PROJECT MANAGEMENT

All About Project Management

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a successful project. A project is a one-time effort that produces a specific result, for example, a building or a major new computer system. This is in contrast to a program, which is 1) an ongoing process, such as a quality control program, or 2) an activity to manage a series of multiple projects together. In some countries, the term "program" refers to a software tool and the term "programme" can mean a TV or radio show.
Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes managing the implementation of the project plan, along with operating regular 'controls' to ensure that there is accurate and objective information on 'performance' relative to the plan, and the mechanisms to implement recovery actions where necessary.
Projects usually follow major phases or stages (with various titles for these), including feasibility, definition, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance.
NOTE: There are many software tools that make project management much more effective and efficient. Software Tools to Do Project Management Process lists software resources. The reader might best be served to read about the overall project management process in the section, "Foundations of Project Management" below, and then review some of the software tools. Another approach is to review the tools as the reader progresses through each phase of the project management process.

Foundations of Project Management

 

It will benefit the reader immensely to have an understanding of at least the basic planning processes before undertaking the more detailed process of project management. See
Basic Guidelines for Successful Planning Process.
Planning is all about making decisions and solving problems, so it also will be useful for the reader to have some guidelines for
Decision Making
Problem Solving
There are numerous other topics in the Library that could pertain to project management, but the reader might best be served to first review the resources linked from this topic on Project Management and afterwards see
Related Library Topics

Overviews of Project Management (including Project Manager)

Project Planning a Step by Step Guide

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By Duncan Haughey, PMP

The key to a successful project is in the planning. Creating a project plan is the first thing you should do when undertaking any kind of project.
Often project planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the work. However, many people fail to realise the value of a project plan in saving time, money and many problems.
This article looks at a simple, practical approach to project planning. On completion of this guide, you should have a sound project planning approach that you can use for future projects.

Step 1: Project Goals

A project is successful when the needs of the stakeholders have been met. A stakeholder is anybody directly, or indirectly impacted by the project.
As a first step, it is important to identify the stakeholders in your project. It is not always easy to identify the stakeholders of a project, particularly those impacted indirectly. Examples of stakeholders are:

• The project sponsor.
• The customer who receives the deliverables.
• The users of the project outputs.
• The project manager and project team.

Once you understand who the stakeholders are, the next step is to find out their needs. The best way to do this is by conducting stakeholder interviews. Take time during the interviews to draw out the true needs that create real benefits. Often stakeholders will talk about needs that aren't relevant and don't deliver benefits. These can be recorded and set as a low priority.
The next step, once you have conducted all the interviews, and have a comprehensive list of needs is to prioritise them. From the prioritised list, create a set of goals that can be easily measured. A technique for doing this is to review them against the SMART principle. This way it will be easy to know when a goal has been achieved.
Once you have established a clear set of goals, they should be recorded in the project plan. It can be useful to also include the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.
This is the most difficult part of the planning process completed. It's time to move on and look at the project deliverables.

Step 2: Project Deliverables

Using the goals you have defined in step 1, create a list of things the project needs to deliver in order to meet those goals. Specify when and how each item must be delivered.
Add the deliverables to the project plan with an estimated delivery date. More accurate delivery dates will be established during the scheduling phase, which is next.

Step 3: Project Schedule

Create a list of tasks that need to be carried out for each deliverable identified in step 2. For each task identify the following:

• The amount of effort (hours or days) required to complete the task.
• The resource who will carryout the task.

Once you have established the amount of effort for each task, you can workout the effort required for each deliverable, and an accurate delivery date. Update your deliverables section with the more accurate delivery dates.
At this point in the planning, you could choose to use a software package such as Microsoft Project to create your project schedule. Alternatively, use one of the many free templates available. Input all of the deliverables, tasks, durations and the resources who will complete each task.
A common problem discovered at this point, is when a project has an imposed delivery deadline from the sponsor that is not realistic based on your estimates. If you discover that this is the case, you must contact the sponsor immediately. The options you have in this situation are:

• Renegotiate the deadline (project delay).
• Employ additional resources (increased cost).
• Reduce the scope of the project (less delivered).

Use the project schedule to justify pursuing one of these options.

Step 4: Supporting Plans

This section deals with plans you should create as part of the planning process. These can be included directly in the plan.

