RESEARCH REPORT ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH REPORT ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Project management is one of the most crucial works of any organization as the project sets the beginning to great achievements. Projects are designed at each level with the teamwork and hard work of all to design ideas for the betterment of the firm. The report tries to cover the various aspects associated with project management like the strategies for project management, creation of new product development, phases in NPD and other project-related details. Project scheduling and budget are integral to make any project run smoothly and are also included in the study. Lastly, efforts have been made in understanding why projects succeed and fail and what are the international standards in project management that are followed (Heagney, 2016).

LO 1

WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

Project Management is the combination of several skills that are required for completing a certain project according to the client's specifications. Through Project Management, the desired project which is formulated after thorough research is brought into action and the whole process requires planning, management and usage of well-applied skills that can lead to the successful completion of the project. The project will require tools, techniques and experts to carry out the plan as per planning and the whole process from start to finish may take up a good amount of time, resources and intellect (Meredith et al., 2017).

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

It becomes very important to chalk out clear strategies before starting the project as the strategies can help guide the project in the right direction. Strategies help the project manager to decide in prior what to expect the results, what goals to set, whom to include and from where to obtain resources for the project. The strategies are discussed as follows:

Graph 1: Strategies for Project Management

Source: (Meredith et al., 2017)

• Refine Project Details: After the project is outlined and the main details are clear, it is important to refine and ponder over the intricacies. In the details, the project leader should chalk out the responsibilities that are expected from the sub-ordinates and practically everyone associated with the project. Also, it is a good idea to have a long term approach and think of the scope of the project. What impact will it have on the society people and the community? Some measurable criteria can be set to measure the progress of the project from time to time.

• Set Clear Expectations: This means that the expectations from the project as well as all the stakeholders associated with the project should be set. There are many benefits to this; the project will be started in such a way that the deliverables expected will be clear from the very starting. This will dispel all the ambiguities and thus all the stakeholder will be on the same page. It will also ensure that everyone knows about their duties well and will help in proper management (Weglarz, 2012).

• Select your Team: This is the most crucial aspect of the project management process. The team has to be selected after careful deliberation. The people with the most appropriate skills should be onboarded so that their skills can be used to improve the project during its incubation phase. But that does not mean that only technical skills will be required; for any project, it is a good idea to have human resource apt in all skills like co-ordination skills, multi-tasking skills, team-work skills and lots more. For example, Amazon uses the ‘Pizza Technology’ which means that any team should not be larger than 6-8 members.

• Set Attainable Goals: The goals should always be attainable and realistic. It is a good idea to set SMART goals which stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. When the goals are clear from the beginning, it gets easy to work on them. The resources required for the goals should also be mentioned which will make it easier for the team to co-ordinate with (Heagney, 2016).

• Set Communication Media: Communication is a very vital part of the project implementation and management phases as communication should be extremely transparent. Often the sub-ordinates and the newer members hesitate to get their doubts cleared which results in the overall result. The managers and the team leaders should try to keep everyone on the same page so that the communication is not compromised.

• Curb Risks: Risk is a factor that comes attached to along-with the project. There is always some percentage of risk and ambiguity regarding project success, scope and even failure. The risks should be mitigated properly and efforts should be taken to identify them early in the stage. The risks should also be discussed with clients and other stakeholders so that they know about the delay or errors that might be expected from the project.

• Evaluate Project from Time to Time: It is a good idea to revisit the project strategy even after it is near completion as it will provide a newer perspective and improved efforts. Points of learning and betterment can be inferred during the revisiting strategy which makes the project refined and more polished.

These are some of the project management strategies that are used by big companies worldwide to start any new idea with planned success.

FUTURISTIC MODELS OF INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS

There are several futuristic models used in the world which use the best of technology and construction expertise. The latest in the world of structural engineering and construction projects is building information modelling (BIM).

• Randselva Bridge- Norway

Image 1: Randselva Bridge, Norway

Source: (Heagney, 2016)

The Randselva Bridge is a 634-meter long bridge that is built without any drawing. It is completely built on the BIM model that has a height in the range of five and forty-two meters. The system of construction is based on cantilever method and the bridge deck will stand at 55 meters above ground level. The parametric design was used to design about 70% of all objects which was helpful in easy revisions and quick changes.

• Saga Natatorium- Japan

Image 2: Saga Natatorium- Japan

Source: (Weglarz, 2012)

This was designed by Yantai Daizo Design Co., Ltd, China. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics Pool model was completed in just 10 months by the work of only five people. The swimming pool of Olympics standard used Tekla automatic connection function to create nodes and components. It used high-tech skills and greater technology to create a huge pool in just a few months.

