A Project Management Methodology for Multimedia Projects
Analysis of Existing Strategies and Creation of a New Concept
©2002
Diplomarbeit
133 Seiten
Zusammenfassung
Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
This paper tries to define a concept for managing multimedia projects efficiently and takes the suitability of existing methods into account.
Developing a valid solution makes it necessary to look at project management as a generic discipline first and then apply the results to the multimedia discipline. Only then can we be sure that no important aspects of project management have been forgotten, nor that existing and working strategies, which could be applied to multimedia projects, have been ignored. This paper therefore defines project management and generally describes its areas of responsibility. The question of whether project management is necessary and beneficial needs to be addressed as well. After project management and the necessity to actively apply it in some form has been understood in general, a specific focus on the existing information for multimedia project management will be undertaken. It will become apparent that different viewpoints exist as to whether multimedia project management should apply project management methods of related industry areas, such as software development. This will justify the need to compare multimedia projects with software development projects.
After having gained an insight into project management as well as the characteristics of multimedia projects, it is possible to determine the demands that a project management method needs to be able to meet, to successfully manage multimedia projects. It would be beyond the scope of this thesis to analyse every existing method. Instead, one method will be analysed as an example. The useful aspects of the analysed method will be identified along with its shortfalls in relation to multimedia development. Finally, recommendations on how the shortfalls could be corrected will be made, so that a project manager will be able to use the examined method, specifically suited to multimedia projects.
Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:
1.Preface7
2.Introduction9
2.1The Topic of this Thesis9
2.2Hypotheses and Findings12
2.3Definition of Multimedia14
2.4Types of Multimedia Products16
2.4.1Forms of Delivery16
2.4.2Categories of Multimedia Products18
2.4.3Conclusion20
2.5Project Management Definitions21
2.5.1Project and Project Management21
2.5.2Project Stakeholders22
2.5.3Project Methodology, Methods and Processes22
3.The Historical Development of Project Management25
3.1The Philosophy of Ancient Project Management25
3.2The […]
This paper tries to define a concept for managing multimedia projects efficiently and takes the suitability of existing methods into account.
Developing a valid solution makes it necessary to look at project management as a generic discipline first and then apply the results to the multimedia discipline. Only then can we be sure that no important aspects of project management have been forgotten, nor that existing and working strategies, which could be applied to multimedia projects, have been ignored. This paper therefore defines project management and generally describes its areas of responsibility. The question of whether project management is necessary and beneficial needs to be addressed as well. After project management and the necessity to actively apply it in some form has been understood in general, a specific focus on the existing information for multimedia project management will be undertaken. It will become apparent that different viewpoints exist as to whether multimedia project management should apply project management methods of related industry areas, such as software development. This will justify the need to compare multimedia projects with software development projects.
After having gained an insight into project management as well as the characteristics of multimedia projects, it is possible to determine the demands that a project management method needs to be able to meet, to successfully manage multimedia projects. It would be beyond the scope of this thesis to analyse every existing method. Instead, one method will be analysed as an example. The useful aspects of the analysed method will be identified along with its shortfalls in relation to multimedia development. Finally, recommendations on how the shortfalls could be corrected will be made, so that a project manager will be able to use the examined method, specifically suited to multimedia projects.
Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:
1.Preface7
2.Introduction9
2.1The Topic of this Thesis9
2.2Hypotheses and Findings12
2.3Definition of Multimedia14
2.4Types of Multimedia Products16
2.4.1Forms of Delivery16
2.4.2Categories of Multimedia Products18
2.4.3Conclusion20
2.5Project Management Definitions21
2.5.1Project and Project Management21
2.5.2Project Stakeholders22
2.5.3Project Methodology, Methods and Processes22
3.The Historical Development of Project Management25
3.1The Philosophy of Ancient Project Management25
3.2The […]
Leseprobe
Inhaltsverzeichnis
ID 5426
Hartweg, Stefan: A Project Management Methodology for Multimedia Projects: Analysis of
Existing Strategies and Creation of a New Concept / Stefan Hartweg -
Hamburg: Diplomica GmbH, 2002
Zugl.: Furtwangen, Fachhochschule, Diplomarbeit, 2002
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Contents
1
Preface ... 7
2
Introduction ... 9
2.1
The Topic of this Thesis ... 9
2.2
Hypotheses and Findings ... 12
2.3
Definition of Multimedia ... 14
2.4
Types of Multimedia Products ... 16
2.4.1
Forms of Delivery...16
2.4.2