Human Resource Plan

Identify by name, the individuals and organisations with a leading role in the project. For each, describe their roles and responsibilities on the project.
Next, describe the number and type of people needed to carryout the project. For each resource detail start dates, estimated duration and the method you will use for obtaining them.
Create a single sheet containing this information.

Communications Plan

Create a document showing who needs to be kept informed about the project and how they will receive the information. The most common mechanism is a weekly or monthly progress report, describing how the project is performing, milestones achieved and work planned for the next period.

Risk Management Plan

Risk management is an important part of project management. Although often overlooked, it is important to identify as many risks to your project as possible, and be prepared if something bad happens.
Here are some examples of common project risks:

• Time and cost estimates too optimistic.
• Customer review and feedback cycle too slow.
• Unexpected budget cuts.
• Unclear roles and responsibilities.
• Stakeholder input is not sought, or their needs are not properly understood.
• Stakeholders changing requirements after the project has started.
• Stakeholders adding new requirements after the project has started.
• Poor communication resulting in misunderstandings, quality problems and rework.
• Lack of resource commitment.

Risks can be tracked using a simple risk log. Add each risk you have identified to your risk log; write down what you will do in the event it occurs, and what you will do to prevent it from occurring. Review your risk log on a regular basis, adding new risks as they occur during the life of the project. Remember, when risks are ignored they don't go away.
Congratulations. Having followed all the steps above, you should have a good project plan. Remember to update your plan as the project progresses, and measure progress against the plan.

Ten Rules for Project Managers (Project e-Tip 034)

A reader suggested I post my list of top 10 rules for a project manager. Upon further consideration, I've decided to make it an expanded Project e-Tip. This one will not be displayed in the customary format. Today is the 730th day of my weblog. That's right, it's the last day of two years of blogging. Woo hoo! I'll go back to the Project e-Tip format next week.
I thought this would be easy. It wasn't. Readers regularly write me for advice on one thing or another. I've noticed a pattern in my responses. But it took me some time to settle on exactly ten "rules". I don't even like the word rules, unless rules are made for breaking. (Don't tell my teenage son that.) So I propose these "rules" in a spirit of collaboration. I'm looking forward to your comments, your proposed alternatives, and a few healthy arguments along the way.

© 2004 Hal Macomber. Reforming Project Management www.reformingprojectmanagement.com Share freely with attribution.

Ten Rules for Project Managers By Hal Macomber, Project Reformer

Adopt practices for exploring a variety of perspectives. We think we see what we see, but we don't. We really see what we think. Remember the blind men and the elephant. Make it your habit to inquire what others see. You'll see more together. Stay close to your customer. Clients' concerns evolve over the life of a project. Take advantage of that to over-deliver. Stay in a conversation with your client to adjust what you are doing. Take care of your project team. We've come to accept that the customer comes first…the customer is always right. We can't take care of the customer if we first aren't taking care of our project team. It's a challenge. While there are some things we can do for the whole team, it comes down to taking care of each team member as the individual that he or she is. And to make it more difficult, then we must bring their various interests into coherence. Keep your eye on the overall project promises. Project work can be difficult. It is easy to loose sight of what we are doing and why we are doing it. Remind your team and yourself of the overall promises and how you are doing fulfilling those promises. Build relationships intentionally. Project teams come together as strangers. To do great work…innovation, learning, and collaboration…all take people who like and care for each other. Don't leave that to chance. Start your projects by building relationships among team members. Tightly couple learning with action. Projects are wonderful opportunities to learn. Don't put that off for the after project lessons learned. Make it your habit to incorporate learning loops in all your project activities. Your team will appreciate it. Your customer will benefit from it. And best of all, it will make your job easier. Coordinate meticulously. A project is an ever-evolving network of commitment. Keep that network activated by tending to the critical conversations. See that people are making clear requests, promises that have completion dates, and share opinions that advance the purposes of the project. Without attention to those critical conversations the project will drift. Collaborate. Really collaborate. Make it your rule to plan with those people who will be the performers of the plan. Don't wait 'til the project has gone south to get their help. Start out that way. Continue collaborating as the usual way you work through the project. Listen generously. People are able to say what they can in the moment. For the most part, people are well-intended. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Take the time to listen. Ask questions. Seek others' opinions. And while you're at it, don't be so harsh on yourself. Embrace uncertainty. Expect the unexpected. There is far more that we don't know and can't know than what we can anticipate. Be resilient to what life throws at you. Anticipate that your team will learn something along the way that can and should change what you have promised and how you can deliver on your promises. And when you take a set-back — we all do sometime or another –review the other nine rules for how you can work your way out of it.

