UNIT 1

Project management is the process and activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources,

procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals in scientific or daily problems. A project is a temporary endeavor

designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained,

and often constrained by funding or deliverables ) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring

about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual

(or operations) , which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or

services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the

development of distinct technical skills and management strategies. The primary challenge of project management is

to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints.

The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget. The secondary — and more ambitious — challenge is

to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.

What is Project Management?

More specifically, what is a project? It's a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or

result. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and

resources. And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to

accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes

from different organizations and across multiple geographies. The development of software for an improved

business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of

sales into a new geographic market — all are projects. And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-

budget results, learning and integration that organizations need. Project management, then, is the application of

knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. It has always been

practiced informally, but began to emerge as a distinct profession in the mid-20th century. PMI’s A Guide to the

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) identifies its recurring elements: Project management

processes fall into five groups:

Initiating

Planning

Executing

Monitoring and Controlling

Closing

What is Project Management?

Project management is comprised of organizing, planning, motivating, and controlling procedures, resources and

protocols to achieve specific goals of a specific project. A project may be a temporary and time constrained mission

that is geared towards the production of a specific result, product or a service, also often constrained by funding and

other resources. The aim of project management would be to use the limited time and resources and channel them

towards the achieving of the goal of the project to achieve the optimum results that are beneficial and of added value.

There are many approaches to project management and certain projects do not follow a structured process at all.

However, the traditional approach is comprised of five

Components

1. Initiation

2. Planning and design

3. Execution and construction

4. Monitoring and controlling systems

5. Completion

What is General Management?

General management can be defined as coordinating the usage of available resources and time towards the

accomplishment of a specific goal or an objective of a certain organization or a business. This task usually

comprises of organizing, planning, staffing, leading, controlling or directing specific resources, time or people. This

also includes the manipulation of human, financial, technological or natural resources to the maximum benefit of the

cause at hand. In for-profit causes, the main function of general management would be to satisfy its stakeholders.

This usually involves the making of profit, creating employment opportunities to employees and producing quality

goods and services at a low cost to customers. Most organizations have a board of directors voted for by its

stakeholders for carrying out general management functions. Some have other methods such as employee voting

systems which is quite rare. According to Mary Parker Follett, management is “the art of getting things done

through people”. According to Henri Fayol, one of the most prominent contributors to modern management

concepts, management has six functions.

1. Forecasting

2. Planning

3. Organizing

4. Commanding

5. Coordinating

6. Controlling

.

What is the difference between Project Management and General Management?

• Project management is usually employed in projects that are temporary and time constrained. General management

is employed for ongoing procedures or functions of certain organizations, businesses etc.

• Usually, in project management, resources are limited. In contrast, general management is also responsible for

resourcing whatever necessary ingredients as deemed necessary for the continuation of functions.

• Management is an academic discipline taught in schools and universities all over the world. Project management

often falls under this broad discipline of management.

• Therefore, one can say that the difference between project management and general management does not lie in

leadership or other qualities required, but in the scope of responsibilities that lie within each role.

Knowledge management

Knowledge management (KM ) is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational

knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organizational objectives by making the best use of

knowledge. An established discipline since 1991 (see Nonaka 1991), KM includes courses taught in the fields of

business administration, information systems , management, and library and information sciences. More recently,

other fields have started contributing to KM research; these include information and media, computer science, public

health, and public policy . Columbia University , Kent State University and the University of Haifa offer dedicated

Master of Science degrees in Knowledge Management. Many large companies, public institutions and non-profit

organizations have resources dedicated to internal KM efforts, often as a part of their business strategy, information

technology, or human resource management departments. Several consulting companies provide strategy and advice

regarding KM to these organizations. Knowledge management efforts typically focus on organizational objectives

such as improved performance, competitive advantage , innovation, the sharing of lessons learned, integration and

continuous improvement of the organization. KM efforts overlap with organizational learning and may be

distinguished from that by a greater focus on the management of knowledge as a strategic asset and a focus on

encouraging the sharing of knowledge . It is an enabler of organizational learning.

Project MODEL

Project MODEL (Ministry of Defence Estates London) is a project run for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by the

ministry's Defence Infrastructure Organisation and VSM Estates, a joint venture established between Vinci PLC and

St. Modwen Properties to bid for the contract. [1] The project involves the consolidation and sale of surplus Ministry

of Defence properties around Greater London into around £180m of new developments at RAF Northolt. [2] A total

of 80% of the existing buildings at RAF Northolt were demolished and replaced by the newly built facilities. [3]

Under the project, the Royal Air Force was required to close two active stations, two other sites were vacated by the

United States Air Force, and the remainder by Ministry of Defence operations.

Project Management Phases

1.Initiation

The Initiation Phase consists of the processes that facilitate the formal authorisation to start a new project or a

project phase. Initiation processes are often Initiation processes are often performed by the performing organisation

outside of the strict project boundaries. For example, before project initiation, the organisation’s business needs are

identified and documented. As a next step the feasibility of a new project may be established through a process of

evaluating alternatives documented in a formal feasibility study. The documentation for this decision might also

contain a brief presentation of the project scope, its deliverables, duration, resource requirements and investment

estimation. During the Initiation Phase, the initial scope of the project and the resource requirements are further

refined. Initial assumptions and constraints are also documented and the other project related elements (such as

deliverables, schedule, etc.) are refined and undergo minor modifications to best fit the business and project needs.

Additionally, during the Initiation Phase, a large and complex project may be decided to be split into phases, so as to

be more manageable and produce intermediate outputs or results.

2.Planning

During the Planning Phase, information is gathered from many sources with each having varying levels of

completeness and confidence. The planning processes identify, define and mature the project scope, project cost, and

schedule the project activities. As new project information is discovered, additional dependencies, requirements,

risks, opportunities, assumptions and constraints will be identified or resolved. As more project information or

characteristics are gathered and understood, follow-on actions may be required. Significant changes occurring

throughout the project life cycle trigger a need to revisit one or more of the planning processes and, possibly, some

of the initiation processes. The planning phase is iterative. Initially it gives emphasis on exploring all aspects of the

scope, technology, risks, schedule and costs. Updates arising from approved changes during project execution may

significantly impact parts of planning. As a result, greater precision will be put into planning for all aspects of a

project (i.e. schedule, costs, resources, etc.) to meet the defined project scope as a whole. This progressive detailing

is often called “rolling wave planning” showing that planning is an iterative and ongoing process. During planning

all appropriate stakeholders should be involved, depending on their influence on the project and its outcomes.

