Task 3 Project Management Plan Guidance
Your plan can be presented in headings or sections, e.g.
1. Scope of the project
2. Process and time-line
3. Milestones and Resources
4. Uncertainties and Risks Control
5. Communication Management
Some explanations of the assessment criteria:
· Project management methodology that address the scope of the project, a time-line/process and uncertainties.
The scope of the project refers to a summary of your activities. For example, for design, you need to point out whether your design will reach the detailed design phase will stop at the basic design. For a basic design, you might just work out a general layout and how your project completes at that point. This means you went through a conceptualization stage or at least followed an existing concept. After that stage will have done some function analysis which served as the foundation of constructing your system. After that you might be ready to make your drawing (general layout). This is the description of the scope of your project. It includes the major activities of your project. This is the foundation of planning for almost any R&D and academic research project.
· Gantt Chart
There are many tools that you can use to make a Gantt chart. There are YouTube videos that explain how to use MS excel to generate a Gantt chart.
MS Project is recommended as the computer tool for you to create your Gantt chart.
· The Gantt chart and its illustrations need to explain major milestones and associated workloads leading to their completions. (Individual Projects)
Indicate minor milestones associated with major ones. Logically, the achievement of these minor milestones leads to the accomplishment of the major ones.
· A WBS (Work
eakdown structure) explaining the division of labour among group members needs to be provided. (Group Projects)
WBS in project management and systems engineering is a deliverable-oriented
eakdown of a project into smaller components. A work
eakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into manageable sections.
A work-
eakdown structure element may be a product, data, service, or any combination thereof. A WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control. Such financial elements are not required in this Task.
· A communication plan explaining communication channels and activities among involved parties.
Refer to the template given below.
Turnitin submission of Task 3 consists of the following:
1. Project Management Plan
2. Charts and Tables may be included in the appendices.
A Template for Communication Plan
Subject
Chanel
Purpose
Ideal Time
Actual Time
General Notes
… …
Supervision Meeting 1
Face to face Meeting
Clarifying data collection
1st-9-2017
Check
availability of labs
Interview invitation
Email
Interview a
angement
8th-9-2017
3 possible participants
… …
Final Report submission
Face to face Meeting
Get consent from supervisor
15th-3-2018
Get supervisor signature
Risk Management in Construction Projects
Contents
Introduction 1
Research Questions & Objectives 2
Literature Review 2
Understanding Risks 3
Risks in Construction Industry 3
Risk analysis and management techniques 3
Methodology 5
Discussions & Findings 5
References 6
Introduction
Construction industry is a growth engine for most nations and contribute significantly to GDP. However, construction being a highly resource consuming sector faces several risks and challenges which is why the concept of risk management was initially established for construction projects in the 80’s. Risk management since then has become a widely accepted tool for management of risks on construction projects. Because of increasing volatility of the industry, risk management practice has gained prominence and thus, many studies have been conducted on risk management. However, limited studies have been done on the real practice of Risk Management as most studies focused on possible risks and applications of risk management practices with some highlights on tools and processes within risk management framework identified as accepted practices by the construction industry.
The cu
ent research would focus on the practice of risk management in construction organization and thus, would involve the primary research through which the perspectives of the risk managers involved in construction projects would be taken to understand the real challenges in the construction sector and the techniques that are used for managing risks in the sector.
Research Questions & Objectives
The aim of this research is to explore the kinds of risks that are faced by the construction projects and identify practical solutions that work in the industry. To achieve this aim, following research questions would have to be answered:
· What are the risks faced by the construction industry?
· How can risks be managed in a construction sector?
· What methods are effective in managing risks in the construction sector?
· What risk management best practices exist that can be used by construction industry?
In the process of answering the above mentioned research questions, following research objectives would be achieved:
· Understanding risks in construction secto
· Exploring and assessing risk management practices in construction secto
· Recommending best practices for risk management in construction secto
Literature Review
Project Management Institute has defined Risk Management as one of the 10 knowledge areas of the PMBOK guide. In a construction project, it can be viewed as a systematic way of identification, analysis and management of risks so that objectives of the project can be effectively achieved. There are several benefits of risk management practices such as effective resource usage, improved construction management processes, and effective management or mitigation of project risks (Osipova, 2008).
