Project Management is no longer about managing the sequence of steps required to complete the project on time. It is about systematically incorporating the voice of the customer, creating a discipline way of prioritizing effort and resolving trade-offs, working concurrently on all aspects of the project in multi-functional teams, and much more. It involves much closer links between project teams and downstream activities, e.g. in new product development integration with manufacturing, logistics and aftersales support – in this case, 80% of costs are determined before they take over.
There are huge opportunities for eliminating wasted time and effort in almost every project. This book presents the practical aspects of project management which I gained during my stint with M/s RITES (Ministry of Railways) as regional head of Project Finance with a huge exposure in dealing World Bank projects. This will be of immense guide to project managers and students will find the mix of academic debate and practical case studies helpful.
Contents –
1. Project Management
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Meaning of Project
1.3 Definition and No Change Mode
1.4 Features of a Project
1.5 Types of Projects
1.6 Benefits of Project Management
1.7 Obstacles in Project Management
1.8 Project Management – A Profession
1.9 Project Manager and His Role
1.10 Project Consultants
1.11 What is Operation?
1.12 Difference between Project and Operation
1.13 What is Process in Project Management and Process Groups?
1.14 What is Scope? Difference between Project Group Objectives and Project Scope
Self Assessment Questions
2. Project Execution and Administration
2.1 Essentials of Project Administration
2.2 Project Team
2.3 Project Design
2.4 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
2.5 Project Execution Plan (PEP)
2.6 Contracting Plan
2.7 Work Packing Plan
2.8 Organisation Plan
2.9 Systems and Procedure Plan
2.10 Project Procedure Manual
2.11 Project Diary
2.12 Project Execution System
2.13 Project Direction
2.14 Communication in a Project
2.15 Project Co-ordination
2.16 Pre-requisites for Successful Project Implementation
Self Assessment Questions
3. Project Life Cycle
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Phases of Project Life Cycle
3.3 Project Management Life Cycle – General
3.4 Project Planning
3.5 Project Execution
3.6 Project Closure
3.7 Project Risks
3.8 Types of Risks: Some Illustrations
3.9 Risk Assessment Techniques with Illustrations
3.10 Project Cost Risk Analysis using Crystal Ball Software
3.11 Estimating Time and Cost Overrun Risks
3.12 Organisation/Procedural/Systemic Reasons for Project Cost Overruns
3.13 Time Overruns
Self Assessment Questions
4. Project Identification, Project Formation and Project Market and Demand
4.1 Project Identification
4.2 Sources of Project Ideas
4.3 Purpose and Need for Project Identification
4.4 Steps of Project Identification
4.5 Methodology for Project Identification
4.6 Project Identification for an Existing Company
4.7 Introduction
4.8 Stage in Project Formulation
4.9 Feasibility Analysis
4.10 Techno-economic Analysis
4.11 Financial Analysis
4.12 Cost Benefit Analysis
4.13 Project Formulation and Preparation
4.14 Market and Demand Analysis
4.15 Methods of Demand Forecasting
4.16 Market Planning
Self Assessment Questions
5. Feasibility Study and Project Report
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Nature of Project Feasibility Analysis
