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Project Management Process & Procedures

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Document Data

  • Document Code :RP-PR-01
  • Issue Date : 30/5/2022
  • Issue No:01/00
  • Revision Date :–/–/–
  • Revision No:—

OBJECTIVES 

The purpose of this manual is to establish the framework of policies, processes, procedures, and rules for Raya for Buildings Development & Management projects & sub-projects to ensure:

  1. Proper planning, monitoring, and controlling of the project budget,

  2. Having clear goals, roles, and responsibilities,

  3. Minimal risks,

  4. Proper communication between all the involved parties,

  5. That original project objectives are met and the planned outputs were delivered.

Definitions

Acquisition Period or Procurement Time

A number of calendar days allowed prior to the first day that time is charged to a contract. This period is to allow time for the acquisition of some materials on specialized contracts.

A bill of quantities is a document used in tendering in the construction industry in which materials, parts, and labor are itemized.

A work-breakdown structure in project management and systems engineering is a deliverable-oriented breakdown of a project into smaller components.

A Gantt chart illustrates a timeline or schedule of a project with each task or activity broken down against the time when it is planned to be finished.

A comparison chart is a chart that draws a comparison between two or more items on different parameters.

In project management, accurate estimates are the basis of proper project planning, such as cost and resources estimates.

Projects Characteristics

A project is a sequence of tasks with a beginning and an end that are bounded by time, resources, and desired results. This means the project has:

  1. a specific, desired outcome,

  2. a deadline or due date when the project must be done,

  3. and a budget that limits the amount of people, supplies, and money that can be used to complete the project.

The projects must contain the below characteristics:

  1. Defined beginning and an end getting from the beginning to the end of a project should involve a definable sequence of steps or activities,

  2. Resources time, people, money that has been allocated to the work of the project should be defined,

  3. Specific goals of quality and performance the end results of a project should be defined,

  4. Planned, organized approach the approach to meet the project objectives should be defined,

  5. Team of people The project team should be defined,

  6. Unique Every project is unique. This does not mean that certain activities have to be unique, but rather because of their different contexts and their particular use of resources, time, and results.

Project Management Phases

There are five phases or functions to the project management process:

Conception & Initiation

  • Project charter
  • Project initiation

Phase 1

Definition & Planning

  • Scope & Budget
  • Work breakdown & schedule
  • Gantt Chart
  • Communication Plan
  • Risk Management

Phase 2

Launch & Execution

  • Status & Tracking
  • KPIs
  • Quality
  • Forecasts

Phase 3

Performance & Control

  • Objectives
  • Quality Deliverables
  • Effort & Cost Tracking
  • Performance

Phase 4

Closure

  • Project Handover
  • Reporting & Documentation

Phase 5

Phase 1: Initiation

At the beginning of the project, there is an “idea of the project“. During a communication process between the parties involved, the idea is transformed, clarified, condensed. This phase is called initiation or identification.

During this phase, the Projects Team will gather the input of all the people involved (can be beneficiaries, management, contractors) and create the initial project plan and project charter (project application) which includes:

  1. Project title,

  2. project goals,

  3. involved parties,

  4. project measures,

  5. legal holder of the project,

  6. personnel and consultancy inputs,

  7. continuity of the project,

  8. project costs and financial plans,

  9. monitoring and evaluation.

When defining a project’s goals, the following aspects should be considered:

  1. The goals must be precise ; They should be clearly defined and reasonable.

  2. The goals must be realistic ; It must be possible to realize the goals within the project.

  3. The goals must be measurable ; It must be possible to measure the success at meeting the goals. This type of goal is also called deliverable, a clearly defined result, goods or services produced during the project or at its outcome. Deliverables have to be measured in quantity, but also in quality.

  4. The goals must have a time component ; Projects must have a definite finish date. If projects are not limited in time, chances are that they may not get finished.

Project Charter Template
Initial Project Plan

Phase 2: Planning

Before it can be planned and implemented, a project must be analyzed and split into manageable tasks that can be assigned, scheduled, tracked, and organized.

Work Breakdowns Structure

A standard way of organizing tasks for a project is called the Work Breakdowns Structure which is a hierarchical chart used to organize the tasks of a project into related areas.