Construction projects can be very complex and they come with a high level of uncertainty that can have severe negative consequences on a project. Thus, risk management is a major part of project management in construction projects and project teams have to effectively deal with uncertainties on the project. Construction projects are unique as well as complex in nature and the risks faced in the projects can arise from a large number of different sources. The complexity majorly arises due to participation from a large number of individuals as well as organizations that have to work together for project execution. Large number of participants also come with lot of differences in their preferences, expectations, and interests that can be conflicting and can cause confusions or issues. Multiple feedback processes emerge when this large number of people work as one project team, which further raises the complexity of a construction project (Lyons & Skitmore, 2004).
The objectives of risk management on a construction project are meeting requirements of all key stakeholders of the project within the constraints of time, cost, and quality. Effective risk management can help in building an effective project management strategy that
ings effective results. Risk management is among the 10 knowledge areas of project management framework defined by PMI. Each knowledge area defined in the framework can have a major influence on the project including risk management. All or a set of some project management processes are included in each of these knowledge areas. Under risk management include planning, risk identification, risk analysis, response planning, monitoring and control (Baloi, 2003).
Risk management needs project managers to identify the risks and their root causes as well as assess their potential impacts on the project based on which a mitigation or response strategy can be formalized. Risk management process is applied from the start of the project in its early development stage so that risks can be addressed at the starting stage itself and its influences on the project outcome can be minimized (Smith, et al., 2006).
Understanding Risks
As per PMBOK guide of project management a risk is “an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on at least one project objective”. Risks if severe can lead to a failure of a construction project. If there are many risks prevailing then they can cause problems like delays in construction, cost ove
un, or dissatisfactory results. Risks can be categorized into internal and external risks based on their nature as per Tah and Car. Some authors categorize them into local, global, political, physical, economic and technological changes. As per the PMBOK guide, risks can be organizational, external, technical, environmental and project management (Ward & Chapman, 2003).
Risks in Construction Industry
Construction industry is complex and heterogeneous. It involves new construction, renovation of projects, demotion, and public works such as construction of roads, highways, streets,
idges, tunnels, and plants. Classifications of construction projects can mark a project as a residential, commercial, utility, industrial, heavy, or highway project. The success of a project is determined by its on time completion within budget while meeting all its performance requirements (Kamane & Mahadik, 2006).
A major challenge that is faced in a construction industry is due to change in the project environment. Uncertainties on projects increase multifold with the increasing size of the project. These uncertainties in the environment arise due to the factors like multiple interest groups, availability of funds, environmental factors, statutory regulations, political environment, economic constraints, and resource constraints. In order to achieve sustainability with achievement of project objectives within given time and cost while maintaining the needs for quality and safety, effective risk management is of prime importance (Banaitis, 2012).
Risk management is an iterative process that is implemented throughout the project life cycle beginning from the stage of planning till the point of project completion. The sector faces major risks. Construction industry faces a highest rate of fatalities for every 100,000 workers employed in the industry. Cost of these fatalities or accidents can be huge for the employer as well as significant to the society. A significant portion of the contract price goes into mitigation of these accident situations (PMI, 2008).
Risk analysis and management techniques
There can be many risk management strategies as defined by many authors but the steps to risk management are mostly common and they include risk identification, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and risk monitoring. Risk identification is the first step and it involves identification of the types of the risks as well as their sources. A project manager would need to identify potential risk situations and clarify the responsibilities to resolve them within the project team. Normally, in a construction project, only the risks that are significant are selected for analysis while others are accepted. On a construction project, risks can involve key project stakeholders in some or other way and they include project sponsors, suppliers, consultants, and contractors. Risks if environmental or geological can interfere with operations and can cause construction accidents or faults during construction as well as after project completion (Institution of Civil Engineers and the Actuarial Profession, 2005).
In the next step