3.Execution

The Execution Phase aims at completing the work defined during the Planning Phase to accomplish the project’s

requirements. This phase involves coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the

activities of the project in accordance with the plan. This phase also addresses the project scope that has already

been defined and implements approved changes. Normal execution variances cause some replanning of the work.

These variances may include activity durations, resource productivity and availability, and unanticipated risks. Such

variances may or may not affect the planning of the project but require some analysis. The result of this analysis can

trigger a change request that, if approved, might modify project planning.

4.Monitoring and Control

This phase is related to observing project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner

and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of a project. The key benefit of this

phase is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from planning. This

phase also includes controlling changes and recommending preventing actions in anticipation of possible problems.

This phase includes, for example: Monitoring the ongoing project activities against planning and project

performance indicators; Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so that only

approved changes are implemented. This continuous monitoring provides the project team insight into the health of

the project and highlights any areas that require additional attention. When variances jeopardize the project’s

objectives, appropriate processes within the Planning Phase are revisited. This review can result in recommended

updates to the planning of the project.

5.Closure

This phase is related to the formal termination of all activities of a project or a project phase, hand-off the completed

product to others or close a cancelled project. This phase, when completed, verifies that the defined processes are

completed in all phases to close the project ass appropriate, and formally establishes that the project is finished. The

above process groups interact with each other as shown

Furthermore, there is a distinct “preparatory” phase – Project Origination – which precedes all the above. In Project

Origination an individual proposes a project to create a product or develop a service that can solve a problem or

address a need in the Performing Organization.

7S Framework

Introduction

In the modern age of cutting-edge technology and continuous innovation, product life cycle is ever shortening.

There is constant pressure on companies to differentiate from competition and earn customer satisfaction. In such a

business environment, it is essential that internal organization network is strong and efficient to deal with any kind

of changes. The 7S framework introduced by McKinsey is one of the ways through which analysis can be done to

determine the efficiency of organization in meeting strategic objective . The 7S model is utilized to study and

suggest areas within company which needs improvement, examine the effects with change in strategy, internal

alignment with every merger and acquisition.

The 7 factors as per the framework can be defined as follows:

1. Strategy: It is defined as an action plan working towards the organizational defined objective.

2. Structure: It is defined as design of organization- employees interaction to meet defined objective.

3. Systems: It is defined as information systems in which organization has invested to fulfill its defined objective.

4. Staff: It is defined as workers employed by the organization.

5. Style: It is defined as the approach adopted by the leadership to interact with employees, supplier and customers.

6. Skills: It is defined as characteristics of employees associated with the organization.

7. Shared Values: It is the central piece of the whole 7S framework. It is a concept based on which organization

has decided to achieve its objective.

Usage of 7S Framework

The basis of the 7S framework is that for organization to meet its objective it is essential all the seven elements are

in sync and mutually balancing. The model is used to identify which out of 7 factors need to be balanced as to align

with change in organization. 7S framework is helpful in identifying the pain points which are creating a hurdle in

organization growth. Project Environment is a project focused upon organizing and improving articles related to the

natural environment and biophysical environment. Project complexity: Complexity is, fittingly, a much more

difficult concept to define. Once again, the SEI provides a solid definition from Webster's:

Complexity:

1. (Apparent) the degree to which a system or component has a design or implementation that is difficult to

understand and verify 1 ;

2. (Inherent) the degree of complication of a system or system component, determined by such factors as the number

and intricacy of interfaces, the number and intricacy of conditional branches, the degree of nesting, and the types of

data structures 2.

UNIT 3

A Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart , adapted by Karol Adamiecki in 1896, and independently by Henry Gantt in the

1910s, that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and

summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure

of the project. Modern Gantt charts also show the dependency (i.e., precedence network) relationships between

activities. Gantt charts can be used to show current schedule status using percent-complete shadings and a vertical

"TODAY" line as shown here. Although now regarded as a common charting technique, Gantt charts were

considered revolutionary when first introduced. This chart is also used in information technology to represent data

that have been collected.

Critical Path Analysis and PERT Charts

Planning and Scheduling More Complex Projects Related variants: AOA or Activity-on-Arc Diagrams Critical Path

Analysis and PERT are powerful tools that help you to schedule and manage complex projects. They were

developed in the 1950s to control large defense projects, and have been used routinely since then. As with Gantt

Charts , Critical Path Analysis (CPA) or the Critical Path Method (CPM) helps you to plan all tasks that must be

completed as part of a project. They act as the basis both for preparation of a schedule, and of resource planning.

During management of a project, they allow you to monitor achievement of project goals. They help you to see

where remedial action needs to be taken to get a project back on course. Within a project it is likely that you will

display your final project plan as a Gantt Chart (using Microsoft Project or other software for projects of medium

complexity or an excel spreadsheet for projects of low complexity).The benefit of using CPA within the planning

process is to help you develop and test your plan to ensure that it is robust. Critical Path Analysis formally identifies

tasks which must be completed on time for the whole project to be completed on time. It also identifies which tasks

can be delayed if resource needs to be reallocated to catch up on missed or overrunning tasks. The disadvantage of

CPA, if you use it as the technique by which your project plans are communicated and managed against, is that the

relation of tasks to time is not as immediately obvious as with Gantt Charts. This can make them more difficult to

understand. A further benefit of Critical Path Analysis is that it helps you to identify the minimum length of time

needed to complete a project. Where you need to run an accelerated project, it helps you to identify which project

steps you should accelerate to complete the project within the available time.