It is usually completed as a tree diagram or as an outline. Therefore, the project will first be divided into smaller units subprojects each of these subprojects will then be further divided into smaller work packages tasks , also called “activities” or “events”. Tasks are the smallest unit in a work breakdown structure.

Breakdown Steps

The idea behind breaking down a project is to break larger tasks & subprojects into their individual components. There can be as many task levels, depending on the complexity of the project.

The Project Management Team will breakdown the project into five separate Levels:

  1. First Level : The total project

  2. Second Level : Subprojects or milestones

  3. Third Level : Major tasks

  4. Fourth Level : Subtasks

  5. Fifth Level : Minor tasks or work elements

Project Plan

After breaking down the project into work packages, the Project Management Team will start creating a project plan following the below major concepts:

  • Creating a Network Diagram

A network diagram provides a more powerful method to show all the logical interdependencies between different tasks. It shows the path of the project, starting and completion dates, and names the responsible person or party for each task.

Usually, network diagrams start with a box labeled “Project Start” and end with a box labeled “Project End“.

  1. List all Tasks

  2. Establish the interrelationships between the tasks

  3. Identify Milestones

  4. Layout the Tasks and Milestones as a Network

  5. Review the network diagram

A project Network Diagram will look something like this:

  • Creating Gantt Chart

Gantt Chart sometimes also called project timeline, shows all tasks in relation to time. With some limitations, the interdependent relationship between tasks can also be implemented.

The objective is of this chart is to know the critical path so we know what activities could be crashed to get earlier delivery.

Another sample of Gantt Chart

  • Resource Plan

After the tasks have been defined and a basic network established, a complete list of resources required for the project can be developed. What and who the project needs, and when. The goal of resource planning is to schedule all necessary resources on time.

The Project Management Team will follow the below steps:

  1. Determine the needed resources for each task. Every task has a certain need for resources, people, money, equipment, information, technology etc,

  2. Determine the Acquisition Period or Procurement Time for resources.

  • Cost Plan

Budgeting is one of the most important aspects of planning and directing a project. An accurate estimate of project costs is an essential part of the proper basis for management decisions and control.

Cost Estimation Steps:

Costs in any project are fixed cost & variable cost . The better the project can be defined at the outset, the less the chance there should be of making estimating errors.

  1. Understand the components of each task then create the bill of quantities document (مقايسة).

  2. Start the bidding process for the project and acquire written quotes or tenders,

  3. Fine-tune the figures when new estimates arrive or tasks change,

  4. Create a rough first cut, and keep reviewing the estimates of each task,

  5. After having re-re-reviewed the budget and the budget appears to be workable, it gets wrapped into the project plan,

  6. Present the budget to the responsible person for approval.

You can refer to the Service Providers & Contractors Management Process to learn about the quotation and bidding process, and the management of the contractors.

Service Providers & Contractors Management

Cost Estimation Rules:

  1. The Projects Team will ask as many people as needed. Estimates should not be made in a hurry, as they tend to be highly inaccurate,

  2. The work must be documented, It is easier to re-enact and eventually alter the calculations if we write down how we estimated the costs,

  3. Estimates should be budgeted slightly higher than originally calculated. It is better to be pessimistic than optimistic in budgeting the projects,

  4. Depends on the project level of risks, add unforeseeable expenses to the budget.

A good practice is to create a cost-benefit diagram while creating the cost estimation of the project, like the below example:

Budget Visualization:

The budget visualization is important for tracking the money flows during the project, the often-used way is to create a budget graph like the below example:

List all costs of all tasks according to their planned date and sum up the costs for each period (e.g. weeks or months).

Project x Budget

Project Budget: 4,379,825 EGP

Project Approval:

Before the project can start, the project has to be approved by the organization (depends on the level of the project), the CEO will determine the required levels of approvals required.

Project Contract (Contract Administration):

The contract administration is a set of processes that only takes place before the contract has been finalized. The Projects Team is responsible for ensuring that the below is covered in the contract:

  1. The contract must be revised and stamped by the legal,

  2. How we will manage disputes,

  3. The penalties & KPIs

  4. The technical scope,

  5. Quality standards

  6. Communication plans

  7. Reporting & updates

  8. Safety & site instructions.

Project Contract Template

Phase 3: Execution

After the initiation and the planning phase and once your project has received authorization, it is time to get the project started. How we begin the executing phase will establish the success or the failure of the project.