Categories of Multimedia Products...18
2.4.3
Conclusion ...20
2.5
Project Management Definitions... 21
2.5.1
Project and Project Management ...21
2.5.2
Project Stakeholders ...22
2.5.3
Project Methodology, Methods and Processes ...22
3
The Historical Development of Project Management ... 25
3.1
The Philosophy of Ancient Project Management ... 25
3.2
The Philosophy of Modern Project Management ... 26
3.3
Conclusion ... 28
4
The Components of a Project Management Method... 29
4.1
The Project Management Context ... 30
4.2
The Project Life Cycle... 32
4.3
Project Processes ... 32
4.3.1
Project Integration Management ...35
4.3.2
Project Scope Management ...36
4.3.3
Project Time Management ...37
4.3.4
Project Cost Management ...37
4.3.5
Project Quality Management...37
4.3.6
Project Human Resource Management...38
4.3.7
Project Communications Management ...38
4.3.8
Project Risk Management ...39
4.3.9
Project Procurement Management ...39
4.4
Conclusion ... 40
5
The Necessity of Project Management ... 42
5.1
The Subconscious Management of Projects ... 42
5.2
The Single Point of Responsibility... 43
5.3
The Advantages of a Project Management Method ... 46
5.4
Conclusion ... 49
6
Existing Information on Multimedia Project Management... 50
6.1
Interviews... 50
6.1.1
Redefine ...51
6.1.2
DCG ...54
6.1.3
Griffith University ...55
6.2
Published Materials ... 57
6.2.1
Managing Multimedia: Project Management for Interactive Media ...58
6.2.2
Managing Multimedia Projects ...67
6.2.3
Developing Effective Websites: A Project Manager's Guide...70
6.3
Internet ... 72
6.4
Conclusion ... 73
7
The Suitability of Existing Methods for the New Concept... 76
7.1
Differences Between Traditional Projects and Multimedia Projects ... 76
7.2
Software Development Management ... 79
7.3
Conclusion ... 83
8
The Development of the New Concept ... 85
8.1
The Choice for the Method ... 85
8.2
Multimedia Pathways ... 86
8.3
Alterations on Multimedia Pathways ... 90
8.3.1
The Life Cycle ...90
8.3.2
The Processes...94
9Critical Reflection on the Findings ... 123
9.1
The Quality of the Findings ... 123
9.2
What Else Would Need to be Done? ... 125
10 Bibliography... 129
10.1
Books ... 129
10.2
Internet Resources ... 131
10.2.1
WebPages...131
10.2.2
Electronic Publications...131
10.2.3
Newsgroups ...133
10.2.4
E-Mail Contacts ...133
7
1 Preface
The development of multimedia applications is not new. Nor is the management of
projects. More and more people have been analysing the management of projects in
order to streamline the processes involved, as well as to ensure that the best tools
and practices are utilised to develop and deliver products on time and within
budget. People have introduced frameworks, processes, methods and
methodologies for project management to give guidance to project managers and
the right tools to master their day-to-day tasks.
However, whilst a lot of attention has been given to the development of project
management processes in IT and software development, the related area of
multimedia production has only received minor interest in defining a standard for
the task of project management, which makes the development of multimedia
applications a risky business both for the client and the production company.
This paper deals specifically with project management in multimedia
development. The aim of this paper, after describing the process of gaining an
understanding of the requirements to manage multimedia projects, is to present a
strategy to analyse existing project management methods in regards to their
suitability for multimedia projects. Furthermore, one existing method will be taken
as an example and recommendations will be made on how best to adapt this method
to suit the management of multimedia production.
This thesis paper has been written as part of the curriculum of the
Medieninformatik (applied computer science and media) course at the
Fachhochschule Furtwangen (University for Applied Sciences, Furtwangen) and
was kindly guided and supported by Prof. Dr. Christoph Zydorek and Prof. Dr.
Fritz Steimer.
Thanks also needs to be given to Mr. Bruce Hodgen, senior consultant and
lecturer at Griffith university, who initially sparked my interest in project
management and who was not only prepared to provide me with his view on the
8
subject but also helped me out with materials that were not readily accessible
through the university library.
Redefine and DCG deserve mention and thanks, as they were the only two
multimedia development agencies in Brisbane that were willing to share an
overview of their project management method.
The thesis has been mostly developed and written in Brisbane, Australia. The
final revision has been undertaken in the German hometown of the author.
Stefan Hartweg
23.02.2002, Waldsassen
9
2 Introduction
The following pages serve as an introduction to the topic of this thesis. A brief
overview of the problem in multimedia project management will be given, followed
by a description of the further structure of this document. Furthermore, the initial
hypotheses and resulting findings of this thesis will be described briefly.
The term multimedia will be defined and different types of multimedia
applications will be mentioned. In the area of project management there is some
confusion in regard to the uniform usage of certain terms. These terms will be
explained to avoid misunderstandings.
2.1 The Topic of this Thesis
I came into contact with project management during my studies of
Medieninformatik at the Fachhochschule Furtwangen in Germany. At that time, I
regarded project management as yet another couple of dozen pages containing text
and diagrams that I had to learn in order to pass the exam at the end of the semester.
