The Theory of Project Management

Introduction 

The theory of project management has been taught in class to the majority of business managers. It gives the effective framework creating, planning and implementing business ideas. However, the real application of these theoretical concepts is the main problem for a significant number of business managers. It is possible to properly apply the theory of project management in the real life and actual business situations. Managers simply need to understand the specific skills required in order to use project management in real business situations. With a number of skills stated in this paper, managers can progress from theory to practice since the concept of project management works in real life situations. 

Does the theory of project management work in real life situations? 

The theory of project management was adapted from the moon-landing plan of Apollo (Söderlund, 2004). Since then, this theory has greatly evolved into a management concept that is applied widely. Many organizations now find the theory of project management to be a very important concept. The effective application of this theory is now essential in the promotion of organizational excellence and attaining survival during hard business times (Schwalbe, 2009). The common definition of project management is planning, scheduling and controlling of the activities in a given work with the sole goal of achieving the set objectives and targets. It is vital to note that projects usually involve use of massive resources. The resources are both human and non-human and demand effective coordination when they are used (Söderlund, 2002). The adoption of project management practices usually helps in the monitoring and controlling of both activities and resources used. With the wide application of the theory of project management in the implementation of business investment projects, it is evident that this concept now works in the corporate field. 

What is normally the challenge with applying the project management theory in the real life situations is always the lack of understanding and skills regarding the best procedure to follow while using it. A lot of managers do not understand the provisions of project management theory. It also must be noted that application of this theory demands great managerial skills of linking theory to practice (Söderlund, 2004). Good managers have been able to apply the theory of project management in the real life situations and reaped good benefits of effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation process. 

Users of the theory of project management may not understand the implication of success of the implementation process. Project success is about the completion of all activities involved on the scheduled time, within the specified budget and to the level of quality set in the description of the plan. It is only through strict adherence to the framework provided by the theory of project management that these results can be obtained (Williams, 2005). The use of project management theory in real life situations, thus, demands that a pragmatic approach be applied to it. The effective project performance can be ensured through skillful application of different practices of project management. 

A significant number of managers and business people have been made to feel that the project management theory cannot work in the real life situations because despite having clear goals and plans, a lot of the programs and activities always exceed the set budgets and go beyond the scheduled time before their completion. In worst instances, the projects modeled on the theory of project management often end up being of poor quality. This scenario can understandably make one to feel the theory of project management is not applicable in the real life situations at all. However, the adoption of this theory leads to project success only when some specific skills are applied by the managers or other users (Zwikael & Globerson, 2004). To many people, it may appear that what is practiced in the real life situations cannot be matched to theory. A clear understanding of the existing project management practices in real life situations and in theory is very essential for proper and effective implementation of activities to achieve success. 

To understand the applicability of theory of project management in real life situations as well as the existing perception of the theory-reality gap, it is important to analyze case of the information systems project in a five star hotel restaurant. This hotel restaurant is located in Melbourne, Australia. The goal is to examine the project management practices, which were applied when this restaurant implemented the conversion from a manual order taking system to a computerized one (Rosenau & Githens, 2005). This particular project was driven by the information systems department of the hotel. This restaurant has got different styles of dining in a day. It specializes in a buffet that provides fresh seafood, Eastern and Western cuisine. The restaurant has got covers that amount to a total of 250. These covers include the bar and the lobby lounge. Its service values include being bright, friendly, efficient and quite informative. This restaurant has a drive and urge of providing services, which satisfy the needs and desires of the visiting customers (Schwalbe, 2006). It is based on this urge and motivation that it decided to invest in the transition from the manual system to a computerized, which would give the clients more convenience in ordering for services. Moreover, this transition to a digital operation would make it easy to generate reports about stock and sales data. Since it was felt that there was a lot of miscommunication of food and beverage order details and a lot of time was utilized in generating relevant food and beverage management reports when operating manually, a computerized system was recommended by the users, represented by the restaurant manager. 

The restaurant project of implementing an information system to improve service delivery 

Project failures have been attributed to a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include inexperienced managers of the projects, lack of proper control of the stakeholder expectations , ineffective leadership, errors in the identification of resource requirements and absence of clear communication. 

