Strive I Im Raipur

1
STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2

Student Article
Interviews
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Academia
Gurumantra
March 2014
Specials
Experience
THE EDITORIAL
Trying to manage a project without
project management is like trying to play a
football game without a game plan as
rightly said by K. Tate.
Editorial
Keeping this in view, we have come up with

Strive - the biannual magazine of
Operations and Supply Chain (OPEP) club
of IIM Raipur, which will develop a clear
understanding of project management,
recent trends and its application in various
successful projects.
The magazine contains interview of Mr.
Srivatsan Parthasarathy, Partner Deloitte,
which provides clear understanding of how
Risk handling is done in project
management.
In the academia section we have article by
Dr. Dinesh Likhi, who briefly describes the
critical challenges for effective and
efficient project management. He, in his
article had given the 6 challenges
that Indian project managers
face and the ways to overcome
them so as to make a project
successful.
In this issue we have student articles

describing the importance of project
management and its future trends. One of
them is, Pir panjal tunnel, which is Asias
second largest and Indias biggest tunnel,
costing around 1300 crores and had more
than 1500 men. Another such project is the
Story of Titanic. Gurumantra explains
virtual project management and its present
and future implications. We also have a
book review of Small Wonder- the Making
of NANO.
We are thankful to Prof. B. S. Sahay,
Director, IIM Raipur for his motivation and
support. We also thank Prof. Parkshit
Charan for guiding us throughout. We also
thank all our authors for taking out time
from their busy schedule and contributing
to the magazine. Our editorial would be
incomplete without acknowledging the
support of Subhash Kumar, Anubhav
Sood, Sujitha Tikka, Vanamamalai,
Thousif, Manoj H., Sameer Pandey,
Gautham Jayan, Bharat Arava and Jayant
paul Tigga in bringing out this issue.
Ruchi Sao
Editor
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DIRECTORS MESSAGE
After the successful launch of five issues of

strive, Operations and Supply Chain (OPEP)
club of IIM Raipur, is launching the sixth issue
of STRIVE with the theme of project
Directors Message
management.
Every project involves coordination among

the various domains of an organization.
Implementing it using effective project
management
techniques,
facilitates
the
organization to carry out the project on time

and within budget. With the growing need for
Prof. B.S. Sahay
project management this upcoming issue will

enable readers and future project managers to
have a deeper understanding of project
management and its relevance.

I wish them all the best for this issue and hope
the readers enjoy the publication.
Prof. B. S. Sahay
Director, IIM Raipur
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Book Review
INSIDE STORY
Student Article
March 2014
SPECIALS
Project Management
Trends in Project Management
5
9
In CONVERSATION with
Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarathy
(Partner in Deloitte)
Titanic- The Unsinkable Ship
28
32
EXPERIENCE
12
Application of Project
Management practices in IT
Mumbai International
Airport Terminal II
ACADEMIA
Critical Challenges for
Effective and Efficient Project
Management
Pir Panjal Tunnel
17
39
44
62
BOOK REVIEW
Small wonder- The
making of NANO
47
GURUMANTRA
24
50
CROSSWORD
Industry
Academia
Article Academia
Gurumantra
Gurumantra
Student
Article
Interviews
Student
Article
Industry
Experience
Experience Book
SpecialsSpecials
Virtual
Project
Management
BookReview
Review

Student Article
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March 2014
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Experience
Project Management
Project Management
Bhavana Ziradkar
(pgp13118.bhavana@iimraipur.ac.in)
Electronics Engineer from

Vishwakarma Institute of
Technology
Experience of around 28 months
in Infosys ltd.
Interested in Operations and
Analytics.
5
Abstract: Any project undertaken goes

through a process of planning, execution,
monitoring, controlling and closing for
its successful execution and completion.
The basic motive behind such process is to
avoid scope creep of the project and
complete project in time and budget.
Successful execution and completion of a
project are outcome of combined efforts of
the team. Proper guidance of the project
manager is also very crucial in
implementation of project. Konkan
Railways is an excellent example of
remarkable guidance and successful
implementation of all the steps of project
management.
Book Review
Project Management
Student Article
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March 2014
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Project Management is a discipline of
tools and techniques are used to plan the
organising and managing resources in such
project. Tools such as work breakdown
a way that the resources deliver all the work
structure etc. are used which identifies
required to complete a project within
different tasks and activities. Next is
defined scope, time and cost constraints
scheduling which is done to provide
(Basu, Ron p. 14). According to Meredith
framework for accomplishment of tasks.
and
project
Time planning and estimation is done in
management is a social science and also
order to complete project tasks in time.
states that Project Management has
Another tool is Budgeting which is most
emerged because the characteristics of our
important.
contemporary
the
performance baseline called performance
of
measurement baseline also known as S-
Mantel
(2003,
p.
society
development
of
1)
demand
new
methods
management.
generates
cost
curve because of its shape. Project planning

also includes human resources planning.
Project Management lifecycle undergoes 5
Human resource is key factor of any project
steps initiation, project planning, project

execution,
Budget
project
monitoring
and has to be managed and motivated in
and
order to get best results. Risk management
controlling, and project closing. First step
plays an important role in project planning.
of project management is initiation. In this
Potential risk must be identified in the
step the objectives, product description,
project and strategies must be developed to
requirements, scope, financials, duration
tackle them as and when encountered.
and risk are identified and described. The
STEPS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Objectives,
Product
description,
requirements,
scope, financials
& risk
Project
planning
Work
breakdown
structure, schduling
of activities, planning
and
etimation
of
completion time
Budgeting
Risk management
Initiation
Monitoring &
controlling
Team
development
Quality
Assurance
Procurement
Ensuring that all

tools
are
provide to keep
project on track
Project
execution
Contract closure
Lessons learned
Project closeout
Project
closing
second phase of project management is
Quality management for a project must be
project planning. At this level different
evolved and developed. Tools like Total
Book Review
Project Management
Student Article
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Quality Management (TQM) and Lean Six
controlling risk which is not only done in
Sigma
Procurement
beginning but throughout project life.
management takes care of different types of
Maintaining risk management plans is very
Contracts and their legal structure. A
important for any project. Final phase is
project management plan is developed in
Project closure. Three tools are used to
project planning which looks into all the
close a project- contract closure, lessons
necessary actions, execution, controlling
learned and project closeout. The contracts
and monitoring of project. Next phase in
undergone during the project must be
project management is Project Execution
closed in order to ensure closure of the
which ensures accomplishment of the
project.
project mission. Execution includes team
opportunities
development which helps managing human
practices in the organisation. Finally the
resource and achieve a combined efforts
documentation recording must be done and
through team activities. Quality assurance
archived for future reference.
helps
are
in
maintain
demand.
quality
identified
by
customers and stakeholders throughout the

project.
Procurement
outsourcing
and
takes
care
services
of
needed.
Information distribution includes data

gathering,
report
generation,
tracking
information at each and every stage.

Monitoring and controlling plays a very
important role in keeping the project in line
with its mission. Different tools and
techniques are used to keep project on
track. Change control is used to control
scope
creep.
Scope
creep
is
phenomenon which occurs when project

features change and grow as the project
progresses. One more tool used is Earned
Value Management useful in budget
management and to schedule performance.
Another
controlling
7
March 2014
aspect
phase
of
is
monitoring
and
managing
and
Lessons
for
learned
provide
implementing
best
One of the examples of a successfully

managed project is Konkan Railway.
Konkan Railway was initiated in 1990 by
Shri George Fernandez, the then Railway
Minister and the project was headed by Shri
E Shreedharan, Member (Engineering)
Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to
the Government of India. In order to raise
funds for the project the Konkan Railway
Corporation was registered as a company
on 19th July 1990 with 51% shares with
Railway Ministry and 49% shares taken up
by four beneficiary states Maharashtra,
Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Mr. E
Shreedharan was appointed as Chairman of
one man committee of the project. Mr.
Shreedharan started the project with
surveys, administrative arrangements, geotechnical
investigations,
hydraulic
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investigations of rivers, locations of bridges
rail welding, tele-communication network,
and tunnels.
tunnel ventilations. The project was given 5

years completion time and in order to
The Konkan Railway project is 760 km

railway
line
connecting
Mumbai
achieve this Mr. Shreedharan had made the
to
administration of konkan railways a
Mangalore along west coast of India. The
transparent system, where each and every
760 Km long railway line consists of 93
person was aware of his objectives and
tunnels, 179 major bridges, 8000 minor
deadlines.
KONKAN Railways Stats
Project Management
Information
Konkan Railway
Route
corporation was floated Km
on July 19, 1990
760
StakeholdersKarnataka, Kerala, Goa
and Maharashtra
First train run January
26, 1998
Longest bridge- Across
the Sharavati in
Honnavar (2,065.8 m)
Stations
92
Minor
bridges
Road
Crossings
179
1819
300
meetings
all these strategic

planning
and
execution,
the
project
was
completed
(64 Km)
years. Overcoming
in
all the difficulties
was divided into 7 zones and 7 Chief