Two semesters later, I had the chance to leave Germany and to study a
multimedia course a Griffith University in Australia. The curriculum of this course
included a two semester (almost a calendar year) long project, where small groups
of four to six students worked with an industry partner to create a multimedia
product. After the students had been divided into groups, we were required to set
the basic roles within the project team. With no one else in the team being overly
keen on taking on the part as project manager and me already having had a lecture
on project management, it didn't require long discussion until I was assigned the
role of project manager. The lecturers for the project had created Multimedia
10
Pathways
1
, which they prescribed as the project management method to use in our
projects, as it contained all the necessary templates for documentation. We were
also provided with a calendar that showed the due dates of the different documents,
as well as prototype and product presentations.
Brutal honesty would describe the project overall as a disaster: the team was
basically rushing from one due date for documentation to the next; barely able to
fill the gaps in the templates let alone anything else. Close to the supposed project
hand over we finally had to admit, despite research and prototyping at the
beginning of the project, that the most important feature did not work and perform
properly and that there was no solution available to fix the problems, which resulted
in a rather poor quick fix with less functionality. This led to tensions within the
team, liberal laying of blame for not having done a proper job in the first place, as
well as the delay of planned tasks, because previous tasks had to be redone or took
longer than initially expected. More issues arose when the client presented a list of
further items, which, in their opinion, did not fulfil the original agreement. The
student team on the other hand pointed towards the product specification
description in the design document and tried to make it clear that the requirements
had been fulfilled according to what had been specified. The different
interpretations from team and company regarding the textual specification could not
be resolved. In the end, the product was not handed over to the client because they
were not prepared to pay a license fee for a product that did not meet their
requirements.
In talks with the other student groups it became apparent that similar problems
had occurred during their projects as well, especially regarding the abundance of
documentation, agreeing on the product specification and exceeding the initial
estimated task durations by far.
1
Impart Corporation. Multimedia Pathways A Development Methodology for Interactive
Multimedia and Online Products for Education and Training. Internet Source:
http://www.impart.com.au/pathways/
11
It is fair to say that these problems also exist within the professional
multimedia industry. While problems in student projects allow students the
possibility to learn from their mistakes and gather experience, these same issues
could well destroy a company. When changes occur in specification during the
project, when rework needs to be done, when tasks take longer than anticipated,
then projects tend to overrun their initial budgets and at the moment this approach
seems to be far more common than being paid on a time required basis. This then
becomes a serious issue for the producer because they have to either find a way to
convince their client to take on the additional costs or carry them themselves, which
can financially ruin the company, especially if it happens in several projects.
It is the responsibility of the project management to deal with these issues and
to make sure that the project will be completed successfully, i.e. in time, on budget
and high quality. The project managers need to be equipped with a set of processes,
tools and strategies that allow them to efficiently avoid and if necessary address and
solve problems as described above. The combination of these is generally described
as a project management method or framework and have been developed both as
generic and specific solutions.
This paper tries to define a concept for managing multimedia projects
efficiently and takes the suitability of existing methods into account.
Developing a valid solution makes it necessary to look at project management as a
generic discipline first and then apply the results to the multimedia discipline. Only
then can we be sure that no important aspects of project management have been
forgotten, nor that existing and working strategies, which could be applied to
multimedia projects, have been ignored. This paper therefore defines project
management and generally describes its areas of responsibility. The question of
whether project management is necessary and beneficial needs to be addressed as
well. After project management and the necessity to actively apply it in some form
has been understood in general, a specific focus on the existing information for
multimedia project management will be undertaken. It will become apparent that
different viewpoints exist as to whether multimedia project management should
apply project management methods of related industry areas, such as software
12
development. This will justify the need to compare multimedia projects with
software development projects. After having gained an insight into project
management as well as the characteristics of multimedia projects, it is possible to
determine the demands that a project management method needs to be able to meet,
to successfully manage multimedia projects. It would be beyond the scope of this
thesis to analyse every existing method. Instead, one method will be analysed as an
example. The useful aspects of the analysed method will be identified along with its
shortfalls in relation to multimedia development. Finally, recommendations on how
the shortfalls could be corrected will be made, so that a project manager will be
able to use the examined method, specifically suited to multimedia projects.
As already mentioned in the preface, most of the work for this paper was
conducted in Brisbane, Australia and using the research resources that were
available to the author there, mainly the Griffith university library, internet and e-
mail, as well as a small number of interviews and face to face discussions. The
materials utilised and information contained in this paper are mostly drawn from
the information, knowledge and experience available for the English market.
German literature could not be taking into consideration, due to lack of accessibility
and the finite time frame.
2.2 Hypotheses and Findings
This chapter outlines the main hypotheses and the findings of the thesis. The
hypotheses were established before the actual development of this paper and
formed the initial justification for conducting further research on this topic. The
findings presented here were developed during the research and analysis process
and are presented in greater depth in the subsequent chapters.
Project management is necessary and beneficial:
In the course of the thesis, it can be proofed that this hypothesis is correct. After the
basic components of project management have been outlined in Chapter 4, it is
possible to analyse the beneficial effects in Chapter 5. Here it becomes apparent
that an informal approach to project management is applied by people to
successfully conduct projects naturally. The additional benefits of having a formal
13
method, such as being able to coordinate larger projects and to facilitate planning,
quality control and communication are detailed.
