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The Nature of Projects

This handbook is all about managing projects in BP. Although the word project is commonly used, we need to be sure we have a common understanding of what a project is and what makes it special. Once we know what makes a project different from other activities, we can start to understand and manage the typical problems and risks associated with projects.

What is a project ?

A project is a set of activities that:

• Lead towards a specified objective

• Have a definite start and finish

• Consume resources (people, equipment, money)

A project is a one-off, non-routine, non-repetitive undertaking（三NO）. Thus, constructing a new process unit is a project, because only one unit is being constructed, it is not a regular activity and it will not be built a second time. Even when we duplicate a design in different locations, there will always be some factors (e.g. local infrastructure, partners, etc.) that make the new project just that little bit different. On the other hand, the production of a product using the process unit is not a project (because it is not one off, it is routine and it is done every day for many years).

Projects cover a wide range of activities. At one end of the scale, a project could be to construct an offshore production facility to develop a new oil or gas field, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. At the other end of the scale, it could be redecorating重行装饰 your office.

Obviously, the size and complexity of a project is one of the main things that affect how easy it is to manage. At the bottom end of the scale, we do not even bother to think of some activities as being a project. Therefore, when we think of project management, we are really concentrating on those projects that require the efforts of more than one person, working over at least a number of months.

工程的首要目标All projects have exactly the same aims; to achieve the specified objectives

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The Nature of Projects

within the agreed cost and within the agreed time. The specified objectives will include various performance and capacity requirements不同的运行参数及能力要求. There will also be an agreed budget and schedule which the project must work within.

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Projects

What is special about a project ?

The nature of a project gives it special characteristics which are different to other, routine activities.

• Specified Objective: Each project requires a clear objective. However, because of the one-off nature of projects, it may not be easy to define what is required at the outset. It will certainly not be possible to define a precise and accurate path to get to the objective. In joint venture projects, the objectives of each of the partners may not always be the same!

• Definite Start and Finish: By nature, a project is a temporary arrangement. It comes into being to meet the specified objective and then ends. Its life can be a few months or many years. This means that people have to be brought together to rapidly form effective teams which are disbanded when the project is complete. The need to complete the project in the shortest time possible also impacts on many of the project activities. Few projects have the luxury of taking time over decisions or waiting for more detailed studies before taking action.

• One-off, non-routine: Generally, projects are essentially one-off enterprises. Although we

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Projects

may build a number of offshore production platforms, each one is different, with different field characteristics and uses different technologies, contractors and project teams. Experience is difficult to carry forward转嫁from project to project. For large projects with a long lifetime, the project personnel will only have experience of a few large projects in their entire working lives. This means that each project has a considerable learning curve. As the project progresses through its lifecycle, its nature will chanhave to change to be appropriate to the demands of the current project phase.

• Non-repetitive: In a repetitive production process, errors can be corrected by tweaking the process and getting improved widgets off the assembly line装配线 tomorrow. However, errors made at any stage of a project may not become apparent until later. By then, rectification改正 may be expensive or even impossible.

• Multi-disciplinary: Even the smallest projects will require different skills. For example, a small revamp in a refinery will involve process engineers, mechanical engineers, instrument engineers and electrical engineers. Not only do we need to have effective communications and co-ordination across the different disciplines, but we need to bring together people from many different backgrounds into a single, cohesive内聚的 and effective team. Very quickly.

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Projects

What can we learn ?

First of all, we must recognise that we cannot give a simple set of guidelines that will inevitably lead to project success. Projects are too diverse and too complex to do that. We can give some general principles that we know work well, based on our collective experience. We can also give guidance on the sort of issues that will arise so that you can be prepared for them. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we can give you the means to access networks within BP to get hold of the best experience and support.

How Projects in BP Have Changed

Over the past few years, the way in which Projects within BP have been managed have changed significantly显著地. In the past, major projects would have a large BP team matched with an even larger contractor team. The general approach was to have strong technical direction from BP, using BP standards and a combative好斗的 contract strategy where everything the contractors did was subject to detailed scrutiny仔细检查.

Today, prompted激励 by business needs in the 1990s and supported by cross-industry

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Projects

initiatives (such as the UK government’s CRINE1 initiative), the management of many projects is significantly different.

Projects are based on the following principles:

• All parties in a project have something to gain from its success and should share the rewards of project success.

• There are many sources of expertise available which can be exploited, in design contractors, consultants, equipment vendors and of course within the BP Group.

• Much equipment can be purchased according to industry, national and international standards more competitively. Similarly, vendor standard products can often meet the technical requirements in the most cost effective最佳费效比的 manner.

These principles lead on to very different project structures, such as Alliances2 and a very different role for BP. We no longer ‘shadow’ specialist discipline engineers in the

1

More information http://www.crne.com/network/welcome/frame.ht 2 See Chapter 12

on CRINE is available on the internet at

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Projects

contractors’ offices. We no longer impose design solutions. Most important of all, we share the responsibilities, the risks and the rewards of the project.总的来说，我们将共享责任、风险、利益（3R）。

The first version of this handbook was written at a time when projects were directly managed by BP. In some cases, typically for some works-based projects, this approach is still relevant. Therefore, this

re-write has tried to bring in new information and guidance based on current approaches. Very often, the guidelines and information are still relevant to the new approach because the tasks described still have to be done. The key point is that the responsibility for the tasks is no longer just the BP Project Team’s.

Therefore, when you read this handbook, do not assume that the guidance, information and tasks refer only to BP personnel. Very often, the responsibility will be someone’s who is not employed directly by BP, but who still has responsibility to the project and can expect rewards from the project.

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Projects

Finally, projects are generally the responsibility of the Asset for which the work is being done. Therefore, in the handbook, we talk about the Asset instead of the Client. When we talk about the Project, we mean the whole project organisation including the Asset’s Operations management, BP project personnel and supporting discipline specialists, design contractors, construction contractors and key equipment vendors（关键设备制造商）

Index