In this project of a five star hotel restaurant, where the transformation from a manual order taking system to the digital one was being implemented, the role of users is limited. The users only did the recommendation of the system to the top management of the hotel. The top management then approved the conversion project after getting the feasibility study report from the Information Systems Department manager (Rad & Anantatmula, 2010). It is the Information Systems manager who then did the functions of monitoring and controlling the implementation process for the conversion exercise. This action relates to the theoretical provision that a functional manager may be designated to manage the project that is in his area of jurisdiction. To analyze the various aspects of this particular project, it is vital to focus on understanding the details of the whole process. 

The problem 

Considering the fact that implementing a system of information technology in the hotel restaurant would improve the efficiency of operations and enhance the quality of service delivery, the manager of the business recommended for the implementation of this transformation. The senior management of the hotel then analyzed the recommendation and approved it duly before forwarding it to the Information Systems manager. The restaurant had been operating using the manual order-taking procedure from customers. In this mode of operation, the waiter would take orders from customers and give a copy of it to the kitchen cookers. The beverage order would then be given to the bartender. Other additions would also be taken and processed in the same manner. After meals, the waiter would take the calculation of total amount and let the customer know the bill for purposes of payment. This manual system of operations had a lot of challenges for the restaurant (Nicholas & Steyn, 2008). It occasioned problems of unclear handwritings, which made people to confuse the figures of money to be paid. It also caused huge delays in service delivery. Furthermore, the sales recording system was not proper and sometimes it was quite difficult for the management to make the collective accounts of the day and months. This manual system of taking orders from the clients also opened the whole business to massive fraud activities. The waiters would collude with the customers to swindle money from the hotel. The management could not easily trace the movement of the stock of the business. 

The solution 

The solution of all these problems was thought to be a digital way of doing things. The restaurant established that with a digital system of taking the orders, a lot of the hitches and challenges experienced would be properly addressed. Therefore, there was a new information system installed for this function in the restaurant. The main purpose of this information system was to streamline the process of taking orders in the restaurant. It had a touch screen technology, where an operator could make the digital commands. 

The new installed system has a touch screen system where the waiters can enter the orders instead of using the previous traditional ways of writing down the orders on paper. Not only was this touch screen monitor easy to use but also faster as the order got printed instantly to the kitchen where two printers were installed. The same touch screen system used at the beverage counter printed orders to the printer. Based on the cooking tasks, the orders were divided amongst staff in the kitchen automatically. This division of cooking tasks also helped in minimizing the delays as the tasks of every order were numbered and accordingly prioritized. With this system, the tasks were sequenced in a way that the entire table’s order would be completed around the same time (Meredith & Mantel, 2008). A touch of a button can generate a computed bill with list of all the items ordered that can be given as a printout to the customers. 

After a thorough analysis of different recommendations for an appropriate system, the management chose to install MICROS Restaurant Enterprise Series 3700 TSR point of sale system, which is a unique series of integrated applications that helps in building success through every level of the enterprise, from making sure each customer gets the right order on time to controlling prices, menus, and profits on a chain-wide basis. A world leader in information technology, MICROS provides complete information management solutions including software, hardware, enterprise systems integration, consulting and support. Over 330,000 MICROS systems are currently installed in table and quick service restaurants, hotels, motels, casinos, leisure and entertainment, and retail operations in more than 130 countries, and on all seven continents (Lock, 2007). The scalable nature of the system made it the right choice for the restaurant and it also helps the restaurant operations in being more efficient by increasing speed of service merged with enhanced ease of operations. 

All the hither and thither over the manual work of taking orders on paper, and the hassle of running to and fro from kitchen for each order, is duly minimized for the waiters by the touch screen system. Also, chefs in the kitchen do not have to put up with the messy handwriting that is prone to errors. Systematic and timely orders lead to timely delivery of food and customers can concentrate on their meal rather than worry if the bill was added up correctly (Cicmil, Williams, Thomas & Hodgson, 2006). The food and beverage inventory is up to date leaving no room for unaccounted drinks and food thus placing the restaurant manager in more control. 

