FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF

TRANSPORTATION, DAURA

TMS 113 PRINCIPLES OF

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

2023/2024 Academic Session

TMS 113: Principles of Project Management
Learning Outcomes
This course covers fundamentals of project management. At the end of
this course, students will be able to:

1. Define the concept and purpose of project management

2. Identify the processes and actors in project management
3. Demonstrate a working knowledge of key project management
methods
4. Describe the tools and techniques used in project management
5. Identify projects bottle neck and possible solutions

Course Contents
1. The Concept of Project Management – Definition, Purpose and
History Of PM
2. Processes & Actors of project delivery within any project
management environment.
3. The tools and techniques used in project management.
4. Traditional and contemporary project management methods
5. projects bottle neck and possible solutions.
6. Project life cycle

2
 Table of Contents
TOPIC 1 – CONCEPT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................................... 4
What is a project? ........................................................................................................... 4
Distinction between project and process ................................................................. 5
Definition – Project Management .............................................................................. 5
Measures of Project Success ........................................................................................ 7
When do we use project management? ..................................................................... 7
Why do we use project management?........................................................................ 7
Who uses project management? .................................................................................. 7
Responsibilities of the Project Manager .................................................................. 8
The Bottom Line ............................................................................................................. 8
Terminology and Definitions ...................................................................................... 8
Recommended resources: ............................................................................................. 9

3
TOPIC 1 – CONCEPT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

This topic is intended to introduce you to the main concept and philosophy of
project management in general, the use and purpose of the main project
management standards.

It is common that every business faces a situation that compels a change. Some of
these changes usually are starting a new office, launching a new product or
service, improving an existing work process, installing a new computer system,
merging with another company, moving to a new location, entering a new market,
meeting a social need and so on. These changes are necessary to meet operational
or strategic goals of an organisation. Projects are the instruments by which an
organisations accomplish their strategic objectives. Project Management drives
change.

What is a project?

A project is a unique, transient endeavour, undertaken to achieve planned

objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits. A
project is usually deemed to be a success if it achieves the objectives according to
their acceptance criteria, within an agreed timescale and budget. Time, cost and
quality are the building blocks of every project.

A project is a [temporary] sequence of unique, complex, and connected tasks,

activities and deliverables having one goal or purpose and that must be completed
by specific time, within budget, and according to specification. They are temporary
efforts to create value through unique products, services and processes.

PMBOK® defines project as a temporary endeavour to create a unique product,

service, or result. A project can be seen as a new time-bound effort with several
related and/or interdependent tasks to create a unique product or service that adds
value. As it is a new effort, often, we do not have complete knowledge or experience
about planning and executing the project. Projects are characterised with
unknown factors and ambiguity, which delay the development of detailed scope
and specifications to later stages of project planning. Further, any project requires
resources such as materials, tools, equipment, and people to execute it.
Considering these additional facets of a project and to extend the definition of a
project further, project can be considered as a complex, non-routine, one-time effort
limited by time, budget, resources, and performance specifications designed to meet
customer needs and add value to all key stakeholders.

Generally, projects can be said to contain some or all of the following

characteristics,
1) a project is a unique undertaking: each one will differ from every other in
some respect
2) projects have specific objectives (or goals) to be achieved
3) projects require resources
4) multiple activities which are performed to a plan
5) projects have budgets

4
 6) projects have time schedules – defined beginning and end
7) projects require the effort of people
8) measures of quality will apply
Two essential features are present in every project no matter how simple or
complicated they are. In the first place, all projects must be planned out in
advance if they are to be successfully executed. Secondly, the execution of the
project must be controlled to ensure that the desired results are achieved.
All of us have been involved in projects, whether they be our personal projects or
in business and industry. Examples of typical projects are:

• Personal projects:
Ø obtain an MBA
Ø write a report
Ø plan a wedding
Ø plant a garden
Ø build a house extension

• Industrial projects:
Ø construct a building
Ø provide a gas supply to an industrial estate
Ø build a motorway
Ø design a new car

• Business projects:
Ø develop a new course
Ø develop a new computer system/software
Ø introduce a new product
Ø prepare an annual report
Ø set up a new office
Ø geographical sales expansion
Distinction between project and process

It is important to understand the distinction between a project and process.

Process is repetitive in nature with clearly defined procedures and outcomes. A
process will yield the same result be it a product or a service. Project, on the other
hand, is unique and new by definition. So, outcome of a project would always be
new and unique. However, project is executed through project management
processes and project deliverable-oriented processes.

Definition – Project Management

Project management is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge

and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project
acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final
deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget.

A key factor that distinguishes project management from just 'management' is

that it has this final deliverable and a finite timespan, unlike management which

5
is an ongoing process. Because of this, a project professional needs a wide range of
skills; often technical skills, and certainly people management skills and good
business awareness.

*Definition from APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition

Project management often is associated with fields in engineering and

construction, healthcare and information technology (IT), which typically have a
complex set of components that have to be completed and assembled in a set
fashion to create a functioning product. No matter the industry, project managers
tend to have roughly the same job: to help define the goals and objectives of the
project and determine when the various project components are to be completed
and by whom. They also create quality control checks to ensure completed
components meet a certain standard.

