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Project Management

Triangle of Objectives

A project has distinctive attributes which distinguish it from ongoing work or business process workflow.

• While ongoing work is cyclic and repetitive, a project has discreet objectives and is funded only for the project life cycle.
• Projects have a finite life span with a clear beginning and specified scope of work, including the desired end-result deliverables, end date and budget/ resource constraints.
• Projects can be analyzed into a set of tasks laid out on a timeline. A complex project may have several strands of these timelines with different teams of people coordinating their activity to achieve the required deliverables at the date due.
• Projects can be visualized as having milestones which define the required major steps of achievement (or deliverables) along the path toward final project completion. Milestones are important markers of progress that indicate if a project is on time or falling behind schedule.
• Project management seeks to gain control over six main variables: time, cost, quality, scope, risk, and people.

The three basic dimensions of project success are quality (end-results), time (schedule) and cost (budget). These are the issues that project managers are held accountable for:

• Quality: fitness of end deliverables for purpose or specification level
• Time: target completion date and schedule of tasks
• Costs: budget and resource allocation

These three basic parameters are aggregated to define the Scope of Work, the Risk factors in any project, and the way People are engaged.

• Scope of Work: totality of work to complete a project (quality, time, cost). Change in various project parameters typically occurs, but these changes must be carefully managed and must not be so great that the project is covertly redefined. Agreement on scope between sponsor and project manager establishes a boundary within which resources and budget are allocated. Scope can be precisely defined in terms of the work breakdown structure and task analysis. An unknown or changing scope is a moving boundary that constantly redefines the project and the assumptions guiding allocation of resources. When scope cannot be precisely defined, it cannot be managed, and thereby becomes a significant project risk factor.
• Risk Factors: potential harm to a project (quality, time, cost) that may arise from a process or a future event. A "risk" is the probability that a threat that will act on a vulnerability to cause an adverse impact. Risk management involves minimizing threats, vulnerabilities and/or impacts.
• People: human resource (knowledge, skill and motivation) for implementation of tasks; a project team assembles special and general skills as resources to get the work done (quality, time, cost).

Of all of these components, people are the fundamental key to success because they provide the means to achieve project objectives. Staffing is the most adjustable resource in being able to dynamically respond to quality, cost and timing issues & constraints. In this way, staffing also represents the greatest risk factor — no matter what other budget, resource or time risks may also exist.

The dynamic trade-offs between these values has been humorously but accurately described by a sign at an automotive repair shop:

"We can do GOOD, QUICK and CHEAP work.
You can have any two but not all three.
1. GOOD QUICK work won't be CHEAP.
2. GOOD CHEAP work won't be QUICK.
3. QUICK CHEAP work won't be GOOD."

All project objectives (and tasks) must be SMART:

Specific: expressed clearly and singularly
Measurable: ideally in quantitative terms
Acceptable: to stakeholders
Realistic: in terms of achievement
Time-bound: a timeframe is stated

The power of project management is that it provides the most reliable method to achieve a target objective, on time and within budget.

Project Management is all about vision:

• Seeing the end result so clearly and unambiguously at the beginning so that the logistics of production can be planned and the tasks executed
   
• Sharing a plan (using unambiguous visual graphics showing status) constantly among project team and sponsors, so that decisions, approvals, agreements, and forecasts are made in advance of blocks to workflow (i.e., indecision, lack of commitment, lack of approval, lack of resources and budget, misunderstanding what must occur first in the chain of events).

The fundamental management skills that a Project Manager must be able to exhibit are:

1. Quality Control: Project Plan Development, Plan Execution, Integrated Change Control ; Quality Planning, Quality Assurance, Quality Control
2. Budgetary Control: Resource Planning, Cost Estimating, Cost Budgeting, Cost Control; Procurement Planning, Solicitation Planning, Solicitation, Source Selection, Contract Administration, Contract Closeout
3. Scheduling Control: Activity Definition, Activity Sequencing, Activity Duration Estimating, Schedule Development and Schedule Control
4. Scope of Work Control: Initiation, Scope Planning, Scope Definition, Scope Verification and Scope Change Control
5. Risk Control: Risk Management Planning, Risk Identification, Qualitative Risk Analysis, Quantitative Risk Analysis, Risk Response Planning, Risk Monitoring and Control
6. Communication & Leadership: Human Resource Management, Organizational Planning, Staff Acquisition, Team Development; Project Communications Management, Communications Planning, Information Distribution, Performance Reporting, Administrative Closure

Benefits of Project Management

Project Management (PM) provides a workflow system that unites all team members in shared principles and practice — a methodology of planning, control, coordination, communication and execution that provides ground rules for proven teamwork "best practices" and discipline.