How to Use the Tool

As with Gantt Charts, the essential concept behind Critical Path Analysis is that you cannot start some activities

until others are finished. These activities need to be completed in a sequence, with each stage being more-or-less

completed before the next stage can begin. These are 'sequential' activities. Other activities are not dependent on

completion of any other tasks. You can do these at any time before or after a particular stage is reached. These are

non- dependent or 'parallel' tasks. Drawing a Critical Path Analysis Chart

Scheduling (computing)

This article is about processes assignment in operating systems. For transmission assignment in networks, see

Network scheduler . For other uses, see Scheduling (disambiguation) . In computing , scheduling is the method by

which work specified by some means is assigned to resources that complete the work. The resources may be virtual

computation elements such as threads , processes or data flows , which are in turn scheduled onto hardware

resources such as processors, network links, and hardware cards. A scheduler is what carries out the scheduling

activity. Schedulers are often implemented such that they keep all compute resources busy (as in load balancing) or

they allow multiple users to share system resources effectively, or to achieve a target quality of service . Scheduling

is fundamental to computation itself, and an intrinsic part of the execution model of a language. A scheduler is what

makes it possible to have multitasking (executing more than one process at a time on a single CPU). A scheduler

may attempt one of many goals, for example, maximizing throughput (the total amount of work completed per time

unit), minimizing response time (time from work becoming enabled until the first point it begins execution on

resources), or minimizing latency (the time between work becoming enabled and its subsequent completion) [1] ),

maximizing fairness (equal CPU time to each process, or more generally appropriate times according to the priority

and workload of each process). In practice, these goals often conflict (e.g. throughput versus latency), thus a

scheduler will implement a suitable compromise. Preference is given to any one of the concerns mentioned above,

depending upon the user's needs and objectives. In real-time environments, such as embedded systems for automatic

control in industry (for example robotics ), the scheduler also must ensure that processes can meet deadlines ; this is

crucial for keeping the system stable. Scheduled tasks can also be distributed to remote devices across a network and

managed through an administrative back end.

Fast Track Projects

Fast-track construction is a scheduling technique in construction project management that may be associated with

design-build , construction-manager-adviser, construction-manager-constructor. [1] Fast-track construction reduces

the project time by overlapping the project design and construction phases. [2] The idea of fast- track construction

was reportedly developed in 1960s. [3] The concept of fast-track construction can best be visualized in the

comparison of concrete versus steel material choice for a multi-storey building. In the latter case, high investment

costs and the requirement to recoup expenditure through the building's income, combined with the nature of

concrete construction (relatively slow) may require construction to start prior to all information (such as top floor

design parameters) becoming available. In this sense, design changes could potentially cause problems in the latter

stages of construction. As a comparison standpoint, "fast-build" construction takes advantage of the reduced build

time associated with steel construction, thus making it convenient for a frame to be erected after all design

procedures have been completed. Both of these construction project-management styles, if applied to exactly the

same building plan and elevation status, could potentially result in project completion within the same time period.

However, the latter would have a reduced risk of design changes affecting overall project success.

UNIT 4

Cost Planning

Elemental cost planning is a system of Cost planning and Cost control , typically for buildings, which enables the

cost of a scheme to be monitored during design development. 1951 saw the publication of the Ministry of Education

Building Bulletin No 4 which essentially introduced the concept of elemental cost planning to the UK construction

industry. Its Author was James Nisbet. The concept has been refined and developed over more than 50 years in the

UK by BCIS (the Building Cost Information Service of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). Elemental

Cost Planning relies upon the adoption of a Standard Form of Cost Analysis for buildings which allows costs to be

compared on a common format and forms the basis of the benchmarking analysis central to the concept of Elemental

Cost Plans.

A cost estimate

A cost estimate is the approximation of the cost of a program, project, or operation. The cost estimate is the product

of the cost estimating process. The cost estimate has a single total value and may have identifiable component values.

A problem with a cost overrun can be avoided with a credible, reliable, and accurate cost estimate. An estimator is

the professional who prepares cost estimates. There are different types of estimators, whose title may be preceded by

a modifier, such as building estimator , or electrical estimator, or chief estimator. Other professional titles may also

prepare estimates or contribute to estimates, such as quantity surveyors, cost engineers , etc. In the US, there were

185,400 cost estimators in 2010. [1] There are around 75,000 professional quantity surveyors working in the UK.

What Is a Cost Budget?

by Julie Davoren, Demand Media Keeping a keen eye on the costs of operating your business can help you make

decisions such as when to renegotiate contracts, expand to other markets and increase or lower your prices. Cost

budgets detail the expenses associated with operating your business, running a project or developing a product. It

tells the amount of money you expect to pay out for a given period and includes items such as labor and utility costs.

quality of conformance

Level of effectiveness of the design and production functions in effecting the product manufacturing requirements

and process specifications, while meeting process control limits, product tolerances, and production targets.

Quality Planning Process

1. The key steps in Juran's theory on quality are quality planning, quality control and quality improvement.

2. To implement a company-wide quality management process, you have to identify your customers, find out their

needs and work to meet those needs. You create measures of quality and organize to meet those measures

consistently. And you need to create processes that work in real-life conditions.

3. Juran's theory on quality postulates that top-level management must be sincere in its efforts to commit to quality

or else all efforts as such would not work.

Joseph J. Juan’s Trilogy of Quality Management. In addition to Deming, Juran was another great Founding Father of

quality, and was responsible for the famous Juran Trilogy concept. This quality philosophy consists of three steps:

Quality Planning, Quality Control and Quality Improvement.

1) Quality Planning: The quality planning phase is the activity of developing products and processes to meet

customers' needs. It deals with setting goals and establishing the means required to reach the goals. Below are the

steps in the quality planning process: Establish, quality, goals Identify the customers: those who will be impacted by

the efforts to meet the goals Determine the customer’s needs Develop processes that are able to produce those

product features Establish process controls, and transfer the resulting plans to the operating forces

2) Quality Control: This process deals with the execution of plans and it includes monitoring operations so as to

detect differences between actual performance and goals. It is outlined with three steps: Evaluate actual quality

performance Compare actual performance to quality goals Act on the difference

3) Quality Improvement: The is the process is for obtaining breakthrough in quality performance, and it consists of

several steps:

Establish the infrastructure needed to secure annual quality

Improvement

Identify the specific needs for improvement- the

improvement projects

Establish project teams with clear responsibility for bringing the project to a successful conclusion Provide the

resources, motivation, and training needed by the teams to- diagnose the cause, stimulate establishment of remedies,

and establish controls to hold the gains.

