The first challenge of project management is ensuring that a project is delivered within the defined constraints. The second, more ambitious, challenge is the optimized allocation and integration of the inputs needed to meet those pre-defined objectives. The project, therefore, is a carefully selected set of activities chosen to use resources (time, money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, quality, risk, etc.) to meet the pre-defined objectives.

The Project Manager

Project Management is quite often the province and responsibility of an individual project manager. This individual seldom participates directly in the activities that produce the end result, but rather strives to maintain the progress and productive mutual interaction of various parties in such a way that overall risk of failure is reduced.

Any type of product or service - buildings, vehicles, electronics, computer software, financial services, etc. - may have its implementation overseen by a project manager and its operations by a product manager.

The Traditional Triple Constraints

Like any human undertaking, projects need to be performed and delivered under certain constraints. Traditionally, these constraints have been listed as: scope, time, and cost. A further refinement separates product 'quality' or 'performance' from scope, and turns quality into a fourth constraint.

The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers to what must be done to produce the project's end result. These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.

The discipline of project management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the project team (not just the project manager) to organize their work to meet these constraints.

Time

Broken down for analytical purposes into the time required to complete the components of the project, which is then further broken down into the time required to complete each task contributing to the completion of each component.

Cost

Cost to develop a project depends on several variables including (chiefly): labor rates, material rates, risk management, plant (buildings, machines, etc.), equipment, and profit. When hiring an independent consultant for a project, cost will typically be determined by the consultant's or firm's per diem rate multiplied by an estimated quantity for completion.

Scope

Requirements specified for the end result. The overall definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish, and a specific description of what the end result should be or accomplish. A major component of scope is the quality of the final product. The amount of time put into individual tasks determines the overall quality of the project. Some tasks may require a given amount of time to complete adequately, but given more time could be completed exceptionally. Over the course of a large project, quality can have a significant impact on time and cost (or vice versa).

Project Management activities

Project Management is composed of several different types of activities such as:

1.             Planning the work or objectives

2.             Analysis & Design of objectives

3.             Assessing and mitigating risk

4.             Estimating resources

5.             Allocation of resources

6.             Organizing the work

7.             Acquiring human and material resources

8.             Assigning tasks

9.             Directing activities

10.          Controlling project execution

11.          Tracking and Reporting progress

12.          Analyzing the results based on the facts achieved

Project Management artifacts

All successful projects adequately document objectives and deliverables. These documents are a mechanism to align sponsors, clients, and project team's expectations.

1.             Project Charter

2.             Business case/Feasibility Study

3.             Scope Statement

4.             Work Breakdown Structure

5.             Change Control Plan

6.             Risk Management Plan

7.             Communications Plan

8.             Governance Model

9.             Risk Register

10.          Issue Log

11.          Resource Management Plan

12.          Project Schedule

13.          Status Report

14.          Gantt Chart

15.          Responsibility assignment matrix

16.          Database of risks

17.          Database of lessons learned

18.          Stakeholder Analysis

These documents are normally hosted on a shared resource (i.e., intranet web page) and are available for review by the project's stakeholders. Changes or updates to these documents are explicitly outlined in the project's configuration management (or change control plan).

Project control variables

Project Management tries to gain control over variables such as risk:

Potential points of failure: Most negative risks (or potential failures) can be overcome or resolved, given enough planning capabilities, time, and resources. According to some definitions (including PMBOK Third Edition) risk can also be categorized as "positive--" meaning that there is a potential opportunity, e.g., complete the project faster than expected.

Customers (either internal or external project sponsors), external organizations (such as government agencies and regulators) can dictate the extent of three variables: time, cost, and scope. The remaining variable (risk) is managed by the project team, ideally based on solid estimation and response planning techniques. Through a negotiation process among project stakeholders, an agreement defines the final objectives, in terms of time, cost, scope, and risk, usually in the form of a charter or contract.

To properly control these variables a good project manager has a depth of knowledge and experience in these four areas (time, cost, scope, and risk), and in six other areas as well: integration, communication, human resources, quality assurance, schedule development, and procurement.

Approaches

There are several approaches that can be taken to managing project activities including agile, iterative, incremental, and phased approaches.

Regardless of the approach employed, careful consideration needs to be given to clarify surrounding project objectives, goals, and importantly, the roles and responsibilities of all participants and stakeholders.

The traditional approach

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the traditional approach, we can distinguish 5 components of a project (4 stages plus control) in the development of a project:

1.             project initiation stage;

2.             project planning and design stage;

3.             project production or execution stage;

4.             project monitoring or controlling systems;

5.             project completion stage.

