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INTRODUCTION:
Project starts from scratch with a definite mission, generates activities involving a
variety of human and non‐human resources, all directed towards fulfillment of the mission and stops
once the mission is fulfilled. In contemporary business and science, a project is an individual or
collaborative enterprise, possibly involving research or design that is carefully planned, usually by a
project team, to achieve a particular aim. A project may also be a set of interrelated tasks to be
executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations. It may be a temporary
(rather than permanent) social systems as work systems that is constituted by teams within or across
organizations to accomplish particular tasks under time constraints. A project may be a part of a
wider program management. A project is defined as ‘a non‐routine, non‐repetitive one‐off
undertaking normally with—discrete time, financial and technical performance goals.’ The definition
is descriptive and, because of the endless variety of projects, most of the definitions are of this
nature. It also describes a project as “a combination of human and non‐human resources pooled
together in a temporary organization to achieve a specific purpose”. The purpose and the set of
activities which can achieve that purpose distinguish one project from another.
A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that:
Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications.
Have defined start and end dates.
Have funding limits (if applicable).
Consume resources (i.e. money, time, equipment).
According to the Project Management Institute, USA, “a project is a one‐set, time
limited, goal‐directed, major undertaking requiring the commitment of varied skills and
resources”.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
Project management is an organized venture for managing project. It deals with:
The identification of project opportunities.
Formulation of profitable project profile.
Procurement of finance for project implementation.
Scheduling of project objectives and activities in such a way to complete the project with in
the minimum cost and time.
Monitoring the project after its implementation.
It involve scientific application of modern tools and techniques in planning, training,
implementing, monitoring, controlling, and coordinating unique activities or task to produce
desirable output in accordance with the pre‐determined objectives with in the constrain of time &
cost.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECT:
1. SINGLE ENTITY:
A project is one entity & is normally entrusted to one responsibility center. Project has
an owner. In private sector it can be an individual or a company in public sector, a government
undertakings or a joint sector organization.
2. OBJECTIVES:
A project has a fixed set of objectives. Once the objectives has been achieved the
project ceases to exist.
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3. LIFE SPAN:
A project must have done within specified period, it can’t continue endlessly, it has to
come to an end.
4. LIFE CYCLE:
A project has a life cycle reflected by growth, maturity & decay.
MATURITY
ENDING POINT
STARTING POINT
5. TEAM WORK:
A project calls for team work. The team again is constituted of number of members
belonging to different discipline, organization and even countries.
6. UNIQUENESS:
No two projects are exactly similar even if the plants are exactly identical or are merely
duplicated. The location, the infrastructure, the agencies & the people make each project unique.
7. CHANGE:
A project sees many changes throughout its life while some of these changes may not
have any major impact, then some change can be change the entire character of course of the
project.
8. SUCCESSIVE PRINCIPLE:
What is going to happen during the life cycle of a project is not fully known at any
stage. The details get finalize successively with the passage of time.
9. MADE TO ORDER:
A project is made according the order of the customer. The customer stipulates
various requirements & puts constrains with in which the project must be executed.
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10. HIGH LEVEL OF SUB‐CONTRACTING:
A high percentage of the work in a project is done through contractors. The more the
complexity of the project the more will be the extent of contracting. Normally 80% of work done
through sub‐contracting.
11. SPECIALISED PERSON:
A project work is very sensitive work. It must be done through specialized person.
From formulation to the project end every section of a project must carried by specialized person.
12. RISK AND UNCERTAINTY:
Every project has risk & uncertainty associated with it. The degree of risk & uncertainty
depends upon how it passes its life cycle.
FUNCTIONS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
1. Design and specification
2. Organization
3. Execution and control
4. Post project evaluation
ADVANTAGES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
1. BETTER EFFICIENCY IN DELIVERING SERVICES:
Project management provides a “roadmap" that is easily followed and leads to project
completion. Once you know where to avoid the bumps and potholes, it stands to reason that you’re
going to be working smarter and not harder and longer.
2. IMPROVED / INCREASED / ENHANCED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
Whenever you get a project done on time and under budget, the client walks away
happy. And a happy client is one you’ll see again. Smart project management provides the tools that
enable this client/manager relationship to continue.
3. ENHANCED EFFECTIVENESS IN DELIVERING SERVICES:
The same strategies that allowed you to successfully complete one project will serve
you many times over.
4. IMPROVED GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN YOUR TEAM:
Positive results not only command respect but more often than not inspire your team
to continue to look for ways to perform more efficiently.
5. GREATER STANDING AND COMPETITIVE EDGE:
This is not only a good benefit of project management within the workplace but
outside of it as well; word travels fast and there is nothing like superior performance to secure your
place in the marketplace.
6. OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND YOUR SERVICES:
A by‐product of greater standing. Great performance leads to more opportunities to
succeed.
7. BETTER FLEXIBILITY:
Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of project management is that it allows for
flexibility. Sure project management allows you to map out the strategy you want to take see your
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project completed. But the beauty of such organization is that if you discover a smarter direction to
take, you can take it. For many small‐to‐midsize companies, this alone is worth the price of admission.
8. INCREASED RISK ASSESSMENT:
When all the players are lined up and your strategy is in place potential risks will jump
out and slap you in the face. And that’s the way it should be. Project management provides a red flag
at the right time: before you start working on project completion.
9. INCREASE IN QUALITY:
Goes hand‐in‐hand with enhanced effectiveness.
10. INCREASE IN QUANTITY:
An increase in quantity is often the result of better efficiency, a simple reminder
regarding the benefits of project management.
DISADVANTAGES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
1. COST OVERHEAD:
Project Management costs money. Hiring Project Managers, training Project
Managers, hiring Program Managers to make sure that projects are kept aligned with the overall
business strategy, creating a PMO to control the different projects, changing the organization to
adopt and adapt to Project Management, etc.. are all actions that can cost a substantial amount of
money. In the case of small companies, even paying for just one Project Manager is huge overhead,
as Project Managers are rarely paid below the $70k mark. Not to mention that small companies view
Project Managers as (redundant) employees who do not produce tangible work.
2. COMMUNICATION OVERHEAD:
Project Management introduces another layer of communication between
management and team members. Instead of having the information flow directly from functional
managers down to the team members and back up, it’s all funneled through the Project Manager.
3. TIME OVERHEAD:
The communication overhead stated above is one cause of time overhead. For
example, consider some wrong requirements that the Project Manager mistakenly gathered and
passed to the team members for implementation. Once the requirements are discovered to be false,
the team members have to scrap the implemented part based on the wrong requirements, the
Project Manager has to re‐gather the requirements, and finally pass them again to team members
for implementation. Additionally, Parkinson’s Law is a nearly unavoidable problem in Project
Management, as Project Managers can never accurately assess the length of any task, and pad their
estimates so that they won’t wind up with a late project.
