction projects primarily consist of the following phases: a. Project initiation: According to Svejvig and Andersen (2015) this particular phase of any construction project s utilized for the conduction of the feasibility studies associated with the project. Project planning: The final roadmap for the entire project is developed during this particular phase of the project (Too and Weaver 2014). Execution phase: The work activities associated with the project are performed in this particular stage. Performance monitoring and controlling: The project execution and the performance monitoring phase of the project are conducted in parallel with the later being aimed at ensuring the project progresses in accordance to the blueprints developed in the planning phase (Teller et al. 2012). Closure: This phase of the project denotes the completion of the project. 4. Contents of the PMP Sections under Consideration Domain Percentage of Test Item Project initiation 12% Project planning 22% Execution phase 28% Performance monitoring and controlling 21% Closure 7% Table 2: PMP Content Outline The information provided in the case study indicates that the following project management procedures were used in project: Project initiation: It has already been mentioned that the New Building Standards evaluation of the residential building was conducted even before the project actually started. The results of this very test were utilized in the planning stage of the project so as to identify the activities require for strengthening the building (Budayan, Dikmen and Birgonul 2015). Project planning: The case study indicates that the architectural plans to be utilized in the project were developed in this particular phase, along with the development of the various work plans and strategies required for the successful completion of the project. Execution phase: The entire project was conducted in accordance to the blueprints developed in the previous stage. Besides this, the project team had to overcome the various constraints that they experienced because of the families residing in the building (Too and Weaver 2014). Performance monitoring and controlling: The information provided in the case study indicates that the methodology popularly termed as the critical chain project management was utilized for conducting the project efficiently. The application of the appropriate performance monitoring and controlling methods ensured that the project progressed in accordance to the blueprints developed in the planning phase (Shields and Rangarajan 2013). Closure: As mentioned in section 3.1 of the report, the responsibility of conducting the reporting and documentation activities of the project lied solely on the shoulders of the project manager. Thus, it can be said that the project manager appointed by the construction consultancy was responsible for the project closure phase. The following management procedures were utilized in the project: Project cost management: The entire project required around $ 10000 to complete. The entire task of managing the costs associated with the project was taken up by the project contractor. The following activities were associated with the management of project cost: Developing the budget of the project Considering the costs associated with the human resources of the project (Heldman 2013). Monitoring the cash flow of the project. Quality management: The project contractor was associated with the task of quality management of the project (Kerzner 2013). The guidelines of NBS were followed and in the final stage of the project, the entire building had to be accredited by the NBS. 5. Conclusions and Recommendations The above sections of the report provides an insight into the various aspects associated with a project aimed at increasing the seismic strength a building located in Wellington City: the building being built in before the NBS construction standards were defined. The stakeholders associated with the project have been identified, along with the project management information that has to be shared with them: besides emphasizing on the PMP methodologies used in the project. In the light of the discussions made in the section above, it can be concluded that all standard PMP methodologies were utilized in conducting the project in consideration: it was the strong adherence to the project management plans that helped the project team to avoid the various constraints during the course of the constriction. However, the following recommendations are being made to the managers associated with similar projects so as to enhancing efficiency: CCPM approach instead of traditional methods: It has been mentioned that the project utilized CCPM methods of management. The success of the project indicates that this method should be utilized in all construction projects instead of traditional approaches. 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