PM software provides automated tools for task definition and layout, scheduling, resource allocation, tracking, report generation, and team communication. Project reporting technology has evolved from: (1) paper-based systems which were hard and expensive to keep up to date, (2) desktop software which made tracking and report generation more cost-effective, and (3) now to online web-based systems which provide the enormous benefit of dynamic real-time status reporting.

Using the PM methodology benefits the Project Manager, workgroup members, project sponsors, and the Team as a whole.

Project Management Life Cycle

Project Management is accomplished thorough the use of processes such as initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. These are the fundamental skill sets of a Project Manager. The Project Management process covers all phases within the life cycle of any project. A standard project typically has the following major phases (each with its own agenda of tasks and issues):

• Initiate -- process for developing a proposal, and authorizing (including assigning the initial budget allocation for) the project
• Plan -- process to define the objectives, methods, timeframe, resources, constraints, and end-deliverables (renegotiation of assignments, authority, and budget will often occur when the fully developed plan is reviewed & signed by the project sponsor)
• Execute -- process of coordinating people and resources to carry out the plan
• Control -- process to ensure project objectives are met by monitoring, measuring, and reporting progress
• Close -- process for formalizing acceptance of the project, final documentation, and bringing about an orderly conclusion

It is important to note that many of the processes within project management are iterative in nature. This is due to the necessity for progressive elaboration of detail decisions, and re-adjustment of resources and schedule throughout the life cycle. So phases in the Project Life Cycle can and will overlap.

The value of the following map is that it identifies key milestones which distinguish each phase. This way of describing the life cycle emphasizes that planning drives execution, and that controlling is interdependent with planning and executing.

In the real world, the Project Management lifecycle phases will almost always overlap. The following graphic more accurately illustrates how the tasks of the Project Manager change over time — in that the proportion of time and energy allocated to a particular role shifts as the life cycle progresses.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A Project Requirements document is typically used at the initiation of project to communicate to the Project Manager the project mission and scope, and enable the Project Sponsors (often with a signed Executive Committee approval) to allocate a budget and officially indicate acceptance, agreement, and start date. Failure to establish budget, scope and support at the outset will invariably lead to project crisis at a later date.

The Project Manager must then translate the initial "high-level" project definition into an itemized project plan that addresses the lowest levels of implementation details. The method for accomplishing this is the "Work Breakdown Structure" (WBS). A WBS document lists task deliverables and identifies all activities required to produce the final project deliverable(s). This is a critical process (and documentation) as it forms the basis for other management processes such as resource allocation, time scheduling, cost control, and risk management. Failure to conduct WBS basically means that a project management methodology has not been undertaken.

WBS is utilized to:

• Break activities into smaller tasks
• Identify the phases of activities, including milestone tasks which indicate completion of each phase
• Sequence the tasks
• Estimate the duration of tasks
• Schedule the tasks
• Identify the needed resources for each task
• Estimate the resource costs

The WBS results in a official Project Plan for review and approval by sponsors. The WBS will ideally use a software instrument, like Microsoft Project, to create an automated Gantt chart. In a Gantt, inter-dependencies of tasks are indicated by cascading arrows (instances where one activity cannot begin until another is completed). Project milestones (time points that indicate a completion of key tasks or phases), and deliverables (defined and tangible outcomes of the project) are also clearly identified.

A Gantt chart is a key component within the Project Plan because it visually presents details that otherwise can be lost in a long narrative. The Gantt graphically portrays the task list, assigned resources (especially the responsible personnel for the task), schedule with begin and end dates, and task dependencies. Software automation flags completed and late tasks — so that a powerful visual map of project progress / status can be viewed. Instead of the limited and cumbersome process of paper documentation, the software Gantt chart provides a shared on-line tool for dynamically tracking and communicating among team members, and generating official progress reports to sponsors.

Definition of Key Terms

Task Scope Deliverable Milestone Stakeholders Duration Cost Budget

Deadline Schedule Resources Slippage Sponsor Status Successful Project

Building a Project Plan

Define a project Plan project activities Plan for and procure resources Plan project costs

Plan for quality and risks Plan communication & security Optimize a project plan Distribute a project plan

• Define a project

Before you can build a project, you have to decide what exactly the project is, what its scope is, and what you hope to achieve by your project.