4. OBSESSION:
Obsession is a growing problem in any Project Management environment. It stems
from the minds of Project Managers and can be one or more of the following: methodology
obsession, process obsession, and stakeholder obsession.
a. Methodology obsession:
b. Process obsession
Insecurity
Fear of loss of control
c. Stakeholder obsession
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PROJECT IDENTIFICATION:
The first phase of the project is related with identification of projects which have high
priority, it is possible to finance the project and the users are interested in the project. Before starting
project its planning is carried out. Since the efficiency of the whole project largely depends upon its
planning, so planning a project is very important task and should be taken up with utmost care.
During the planning phase each and every detail should be worked out in anticipation
and should be considered carefully by taking into account all the relevant data in advance. These
projects must also be viable from technical and economic point of view. The investment of the project
should be less than the expected profits or benefits. Project ideas emerge during analysis of
problems. Entrepreneurs select the products to be manufactured mostly on the basis of work
experience in a particular type of industry or visit to industries. Secondly friends advice regarding
product. Some other sources of information are “market survey”, “Regional Laboratories and “Govt.
Agencies” etc.
Starting with the identification stage, the aspects like, “Functional aspects”,
“operational aspects”, construction aspects and equally important location and site are examined.
For the purpose of project identification, a study of various alternatives is essential. To assess the
advantages of alternative proposals data available with different agencies are examined thoroughly.
Economical aspects of these alternatives should also be taken into consideration.
The purpose of project identification is to develop a preliminary proposal for the most
appropriate set of interventions and course of action, within specific time and budget frames, to
address a specific development goal in a particular region or setting. Investment ideas can arise from
many sources and contexts. They can originate from a country’s sector plan, program or strategy, as
follow‐up of an existing project or from priorities identified in a multi‐stakeholder sector or local
development dialogue. Identification involves:
A review of alternative approaches or options for addressing a set of development problems
and opportunities;
The definition of project objectives and scope of work at the degree of detail necessary to
justify commitment of the resources for detailed formulation and respective preparatory
studies; and
The identification of the major issues that must be tackled and the questions to be addressed
before a project based on the concept can be implemented.
However due to mismatching of product and market, most of the enterprises fail in
the initial attempts. The normal mistakes made by small entrepreneurs are as follows:
Failure to create customer.
Failure to keep adequate records.
Failure to recognize who, where and why of his customers.
Failure of not knowing about his competitors.
Failure to know the strength and weaknesses of his own product.
Failure about knowledge of the market.
Failure to keep himself alert about the cyclical and seasonal factors affecting the market.
Failure to anticipate the market which results in high inventory cost or loss of sales.
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I. INITIATION:
The purpose of the Initiation Phase is to analyze the Statement of Requirements and
to provide an initial description of the project objectives, and related issues. The project description
must be sufficiently detailed to allow a preliminary determination that the approach is appropriate
and aligned with PSPC objectives and that the initiative is of high enough priority for management to
commit the appropriate level of resources to the next phase.
1. DELIVARABLE: PRIMARY PROJECT PLAN (PPP)
The Preliminary Project Plan (PPP) is the document that defines the plan that will be
used to meet the project objectives during the Identification Stage. It will include why the project is
being initiated, what is to be done, who will be involved in its development, when it will be done and
how it will be done. Once the Identification Stage is complete, and the project is approved at the
Project Plan Approval (PPA) control point, the Project Plan will be used to transition the project for
delivery by the Project Delivery Team. If the project is not approved, or if it is put on hold, the PPP
becomes the key record of the project's project management processes during the Identification
Stage.
2. CONTROL POINT: PRIMARY PROJECT PLAN APPROVAL (PPPA)
The purpose of the initiation phase control point is to allow for a preliminary
assessment by the appropriate authority of the merits and suitability of the project for departmental
objectives and programs. The Preliminary Project Plan Approval is a confirmation that the project
supports departmental objectives and programs and should proceed to the feasibility phase for
further development of the project requirements and identification of a range of solutions.
II. FEASIBILITY:
The purpose of the Feasibility Phase is to develop and finalize the project business
requirements and to identify a range of solutions that meet those requirements. In the « Lite »
Version, this work effort is conducted, but a Feasibility Report is not completed and a control point
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is not required. Instead, the findings of this phase become direct inputs in the assessment of viable
options and key in determining the recommended solution in the Business Case. There is no delivery
or control point in this phase.
III. ANALYSIS:
The purpose of the Analysis Phase is to thoroughly examine and evaluate the viable
options identified in the Feasibility Phase and to arrive at an optimum high‐level solution that will
satisfy the client's requirements and the project's constraints. The recommended solution together
with other viable options and their respective cost estimates, timelines, risks, controls and evaluation
criteria, will be put forward in the Business Case to obtain management authorization and funding
commitment by means of Preliminary Project Approval (PPA) for the project. The level of effort
required for this phase is dependent on the nature, complexity and sensitivities of the project
1. DELIVARABLE: INVESTMENT ANALYSIS REPORT (IAR)
This document is your template for producing a « Lite » version of the National Project
Management System (NPMS) Business Projects‐IT‐Enabled Business Case. A business case is typically
a presentation or a proposal to an authority by an organization seeking funding, approval, or both
for an activity, initiative, or project.
2. CONTROL POINT: PRIMARY PROJECT APPROVAL (PPA)
At Preliminary Project Approval, the Business Case recommendation is approved by
the appropriate approval body. This approval includes confirmation of the recommended investment
solution as well as approval to proceed to the Planning Phase of the Project Delivery Stage. PPA
approval Includes:
Spending authority to take the project to EPA; and
Includes an indicative project budget approval.
IV. IDENTIFICATION CLOSE OUT:
The purpose of the Identification Close out Phase is to ensure that an appropriate level
of assessment, reporting, evaluation, handover, and administrative closure has taken place. This will
provide enough directional detail to seamlessly proceed to the Delivery Stage. In this stage no control
point and deliverable required.
PROJECT FORMULATION:
It is a process is a collection of interrelated actions and activities that take place in
order to achieve a set of previously specified products, results or services. The project team is in
charge of executing the formulation, evaluation and project management processes. The processes
(tasks and activities) have clear dependencies and are done following the same sequence in each
project. They are independent from the area of application approaches. These groups of processes
consider the multidimensional nature of formulation, evaluation and project management.
The project formulation is a systemic expression of such plan with detailed estimates
within certain parameters. Such estimates in order to be more realistic and reliable are based on
actual experiences, environments along with the trends forecasted for the coming years. All these
are formulated in a ‘project report’. The project formulation needs lot of functional support from the
specialists in their relevant fields. Once the project has been identified necessary steps are taken to
explore and assess the viability of the project.
