Week Twelve - Project Management

1. Explain the triple constraint and its importance in project management.

In all organisations there are constraints, the triple constraint refers to three primary variables in any project - time, cost and scope. These three constraints are common to all projects. This is important in project management because each of these three fields are interdependent, meaning that if there if a change in one, it is going to have an effect on the others. It is also important as a projects succes is often judged on these three variables: whether the project cam in on time, within budget and meets the requirements needed.


2. Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning.

The two key components to a project plan are project charter and project plan. The charter is a document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorises the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organisational resources to project activities. It usually contains several sections including:
- Project scope: Defines what work must be completed to deliver a product with the specified features and functions.
- Project objectives: are quantifiable criteria that must be met for the project to be considered a success. Follows a SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, Time framed.
- Project constraints: Specific factors that can limit options
- Project assumptions: factors that are considered to be true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration.

The project plan is a formal, approved document that manages and controls project execution. It should include the project scope, a list of activities, a schedule, time estimates, risk factors, resources, assignments and responsibilities.


3. Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success.

- People: Resolving conflicts within the team, dealing with both client and workers.
- Managing communications: The project management plan will include a communications plan. The project manager needs to communicate timely, accurate and meaningful information regarding project objectives that involve time, cost, scope and quality and the status of each.
- Managing Change: Whether or not change comes from a crisis or change in market in needs dealt with appropriately.


4. Outline two reasons why projects fail and two reasons why projects succeed.

Where appropriate time planning has not been put into place projects will often end in failure. For a time a project to come in on time, there needs to a detailed stage by stage time frame to work with not just a final deadline to go off. Another reason why projects fail is due to a breakdown in communication between those working on the site and those running the site, where parties are working from incomplete information it will lead to failure as assumptions will be made from a lack of information which will then lead to mistakes

Where a project has been correctly researched and in depth analysis of time and costs has been undertaken a project has a far greater chance of being a success. If a well planned budget and time frame are in place it is easy to fix problems as they occur, rather than trying to fix a problem once it has gotten out of hand. Another essential aspect of project management that will have an affect on the projects success is the change management system they have in place. No matter how much planning, organising and budgeting goes into a project things will still occur that you cannot plan for, a project managers ability to deal with this changes is essential to making project a success