Managing project involves:

• identifying requirements
• establishing clear and achievable objectives
• balancing the demands of time, cost, scope, and quality
• adapting to expectations of all stakeholders

Thus, project management is an approach to accomplish project objectives within

organisational structural and resource constraints for internal projects. For
external projects, other constraints [political, social, legal and environmental] may
also have to be considered.

Projects are significant undertakings that require leadership and skill to execute
successfully and this is where Project Managers are engaged. Project managers
use various project management tools, techniques, and approaches to implement
projects. They have the skills, knowledge, and experience to motivate teams to
meet a project’s needs and achieve its desired outcome. Project managers are
critical to the success of projects. And their skills are highly sought after to help
organisations achieve their goals.

The worldwide growth of project management proves its value as a: [1] Subject for
training and education [2] Career path and [3] Recognised and strategic
organisational competence. It is now widely known that basic project management
knowledge provides value to people in various roles and across a vast range of
endeavours. The project management profession has always played a major role
in driving change. And it will continue to do so.

6
Measures of Project Success

The purpose of project management is to achieve successful project completion

with the resources available. A successful project is one which:

• has been finished ‘on time’

• is delivered within ‘budget’
• performs to a technical/performance standard which satisfies the end user.

When do we use project management?

Projects are separate from business-as-usual activities and occur when an

organisation wants to deliver a solution to set requirements within an agreed
budget and timeframe. Projects require a team of people to come together
temporarily to focus on specific project objectives. As a result, effective teamwork
is central to successful projects. Project management is concerned with managing
discrete packages of work to achieve specific objectives. The way the work is
managed depends upon a wide variety of factors. The scale, significance and
complexity of the work are obvious factors: relocating a small office and organising
the Olympics share many basic principles, but offer very different managerial
challenges. Objectives may be expressed in terms of:

• outputs (such as a new HQ building);

• outcomes (such as staff being relocated from multiple locations to the new
HQ);
• benefits (such as reduced travel and facilities management costs);
• strategic objectives (such as doubling the organisation’s share price in
three years).

Why do we use project management?

Project management is aimed at producing an end product that will effect some
change for the benefit of the organisation that instigated the project. It is the
initiation, planning and control of a range of tasks required to deliver this end
product. Some of the reasons for deploying project management practices are:

• knowledge economy
• increased competition due to free market philosophy
• constraints of cost, time, and scope (quality)
• client focus
• resource constraints

Who uses project management?

Anyone and everyone manages projects, even if they are not formally called a
‘project manager’ and project management is a life skill for all. More formally,
projects crop up in all industries and business:

• Transport and Infrastructure

• IT

7
• Product manufacture
• Building and Construction
• Finance and Law

Responsibilities of the Project Manager

1) To plan thoroughly all aspects of the project, soliciting the active

involvement of all functional areas involved, in order to obtain and maintain
a realistic plan that satisfies their commitment for performance.
2) To control the organisation of manpower needed by the project.
3) To control the basic technical definition of the project, ensuring that
"technical" versus "cost" trade-offs determine the specific areas where
optimisation is necessary.
4) To lead the people and organisations assigned to the project at any given
point in time. Strong positive leadership must be exercised in order to keep
the many disparate elements moving in the same direction in a co-operative.
5) To monitor performance, costs and efficiency of all elements of the project
and the project as a whole, exercising judgement and leadership in
determining the causes of problems and facilitating solutions.
6) To complete the project on schedule and within costs, these being the overall
standard by which performance of the project manager is evaluated.

The Bottom Line

Project management is an important part of bringing different teams or different

departments together to achieve a singular goal. When creating a product, for
example, someone needs to design it, someone needs to build it, someone needs to
test it, someone needs to market it, etc. The project manager helps define the
ultimate goal of the project and set forth a timeline for how and when that project
will be achieved. That way, for example, product testers and product marketers
can know what to expect and when to expect it – as well as what they are expected
to achieve when the project reaches their respective stages.
Terminology and Definitions

A project is an interrelated set of activities that has a definite starting and ending
point and results in the accomplishment of a unique, often major outcome. "Project
management" is, therefore, the planning and control of events that, together,
comprise the project. Project management aims to ensure the effective use of
resources and delivery of the project objectives on time and within cost constraints.

An activity or task is the smallest unit of work effort within the project and
consumes both time and resources which are under the control of the project
manager.

A schedule allocates resources to accomplish the activities within a timeframe.

The schedule sets priorities, start times and finish times.

"Scope Triangle" or the "Quality Triangle" shows the trade-offs inherent in any
project. The triangle illustrates the relationship between three primary forces in

8
a project: time, cost and quality. These three elements are intricately intertwined
so that adjusting one affects the others.

• Time: scheduling is a collection of techniques used to develop and present

schedules that show when work will be performed. Time is the available
duration to deliver the project.
• Cost: represents the amount of money or resources available.
• Quality: quality represents the fit-to-purpose that the project must achieve
to be a success. Quality is the standard or level of service or product that
satisfies the customer's expectations.

Recommended resources:

https://youtu.be/leeIHEH-MEY?si=ljWoPaQg0jXRJAjs

https://youtu.be/0zF06TOKKOE?si=2K2r936GH-eAY5mt

What are the core competencies of a Project Manager?

https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/core-competencies-successful-skill-
manager-8426