It involves a study in one or more or all of the following areas:
I. TECHNICAL:
1. Whether the technology involved in the project is appropriate to meet the objectives, to
ensure that It is not an obsolete technology;
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2. The technical collaborator is capable to impart such technology often assured by a term of
buy‐back of part of the production;
3. The other terms for the know‐how are reasonable and acceptable as per norms.
II. ECONOMICAL:
1. The investment for the project is justified considering the overall economic situation and, in
particular, relevant to the industry for which the project is being planned.
2. The project cost is justified as against the economic benefit to be derived from it.
III. FINANCIAL:
1. The necessary resources will be available in time during the implementation of the project
and its subsequent operation. Experience indicates that many projects, after being partially
carried out, are stopped (particularly in the public sector) due to lack of funds leading to delay
in its implementation and cost escalation.
2. The estimated revenue to be generated from the project after being implemented is sufficient
to justify the project capital cost.
IV. SOCIAL:
1. The objective of the project is to serve common people through rural development,
education, health‐care etc.
2. It should be ensured that sufficient funds are available to maintain such project e.g. a hospital
built‐up and equipped with necessary machineries/apparatus could not be run in the absence
of funds to pay the doctors, nurses/maintenance staff etc.
PROJECT FORMULATION STAGE
I. PREPARATION OF PROJECT:
The Preparation of the Formulation phase can be divided into three sections:
1. the establishment of the formulation team and the necessary resources (financial,
administrative and logistics);
2. Terms of Reference writing;
3. Project plan preparation for the execution of formulation activities
II. ANALYSIS & DIGNOSIS:
In the diagnosis and analysis phase interpret the diverse aspects of the specific
situation with the project team. During this phase, the teams receive training to do with research and
analysis techniques, in order to perform the data collection (quantitative and qualitative) and exam
(analysis) and to determine the main causes of the situation (diagnosis). At the end of the phase,
each team has to indicate possible proposals to better the actual situation and answer the question:
Has what has to be done in the project situation been understood?
III. PROJECT DESIGN:
Taking as reference the conclusions achieved during the analysis and diagnosis phase,
the teams proceed in the design phase to a more detailed and precise project creation, in order to
come up with an inversion proposal. Every team has to proceed by putting emphasis on the system,
product and technology viability verification. Also they have to define the structure of the
organization of the project, its programming in time, managing dispositions, resources and cost and
benefit estimations. The main question to answer at the end of this phase is: Are we sure that we
know how to make this project work?
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IV. RESULT ASSESSMENT:
During the multi‐criteria Assessment phase the effects and impacts that may happen
to the project during execution will be examined. The results of this phase should guide the viability
‐technical, economical, financial, social and environmental‐ of the project. During this phase, the
following competence element will be specially dealt with: resources, cost and finance, business,
security, environment and ethics.
V. DOCUMENTATION:
The latest phase in project documentation, where all deliverables are found and the
report is presented. The synthesis capacity is essential to be able to properly communicate ‐before
external agents and colleagues‐ the information and issue a project judgment.
PROJECT PLANNING:
Project planning is part of project management, which relates to the use of schedules
such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment.
Project planning is a procedural step in project management, where required documentation is
created to ensure successful project completion. Documentation includes all actions required to
define, prepare, integrate and coordinate additional plans. The project plan clearly defines how the
project is executed, monitored, controlled and closed. Project planning requires an in‐depth analysis
and structuring of the following activities:
Setting project goals
Identifying project deliverables
Creating project schedules
Creating supporting plans
The project planning stage requires several inputs, including conceptual proposals,
project schedules, resource requirements/limitations and success metrics. Project planning begins
by setting the scope of a project and eventually working through each level of dependent actions,
tasks, checkpoints and deadlines. All of this information is integrated into Gantt charts, or other types
of scheduling charts, to provide a project overview for all involved parties. Project planning stage
identifies:
Road blocks in the project
Work required for project completion
People involved in the project and their key responsibilities
Minimum project completion time
Major project deliverables
Required project milestones
The five stages for developing the plan are:
I. UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS:
Before attempting to improve a process, ensure that every team member thoroughly
understand it. The team should find answers to the questions such as:
How does it work?
What is it supposed to do?
What are the best practices known pertaining the process?
II. ELIMINATE ERRORS:
While analyzing the process, the team may identify obvious errors that can be quickly
eliminated. Such errors must be eliminated before proceeding to the next stage.
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III. REMOVE SLACK:
In this stage, all the steps in the process are analyzed to determine whether they serve
any purpose and if so, what purpose they serve. In any organization, people may continue to use the
existing processes routinely without giving any thought to why things are done in a certain way,
whether they could be done better another way or whether they need to be done at all.
IV. REDUCE VARIATION:
Variation in a process may result from either common causes or special causes. Small
variations are caused by common causes which are always present in a process. Special causes result
in greater variation in performance and are not always present. Special causes for variations must be
identified and strategies formulated to eliminate those causes.
V. PLAN FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT:
Once the process is stabilized by removing the special causes using an appropriate
strategy, the improvement made must be incorporated on a continual basis so that continuous
improvement becomes a normal activity in the business. The “plan‐do‐check‐act” cycle is applicable
here. In. this approach, each time a problem or potential problem is identified, an improvement plan
is developed (plan), implemented (do, monitored (check) and refined as needed (act).
MAJOR COST COMPONENTS OF PROJECT:
I. FIXED COST:
Fixed costs, which typically represent approximately 10.5 percent of total costs, are
not updated, given that these costs are relatively constant from year to year. Specifically,
depreciation schedules are largely unchanged, and, while leases often have escalator clauses, the
interest on loans decreases each year due to amortization.
II. PROPERTY TAXES:
Property taxes, which only represent about 0.5 percent of total costs, are updated by
2 percent annually, in accordance with Proposition 13.
III. LABOUR COST:
Labor costs, which include salaries, wages, and benefits, are by far the majority of
long‐term care facility’s operating costs, and typically represent roughly 65 to 70 percent of total
costs. The update factor for labor is developed by Rate Development Branch staff using labor costs
reported by the facilities.
IV. ALL OTHER COST:
The remaining costs, the "all other" costs category, is usually about 24 percent of total
costs.
ESTIMATION OF COST OF PROJECT:
1. The MRP or production planning department of the concern works out the requirements and
specifications of the product/material.
2. To prepare a list of the components/parts of the product.
3. To take make and buy decisions about input requirements i.e., to decide which component
can be produced in the concern itself and which should be procured from outside market.
4. Planning department arranges the drawings; decides the methods to be used, and sequence
of operations, machines to be utilized; wage rates allowed to the workers in consultation with
Time and Motion study department and Wages department to the concern.
5. As per product design decide the accuracy and surface finish required.
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6. To determine the material cost by calculating the quantities of various input materials
required.
