Engineering Project Management Books
If there's one thing that is lacking in engineering college education, it's project management. Most college provide an overview as part of a general engineering course, and the good ones even provide a full course. We come out of university as technical experts, but most of an engineer's time is....
The Life Cycle of an Engineering Project
For an engineering project, the typical life cycle looks something like this: Conceptualization. At the point which a need or opportunity is identified, an agency begins to develop a conceptual plan for a new product or service. Feasibility. Budget level estimates are prepared for the necessary phases and the financial....
Engineering Project Scheduling Techniques
Scheduling is generally one of the critical variables to project success for engineers. In spite of this, most engineers don't understand the basics of project scheduling, except for remembering it from their college days. In this article I will document the two primary scheduling techniques available to the engineering project....
How to Write an Engineering Proposal
Engineering proposals are the industry standard document for which engineering consultant selection decisions are made. For engineering consulting firms, they are the primary method of securing new work. For the owners they are indispensible as a means to differentiate between consultants. But what are the major parts of an engineering....
The Phases of an Engineering Project
Engineering projects come in many shapes and sizes, but they can generally be broken down into the following phases. Planning / Preliminary Engineering. This is the stage at which the options are considered and the pros and cons evaluated. Most engineering projects involve the creation of a new product or....
How to Write a Project Management Plan
Kevin Payravi, Wikimedia Commons The Project Management Institute (PMI) reports that only 64% of projects meet their intended goals. The difference between a successful project and an unsuccessful one can usually be narrowed down to one word: Planning. Even small projects can benefit from a Project Management Plan. The following....
Net Present Value for Engineering Projects
The calculation of the net present value (NPV) is a budgeting technique that equates the discounted cash flows against the initial investment. The mathematical formula is: $$NPV = \sum_{t=1}^{n}\frac{FV_{t}}{(1 + k)^{t}} - I$$ Where: FV = Future cost of the cash inflows, I = Initial Investment k = Discount rate....
The 5 PMBOK Process Groups
Project Management, as defined by the Project Management Institute in the Project Management Body of Knowledge, is comprised of five 'process groups': Project Initiation Selection of the best project given resource limits Recognizing the benefits of the project Preparation of the documents to sanction the project Assigning of the project....
Project Management Critical Success Factors
Critical Success Factors, or CSF's, are the criteria that defines success. In project management, they are found in the project management plan and define what it means for the project to be successful. Time and Cost (deadlines and budgets) are almost always part of the CSF's, but most projects have....
What is a Project?
In order to understand the complex profession of project management, we must first define the word 'project.' A project is a temporary endeavor that: Has specific objectives to be completed within certain specifications Has defined start and end dates Has funding limits (if applicable) Consumes human and non-human resources (i.e.....
