Modern organisations in Australia continually undertake projects and project-based work as a day-to-day occurrence. In your own organisation (or one you are familiar with), you will have made observations and had experiences due to the particular nature of projects and undertaking project work.
The term projectised is often applied to Australian organisations to describe the emerging different types and forms of work relationships within them including working with third parties or contract organisations. These changes present challenges for those of you working in project operations roles. Accordingly, it is useful to understand some of the key elements tied to effective project management practices and how we design and implement projects.
By the end of this topic, you will understand:
- Project initiation
- Procedures for project and budget authorisation
- Proposing a project
- Risk management
- Costs and benefits
Before considering establishing a project, we need to consider what we mean by that term. A project is a specific initiative comprising numerous tasks with a specific start and finish date. This contrasts with day-to-day operational activities, as these processes and operations can be repetitive and are fixed into functional work to produce goods or deliver services.
Projects include clearly defined:
- Goals
- Timelines and end date
- Ownership and accountabilities
- Stakeholders including project teams
- KPIs or critical success measures.
Establishing a Project
The initial starting point for establishing a project goes back to defining what a project means. A project usually has a definitive start and end date, and spin-off projects can evolve from the main project.
Those managing projects must demonstrate competency in handling high levels of information and communication across a diverse range of stakeholders, both internally and externally. If not effectively executed, projects can end up being both expensive and ineffective.
The fundamental underpinnings for a well-designed project include design and authorisation of the scope of the project. A successful project also requires input from all key or relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, ideally, authorisations and signoff procedures should be completed before a project starts. Several vital decisions also need to be made, such as factors including responsibilities, timelines and budgets.
Project management (PM) is another key consideration when establishing a project. PM is a broad and complex core function within many businesses and organisations, regardless of size, location and industry. PM lies at the heart of much innovation, new product and service launches, and continuous improvement across an array of industries and sectors and in both Profit and Not for profit (NFP) environments.
To kickstart the project, a document called a Project Initiation Document (PID) must be formulated. The PID is designed and completed by the project team responsible for collecting and collating the relevant documents pertaining to the proposed project, and which contain key data and information. A well-designed PID can be considered a contract between the project team and the stakeholders. It explains all aspects of project objectives and is designed to keep all parties involved aware of exactly what is required.
PIDs are used for:
- Project management
- Assessing objectives
- Finding and dealing with weak aspects.
The PID asks the vital questions:
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- How?
- Why?
Further Reading
To learn more about project initiation, visit the following link from Method 123: ‘Project Initiation Phase’
The PID may include the following information:
- Project aim and definitions
- Sources of funding
- Clarity of roles and responsibilities
- Possible stumbling blocks in the project
Other areas covered could include:
- Business case
- Feasibility studies
- Reports or meeting minutes
- Recommendations
- Strategic or business plans
Organisation's Mission, Goals, Objectives and Operations
During the initiation phase, it is very important to ensure you clarify the relationship of the project to the mission, the goals and the objectives as well as the operations of the organisation. Below there is an explanation for each one of these terms:
Legislation, Regulations, Standards and Code of Conduct
It is also very crucial to access and ensure you comply with relevant legislation, regulation, standards and code of conduct during the planning phase of the project. Below there is a list of links with the relevant legislation:
1. Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (legislation.gov.au)
2. Law and regulation | Safe Work Australia
3. Independent Contractors Act 2006
4. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (legislation.gov.au)
5. Privacy Act 1988
6. Fair Work Act 2009 (legislation.gov.au)
7. Fair Work Regulations 2009 external-icon.png
8. Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021
9. Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (legislation.gov.au)
10. Home | Foreign Investment Review Board (firb.gov.au)
11. Industry codes | ACCC
12. About mandatory standards | Product Safety Australia
During the project authorisation and permissions stage, your aim is to obtain all permissions required to run the project efficiently. The permissions you collect must always be in writing, which goes some way to eliminating the possibility of disagreements later.
Several procedural activities are carried out within the process of project authorisation, including:
Authorisations can often be decided before a project manager is allocated to a project. This might make the task problematic for the manager in terms of flexibility. To avoid this, authorisations should be documented in a scope statement, which explains the intent of the project, its objectives and clarification of budget and timelines plus subsequent evidence of signoff by personnel such as senior managers who have delegation authority.
Personnel with the ability to approve a project include individuals that have been granted financial delegation with the company or individuals that have been granted financial delegation within the project’s organisational breakdown structure. An organisational breakdown structure outlines the reporting lines, hierarchy and configuration of people working within a particular project.