7. To determine the time required for performing various operations with the help of Time and
Motion study and by providing suitable allowances.
8. Calculate the labour cost by considering the wage rate applicable for various categories of
employees and other operators employed for manufacturing the product.
9. Calculate the prime cost of the product by adding all direct expenses to the direct material
and direct labour costs.
10. Calculate the factory overheads i.e., depreciation costs and expenditure on repair and
maintenance of the unit/plant, insurance, water and power etc.
11. Determine the administrative overheads after consideration of the policy of the plant for
calculating these expenses, (may be by percentage or by hourly rate or by unit rate).
12. . Calculate the packing and delivery overheads etc.
13. Then determine the total cost.
14. Determine the sales price of the product by adding the desired profit to the total cost and
taking into consideration the discount to be provided to the distributors.
15. To decide the date of delivery in consultation with production and sales departments of the
concern.
ATTRIBUTES OF GOOD PROJECT MANAGER:
1. Effective communication skill.
2. Strong leadership skill.
3. Good decision maker.
4. Technical expertise.
5. Inspires a shared vision.
6. Team building skill.
7. Cool under pressure and problem solving skill.
8. Good negotiation skill.
9. Empathetic.
10. Competence.
11. Well organized.
CONFLICT RESOLVING CAPACITY WITHIN ORGANIZATION:
1. Planning & organizing
2. Personnel management
3. Ability to solve problem
4. Management skill
5. Ambition for achievement
6. Ability to take suggestion
7. Sympathetic attitude
8. Ability to develop alternative course of action
9. Knowledge of project management tools and techniques
10. Ability to make self‐evaluation
11. Effective time management
12. Fair for sense of humor
13. Ability to solve problem without postponing
14. Ability to take risk
15. Familiarity to organization
16. Tolerance for different delay, option and ambiguity
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TAXONOMY/ TYPES OF PROJECT
TAXANOMY: it refers to the science of classifying things by naming and identifying them.
I. BASED ON THE TYPE OF ACTIVITY:
1. INDUSTRIAL PROJECT
Industrial projects are set up for the production of goods.
2. NON‐INDUSTRIAL PROJECT
Non‐industrial projects are normally made by the government and the benefit from
such project are enjoyed by the society. It is difficult to quantify the benefits enjoyed by the society
by non‐ industrial project and irrigation. Ex‐ health care, highway, soil conversion project.
II. BASED ON THE LOCATION OF PROJECT:
1. NATIONAL PROJECT
National projects are those set up within the national boundaries of a country.
2. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
International projects are set up in another country either by government or any other
private organization.
III. BASED ON THE PROJECT COMPLITATION OF THE TIME:
1. NORMAL PROJECT
Normal projects are those for which there is no constrain of time.
2. CRASH PROJECT
Crash project are those which are to be completed within a stipulated time period.
IV. BASED ON THE OWNERSHIP
1. GOVERNMENT PROJECTS
Those projects which are under the ownership of government are called government
project.
2. PRIVATE PROJECT
Those projects which are under the ownership of private sector are called private
project.
V. BASED ON THE SIZE:
1. LARGE PROJECT
2. SMALL PROJECT
VI. BASED ON THE NEED:
1. NEW PROJECT
New project, idea conceited and implemented to meet customers need, such concept
of business can be varied finding a gap in terms of needs for goods and services and filling the gap.
2. BALANCING PROJECT
Projects in general have many production units that are linked with each other. The
flow of material through different production units shall be such that the output of one production
unit exactly match with the input requirements for the subsequent production unit. So that the
efficiency in the production life will be maximum. There will be no under‐utilization of production
capacity.
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3. EXPANSION PROJECT
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UNIT‐2
PROJECT PLANNING:
1. Planning is directed to answer what need be done, when, and at what cost.
2. Plans and specifications should be clearly understood weeding out confusion, if any.
3. The Project Team members to understand the team organization and key issues with clear
perspective and demonstrate commitment, as such, leading to harmonizing the team efforts.
The project planning is shown diagrammatically as below (harmonizing the
specifications and planning):
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UNIT‐3
PROJECT REPORT:
As the identification and intention for the implementation of the project grow, the
depth of the study for the probable project increases. Further analyses of the details relevant to such
a project become imperative.
We know that the feasibility report contains sufficient detailed information. It is from
the study of the pre‐feasibility or feasibility report that approval is made by the project owner (an
individual or a project director/manager or the management of a company) for the investment on
the project or for a request to prepare the DPR.
Preparation of DPR is a costly and time‐taking job (which may even extend to one year)
when reports of specialists from different streams like market research, engineering (civil,
mechanical, metallurgical, electrical, electronics), finance etc.—as relevant to the project itself—are
considered in the DPR.
TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN ASPECTS OF DETAILED PROJECT REPORT (DPR):
Experience suggests that some projects are launched with clear objectives but with
considerable uncertainty as to whether or how they will be technically achievable, not leading to
project overruns. The DPR should deal with minimum technical uncertainties and the specialists’
findings/report in this area becomes helpful.
Innovative designs are found to be tougher than even the technical uncertainties—
designs, as such, may appear innocuous and less costly but later, in reality, may be found completely
different. Hence the DPR should deal with Technology and Design which have already been tested,
thus minimizing the technical risk.
Before going to overseas technical collaborator the repertoire of established
technology available within the country should be explored. It would be both cheaper and
nationalistic!
1. ECONOMIC ASPECTS:
i. The location of the plant, the benefit for such location including the available infrastructure
facilities
ii. The volume of the project, the capacity installed;
iii. The availability of the resources and the utilization of such resources in a comparatively
beneficial manner, e.g. the ‘internal rate of return’ projected as compared to the possible rate
of return on investment from the market without inherent risks.
2. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS:
Public attitude towards a project is becoming increasingly important—the
displacement of people (Joint venture project for a major port at Gopalpur, TISCO’s expansion project
at Gopalpur) and the concerned public attitude towards, the implementation of such a project can
be very serious. The environmental pollution, the ecological balance (or imbalance?), the potential
employment all are of important considerations in the DPR.
The importance of ‘politics’ in a major project cannot be ignored—where the political
considerations dominate. The ideal condition is that the project owners/management should be left
to manage while the government should provide the necessary conditions to make it a success. But,
in reality, the assurance/commitments are often politically motivated even before the finalization of
the DPR. Accordingly, the DPR should recognize this risky game.
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3. FINANCIAL ASPECTS:
The prime importance of a project is the assurance of the timely availability of funds/
resources. The availability of funds is to be ensured throughout, i.e. during the implementation
period as well as during the second part of the project when it is supposed to start generating
income/benefit.