• The Twist- Norway

Image 3: The Twist, Norway

Source: (Akrani, 2012)

This is a unique form of a bridge that gives a twisted effect in the middle. It is built over the Randselva River at the Kistesfos Museum and Sculpture Park in Jevnaker. The bride is done y Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group and it's their first project in Norway that has already caught the attention (Weglarz, 2012).

These are some of the latest futuristic designs from around the world that are centric towards incorporating newer designs with ambitious architectural pursuits.

LO 2

NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

New Product Development means the process of introducing a new product to the market which did not exist before. The need to bring in a new product to the market could be due to changes in the consumer preferences, to tackle close competition or the advances in technology leading to changes or requiring a new product in the market. For a business to be innovative and to constantly thrive, it is important to introduce new products from time to time or to bring changes or modifications in the existing products which can ensure novelty and keep up in the competition game. The new products should be according to the present market standards, should be fulfilling the consumers’ demands and should be moderately priced which can make accessibility easier.

STAGES OF NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The NPD undergoes several changes before it is introduced to the market. A careful deliberation and thought process goes behind the development of the new product so that it can be successful and can function well in the long run.

Graph 2: Stages of NPD

Source: (Weglarz, 2012)

There are various stages of NPD:

1. Idea Generation: The generation of a good idea can be done by market research to understand consumer’s needs and wants or by inviting suggestions from consumers themselves. The employees within the company can also give their inputs and brainstorming sessions can be carried out for new product ideas. Also, the local, national and international market surveys can be carried out to get ideas for NPD. The agents and dealers associated with the company can also provide valuable feedback and suggestion to reduce time and effort in procuring or warehousing. Lastly, competitor’s products must be studied to see what changes can be brought about in the existing product (Akrani, 2012).

2. Idea Screening: The idea committee has to select the most appropriate ideas from the pool and decide which ones can be taken ahead. Also, the committee has to see if the current plant and machinery can support the introduction of a new product. If the new product is to be finalized, can the existing market network sell the new product or a new marketing plan has to be established for the same? All these factors have to be considered at this stage.

3. Concept Testing: The concept testing is like idea screening to find if the consumers understand the new idea or not. A small group of consumers are selected and they are briefed about the new product. Then it is asked what do they think of the product and will they be using it in the future or not. Honest feedback is elicited to see their reaction, feedback and suggestion which can be helpful to make any changes.

4. Business Analysis: In this stage, detailed business analysis is done to see if the new product to be introduced has financial implications or not. The product's profit generation capacity is assessed and other parameters like cost of the product, demand for product, seasonality and total sales are estimated. The competitor's products, prices and sales are assessed and comparatively, our product's rates are determined. The cost of promotion and advertisement means of advertisement and channels are also determined (Delisle, 2019).

5. Product Development: This is the stage when the work finally begins with creating a new product. The production department is briefed, the resources are accumulated and the design is ready for execution. The budgeting is prepared, advertisement plans take off and small batches are made ready for testing. If changes are deemed necessary, modifications at the production level happen.

6. Test Marketing: Test marketing means testing the product in a sample-sized market to see people's perception. If it is perceived well, it will be successful in the large market as well. However, if the product does not fare well as expected, the cycle goes back in the research and development phase to find out the reasons for failure in test marketing. Through test marketing, an honest outlook of the new product is received which saves long term losses and there is still room for improvement (Arzhanukhin and Mandrovitskaya, 2020).

7. Commercialization: If the test marketing is successful, the product is launched on a full-fledged level with pomp and show. The advertisements follow and marketing work at this initial stage is very important. The retailers and distributors are roped in and various channels for distribution and retailing are spread out. Any investors if become interested, they are also taken in for discussions and the management team decides on investors and partnership offers.

8. Review of Market Performance: in this, after-sales assessment is done to see how the consumers are accepting the new product, their queries and feedback, the profit generated by the product and so on. Is there any need for providing after-sales service? Are the middlemen happy with the commission they are receiving? Is the promotion and marketing team receiving enough traffic or is there a need to design a new marketing tactic? All these questions are followed in this last stage (Munro and Ika, 2020).

The process does not stop here. The new product will constantly receive queries and feedback which has to be answered by the concerned team it takes years for the product to stabilize and take hold of the market, so the product is still floating and the NPD team is constantly involved in its monitoring.

LO 3

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management is the use of appropriate skills, resources, methods, tools and experience to develop project goals and to achieve them against the set objective and time. The project management involves delivering the tangible and intangible results to the consumers, clients and/or stakeholders associated by planning in detail what timescales have to be followed. One extremely relevant point is the budgeting and cost assessment to see how much is available, how much will the project cost and how the gap will be mended, by what sources (Andersson and Chapman, 2017).