UNIT 5

Analyzing Time Plan

Introduction

When discussing time management, the term "structure" refers to the extent and amount of detail with which your

day is planned and organized, either by you or someone else. It also involves the limits placed on your time by

things like due dates and deadlines. In high school, the majority of students' time is structured for them by classes,

jobs and after- school activities, so the role of structure in time planning usually doesn't become an issue until

university. This article defines five basic levels of structure in student time management, moving from the least to

the most structured (see left menu). Each has its pros and cons.

Level 1: I Work When I Feel Like It

People functioning with this level of structure appreciate, and possibly even need, a lot of flexibility and freedom.

Just the word "schedule" can make them cringe and feel suffocated. Most students working at this level are usually

aware of deadlines and perhaps even write them on a calendar. They may have a general idea of what they should

accomplish within a given week, but most of the time they don't keep a regular written record of what they need to

do. Some simply don't need to. Much of what needs to be done on an ongoing basis is reading or other work that can

be put off when a crunch time comes up with few perceived negative consequences. These students are often in

programs (like English, for example) where there is little day-to-day work that has to be handed in - instead, there

are several major papers or assignments spaced throughout the semester. We suspect that program requirements like

this may intensify the preference for this low level of structure. Because students working at this level don't have

frequent deadlines and usually don't work from a plan or task list, when they sit down to work, they like to feel that

they have the freedom to do what they feel like doing at that moment. (But often they really don't, because what they

usually feel like doing is the easy stuff, with the result that they're putting off overwhelming, difficult, unpleasant,

and important work.) They're not necessarily doing less work than other students, it's just distributed unevenly

through the semester, compacted around due dates. Their assignments often require synthesizing ideas and creative

thinking, so these students may feel the need to wait for inspiration to strike, or for the "essay muse" to speak. Some

are convinced that without the pressure of a deadline, they won't get good ideas anyway, so there's no point in

starting to work on papers much ahead of time. Then, when a due date approaches, they work very intensely for a

few days (and nights), collapse from lack of sleep, then coast along again, just doing reading (if that), until the next

deadline. This is affectionately known as the "3C" time management technique, or the "cram–collapse–coast"

method. It is atypical of the way the most businesses and institutions operate.

Pros:

Creates perception of freedom and flexibility Helps some students feel that they, not their instructors, the institution

or other perceived forms of "authority" are in control of their time Develops skills in crisis management

Cons:

Periodic bouts of extreme stress. High risk of burn out and chronic procrastination Prone to spending most of the

semester playing "catch-up " Rarely time to do more than the minimum on any assignment, so work never reflects

students' true ability Repeated need to cram means that little information can be remembered after exams, therefore

students are robbing themselves of a true education Reinforcement of work habits which are not consistent with

most careers

Level 2: Minimal Structure Plan Students who prefer a bit more structure will often keep a calendar with due dates,

and sometimes a list of what they have to do, usually on a weekly basis. They may divide up tasks according to what

they will do on the weekend versus during the week, staying flexible within those parameters. To a large extent they

are still "doing what they feel like doing" when they sit down to study, but because of having more frequent due

dates to work towards, they have to take a more structured approach to planning their time. Some students, whether

they prefer more or less structure, feel that they have no choice but to work at this level, because of unique aspects

of their lives or learning environment which control time for them. For example, some students are "on call" for

work or family responsibilities, and some have limited access to the equipment or resources they need to do their

work. Because of these obligations or conditions, they often simply can't get the work done that they want to or have

planned to in a day. This can be a frustrating environment to manage, but here are a couple of ideas to try: Always

have something school-related to do with you to take maximum advantage of small, unexpected pieces of free time

Try to find innovative or unusual ways to get more control over the situation or the environment

Pros:

Maintains some sense of freedom, flexibility, and control as detailed above

Cons:

Still vulnerable to stress, burn out, cramming and procrastination Work often gets pushed to the weekend, resulting

in weekend overload and getting behind. See Using Weekend Time Effectively if this is a problem for you Still

reinforces work habits which are not consistent with most careers

Level 3: Daily Time Plan The next level of structure involves planning on a daily basis. Students at this level keep a

list of what they want to accomplish each day. Typically the lists are written in one, regular, weekly planning

session, when students look over the upcoming work for the week (as well as due dates on assignments extending

beyond that week), set priorities, and decide what needs to be done each day to keep on top of deadlines. (See

Making a Task List for specifics on how this approach works.) Students using this method report that they like

crossing things off their list, so much so that if they do something that's not on the list, they'll write it down so they

can cross it off. There is a sense of satisfaction when they accomplish everything on the list for the day, but often

this is a struggle and doesn't happen as much as they'd like, and sometimes the work that accumulates for the

weekend gets onerous as a result. See Using Weekday Time Effectively if this is a problem for you. Working at this

level of structure significantly reduces the risk of procrastination, although some students report that they tend to do

the easy tasks first, again for that satisfaction of crossing items off the list, and end up leaving the difficult or

unpleasant tasks for the end of the day. For more information on this see Finding Your Best Time of Day. It's also

important to incorporate Flexible Time when working with this level of structure, as a means of allowing for the

unexpected, and to ensure that everything on the list can get done when a task takes longer than anticipated or when

something unexpected comes up.

Pros:

Reduced risk of procrastination Increased effectiveness by working on a steady, daily basis Satisfaction of crossing

items off the list Reasonable sense of organization and control over the workload

Cons:

Possible reduced sense of freedom and flexibility Requires motivation and self-discipline to accomplish items on a

daily list Danger of pushing difficult tasks to the end of the day

Level 4: Segmented Day Plan The segmented day plan is a nice compromise between level 3 and level 5. With this

level of structure, the day is divided into morning, afternoon and evening, and tasks are defined for each of these

periods. As an alternative strategy, rather than determine which subject-related task will be done in each segment,

some students prefer to plan the type of task that will be done. For example, students who get sleepy when reading

will plan to do the reading for all their subjects at the time of day when they are most alert. So, for example, Monday

afternoon is reading time, rather than Psychology or Chemistry time. By scheduling tough tasks for the morning or

afternoon, the stress that goes along with having them hang over your head all day can be reduced.