5.3 Need for Feasibility Studies
5.4 Components of Feasibility Study
5.5 Commercial and Economic Feasibility
5.6 Technical Feasibility
5.7 Financial Feasibility
5.8 Managerial Feasibility
5.9 Social Feasibility
5.10 Format of Feasibility Report
5.11 Check List for Feasibility Report
5.12 Project Report
Self Assessment Questions
6. Commercial Viability
6.1 Market Analysis
6.2 Commercial Viability – Cost of Production and Profitability
6.3 Commercial Viability – Debt Service Coverage and Repayment Programme
6.4 Break-even Analysis
6.5 Summary
Self Assessment Questions
7. Project Appraisal
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Appraisal Process
7.3 Market and Demand Appraisal
7.4 Technical Appraisal
7.5 Appraisal of Managerial Competence
7.6 Financial Appraisal
7.7 Profitability Analysis
7.8 Social Cost Benefit Analysis (SCBA)
Self Assessment Questions
8. Technical Feasibility Appraisal
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Technical Feasibility
8.3 Basic Field Level Queries
8.4 Technical Feasibility Study
8.5 The Appraisal Points/Focus
Self Assessment Questions
9. Project Planning, Project Scheduling and Project Monitoring and Implementation
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Nature of Project Planning
9.3 Need for Project Planning
9.4 Functions of Project Planning
9.5 Steps in Project Planning
9.6 Project Planning Structure
9.7 Project Objectives and Policies
9.8 Tools of Project Planning
9.9 Project Scheduling
9.10 TimeMonitoring Efforts
9.11 Bounding Schedules
9.12 Scheduling to Match Availability of Manpower
9.13 Scheduling to Match Release of Funds
9.14 Problems in Scheduling Real-life Projects
9.15 Introduction
9.16 Situation Analysis and Problem Definition
9.17 Setting Goals and Objectives
9.18 Generating Structures and Strategies
9.19 Implementation
9.20 What is Project Evaluation?
9.21 Why is Project Evaluation Important?
9.22 What are the Challenges in Monitoring and Evaluation?
Self Assessment Questions
10. Project Control
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Projected Control Purposes
10.3 Problems of Project Control
10.4 Gantt Charts
10.5 Milestone Charts
10.6 Critical Path Method (CPM)
10.7 Construction of a Network
10.8 Network Technique in Project Scheduling
10.9 Crashing Project Duration through Network
Self Assessment Questions
11. Project Review and Project Audit
11.1 Project Review
11.2 Initial Review
11.3 Post Audit
11.4 Performance Evaluation
11.5 Abandonment Analysis
11.6 Objectives of Project Audit
11.7 Functions of Project Auditor
11.8 Project Audit Programme
11.9 Difficulties in Establishing Audit Purpose and Scope
Self Assessment Questions
12. Project Financing and Risk Analysis
12.1 Definition of Project Financing
12.2 Sources of Finance
12.3 Equity Shares
12.4 Preference Shares
12.5 Debentures
12.6 Bonds
12.7 Term Loans
12.8 Lease Financing
12.9 Unsecured Loans
12.10 Deferred Credits
12.11 Capital Investment Subsidy
12.12 Bridge Finance (Bridge Loan)
12.13 Internal Accruals
12.14 Role of Financial Institutions in Project Financing
12.14.1 Financial Analysis
12.15 Activities Involved in Financial Analysis
12.16 Main Activity
12.16.1 Financial Evaluation of a Project
12.17 Other Activities
12.17.1 Estimating the Cost of Project
12.17.2 Decision about Sources of Finance
12.17.3 Working Capital Requirement
12.18 A Note on ‘Trading on Equity’
12.19 Risk
12.20 Risk vs. Uncertainty
12.21 Types of Risk
12.22 Risk Analysis
12.23 Activities Involved in Risk Analysis
12.23.1 Risk Assessment
12.23.2 Risk Management
12.24 Cost Control
12.25 Budgeted Cost (Preparation of Cost Baseline)
12.26 Cost Overruns and their Implications
12.26.1 Cost Escalations
12.26.2 Time Overruns
12.26.3 Scope Changes
12.26.4 Restrictions and Replacements
12.26.5 Unforeseen Contingencies
12.26.6 Budget under Estimation/Omission
12.26.7 Cost Change Control (Changes in Cost Baseline)
Self Assessment Questions
13. Environmental Impact Assessment and Environment Analysis
13.1 Introduction
13.2 EIA Different Countries
13.3 Environmental Analysis
13.4 Components of Environmental Analysis
13.4.1 Economic Environment
13.4.2 Political/Government/Legal Environment
13.4.3 Social and Cultural Environment
13.4.4 Natural Environment
13.4.5 Global Environment
13.4.6 Technological Environment
13.5 Process and Environmental Analysis
Self Assessment Questions
14. Project Management Software
14.1 Project Management Software – General Factors
14.2 Factors Influencing Price of Project Software
14.3 InstaPlan III
14.4 Yojana
14.5 Prism Project Manager
14.6 Primavera
14.7 Agile Methods
14.8 Scanner Master
Self Assessment Questions
15. Digital Project Management
15.1 Digital Technology Trends in Project Management
15.2 Cloud Technology
15.3 Project Management Solution in the Cloud
15.4 (IoT) Internet of Things
15.5 Internet of Things (IoT)
15.6 Data Science and Analytics in Project Management
15.7 Project Management for Data Analytics
Self Assessment Questions
Case Studies
Glossary of Terms