The manual work of maintaining the sales statistics, which was an arduous task, has been simplified by the use of this new system, which along with maintaining a tab on the statistics gives information for staff on profitable items so they can recommend high turnover items to the customers. Adding to these advantages is the linkage of billing system to the inventory which automatically monitors and streamlines inventory levels that make ordering and receiving process easy (Söderlund, 2004). This system allows the restaurant to monitor inventory levels, and streamlines ordering and receiving processes too. 

Planning and management issues of the project in theory 

From the case study of the project of installing the digital information system for purposes of taking customer orders, many lessons about the theory of project management can be learnt. It is vital to note that project theory is simply the knowledge provided by scholars regarding the effective framework of approaching the management of activities like investment programs. The framework that is normally given in the project management theory is universally applicable in the various business activities and programs. The project management techniques and processes are helpful in the coordination of the use of resources during implementation of programs so that the best predictable results are achieved. Therefore, it must be noted that project management is not a total and neither is it an art. However, it is a combination of both art and science. This statement gives the reason for the difficult of achieving success while using the theory of project management in the real life situations. 

The possibility of uncertainty and complexity are always high with this theory of project management since the processes in which it is used are managed by human beings. It is not possible to completely control every aspect of the theory of project management. To succeed, the theory of project management requires the use of art and the user must be a person of high flexibility and ingenuity. The truth of the matter is that adoption of the project management framework leads to good and effective control of activities in businesses. 

The project management framework offers the manager ways of controlling processes, managing schedules and budgets hence increases possibility of achieving success. The main goal of project management is simply attaining the targeted level of performance within the required cost and on the desirable time (Schwalbe, 2015). All projects usually have life cycles and they start at a slow pace, but gather momentum while in the middle before slowing down again towards the end of the implementation process. Importantly, a life cycle of the project must be clearly known because it indicates the beginning and end time. This knowledge gives room for effective planning. People understand a specific program using the model of the project life cycle. It normally covers all activities right from the time of initiating the project to its closure period. There are significant things that managers must understand about the project life cycle. 

The first element of a project life cycle is the selection of the specific activities to be done. The selection of the project involves evaluating the alternative projects and then choosing one that is viable and profitable, for the case of business organizations. The optional projects are evaluated based on the objectives and goals of the business entity. There are various methods that organizations use to select projects for implementation. Overall, the selection is usually based on evaluating the costs, benefits and risks involved. The project that has the highest benefits with minimal costs and remarkable level of risk are the ones chosen for implementation. However, these variables are not known with certainty but are simply projected in to the future. This particular statement shows that the task of selecting the right and moist viable project for implementation is a very difficult task to many managers. 

The other significant element of a project is the proposal preparation. A project proposal involves compiling the set of documents that are required for the evaluation of the particular option being considered. ‘ 

After preparation of the project to be implemented, there is selection of the right-skilled manager to oversee the whole process of managing its activities. The manager chosen must be a person with the appropriate skills and ability to achieve efficient and effective results. Usually, many organizations choose to have the line functional manager take over the role of overseeing the project implementation process. The selected project manager then chooses the suitable team to implement the activities (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). What has to be considered in this case is that the different types of projects require varied structures for implementation. 

Planning for the project in terms of identifying and addressing the tasks required for project completion is to be emphasized. The development of preliminary plans is essential because they serve as a basis for the selection of team members, budgeting, scheduling, monitoring and controlling. At this stage, it is necessary to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders involved and the smooth integration of the various inherent activities required to achieve the project objectives. 

After the planning process, it is necessary to obtain resources with which to perform the work. A budget is a plan for allocating resources. Thus, a project manager has to develop a budget for the project, which must have the support of senior management. The project manager should be a good negotiator who can negotiate resources for the project; negotiation within the firm should be directed at obtaining the best outcome for the organization. 

After budgeting, the project manager converts the project plan into an operating time-table, allocating time among project tasks. This conversion is known as scheduling. This timetable serves as a basis for monitoring and controlling project activity. It is a major tool for the management of projects. Scheduling techniques like Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Critical Path Method (CPM) and Gantt charts are designed in this phase of the project (Kerzner, 2013). 