Pros:

Provides flexibility within are a more structured approach to planning Reduces problem of difficult tasks getting

pushed to the end of the day

Cons:

More chance of reduced sense of freedom and flexibility More motivation and self-discipline required to accomplish

items as per plan Requires realistic goal setting and accurate sense of how long tasks will take to avoid getting

behind

Level 5: Hourly Time Plan The most structured time plan involves defining which study tasks will be done at which

particular time in the day, hour by hour. It is effective for students who work best with a high level of structure, or

for students who need it only during crunch times, like exams. It is the best method we know of for getting (or

getting back) and keeping a feeling of control over the workload. Although planning hour by hour may seem

restrictive, there are strategies that can be built in to allow for some reasonable human flexibility. Flexible time is

the best of these. Perhaps the best thing about using this level of structure is that it requires you to make thoughtful,

intelligent decisions about the best way to use your time. It enables you to see exactly how much work you have to

do, and decide when to do it, which in turn makes it clear that you are responsible for the way you use your time. It

sounds serious and grown- up, and it is.

Pros:

Best method for feeling in control of workload Minimal risk of procrastination Provides realistic account of how

much work there is to do Ensures most important tasks are done at peak times of day

Cons:

Provides least amount of spontaneous choice Requires motivation and self-discipline to stick to time plan Requires

realistic goal setting and accurate sense of how long tasks will take to avoid getting behind the Next Steps.

Cost–benefit analysis / Analyzing Cost Plan

Cost–benefit analysis (CBA ), sometimes called benefit–cost analysis ( BCA ), is a systematic approach to

estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives that satisfy transactions, activities or functional requirements

for a business. It is a technique that is used to determine options that provide the best approach for the adoption and

practice in terms of benefits in labor, time and cost savings etc. [1] The CBA is also defined as a systematic process

for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project, decision or government policy (hereafter, "project").

Broadly, CBA has two purposes:

1. To determine if it is a sound investment/decision (justification/feasibility),

2. To provide a basis for comparing projects. It involves comparing the total expected cost of each option against the

total expected benefits, to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs, and by how much. [2]

CBA is related to, but distinct from cost-effectiveness analysis. In CBA, benefits and costs are expressed in

monetary terms, and are adjusted for the time value of money, so that all flows of benefits and flows of project costs

over time (which tend to occur at different points in time) are expressed on a common basis in terms of their " net

present value ." Closely related, but slightly different, formal techniques include cost-effectiveness analysis, cost–

utility analysis , risk–benefit analysis , economic impact analysis , fiscal impact analysis, and Social return on

investment (SROI) analysis.

Risk management

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of

uncertainty on objectives) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor,

and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events [1] or to maximize the realization of opportunities.

Risk management’s objective is to assure uncertainty does not deviate the endeavor from the business goals. [2]

Risks can come from different ways e.g. uncertainty in financial markets, threats from project failures (at any phase

in design, development, production, or sustainment life-cycles), legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, natural causes

and disasters as well as deliberate attack from an adversary, or events of uncertain or unpredictable root- cause .

There are two types of events i.e. negative events can be classified as risks while positive events are classified as

opportunities. Several risk management standards have been developed including the Project Management Institute ,

the National Institute of Standards and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards. [3] [4] Methods,

definitions and goals vary widely according to whether the risk management method is in the context of project

management, security, engineering, industrial processes , financial portfolios, actuarial assessments, or public health

and safety. Risk sources are more often identified and located not only in infrastructural or technological assets and

tangible variables, but in Human Factor variables, Mental States and Decision Making. The interaction between

Human Factors and tangible aspects of risk, highlights the need to focusclosely into Human Factor as one of the

main drivers for Risk Management, a "Change Driver" that comes first of all from the need to know how humans

perform in challenging environments and in face of risks (Trevisani, 2007). As the author describes, «it is an

extremely hard task to be able to apply an objective and systematic self-observation, and to make a clear and

decisive step from the level of the mere "sensation" that something is going wrong, to the clear understanding of

how, when and where to act. The truth of a problem or risk is often obfuscated by wrong or incomplete analyses,

fake targets, perceptual illusions, unclear focusing, altered mental states, and lack of good communication and

confrontation of risk management solutions with reliable partners. This makes the Human Factor aspect of Risk

Management sometimes heavier than its tangible and technological counterpart» [5] The strategies to manage threats

(uncertainties with negative consequences) typically include transferring the threat to another party, avoiding the

threat, reducing the negative effect or probability of the threat, or even accepting some or all of the potential or

actual consequences of a particular threat, and the opposites for opportunities (uncertain future states with benefits).

Certain aspects of many of the risk management standards have come under criticism for having no measurable

improvement on risk, whether the confidence in estimates and decisions seem to increase. [1] For example, it has

been shown that one in six IT projects experience cost overruns of 200% on average, and schedule overruns of 70%.

Risk quantification techniques

In the past risk has usually been allowed for by taking prudent margins over best-estimate assumptions. These

prudent margins are frequently set by one individual often an actuary and are based on a little historical data and a

lot of judgement. In its most basic form, risk evaluation is little more than this with, perhaps, a slightly more formal

identification of the degree of prudence that is being targeted. There is increasing pressure, however, for more

quantitative risk assessment using established techniques, for example in deriving market value risk margins under

new international accounting standards and for internal capital assessment in the UK. As an illustration of the

techniques available, in this article I want to show how a life insurer might quantify the risk of increases in mortality.

For this example, we assume that the risk sensitivity is a 99.5% confidence level over a one-year time horizon in

other words, we are considering ‘1-in-200-years’ events. However, the approaches outlined can easily be applied to

different risks, time periods, and confidence levels.