• Plan project activities

After you have defined what your project is, and to ensure that your project is successful, you should explore the major activities involved in it. Many projects have failed because a project manager didn't consider, early enough, the full scope of the work involved in creating the project.

• Plan for and procure resources

At this point in the project planning process, you have identified the project scope, set up the task list, and estimated task durations.

• Plan project costs

Without a solid understanding of where your costs are in a project, the project can quickly fail and become unprofitable. Costs are comprised of all the resources required to carry out a project, including the people and equipment who do the work and the materials consumed as the work is completed.

• Plan for quality and risks

Quality is a key concern that directly impacts your customers or users. Without a risk management plan, your project can suffer in unexpected ways.

• Plan communication and security

Communication and the security surrounding it are critical aspects of creating a team that collaborates well.

• Optimize a project plan

After your project begins, you may need to review how things are going and fine-tune the tasks, resources, or costs.

• Distribute a project plan

Keep stakeholders and team members current on project progress by providing them with access to online or printed views and reports.

Track and manage a project

Track progress Manage a schedule Manage resources Manage costs

Manage scope Manage risks Report project status

• Track progress

Select the items you want to track and choose your tracking method, and then begin monitoring your project's progress.

• Manage a schedule

Manage your project by identifying problems, fine-tuning the schedule, and reporting its progress to stakeholders and team members.

• Manage resources

Manage your resources by tracking their progress, identify and resolve allocation problems, manage shared resources, and report project progress to stakeholders and team members.

• Manage costs

You manage costs by keeping costs within your budget. Costs are all the resources required to carry out a project, including the people and equipment who do the work and the materials consumed as the work is completed.

• Manage scope

The scope of a project consists of the products or services to be provided and the work required. As you project progresses, you may find that some parts of the product or service need to be adjusted or eliminated.

• Manage risks

Identify potential trouble spots by anticipating risks and responding to risk events, and report project progress to stakeholders and team members.

• Report project status

Keep stakeholders and team members current on project progress by making information available with online or printed views and reports.

Close a Project

• Review final project information

The end of a project is a good time for stakeholders and team members to come together to analyze what went right or wrong, and produce final online or printed views and reports.

Project Management References

4PM.com: Online Portal Site and Project Manager Certification

allPM.com: Online Portal Site and Project Manager Certification

Association for Project Management (UK) : Online Portal Site and Project Manager Certification

Carroll, John (2002). Project 2002 in Easy Steps. Barnes & Noble Books.

Catapult, Inc. (1993). Microsoft Project for Windows: Step by Step. Microsoft Press.

Friedlein, Ashley (2001). Web Project Management: Delivering successful Commercial Web Sites. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Greer, Michael (1992) ID Project Management: Tools & Techniques for Instructional Designers and Developers. Educational Technology Publications.

International Project Management Association: Online Portal Site and Project Manager Certification

Lowery, Gwen (1994). Managing Projects with Microsoft Project. Van Nostrand Reinhold.

McCarthy, Jim and Michele McCarthy (2001). Software for Your Head: Core Protocols for Creating and Maintaining Shared Vision . Addison-Wesley Publishing.

McCarthy, Jim (1995). Dynamics of Software Development. Microsoft Press.

Murch, Richard (2001). Project Management: Best Practices for IT Professionals. Prentice-Hall

O'Connell, Fergus (1994). How to Run Successful Project. Redwood Press.

Project Management Institute: Online Portal Site & Project Manager Certification Program

PM Forum: Online Portal Site & Project Manager Certification Program

Purba, Sanjiv; David Sawh and Bharat Shah (1995). How to Manage a Successful Software Project: Methodologies, Techniques, Tools. Wiley Press.

Pyron, Tim (1993). Using Microsoft Project for Windows. Que.

Thomsett, Michael C. (1990). The Little Black Book of Project Management. AMACOM American Management Association.

Thomsett, Rob (1993). Third Wave Project Management: A Handbook for Managing the Complex Information systems for the 1990s. Yourdon Press.

Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v3.1: Online portal site with glossary.

Williams, Paul (1996). Getting a Project Done On Time: Managing People, Time and Results. AMACOM American Management Association.