Week 1

Question 1

What defines a project?

Answer 1

• Clear objective (must satisfy a need or demand that has been identified).
• Constraints of Cost, Quality and Time (Not unlimited and will be set by the projects owners).
• A team of people (May or may not be familiar with the work to be done and other team members).
• Little practice or rehearsal (Rarely more than one attempt to get the project right).
• Change and uncertainty (Project attributes and other influencing factor will vary with time).
• Uniqueness (No project is exactly the same as the previous one).
• Definable start and endpoint (Starts when approval is granted for work to proceed to the initial stage and ends when objectives are achieve. Project scale can be broad).

Question 2

What are some common problems in engineering projects? (Not very important)

Answer 2

• Very politicised.
• A number of contracts.
• Problems with INFRACO contract.
• Contractor refusing to do some sections claiming problem out of their control.
• Client not being as rigorous as they could be with their contract agreement with BBS.

Question 3

What is the definition of project management?

Answer 3

The planning, control and co-ordination of a project from conception to completion (including commissioning) on behalf of a client.
It is concerned with the identification of the client’s objectives in terms of utility, function, quality, safety, time and cost.

Question 4

What is the “sunk cost” effect?

Answer 4

The tendency to make a choice considering the cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.

Question 5

What are the success factors of a project=

Answer 5

• Cost
• Time
• Quality
• Safety
• Environment
• Sustainability