Engineers were appointed to handle each
zone. The project initially faced difficulties
such as land acquisition, difficult terrain,
such as government intervention,

finance,
of 160 km per hour. New technology was

used for construction of bridges, tunnels,
and
References:
J. Phillips, W. Brantley, Patrica

Pulliam
Phillips
Project
Management ROI : A Step-by-Step

Guide for Measuring the Impact and
strategies. Hiring human resource for the
focus was on constructing high speed route
terrains
was successfully completed in 7 years.
different
project was given special attention. Main
difficult
considering the huge size of the project, it
variable climatic conditions etc. which

through
maintained
Tallest Viaduct Panvel Nadi
under bridges. The 760 long railway line
overcomed
was
flow
with HODs. With
Major
Bridges
bridges, 300 road over-bridges and road
were
Tunnels
through
59
Refernce:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/include
-mangalore-region-in-konkan-railway/article4866610.ece
Book Review
ROI for Projects
Phillips and Joseph Project

Management for Small Business : A
Streamlined
Approach
from
Planning to Completion

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Future Trends in Project Management
Future Trends in Project

Management
Poorva Gadre
(pgp13098poorva@iimraipur.ac.in
Architect from Rachana
SansadAcademy
Interested in Marketing and
Analytics.
Abstract: As the world becomes smaller and

more connected due to various technological
innovations, project management takes a
different stage altogether. Due to the growing
GDP of developing countries, a number of
projects of a huge scale across continents are in
execution. Leaders of such projects have to be
agile and manage cross cultural teams to the
best of their ability.
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Project management is defined as planning,
The world is on the path of becoming an
directing and controlling resources to meet
interconnected
the technical, cost and time constraints of
Globalization is the reality of today and its
the project. Its a skill that is required in all
intensity is increasing with every passing
the sectors. Projects in all the dimensions
day. The scale of the projects is increasing
are on the rise. The World Bank is presently
massively. This requires more efficient
funding 11,853 projects of massive scale in
skills of project management. Accordingly,
172 countries. The projects range from
the need for resources and kind of problems
agriculture, public administration, law and
faced is varied. Resources are required in a
global
village.
gigantic amount and

The
World Bank is presently funding
the
project
costs
amount to thousands of
11,853 projects of massive scale in 172 countries.
millions. The time span

justice, information and communications,
for the completion of the project is also
education, finance, health and other social
decreasing. The cross continental projects
service, energy and mining, transportation,
gives the opportunity to take the advantage
water, sanitation and flood protection and to
of the learning from various communities.
the largest sector of industry and trade.
The impact of globalization is directly felt
Such
and
in the cross cultural human resource
intricate projects are going to be on the rise
management challenges that comes up in
in the coming future. Between 2010 and
the execution of the project. Effective
2020, 15.7 million new project management
leadership skills to manage the tempers,
roles will be created globally, according to
cultural differences and communication
the Project Management Talent Gap Report
challenges needs to be developed in the
of March 2013 by the PMI. This is going to
field now. Leaders need to be more agile
change the scene of project management
and adjust themselves as the situations
and many factors are going to affect it in a
require.
huge manner. Certain trends that will affect
problems and demands different solutions.
the field of project management and its
An agile leader will be able to tackle them
demand are discussed in greater detail.
better. The project manager also needs to
elaborate,
inter-continental
Every
project
has
different
aware of the legal aspects of every country
10
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that is affected by the project for easy
Taking decisions from across the world is
processing. Establishing economies of
no longer an issue of concern or doubt.
learning in a comparatively short span is
Transfer
also one of the challenges experienced by
documents has also become an easy task.
cross cultural teams of a huge scale. These
Huge amount of data flow is possible and
projects also increase every persons
this help in more efficient implementation
knowledge about the various communities.
of cross boundary projects. Geographical
This helps in developing an understanding
distances dont seem to be a barrier
and increasing the tolerance level of human
anymore. Various new engineering and IT
beings all across the world.
solutions help solve the problems that may
of
papers
and
other
legal
developing
come up while executing a global level
countries is causing a growth in the number
project. Technological progress not only
of projects that are being taken up. China
helps tackle the problems of globalization
and India will lead the growth in project
but also spurs the process of globalization.
management generating approximately 8.1
All these factors will affect the field of
million and 4 million project management
project management in great detail. The
roles respectively through 2020, according
methods will develop. The means will
to the Project Management Talent Gap
change.
Report of March 2013. Due to this, the
process. More technological innovations
price of resources is also increasing. Better
will cause the global scenario to change
methods to offset costs while remaining
more rapidly and project management will
competitive in the market need to be
be a challenging and essential science in
developed by the project managers.
the coming future.
Improving
Technology
GDP
is
of
the
progressing
at
an
exponential rate on a daily basis. Virtual

Project Management seems to be one of the
upcoming trends. With being globally
connected due to various technological
innovations, managing the various inter continental projects is becoming easier.
11
March 2014
It is an ever changing dynamic
References:
1. World
Bank
Website
www.worldbank.org/projects
2. Project Management Talent Gap

Report March 2013, PMI Project
Management Talent Gap Report
March 2013, PMI
Book Review
Mr. Srivatsan Parthasarthy Risk Handling in Project Management
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In Conversation With
MR. SRIVATSAN PARTHASARTHY
on Risks Handling In Project
Management
Mr. Srivatsan is managing the National Technology Risk & Security Service with over 20 years
of proven success in developing, managing and advising global enterprise clients on
technology, security and GRC strategy and solutions.
Experienced in strategizing, designing and implementing solutions for enterprise infrastructure
cloud and non-cloud, security, identity management / entitlement, disaster recovery, business
continuity, fault tolerance, contingency and crisis management, application / infrastructure
integrity, and GRC.
12
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What are the primary factors you would
financial, client requirements. Any of the above
look into while assessing the risk of a
if not handled properly could cause risk. For
project?
example, if the mission and vision of the project

is not defined well, then the project that would
When we are looking a project / program
roll out might not meet the expected result.
management one of the key things as a manager

we needed to identify is, what is vision and
mission of the project/program. After which we
have to understand the various dependencies in
the project. Based on this we would have a
clear definition of success of the project and key
Can you share a story of a real project where

risk management helped save project from
massive failure?
performance indicators in the project. These are
Let me share with you the example of a project
going to be critical as this lends the view for
where managing risk across all of the elements
expectations in the project, sub programs in the
that I have previously described as critical. We
project, the stakeholders involved, the roles and
were doing a large project for a company which
responsibilities, and the inter-dependencies.
had very rigid deadlines related to legal and
Clear communication structure, escalation
regulatory compliances. The company had to

file a mode of paying with
Identify Projects Mission,

Vision are identified first to get clear definition
of its success and their performance indicator.
position management and any evaluations that

needs to be extracted has to be communicated
ahead of time. A very clear and close
monitoring of the project plan itself is needed.
critical from companys

perspective in terms of
survival that they need to
be managed. Here we
were managing almost
mechanism, governance model has to be

established for the project. Issue management,
the regulator and it is
close to 300 different stakeholder which

included people who were part of company,
regulators, auditors and third party vendors.
There were several work streams involved and
we had to work with key people who were
present in various manufacturing plants of the
Beside that drawing linkages, for instance
company. After defining the mission, vision
there are two projects, defining the inter-
and objectives carefully we started with the
dependencies and defining linkages are
project. Whenever we are running such
critical.
programs we should also look into the people

dynamics.
The other things that one has to look into

involves planning with regards to resources,
13
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As we were doing this, we did notice that there
of mainframe even after 25 years. It is just that
were a couple of stakeholders who were not
they have to think out of the box for continuous
completely
ROI and manage that particular environment.
focussed
to
overall
project
objectives. But what eventually happened is

that time and again there were delays in the
deliverables. As they were working on the

critical chain, we had to manage them. Since
How do we bridge the gap between project

risk management to project uncertainty
management?
there were challenges coming up, we shifted a
In any project there is going to be internal and
couple of project managers and started
external factors. Most often if there are internal
providing almost day to day oversight on this
factors we probably have better control over
particular project. Because of which we were
them. Accordingly we manage them in risk
able to meet the timeline.
management perspective by applying checks
With paradigm changes in technology

happening, how do we plan to handle risks
for projects closely related with technology?
and balances on them. But for external factors

which we do not have any control, we need to
have appropriate checks and balances which
helps us spot these particular external factors
While
there
are
significant
changes
in
and identify how they can essentially impact the
technology happening in fast paced manner,
program or project. If it do happens, understand
there could be significant changes in mission as
the actions you need to take, as in some cases
well. For example, government embarked on
you need to potentially shut down the project,
building out state data centres which were
in which case you need to make a conscious
apparently done 5-6 years ago. RFP were
decision on that. As otherwise your money is
created in that particular point in time, but today
going to be continuously invested and we may
technology have significantly changed. Some
not have any return from the project. The aspect
of the technology that were in the original RFP
is that there are going to be continuous
is obsolete or near end of life. If they had to look
uncertainty, the question is about how we
at data centres now, then they would be looking
would mitigate the risk, which is effectively
at cloud based data centres. So one has to really
risk management.
look at these risks.