A common risk is a failure to start on time. Very long delays can be caused by the misrepresentation, legal or planning difficulties, shortage of information, lack of funds or other resources, and a host of other reasons. How will everybody know what to do? And when? What will be the first step? Who’s on first?

Project Kickoff

Most of the above questions will be answered in the project kickoff, the Projects Team will organize the meeting with all the stakeholders and the project will be explained to everyone.

In the project meeting the Project Management Team will:

  1. Introduce the members of the team to their roles in the project;

  2. Clarify the project goals , operating procedures, and responsibilities;

  3. Review the first priorities for the project and repeat briefly the other objectives and overall schedule;

  4. Review individual plans for getting work started;

  5. Discuss methods and tools to be used to manage, control and operate the project;

  6. Deal with objections to the current project plan and work them out if possible.

Progress Reporting

Many people will want information, about the progress of the project, about the budget, about problems and achievements. The project team, clients, finance department, and managers deserve informed communication about the project on a timely basis.

The Projects Team will send a project progress report using standardized reporting procedures, tables, and overviews, the content of this report:

  1. Commission- and problem-oriented summary of the project progress report.

  2. Inputs provided in the period covered by the report.

  3. Presentation and assessment of results achieved in the period covered by the report, including any deviations from planning targets.

  4. Realization of the project purpose.

  5. Updating of planning targets for the period to be covered by the next report.

The frequency of sending this report will be determined in the project plan.

Project Report Sample

Phase 4: Monitoring and Evaluation

The main goal of this phase is to keep the project running on time and within the budget. During this phase, the Projects Team will monitor & document the input of resources, achievements of results, and impacts. This will be achieved by:

Monitoring

  1. Using the project plan as a primary guide for coordinating the project;

  2. Monitoring the progress against the plan on a regular basis;

  3. Comparing time, cost, and performance of the project to the budget, schedule, and tasks defined in the approved project plan.

  4. Communicating with all team members.

  5. Updating the plan regularly as changes occur. It should always reflect the current status of the project and any changes that become necessary because of new information, budget changes, or other modifications.

Evaluation

Evaluation means an objectives-oriented assessment of the information collected in the course of monitoring. This assessment of the expediency of the chosen approach and the attainability of the desired results and impacts forms the basis for the decision on project steering to be taken by the project management.

Controlling The Project

Progress Control

  • Monitor the status of the tasks using comparison charts;

Project X

Progress Status Chart

  • Evaluate the progress status and take proper actions to stay on track.

Cost Control

  1. Compare the actual cost to date with the budget plan using comparison charts;

  2. Consider the project's progress during the evaluation. The actual costs might be a lot less than the planned ones, while at the same time the project's progress might be weeks behind its planned status.

Project x Budget

Cost Control Chart

Quality Control

Quality control is the most important aspect of any project, if the project is to build a stone bridge, the project is a failure when it can only be built on time by using wood.

  1. A complete inspection will be conducted by the Projects Team after every milestone or sprint of tasks according to the nature of the project;

  2. All inspection forms will be kept in the project's files;

  3. The checklist should contain criteria for the inspection and a final score.

Project Inspection Forms
All the progress charts & inspection forms should be added to the project report.

Phase 5: Closure

During the closure phase, the Projects Team will be the mediator between the contractors & the client or the operations team.

The project closure steps are better explained in the Projects Handover manual:

Projects Handover

However, it is worth mentioning the major closing process of any project, these steps includes:

  1. Finalizing and transferring responsibilities;

  2. Reassigning people and releasing resources,

  3. Meeting with clients/operations and finance department,

  4. Meeting with team member,

  5. Handing over the project submittals & files,

  6. Obtain customers acceptance that the project is done,

  7. Documenting the results,

  8. Closing contracts.

Documenting the results

The project’s results have to be documented and recommendations for the future should be made. The final report is both, a history of the project and a final evaluation of performance. It includes at least:

  1. an overview of the project including revisions to the original project plans.

  2. a summary of major accomplishments.

  3. an analysis of achievements compared to original goals for the project.

  4. a final financial accounting and explanation of variances from the budget.

  5. a list of issues and tasks that require further investigation.

  6. special acknowledgements to team members and a team performance evaluation.

  7. recommendations for future projects of this type.

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