Page 50 - Global Project Management Handbook

2-12 STATE OF THE ART OF GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The project management process is to be differentiated from the business processes
for the fulfillment of project deliverables. Therefore, project content-related processes
such as procurement, engineering of components, and testing of software, for example,
are not management processes.

Context of the Project Management Process
The context in terms of time of the project management process is the project assignment
and the investment controlling processes. In terms of content, these processes are the
content-related business processes.
The content-related business processes depend on the project type. For an information
and communications technology (ICT) project, the following content-related business
processes have to be performed according to the project phase structure: gathering infor-
mation, analysis of the current situation, definition and description of alternative solutions,
implementation plan for each alternative, and decision making. For a contracting project,
the engineering, the procurement, the production and the logistics, the construction and
the installation, and the training and the commissioning make up the content-related busi-
ness processes.
Content-related business processes are performed during a project parallel with the
project management process. The relationship between the project management process
and the business processes for the performance of a project contents is immediate
because it is an objective of the project management process to develop appropriate struc-
tures for the fulfillment of the project contents.
The project assignment process is performed before the project start, whereas that of the
investment controlling process is performed during the project and after the project close-
down. The project assignment process is especially important for project management
because in it the basic structures for the project are determined. The definition of the project
objectives, the planning of the project organization, and the drafts of the project plans are
roughly worked out. Project management is important for the investment controlling process
because the project documentation constitutes an essential foundation for control.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUBPROCESSES

Project Start Process
The project start process can be described with regard to its objectives, time boundaries,
tasks and responsibilities, and the tools to be used. Figure 2.8 illustrates the project start
process, and Table 2.3 lists the objectives and time boundaries.
Owing to the time pressure of projects, once they are assigned, it is tempting to start
the content-related business processes immediately without having performed the corre-
sponding project start process. This lack of willingness to perform project planning and
design of the project organization together with the project team often results in
● Unrealistic project objectives and unclear definitions of roles
● Project plans that are inadequate and not binding
● Unclear agreements regarding the design of project environment relationships and miss-
ing organizational rules
A professional project start is to be performed in order to ensure adequate project man-
agement quality.