Traditional project management is different from multimedia project management:
It becomes clear that traditional project management shares little similarities with
multimedia project management, after comparing construction development with
multimedia development in Chapter 7. In traditional project management, the
phases of the life cycle can be separated more clearly. This is different from
multimedia productions, especially for the design and development/construction
phases, because the specifications of a multimedia project are harder to define.
Differences between software project management and multimedia project
management exist; multimedia projects can thus not be managed with an unadapted
software project management method:
During the analysis of existing material on multimedia project management, it
already became apparent that different opinions as to whether the same methods
can be applied to both multimedia and software projects exist. This is taken further
in Chapter 7, where software development projects are compared to multimedia
projects. It is shown that the software project life cycle can be similar to the life
cycle of a multimedia project. Software development however only forms one
component of multimedia development. The processes used in software projects
can therefore not automatically be transferred and applied to multimedia projects.
There is little information available on multimedia project management:
The research for existing and useful information, as described in Chapter 6, proofed
that there is not a lot available on multimedia project management. Only a small
amount of relevant written material could be found. This situation was further
aggravated by the reluctance of the Australian multimedia developing industry,
which at large parts were not prepared to provide insight into their project
management practices and to support this thesis with their practical experience.
14
The available information will not be comprehensive enough to describe a full
project management method for multimedia projects. This will justify the
development of new concept:
The analysis of the existing material showed that no project management method
for multimedia exists that can be applied as is. Most of the information does not
qualify as being a management method in the first place. Some of the sources
describe the life cycle component, while others provide information on the
knowledge areas required in multimedia. While this is useful information, a
comprehensive description of the required processes, including how they interact
with each other, and their application during the stages of the project life cycle has
not been addressed in any resource but one: Multimedia Pathways. Multimedia
Pathways is a project management method developed for multimedia projects. This
method cannot be used in its current state however. Not only the author of this
thesis had trouble in applying the method, but also one of the developers of the
method admits that adaptation and updating would be required. With these findings,
it is therefore necessary to decide on the most suitable existing method that should
be analysed and adapted accordingly, which will form the new concept.
2.3 Definition of Multimedia
It is necessary to define the terms multimedia and project management to prevent
ambiguity.
To some people it might seem as a matter of course that multimedia incorporates
the use of a computer. This may be partly because the term `multimedia' has been
used largely by the computer industry to advertise its products, be it real
multimedia or not.
2
2
Tannenbaum, Robert S. (Robert Sher) (1998). Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia. New York:
Computer Science Press, p. 3
15
According to R. Tannenbaum, author of Theoretical Foundations of
Multimedia, "Multimedia is defined as an interactive computer-mediated
presentation that includes at least two of the following elements: text, sound, still
graphic images, motion graphics and animation".
3
Other people however, take a more literal approach to define the term:
True, the literal meaning of multimedia is "using more than one
medium to convey information" in fact, I taught a multimedia course
(...) in the SIXTIES. It used a combination of 16mm sound film, student
workbooks, lecture, and hands-on practice to teach a 2-week course in
6-8 hours.
4
To make things clear to everyone, Jay Neal suggests the use of the term "Computer
Multimedia".
5
This paper however, will use Tannenbaum's understanding of multimedia, it is
therefore assumed that multimedia utilizes some form of computer to create and
display the product. It is important to distinguish between multimedia applications
and mere software programmes that could use more than one medium (e.g. a word
processor that has sounds included). Tannenbaum achieves this separation by
talking of a " (...) computer mediated presentation (...)"
6
rather than a mere software
product.
3
Tannenbaum, p. 4
4
Lord, Charles J (10.4.1995). Re: Simple Definition of Multimedia? Newsgroup: comp.multimedia,
(last accessed: 18.12.2001)
5
Neal, Jay Lloyd (7.5.1995). Re: Simple Definition of Multimedia? Newsgroup: comp.multimedia,
(last accessed: 18.12.2001)
6
Tannenbaum, p. 4
16
2.4 Types of Multimedia Products
Multimedia products can be distinguished in several ways, e.g. by the form of
delivery or by the product type. Delivery or distribution is categorized in offline,
online or hybrid media.
2.4.1 Forms of Delivery
Offline means that all the software and media needed to run the product is stored at
the location where the product is being executed. A couple of years ago the most
important medium for offline delivery were floppy disks, which then had to be
installed or copied to a hard disk. Today, CD-ROM's or DVD's are generally
superseding floppy disks.
The term online products means that some sort of data connection has to be in
place between the computer or display device the product is supposed to be used
with and a remote service that stores the data of the multimedia product. Most
prominent example for an online product is a website that is displayed on a remote
computer which is connected to the Internet. But also CBT lessons that are offered
in a company and run through the internal network or, in the future, interactive
television channels are part of the online family.