How can cloud computing be used to
But if an organization is doing a good plan, then
coordinate between different levels in a
a lot of time we can choose technology that
project and provide a competitive edge for
would possibly be helpful for us for next 10-15
the company?
years. Agreeing that new technology is yet to

come they would still be able to leverage it. For
example, take the case of mainframe, a lot of
organizations are continuing to leverage the use
14
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Collaboration and coordination are provided by
certification. The reason is that this person with
many knowledge portals and knowledge
experience has tested out his/her skills.
sharing that are already available. I do not see

project
management
significantly
getting
changed because of cloud computing.
How does one keep pace with the changing

technology? And how do we know if it would
be sustainable?
FOR BUDDING MANAGERS

What competencies should the aspiring
is the tools that are available to help us manage
project managers develop, to be more
the project more robustly and interactively.
industry acceptable?
There are a lot of other techniques that can also

be adopted. For example, if we are doing
I would essential look at good certifications like
finance management for a project you can use
PMI. Also knowledge on robust tools that are
techniques from outside project management.
available. It is a question of understanding this
However, to use these tools and technology
particular processes and the familiarity with the
effectively, one need to be an expert in the
Book of knowledge. Applying them in terms of
domain knowledge. Many tools such as MS
real life is essential more than the theory.
project, etc. provide a framework for managing,
Definitely a project manager with experience
but it is a question of how well the tool is
would be preferred to project manager with
applied to get what really we wanted to.
People are held accountable for the
Forums to disclose Risk profilers,
opportunities they exploit as well as the
status reporting, pro-active risk tagging
risks they take. It is because of the
and disclosure committees are present
positive reinforcement in risk taking
in multiple levels such as unit, account,
that mature enterprises expand its
project, program and country to aid the
operations to several countries
quick
Emotional maturity of risk consultants
assessment
and
response
planning to risks.
The corporate risk team members are
Though risk management can be
carefully selected to be placed in teams
reduced to a science with models and
as consultants based on their ability to
predictors, it definitely is an art to work
deal with tough situations, people and
with various cultures, attitudes and
attitudes. They also have long term
people to achieve success in highly
view of things and frequently come up
risky or troubled ventures to achieve
with initiatives to either totally remove
business growth.
the root causes of risks or prevent them.

15
What really has changed over a period of time
Book Review
Critical challenges for effective and efficient Project Management by Dr. Dinesh Likhi
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Book Review
Critical Challenges For Effective

And Efficient Project
Management
by
Dr. DINESH LIKHI
Dr. Dinesh Kumar Likhi is a visiting faculty at IIM Raipur and Director (Production &
Marketing) at MIDHANI. He holds additional charge of HR and Projects areas.
He started his career with Escorts Tractor Ltd., Faridabad in 1981 and worked for Steel Authority
of India Limited (at Rourkela Steel Plant, in Production/Operation/Process control, and corporate
office of SAIL Delhi) for more than 31 years. He has wide experience in automobile, steel and
special metal alloys Industry.
Dr. D K Likhi is a life member of Indian Institute of Metals, National Institute of Personnel
Management, Indian Institute of Materials Management and Global Institute of Flexible System
Management.
He has been awarded the Jawahar Award for Outstanding PSU Executive in 1995, group awards
for his contribution in turnaround of SAIL and preparing growth plan for SAIL and new business
development projects in 2011. In addition, he has been recipient of Netherland Fellowship in 1999.
16
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A Project is defined as a temporary
discipline to a strategic discipline. Such
endeavour, undertaken to create a unique
transformation
output.
Success of project will depend
management to take strategic decisions at
upon on attainment of objectives generally
different levels, thus enhancing probability
defined with respect to time, cost and scope,
of success in implementation.
etc.
Indian Projects are plagued with
Furthermore, it has been highlighted that
traditional syndrome of time overrun, cost
management of uncertainty during a project
over-run and scope deviations leading to
implementation
wide criticism amongst academicians and
understood. These uncertainties need not to
professionals.
be termed as risk and may be treated as a
examples
of
Though, there are certain

excellence
allow
needs
to
project
be
well
project
bundle of opportunities for the same project
management such as of Delhi Metro, there
or at best for subsequent projects. This can
are numerous projects, which do not get
be accomplished by clearly defining
such laudable credit.
difference between risk and uncertainties.
This article strives to bring out six critical
Linking with business objectives, project
focus areas for consideration by Indian
managers will be able to leverage such
project managers for turning around project
business opportunities, arising out of
management success in future.
uncertainties in project for greater success
(1) Focus on Organizational Context &
of their respective organisations.
Project Uncertainties:
(2) Focus on 14 Areas of Project
Firstly, there is a need to stress on the
Management:
linkage between an organizations projects
Secondly, Indian project managers need to
implementation
its
move their stress from traditional project
organizational context. It can be achieved
management concept of managing only the
by exploring how underlining drivers of
time, cost and scope during project
organization environment might influence
execution. Areas and the processes as
not only nature of projects but also
defined by Project Management Institute
appropriateness of the arrangement which
(PMI) are to be understood and followed up
needs to be managed projects (Davies, et.al.
for higher probability of success in
2009). It has been analysed by authors that
execution of the project.
project management policy, people related
There are five phases such as Project
interventions, structural and process etc.
Initiation,
need to be transformed from operational
Implementation, Evaluation/Control and
capability
in
will
and
Conceptualization,
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Similarly, there are nine
project managers with skills for better
knowledge areas with focus on Time, Cost,
awareness of individual values of project
Scope, Procurement, Communication, HR,
team and organization culture.
Integration, Quality and Risk. Such issues
leadership has to ensure to communicate
are often ignored mainly on account of time
individual
&
organization culture into the project
workload
pressures,
establishment
difficulty
lack
of
procedure/expertise,
in
re-collecting
accurate
value
environment.
confirmation
The
orientation
This
of
holistic
governance
problem/failure, lack of support from top
transparency and accountability. Manager
management and lack of incentives, etc.
will be allowed project status to be
(3) Focus on Project Leadership:
communicated and manage effectively and
The role of human resource and leadership
efficiently in such context.
has to be understood by the Indian project
Leadership must be in a position to develop
managers
between
key change managers for prioritizing the
expectations from project and actual
change process during project management.
performance (Vincent, et. al. 2009). This
These measures will not be effective
will require understanding of human
without a robust communication including
resource planning with respect to the whole
use of mass media of communication such
project,
staff,
as social media platform like facebook etc.
reducing
challenging
development
gap
roles,
require
structure
for
through
will
and
information, fear of blame for project
well-defined
of
team,
measure
of
With better understanding of leadership and
and
team
performance,
human resources, projects will be managed
Responsibility Assignment Matrix, etc. The
with high potentials improvements/success.
management of human resource, structures
(4) Quality of Project Information:
of the project team and responsibility
Focus should be on the quality of
assessment matrix needs to be well defined
information during all phases of project life
by the Indian project managers (Melnic,
cycle.
et.al. 2011). Some may argue that such
evaluation information through which
processes are in place in their respective
organizations may travel its journey to
organizations; their relative focus needs to
different maturity levels (Mala, et.al. 2013).
be institutionalized to greater extent. This
Professor Strong (1997) has also described
will
project
leading causes of project failure on account
The strategy of the project
of information quality. Therefore, quality
leadership will be to create appropriate
information is the main pre-requisite of the
individual
require
leadership.
18
Industry Article
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crucial
role
of
This will require collecting and
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Indian project management maturity levels
advantage in organization, software such as
need to be analysed by regularly conducting
MS project, Primavera also can help for
survey of their organization to identify gaps
better information quality and needs to be
in their project management capability. We
mastered
need to identify Indian project management
project success. Apart from its professional
management.
in
day-to-day
project
issues which will take into consideration

systemic and cultured issues relevant to
19
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Indian organizatns (Simangunsong et.al.
at ground level for effective cultural change
2013)
management in Indian organization.
(5) Focus on Post-Project Analysis:

Avoiding post-project assessment can be a
Apart from it, Innovation in project
risky and costly strategy for organization.
management needs to be built for better
While analysing post-completion, both
productivity & performance.
Science Skills and Art Skills are to be
construction to Off-site construction,
examined for better learning in future.
Modular-approach,
Illustrative examples for such skills are
Frugal Innovation are example such new
given in the table 1 (Adapted from
paradigms.
Schroeder
Conclusions:
and
Schroeder,
2013
and
On-site
Open-Innovation,
describe in page 21). Indian Project
The above focused areas are illustrative in
Managers have to adapt to above skills for
nature and not exhaustive in nature.
increasing probability of success of their
However, it is felt that by focusing on the
projects.
above
(6) Challenging Existing Paradigms of
managers may shift to new way of projects,
Project Management:
management which may allow them to
The focus needs to shift from professional
finish project are completed within time,
concepts such as Critical Path Method,
cost and scope. This will also allow them to
Programme Evaluation Review Techniques
widen their project land scope from
etc. to the concepts of Critical Chain
Domestic
method advocated by Goldartt (1997)
market.
through is exemplary work based on theory
References:
of constraints. This will bring a paradigm

shift in the Indian project management by
identifying constraints and starting project
activities at earliest and taking challenges in
time estimate of each activity.
Any
uncertainties during execution of project

can be taken care through feeding buffers
and project buffer. The tradition of critical
chain needs to be understood first by Indian
project leaders then by the project managers
20
March 2014
focused
areas,
market
to
Indian
project
International
1. Davies, T.J.C, Crawford, L.H. and

Lechler,
T.G.
(2009)
Project
Management Systems: Moving Project

Management From an Operational to a
Strategic
Discipline
Project
Management Journal, pp.110-123

2. Goldratt, E (1997) Critical Chain
North River Press
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Special
s
3. Iyer, K.C. & Jha, K.N. (2005) Factors
Management Practices and Critical
affecting cost performance: evidence
Success Factory-A Developing Country
from Indian construction projects
Perspective International Journal of
International
Business and Management, Vol. 8, No.
Journal
of
Project
Management 23, pp. 283-295
21;
pp. 14-31
4. Lechler,T.G., Edington, B.H. and Gao,
8. Ong,V., Richardson, D., Duan, Y., He,
T. (2012) Challenging Classic Project
Q. and Johnson, B. (2009) The Role of
Management:
Project
Project
Business
Effective
turning
Uncertainties
Into
Leadership
in
Project
Achieving
Management
Opportunities Project Management
Proceedings of the 5th European
Journal,
conference
pp. 59-69
on
Management,
Leadership and governance,

5. Mala, J., Cerna, L. and Ruskova, D.
pp. 157-
163
(2013) The Quality of Information in

Project
Management
European
9. Schroeder,
H.,
Schroeder
and
conference on intellectual capital, pp.
Schroeder, Inc. (2013) Post Project
532-538
Assessment: An Art And Science

Approach Academy of Information and
6. Melnic, A.S. and Puiu, T. (2011) The

Management of Human Resources
Management Sciences Journal, Volume

16, Number 1, 2013, pp. 37-45
within Projects: the Structures of the

Project
Team,
Assignment
the
Responsibility
10. Simangunsong, E. and Da Silva, E.N.
Economy
(2013) Analyzing Project management
Matrix
Transdisciplinarity
Cognition,
Vol.
XIV, Issue 1/2011, pp. 476-484
Maturity Level in Indonesia The South

East Asian Journal of Management ,
Vol.7, No. 1, pp. 72-83
7. Ofori,
21
Experience
D.F.
(2013)
Project
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Book Review
Gurumantra: Virtual Project Management

Q) What is Virtual project management?
Virtual project management (VPM) is
Build diverse organization culture
Employee sharing across different

virtual projects helps in increasing
managing a project by a virtual team and
their utilization rate while reducing
a virtual team (Geographically dispersed
cost of travelling or hiring
team, distributed team, remote team) is as
Virtual Project Management
proposed by Cantu consists of any of three
Q) What are the challenges involved in
components:
VPM for a project manager?
Team members are spread across
Challenges are:
different geography or locations.
Team members are from different or
project manager to keep all team
from same part of organization.
members updated and in same line as
Members work together in different

durations or lengths of time.
Time differences make difficult for
per the planned project schedule
Communication problem which may
Q) What are the reasons that companies are
arise due to accents, writing skills and
opting for VPM?
words having different meaning. It

would
The following are the reasons:
lead
to
misunderstandings
among team members leading to
Cost
constraints
Offshore
outsourcing reduces cost by utilizing
Lack of coordination among team

members
Also
managing
extension of critical path and hence the
administration reduces in case of
estimated time of completion of project
VPM. Thereby gaining competitive
increases.
the
cost
of
leads
to
unnecessary
Sharing of data is very crucial as
the quality of product does not
information required is huge for proper
deteriorate
interpretation of problems and results.
problem
solving
exchange of ideas
22
cheap labour in other parts of world.
advantage by organization provided
internal conflict.
strategy by
Also, Transferring of data is timely

affair.

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Building trust among team members is
Gurumantra
another challenge.
False consensus
Unresolved overt conflict
Underground conflict
Organizational context
Closure avoidance
Geographical context
Calcified team meetings
Communications support
Uneven participation
Other environmental contextual factors
Lack of accountability
Individual characteristics
Forgetting the customer
Technology adoration
Management of critical supporting

work processes
Hence by providing proper guidance,

support to above factors alleviate the goal
of solve problem
A face to face meeting would remove
Fisher & Fisher suggest a shift in
the hesitation between members and
project leadership. Project Manager
build trust between them. Also, some
should act as seven clusters: leader,
issues are better handled if discussed
results
face to face. Project manager should be
catalyst,
facilitator,
barrier
buster, business analyser, coach, and
able to prioritize the work
living example
Lipnack and Stamps suggest that setting
up e-mail list, opening chat rooms, and
Setting a standardized code of conduct

which would avoid delays
Peterson and Stohr suggest that senders
mounting desktop conferencing will
take responsibility for prioritizing their
help
communication
in
increasing
understanding
between members
Xerox,
for
instance,
encourages
imbedding pictures of team members
23
Manheim & Medina proposed that
Work nature
challenges?
Experience
behaviours:
Q) What are the ways to overcome these
Special
s
below factors influence the virtual
The term Team killers include:
March 2014
Schilling through his study suggests the

following:
into collaborative and communicative
Participation must be voluntary teams
technologies in order to see the other
are destined to fail if not supported by
member (Fisher & Fisher).
its members.
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Team member selection
Project manager team building
Stakeholder team building
The employee must be able to perform
Project implementation
with limited supervision and feedback,
Project completion
Members
must
demonstrated
have
previously
satisfactory
work
responsibilities and habits.
reduced social interaction, have good

organizational and time management
Each of the step requires different set of
skills, be self-motivated, demonstrate
strategies to fit and align virtual team
good performance, and be able to
together.
concentrate if away from a worksite.
Virtual project is fundamentally different

Q) It is claimed that in future VPM would
from traditional projects as it involves
be unavoidable. What could be the reason?
adding concerns of telecommuting and

collaboration of culture, time zones,
Market has a dynamic nature forcing
language etc.
companies to quickly deliver superior

quality which would require engagement of
References
best of talents forcing to engage distributed

team culture. Also as the penetration of
smart phones, internet connectivity is
increasing employees start asking for flexi
time and work from home system. This
would lead to use of VPM.
1. http://blog.bootstraptoday.com/2012/0
4/13/why-you-cannot-avoid-virtualproject-management-2012onwards/#sthash.0Hk4ANLn.dpuf
2. http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis
/488_f01_papers/rolfes.htm
Q) How is VPM different from traditional

PM?
3. http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vm
ware-solution-opex-reducing-opex-wpen.pdf
According to Gray & Larson following are

the ways teams are made:
24
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Pir Panjal Tunnel
Pir Panjal Tunnel
Reference: http://sureshtvn.blogspot.in/2013/06/pir-panjal-railway-tunnel.html
Trisha Gajbhiye
Trsiha Gajbhiye
(pgp13116.trisha@iimraipur.ac.in)
(pgp13118.tisha@iimraipur.ac.in)
She has completed her Graduation
in Electronincs and Instrumention
from SSCET, Bhillai
Her interest lies in Operations and
Marketing
25
Abstract: Pir Panjal rail tunnel, the

longest in India, constructed after a
three-year delay, technical snags and
several complications is a ground
breaking feat accomplished in the field of
construction. The project involved use of
the latest technology and construction
procedures for providing a tunnel that
could solve the problem faced in the
valley during winters. The tunnel is
proposed to help in the transportation
and connectivity issues in the state of
J&K and thereby boosting the trade and
economy in the valley.
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Pir Panjal Tunnel
First have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary
means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials and methods. Third, adjust all your
means to that end. -Aristotle
In June 26, 2013, the Prime Minister of
Initially, the Udhampur - Srinagar -
India- Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated
Baramulla rail link project of Northern
the much awaited Pir Panjal Tunnel- Asias
Railways was bifurcated and awarded to
second longest and Indias longest tunnel,
two construction subsidiaries of Indian
by flagging off the first train from Banihal
Railways70 Km of the section of
Railway station. The 11.215 Km long
Udhampur side to M/s Konkan Railway
tunnel
Hindustan
Corporation Ltd. and 191 Km on Baramulla
Construction Company Ltd. (which also
side to M/s IRCON International Ltd.,
constructed the iconic Bandra-Worli Sea
which included the Pir Panjal range of the
Link), runs below the Jawahar Tunnel,
Himalayas. IRCON Ltd. completed the
connecting
with
railway line from Qazigund to Baramulla
Qazigund in Kashmir and is a part of the
(119 Km). In order to speed up the balance
constructed
ambitious
Banihal
Udhampur
by
in
Jammu
Srinagar
work of the project, IRCON International

