Essay: The Importance of Planning Project Boundaries
By: Camila Ferrari - 09175130
1 - Introduction:
“Project management is a series of activities embodied in a process of getting things done” (Cleland, 2007, p.51). What stages would be involved on defining the ‘series of activities’ and what needs to be ‘done’? Would a complete definition of the project and its boundaries be directly linked to the project success?
This essay will critically analyze the following statement: “The First step in making project management work must be a complete definition of the boundaries across which the project management must interact” (Kezner, 2009 p 381) by: detailing the importance of planning, the importance of defining boundaries, and
…show more content…
Illustrating this definition I quote: Mochal (2004) with the following example: if you think scope as a box, boundaries will be used to define the size, shape the characteristics of the box, and the requirement would fill up the inside of the box.
Project Managers will obtain a holistic view of the project and the detailed definition of project boundaries will integrate and enable consideration of technical organization, personnel and marketing objective in the project, in other words all aspects around the project. (Cleland 1994)
The Boundaries of the project are measurable and auditable, and it is closely linked to project objectives. Defining Project boundaries should indentify the project ‘domains’ and provide a clear understanding of what belongs to the project and what doesn’t, for example, team, resources available, timeframes, departments involves, other projects involved, the area of the project and etc. Project Managers will then, have a clear definition of the project’ limits and a clear understanding of its interaction and relationship with other projects. (McDonnel 2010)
The clear definition of the project boundaries will prove to be important for all phases of the project management, such as: managing and controlling the
Project scope defines the goals of the project and the budget of both time and money that has been allocated to achieve the objectives. For the best results to be achieved, both the definition and the allocated budget must be precise and detailed. A good process scope document will define specifically the tasks to be completed or the delivered results. The project scope is important because it will define the specific date for which the deliverables
A project scope is a way to describe the major deliverables of a project and this includes key milestones, high level requirements, assumptions and constraints. A projects scope is a useful way to make decisions for the future of the project if changes are needed. The projects scope also defines boundaries of a given project and it clarifies what can be delivered and what is expected to be delivered ("Match ware", 2013). The scope explains the boundaries of the project and the responsibilities of every one working on that project. This helps who ever is working on the project by defining guidelines and helping them to remain focused. The projects scope is a very important part of the SDLC because this serves as a manual for how the project will be completed including important details, deliverables, tasks, costs, and deadlines.
Scope management can be defined as the function of creating and overseeing the projects scope. It is critical to have a well-defined scope so an effective project manager can understand what the justification for the project was and who instigated while highlighting the businesses need for it, the clear objectives of the project and what product or results it will produce
The nature and scope of a project is determined at the initiation stage. This involves analyzing the business needs, developing goals, budgets, tasks, deliverables, and the stakeholder analysis. The project planning stage determines the planning team, develops the scope, and identifies work breakdown structure and activities that will be needed to complete deliverables. The planning stage also estimates time and cost activities, develop schedule and risk plan, and gain formal approval for work to begin. The executing stage involves all processes used to meet the project requirement and involves managing people and resources. The process that entails the identification of potential problems and
Project scope is the most important part of the planning process of any project. Early in the planning process, one has to
In order to achieve their business objective, project management and the used methodology are key factor which will be responsible for the success or failure of this project.
Prior to the onset of modern project management, the success criteria of a project lay solely on the technical success, or scope of the resulting product or service. Today, adherence to budget and schedule form a triangle of success factors alongside scope, with client satisfaction also developing as a key determinant of project success (Kerzner, 2004). However, the delivery of project scope will always take precedence over all other project factors, because if a project fails to deliver on its original intention, need or functionality, the project will always be considered as a failure. This essay will analyse the adequacy of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge’s (PMBOK) definition of Project Scope Management in relation
Key outputs in this phase are the Projects Requirements definition, the capability and capacity assessment, project delivery strategy and the Project Management plan. The role of the construction/ project manager in this phase is, once project authorized, it is the project manager’s responsibility to implement the project. In terms of the Project Requirements Definition the, the project manager refines and details the project authorization and details what the project is required to accomplish in terms of the products/services the project will deliver and the scope of work that needs to be done. The project manager must provide project team members, corporate sponsors, and other stakeholders with a common understanding of what the project is all about, and is the authoritative reference document that defines the project.
All projects are defined by the purpose, objectives and deliverables. Properly defining these, as well as the other aspects of the project management plan will
It is very important to define the scope of the project. There are following factors which should be considered to define the scope:
Project Defintion - Here the customers requirements and needs are collected and basic operting concept is identified. In this stage it is also important to investigate alternatives and risk analysis, and also to find our if the project is profitable or not. This information provided should indentify all of the projects costs for traning and sustaining efforts after the project is completed.
The concept of project scope may be one of the most ample in project management. It involves objectives, limits and intentions. Every requirement in a project as well as its characteristics must be dealt with when planning the scope. Even though it 's reasonable to say that every project is unique, the causes for which it fails are generally the same. And if you already know what these causes are, you can minimize the likelihood of problems being repeated and thus increase the chance of success.
Whatever scope and scale of the project, narrow boundaries are the best bet. We were able to keep the project generally on track, because we were clear about the problem statement and what was not included. Tighter definitions yield more focused results and less uncertainty.
Project management is a series of steps taken in sequence to manage a project through all phases from conception to completion. The steps are documented in a strategic plan. The plan is used to ensure that all parties are working towards a common goal. Project management requires applying knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to specific activities in accordance with established standards and guidelines. There are five basic functions of project management: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Basic activities of project management include: identifying project requirements to define the outcomes; addressing various needs, concerns and expectations of others; setting up, maintaining and carrying out communications; managing others; creating project deliverables; and balancing competing project constraints.
The first step in planning a project could be specification. This is a term that can be defined as stating the problem or what is trying to be solved by this particular project. There can be a lot of confusion in this stage of project planning, such as the misunderstanding of intent (Winning Project Management). A way to avoid such conflict is to maybe write out an agreement before the project showing that everyone understands exactly what is to be expected. The next step would be structure. Having decided the many specifications, it is time to figure out exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. There has to be some kind of framework built by the manager. Structure also links all of the tasks together instead of everything being done on individual basis. This creates a sense of unity among your project team. To move forward with the planning process, you need to transform the specifications into a complete set of tasks that are linked together. If the planning of a project becomes too complicated then that means that the tasks need to be broken down into even smaller ones. This is also a great way to learn each and every detail of the project. Planning too much detail could be a fault by the project manager as well. You should just break it down as far enough for your team to understand it. The next stage would be task