A hybrid product uses both offline and online technology. Typically, the main
application is delivered via CD-ROM. Information within the product that requires
frequent updating, such as product and price lists, new levels and characters, etc. is
then downloaded via an online channel.
7
The production of online and offline applications is different. Although
broadband is becoming increasingly accessible, bandwidth is still the most limiting
7
England, Elaine and Finney, Andy (1999). Managing multimedia: Project Management for
Interactive Media, 2
nd
edition. Harlow, England: Addison-Wesley, pp. 141-142
17
factor in online delivery. CD-ROM, DVD and hard disk capacity on the other hand,
allows the accommodation of graphics, video and audio, while online delivery is
still using textual information as the prevailing content source. The different
combination of media does not only require a different type of structure for the
whole application, i.e. large amounts of texts with graphics calls for a different
structuring and navigation then a CD-ROM application, mainly based on graphics
and video, but has also led to different development tools.
Web pages are developed using HTML editors. Interactivity and additional
functionality beyond the scope of HTML is achieved with programming and
scripting languages, mainly Java and JavaScript, as well as various plug-ins, such
as Flash, Shockwave, etc. Databases and tools that enable web pages and the
database to communicate with each other become more important as large scale
web sites are generated dynamically with the help of templates. Image and video
optimisation tools are essential to keep the file sizes as small as possible, which
also limits the quality.
Depending on the application the main functionality is provided by authoring
tools, programming languages, such as C, C++ and Java, or machine language itself
when high performance is required, e.g. for 3d game engines. Authoring tools, such
as Macromedia Director, are suitable for a large number of multimedia products.
Most of these tools support basic interactive functions, which can be extended with
integrated scripting and plug-in support. Limiting factors of authoring tools include
their limited performance, which makes them unsuitable for complex games, as
well as the restricted functionality of the scripting language and availability of plug-
ins, when new and uncommon features need to be realised.
Despite those differences in development tools, this is not to say that features
common to offline delivery can not be implemented in products that are delivered
online and vice versa. For most of the applications, however it is still necessary to
work with tools specific to either offline or online usage if the delivery medium is
to be used to its maximum or full advantage. A static web site for example can be
burned on a CD-ROM, but that would not utilize the full potential of the medium.
18
Testing and debugging can be complex for both delivery methods, depending
on the nature of the project. A website that communicates with a database server
and uses a lot of custom written scripts and security mechanisms requires more
testing than a small static web presence, similarly the potential for bugs in a
complex computer game will be higher than in a small interactive puzzle produced
with authoring tools. The main difference however is that for online products it is
easier to correct bugs or update functionality, compared to an offline product that
has already been distributed.
2.4.2 Categories of Multimedia Products
Product classifications of multimedia applications such as training, educational,
entertaining, presentation and information products cannot always be readily
distinguished. Often, products cannot be clearly assigned to one single category,
particularly when the application fulfils more than one function. The delivery for all
of these classifications can either be offline, online or using a hybrid approach.
Multimedia products can be used to train staff and employees for various tasks.
Such applications are especially useful for training a large amount of people in-
house and for simulating situations where it would be to expensive or dangerous to
learn on the real system or machine from the beginning. The development of
training solutions requires content experts who need to be familiar with specific
area that is to be trained. Depending on the area of training, these applications may
require a large amount of programming, which can not be achieved with authoring
tools, e.g. to create a realistic simulation of operating a machine.
Educational multimedia products are similar to training products, as their aim
is to help its users to gain knowledge and to understand and apply the content that is
presented. Products can be either stand-alone or used to support an existing
curriculum and are available both for adult and children use. Most applications that
try to appeal to young people make use of extensive usage of graphics, video and
sound, combined with interactivity and room for exploration. This kind of genre is
called edutainment, as it tries to combine education and entertainment. This puts
high demand on the graphic designers, as well as the interactive designers. Experts
19
with teaching experience are also required to make sure that content is presented,
and understandings are being tested, appropriately.
As already stated, the borders for assigning multimedia applications to specific
categories are fluid. Defining the fine line between edutainment and entertainment
is difficult and dependent on each individual's viewpoint. Mere entertaining
products are those that do not attempt to convey academic or professional
knowledge, such as games, interactive music videos, CD-ROM's or websites of
famous people, etc. For game development the programming tasks receive special
importance, especially if required to develop high performance graphical engines
and level editors, using machine language programming, which also requires
special knowledge in testing and debugging, before the product can be released and
sold. In addition, video footage specifically shot for the game, similar to movies in
quality and professionalism, is not uncommon.
Multimedia presentations can vary vastly in size, or duration, and intended
usage. Presentations can be used to support a speaker at a conference to transfer the
intended message to the audience. But also the introduction of a new product or a
whole organization in a large public relation event can use multimedia as support or
as the main source of action. Requirements for these type of application vary
according to its duration and intended usage from short and functional, mainly
concentrating on the message and using little different media content, to lasting
several hours and making extensive usage of a variety of different media, combined
in a complex choreography.