Expert opinion

Expert opinion is an extremely useful tool in risk assessment and is often overlooked as a separate technique in the

quantitative actuarial world. It is particularly useful where relevant data are scarce, for example where conditions

have changed materially (reducing the usefulness of past experience), or where the risks are very company- specific

as would often be the case for lapse rates. In essence, the prudent assumption setter was providing one expert

opinion on the risk. However, it will often be appropriate to seek input from a range of experts across different

disciplines. One common approach to gathering expert opinion is to set up risk-management workshops for senior

managers within a firm to discuss the relevant risks. This can be quite effective, particularly if well facilitated, but

there are potential problems:

– Small groups or single experts can suffer from significant bias.

– Results can be distorted by office politics.

– There is a tendency within a group to ‘follow the leader’, either the most respected or worse still the most

dominant individual in the group.

– There will generally be a reluctance to abandon previously stated views. The Delphi method was developed by the

RAND Corporation to address these possible shortcomings, and came in response to a US military request to

prepare a forecast of future technological capabilities. However, the forecasting techniques developed have since

been applied in a much wider range of areas. The basic approach is to:

– select a panel of experts;

– develop a first round questionnaire on the risks to be considered;

– test the questionnaire for problems such as ambiguity and bias, send the questionnaire to the panellists, then gather

and analyse the responses;

– provide a statistical summary of the panel’s responses back to the panel; and

– prepare a second round questionnaire; and so on until the results converge. The Delphi method still has

weaknesses that are a function of human behaviour, and are common to many of the other techniques available for

collecting expert

‘unbiased’ opinion for instance, the tendency to give greater prominence to more recent conditions or events.

UNIT 6

Role of team

There are eight MTR-i team roles: Coaches produce agreement and harmony across the team, trying to create a

positive team atmosphere and reach a consensus. Crusaders produce a sense of priority, stressing those issues that

have most importance so that discussions are focused on the most valuable topics Explorers uncover new potential

in situations and people and explore new areas and the possibilities that they present Innovators produce a sense of

imagination and contribute new and alternative perspectives and ideas Sculptors bring things to fruition , producing

action to address the most urgent matters, and using tools or techniques that they know (from experience) will work

Curators produce a clarification of ideas and information, producing a better knowledge and clearer picture of any

situation Conductors produce structure and introduce a logical organisation into the way things are done Scientists

produce explanation of what is happening and the cause of problems, and generate models to demonstrate how

things work

What is matrix management? It is a type of organizational structure in which people with similar skills are pooled

for work assignments, resulting in more than one manager (sometimes referred to as solid line and dotted line

reports, in reference to traditional business organization charts).

The matrix for project management

A lot of the early literature on the matrix comes from the field of cross functional project management where

matrices are described as strong, medium or weak depending on the level of power of the project manager. Some

organizations fall somewhere between the fully functional and the pure matrix. These organizations are defined in A

Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge[1] as ’composite’. For example, even a fundamentally

functional organization may create a special project team to handle a critical project. However, today, matrix

management is much more common and exists at some level, in most large complex organizations, particularly

those that have multiple business units and international operations. Management advantages and disadvantages Key

advantages that organizations seek when introducing a matrix include: To break business information silos - to

increase cooperation and communication across the traditional silos and unlock resources and talent that are

currently inaccessible to the rest of the organization. To deliver work across the business more effectively – to serve

global customers, manage supply chains that extend outside the organization, and run integrated business regions,

functions and processes. To be able to respond more flexibly – to reflect the importance of both the global and the

local, the business and the function in the structure, and to respond quickly to changes in markets and priorities. To

develop broader people capabilities – a matrix helps develop individuals with broader perspectives and skills who

can deliver value across the business and manage in a more complex and interconnected environment. Key

disadvantages of matrix organizations include:

Pure Organization

A "pure project organization" is a model of a business where project managers have total control over the project

they oversee. Central control at the managerial level must be weak for this to occur. Put simply, a "pure project

organization" might also be termed a "task force." In the case of a "pure project," the leader of this task force would

have to be given total authority for a limited period to solve a particular problem. In business, it is a great challenge

to find an example of such purity.

Project Team Organization – Team Definition, Roles & Responsibilities, Organizational Chart Proper project team

organization is one of the key constraints to project success. If the project has no productive and well-organized

team, there’s an increased probability that this project will be failed at the very beginning because initially the team

is unable to do the project in the right manner. Without right organization of teamwork, people who form the team

will fail with performing a number of specific roles and carrying out a variety of group/individual responsibilities.

Hence, when you plan for a new project, first you must take care of the best project team organization through team

building activities. Organizing a project team is a typical task of a project manager. Successful implementation of

this task requires the manager to acquire, develop and lead a group of people who are supposed to do the project.

Organization of the project team is the responsibility of the project manager who is committed to building a

productive team of professionals in order to guarantee that the project deliverables will be produced on schedule,

under budget and as per specification, and thereby the customer will accept those deliverables.

What Is A Project Team?

Before getting started to organize a project team, it is essential to understand the project team definition. Senior

supervisory staff (executives, project managers) as well as group leaders should clearly understand the definition

because such an understanding is required for establishing teamwork, maintaining continuous training, establishing

productive communications, and supporting collaboration. Here’s the project team definition: A Project Team is an

organized group of people who are involved in performing shared/individual tasks of the project as well as achieving

shared/individual goals and objectives for the purpose of accomplishing the project and producing its results. The

team consists of the full-time and part- time human resources supposed to collaboratively work on producing the

deliverables and moving the project towards successful completion. A group of people turns into a team when every

person of the group is capable of meeting the following

conditions:

Understanding the work to be done within the endeavor Planning for completing the assigned activities Performing

tasks within the budget, timeline, and quality expectations Reporting on issues, changes, risks, and quality concerns

to the leader Communicating status of tasks Being a person who can jointly work with others So when you look for

candidates to your project group, first make sure a candidate is ready to meet all the conditions; otherwise switch to

another candidate. If you understand this, you get more chances to find the best candidates.

Three Conventional Roles

Leader. A project team leader is a person who provides leadership and guidance to the team and takes responsibility

for the results of teamwork. The team leader role involves the development and encouragement of the team through

training, leading, motivation, recognition, rewarding and other activities that stimulate or force team members to do

the required tasks.