After allocating time among project tasks, the allocation of physical resources such as man, money and material is done. Also, scheduling is related to the allocation of physical resources because altering schedules can alter the need for resources. 

In order to track the progress of a project it is necessary to design a monitoring system and identify the key factors in the project action plan. Project monitoring involves collecting and interpreting data, and reporting information. It is important that work is checked often enough to be able to measure progress accurately and take timely corrective actions. 

The next relevant step to be considered is control. Control is the act of reducing the difference between plan and reality. It involves the comparison of the collected information with the desired level, and corrective action is taken if there is a discrepancy between the actual and desired performance. Control is focused on three elements of a project. These elements include performance, cost and time. These are also elements that a project manager needs to juggle in order to achieve success in a project. 

One of the final activities in a project is project evaluation. This is generally carried out after the project has been closed and the system made operational. In evaluating a project, firstly, the project’s efficiency in meeting both the budget and the schedule must be considered. Secondly, the dimension of customer satisfaction and system performance must be considered. Last but not least, the dimension of business success must be considered which is primarily measured in terms of commercial success and market share. 

Finally comes project termination, which is indispensable because it is vital to check whether project objectives have been met, or not. A formal project review is completed at this stage. This provides an opportunity to ensure that the work of the project team is recognized; lessons learned from the project are formally analyzed and documented for future use and team members are delegated to other projects. Project termination should be undertaken whether the project is successful or not. This also provides an opportunity to ensure that the project scope conforms to the initial requirements. 

Project management theory in the real world situation 

Project management is conceptually a function that involves directing the activities linked with the implementation of the plan while controlling the scarce resources in an effective and efficient manner. The resources being referred include time, human and capital ones. The main focus of project management is achieving the set goals successfully. The elements of project management are: defining a project, starting a project, managing a project, and closing a project. A project is a one-time effort to accomplish an explicit objective by a specific time. Regardless of the similarity between projects each project is unique with different scopes and constraints. Every project has a start and finish and a time frame for completion. All these descriptions are provided for in the theory of project management. The case of the installation of a digital information system, for the purpose of improving the process of taking customer orders shows practically that the theory of project management works even in the real life situations. It is vital to note that every aspect of the theory of project management was present in the implementation process of the restaurant information technology innovation plan. 

In the restaurant information technology installation project, every activity done followed the framework provided by the theory of project management. Each activity implemented in this particular project was monitored and controlled in order to establish its effect on the others. The close monitoring and controlling of activities was done to ensure each step is completed within the stipulated timeframe. Notably, some activities in the project ended after significant delays. To achieve this massive success, the Information Systems Department manager confessed that various skills and capabilities are required for a project to end successfully and within the specified framework of implementation. 

The Information Systems manager developed a clear definition of the project stating all the required objectives that were to be achieved from the project. A project plan was charted out before starting the project. Since the Information Systems manager was designated as the project manager, he picked out his team members from the same department and also included two of the assistant restaurant managers to assist him with the project and to evaluate the performance of the system once it was installed. Team meetings were planned at regular intervals in order to keep the team informed about the development of the project. According to the Information Systems manager, effective monitoring standards were put into place but he declined to comment on their details. 

Also, since control involves measuring actual progress with the planned progress and to correct any discrepancies in it, the team encountered some network problems and the system was not able to connect to the Purchase System; relevant changes to the system were incorporated to reset the defaults and changes were made to the schedule (Kerzner, 2013). 

The end of the project was announced after two weeks of putting the system to work. It concluded with a formal dinner where the senior management acknowledged the team’s efforts and the project manager formally explored and recorded the lessons learned from this project for use on the next project. 

Skills needed at management level to make the progression from theory to practice 

From the case study of the hotel in Melbourne, Australia, it is evident that the theory of project management actually works in the real life situations. The only thing that makes most organizations to fail achieving success when using the project management theory is the lack of skills and capabilities required to overcome the uncertainties that come with it. As noted, one cannot tell with certainty the amount of risk, cost and period that the project will take with accuracy. What is simply done is logical prediction about the future. The prediction made may be close to the accurate position or way too far from the real scenario. This need for logical prediction about the future makes the theory of project management to appear not applicable in the real life situations for many people. Moreover, the disappointing results, which managers get even after following every bit of the project management framework also makes them feel this theory does not work in the real life situations. However, with the right skills and capabilities, this theory is able to bring great success in the process of implementing a given project. To make that important progression from theory to real life practice, there is for certain skills development at the management level. 

