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        PROJECT MANAGEMENT
　　Relevant to Paper P3
　　When I was a student, I saw an advert in my college magazine looking for people to go on a road trip. Eight of us would buy an old minibus, drive it across the continent, and sell it at the end for about the same price we paid for it. The idea was immediately attractive – companionship, new people, new places, new experiences, low cost – and we soon embarked on our adventure.
　　It was a disaster. What went wrong?:
　　· We were interested in different things, some of us preferring magnificent scenery, others preferring cities.
　　· We had different personalities. For example, some were punctual, others laid-back. Some were free-spending, some were careful with money. Some liked rock music, others folk music.
　　· There were constant arguments and discussions about where to go, what routes to take, how long to spend in different places. The discussions went on and on because no-one felt able to take the lead.
　　· Costs spiralled because the van broke down a few times. It sold for much less than we had hoped.
　　· We eventually discovered that the self-appointed map reader had no sense of direction.
　　· Delays meant that we couldn’t get to where most of us thought we were going.
　　· Delays meant that I missed my flight home, and I certainly did not come back refreshed and enlightened.
　　This trip had many of the typical features of a project, and highlights many of the risks. In general, a project – such as implementing a new IT system – has the following characteristics:
　　· It is different to one’s normal activities.
　　· It has a start, an end, and a duration.
　　· Often there is initial enthusiasm about being included in the project team; that is going to solve an important problem and herald in the splendid new IT system.
　　· Often unique tasks and problems are addressed. New IT system implementation is likely to be rare.
　　· Team members are drawn from many different backgrounds, each with their own priorities, outlooks, skills and terminologies. The accounts department wants certain reports, the sales department wants others, and IT wants high specification equipment.
　　· The team members might never have worked together before.
　　· Often, no benefit is obtained until the project is completed. Abandonment part way through will have incurred costs without yielding benefits.
　　These characteristics should scream ‘danger’, and many projects are much less successful than hoped, just as our holiday was. If you are aware that danger accompanies an undertaking, then it makes sense to understand the nature of the undertaking and how the danger can be managed.
　　PROJECTS AND STRATEGY
　　The rational strategic planning model (Figure 1) is usually presented as three stages: analysis, strategic choice, and implementation. Often these are set out as a linear sequence, but it is preferable to arrange them in a triangle to acknowledge that the three stages inform one another. For example, when the organisation starts implementation, it will undoubtedly discover information which may make it reconsider its analysis and choice.
　　FIGURE 1: RATIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING MODEL
　　Whether shown linearly, or as in Figure 1, strategic analysis and choice should be relatively quick. Planning, of itself, neither makes money nor improves performance. Some people think that deciding on a plan is the same as realising the plan, but it is only when the right plans are successfully implemented that gains and improvements are made – and implementation is where the really hard work lies, with effort needed, possibly for years, long after the plan was agreed.
　　A strategic plan (typically long term and corporate-wide) can never be implemented as a single, monolithic task. A strategy of expanding abroad, for example, would consist of a series of smaller tasks such as finding premises, recruiting, training, equipping the factory, marketing, and establishing a distribution network. Each of these smaller tasks can be regarded as a project, with a start, end, objectives, deadline, budget, and required deliverables. Realising a strategic plan therefore depends on carrying out a complex jigsaw of projects, and if one piece goes missing the whole strategic plan will be in jeopardy. Therefore, successful project management is at the heart of successful strategic planning.
　　THE PROJECT LIFECYCLE
　　There are a number of different versions of the project lifecycle, perhaps using slightly different terminology and dividing up each stage differently. Sometimes the differences are there just to differentiate a commercial product such as project management software. Despite differences in detail, all project lifecycles can be depicted as inFigure 2.
　　FIGURE 2: STAGES OF THE PROJECT LIFECYCLE
　　All projects will start from an initial idea, perhaps embedded in the strategic plan. A project will then progress to the initiation stage when a project manager will be
　　appointed. The project manager will choose a project team and they will carry out a feasibility study. The feasibility study is necessary to establish the following:
　　· Commercial feasibility – will the likely benefits exceed the cost?
　　· Technical feasibility – do we think this project has a good chance of working?
　　· Operational feasibility – will it help the organisation reach its objectives?
　　· Social feasibility – will our employees, customers and other stakeholders tolerate it?
　　A feasibility report should be produced and this will have to be studied by senior managers, because if the project goes ahead substantial expenditure might be required.
　　Note that the feasibility report does not merely have to present management with simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ options, but can set out a range of options, each with particular benefits, costs and time frames. Where there is some doubt as to the potential benefits that will arise from the project, it is particularly valuable to offer a range of choices which allow the organisation to first try out a modest project and later allow the project to be extended. This approach is a useful way to reduce risk. If you are not sure about something, start in a small way and extend later if worthwhile.