Finally, multimedia products are used to inform. The notion behind providing
the information can either be profit or non-profit. Profit based systems are
applications, such as online shops, product catalogues on CD-ROM, information
that describes the image of a company, etc. Where the user is given the possibility
to order a product from within the application the term Point of Sale is used
sometimes, specifically when the computer or display device is located in a public
place. Non-profit based information systems located in a public area are referred to
as Point of Information. These can be in airports, train stations, shopping centres
and museums for example and usually intend to provide the user with information
20
and answers to the most common questions related to locations and services in that
location. Product design is difficult in so far that the target audience is very broad
and it must be assured that both computer literate as well as computer illiterate
people can use the application. Also, testing is a very important aspect, as the
application is supposed to run stably without requiring a regular maintenance
service.
2.4.3 Conclusion
It is obvious that there is a wide variety of multimedia applications. Not only
distinguished by different product types, but also different delivery methods can be
used for classification.
Projects therefore mainly vary in:
-
use of production tools
-
structure and design
-
required areas of expertise
-
combination of content
-
length and complexity
-
emphasis on specific aspects, e.g. graphical design or testing
For a project management method to be suitable for managing such a potential
variety of possible projects, all of these classifications and needs should be taken
into consideration. It has to be adaptive to both different development duration and
number of team members working on the project. Furthermore, tools and processes
need to be provided to manage the team members, who come from different fields
of expertise (video editors, programmers, graphic designer, content experts, etc.).
21
2.5 Project Management Definitions
2.5.1 Project and Project Management
The term project needs to be defined:
(...) A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product or service. Temporary means that every project [not necessarily
the resulting product or service] has a definite beginning and a definite
end. Unique means that the product or service is different in some
distinguishing way from all similar products or services.
8
A general definition of project management:
Project Management is the managerial task of accomplishing a project
on time, in budget and to technical specification. The project manager is
the single point of responsibility for achieving this.
9
For multimedia projects however, this definition needs to be altered. The technical
specification is only one portion of the overall specifications of a multimedia
product as the design and appeal of multimedia products play a major role in the
acceptance and success of the product. Not only the technology behind the
application, but also the structure, the paths the user can choose, as well as the
screen layout need to be defined. The earlier can be defined as Interaction Design,
the latter as Presentation Design.
10
Both can be summarized by the more general
term design, however it must not be forgotten that this also addresses the structure
within the product.
8
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996). A Guide to the Project Management Body
of Knowledge. 1996 ed. North Carolina, USA: PMI Publishing Division, p. 4
9
ProjectNet (1996). Glossary: Dictionary of Project Management. Internet source:
http://www.projectnet.co.uk/pm/glossary.htm
(last accessed: 16.11.2001)
10
Kristof, Ray and Satran, Amy (1995). Interactivity by Design: Creating & Communicating with
New Media. Mountain View, California: Adobe Press, (no page numbers given)
22
Thus, multimedia projects need not only to be managed in regards to time, budget
and technical specification, but design specification as well.
2.5.2
Project Stakeholders
Also, it should be noted that it is not is the sole responsibility of the project
manager to generate a successful project. The project manager, however, is
certainly defined as the person who is responsible for controlling these parameters
during the project. To successfully conduct a project that results in a good product
requires the effort of all the people that are involved in the planning and production,
which is called the project team. Project team refers to the staff of the company that
develops the application.
In addition, attention needs to be drawn to the difference between client and
customer (or user). As generally accepted, the term client will be used in this paper
to describe the person or organization that wants the product to be developed.
Customer or user are interchangeable terms and refer to the person or group of
people that is actually intended to use the product, whereas the term customer more
strongly emphasises that the product or service is expected to be bought or paid for.
The sum of these individuals and groups can be defined as the project stakeholders.
"Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations who are actively involved in
the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of
[the] project (...)".
11
2.5.3 Project Methodology, Methods and Processes
Further the meanings of project management method, methodology, framework and
process also require definition. In its original meaning, a method is a structured and
organised way of doing something, whereas a methodology is the science or study
11
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), p. 15
23
of methods.
12
A framework is defined either as a structure giving shape and support
or as a set of principles or ideas used as a basis for one's judgement, decisions,
etc.
13
A process originally is a series of actions or operations performed in order to
do or achieve something.
14
In project management, different authors and creators of
structured project management approaches are using these terms to describe
different things, which can lead to confusion. A portion of them uses the term
methodology in its original meaning: "Methodology is a metadiscipline. It involves
the study of methods."
15
Whereas others use the term method or methodology as an
equivalent: "A method, or methodology, is a structured approach for delivering a
project."
16
Another example would be Multimedia Pathways, which is described as
"A Development Methodology for Interactive Multimedia and Online Products for
Education and Training"
17
and not as a development method. It can be argued that
each project is different in some way and therefore requires a method to be studied
and adapted for every project and that each method can thus be seen as a
methodology as well. In this paper, the term methodology will be used with its
original meaning, which involves the analysis of different methods or parts of
methods, not the mere adaptation of one method. The term framework will be used
as an equivalent to method. It should be noted that the term process is sometimes
used for what now has been defined as a method, e.g. the Rational Unified
Process.