The first skill is that of accurate projection into the future. There is a lot of uncertainty when using the theory of project management, especially regarding the amount of risk, duration and cost to be taken before the completion of the plan. The project manager must, thus, have the right skills of using the past and present trends to predict the future of the plan implementation process. A lot of project management plans fail because of poor management skills of predicting the future. 

The second sill is the ability of communicating effectively and clearly. Moreover, there must clear communication lines. When there is good flow communication within the project management structure, then the process of implementation progresses in a very smooth manner (Kerzner, 2013). This factor makes it possible to have the implementation process completed in the specified time. Communication skills are, thus, needed at the management level. 

The project manager must be a person who can operate in a team. The management must be made up of people who are team players since there is need for teamwork in order for proper and speedy implementation of the project. To thrive in teamwork, the management level must also have individuals with high interpersonal skills. It is the interpersonal skills of a manager that make him or her establish sustainable relationships with the other workers carrying out the implementation process. 

After having individually discussed project planning in reality and in theory, it is appropriate for the report to focus on the similarities and difference between the two. Applying project management practices does not eliminate project failures nor does it necessarily guarantee success (Kerzner, 2013). No two projects can be the same, as different projects will come up with a different set of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. 

An important fact noticed is that the project manager should be given authority over project employees, irrespective of the fact that they may belong to a functional department. The project manager has to find his way amongst all odds and work towards the achievement of the project. It is necessary for the project manager to keep his team motivated, irrespective of the size of the project (Kerzner, 2013). It was evident from the interview, the project manager did employee best practices of project management theory in order to successfully steer the project. 

Conclusion 

The theory of project management works in real life situations. It worked in the real life situation of the hotel transition from manual order taking systems to the digital-based order-taking ones. The case study of the restaurant cited in this paper shows that with improved skills, it is possible to have success while applying the project management theory. Some of the notable skills needed at the management level for the successful progression from of project management theory to reality include good communication, logical prediction about the future and interpersonal as well as teamwork capabilities. 

References 

Cicmil, S., Williams, T., Thomas, J., & Hodgson, D. (2006). Rethinking project management: researching the actuality of projects.  International Journal of Project Management ,  24 (8), 675-686. 

Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014).  Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach . Boston: Cengage Learning. 

Kerzner, H. (2013).  Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 

Lock, D. (2007). The essentials of project management . 3 rd Ed. Cornwall: Gower Publishing. 

Meredith, J.R. & Mantel, S.J. (2008). Project management: a managerial approach . 7 th Ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. 

Nicholas, J.M. & Steyn, H. (2008). Project management for business, engineering and technology . Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman. 

Rad, F.P. & Anantatmula, V.S. (2010). Successful project management practices . Somerville, MA: Emerald Group Publishing. 

Rosenau, M.D. & Githens G.D. (2005). Successful project management: step by step approach with practical examples. 4 th Ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 

Schwalbe, K. (2006). Information technology project management . 4 th Ed. Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology. 

Schwalbe, K. (2009). An introduction to project management . 2 nd Ed. Course Technology Boston: Cengage Learning. 

Schwalbe, K. (2015).  Information technology project management . Cengage Learning. 

Söderlund J. (2002). On the development of project management research: schools of thought and critique. International Project Management Journal , 8(1), 20-31. 

Söderlund, J. (2004). Building theories of project management: Past research, questions for the future. International Journal of Project Management , 22(3), 183-191. 

Williams, T.M. (2005). Assessing and building on project management theory in the light of badly over-run projects. IEEE Transactions in Engineering Management , 52(4), 497- 508. 

Zwikael, O. & Globerson, S. (2004). Evaluating the quality of project planning: a model and field results. International Journal of Production Research , 42(8), 1545-1556.