Ltd. divided the remaining section into 6
zones and the contract for zones-IV,VA and
VB was entrusted to HCC. After the
successful completion of these zones, the
Pir Panjal Tunnel Project was awarded to
HCC Ltd in August 2005 by IRCON Ltd.
with an estimated construction budget of
US $ 150 million (INR 690 crore approx.).
Reference: http://indiandefence.com/threads/jammu-kashmirrail-link-to-be-inaugurated.28204/
A section of tunnel (approximately 585 m)

in VB zone on the soft ground was
Baramulla rail link project of Northern
constructed by Gammon India and rest by
Railways. This tunnel is a solution to the
HCC Ltd. The project emanated with the
problems faced by the masses during winter
tunnel excavation in November 2005, with
and rainy seasons due to snow falls and
a sole objective To successfully execute
landslides.
this project of National importance as

quoted
by
Mr.
Arun
Karambelkar,
President & Whole Time Director, HCC.
26
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Pir Panjal Tunnel
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During the course of work, the project team
owing to its lengthiness, the tunnel is
faced several challenges. Firstly, on its
accessible during snowfall, unlike the
inception the project faced geographical
Jawahar Tunnel. The tunnel used ballast-
obstacles due to the dynamic and complex
less tracks, which have a high installation
geology of the Himalayas, where folding
cost
and faulting is common. Due to varying
maintenance. Also, these tracks help in
ground conditions, large deformations and
improving the operational efficiency for
high over burden, sequential excavation
very high loading routes, like that of the Pir
method was used. This method along with
Panjal range. Apart from this, the tunnel is
support techniques is called as the New
made totally water proof by lining the
Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM),
tunnel internally with a membrane, bought
which was used for the first time in India on
from Italy, thus enabling the tunnel to
a large scale. This method included three
remain dry in all seasons.
excavation techniques as per the geology

type, namely- Excavation by Tunnel
Excavator, by Road Header and by Drill
and Blast method. Various geotechnical
instruments for the purpose of routine
monitoring,
assessing
the
stress
redistribution and stabilization before final

Lining, were also used.
27
March 2014
but
provide
greater
ease
of
Thirdly, the security issues posed a

challenge for the project due to the
proximity of the site to the LoC. This led to
strict security checks by the armed forces,
on the movement of labourers and
machineries. Also, the various incidents
such as terrorist violence and infiltration,
the 2009 Baramulla Assembly elections,
Secondly, being on such a varying terrain,
the Amarnath Yatra and the curfew
the tunnel needed a design that focused
imposed in Baramulla and nearby districts
more on the safety. Therefore, the Pir Panjal
in 2010, affected the pace of the project.
tunnel is designed on single tube concept
Next, the project engaged 1300 workers and
with 3m wide road alongside the track in the
150 engineers working in three shifts every
same tube, so that the tunnel is easily
day. Lack of skilled labour and a low
accessible to provide prompt emergency
retention rate among workers during
relief. The two stations at Banihal and
winters were the other challenges to the
Qazigund are located close to both ends of
project. However, these did not halt the
the tunnel. The tunnel also consists of a fire
project completely but reduced its pace
fighting system along the entire length of
drastically.
the tunnel. Being at a lower height and
mentioned challenges, the procurement of
Apart
from
the
above
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raw materials and logistics were yet another
supposed to bring down the freight costs for
major hindrances to the project. During
transporting goods, given the traders use
winters, heavy snowfall blocked the
rail over road transportation. Adding to
National Highway, the Jawahar tunnel and
that, the tunnel will make travelling easier
the other routes used for transporting the
for the localities residing in the two
raw materials needed for construction. All
connecting areas, by reducing the distance
these challenges coupled with working
as well as the cost of travelling. Leveraging
under extremely low temperatures (-10C)
on the operational success of the Pir Panjal
did not deter the team from progressing and
tunnel, the completion of the whole
completing this mega project successfully
Udhampur - Srinagar -Baramulla rail link
with a Zero Accident record.
project would boost the development of
As a consequence of all these challenges,

the project was delayed by three years and
became fully operational only in 2013;
however a successful execution of 6.4 km
of the tunnel was performed in a single
phase by October 2011. The project also
exceeded the initial budget of INR 690
crores to a final cost of INR 1,691 crores.
However, keeping aside the delay and the
budget overshoot, the tunnel has proved to
be a major contributor in improving the
economy of the state and helping in the
industrialization of Jammu& Kashmir. It is
28
Gurumantra
March 2014
Jammu &Kashmir in terms of economic,

social and technological growth thereby,
connecting the state to the rest of the
country.
Reference:
1. J&K Govt. official site
2. Business Standard
3. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/efeatures.aspx
?relid=96997
4. HCCIndia.com
(http://www.hccindia.com/news.php?n
ews_id=29)
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Titanic The Story Behind the Unsinkable Ship
Titanic The Story behind

the Unsinkable Ship
Reference: http://wheredmyjobgo.blogspot.in/2011/05/titanic-blue-cheese-turkey-meatloaf.html
Arnab Sen
(pgp13069.arnab@iimraipur.ac.in)
He has completed his B. Tech in
mechanical engineering from NIT
Warangal.
He have 3 years of work experience in
L&T
29
He is interested in Project management

and Leadership & Strategic roles.
Abstract: Project activity is on the rise, so

are the failure rates. In such a scenario,
Mark Kozak Holland, author of the
Lessons from History series says that we
should focus on Lessons from the past
that assist the projects of today to shape
the World of tomorrow. The Titanic
project was one of the biggest blunders to
have been ever made in the field of project
management. The lessons learnt from
such blunders be used to make project
management more effective in todays
World.
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In the current economic environment,
tomorrow. The Titanic project was one of
value-for-money is a priority. Many
the biggest blunders to have been ever
businesses have drastically reduced their
made in the field of project management. In
spending in recent times. In this scenario,
1912 Titanic sank with a loss of 1328 lives,
an effective project management practice
the greatest maritime disaster in the 20th
works to control the added risks that project
century. Weighing over 45000 tons, the
activity introduces to normal business
Titanic was the largest vessel in the World
practice. Various reports in the past have
to sail on Sea in its time. The passenger
shown that project failures have been on the
facilities aboard Titanic were of the highest
rise. A recent survey report The 2013
standards of luxury. It was referred to as the
project management survey report by
Unsinkable ship. We shall now dwell in
KPMG indicates that while project activity
understanding the various stages of the
is on the rise, so are the failure rates. It is
Titanic project-
thus imperative that we discuss the lessons

learnt from the blunders made in the past.
Project Initiation: In the early 1900s the

transatlantic passenger trade was highly
profitable and competitive. White Star
and Cunard were the major ship lines
vying to transport wealthy travellers and
immigrants in this route. In 1907, White
Star faced stiff competition when Cunard
Lines launched two of its vessels -
Reference:http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dannawi/archive/2009/05/
15/2009-standish-chaos-report-we-are-successful-in-thefailure.aspx
The lessons learnt can then be used to make

project management more effective in the
modern business. Mark Kozak Holland,
author of the Lessons from History series
2010
2012
Consistently on
budget
48%
33%
Consistently on
time
36%
29%
Consistently
delivering stated
deliverables
59%
35%
very rightly says that we should focus on

