Project Management in Construction: Life Cycle and Team Strategy

Introduction

A project is considered successful if it completes on time, follows a pre-set schedule, remains within the provided budget, and satisfies its customers (Phillips, 2009). Though this definition describes the conventional approach to project management success, a fresh perspective on defining project success has emerged. This new perspective concerns the requirement to associate project management outcomes with the project's end product. In other words, project success is no longer considered solely within the boundaries of meeting the project constraints of scope, time, and cost. Rather, it is a strategic relationship that connects the final deliverable to end-user approval, with the aim of achieving overall project success. Shenhar and Dvir (2007) define this new approach to project success as business-related procedures planned to produce business effects, rather than simply a set of project actions that must be completed on schedule.

The organization discussed in this paper is a construction firm operating as a project-based business. The firm takes on construction projects from across the country, and for this purpose has hired engineers, architects, project managers, and other staff. The mission of the organization is to provide construction services that satisfy customer requirements within the given budget. To accomplish this, each project must be planned, executed, and completed effectively.

Organization Information and Defining the Project

A project, as defined by K. G. Lockyer (2005), has a definite time frame with clear beginning and end points, and is intended to achieve a decided set of goals by deploying resources — both human and material. Project management is increasingly becoming a vital part of every organization. With the rapidly changing pace of technology and an intensely competitive business environment, organizations must adapt. As Lockyer (2005) argues, it is necessary for business organizations to integrate project management concepts in order to respond to competition efficiently, rapidly accomplish objectives, and attain competitive advantage in their area of business.

Planning is an essential part of every project, and it is the responsibility of project leadership to plan effectively. Planning is vital not merely to administer the project efficiently, but also to carry out each phase professionally using available resources and workforce. The transition of a project from one phase to the next is made possible only through the effective management of a project manager who identifies the right workers for specific tasks, and who successfully administers the transition of leadership and authority between team leaders. This makes it clear that planning and control are necessary management competencies that a leader must possess.

Planning the Project and the Project Life Cycle

In a managerial context, the term "planning" is often treated as distinct from leadership, while in a project management context, planning encompasses leadership. It is therefore clear that to achieve set targets and to efficiently manage a project team, both project planning and control are necessary. Through controlling and planning, the leader can eliminate the wastage of resources and ensure their optimal use. The increasing use of parallel and serial process methods through Gantt charts further demonstrates that effective planning is a necessary leadership trait for managing project procedures and coordinating them at the appropriate junctures (Lockyer, 2005).

The project life cycle refers to the total span of a project from beginning to finish — that is, the initiation, development, implementation, monitoring, and closure phases (Watson, 2009).

The activities undertaken during the initiation phase mark the starting points of a project. Shenhar et al. (2007) described the initiation stage as one that characterizes the strategic significance of the project to the enterprise. Other project management experts have described the start-up phase as the stage that defines and approves the project; involves the recognition of a need, an issue, or an opportunity; and may result in a client requesting a proposal from a potential performing organization (Gido & Clements, 2006).

This stage is distinguished by the endorsement of a project charter. The authority to begin work on the project or a given phase is formalized through a project charter. Kerzner (2006) argued that endorsement of the project charter is a standard procedure that is frequently absent in organizations. He further states that the project charter must be used to authorize work on the project; define the authority, liability, and responsibility of the project team; and establish capacity limits for the project. Other effective practices during this stage, as identified by Khang and Moe (2008), include recognizing potential beneficiaries and assessing whether a developmental need exists; aligning the development preferences of supporters, the capabilities of potential executing organizations, and the requirements of development; building and evaluating project alternatives; and generating awareness and support among key stakeholders.

In brief, the creation of a project charter is the primary objective of the project initiation phase — occurring before the project planning phase in the project life cycle. The project charter is typically a one-page document that contains the preliminary project scope statement and initial budget, authorizes the project commencement meeting, and designates the project manager responsible for overseeing the entire project from planning and execution through monitoring and closing.

"If there is no plan, there is no control" (Hutka, 2009). The project planning phase is critically important and must not be overlooked. Dai and Wells (2004) noted that project failure rates have remained high despite the availability of project management techniques, and consequently, project planning has gained significant interest among organizations and researchers as a means of controlling and managing large-scale projects.

Successful planning contributes to implementing innovative concepts and stimulates creative problem-solving at an early stage of project development. It also enables precise cost estimation, serves as an early warning system, and keeps the project team focused on targets. Successful planning reduces project-related risks and supports on-time project completion. Furthermore, it can help develop strategic information for customers to manage risk and decide whether to commit funds, thereby maximizing the likelihood of a successful project.

Project management scholars have described project planning as the system for translating intentional objectives into tactical actions; an iterative process handled within the planning process group; an art of asking who, what, when, why, how much, and how long; and the process of determining what needs to be done, by whom, and by when, with the intention of fulfilling allocated responsibilities. Planning also serves to allocate resources, determine project particulars, and define how project boundaries, management strategies, and required actions will be developed and scheduled (PMI, 2004).

Project planning is therefore not a one-time exercise — it is a continuous process. Phillips (2004) asserted that project managers and team members return to the planning processes as many times as needed throughout the project. Recognizing the need to continuously modify plans, experts recommend a continuous planning approach known as progressive elaboration (Gido & Clements, 2006; Kerzner, 2006a, 2006b; Phillips, 2004; PMI, 2004), to be maintained until the planning baseline has been established.

During the planning phase, project managers and their team members hold meetings to efficiently plan project execution. The activities that take place during planning include "preparation of the scope, cost, schedule, risks, quality, communication, human resources, contract, and procurement" (PMI, 2004). Planning these knowledge area perspectives requires the completion of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to describe the work required to produce deliverables. Setting milestones is a fundamental measure of project management efficiency that planners use to make more precise forecasts and reduce bias in estimation. The WBS also helps execute tasks more effectively and economically by avoiding overlaps in resource allocation, assigning sufficient time to each project activity, and clarifying targets and aims.

Other essential activities during the planning phase, as described by Khang and Moe (2008), are to gather support and commitment; negotiate for final endorsement from key stakeholders; provide updates to remaining stakeholders; and envision how the project will be implemented, together with specific, achievable tasks and milestones, before beginning the execution stage of the project life cycle.

The execution phase begins after the project manager and team have carefully developed the planning foundation and are ready to move forward. This phase — also called the implementation phase — is when the outlined project plan is put into action. It assists the project team and other stakeholders to complete the work delineated in the planning process. This is a critically important phase, requiring full commitment of resources and time. Considering its importance, it is appropriate and necessary that all personnel who participated in the planning process are included in the implementation process in order to execute the project effectively (PMI, 2004). The key processes related to this stage are to perform project activities as intended in the planning phase, to manage all stakeholders effectively (Khang & Moe, 2008), and to ensure that the project remains on target.

Conclusion

Project management has become an essential part of any business firm because it helps managers and project teams develop their capacity to respond to changes in the business environment amid rigid competition. This paper discussed the concept of project management as applied within a construction firm, briefly described the organization's mission — its products and services, intended markets, and how it differentiates itself from competitors — and analyzed the scope of integration of project management concepts including project definition, planning, life cycle phases, team management, scheduling, and project control.