18
Again, in this paper it will be used in its original meaning.
12
Cowie, A. P. chief editor (1994). Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, 8
th
impression. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 780
13
Cowie, A. P. chief editor (1994), p. 489
14
Cowie, A. P. chief editor (1994), p. 991
15
Friedlein, Ashley (2001). Web Project Management: Delivering Successful Commercial Web
Sites. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, p. 38
16
Turner, J. Rodney and Simister, Stephen J. (editors) (2000). Gower Handbook of Project
Management, 3
rd
edition. Aldershot, England: Gower Publishing Limited, p. 86
17
http://www.impart.com.au
18
http://www.rational.com
24
A project management process is a portion of a project management method. It
can be seen as a tool, as an instruction, technique or activity for the project
management to deal with one of its responsibilities or work areas, e.g. planning and
controlling.
19
The sum of processes, in combination with a time component, forms
the project management method. The time component is usually referred to as the
project life cycle. The project life cycle runs from the start of the project until its
end and is separated into stages.
20
19
Turner, J. Rodney and Simister, Stephen J. (editors) (2000), p. 87
20
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), p. 11
25
3 The Historical Development of Project
Management
Compared to the other aspects of project management only little information is
available on its history. To the knowledge of the author, the Griffith University
library staff and several book stores, there is no dedicated publication in relation to
project management history and only a very small number of books on project
management find it necessary to devote short chapters to the topic.
Yet, despite the limited information available, it should be noted that different
opinions as to when project management started exist.
3.1 The Philosophy of Ancient Project Management
In this theory, it is assumed that early forms of project management were
established after humankind evolved to specialisation, which meant development
from gathering food and hunting into more diverse roles. This meant that people
stopped doing every task themselves and paid other, usually more skilled craftsmen
to do specific jobs, such as construction work. Once these jobs or projects got too
complex to be undertaken by a small number of people, (e.g. the construction of
palaces, buildings and castles) it is assumed that those responsible for the project,
(usually engineers or technicians) had to apply project management techniques to
plan and organise the work and to communicate with their clients in regard to what
was expected to be achieved.
21
Taking this theory even further it could be argued that, according to the
definition of a project given above, the first endeavours of creating primitive tools
21
Unknown author, (unknown publish date). Project Management History A History Leading Up
to the Beginning of Project Management. Internet Source:
http://members.aol.com/AllenWeb/history.html
(last accessed: 13.12.2001)
26
and the organization of huntings of our ancestors were projects. It would however
not stand up to comparison with the definition of project management as the time
and budget component certainly did not play a role during that period in history.
3.2 The Philosophy of Modern Project Management
Yet another philosophy of the development of project management argues that,
while ancient construction work is certainly impressive and required a lot of
resources to coordinate, no valid evidence of the occurrence of project management
has been found to had been applied in these projects. It is assumed, rather, that
project management in its modern form found its origin in projects of the American
and British military and aerospace development during the 1950's. Modern
formation means that tools and techniques, which are still used today, originated
during that period of time. Examples would be PERT (Program Evaluation and
Review Technique), which was initially developed as a system to estimate the
duration of tasks and is now being used to describe a technique of arranging task
and activities in a network diagram to show interdependencies and to optimise the
work flow. The work breakdown structure (WBS) was introduced during that
period also. The WBS, as its name suggests, is used to break the work of a project
down into smaller, more manageable tasks and to arrange these tasks into logical
groups. Important practises of today's project management, such as earned value
tracking and analysis, the definition of a project lifecycle and configuration
management were introduced in the 1960's. Henry Gantt developed the Gantt Chart
in the early 1900's, initially to make it easier to construct ships. In a Gantt Chart,
bars are used to indicate task duration and order. Although it is still frequently used
by project managers today and forming a central part of most of the standard
project management software, it is not seen as the start of modern project
management. This is because the development of most of the other tools and
techniques as well as the incorporation into a systematic approach did not start until
the middle of the 19
th
century.
During that time the management structure of the companies was influenced
by the knowledge gained through the management of projects, when people
27
realized the importance of having one individual responsible for the project
throughout its whole life cycle. This needs to be addressed further in Chapter 5.
It was not until the 1970's that the technology industry began utilizing project
management techniques on a wider basis, which had already been applied in the
military and then later, the construction industry. With the establishment of the
Project Management Institute (PMI) in the U.S. and the Association for Project
Management (APM) in Great Britain, project management started to be regarded as
a discipline. Furthermore, the tools and processes developed to that point
underwent sophistication and updates to decrease the rate of projects failing.