Member . A project team member is a person who is actually involved in doing assigned tasks. Team members

directly access the project and actively evolve its processes. They’re subordinated to the team leader.

Contributor . A project team contributor is a person or an organization that participates in teamwork but is not

actually involved in performing tasks and carrying out project team responsibilities. Contributors help improve the

project through giving valued suggestions, expert judgment and consultation. They aren’t responsible for the project

results. Often project team contributors have an interest or concern in the project, so they facilitate successful

completion.

Responsibilities And Duties

A team can be responsible for a variety of duties and responsibilities, depending on the project they’re involved in.

Good project team organization entails proper setting of team responsibilities and duties, while considering specific

goals and objectives of the project. Here’re several common responsibilities and duties of a project team: Gaining

the right understanding of the amount and scope of assigned work

Following the planned assignments

Increasing the details level per task and activities, if needed Completing the assigned tasks within the constraints of

scope, quality, time and cost Inform the leader of any issues arisen Proactively communicate and collaborate with

other team members

1. Make a Project Team List. First you need to list all the people (and theirs names) who are supposed to be the

participants of your project team. You can do this after you’ve finished interviews with candidates to the team.

2. Allocate the Conventional Roles. Now you must think about what individuals will take what roles. Use the results

of your interviews to start with leaders, then list members and contributors.

3. Assemble the Whole Team. Use your team list with the details on the roles assigned to your people to assemble

the team. This means you need to formally constitute the team.

4. Identify the Stakeholders. Your team if formed, now you need to identify the stakeholders or those people/

organizations having a direct interest in or affected by your project. They are the sponsor and the customer. Note

that although the stakeholders are not participants of the team, they’re added to the project team organizational plan

because they influence decisions of the team.

5. Build the chart. Finally use all the data to create the chart and display relationships between the team and

stakeholders on it. The relationships will show who is reporting to whom and what supervisory mechanism is used

for leading teamwork.

Pure Organization

A "pure project organization" is a model of a business where project managers have total control over the project

they oversee. Central control at the managerial level must be weak for this to occur. Put simply, a "pure project

organization" might also be termed a "task force." In the case of a "pure project," the leader of this task force would

have to be given total authority for a limited period to solve a particular problem. In business, it is a great challenge

to find an example of such purity.

What is matrix management?

It is a type of organizational structure in which people with similar skills are pooled for work assignments, resulting

in more than one manager (sometimes referred to as solid line and dotted line reports, in reference to traditional

business organization charts ). For example, all engineers may be in one engineering department and report to an

engineering manager, but these same engineers may be assigned to different projects and report to a different

engineering manager or a project manager while working on that project. Therefore, each engineer may have to

work under several managers to get his or her job done.

Model Structure Selection: Determining

Model Order and Input Delay This example shows some methods for choosing and

configuring the model structure. Estimation of a model using measurement data requires selection of a model

structure (such as state-space or transfer function) and its order (e.g., number of poles and zeros) in advance. This

choice is influenced by prior knowledge about the system being modeled, but can also be motivated by an analysis

of data itself. This example describes some options for determining model orders and input delay.

Teamwork is "work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to

the efficiency of the whole" . [1] In a business setting accounting techniques may be used to provide financial

measures of the benefits of teamwork which are useful for justifying the concept. [2] Teamwork is increasingly

advocated by health care policy makers as a means of assuring quality and safety in the delivery of services; a

committee of the Institute of Medicine recommended in 2000 that patient safety programs "establish

interdisciplinary team training programs for providers that incorporate proven methods of team training, such as

simulation." [3]

by Sharon Feltham, Excellerate Performance One of the most influential models of the team developmental process

is that of Bruce W. Tuckman (1965). He gave us a way to interpret and make sense of the various stages groups pass

through on their way to becoming an

effective team.

Tuckman described this journey as five distinct stages:

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Adjourning

.

The Five Stages of Team Development

Stage 1: Forming

What does it look like?

Team members are reserved and polite, putting on their best behaviour to create a good first impression. Conflict is

avoided at all costs because of the need to be accepted into the group. There may be a sense of excitement and

opportunity, but also cautiousness and uncertainty about the future. Team members reflect not only on the tasks at

hand, but also about each other. Initial ground rules are established as the team begins to discover how to work

together. The Challenge The Team Dynamic The Questions Creating a purpose and managing team membership

Exploring why we are together? Testing to identify the boundaries of both interpersonal and task behaviours

Assessing other team members and the commitment Evaluating potential risks and rewards Establishing

relationships with leaders and other team members What are we supposed to do together? Do I want to get involved

in this? Is everyone committed to this? How can I contribute? What will you expect of me? What are the pros and

cons of being on this team? Who are these people? Will we get along? Can I trust you? What will you contribute?

Stage 2: Storming

What does it look like? Differences in opinion are more common and are expressed more openly. Conflicts emerge

around interpersonal issues and task needs. Power struggles may emerge as leadership is challenged and factions

begin to form. Team members compete for positions, challenge goals, the group influence and resist task

requirements. Note: Many groups commonly stall at this stage. The Challenge The Team Dynamic The Questions

Managing expectations and team roles Challenging the team’s purpose Splintering into subgroups Struggling for

power and control Resisting tasks and authority Avoiding dealing with underlying tension and hidden agendas Why

are we doing this? What’s the point? Why are we doing it this way? Why don't we do it that way?

Stage 3: Norming

What does it look like?

A sense of renewed optimism as the team begins to feel a sense of team identity. It experiences increased

cooperation as roles and responsibilities become clearer and agreement on norms and expectations for behavior are

reached. The Challenge The Team Dynamic The Questions Managing relationships and task efforts Implementing

the team’s performance expectations Re-establishing specific roles and operating procedures Defining rules for

problem solving Clarifying processes for resolving team conflicts Building team culture Who does what and when?

How often will we meet? How do we resolve problems? How do we make decisions? How do we handle conflicts?

What makes our team special?

Stage 4: Performing

What does it look like?