Lessons from the past that assist the
projects of today to shape the World of
Lusitania and the Mauretania. The two

ships were poised to set new speed records
for crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
30
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s
Integration
fleet. So it came up with an idea to invest in
analysis showed a 2 year breakeven and 75
emerging technologies in gigantic ships.
% of revenue from was targeted from 1st
The plan was to build three gigantic ships
class.
Olympic, Titanic and Britannic. Olympic
Project Financier- JP Morgan funded but
and Titanic projects would run in parallel.
was not thorough in analysis,
Britannic would be built with the profits of
Project Charter- Transform the business
the first two projects. Titanic was built by
and replace the aging fleet. Luxury attracts
Harland & Wolff, one of the premier
over speed.
shipbuilders of the World. Looking to
Project Objectives- Deliver 3 ships in 7
answer his rival, White Star chairman J.
years. Profits from first 2 ships were to be
Bruce Ismay met with William Pirrie, who
used for 3rd ship.
controlled the Harland and Wolff, which
Scope management- Scope was based on
constructed most of White Star's vessels.
scale up of previous ships.
of large liners that would be known for their

comfort instead of their speed. Project
justification was based on unparalled
luxury driving customers back, rather than
speed on crossing.
Project Planning: The planning phase
included the following -
management-
Experience
White Star also needed to replace its aging
The two men devised a plan to build a class
31
March 2014
Profitability
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Time management- The first two ships
Triple stacked lifeboats, a total of 48
were to be built in parallel, with delivery 9
numbers were used in the design. With so
months apart.
many precautions taken for the safety of the
Cost management- Costs were scaled up

based past project experience.
Quality management- Harland & Wolff
March 2014
had the best reputation for quality &
passengers, there grew a perception within

the team that the ship was unsinkable.
But the design was compromised by
Changing from 48 to 16 single
craftsmanship, perfect quality standards
lifeboats. This was done due to the
were used in procurement of materials.
perception that having such a large

number of lifeboats on the ship would
Human Resources management- The
make
large workforce consisted of sponsors,
it
less
luxurious.
Lifeboat
regulation was outstripped as the ship
operations team - captain, officers, and
needed to have a minimum of 20
crew from White star and the design team
lifeboats as per the increased size of the
& remaining workforce from Harland &
ship. Also, 1178 instead of 3600
Wolff.
lifeboat places were accommodated on

Communications, Risk and Procurement
board with the assumption that the ship
management were also taken into account.
would remain afloat for long enough for
Project was signed in April 1907 and

construction started with huge project
investments reconfiguring the shipyards for
the next 50 years.
rescue of the passengers.
To accommodate the dinning salon,

largest room ever to go to sea, height of
2 of the 15 feet bulkheads ( every 60
feet) was compromised
Design: Thomas Andrew led the design

team. The ship was designed taking into
account the non -functional requirement of
safety. Ship builder's model was used to test
the worst case failure scenarios - like
groundings and collisions. A double skin
hull was selected for groundings and for
collisions 15 vertical bulkheads were
designed. There were increased numbers of
look-outs in the forepeak and bridge wings.
32
Construction:
Construction
went
on
without any hassles and Olympic was

successfully launched. Newspapers spread
the word that the ship was 'Practically
Unsinkable'. Ismay added safety to size,
luxury and comfort in his promotions. Even
the fitting out of the Olympic was carried
out without any flaws.
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for the project. To catch up on the
Olympic had completed 8 weeks of trial,
lagging project schedule, Titanics
and it was then ready for its maiden voyage.
workforce was shifted on Olympic.
Titanic was also launched on the same day.
Project Titanic was cannibalized
(Planning
&
Two spectacular events coincided on the
Special
s
Execution):
Testing
Olympic hit a floating wreck in Grand
same. Through maximum publicity the
Banks, under the surface and lost a
perception of unsinkable ship was passed
propeller blade. The propeller blade had
on from the core team to the public.
to be repaired. Work on titanic was
During
Titanics
fitting
out
Ismay
suggested 3 major changes in the ship:
stopped. While Olympic was being

pulled out of dry dock, its port side got
grounded. This further delayed Titanic's
- increased class accommodation by 100
schedule, also not much cash was left.
- created cafe parisian

- Open promenade deck 'A' to stop sea spray
All the above changes were blindly
accepted, even though it was affecting
project
deadlines.3
major
incidents
happened with the Olympic:
Tug Hallenback was pulled under

Olympic's propeller during docking
There was collision between Olympic

and Hawke in the Isle of Wight due to
Bernoulli effect. Both the ships were
severely damaged. Olympics 2 aft
compartments were flooded, starboard
engine stopped working. Propeller
blades got damaged, internal frames
twisted, propeller shaft got damaged
and it could not be repaired (had to be
replaced). Cost of repair was 17 % of
the original cost of the project. Lead
time for new orders would take months.
This meant cost and time implications
33
Gurumantra
March 2014
As a result of this delay in the project

Olympic, Titanics sea trials were cut from
8 weeks to half a day. She went for her
maiden voyage as soon as she got her 1 year
certificate.
Implementation & Operations: There
were 100 articles on Olympic, only 30 for
Titanic. To revive public interest, Ismay
planned the strategy to beat Olympics best
crossing time. Strategy was to race towards
Iceberg Alley, navigate slowly and then
speed up again. Officers were aware of
French liner Niagara's collision in Iceberg
Alley. Titanic left harbour in haste; it pulled
New York Liner towards her and broke her
moorings. But fortunately the collision was
avoided. Lessons from Olympic had not
been learned. Officer's still carried on
compromised testing to meet the new
crossing time record. Lifeboat drill was
performed with only one lifeboat. This gave
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it a certificate to sail. 3 feedback
arrived at Halifax port within a few days
mechanisms were used to alert the
time. Second damage assessment group
proximity of field ice.
reported that pumps were not keeping up
with flood. The compromised design of

Lookouts - Lookouts in the crow's nest
were missing their binoculars from
day1. Officers refused to share theirs,
bulkhead heights increased flooding and

after more than an hour the captain ordered
that lifeboats be filled.
because of rank.
Ice bucket test - Rope was too short to
Major Blunders in the project: The
collect sea water for temperature
Titanic project had a very good business
measurement. Mariner took tap water
model, with the breakeven point being
and fudged the test.
achieved in 2 years and 75 % of the revenue
Wireless Marconigram - It received
being generated from first class. But the
iceberg warnings from other ships but
perception of the core team about Titanic
operators
being an Unsinkable Ship led them to
commercial
were
traffic.
overloaded
by
Around
250
messages were sent and received.

At 7: 30 pm in the evening last ice warnings
Compromises in design and testing.
Elevation of expectations of end
were passed to the bridge, Captain at
deliverable allowed business pressure
dinner. 37 seconds after the lookouts gave a
to override operational procedures.
warning, there was a collision but not
Lack of stakeholder management.
severe. Two damage assessment teams
Further
were sent for inspection. No damage was

reported by the first group. Ismay got
impatient, and did not wait for the reports
from the second assessment team. He
assumed that Titanic was safe to sail again.
Engine was started and Titanic sailed again.
34
make the following blunders
compromises
in
the
implementation.
References:
1. KPMG Project Management Survey
2013.
2. Project
Management
Blunders
This caused the plates to further get
Lessons from the Project that Built,
ruptured and increased flooding. Had it not
Launched and Sank Titanic by Mark
been so at 8 knots the Titanic would have
Kozak Holland.

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Project Management Experience in IT
Applications of Project
Management Practises in
Infosys
Abstract:
Kiran Tippani
(pgp13085.kiran@iimraipur.ac.in)
Mechanical engineer from VNR
VJIET Hyderabad.
Experience of around 44 months in
Infosys ltd.
Interested in Marketing and
Operations.
35
Abstract: Every day is a challenge in this

business world, there will be many important
decisions to be taken, many projects to be initiated
or closed, and many deals to be signed. In each of
these tasks efficiency and conversion ratio is very
important, i.e. out of how many initiations how
many are getting closed. Once a project is
initiated, it has to go through many different
stages crossing several constraints. There is
always a risk of the projects getting cancelled or
resources ramped down, to avoid these situations
projects have to be managed more efficiently,
planning and execution should be perfect with
Zero Tolerance level of errors. This article
contains two of the projects I had worked in my IT
work experience on how I had effectively
implemented project management methods.

