Project Management 102 the 'How to' of Managing a Project

Project Management 102

The ‘How To’ of Managing a Project

What we will cover:• Cookbook approach to managing a project

• Resources identification

• Timeline constraints

• Management of managers and vendors

• MS. Project vs. paper tracking

• Risk management

• Contract negotiations

Project Management 101 review. What is a project?

• “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. ‘Temporary’ means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite ending. ‘Unique’ means that the product or service is different in some distinguishing way from all other products or services.” PMBOK 2000 edition

Why PM as a profession?

• 92% of all projects fail (Standish Research Group)

• PMI maintains a library of information and publishes the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the standard text on project management.

What is involved in managing a successful project?

Project Triple Constraints

Project Triple Constraints

Costs

Project Triple Constraints

Costs Time

Project Triple Constraints

Costs Time

Statement of Work (SCOPE)

Project Triple Constraints

Costs Time

Statement of Work (SCOPE)

Quality

Project Triple Constraints

Costs Time

Statement of Work (SCOPE)

Quality

Customer Satisfaction

How to practically approach a project - Cookbook Approach

•Projects can be approached like baking a cake.

Chocolate Cake…What it takes:

• Clear Objectives• Ingredients• Equipment• Manpower • A Plan• A manager of managers (Project

Manager)

Chocolate Cake

• Making a chocolate cake requires all the elements of a project:

• Processes (What to do)

• Knowledge (How to do)

Process groups of a project:(The ‘What to do’ of a project)

• Initiation

• Planning

• Execution

• Controlling

• Closing

• Called the ‘Life Cycle’ of a project

Project Life Cycle

..\John Sheely\life cycle.JPG

Knowledge areas: (The ‘How to do’ of a project)

• Project Scope Management• Project Time Management• Project Cost Management• Project Quality Management• Project HR Management• Project Communications Management• Project Risk Management• Project Procurement Management• Project Integration Management

Work Breakdown Structure

• “Def. A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project. Each descending level represents an increasingly detached definition of the project work. The decomposition consists of work packages.” (PMBOK 2000)

Chocolate CakeProject

Establishrequirements

Scope definition

How many toserve?

Date and time?

Place to beserved?

Who will pay forit?

Who hasauthority?Project Sponsor

Available laborpool

Who will buymaterials

Who will cook?

Who will serve?

Who will cleanup?

Procureequipment

Arrange for allmixing bowls

Schedule oven(s)

Serve and cleanup

Staff to serve

Assign servingplates

Cleanup team

Risk analysis

Plan B?

Work BreakdownStructure

Purchaseingredents

Work Packages

Work breakdown structure.

• Def:“Deliverable oriented grouping of project components that organizes and defines the total scope of the project.”

• Find historical data, don’t reinvent the wheel.• Locate managers and ask them to estimate their

labor requirements, constraints and risks.• Don’t you make these decisions; let them.

Chocolate CakeProject

Establishrequirements

Scope definition

How many toserve?

Date and time?

Place to beserved?

Who will pay forit?

Who hasauthority?Project Sponsor

Available laborpool

Who will buymaterials

Who will cook?

Who will serve?

Who will cleanup?

Procureequipment

Arrange for allmixing bowls

Schedule oven(s)

Serve and cleanup

Staff to serve

Assign servingplates

Cleanup team

Risk analysis

Plan B?

Work BreakdownStructure

Purchaseingredents

Work Packages

Event sequencing

• Placing work packages in logical sequential order.

• Create a critical path.

Chocolate Cake ProjectEvent Sequencing/Critical Path Analysis

Order ingredients

Staff training:Waiter staffCook staff

Clean up staff

6 Days

2 days

Receive and storematerials

2 daysMix ingredients

Cook and decorate.

Risk AnalysisPlan “B” 3 days

41 man hours Serve and cleanup 22 minutes

Project closeout2 days

Establish scope ofwork

Obtain approvaland funding

5 days5 days

Locate various managersPurchasing

Cooking staffServing staff

Obtain scheduling commitments

5 days

Establish materials listEstablish manpower requirements

Establish accountingEstablish communications methods

2 daysPath

A

PathB

PathC

Path A Path B Path C

days552624

days52

days3

24 7 3

Path “A”is Critical

Pathrequiring24 days

Risk Management: The Great ‘What If ?’

• Take advantage of historical data. History repeats itself.• Have vendors/managers establish worse case scenarios.• Have them grade each scenario by a common scale.• Have a plan ‘B’ for each scenario.• Establish a ‘trigger’ point for when plan ‘B’ is initiated.• In large complex projects, have consultants do this.

Risk grading matrix

Keeping track of project activity

• Paper system– 90 Templates (EPO templates ww.tenstepstore.com)

• Software– MS Project

Paper forms from EPO

ww.tenstepstore.com

Business Case

Project Charter

Work Packages WBS

Activity Estimating

Project Document Distribution Plan

Change Request

Procedure to approve modifying scope, budget or schedule is essential.

Stakeholder Identification

Human Resources Plan

Risk Assessment Plan

Project Status Reporting

Project Tracking Software

• Microsoft Project.

• Uses Project Management Institute’s PMBOK as its standard.

• Excellent tool IF used properly.

• Warning! It is a tool, not an end in itself.

