Page 60 - Impiantistica Italiana Maggio Giugno 2014

Speciale Ipma Italy

point that in future we project managers will unexpected problems and some more than
be able to do things which are impossible their ration, so it is important to set the
now as well as doing things better, quicker standards of every project so that there is
and cheaper than we do now. Our standards space in at least two of the standards. And
will rise. We shall meet higher standards of if there just cannot be any space in the
achievement. Every twenty years or so we performance standard - which is always what
shall look back and think that the standard matters most to the promoter, there must be
of achievement of completed projects is space in time or cost or preferably both. A
better now than it was. project with all three standards set very high
In this presentation I am talking about the is very likely to fail because of unexpected
achievement standards not the method problems.
standards. A good example of this is sports stadia.
In every project in every type of human activity Olympic stadia, for example, have to be
there are three achievement standards. ready on time even if they have cost more
The really high standard is to meet all three than they should or don’t work as well as they
targets - for total time taken, for total money should. Construction of the main stadium for
spent and an end result which is exactly what the Montreal Olympics in 1976 was running
the promoter wanted or better. The finished late and the money had run out. So, at the
project has to do what it was intended to do last minute, the decision was made not to
- its performance has to be “up to standard”. construct the roof. The reduced stadium
So to me, “integrating standards”, the title was ready in time but still over ran cost. A
of this congress, means using methods of number of other serious problems affected
project management which lead to achieving the stadium for many years.
all three achievement standards: time, cost The buildings for the London Olympics this
and performance. year were built to very demanding designs
so the performance standard was very
Project Management high. The project team decided to plan to
complete them all well before they were
triangle first needed so that there was space in
the time standard. The budget included
These are the three corners of the “classic” significant contingency allowances so the
Project Management Triangle which I cost standard had space too. This was good
invented more than forty years ago and project management. There was no space
which has since been very widely adopted. in the performance standard so it had to be
My first triangle had time, cost and quality provided in the other two. “Space” is usually
in the three corners. I soon realized that called “float” in setting the time standard and
“quality” was too narrow a definition of the “contingency” in the cost standard.
third corner. The promoter for every project I expect all of you have worked on projects
wants the finished project to do what it which finished on time. Has any one of you
was intended to do - to achieve what was worked on a project where everything was
intended. This is the performance standard. done at the times shown in the original
Can any of you think of a project which programme? No. The same is true of the
produces something which just stands original budget. Many projects are finished
there – it does not have to do anything? No. with the total cost within budget, but the
Projects have to work, they have to do what individual costs will always be above and
the promoter wanted them to do and which below the amount for them in the original
was the reason for doing the project. They budget.
have to perform as intended. Even a work Bear these important things in mind:
of art has a performance objective - but only the promoter does not care whether you
the artist may know what it was. Even for a work to the original programme or not so
contractor the third corner is not quality it long as you finish on time;
is performance in the sense of profit made the promoter does not care whether you
and, hopefully, reputation for good work work to the original budget or not so long as
improved. you don’t spend more than the total original
A very good project manager or a very lucky budget;
one can achieve all three on a project even the promoters do insist that what you
if they are all high standards. The project complete achieves or does what it was
has to be finished very quickly, at very low supposed to. That is what they want. It’s
cost and to a very demanding performance the main thing they want. And it is also what
requirement. All projects get their ration of people remember.

56 56 Impiantistica Italiana - Maggio-Giugno 2014