Whether such generation of income/benefit will be sufficient for the servicing of the
borrowed funds to pay interest and also the repayment of principal as also the expected income from
the owner’s capital invested in the project; whether such return on investment is adequate and, also,
in excess of other possible incomes from such funds without taking the risk—these are the valid
questions to be answered by the DPR.
DETAILED PROJECT REPORT FOR PROJECT:
I.
BACKGROUND:
1. ORGANISATION:
A Greenfield project to be launched by Indian promoters in partnership with a foreign
company renowned in the relevant business along with their equity participation and a
representation in the company’s board.
2. PRODUCT:
Manufacture of products Q, R, S etc. are mainly used in the medical field. These
products are not currently manufactured in India, except one or two units with quality reportedly
inferior to international standard. Hence, there is a need and opportunity felt by the promoters, as
the project is favorable for the saving of foreign exchange.
3. TECHNICAL KNOW‐HOW:
The know‐how, along with the supply of the major plant and machineries, are to be
provided by the foreign partner, who is well experienced in this field. The required training of key
personnel will also be provided by the collaborator. ‘The participation in equity by the foreign
company and also the terms of the ‘know‐how agreement’ have been approved by the concerned
authorities. The collaborator is ready to buy‐back the entire production, but it has been agreed that
about 20% of the total production will be marketed in India. In view of this, the company has been
identified as an Export Oriented Unit (EOU).
II. PROJECT AT A GLANCE:
1. Product
2. Capacity
3. Production
4. Sales
5. Project costs
6. Source of financing
III. REPORT ON THE MARKET RESEARCH:
1. Expected volume of the market and its growth;
2. Expected volume of the market share;
3. The possible marketing channels and the need for the specific background of the dealers;
4. The dealers’ expectation about their commission, discounts etc.;
5. The credit period to be extended to the dealers, major customers etc., the prevailing market
trend in this area;
6. The requirement of service after sales;
7. The behavioral pattern of the ultimate customers and their reaction to the availability of such
products. (This is a delicate area and depends upon the sectors of the customers to whom the
product is addressed housewives, executives, professionals, doctors etc. In the project under
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discussion, the customers are primarily the doctors who are interested in the usage of the Q,
R, S etc. for medical instruments
8. The competitors, their strength and weakness and their market share.
IV. TECHNICAL DETAILS:
1. Products
2. Manufacturing process
3. Plant layout
V. PLANT AND MACHINERY
VI. PROJECT SCHEDULE
VII. ORGANISATION
VIII. PROJECT COSTS AND SOURCE OF FINANCE
IX. PROJECT REPORT IN ‘OFFER DOCUMENT’ INVITING THE PUBLIC FOR SUBSCRIPTION TO THE
ORGANISATION IMPLEMENTING A PROJECT
PROJECT APPRAISAL:
When an organization wants to find a solution to a particular business problem and
identify the best way for implementing that solution, it needs to plan and develop a project that
might provide an effective action plan for addressing the problem through implementing the
solution. This organization will need to give an appraisal of the potential project to make sure the
project is really effective because it supports the right solution and solves the required problem. In
this context, project appraisal management serves as the major process of analyzing and approving
the project. In this article, I am going to write about the project appraisal process and its key steps. I
hope my article will help you learn how to evaluate and appraise projects. At the end of the article I
give a link to the project appraisal template, which is a more structured way of explaining the
appraising process.
Project Appraisal is a consistent process of reviewing a given project and evaluating
its content to approve or reject this project, through analyzing the problem or need to be addressed
by the project, generating solution options (alternatives) for solving the problem, selecting the most
feasible option, conducting a feasibility analysis of that option, creating the solution statement, and
identifying all people and organizations concerned with or affected by the project and its expected
outcomes. It is an attempt to justify the project through analysis, which is a way to determine project
feasibility and cost‐effectiveness.
STEPS:
1. CONCEPT ANALYSIS:
The first step requires you (as a project appraiser or analyst) to conduct a range of
analyses in order to determine the concept of the future project and provide the Decision Package
for the senior management (project sponsors) for approval. It means you need to carry out the
problem‐solution analysis that determines the problem/need to be addressed and the solution to be
used to handle the problem. The solution should analyzed by cost‐effectiveness and feasibility
(various project appraisal methods and techniques can be used). Also you will need to identify
stakeholders (those people and organizations involved in or affected by the problem and/or solution)
and analyze their needs (how they relate to the problem and/or solution). After all, you must develop
a decision package that includes the problem statement, the solution proposal, the stakeholder list,
and the funding request. This package will then be submitted to the sponsor for approval (or
rejection). If the sponsor approves the project concept then you can proceed to the next step.
2. CONCEPT BRIEF:
At this step you must develop a summary of the project concept to define the goals,
objectives, broad scope, time duration and projected costs. All this data will be used to develop the
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Concept Brief. You need to develop a project statement document that specifies the project mission,
goals, objectives and vision. Then you create a broad scope statement that specifies the boundaries,
deliverables ad requirements of your endeavor. Finally you make a preliminary schedule template
that determines an estimated duration of the project, and then develop a cost projection document
based on cost estimates and calculations.
3. PROJECT ORGANIZATION:
You use the Concept Brief to determine an organizational structure of your project.
This structure should be developed and explained in the Project Organizational Chart. The document
covers such issues as governance structure (roles and responsibilities), team requirements and
composition, implementation approach, performance measures, other info. The idea behind the
Project Organizational Chart is to create a visual representation of the roles, responsibilities and their
relationships and what people/organizations are assigned to what roles and duties within the project.
4. Project Approval:
The final stage requires you to review all the previous steps and gather them into a
single document called the Project Appraisal. This document summarizes all the estimations and
evaluations made, to justify the project concept and verify that the proposed solution addresses the
identified problem. The financial, the cost‐effectiveness and the feasibility analyses will serve as the
methods of project appraisal to approve the project. The document is to be submitted to the snooper
stakeholders (the customer, the sponsor) for review and approval. If the appraisal is approved, then
the project steps to the next phase, the planning.
ANALSIS:
1. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS:
Under economic analysis, the project aspects highlighted include requirements for
raw material, level of capacity utilization, anticipated sales, anticipated expenses and the probable
profits. It is said that a business should have always a volume of profit clearly in view which will govern
other economic variables like sales, purchases, expenses and alike.
It will have to be calculated how much sales would be necessary to earn the targeted
profit. Undoubtedly, demand for the product will be estimated for anticipating sales volume.
Therefore, demand for the product needs to be carefully spelled out as it is, to a great extent, deciding
factor of feasibility of the project concern.
In addition to above, the location of the enterprise decided after considering a gamut
of points also needs to be mentioned in the project. The Government policies in this regard should
be taken into consideration. The Government offers specific incentives and concessions for setting
up industries in notified backward areas. Therefore, it has to be ascertained whether the proposed
enterprise comes under this category or not and whether the Government has already decided any
specific location for this kind of enterprise.
2. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS:
i. Assessment of the financial requirements both – fixed capital and working capital need to be
properly made. You might be knowing that fixed capital normally called ‘fixed assets’ are
those tangible and material facilities which purchased once are used again and again. Land
and buildings, plants and machinery, and equipment’s are the familiar examples of fixed
assets/fixed capital. The requirement for fixed assets/capital will vary from enterprise to
enterprise depending upon the type of operation, scale of operation and time when the
investment is made. But, while assessing the fixed capital requirements, all items relating to
the asset like the cost of the asset, architect and engineer’s fees, electrification and
installation charges (which normally come to 10 per cent of the value of machinery),
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depreciation, pre‐operation expenses of trial runs, etc., should be duly taken into
consideration. Similarly, if any expense is to be incurred in remodeling, repair and additions
of buildings should also be highlighted in the project report.
ii. In accounting, working capital means excess of current assets over current liabilities.
Generally, 2: 1 is considered as the optimum current ratio. Current assets refer to those assets
which can be converted into cash within a period of one week. Current liabilities refer to those
obligations which can be payable within a period of one week. In short, working capital is that
amount of funds which is needed in day today’s business operations. In other words, it is like
circulating money changing from cash to inventories and from inventories to receivables and
again converted into cash.
This circle goes on and on. Thus, working capital serves as a lubricant for any
enterprise, be it large or small. Therefore, the requirements of working capital should be clearly
provided for. Inadequacy of working capital may not only adversely affect the operation of the
enterprise but also bring the enterprise to a grinding halt.
The activity level of an enterprise expressed as capacity utilization, needs to be well
spelt out in the business plan or project report. However, the enterprise sometimes fails to achieve
the targeted level of capacity due to various business vicissitudes like unforeseen shortage of raw
material, unexpected disruption in power supply, inability to penetrate the market mechanism, etc.
Then, a question arises to what extent and enterprise should continue its production
to meet all its obligations/liabilities. ‘Break‐even analysis’ (BEP) gives an answer to it. In brief, break‐
even analysis indicates the level of production at which there is neither profit nor loss in the
enterprise. This level of production is, accordingly, called ‘break‐even level’.
3. MARKET ANALYSIS:
Before the production actually starts, the entrepreneur needs to anticipate the
possible market for the product. He/she has to anticipate who will be the possible customers for his
product and where and when his product will be sold. There is a trite saying in this regard: “The
manufacturer of an iron nails must know who will buy his iron nails.”
This is because production has no value for the producer unless it is sold. It is said that
if the proof of pudding lies in eating, the proof of all production lies in marketing/ consumptio. In
fact, the potential of the market constitutes the determinant of probable rewards from
entrepreneurial career.
Thus, knowing the anticipated market for the product to be produced becomes an
important element in every business plan. The various methods used to anticipate the potential
market, what is named in ‘Managerial Economics’ as ‘demand forecasting’, range from the naive to
sophisticated ones.
i. OPINION POLLING METHOD:
In this method, the opinions of the ultimate users, i.e. customers of the product are
estimated. This may be attempted with the help of either a complete survey of all customers (called,
complete enumeration) or by selecting a few consuming units out of the relevant population (called,
sample survey).
a. COMPLETE ENUMERATION SURVEY:
In this survey, all the probable customers of the product are approached and their
probable demands for the product are estimated and then summed. Estimating sales under this
method is very simple. It is obtained by simply adding the probable demands of all customers. An
example should make it clear. Suppose, there are total N customers of X product and everybody will
demand for D numbers of it. Then, the total anticipated demand will be:
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N ∑ i=1 DiN
Though the principle merit of this method is that it obtains the first‐hand and unbiased
information, yet it is beset with some disadvantages also. For example, to approach a large number
of customers scattered all over market becomes tedious, costly and cumbersome. Added to this, the
consumers themselves may not divulge their purchase plans due to the reasons like their personal as
well commercial/business privacies.
b. SAMPLE SURVEY:
Under this method, only some number of consumers out of their total population is
approached and data on their probable demands for the product during the forecast period are
collected and summed. The total demand of sample customers is finally blown up to generate the
total demand for the product. Let this also be explained with an example.
Imagine, there are 1000 customers of a product spread over the Faridabad market.
Out of these, 50 are selected for survey using stratified method. Now, if the estimated demand of
these sample customers is Di, i.e., it refers to 1 2 3….50, the total demand for the entire group of
customers will be
50 ∑ ni Di = n1 D1 +n2D2 + n3 D3…….. n50 D50
Where n, is the number of customers in group i, and n1 +n2 + n3….n50 = 1000.
But, if all the 1000 customers of the group are alike, then the selection may be done
on a random basis and total demand for the group will be:
(D1 D2 + D3 +D4…D5) 1000 /50
No doubt, survey method is less costly and tedious than the complete enumeration
method.
c. SALES EXPERIENCE METHOD:
Under this method, a sample market is surveyed before the new product is offered for
sale. The results of the market surveyed are then projected to the universe in order to anticipate the
total demand for the product.
In principle, the survey market should be the true representative of the national
market which is not always true. Suppose, if Delhi is selected as a sample market, it may not be a true
representative of a small place, say Silchar in Assam simply because the characteristic features of
Delhi are altogether different from those of a small town like Silchar.
Again, if we select Agra as a sample market, sales in Agra would be influenced by the
size of the floating tourist’s population throughout the year. But this feature is not experienced by
many other places again like Silchar in Assam.
d. VICARIOUS METHOD:
Under the vicarious method, the consumers of the product are not approached
directly but indirectly through some dealers who have a feel of their customers. The dealers’ opinions
about the customers’ opinion are elicited. Being based on dealers’ opinions, the method is bound to
suffer from the bias on the part of the dealers. Then, the results derived are likely to be unrealistic.
However, these hang‐ups are not avoidable also.
ii. LIFE CYCLE SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS:
It is well established that like a man, every product has its own life span. In practice, a
product sells slowly in the beginning. Backed by sales promotion strategies over period, its sales pick
up. In the due course of time, the peak sale is reached. After that point, the sales begin to decline.
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After, some time, the product loses its demand and dies. This is natural death of a product. Thus,
every product passes through its ‘life cycle’. This is precisely the reason why firms go for new products
one after another to keep themselves alive.
Based on above, the product life cycle has been divided into the following five stages:
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Saturation
Decline
Sales units
Saturation
Introduction growth maturity decline
(Time period)
4. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY:
While making project appraisal, the technical feasibility of the project also needs to
be taken into consideration. In the simplest sense, technical feasibility implies to mean the adequacy
of the proposed plant and equipment to produce the product within the prescribed norms. As regards
know‐how, it denotes the availability or otherwise of a fund of knowledge to run the proposed plants
and machinery.