Reaching this stage is largely dependent upon the successful transition through the previous stages. The team knows

clearly what it is doing and why. Relationships are strong and while disagreements may occur they are resolved

quickly and positively. Roles become flexible and functional, and group energy is channelled into the task. There is

maximum work accomplishment, interdependence, personal insight and constructive self-change.The Challenge The

Team Dynamic The Questions Managing task completion, evaluating results, striving for improvement Alignment

Each person has an integral role in the team’s work Accomplishment. People and the team as a whole are meeting

and exceeding role and task expectations Cohesion. Feeling like a “team” Commitment. To each other, the team and

to accomplishing the team’s goals. Loyalty and trust How can we improve this? Is there a better way?m What more

can we do? How can I help?

Stage 5: Adjourning

What does it look like?

Adjourning is typically related to the end of a project team however, its also relevant when the purpose and structure

of team changes substantially due to sale, merger or a restructuring process. This stage can be particularly stressful

where the dissolution of the team is unplanned. This stage involves the disbandment of the team, termination of

roles and the completion of tasks. This stage is also referred to as 'mourning' given the sense of loss experienced by

some team members. The Challenge The Team Dynamic The Questions Managing relationships and task efforts

Conflicting emotions (sadness, anger, gratitude, happiness) Uncertainty about how to end and their future Grieving:

Feelings of dislocation and loss Team members deal with this stage in different ways: Avoiding: Tasks, arguing over

minor details or past arguments resurface Denying: pretending the team will continue,

5 Ways to Manage Different Personality Types

:

1. What personality type is each of your employees? Finding out if your employees are thinkers or feelers will make

it much easier to manage them. Thinkers are more prone to making decisions based solely on logic, while feelers

make their decisions based on relationships and value what is "good" over what is objectively best for the team. If

you're not sure who fits which type, gauge how they react the next time someone disagrees with them, and you'll

have your answer. After identifying your employees' personality types, you can adjust your managing style to their

way of working. Be more sensitive to the feelers and focus more on your talking points when dealing with thinkers.

2. Build a relationship. To get through to people who don't like to be managed, try building a relationship with them,

first. If you are successful at this, you might be surprised at how loyal they become. "Results and relationships are

intertwined, even inseparable" Zack writes.

3. Set the bar high. When people do standard work, they feel mediocre about their jobs, and even praise won't help

them get out of this rut. "They recognize that their manager has a low bar, so they do, too. They feel average about

the work product as well," Zack says. Instead, push your employees. Because most workers, especially the ones who

don't like being managed, actually feel the way they do because they're independent and creative. Use their skills to

your advantage.

4. Know what's most important to them. When it comes to Gen Y workers, freedom, flexibility and trust are the

most important characteristics of their ideal workspace, Schawbel tells us. Gen Y is also known for wanting

mentorships with their managers, so be willing to provide them regular feedback instead of annual reviews. Better

yet, take it one step further and create leadership development programs where your younger workers aren't just

being told what to do, but they're also being trained to move beyond their job descriptions.

5. Quit taking things personally. If you're going to properly manage your workers—especially if they despise

hierarchy—you need to remember to not take their reluctance to follow your directions too personally. Identify their

personality, win over their trust and you will start to see things change for the better.

Tips for Effective Teamwork

Teamwork Guidelines

Most assessment tasks test individual performance, so some students find it challenging to work and be assessed as

part of a team. Often the work takes longer than an individual task would and there is usually less individual control

over the end product or performance. Group dynamics can also add the potential for conflict. There are significant

benefits, though, especially when a team functions well. For instance, collaborative or social learning is well known

to improve the quality of learning. Sharing or contesting ideas and knowledge promotes deeper understanding, and

working in a team requires and develops a broader range of skills than individual assignments. More can be

achieved through teamwork in a shorter timeframe and at a higher quality if the team works well together. Teams in

law firms, for example, are formed to pool expertise and experience in tackling specific cases or projects. And this is

why firms place considerable emphasis on these skills in recruitment. Our WorkSkills website has more information

and comments from former students and employers on these issues. These guidelines summarise the characteristics

of effective work teams and suggest an approach to achieving a cohesive and successful team experience.

Characteristics of Effective Teams Research into effective teams in a wide range of contexts identifies the following

common characteristics:

Membership: two or more individuals work together toward a common goal Common goal: the members have

negotiated shared aims and goals Social organisation: the group develops or actively negotiates functional norms,

roles, and relationships Interdependence between members: members succeed only if all succeed Productive

involvement: all members are supported to contribute equally to the workload; resources and skills are identified

early on and used effectively. Decisions are made by consensus. Effective communication and interaction: face-to-

face and other modes of communication help to monitor group processes and dynamics, drive creativity and enable

productive work practices Mutual interest: members focus on the interests of the group as a whole, and avoid

personalising problems or differences of opinion Collective consciousness: members perceive themselves as

belonging to the group even when the group is not together Mutual trust: members listen to each other, respect

contributions, help each other to clarify ideas, and show interest in each other Cohesion: group processes function

smoothly without need for intervention, members are able to contribute equally to produce something greater than

the individual parts, individual contributions are brought together seamlessly and within nominated deadlines, and

members feel they have learnt something from the process and from the other group members. Adapted from

Maughan & Webb, Lawyering Skills and the Legal Process; and Hay Dungey & Bochner Making the Grade: A

Guide to Successful Communication and Study It is not always necessary to achieve all of these elements or attain a

high level of group cohesion to end up with good results; though it certainly helps. Getting Started Don’t jump

straight into the work. Take time to get to know each other and develop ground rules for the group. Social

psychologist Bruce Tuckerman noted four key stages: Forming: group members get to know each other, establishing

guidelines, goals and processes, assessing and breaking down the task at hand Storming: individuals assert

themselves and develop preferences, with arguments or disagreements potentially arising about how to proceed

Norming: work begins in a more organised and coordinated manner, rules and processes are established and

progress is made Performing: the team as a whole focuses entirely on the task and its completion These stages may

not be universally applicable, but the idea is to recognise group work as a process, and find ways to progress to the

‘performing’ stage as quickly as possible. As a starting point, as well as getting t