What’s a Project?AD642

Why the Emphasis on Project Management?

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1-2

Many tasks do not fit neatly into business-as-usual

Organizations need to assign responsibility and authority for the achievement of their goals

Characteristics of Projects

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1-3

Unique Specific deliverables Specific due date

Other Common Characteristics of Projects

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1-4

Multidisciplinary Complex Often involve conflicts Part of programs

Definition of a Project

“A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique

product or service.”

Project Management Institute, 2007

Definition of Project Management

1-6

“The application of knowledge, skills, tools,

and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project.”

Project Management Institute 2007

The Triple Constraint

A more realistic view

And even more so…

The Life Cycle of Projects

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1-10

All organisms have a life cycle (i.e., they are born, grow, wane, and die) … and so do projects

Some projects follow an S-shaped curve … they start slowly, develop momentum, and then finish slowly

Other project follow a J-shaped curve … they start slowly , proceed slowly, and then finish rapidly

PMBOK Process GroupsPMI describes the project lifecycle in five groups

InitiatingPlanningExecutingMonitoring and controllingClosing

InitiatingDefining a new project

Developing charter

Identifying stakeholders

Obtaining authorization

PlanningScope

Requirements analysisWork Breakdown Structure

Define activities and milestones

Estimate resources and duration

Develop project schedule and budget

ExecutingManage the project

Perform quality assurance

Manage stakeholders

Manage team

Monitoring and ControllingChange management

Monitor actuals and baselineScopeBudgetSchedule

Risk management

ClosingObtain acceptance

Post-project audit

Document and archive

Initiating a project: SOWProjects typically start with a Statement of Work

Describes the business needHas fairly broad scopeOverall strategic planSOW is often part of the response to an RFP when

a third party is to be involved

Business casePart of the SOW

The justification for the project

Might contain competitive analysis, high-level ROI, opportunities for market expansion, regulatory requirements, and more

SOW signoffA signed SOW is the document that kicks off a

project

In third-party arrangements (such as consulting) it is a contract

Information from the SOW is used to develop the Project Charter

Time for Meetings!Once a SOW has been signed, the project

formally exists

If a PM hasn’t been involved yet, now is the time

Initial meetings are to help the PM understand the project, the players, and the resources

No project plan yet

A kickoff meeting introduces all the players

Initial Project Coordination and the Project Charter

Early meetings are used to decide on participating in the project

Used to “flesh out” the nature of the project

Outcomes include: Technical scope Areas of responsibility Delivery dates or budgets Risk management group

Outside ClientsWhen it is for outside clients, specifications cannot be

changed without the client’s permission

Client may place budget constraints on the project

May be competing against other firms

Project Charter ElementsPurpose

Objectives

Overview

Schedules

Resources

Personnel

Risk management plans

Evaluation methods

Starting the Project Plan: The WBSWhat is to be done

When it is to be started and finished

Who is going to do it

WBS ConstraintsSome activities must be done sequentially

Some activities may be done simultaneously

Many things must happen when and how they are supposed to happen

Each detail is uncertain and subjected to risk

Hierarchical PlanningMajor tasks are listed

Each major task is broken down into detail

This continues until all the activities to be completed are listed

Need to know which activities “depend on” other activities

6-27

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A hierarchical planning process

Breaks tasks down into successively finer levels of detail

Continues until all meaningful tasks or work packages have been identified

These make tracking the work easier

Need separate budget/schedule for each task or work package

A Visual WBS

Steps to Create a WBS1. List the task breakdown in successive levels

2. Identify data for each work package

3. Review work package information

4. Cost the work packages

5. Schedule the work packages

6. Continually examine actual resource use

7. Continually examine schedule

Human ResourcesUseful to create a table that shows staff needed to

execute WBS tasks

One approach is a organizational breakdown structureOrganizational units responsible for each WBS elementWho must approve changes of scopeWho must be notified of progress

WBS and OBS may not be identical

6-31

The Responsibility (RACI) Matrix

Another approach is the Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform (RACI) matrixAlso known as a responsibility matrix, a linear

responsibility chart, an assignment matrix, a responsibility assignment matrix

Shows critical interfaces

Keeps track of who must approve what and who must be notified

Sample RACI Matrix

Agile Project Planning and Management

When scope cannot be determined in advance, traditional planning does not work

Agile project management was developed to deal with this problem in IT

Small teams are located at a single site

Entire team collaborates

Team deals with one requirement at-a-time with the scope frozen

Interface Coordination Through Integration Management

Managing a project requires a great deal of coordination

Projects typically draw from many parts of the organization as well as outsiders

All of these must be coordinated

The RACI matrix helps the project manager accomplish this

Bottom lineFor a PM to succeed, it’s crucial for them to be

involved as early as possible in the project lifecycle

The reality is that PMs are often brought in well after the WBS and scheduling is complete

It’s up to the PM to carefully balance the triple or quad constraints with the expectations of the stakeholders