Project life cycle:

It gives us an outline of the project and the various stages of development the project goes through.

The life cycle consists of phases.

The end of each phase is marked by achievement of a milestone or completion of a deliverable.

A deliverable is a unique and verifiable product of work undertaken within a phase which has to be

reviewed by the sponsor or client upon completion.

A review of performance is held after each phase ends to determine whether the project will go on or be

terminated and to correct any defects in the work done up to that point.

Phase end points are called decision gates, stage gates, milestones etc.

In a Sequential Relationship, when one phase is complete, the next phase may begin. In an Overlapping

Relationship, the next phase may begin before the previous phase is completely finished. In an Iterative

Relationship, which is useful for largely undefined projects, the planning for the next phase occurs

during the current phase. Note that a project may have more than one of these relationships. For

example, the early phases may have been performed sequentially, but due to falling behind schedule,

later phases will be overlapped.

Project stakeholders are individuals or organizations (e.g., customers, sponsors, performing organization

or public) who are actively involved in the project, or whose interests maybe positively or negatively

affected as a result of project execution or successful project completion.

Primary/internal stakeholders are directly involved in the implementation and the development of the

project or are affected directly by its failure or success. They are legally or contractually committed to

the project

Secondary/External stakeholders are indirectly affected by the success or failure of a project and are not

involved in the implementation or development of the project that is they are not legally or

contractually committed to the project.

An organization is defined as the structure and process by which a cooperative group of human beings

allocates its tasks among its members, identifies relationships and integrates its activities towards

common objectives.

Three types of organizational structures:

Functional

In this type, an organization is structurally divided into segments with each segment performing

a certain function.

Advantages: division of project work is relatively easier since the organization is already divided

into functional units, also no change in organizational structure is necessary, functional

employees have a permanent home base where they can maintain their normal career paths.

Disadvantages: Functional units may lack coordination, each unit assigns high priority to its own

role and does not take into account priorities of other units, No individual has full responsibility

of the work so there is no one to take proper accountability of the project.

Projectised

In this type, an organization is divided into segments with each segment handling a different

project than the other.

Advantages: Priorities of each segment are clear, coordination between segments not necessary

Matrix

A combination of the aspects of a P and F org.

1. Weak/functional:

FM has power over staff and makes important decisions regarding proj. work and PM is

usually a coordinator between units or project expeditor.

2. Balanced:

Both FM and PM have a say over important matters. FM is responsible for assigning

work to staff of his unit and PM is responsible for ensuring the project abides by the

triple constraints.

3. Strong /project:

PM has final say over all important aspects of the project and all FMs report to him on

progress of the proj.

Advantages Disadvantages

Easy sharing of resources and reduction in management costs

Unhealthy competition among PMs over sharing of resources

Personnel have opportunities of growth within their functional unit

Dual reporting by personnel can be stressful if PM and FM have conflicts of interest

Proper accountability of project given to PM in strong matrix

Conflicts between FMs and PMs may be damaging

Mgmt skills:

Leadership: High commitment to the vision of the proj. , take accountability of the project’s success or

failure, willing to take risks

Communication: Information exchange , external and internal, formal or informal

Negotiations: Able to persuade people to work or invest, establish a dialogue between stakeholders and

able to encourage an amicable agreement.

Problem solving: Identifies problems and makes decision to solve them

Influencing: Identifies stakeholders and influences them to bring about events that lead to a project’s

success.