Gantt ChartID Task Name Duration

1 Chocolate Cake Project 0 days

2 Establish scope of work and attain funding 5 days

3 Milestone 0 days

4 Locate various managers 5 days

5 Establish requirements 3 days

6 Order ingredients 1 day

7 Receive and store materials 2 days

8 milestone 0 days

9 Mix, bake and decorate cake 3 days

10 Serve and cleanup 0.33 days

11 Project closeout 1 day

12 Risk analysis 2 days

13 Train staff 1 day

customer,Management,project manager

3/8

project manager

manager,chief

Purchasing Mgr

Warehousing

3/22

chief,cook 1,cook 2,cook 3,cook 4,cook 5,cook 7,cook 8

200 servers,20 coordinatiors,maître d'

project manager

Purchasing Mgr

20 coordinators

M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T 5, '06 Mar 12, '06 Mar 19, '06 Mar 26, '06 Apr 2, '06 Apr 9, '06

ID Task Name Duration

1 Chocolate Cake Project 0 days

2 Establish scope of work and attain funding 5 days

3 Milestone 0 days

4 Locate various managers 5 days

5 Establish requirements 3 days

6 Order ingredients 1 day

7 Receive and store materials 2 days

8 milestone 0 days

9 Mix, bake and decorate cake 3 days

10 Serve and cleanup 0.33 days

11 Project closeout 1 day

12 Risk analysis 2 days

13 Train staff 1 day

customer,Management,project manager

3/8

project manager

manager,chief

Purchasing Mgr

Warehousing

3/22

chief,cook 1,cook 2,cook 3,cook 4,cook 5,cook 7,cook 8

200 servers,maître d',20 coordinators

project manager

Purchasing Mgr

20 coordinators

M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T 5, '06 Mar 12, '06 Mar 19, '06 Mar 26, '06 Apr 2, '06 Apr 9, '06

Pert Chart

Establish scope of workand attain funding

2 5 days

Fri 3/3/06 Thu 3/9/06

Locate various managers

3 5 days

Fri 3/10/06 Wed 3/15/06

Establish requirements

4 3 days

Thu 3/16/06 Mon 3/20/06

Order ingredients

5 1 day

Tue 3/21/06 Tue 3/21/06

Project closeout

9 1 day

Mon 3/27/06 Tue 3/28/06

Train staff

11 1 day

Sun 3/26/06 Sun 3/26/06

Risk analysis

10 2 days

Thu 3/16/06 Fri 3/17/06

Chocolate CakeProject

1 0 days

Thu 2/9/06 Thu 2/9/06

Mix, bake and decoratecake

7 2 days

Fri 3/24/06 Sun 3/26/06

Receive and storematerials

6 2 days

Wed 3/22/06 Thu 3/23/06

Serve and cleanup

8 0.33 days

Mon 3/27/06 Mon 3/27/06

ResourcesID Resource Name Initials Group Max. Units Std. Rate Ovt. Rate Cost/Use Accrue At Base Calendar Code1 Management M MGT 100% $0.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard2 customer JM MGT 100% $0.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard3 project manager JBV MGT 100% $300.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard45 Kitchen staff K Kitchen 100% $0.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard6 manager m Kitchen 100% $50.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard7 chief CF Kitchen 100% $40.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard8 cook 1 c1 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard9 cook 2 c2 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard10 cook 3 c3 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard11 cook 4 c4 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard12 cook 5 c5 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard13 cook 6 c6 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard14 cook 7 c7 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard15 cook 8 c8 Kitchen 100% $20.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard1617 Servers S servers 100% $0.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard18 maître d' Matradee servers 100% $40.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard19 20 coordinatiors coordinators servers 100% $300.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard20 200 servers Servers servers 100% $2,000.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard21 Cleanup Cleanup servers 100% $300.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard22 Purchasing Mgr P Purchasing 100% $40.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard23 Wearhousing W Purchasing 100% $200.00/hr $0.00/hr $0.00 Prorated Standard

Managing Managers• Project managers must actively manage

other managers in order to have a successful project.

• This is largely done by:– Locating stakeholders– Developing an effective communications plan– Tracking/documenting all project activity– Understanding ALL contracts– Managing changes

Contracts and RFPs

Generating Request for Proposals (RFP)

• Involve all potential stakeholders in writing RFP.• No hidden agendas.• RFP Must align with company’s policy/objectives.• Evaluate RFP using objective and subjective grading

system:– Objective=Dollar amount for work. Look for cost of additions or

out of scope work.

– Subjective scale of –10 to +10 on each contract provision as to if provision is in favor of the company or vendor.

• Present summary to project stakeholders for review.• Present to sponsor for signing. Never sign anything.

Document everything.

Contract negotiations

• Project Managers must understand ALL contracts dealing with the project.

• Look for ‘in-place’ vendor agreements.• Do not count on the Legal Department to have your

best interest at heart. ‘Read all contracts Yourself!!!’• Get clarification from Legal on all issues.• “There is safety in a multitude of counselors.”• “Aim high…land high” • Document everything. Sign nothing!!!!

Contract additions

• Items to include in any contract, if possible:

– Permission to interview rank and file workers

– Third party inspectors/auditors

– Insurance (risk mitigation)

– Penalties for project overages

– Rewards for project performance

Plan for the best, but prepare for the worst.

If a project is going badly

• Like with cancer, early treatment is the key.• People cause problems; people fix problems.• Involve as many stakeholders and front line workers as you

can in the solution.• Initiate a ‘brain storming’ approach to the problems.• Hide nothing; report everything.• Cut losses short quickly. • Initiate plan “B” in risk analysis. • Consider hiring a certified PM to consult.

If you are being set up as the ‘scapegoat’ for a failed project.

• In some companies, failed projects require a blood sacrifice. • Meet with the highest executive you can.• Prepare report of project failure and reasons why in a single

page document.• Give them a verbal debriefing.• Ask if your job is at risk.• Ask HR to include this report in your personnel file.• Start looking for another job.

Summary• Project Management is Proactive. • Project Managers create the plan and then work

the plan.• Project Managers solve problems before they

occur.• Initiating and tracking tools are essential.• Managing change is critical.• If all else fails, hire me to fix it! • J. Barry Vanek, PMP 281 481 6996