Question

1. Discuss and explain the fundamental concepts of project management and the tasks required in managing a project.

2. Outline the project process and evaluate projects, preparing and analysing project budgets.

3. Identify and apply project management tools in scheduling; understand and plan basic resource allocation.

4. Be able to report on a project’s progress; design and prepare closure evaluation and reports.

Please can someone help me with this. Thank you very much

Answer 1

1. The fundamental concepts of project management along with the tasks required to manage a project are as follows:

a. Initiating: The scope, nature of the project is determined in this process. Understanding of business environment and incorporating necessary controls of the project is very crucial in this stage. Initiation in the project documentation includes a series of planned process which includes project proposal, project scope, a breakdown structure of the project, analysis with various business tools, review, project schedule, charts and diagrams.

b. Planning: Following the process of initiation comes the second part which is planning, where the project is planned in a subtle and concrete way. The main aim is to make all the things work with time, cost and adequate resources efficiently and effectively so that any risk can be managed during the whole process of the project build up. It mainly consists of methodology that can be used, building up the scope statement. Also a planning team, schedule is set up here. Risk planning also plays an important role, with time management, resource requirements, cost of activities and developing a quality assuring measure for project management.

c. Execution: Here comes the implementation part, where all the above planning and initiation are put together. One must know that, all the plans initated before, must be delivered effectively and flawlessly. This stage includes of proper allocation and cooperation of all the resources that helps in delivering the project.   

d. Project Documentation: This is a key stage to approach success in project management. It traces out whether the project's requirements are met or not. It leaves a trail for the reader to go back and reference the work in the past. It is said to be the backbone of the project if it is done in a concrete way.

e. Monitoring and controlling: It includes measuring and monitoring the current status of the project activities and its variables, whether correctives measures have used properly or not, also be on track after detecting the flaws.

f. Closing: This is the final and last stage in project management. It includes procurement and communications, where the contract applicable to project is settled. Here, all the activities across the groups are also finalised. At this stage, the whole project is analysed.

2. The determination of the project budget includes:

a. Cost of estimating the activities of all the individuals.

b. The work packages of all the individuals.

c. To set a formal cost baseline how much of total cost must be developed to state the budget.

The main aim of building up a budget is to authorise and allocate all the monetary resources to process and complete the project on time. The main output gives the foundation of estimating the project activities with the monetary budget, and also to control budget to provide valid data for generating project resources management.

3. The project management tools are as follows:

a. Gantt chart: It is a popular project management bar chart which is used to track the tasks across time.This was developed in the year 1917.This is an important project management tool which helps in showing the phases,tasks and resources which is a part of a project.

b. Logic network:This is a tool which helps in indicating all the series of activities with a critical path in a project overtime.It also helps in understanding the workflow in the project.

c. PERT chart (Program Evaluation and Review Technique): This tool is used to analyse the tasks in a given project and estimate the least time required to complete the whole project.

d. PBS (Producg Breakdown Structure): This tool is used to make the projects delivered with a concrete arrangement. It helps in clarifying the necessary contents to be delivered in the project by contributing a work breakdown structure.

e. WBS (Work Breakdown Structure): It is a tool used for the decomposition of all the delivered content which is needed to be completed. It breaks down the work into a manageable piece of work that is time and cost effective.

The steps to plan a resource allocation are:

a. Task segregation

b. Resource assigning

c. Resource attributes are determined

d. Resource Leveling

e. Re-allocation of resources

f. Tracking the resource utilisation.