Further Reading
What Is an Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)? (chron.com)
You will be asked to make a proposal for your project to be submitted to stakeholders. A proposal is essentially the first formal document for the project. It must be well-presented, organised and describe what you plan to achieve (and how you will achieve it) throughout your project.
Your project proposal should identify and describe high-level requirements including:
- Background (rationale and idea)
- Goals and objectives
- Time estimates
- Deliverables
- Risk management
- Costs
- Benefits
Further Reading
You can learn more about how to break your project into smaller manageable tasks at following link: ‘Work Breakdown Structure'
What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) | Project Management
Resource
You can find some free project proposal templates at the following link by Kate Eby on SmartSheet: ‘Free Project Proposal Templates’
A project schedule is an important aspect of a project. It is a live document, regularly subject to alteration depending on instances of change in budgets or timelines. It contains details of the tasks and aims, the human, financial and physical resources required, and detailed timelines for every task and for the project in its entirety.
The schedule must only be as complex as is required. It should be easy for all staff to use and understand. The schedule will be part of the project from day one right up to the completion and closing of the project. If it is used correctly and respected by all team members, it will be vital in closing the project within the allotted time and within the agreed budgets. Scheduling software is readily available and will make the process (and therefore your job) easier—not just in budgetary areas but in the management of the overall project.
These include:
- Gantt charts
- PERT charts
- Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Logic Network
Example of a Gantt Chart
Further Reading
To learn more about project deliverables, read the following article by Duncan Haughey from Project Smart: ‘Project Management Tools’
Milestone Chart
A milestone chart is another method for tracking the progress of your project. As the name indicates, you must note the specific milestones (important events and completion of important tasks) of your project.
Example
An example of a milestone would be the roof being completed on the construction of a building.
By tracking these key events and tasks, you can be confident that the outcome of your project will be successful.
Deliverables
Deliverables are the tangible, specific and measurable results of the project tasks. Essentially, they detail what you are providing and how you are providing it. These must be clearly defined on the project schedule.
Further Reading
To learn more about project deliverables, visit the following link from Atlassian: ‘Project Management Steps’
When you develop and deliver your project proposal, you should always include a risk management plan.
When we hear the words risk management, we often immediately think of workplace health and safety. Naturally, WHS is part of it, but there are many other areas that fall under risk. Risks can be financial, resource-based, supplier-based, to do with stakeholders or external clients—the list can go on. When you note a risk in your proposal, the important thing is that you describe the actions that will be taken to mitigate these risks and actions that will be taken if the risks cause problems.
Example
An example of a risk could be key personnel leaving the company in the middle of a project.
Your project plan will need to be closely monitored so that risks can be added or removed from the list as the project proceeds.
The major stakeholders of any project will, of course, take a keen interest in its financial aspects. It is important that you are as exact and accurate as possible when budgeting. Split the project into several main categories, allocate a budget to each, and be prepared to justify and explain why you have allocated each amount to each area. Investors and executives want to know that the money is being spent wisely.
Include overheads (power, salary on-costs and infrastructure, for example) that may be involved in the project; these are indirect costs allocated to the project as a whole.
After detailing the facets of the project—the resources required, the project milestones and deliverables, and any potential risks—you must now outline the benefits of the project. This gives decision-makers and financial gatekeepers the ability to see the positive aspects of a project and agreed outcomes, not just the time and costs involved.
Your project will be analysed for feasibility and cost-effectiveness. Key decision-makers including project sponsors or funders want to make sure that the costs and risks of your project are outweighed by the long-term benefits and sustainability of outcomes.
The first question likely to be asked of you and your project team is ‘How feasible or easy to implement will it be?’ Stakeholders will want to know if the project is convenient or if it will cause disruption.
A feasibility study will analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the plan or proposal you have put together for the project, the resources you need to have use of and, most importantly, the probability of the project being a success. This study should be performed independently and by those with no bias.
Cost-effectiveness will be determined by comparing project costs with the desired outcomes to determine if the project is worthwhile.
You should then receive a formal response to your proposal. The executive-level stakeholders and decision-makers will give you the green light, ask for amendments or sometimes scrap the project completely. These communications should be provided in writing and can be used for future project proposals.
Appropriate authorities who make these decisions are usually those with the ultimate power of an organisation or department within it, including the capability and permission to make major financial decisions, plus to allocate human and physical resources.
Video
Watch the following YouTube video from Praizion Media to learn about the scope management plan process: ‘The Scope Management Plan Process’
The Scope Management Plan Process - YouTube
Quiz
