Project: Execution

Helgi Thor Ingason,Haukur Ingi Jonasson

• Editore: Routledge
• Anno: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429806339
• Edizione: 1
• Argomento: Betriebswirtschaft
• Categoria: Unternehmensstrategie

Strategic planning is the starting point for projects and often the primary reason for a project's success or failure. Project leaders and project-orientated organisations need to understand strategic planning to understand their position and environment, and make rational decisions when selecting and defining their projects and programmes.

The authors provide the reader with a straightforward, comprehensive understanding of the basics of project management, including the present status of the discipline, its history, and theoretical foundations. With emphasis on the project life cycle, it is designed to support the IPMA D, C, or B level qualifications, and IPMA Competence Baseline 4.0, providing you with all the information needed to pursue certification.

Project: Execution is also an ideal introductory textbook to progressive programmes on strategic planning, with a focus on collaborative work, open strategy, and an exploration of open strategic planning on a social level. It provides a wealth of learning tools and case studies to demonstrate best practice. This is the ideal guide to project planning for anyone that wants their planning decisions to be as wise as they are savvy.

1 Introduction

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“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Benjamin Franklin’s famous Universal Truth seems particularly apt for a discipline such as project management, where the planning and execution of projects require that the responsible individuals have a wide range of prior developed skills and experience. Whether the project is something as large scale and complex as the post-tsunami clean-up of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan or, at the other end of the scale, the organisation of the annual Westman Islands Music Festival in Iceland, there are many different elements to consider in project management, and neglecting any of them can escalate potential problems and increase the chances of a negative outcome.

From our experience as project management course providers and business consultants, we recognise that people with a serious interest in project management have very diverse backgrounds, and this book is written with that diversity in mind. You may be a seasoned project management professional, a project management student, or someone who has a general managerial role or interest. You may operate as an individual, or as part of a larger public or private entity, and your current project could be described, in the simplest terms, as a cost-constrained operation to realise a set of defined outcomes to pre-defined quality standards and requirements. This, of course, can mean that you are responsible for organising anything from a school reunion to a new public health advertising campaign or repairing an orbiting satellite. Irrespective of the direction from which you have come, there are common elements that form the basis of successful project management, and we have identified four different areas of competence as being essential. These are: strategic skills, leadership skills, execution skills, and communication skills.

In this book, the focus is on planning and execution skills, and the aim is to guide the reader through an in-depth discussion of the various aspects of this topic using examples to illustrate, where applicable. In the context of this book, “execution” refers to the often complex interactions between the different elements or entities that constitute a project, their management and structure, whereas “skills” are considered to be learned capacities to carry out defined tasks successfully, efficiently, and effectively.

There are two principal foundations for this book. The first is the accumulated experience of the authors, acquired through a combination of managerial and teaching roles, and the second is the published literature of internationally recognised project management associations such as the International Project Management Association’s Competence Baseline (ICB4).

Organisational skills are essentially multifaceted, even for relatively straightforward projects, and they will vary from sector to sector. To illustrate the scope of the subject, ICB4 lists 28 competence elements that are considered essential for a successful project manager, and each of these is given a detailed description. The competences are categorised into three areas: perspective, people, and practice. A summary of the elements is given in Figure 1.1. Throughout the book, there will be references, mainly to the elements of the practice competences, while other competences will be covered in the other books in the series.

Figure 1.1
Definition of the ICB4 competence element structure.

Project management involves a complex process that weaves together a combination of many different elements. The book offers you a structured approach to achieving success and includes many examples that highlight various organisational skills in different environments. It aims to show that in order for you to be deemed a “skilful” planner, you’ll need to have a deep working knowledge of projects and a high level of awareness of the requirements for project completion, both commercial and technical. By extension, this implies a good understanding of the relationships between all the different elements and entities within a project and the dexterity to break down a project into a series of manageable sequenced tasks, delegating when necessary. It also means, at all times, retaining responsibility for a successful outcome, leading by example, and having the flexibility required to react to circumstances as they arise. The ability to lead others and maintain a standard in quality control is not innate; you will need to acquire it through learning and experience. This is one of the areas of focus for project management methodology and leadership skills.

A reminder that even the most carefully planned projects can be derailed by simple human error.

In 1999, after nine months of space flight, the $125 million Mars Climate Orbiter reached the atmosphere of Mars, and NASA Mission Control was in the process of manoeuvering it into a stable orbit when contact was irretrievably lost, and the Orbiter presumably crashed. In the follow-up investigation headed by Art Stephenson, a director at the Marshall Spaceflight Center, reference was made to the need for periodic rocket firings during the outward journey to counteract deviations that had been caused by a combination of the asymmetry of the craft and the influence of the sun. Engineers on the ground calculated the size of the rocket firing using feet-per-second of thrust, a value based on English imperial units, while the spacecraft computer interpreted the instructions in newtons-per-second, a metric measure of thrust. This difference was significant, and the error built up, so that by the time the spacecraft reached the Martian atmosphere, there were indications that something was seriously wrong. “We were on the wrong trajectory, and our system of checks and balances did not allow us to recognize that,” Edward Stone, director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said afterwards. Stephenson said that the problem was not with the spacecraft, but with the engineers and the systems used to direct it. “Sometimes the little things can come back and really make a difference,” he said ( Oberg, 1999 ).

Before we move on to a more detailed discussion of the various aspects of project planning and delivery, let’s take a moment to introduce the professional project management associations that we reference, their key bodies of knowledge, and the outline structure of the book.

Professional associations and certification

There are three international professional project management bodies that we reference in this book, and a brief description of these is given below.

International Project Management Association (IPMA)

IPMA, headquartered in Switzerland, is a globally recognised, not-for-profit body that has been promoting standards in project management since 1965. The Association is a federation of about 70 member associations who each develop project management competences within their geographic areas of influence. IPMA works to introduce and promote project management methodology amongst individuals, companies, institutions, and organisations worldwide through its educational base and its certification system. A key feature of IPMA is the conceptual baselines it has developed, such as ICB4, which provide a strong foundation for the teaching of project management (Home – IPMA International Project Management Association, n.d.).

The IPMA awards certificates to individuals based on an assessment of their competences in typical project management activities that occur in their daily working lives. The certification system has four levels: A, B, C, and D, and a brief description of the standards that apply to these levels (also taken from their website) is given below.

• Certified Projects Director (IPMA Level A) means that the person is able to direct an important portfolio or programme, rather than the management of a single project. To take on this responsibility, an advanced level of knowledge and experience is required.
• Certified Senior Project Manager (IPMA Level B) means that the person is able to manage a complex project that satisfies certain criteria. Sub-projects are normal, i.e. the project manager is working with sub-project managers, rather than leading the project team directly.
• Certified Project Manager (IPMA Level C) means that the person is able to lead a project with limited complexity, which signifies that s/he has demonstrated the corresponding level of experience in addition to the ability to apply project management knowledge.
• Certified Project Management Associate (IPMA Level D) means that the person is able to apply project management knowledge when s/he participates in a project in any capacity, and common knowledge is not sufficient to perform at a satisfactory level of competence....