Probably the most noticeable development in project management during the
1980's was that the importance of project phases prior to implementation and
production, namely concept and design, was realized. Greater consideration was
given to the opinion of the project's stakeholders. It became obvious that through
thorough needs and risk analysis the likelihood of project failure could be reduced,
as it was discovered that change late during the project incurred much higher costs
than alterations in the early stages of the life cycle. Also, computers became
cheaper and more available, which resulted in wider usage throughout the industry
and meant that project managers could rely more heavily on the assistance of
project management software. Meanwhile, the PMI had published its first edition of
the project management body of knowledge (PMBoK), which was one of the first
attempts to provide project managers with a structured overview of available
processes and tools. The PMI also introduced courses in project management,
which, after successful completion, provide the project manager with a certificate.
This helped to establish project management as a profession rather than being a
mere job discipline.
Tougher competition during the 1990's, with Asian nations increasing their
exports to the American and European market, required companies to be able to
develop and produce projects faster and with higher quality. This led some
companies to restructure their organizational hierarchy and departments, grouping
their personnel into project teams that could act and develop more quickly than
companies with traditional organizations. Under these circumstances total quality
28
management (TQM) was developed. The original information on this second theory
can be found in the Mr. Burke's book: Project Management: Planning and Control
Techniques, 3
rd
edition.
22
3.3 Conclusion
It is beyond the scope of this thesis to further investigate the contrasting theories. It
may be well possible that Rory Burke is not right and that it in some way it is
documented that project management was used for early construction projects, such
as the Pyramids. This, however, is not important to the outcomes of this paper. It is
more important to focus on the information available today and, even more so to
focus on that which is used in project management today.
In summary it should be noted that modern project management first evolved
in military and aerospace projects, before the construction discipline and later the
computer and software industry started utilizing it. Further, it is worth noting that
most of the tools and techniques that were developed half a century ago are still
used in, or form the basis of, most of today's project management methods, such as
Gantt Charts, PERT or the establishment of a project life cycle. The use of more or
less the same techniques and processes in project management throughout totally
different and unrelated industries raises the question whether the knowledge of
project management can be transferred between different disciplines without the
necessity for adaptation.
22
Burke, Rory (1999). Project management: Planning and Control Techniques, 3
rd
edition.
Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, pp. 11-23
29
4 The Components of a Project Management
Method
The term project management method, as well as its basic components, have been
defined in Chapter 2.5.
A project management method should support the project manager both in case
where the requirements of projects are either vague or clearly defined. The project
management method also needs to have processes in place to deal with a clear as
well as an unclear delivery process.
23
. To accomplish this a suitable framework has
to assist the project manager to identify the goals of the project and to assign the
roles and responsibilities of the project team. Means for checking project progress
and for evaluating the relevance of performing tasks in regard to the project
specification need to be provided, just as means need to be provided for managing
risks.
24
This chapter takes a more detailed look at the different components that should
be part of a comprehensive project management method.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project management
framework consists of the project management context and project management
processes. The project management processes can be categorized into knowledge
areas, whereas processes that interact with, and therefore influence each other need
to be put in context as well.
25
23
A clear delivery process applies to projects that do not involve a lot of research or unknown
factors, whereas an unclear delivery process will require the project team to put effort into research
and testing of different concepts within the project before the actual amount of required
development work will become clear.
24
Turner, J. Rodney and Simister, Stephen J. (editors) (2000), pp. 85-86
25
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), p. 6
30
4.1 The Project Management Context
The project management context, as defined by PMI "describes the environment in
which projects operate."
26
In this context, not only the project life cycle with its
stages or phases is included, but also other criteria that influence the project, such
as the organization of the company, socio-economic influences, project
stakeholders and generic management skills.
27
As already stated, the project life cycle is considered as the temporal
component of a project management method and therefore forms and integral part
of it. Organisational influences, such as the company's hierarchical and
management structure, usually have an influence on the way a project is conducted.
It will not only determine the project manager's competencies and influence, but
also the way a project team is to be organised.
28
This may lead to the alteration or
development of a new project management method. The main problem with this is
that there is a risk of creating a method that takes organisational influences more
into consideration than the initial aim of having a method: effective and successful
management of projects.
For a project manager it can be difficult to deal with the stakeholders because
of their different interests in the project as well different levels of knowledge and
points of view.
29
Processes need to be developed to ensure proper communication
and conflict resolution between these individuals or groups, as well as to deal with
specification and requirements.
PMI also identifies general management skills that are likely to be beneficial to
project managers as well. These skills include knowledge in leading,
26
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), p. 6
27
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), p. 11
28
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), pp. 17-20
29
Duncan, William R, PMI Standards Committee (1996), pp. 15-17
Details
- Seiten
- Erscheinungsform
- Originalausgabe
- Jahr
- 2002
- ISBN (eBook)
- 9783832454265
- ISBN (Paperback)
- 9783838654263
- DOI
- 10.3239/9783832454265
- Dateigröße
- 841 KB
- Sprache
- Englisch
- Institution / Hochschule
- Hochschule Furtwangen – Digitale Medien
- Erscheinungsdatum
- 2002 (Mai)
- Note
- 1,4
- Schlagworte
- internet medien
