Project Management

Basic Principles for Measuring Project Cash Flows

Estimating cash flows — the investment outlays and the cash inflows after the project is commissioned — is the most important, but also the most difficult step in capital budgeting. Estimating cash flows process involves many people and numerous variables.

A project which involves cash outflows followed by cash inflows comprises of three basic components. They are,

  1. Initial investment: Initial investment is the after-tax cash outlay on capital expenditure and net working capital when the project is set up.
  2. Operating cash inflows: The operating cash inflows are the after-tax cash inflows resulting from the operations of the project during its economic life.
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Abey Francis

Strategic Issues in Project Management

An issue is something that has happened and either threatens or enhances the  success of a project. Issue management is the process for recording and  handling any event or problem. Some of the issues can be dealt within the  project. However strategic issues may require a change in order to keep the  project viable.  The concept of “strategic issues” has emerged as a way to identify and manage  factors and forces that can significantly affect an organization’s future strategies  and tactics.  Project owners need to be aware of the possible and probable impacts of  strategic issues. The project team leader has the primary responsibility to focus  the owner’s resources to deal with project strategic issues.  … Read the rest

Abey Francis

Managing Project Life Cycle

Projects have a distinct life cycle, starting with an idea and progressing through design,  engineering and manufacturing or construction, through use by a project owner. Project  life cycle is a collection of generally sequential project phases, whose name and  number are determined by the control needs of organization or organizations  involved in the project. A project phase is collection of logically related project  activities usually culminating in the completion of major deliverable i.e. any  measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome, result or item that must be produced  to complete a project or part of project.

The project originates as an idea in someone’s mind, takes a conceptual form  and eventually has enough substance that key decision-makers in the  organization select the project as a means of executing elements of strategy in  the organization.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

Characteristics of Project Phases

The completion and approval of one or more deliverables characterizes a project phase. A deliverable is a measurable, verifiable work product such as a specification, feasibility study report, detailed design document, or working prototype. Some deliverables can correspond to the project management process, whereas others are the end products or components of the end products for which the project was conceived. The deliverables, and hence the phases, are part of a generally sequential process designed to ensure proper control of the project and to attain the desired product or service, which is the objective of the project.

In any specific project, for reasons of size, complexity, level of risk, and cash flow constraints, phases can be further subdivided into subphases.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

Characteristics of Project Life Cycle

The project life cycle defines the phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end. For example, when an organization identifies an opportunity to which it would like to respond, it will often authorize a feasibility study to decide whether it should undertake the project. The project life cycle definition can help the project manager clarify whether to treat the feasibility study as the first project phase or as a separate, stand-alone project. Where the outcome of such a preliminary effort is not clearly identifiable, it is best to treat such efforts as a separate project. The phases of a project life cycle are not the same as the Project Management Process Groups.… Read the rest

Abey Francis

Major Types of Risks in Project Management

Whenever a new projects starts, it start with risk and uncertainty levels which sometimes create deadlocks for project completion. Project risk management ensures if risks are evaluated and decreased as assessment carried, then it increased opportunities. This is for sure project management cannot eliminate all risk from the project but with good planning and statistics level of risk can be minimized, and which will acceptable for project making. Some of risk can be beyond the range of control which can affect the project length or budget, for that instance planning should carry out before those risk hit to project and prior to unwanted events occurring.… Read the rest

Abey Francis