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Introduction:
through effective planning, organizing,
Projects have a defined beginning and an
motivating and controlling the resources.
end, they are designed to meet unique goals
There are many project management
and objectives within the time constraints.
methods, few of them are Traditional
Most of the projects are repetitive,
Approach,
permanent or semi-permanent. The two
management, Event chain methodology,
forefathers of project management Henry
process based management, Agile project
Gantt and Henri Fayol best known for their
management, Lean project management
work on Gantts chart and work break down
and extreme project management.
structure, have contributed so
Critical
chain
Book Review
project
much
towards the project management system.
Traditional Approach:
The basic definition of project management
Project management was developed from
is Project management is a process or
several domains as civil construction,
activity to meet a unique goal or objective

INTIATION
Interactions with clients to exactly
know their requirments to avoid
rework
Bottom line responsibility of PM
team to gather information
Estimate scope of project
Obtain all approvals
Complete all paperwork
PLANNING AND DESIGN

Allocate resources
Prepare team structure
Work breakdown structure of project
Identify deliverables
Prepare all design documents
Back up plan considering all risks
MONITORING AND CONTROLLING
EXECUTION
Measure the ongoing project activity

Conduct weekly status meetings
Monitor progress with respect to plan
and compare with standards
Collect regular feedbacks
(Synchronization is the key)

Direct and manage project execution
Assure quality of deliverables
Manage stakeholders expectation
Thorough testing of deliverables
Delivery / Closure
36
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engineering and heavy defence. Traditional
teams. In these meetings all details
Approach is most commonly used project
regarding the current progress of the
management method in the world, it is also
projects, comparison of this progress with
referred as System Development Life Cycle
the pre-planned schedule, other constraints
(SDLC) and in software industry it is used
were all discussed. This project is a clear
as Waterfall model approach in handling
example of a waterfall model used in
the projects. The structure of this model is
software companies, the whole structure of
Initiation,
Design,
initiation, requirement gathering, planning,
Executing, Monitoring and Controlling,
designing, executing, monitoring, rework
Closing or Delivery.
and delivery, all go in a cyclic manner till
Planning
Project Experience:
and
The project is to
maintain and rewrite a new application for

existing legacy code. The biggest challenge
we faced is information gathering. The
team who wrote the code for this legacy
application were long gone from the
company,
and
there
is
no
proper
documentation done on that project.

Initially the higher management team had
taken the requirement specifications and
the lower management or floor managers
had designed the work breakdown structure
and allocated the work packets to each
team. The team leads in each team had
designed the schedule and estimated work
hours for each resource in their team. I was
the module lead for 4 membered team, I had
to create estimates for all the work packets
assigned to my team and send a high level
design document with all work packets
flow and work structure plans to the clients.
Every week there were status meetings with
all the clients, other managers and other
37
Gurumantra
March 2014
the project gets completed. Generally long

term project use waterfall model, as it
carries less risk and burden to the project.
The major challenges we faced were
unexpected switching of resources from
company to company, the new resources
again needs training and lot of time was
wasted to get them to speed with remaining
team members. We made sure that all the
work done in the project is documented
properly, and no code gets delivered with
bugs. Other important objective to be kept
in mind is managing the stakeholders, I
have implemented flexi time for the team
members so that there will be some
resource at all times to handle the
showstoppers and to provide continuous
support to testing teams and clients. Every
days efforts are filed and tracked to
maintain flaw less budget allocations to the
project. In the last i.e. closure stage, the
deliverables are tested 3 to 4 times in
different levels to check functionality,
performance, response time, load/stress
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handling and bug free before delivering the
project plan, identifying the objectives,
project to clients.
understanding the goals and results which

clients were expecting, designing the
complete
Agile Project Management:
interaction management, it is typically used

in software technology, creative and
industries.
This
contrasts
completely from traditional approach. In
of
the
project,
gathering the resources, allocation of
Agile project mostly depends on human
marketing
framework
Agile, the whole project is divided into

small tasks and executed as the situation
demands by continuously adapting to the
change rather than a preplanned project.
Agile is most of the time used for small
term projects which has very less time
frame and high cost. Most of the critical
projects are done in agile methodology.
resources to teams, documentation of whole

project work, planning the schedule of the
project and training of team members.
Agile project is never a smooth project,
there will be daily hurdles on the way, and
either it be time or functional constraints.
Agile projects are very hectic, as regular
interactions with the client or strategy team
is must, and regular review of the project
progress is done. The major challenges in
agile project are that the teams should be
highly flexible and adaptive, because the
requirements changes almost daily or
regularly, the team has to stretch a lot and
Reference: http://www.alginerozan.com/
has to complete the changes required by the

Project Experience: In my experience I
had worked in an agile project, I was part of
the initiation to completion of the project. I
had the responsibilities of creating the
38
clients then and there. Very efficient and

talented resources are generally taken in
these projects, there wont be much time to
document all the activities in these projects.
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So
39
Interviews
these
projects
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mostly
focus
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s
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on
I had learned so much in these two projects
functionality and performance. Drawbacks
that planning or performing is not just
in these agile projects are that most of the
sufficient for the success of a project, for a
time agile projects either gets cancelled or
project to succeed all the factors should be
ramped down. The reasons are that most of
in sync and maintain the quality of the
the resources feel the pressure of the job,
work. Time, cost, resources, paper work,
daily stretching and reworks, cost piles up
design,
day by day and very less projects get
estimations, integration, avoid rework,
delivered in the right time. The project
multiple testing and delivery on time, these
manager has to ensure the motivational
all factors make a project successful. For
levels of the resources under him and at the
making a project successful, the project
same time monitor and control the flow of
management methods which the company
the project as per the preplanned schedule.
follows should be effective and efficient.
training,
communication,
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Mumbai International Airport terminal 2 Experience
Mumbai International Airport

Terminal II Experience
Amit Gandhi
(pgp13017.amit@iimraipur.ac.in)
Mechanical engineer from Veermata Jijabai
Institute of Technology Mumbai
Experience of around 22 months in Blue
Star
40
Interested in Operations.
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March 2014
especially the temperature, moisture in air,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
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inaugurated the Mumbai International
velocity of air flowing.
s
Airport Terminal 2 (MIAL T2) on 10th Jan
14 and it will be fully functional from
12thFeb
2014.
Creating
unified
environment to establish an emotional bond

with travellers. Every element of the airport
2 Experience
Airport terminal
International
Mumbai Mumbai
2 Experience
Airport terminal
International
is tailored to the aesthetic preferences of our
Rs
93
Crore
for
Centralized
this project. It was a great challenge to

execute this project. I was responsible for
all
material
Through
required
creative
HVAC in this
of the space is
project
to
fittings
right
from enquiry
incorporate a
to delivery of
of
fixtures and
for
installation of
design, much
mosaic
the
outsourced
travellers.
modified
Air
conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) of
target
material on
Reference:http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=347144&page=488
and
reveals architectural details. The airport

appeal is integrated into a variety of
creative vignettes and displays designed
that represent various aspects of the Indian
culture. The airport covers floor area of
439,000 m2 (4,730,000 sq. ft.) with capacity
of 40 million passenger per annum. This
space is divided into departures, arrival
gates and is designed ergonomically and
has a high aesthetic appeal. An important
part of this project was to ensure that the
aesthetic appeal is maintained to the highest
standard. Cooling is one of the features that
was given prime importance in the project
41
Blue Star Ltd. had won the contract worth
time
including the payment for suppliers.

Timely Delivery with Best Negotiated
price along with Best Industry Standards
of specified products / material was my role
as Sr. Engineer in procurement for this
project. Its very difficult to achieve all the
three, but with proper planning and your
relations with suppliers you can achieve it.
It was great challenge to make relations
with suppliers with maintaining cash flow
required by company & bargaining with
suppliers having just 10 months of
experience before this project. There were
more than 300 workers working in this
project for HVAC dependent on material
supply, so a single material shortage was
and company, it was like managing supply
huge cost to company. This project also
and demand. Ultimately my experience
taught me the optimizing cost of inventories
says your relation with supplier is key for
for C class (low value) materials while
win-win situation for any buyer in any
delivering A & B class (High value) JIT
industry.
(Just In time). More than 5000 types of

material with 200+ Suppliers made job
more challenging to keep a track of
materials required for this project. The
negotiating techniques were used while
finalizing order:
difficult to share and without good team

coordination is not possible to complete any
project. I thank my entire MIAL team for
supporting me for this project. Special
thanks to Project Manager Mr. Ashish
Anchoring
Jain, Sr. Manager Mr. Mayur Mehta &
Bulking
Mr. Karan Kalra and Site Engineer Mr.
Rate Contracts
Mohammad Sameer & Mr Navnath
Reverse Costing
Hadavale for giving me the opportunity for
Reverse Auction
executing this project.
Bidding
For details on project:
As any other project event this

project was not an exception of dynamicity.
The bottlenecks shifted from one material
to other due to change in specification,
quantity, delay in sample approval, invoice
booking. Even strike from transporters,
supplier
not
supplying.
Effect
of
International price of commodities (London

Metal Exchange) & Exchange rate was also
clearly visible not only on cost price of the
material imported but even from domestic
market. How does monopoly, oligopoly and
competition effect the cost was clearly
visible while bargaining. Being a buyer it
my task to make a balance between supplier
42
Learning from this project is very
1. http://www.storypick.com/seen-brandnew-terminal-t2-mumbai-airportprepared-go-wow/
2. http://www.bluestarindia.com/pressroo
m/default.asp#96
3. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/sl
ideshows/infrastructure/mumbaiairports-t2-set-to-outshine-delhis-t3/xshaped-terminaldesign/slideshow/19090787.cms
4. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/sl
ideshows/infrastructure/mumbaiairports-new-t2-beautiful-interiorshots/beautifully-litt2/slideshow/28672488.cms

