Chapter 3. Defining the Project

紀 勝 財

華梵大學工業管理研究所中華民國九十三年三月

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Project Definition

A Process which starts when the customer or investor first conceives the idea of a project and does not end until the last piece of information has been filed to describe the project in its finished ‘as-built’ condition.

Adequate project definition is equally important for the customer, who must be clear on what he or she expects to get for his or her money.

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Receipt of Customer Enquiries

Enquiries and subsequent orders for commercial projects generally enter contracting companies through their sales engineering or marketing organization.

Every enquiry must be registered and allocated a reference name or number that identifies it uniquely.

A checklist of information requirements should be provided to ask all the questions from the customers.

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Screening Enquiries

The work involved in preparing a tender needs significant preliminary engineering design work plus sales and office effort that must be authorized and budgeted.

The customers with a poor reputation should be screened out at senior management level.

Screening decisions and manage appropriate follow-up action can use a form for every enquiry, such as Figure 3.2.

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Feasibility Study

With uncertain prognosis, feasibility study is frequently used to examine and appraise the technical, logistical, environmental, commercial and financial aspects of projects requiring a high level of investment.

A good feasibility study report can do much to point a project in the right direction and define its risks and achievable objectives.

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Step-by-step Approach to Risk Limitation

To starting an ill-defined project, this approach is to limit the risk by authorizing work with time limit or budgetary limit step by step.

This approach is feasible if the occurrence of significant events in the project that can easily be recognized when they happen.

Pure research projects are good candidates for this piecemeal approach.

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Defining a Project for Financial Appraisal

For short-term commercial projects the financial appraisal may take the form of a simple payback calculation.

The data can be tabulated on a spreadsheet, or two graphs can be plotted on a common set of axes (money against time).

Project manager might need to help to increase the determination to meet the defined objectives if those objectives (time, money, specifications) were probably key factors in an earlier appraisal decision.

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Customer’s Project Specification

Initial enquiries from customers can take many forms: a set of plans or drawings, a written description of the project objectives, or a telephone call.

All of these elements, taken together and documented, constitute the ‘customer specification’.

It must be identifiable by means of a unique reference number, date and the issue or revision number.

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Project Scope (1)

The contractor’s commitments will not be confined to the technical details but will encompass the fulfillment of all specified commercial conditions.

The terms of the order might lay down specific rules governing methods for invoicing and certification of work done for payment.

Inspection and quality standards, a well-defined statement of delivery requirements, penalties, staff training, commissioning, and warranty might be included in the contract.

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Project Scope (2)

The customer’s spec. should set out all the requirements in unambiguous terms.

The scope of work required from the contractor, i.e. the size of the contractor’s contribution to the project, must be made clear.

The scope of work might be simple as a piece of hardware or be complicated as a turnkey operation for a large construction or process plant project.

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Using Checklists

Checklists are a useful way of making certain that nothing important is forgotten.

A pad of preprinted forms with the options for simple project definition; a host of questions to ask about details for special purpose machining systems.

For large construction or mining projects, the checklist is to verify plant performance, building accommodation needs, potential hazards, special statutory regulations, the influence of local trade unions, availability of suitable local labor, facilities, etc. (Figure 3.3)

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Defining the Project Design Concept

After the contract awarded, a considerable range of different possibilities for the detailed design and make-up of the project.

For a technical project, a very large number of permutations between all the possible ways of providing drive, measurement and positional control.

Without a detailed design spec., a project could be costed, priced and sold against one set of design solutions but actually executed using a different, more costly, approach. It is dangerous.

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‘Not Invented Here’ Syndrome

It sometimes happens that engineers prefer to make a new design even though a perfectly adequate design already exists.

Two examples: a British Company vs. a famous European University (the chief engineer resigned), and an American company vs. its new British subsidiary (Anglicizing).

It may cause considerable cost and time losses. The golden rule is to define and document the project in

all respects before the estimates are made and translated into budgets and price.

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Project Specification Development (Solution Engineering)

Pre-project phase is also known as solution engineering. Sales engineering group’s recommendation for an

engineering solution would be the best suit for the customer (and win the order).

Solution engineering is an expensive undertaking, especially when the resulting tender fails to win the contract.

Remember that the latest issue of any document might not be the correct issue.

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Format and Content (1)

1. Binder: loose-leaf style for addition or substitution

2. Spec. identifier: the spec. serial (identification) number, the project number, the project title.

3. Control schedule of spec. documents: denoting the revision status of the complete document with the main text (in the front or at the back)

4. Descriptive text: describing the project should be clear and concise in the front of a contents list.

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Format and Content (2)

5. Supporting documents: a number of supporting engineering must be listed in the control schedule.

6. Distribution list: a list of all those who received the initial issue of the spec.

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需求建議書1. 應提供工作說明 (statement of work, SOW)2. 定義規格及屬性需求 (requirements)3. 寫清楚所交付給顧客的狀況4. 分項列明任何顧客支援的項目5. 可以載明執行前須獲得顧客的同意6. 可提及顧客打算要使用的合約樣式7. 要載明顧客想要的付款方式8. 須載明專案完成時程9. 格式化的廠商計畫書10. 要說明廠商提交計畫書的期限11. 應包括有評估標準12. 說明顧客僅以有限將費來進行專案（特殊狀況）

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Bid/No-bid Decision

1. 競爭：當地的大學在過去曾經提供許多訓練給 ACE 公司 （高）

2. 風險：需求建議書定義的十分詳盡（低）3. 使命：提供訓練是我們的業務（高）4. 擴展能力：有些作業需要用遠具視訊，過去從未嘗試

（高）5. 聲譽：在之前從未對 ACE 提供訓練（低）6. 顧客資金： ACE 公司有充足的資金執行訓練（高）7. 計畫書資源： Lynn 要再次安排他的假期，因此計畫書

可能需要至紀念日的週末才能完成（中）8. 專案資源：有幾項特定的訓練要請下包廠商（中）

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計畫書的內容 (1)

技術部分1. 問題的瞭解2. 解決的方法3. 提供給顧客的利益

管理部分1. 描述工作作業2. 列明交付物 (deliverables)3. 專案時程4. 專案組織5. 相關經驗6. 儀器設備

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計畫書的內容 (2)

成本部分1. 人事費2. 材料費3. 下包廠商及諮詢費4. 儀器設備資金5. 差旅費6. 文書費7. 經常費8. 物價波動調整費用9. 預備金10. 酬金

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價格考量

1. 可靠的成本預估2. 風險3. 專案對廠商價值4. 顧客的預算5. 競爭