It should be ensured whether that know‐how is available with the entrepreneur or is
to be procured from elsewhere. In the latter case, arrangement made to procure it should be clearly
checked up. If project requires any collaboration, then, the terms and conditions of the collaboration
should also be spelt out comprehensively and carefully.
In case of foreign technical collaboration, one needs to be aware of the legal
provisions in force from time to time specifying the list of products for which only such collaboration
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is allowed under specific terms and conditions. The entrepreneur, therefore, contemplating for
foreign collaboration should check these legal provisions with reference to their projects.
While assessing the technical feasibility of the project, the following inputs covered in
the project should also be taken into consideration:
Availability of land and site.
Availability of other inputs like water, power, transport, communication facilities.
Availability of servicing facilities like machine shops, electric repair shop, etc.
Coping‐with anti‐pollution law.
Availability of work force as per required skill and arrangements proposed for training‐
in‐plant and outside.
Availability of required raw material as per quantity and quality.
5. MANAGEMENT COMPETENCE:
Management ability or competence plays an important role in making an enterprise a
success or otherwise. Strictly speaking, in the absence of managerial competence, the projects which
are otherwise feasible may fail.
On the contrary, even a poor project may become a successful one with good
managerial ability. Hence, while doing project appraisal, the managerial competence or talent of the
promoter should be taken into consideration.
Research studies report that most of the enterprises fall sick because of lack of
managerial competence or mismanagement. This is more so in case of small‐scale enterprises where
the proprietor is all in all, i.e., owner as well as manager. Due to his one‐man show, he may be jack
of all but master of none.
BREAK EVEN ANALYSIS:
Break‐even analysis is used to determine the point at which revenue received equals
the costs associated with receiving the revenue. Break‐even analysis calculates what is known as a
margin of safety, the amount that revenues exceed the break‐even point. This is the amount that
revenues can fall while still staying above the break‐even point. Break‐even analysis is a supply‐side
analysis; it only analyzes the costs of the sales. It does not analyze how demand may be affected at
different price levels.
Another form of financial analysis is breakeven analysis. It is a technique for finding a
point at which a project will cover its costs, or break even. It is often used to make an initial decision
on whether to proceed with a project. Breakeven analysis is also a technique of financial control in
the sense that further analyses may be necessary as conditions change.
For example, an initial breakeven analysis may have indicated that sales of 80,000
units would be needed for a division to breakeven. Midway through the project, however, material
costs could rise, anticipated demand could change, or price for the product could drop.
Any or all of these changes would alter the breakeven point. This in turn would signal
to the organisation that it might wish to cancel the project to minimize losses. Hence, breakeven
analysis can be used initially for decision‐making and later for control.
BREAK‐EVEN CHART:
The objective of most private firms is to make profits — or at least to avoid losses. All
business firms need to know at what point their sales revenue or income will permit them to meet
all their obligations — fixed (contractual) and variable (non‐contractual). This point is called the
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breakeven point. They are also interested in knowing at what point income from sales will exceed
expenses, thus yielding a profit.
Break‐even analysis, also known as cost‐volume‐profit analysis, is a useful tool that
permits firms to visualize more clearly the revenue‐cost relation‐ship at different levels of output. It
is based on certain concepts used in pre‐paring a variable budget.
The objective of break‐even analysis is to show diagrammatically revenues and costs
to determine at what volume (of produc‐tion or sales) a company’s total costs equal total revenues,
leaving neither profit nor loss.
COMPUTING THE BREAK‐EVEN POINT:
The break‐even point (BEP) is the point on a chart at which total revenue ex‐actly
equals total costs (fixed and vari‐able), Fig. 18.5 illustrates how the BEP is computed.
There are three main elements in the chart: total fixed costs, variable costs connected
with each unit of production, and total revenue or income connected with each unit of production,
and total revenue or income connected with each unit of sales.
In our example total fixed cost is Rs.10, 000 at all levels of output. We superimpose
the total variable cost curve on the total fixed cost curve. The total revenue curve starts from the
origin. It is plotted by multiplying the number of units sold by the unit price.
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It intersects the total cost curve at a point which corresponds to 500 units of output.
This is the break‐even point, at which there is neither profit nor loss. Fig.18.7 illustrates this
relationship in a simplified form.
There are different ways of calculating the BEP‐ Normally it is computed by dividing
fixed costs by the difference between the sales price per unit and the variable cost per unit.
Break‐even point (in units) = Total fixed costs/Sales price per unit – Variable cost per
unit
Suppose fixed costs are Rs.10,000 and variable costs per unit is Rs.20 for a commodity
and the selling price is Rs.40.
Therefore, BEP = Rs. 10,000/Rs. 40 – Rs. 20 = 500 units as shown in Fig. 18.5.
USE OF BREAK‐EVEN ANALYSIS:
Break‐even analysis enables producers to determine the effect of various changes in
costs and sales revenue on their availability of capital and helps them to set optimum or maximum
selling prices. As a control technique, break‐even analysis provides an objective measurement by
which to evaluate the performance of an organisation and provides a basis for possible corrective
action.
One proxi‐mate cause of a high BEP is high investment in fixed assets. Management
can locate or identify this point before deciding to invest in a new building or machine. Again, a firm
may incur losses due to inadequate control of expenses. Break‐even analysis can help management
to detect increases in variable costs before they get out of control.
It may, however, be noted that all costs and selling prices are not entirely under the
control of a procedure. Actions by competitors, suppliers, carriers, governments and changes in
consumer preferences can affect costs and selling prices, as well as sales volumes at any given time.
Changes in any of these variables can be plotted arid the net effect determined at a glance.
Managers can use break‐even analysis to study the relationships among cost, sales
volume, and profits. The break‐even quantity does not remain fixed for ever. Thus output has to be
shifted to the right if more profit is desired. Break‐even analysis also provides a rough estimate of
profit or loss at various sales volumes.
As an aid to decision making break‐even analysis can;
Identify the sales volume needed to prevent a loss,
Identify the minimum production and sales volume needed to meet established objectives,
Provide data to help decide whether to add or drop a product from the product line, and
Help decide whether to raise or lower prices.
LIMITATIONS IN ITS USE:
The very simplicity of break‐even analysis is its major limitation. In practice we observe
that cost and revenue functions are not linear, as specified in Fig.18.5. This is based on the
assumption that variable cost per unit, total fixed costs and selling price per unit are all fixed.
But if these vary with output changes the cost and revenue functions may appear to
be non‐linear. In such cases we have two break points and the virtue of our analysis is partly lost.
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Secondly, break‐even analysis is based on the assumption that fixed and variable costs
can be separated and classified. But in practice it is difficult to determine whether a cost is fixed or
variable. For example, machinery is considered a fixed expense, but if it is operating at capacity and
production is to be increased, it is no longer fixed.