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Small Wonder The making of NANO
Small Wonder - The

Making Of Nano
Rishab Raj
(pgp13104.rishab@iimraipur.ac.in)
He has completed his graduation in
mechanical Engineering from BITS
Pillani.
He is having around 35 months of
experience in Bharat Petroleum
Corporation limited.
43
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A visionary businessman, caught up in the
as to how the team had jelled together in the
traffic of Bangalore, notices an entire
earlier days through informal meetings,
family on a scooter and thinks of creating a
assumed innovative techniques as target
peoples car for the Indian market.
costing to keep the product in the one lakh
Thereafter began a decade long journey for
barrier and also how they had a moving
Indias most powerful business house, one
target approach as they had no standards to
that would bring India on the map of world
look up to. The authors have also clearly
automobile industry. The book talks about
described the cost and time constraints
the nano story right from the inception of
which the project faced at times getting into
the idea to the execution part and challenges
the technicalities of the project but all has
faced during the same. The book mentions
been explained in a simple language. The
a series of chronological events along with
way the book links the learnings from the
opinions by top management involved in
TATA Ace; TATA Indica projects to the
the TATA NANO project.
making of the Nano helps one know the
The authors have tried to show the real

picture behind the success of TATA Nano
and also to make people aware of the kind
of effort that goes into the making of a
successful product. The way the book
brings out the main protagonists of the
importance of flexibility and innovation.

The different ideas such as distributed
manufacturing, limited suppliers, supplier
flexibility, and inbound logistics all keep
the reader interested and also involved as to
how the final picture turns out to be.
project namely Mr.Ravi Kant, Managing
But the book loses out on certain fronts. The
director of companys commercial vehicles
Singur plant story and the issues faced have
division; Mr,Girish Wagh , pioneer of
not been clearly mentioned. Major focus
TATA Ace project ; Ramakrishna , Chief
has been on the protests that took place but
Financial Officer and their roles in moving
appropriate
the project forward is commendable. Not
actually did to alleviate the issue has not
only these few but many others have been
been mentioned. This makes the reader feel
mentioned who hold key responsibilities in
discontent especially when the build-up up
areas such as manufacturing , marketing ,
to that point has been so good. Another
sourcing etc. to make one realise that it is
drawback which one can find in the book is
not only the leadership that counts but the
the improper description of the shifting of
team as well. The book gives a lot of insight
the plant. Shifting of a fully-built passenger
mention
of
what
TATA
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s
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car plant from Singur to Sanand in Gujarat
description of the TATA Nano launch story
a distance of about 2,000 km. That
and the worlds reaction to it especially the
journey undertaken by over 3,340 trucks
part where bringing India on the world
using 495 containers over seven months
automobile industry map is mentioned.
certainly deserved a worthwhile mention.
Adding to this, the reaction from the first
This was an intricate operation. The team
few owners of the Tata Nano who were
zeroed in on two routes Kolkata-Agra-
chosen by a lucky draw also lend an
Jaipur-Ahmedabad with a distance of 2,163
emotional touch to the book. The strategies
kilometres and Kolkata-Raipur-Nagpur-
implemented,
Ahmedabad which was 1,843 kilometres.
companies acquired and other stories
However, a highway survey was conducted
regarding TATA Motors explain as to how
through trial runs on both the stretches and
important the success of the project really
what they concluded was startling: the
was to the company.
longer route had only 390 km of singlecarriage road, while the shorter route had
1,633 km of single-carriage road. The road
survey also revealed that the shorter route
was more prone to accidents (because of
many narrow and weak bridges) and had
more security problems on road, while the
longer route had better infrastructure and
support system through the entire stretch.
The cost and time (ten days for each truck)
taken to travel through the longer route
would be more but the team opted for it
since the primary objective was to transport
the equipment safely. There are several
other aspects of this critical operation
which are missing in the book.
shortcomings
with
an
projects
launched,
All in all, the book gives you a fair,

unbiased picture of the TATA Nano story.
The book has its ups and downs but
maintains a constant pace not letting the
reader feel stagnant at any point of time.
Projects catering to projects sometimes tend
to go into intricacies too much which are
unwanted and act as distractions for the
reader. The book is highly recommended
especially for the future engineers and
managers as it lets you know the
importance
of
flexibility,
innovation,
decision making and time aspects of a

project. The book especially makes you feel
proud as an Indian company was never been
seen as technological leader by the world in
The book however makes up for the
45
March 2014
enthralling
automobile industry.
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Crossword
1
CROSSWORD
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
16
19
20
EclipseCrossword.com
Across
The Palm Islands project in the coastline of Dubai was concerned with building an ____
began in 2001.
5. The crucial component of the PPT triangle in project management is
9. The_____ is a mega project that will become the longest man-made canal (75km) on
completion.
12. _______ is a mega project which was a major blunder in the history of project management
and referred as "The Unsinkable ship"
13. The stage in team management where the rules are communicated and the productivity of
the team is increasing is called _____
14. The steel required for the construction of the Chenab bridge was procured from Bhilai
3.
46
Book Review

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15.
17.
19.
20.
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plant of ______
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), known unofficially as Boston's ______ , was
the expensive public works project of The US.
This famous German car company BMW is pursuing research in mobility for future related
to______management
_____ facilitates employee sharing across different locations in a cost effective manner
for a project.
The project which was completed in 1010 AD by Rajarajan I of the Chola dynasty and is
a UNESCO world heritage site.
CROSSWORD
Down
1.
2.
4.
6.
7.
8.
10.
11.
16.
18.
47
_____ development philosophy focusses on minimizing or eliminating the wastages in the

project.
The project of building three ships Olympic,Titanic and Britannic was taken up by_____
_______ canal is named as one of the seeven wonders of modern world by American
Society of Civil Engineers handling about 815000 vessels every year.
The wind farm project completed within a year by Meridian energy in the southern
hemisphere by employing right project tools and techniques.
________ is a method of shortening the project duration by reducing the time taken for
one or more activities in the projectwhile minimizing the cost
The new method of excavation used in Pir panjal tunnel is _____
______ bridge is a 2000crore project and will be the world's highest bridge on completion.
_____ dam was China's largest engineering marvel after the The Great Wall of China
This company is credited for developing Critical path method
This multinational automobile company has decided to make India its global production
base for compact cars through its project codenamed as B562.
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Answers
1
A R T
A L
T
4
P E O P L E
6
CROSSWORD
A
N
8
S L A N D
T
E
A R A B
T
10
A N C A N A L
11
A
12
T A N
S
C
13
T
14
S A
I
L
N
G
17
B R
15
16
G D
V P M
18
T R A F F
20
N O R M
19
H A D E E S W A R A R T E M P L E
S
EclipseCrossword.com
48
Book Review
Team
Anubhav Sood
Manoj H
Subhash Kumar
Sujitha Tikka
Thousif Mohammed A
49
Bharath Arava
Gautham Jayan
Ruchi Sao
Sameer Pandey
Vanamamalai. R
March 2014
March 2014
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
For details, contact:

Operations & Supply Chain Club
Indian Institute of Management Raipur
GEC Campus, Old Dhamtari Road, Sejbahar
Raipur 492015, India
Email Id: opep@iimraipur.ac.in
50

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STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2

Keeping this in view, we have come up with

In this issue we have student articles

STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2

After the successful launch of five issues of

Every project involves coordination among

organization to carry out the project on time

Prof. B.S. Sahay

project management this upcoming issue will

management and its relevance.

STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2

Titanic- The Unsinkable Ship

Pir Panjal Tunnel

STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2

Electronics Engineer from

Abstract: Any project undertaken goes

STRIVE Volume 3 Issue 2

Project Management is a discipline of

tools and techniques are used to plan the

organising and managing resources in such

project. Tools such as work breakdown

a way that the resources deliver all the work

structure etc. are used which identifies

required to complete a project within

different tasks and activities. Next is

defined scope, time and cost constraints

scheduling which is done to provide

(Basu, Ron p. 14). According to Meredith

framework for accomplishment of tasks.

Time planning and estimation is done in

management is a social science and also

order to complete project tasks in time.

states that Project Management has

Another tool is Budgeting which is most

emerged because the characteristics of our

performance baseline called performance

measurement baseline also known as S-

curve because of its shape. Project planning

Project Management lifecycle undergoes 5

Human resource is key factor of any project

steps initiation, project planning, project

and has to be managed and motivated in

order to get best results. Risk management

controlling, and project closing. First step

plays an important role in project planning.

of project management is initiation. In this

Potential risk must be identified in the

step the objectives, product description,

project and strategies must be developed to

requirements, scope, financials, duration

tackle them as and when encountered.

and risk are identified and described. The

STEPS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Ensuring that all

second phase of project management is

Quality management for a project must be

project planning. At this level different

evolved and developed. Tools like Total