Project Management

Project Management

Introduction

The project management is an important discipline that takes into account different steps taken different perspectives of the management that enhance the efficiency of the managers and makes them more effective at their work. There are different aspects of the project management that has been proved to be very useful for the managers for performing their daily functions of the management at their work. Project management practices started to emerge in the 1950s. The ultimate goal of project management was implementing projects in the optimal timeframe, while considering the triple constraints of time, cost, and project scope.

Initiation of Project Management

The literature on the project management practice is rich and controversial in term of the project constraints and best practices. The triple constraints principle in project management, presented in the previous section, is still valid today. The main objective of any project is the improvements in time, cost, and quality. Recently project management practice was considered a strategic function. In his study about project success, Cicmil (1997) argued that success requires more than just the proper scheduling and budgeting. If organizations want to implement successful projects they should consider the project management function as a critical and strategic business function in the organization. Project management practice was defined further with the establishment of PMI. Based on the PMI (2007b) this organization was established in 1969 and introduced the standards for project management and practices in the United States. Today the PMI has over 240,000 members who together pursue the advancement of the project management field. The PMI (2005a) stated that to enable this collaboration PMI has created local chapters and special interest groups to allow the members to network together based on their industries, locations, or interests. The PMI started the PMP certification program in 1984 which grants a special certification to project managers who have adequate professional experience in the field. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide was also created by the PMI. This guide serves as the foundation of project management framework and the different knowledge areas: integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and procurement management. PMI provided the blue prints of project management processes and methodologies and is constantly striving to improve this field.

Project Management-Hybrid Electric Taxi

Hybrid Taxi Makret

In 2005, San Francisco was the first one to introduce hybrid taxi service of total 15 ford escape hybrids in a fleet. In 2007 the city approved the Clean Air Taxi Grant Program in order to encourage cab companies to purchase alternative fuel vehicles, by providing incentives of USD2,000 per new alternative fuel vehicle on a first-come, first-served basis. In 2009, the original Escape Hybrids were retired after 300,000 miles (480,000 km) per vehicle.

Background of the Project

In 2001, the gas price was around $2, and it has increased up to $4 in the year 2008. Following chart briefly describes the alteration in the gas prices (IEA, 2008).

Year

Price

1958

$2.32

1968

$2.18

1978

$2.22

1988

$1.81

1998

$1.39

2008

$3.34

2011

$3.51

Currently the price of the gas is fluctuating, and this is the critical issue for many oil companies ...