So there you have it. As I wrap-up my second year writing this weblog, I can confidently suggest that the above ten ideas will dramatically improve your projects. Are these ten rules the top ten? You decide. But don't take too long. Share these rules with your team. Your team members are sure to help you carry them out!
Some of my readers will notice that I left out one of the five big ideas: "optimize the project not the pieces". I didn't know what to do with that idea. It seems to me to be the advice to project participants rather than the project manager. What do you think?

Management 101

What is management? What do managers do? How do I manage?
These are standard questions that most of us in the management profession have been asked more than once. And questions we asked once in our careers too. Here, then, is a basic look at management, a primer, Management 101 from my perspective.
Art and Science
Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.
Make Them More Effective
Four workers can make 6 units in an eight-hour shift without a manager. If I hire you to manage them and they still make 6 units a day, what is the benefit to my business of having hired you? On the other hand, if they now make 8 units per day, you, the manager, have value.
The same analogy applies to service, or retail, or teaching, or any other kind of work. Can your group handle more customer calls with you than without? Sell higher value merchandise? Impart knowledge more effectively? etc. That is the value of management - making a group of individual more effective.

Basic Management Skill #1: Plan
Management starts with planning. Good management starts with good planning. And proper prior planning prevents… well, you know the rest of that one.
Without a plan you will never succeed. If you happen to make it to the goal, it will have been by luck or chance and is not repeatable. You may make it as a flash-in-the-pan, an overnight sensation, but you will never have the track record of accomplishments of which success is made.
Figure out what your goal is (or listen when your boss tells you). Then figure out the best way to get there. What resources do you have? What can you get? Compare strengths and weaknesses of individuals and other resources. Will putting four workers on a task that takes 14 hours cost less than renting a machine that can do the same task with one worker in 6 hours? If you change the first shift from an 8 AM start to a 10 AM start, can they handle the early evening rush so you don't have to hire an extra person for the second shift?
Look at all the probable scenarios. Plan for them. Figure out the worst possible scenario and plan for that too. Evaluate your different plans and develop what, in your best judgement, will work the best and what you will do if it doesn't.

TIP: One of the most often overlooked management planning tools is the most effective. Ask the people doing the work for their input.

Basic Management Skill #2: Organize
Now that you have a plan, you have to make it happen. Is everything ready ahead of your group so the right stuff will get to your group at the right time? Is your group prepared to do its part of the plan? Is the downstream organization ready for what your group will deliver and when it will arrive?
Are the workers trained? Are they motivated? Do they have the equipment they need? Are there spare parts available for the equipment? Has purchasing ordered the material? Is it the right stuff? Will it get here on the appropriate schedule?
Do the legwork to make sure everything needed to execute the plan is ready to go, or will be when it is needed. Check back to make sure that everyone understands their role and the importance of their role to the overall success.

Basic Management Skill #3: Direct
Now flip the "ON" switch. Tell people what they need to do. I like to think of this part like conducting an orchestra. Everyone in the orchestra has the music in front of them. They know which section is playing which piece and when. They know when to come in, what to play, and when to stop again. The conductor cues each section to make the music happen. That's your job here. You've given all your musicians (workers) the sheet music (the plan). You have the right number of musicians (workers) in each section (department), and you've arranged the sections on stage so the music will sound best (you have organized the work). Now you need only to tap the podium lightly with your baton to get their attention and give the downbeat.

Basic Management Skill #4: Monitor
Now that you have everything moving, you have to keep an eye on things. Make sure everything is going according to the plan. When it isn't going according to plan, you need to step in and adjust the plan, just as the orchestra conductor will adjust the tempo.
Problems will come up. Someone will get sick. A part won't be delivered on time. A key customer will go bankrupt. That is why you developed a contingency plan in the first place. You, as the manager, have to be always aware of what's going on so you can make the adjustments required.
This is an iterative process. When something is out of sync, you need to Plan a fix, Organize the resources to make it work, Direct the people who will make it happen, and continue to Monitor the effect of the change.
Is It Worth It
Managing people is not easy. However, it can be done successfully. And it can be a very rewarding experience. Remember that management, like any other skill, is something that you can improve at with study and practice.