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BENOIT CHENU

Introducing to project management

1.1. Definition of a project

A project is a sum of independent actions leading to the delivery of a product or a clearly identified service in a limited time and resources.

A project is characterized by:

• An innovation, unicity
• One limited duration
• Multiple speakers
• A budget
• A cycle

A project is a process made up of phases and stages for which its contents and context vary from one type of project to another. We can thus generalize a model of project in four stages:

• Identification, strategic planning allowing to clarify the project
• Identification, operational planning of the project
• Realization of the project
• Termination, including/understanding the explanation to the customer, its evaluation and the closure project.

1.2. Stages of a project

Generally, a project is exposed to three variables: quality, the cost and the time limit. Each decision influences at least one variable systematically. A head of project must thus permanently seek balance between these variables. Below, the triangle of the project management:

The main problem is to determine the priorities of the client and those of the company. For this reason, it is necessary to permanently have the client’s vision. The risk is then the perfectionism which leads the project manager towards improvements which draw aside the product of the client requirements.

Phase 1: Identification of the project

This phase aims to identifying a project, starting from the expression of a need and to provide necessary information to the client so that he can decide if the project must be continued.

The step must pass initially by the definition of the need with an aim of clarifying, of analyzing and evaluating the need. In a second stage, we determine the possible options to devaluate their relevance, their feasibility and the risks of each one in order to choose the best one. Finally, we plan and describe the selected project so that the client can judge advisability of continuing its realization.

Its description includes a definition of the project scale, general methodology and a preliminary estimate of costs. The document must integrate the risk management aiming at identifying the risks associated with the project, analyzing them and at adapting suitable measurements to manage them. Lastly, a strategy of realization must present the principal choices suggested to carry out the project in the most effective possible way.

Phase 2: Definition of the project

The project will be defined by three phases:

• Development of the project defining its detailed contents. The document must include an outline of the technical choices, the feasibility study and the contents’ detailed description.
• Programming of the project defining the sequence of activities programmed in time and assigned resources. This stage corresponds to the final realization of GANT diagram by the PERT method.
• Project management. It will initially consist of a detailed organization of the responsibilities. This organization includes various categories of speaker (interns and external). Thus each speaker will see himself assigned responsibilities such as for example the execution of a task, its follow-up, checking the results, participating in meetings or the responsibility for coordination or integration. In the second time, the process of control must be set up. It consists of a planning the control (what is necessary to control, measuring instruments, the frequency of measurements), the follow-up (measurement of the state of the project, comparison to the forecasts) and control (analysis variations, identification of the corrective measures). Lastly, the definition of the systems and procedures. The procedures are the methods to be respected by all the speakers. There are general procedures with all the projects and other specific ones to the project. The information system is a series of actions and tools necessary for the good completion of the project. This includes the tools for collects, its treatment and communicating the information.

Phase 3: Realization of the project

This phase is the implementation of the preceding phases. It does not require any additional management. Each speaker must follow its directives; control planning must be followed.

Phase 4: Termination of the project

Located at the end of the project, this phase must be planned due to the risks which are associated to it, like the tendency to be unaware of it, to get rid of some as quickly as possible where to stretch as long as possible.

The first stage is thus the handing-over and installation of the product to the client. If the product respects the general specifications, the payment of the agent starts then. A series of verification tests is of the correct operation by the client and can possibly involve modifications. This stage ends by the acceptance of the product. The second and last stage is the project closure thus the disengagement of the resources, the closing of the journals and the filing of the project’s file.