Not all projects will visit every stage as projects can be terminated before they reach completion. Some projects probably don't have the planning and/or the monitoring. Some projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Many industries utilize variations on these stages. For example, in bricks and mortar architectural design, projects typically progress through stages like Pre-Planning, Conceptual Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Drawings (or Contract Documents), and Construction Administration. In software development, this approach is often known as Rational Unified Process (RUP) traditionally known as 'waterfall development' i.e. one series of tasks after another in linear sequence. Waterfall development can work for small tightly defined projects, but for larger projects of undefined or unknowable scope, it is less suited. While the names may differ from industry to industry, the actual stages typically follow common steps to problem solving--defining the problem, weighing options, choosing a path, implementation and evaluation.

Critical chain

Critical chain is an extension to the traditional critical path method.

In critical studies of project management, it has been noted that several of these fundamentally PERT-based models are not well suited for the multi-project company environment of today. Most of them are aimed at very large-scale, one-time, non-routine projects, and nowadays all kinds of management are expressed in terms of projects. Using complex models for "projects" (or rather "tasks") spanning a few weeks has been proven to cause unnecessary costs and low maneuverability in several cases. Instead, project management experts try to identify different "lightweight" models, such as, for example Extreme Programming for software development and Scrum techniques. The generalization of Extreme Programming to other kinds of projects is extreme project management, which may be used in combination with the process modeling and management principles of human interaction management.

Process-based (agile) management

Also furthering the concept of project control is the incorporation of process-based management. This area has been driven by the use of Maturity models such as the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) and ISO/IEC15504 (SPICE - Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination), which have been far more successful.

Agile project management approaches based on the principles of human interaction management are founded on a process view of human collaboration. This contrasts sharply with traditional approach. In the agile software development or flexible product development approach, the project is seen as a series of relatively small tasks conceived and executed as the situation demands in an adaptive manner, rather than as a completely pre-planned process.

Project systems

As mentioned above, traditionally, project development includes five elements: control systems and four stages.

Project control systems

Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time, and within budget. Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-implementation review, having a thorough involvement of each step in the process. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed, too much control is too time consuming, too little control is too costly. Clarifying the cost to the business if the control is not implemented in terms of errors, fixes, and additional audit fees.

Control systems are needed for cost, risk, quality, communication, time, change, procurement, and human resources. In addition, auditors should consider how important the projects are to the financial statements, how reliant the stakeholders are on controls, and how many controls exist. Auditors should review the development process and procedures how they are implemented. The process of development and the quality of the final product may also be assessed if needed or requested. A business may want the auditing firm to be involved throughout the process to catch problems earlier on so that they can be fixed more easily. An auditor can serve as a controls consultant as part of the development team or as an independent auditor as part of an audit.

Businesses sometimes use formal systems development processes. These help assure that systems are developed successfully. A formal process is more effective in creating strong controls, and auditors should review this process to confirm that it is well designed and is followed in practice. A good formal systems development plan outlines:

·          A strategy to align development with the organization’s broader objectives

·          Standards for new systems

·          Project management policies for timing and budgeting

·          Procedures describing the process

Project development stages

Regardless of the methodology used, the project development process will have the same major stages: initiation, development, production or execution, and closing/maintenance.

Initiation

The initiation stage determines the nature and scope of the development. If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’s needs. The key project controls needed here is an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

The initiation stage should include a cohesive plan that encompasses the following areas:

·          Study analyzing the business needs in measurable goals.

·          Review of the current operations.

·          Conceptual design of the operation of the final product.

·          Equipment requirement.

·          Financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget.

·          Select stake holders, including users, and support personnel for the project.

Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule.

Planning and design

After the initiation stage, the system is designed, occasionally a small prototype of the final product is built and tested. Testing is generally performed by a combination of testers and end users, and can occur after the prototype is built or concurrently. Controls should be in place that ensures that the final product will meet the specifications of the project charter. The results of the design stage should include:

·          A product that satisfies the project sponsor, end user, and business requirements.

·          Functions as it was intended.

·          Can be produced within quality standards.

·          Can be produced with time and budget.

Production or execution

The execution stage includes the actual implementation of the design or plan. In software systems, this includes conversion (transfer of data from an old system to a new system), documentation, and training. From an auditor's perspective, training is also important because it helps users use the software correctly. The bulk of the project's work and largest capital expenditure is realized in this stage.

Closing and Maintenance

Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned.

Maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:

·          Continuing support of end users

·          Correction of errors

·          Updates of the software over time

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved.

---