The producer will have to buy or rent additional machinery to increase the volume of
production. Also — due to wage fluctuations and changes in prices of raw materials — variable costs
change greatly.
PROFITABLE ANALYSIS:
Profitability Analysis is a very essential branch of financial analysis and a must study
of Financial Modeling. Anyone looking forward towards attaining a Financial Modeling certification
needs to have firm knowledge about the concept. Let’s discuss the basics of profitability in this post.
Profitability analysis is a branch of financial analysis that consists in putting measures
of profit into perspective. As for example: a company that has made a profit of $1m in year 2011
doesn’t tell us much about how good its performance was, which effort was deployed to achieve this
performance or what level of capital the company operates with to attain such a profit level.
Profitability analysis shed some lights on those aspects.
Also due to the need for a relative measure of profit rather than absolute profitability
analysis is essential. At a fundamental level investors need a sound measure of how good an
investment is compared to another one. The concept of internal rate of return or IRR is such a
measure.
One of the influencing factors of profitability is costs. Costs impact profit directly and
for this reason, a good understanding of costs structures can help to increase profitability.
Profitability of a particular project is usually a fairly objective measure. When a company already has
several projects on its business, the profitability of a new project can result from synergies and
diversification with existing projects. This is called relative profitability. Few of the major factors that
come within profitability analysis are stated as below.
Projection of the project budget:
The basic characteristic of each project is a triple limit, expressed through the scope
(area) of the project, time (duration) and budget (costs), so that each of these items affects
significantly the quality.
TIME COST
QUALITY
SCOPE
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Changing each item will have a significant impact on quality, with simultaneous change
and other parameters, in all stages and on the complete project. As the scope, time and quality are
factors of a different character, the budget often appears as a decisive factor in the planning and
implementation of the project (Barkley & Saylor, p.83).
A particular problem in the realization of each project, but also in the budget planning
is one of the key characteristics of the project ‐ that each project is a unique venture, whose results
are always unique products and services, and which is realized in a unique way, in unique conditions,
with unique resources, etc.
For long, costly and complex projects, it is not always easy to estimate the project
budget, especially if the market conditions are not stable (Khoury, pp.1‐3). Nevertheless, it is certainly
a good parametric assessment, based on real market data on the price of products and services
needed for the realization of the activities, every phase or project as a whole.
Also, an expert assessment can be very reliable, based on an expert's assessment for
specific areas.
An experienced assessment also provides great reliability, and is based on experiential
data from the realization of previous, similar projects.
I. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS:
The cost‐effectiveness of the project can be seen from many angles, depending on the
nature of the project, but also on the indirect impacts on the development of a particular area or
from the indirect revenues that result from the project.
The quantitative analysis is one of the basic elements in deciding to start a project, but
also to analyze the justification of choosing one out of several offered projects. It is based on
expected (estimated, planned) investments ‐ expenditures, and estimated revenues in a given period
The return on investment for certain projects may be after a very long period,
depending on the nature of the project and the area in which it is being implemented. Regardless of
the nature of the project, each investor will be of great importance for the return on the investment
rate, the return period of investments, the net present value of the realized profit, and the rate at
which returns would be returned.
Different questions and dilemmas can be posed for certain cases: how long will be the
return of the investment return, or when the net balance, i.e. the total amount of cash flows, will
arise; when profits will start to appear; whether the return on investment is greater than the interest
rate that we could achieve in the banking or investment sector.
A characteristic case is projects that are not directly profitable, but they represent the
entrance to subsequent projects. In this case, the cost effectiveness of the project will not be
measurable through investment parameters, nor in the case when the completion of the project is
realized as one‐time income,
II. INVESTMENT INDICATORS:
When deciding on one of several investments, i.e. when choosing one of several
potential projects, it is not enough to consider only one parameter. If one attempts to analyze one
of the essential parameters, one of the remaining ones will very soon come to light, which will point
to some limitation, or to a more favorable variant of the project implementation.
The quantitative analysis is one of the basic elements in deciding to start the project,
but also to analyze the justification of the choice of one of several offered projects. It is based on
expected (estimated, planned) investments ‐ expenditures, and estimated revenues in a given period.
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The cost‐benefit analysis of the project must take into account consideration of the
following parameters:
‐ DR (Discount Rate)
‐ ROI (Return on Investment)
‐ IRR (Internal Rate of Return)
‐ NPV (Net Present Value)
‐ PbP (Payback Period)
1. DR‐ Discount Rate:
In real business, the discount rate will represent the highest rate at which we can place
certain funds. It can be practically determined as the highest interest rate that can be achieved on
the market. In the analysis of the cost‐effectiveness of the project, there is no direct significance for
analyzing the financial effects of a particular project, but in decision making for the launch of the
project, it plays a major role. If it is a unique project, which is not followed by another project, a very
important information can be information on the amount of returns, i.e. about the rate at which
resources are returned. The discount rate of 8% was taken as a case.
2. ROI‐ Return of Investment:
For a large number of projects, investors are in the first place interested in returning
the investment, or in that sense, at the rate at which the capital invested will be returned. In other
words, ROI is the rate at which the sum of the discounted values will be equal to the initial
investment, i.e. when the total cash flow is equal to zero. Viewed through the planned costs and
revenues, it represents the share of profit in the overall investment, i.e. the return of funds for one
invested monetary unit.
ROI = ∗ 100%
3. IRR‐ Internal Rate of Return:
The internal rate of return on investment gives a realistic picture of the return on
investment. It shows the rate at which the invested investment would bring profit during the
observed period. It represents one of the important parameters when deciding and selecting an
investment project. A definite prerequisite for accepting a project is that the IRR is higher than the
discount rate, which would mean that the realization of the project will bring more profit over a
certain period of time than simply investing in a bank or investment fund.
4. NPV‐ Net Present Value:
The net present value of money represents the discounted value of cash flows in each
income period. Practically, the individual values of discounted cash flows would represent an amount
that would, with an interest rate equal to the discount rate, give rise to the value of the cash flow. It
would certainly be positive that the net present value (NPV) is higher than the value of the initial
investment, which would show that we made profit, i.e. that the sum of the value of cash flows (PV‐
Present Value) reduced to today's value has a value higher than the initial investment. This would
mean that on this day we would have more money than what we have invested in the development
of a project.
NPV= ⋯
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5. PbP‐ Payback Period
A very important factor in deciding on one of several offered projects or investment
programs is the time of return of the investment. The moment of return of the investment is the
cutoff point of cumulative expenditures and cumulative revenues, i.e. the moment when the
cumulative cash flow becomes positive, since at that moment cumulative revenues start exceeding
cumulative expenditures.
SOCIAL COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS:
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