PROJECT SCHEDULING

Project scheduling means deciding on the activities and tasks that are to be carried out for the project by setting aside a fixed time for each activity. It includes a planned start and finish date which ensures that the tasks have a proper deadline. It also keeps the employees informed of the sequence of activities to be followed and what is expected when. The durations which are set aside are estimates and the actual time may vary depending on the complexity of the task. The project schedule is carefully prepared and when it is approved by the higher authorities, it is distributed to all departments so that everyone is on the same page (Gardner et al., 2017).

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Project management tools are used to manage and organize the project which makes its management easy and proper. Through a well-crafted project management tool, the tasks can be delegated well and it becomes easy to follow-up on them it provides scheduling, setting deadlines, task detailing and complying with clients so that everyone has access on the progress of the project.

Some of the widely used project management tools are- Trello, Asana, Zoho Projects, Wrike, Proofhub, Clarizen, Aritable and others (Burke, 2013).

STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

Stakeholder management is the process of managing the people, entities and enterprises associated with the project. Stakeholders can be clients, employees, staff workers, patenting authorities, liaising authorities, government, suppliers, vendors, distributors and practically everyone who has a stake in the project or company. Stakeholder management also includes how much information has to be shared with how many people. It also means keeping the person concerned updated about the product’s concerning knowledge. The client should know where the project is in the pipeline, the technical team should know the client's requirements, the branding and promotion team should know what features have to be marketed and how, and so on.

PROJECT BUDGETING

A Project Budget is the total costs that are associated with the project and its management. The budget means allocating funds against set tasks in an efficient manner such that there is no wastage and the minimum cost is spend. For every phase of the project, some funds have to be set aside like production, packaging, marketing, salaries of workers, supplier and middlemen commissions, profits, etc. the project budgeting helps to decide the actual cost of the product to be sold and helps in the prediction of profits if the product is successful in the market (Bridges, 2019).

LO 4

WHY PROJECTS FAIL

As much as work and effort are put in to make the project successful, there is always that works against it and the project fails. There can be many hidden and apparent reasons for it and it is important to ponder over the reasons with a clear mind. Acceptance is the first step to changing it for the better and instead of blame gaming and back-tracking, it is essential to play good sport and face the elephant in the room.

Some of the most common reasons for failure are:

• Lack of support from management

• Lack of proper communication

• Lack of Risk Management Strategies

• Lack of experienced personnel

• Delay in Decisions and approvals (Harrin, 2020)

These are some of the main reasons why a project fails. The main challenge is to not be disappointed but rather, positively take the failure and churn out the lesson learnt from it into something useful.

WHY PROJECTS SUCCEED

There is a very simple recipe for project success but often the riddle is to get there. Successful projects are those which meet the business requirements accurately, are planned, delivered and constrained within budget and deliver what is expected of them with a satisfying ROI. Many factors like management, goal-orientation and participation from one and all do wonders to the team. A plan that is detailed and well understood by all from the starting itself and open and honest communication by all is also the reasons that can be credited for a project’s success (Aarseth et al., 2017).

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Various international agencies work on developing international project management standards which can be used worldwide. Due to the increased globalization wherein the companies are interacting with ones from all over the world, there is a growing need to develop standardized practices which are uniform to all. The most prominent of the international standardization is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Project Committee 236 which is developing the ISO Standard 21500. The ISO committee has used representatives from over 35 countries to bring in the various parameters of standardization from these countries. Another technical committee, called the ISO/TC258 was created in June 2011 which works on ensuring the technical capabilities are at world standard (Best et al., 2011).

CONCLUSION

The project management is one of the most crucial aspects of running an organization. The creation and need for new projects and assessing their requirement is the duty of the project manager. The phase in which the ideas are generated, running a test to check consumer's reaction and finally putting it into long term production are some of the steps that go behind creating a successful project. The project deadline, scheduling, costing and branding are done to ensure the project remains on track and the market is set to welcome the project. The study has been instrumental in crafting the strategies and stages for a project which make it easier to be propagated well and so that its success can be measured in quantifiable terms (Akrani, 2012).

REFERENCES

Aarseth, W., Ahola, T., Aaltonen, K., Økland, A. and Andersen, B., 2017. Project sustainability strategies: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), pp.1071-1083.

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Gardner, J., Bennett, P.A., Hyatt, N. and Stoker, K., 2017. Applying project management strategies in a large curriculum conversion project in higher education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 20(3).

Harrin E., 2020- Why Projects Succeed or Fail. Online Available at (https://www.girlsguidetopm.com/why-projects-succeed-or-fail/#:~:text=Projects%20fail%20because%20businesses%20fail,stuff%20gets%20in%20the%20way.) Last Accessed February 2021

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