Project Management Scenario in India

As confidence returns to real estate, the industry faces a number of fundamental shifts that will shape its future. Looking forward to 2020 and beyond, the real estate industry will find itself at the centre of rapid economic and social change, which is transforming the built environment. By 2020, project management consultants will have a broader range of opportunities with greater risks and new value drivers. As real estate is a business with long development cycles – from planning to construction takes several years – now is the time to plan for these changes.

The Indian real estate sector is one of the most globally recognized sectors. In the country, it is the second largest employer after agriculture and is slated to grow at 30 per cent over the next decade. It comprises four sub sectors - housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial. The growth of this sector is well complemented by the growth of the corporate environment and the demand for office space as well as urban and semi-urban accommodations.

The Indian construction industry is growing and it is possible that the effective implementation of project management may contribute to it reaching new levels of success and higher standards. There is already some knowledge and understanding of project management, its methods and benefits (transparency and increased productivity and efficiency with the modernization of the industry) and how project management can improve standards. 

The qualities that project management offers (transparency, flexibility and modernization) should change the image of the industry and also be appreciated by everyone including clients, stakeholders and end users. There is growing awareness of the drawbacks of current methods and practices while, and at the same time, there is a realization of future challenges and milestones for the industry. A new generation of professionals is making an effort to put project management into practice, but the implementation of project management faces obstacles due to the traditional and labour intensive nature of the industry. 

Efforts are needed to improve productivity and efficiency in the Indian construction industry to satisfy growing market demands. At the same time, the industry needs to understand the changing market and trends. Currently there is no pressure on the industry but, with the growing economy, foreign investments and possible major development of infrastructure in the country, there is a need to change the current approach made by the industry, in response to changing trends and market, for future challenges and to successfully compete with foreign organizations.

The construction process can be quite complex, with dozens or even hundreds of different elements involved. These include materials, equipment, subcontractors, clients and inspectors who must interact as a cohesive unit to complete the job. The individual responsible for overseeing this process and facilitating coordination and communication is the project manager. The project manager not only ensures that the project is completed according to the designs & drawings, but that it is delivered on schedule and within a specified budget. To manage these tasks successfully, he must rely on project management techniques and systems that aid in the planning & control of the project.

"Construction Project Management is the planning, control and coordination of a project from conception to completion (including commissioning) on behalf of a client. It is concerned with the identification of the client's objectives in terms of utility, function, quality, time and cost, and the establishment of relationships between resources. The integration, monitoring and control of the contributions to the project and their output, and the evaluation and selection of alternatives in pursuit of the client's satisfaction with the project outcome are fundamental aspects of Project Management." Walker (1984) 

Consultancies with a sharp vision, process driven, intellectually capable and result oriented are far-fetched and few. This realization is catching up with the industry and the clients are more involved with their assessment of the consultants. This has given rise to boutique consultancies, which are the emerging winners while it comes to perfectly executed deliveries.

Boutique Consultancies can be best defined as businesses that assess their services in terms of the volumes of projects that can be successfully managed. These consultancies offer 360º Consultancy services much like their large counterparts. However, they maintain a stringent QC norm and ensure crisp services. These agencies show a high skew towards quality projects and lesser inclination towards volume projects.

However, one must understand that the PMC must be necessarily involved in the Total Project Life Cycle from Conception to Closeout. Awareness of various Processes involved in Project Management and detail study of multiple constraints of project like Time-Cost-Risk-Scope-Quality-Resource are an integral part of any project management consultancy. 

Seen in the images are PMC projects done by Stalwart Project Consultancy, in varied sectors such as hospitality, corporate, banking & finance.