A Case Study in Project Management T. C. Boezaarf

Project management has become an increasingly important aspect of the survival of modern businesses, not only in the manufacturing sector but also in the services sector. The problem is, however, that most companies employ workers, who are experts in their respective fields, but usually not in project management, to manage the company's projects.

Although it is extremely helpful and necessary to have a project manager who is experienced in the specific project's field, the person also needs thorough training in the finer points of project management. This is especially true in the services sector, where many project managers are people who become very proficient in their work as, for example, business consultant and are then promoted to project manager. Although the person has experience in the running of a typical project, he or she still lacks the knowledge specific to project management. This is especially true for project risk management. It was decided to develop a case study in the services sector, due to the abundance of manufacturing sector case studies available, and the apparent lack of availability of case studies in the services sector which includes a section on risk management.

This report consists of four main sections. The first section contains a detailed literature study on the main aspects of project management, ranging from project planning to risk management and project control. The second section details the development of the Microsoft" Project 2000 Tutorial. The third section of this report describes the development process of the case study questionnaire. It was decided to develop a case study based on a Business Process Re-engineering project at an Information Technology company. The fourth section of this report details the development of the case study memorandum. Even though these two topics appear as separate chapters in this report, it must be stressed that they were both developed concurrently. This was done to ensure that the information provided in the questionnaire was sufficient in detail and explained clearly enough.

It is recommended that the students participating in the course complete the tutorial before attempting the case study. Completing the tutorial before the case study will aid the student in the completion of the case study and save valuable time.

1.1 The Need for Project Management

Imagine the great pharaoh Cheops entrusts a person with the task of building the greatest pyramid ever. The person is allowed 20 years and 100,000 men. Money is not really a constraint, but it will become one if definite progress is not shown, because there are wars that must be supported and other projects that are running, as well as the uprising of the Israelites.

As can be seen, this can become a very complex exercise, and the human aspects of the project were not even considered, things like water, food, healthcare, hierarchical structures, and the like. Most people will start at the natural start and select a stand for the pyramid. But how does the project manager keep track of what has been completed, what is currently being completed and what still needs to be done? And what about the quality of the pyramid?

Careful and thorough planning can alleviate, and even eliminate, most of the problems in the examples mentioned above. That is if the world was a deterministic and certain world. In real life, however, there is this one little concept called uncertainty, which forces people to have to manage projects, and not only plan them. Uncertainty usually threatens the project's budget, schedule, performance or even the project specifications. This is where project management becomes extremely important. At some stage, the project manager must decide which of the three project goals to trade off against the other, compensate on the schedule, budget or performance, or any combination thereof. Careful risk management and project control can reduce the uncertainty involved in largely executing the project, but there will always be a level of uncertainty that will have to be managed. Project management is still a new concept around the world. It has only really been in use since the start of the previous century. Even then it was used mainly for large projects in the military, aerospace, and construction industries. Today, it is used more regularly in industry, even for small projects, largely because resources are becoming scarcer for the average business, and more stringent competition in the marketplace. Due to these factors, management usually demands a detailed project plan before the start of a project.

A further boost to the area of project management is the fact that computer technology has made it a much simpler exercise. This is since computers can now do most of the detailed calculations, and the project manager has more time available to really manage the project.

A few of the questions that the project manager might be faced with could include the following:

1.When are specific resources employed and used? 2.How many blocks of sandstone must be shipped from Ethiopia along the Nile River and when must they be shipped? 3.How many granite blocks are needed to cover the softer sandstone base of the pyramids? 4.Where can these blocks of granite be found? 5.How will they be transported to Cairo? 6.How are people going to place a 20-ton block of granite on top of a 40- story construction without the use of modern cranes?