Geog 469

GIS Workshop

Project Management

OutlineBasic principles of project management…

6.1 What is a project versus an application?

6.2 What is a scoping statement for your project?

6.3 Why are critical success factors important and how do

they relate to triple constraint management?

Four popular techniques that can assist with project

management…

6.4 How can we use a Work Breakdown Structure to

develop an Assignment Responsibility Matrix?

6.5 How can we characterize a task calendar schedule

using a Gantt Chart?

6.6 How can we use a Program Evaluation and Review

Technique to understand dependencies between tasks?

6.7 How can we estimate the longest duration of project

activities using a Critical Path Method?

Basic principles of project management…

6.1 What is a project versus an application?

6.2 What is a scoping statement for your

project?

6.3 Why are critical success factors important

and how do they relate to triple constraint

management?

6.1 What is a project versus application?

Project – focus on

processing data on topic

Application – focus on

repeat projects for topic

Topic-focused activity,

single database

Topic-support activity,

many project databases

Temporary in nature,

space and time context

Ongoing, supports many

projects, many contexts

Produces a unique

product or service

Produces similar

products or services

over and over

End is determined by

specific criteria of goal

Processes address goal,

but are ongoing

What is a Scoping Statement?

• Scoping statement consists of two parts containing four core elements; each element builds from previous

Information Need

1) Goals– What your project is going to accomplish?

2) Objectives as sequenced need-to-know questions– How is your project accomplishing that goal?

3) Deliverables or information products– Specific items or services that must be completed that address

objectives to fulfill the goal of the project

Systems Requirements

4) Resources– Identify the GIS resources (data, software, hardware, people,

timing, and institutional arrangements) used for developing deliverables

6.3 Why are critical success factors

important and how do they relate to triple

constraint management?

• Understanding of and consensus on project goals/objectives by key stakeholders

• Well-defined requirements derived from goals and deliverables

• Involvement from the stakeholders– Communication plan

• Well-defined project plan– Project schedule, potentially with costs and risks

identified

• Use established project management practices incorporating triple constraint management…

Triple Constraint Management

• Every project is constrained by its:

– Scope: what’s included in goal and what’s not

– Schedule: anticipated time to complete

objectives associated with goal(s)

– Cost: budget allocated for project tasks

associated with objectives leading to completion

• Project manager’s primary duty is to balance

these competing constraints, while satisfying

intended business need by executing tasks

The Triple Constraint for Goals

of Project Management

The image is from Tom Nolan’s lecture notes

Aim at target

deliverables

by considering

scope, time

and cost

How can we

do this better

through

project

management?

Four popular techniques that can assist

with project managementApplying project management activities to project

implementation plan leads us to ask…

6.4 How can we use a Work Breakdown Structure to

develop an Assignment Responsibility Matrix?

6.5 How can we characterize a task calendar schedule

using a Gantt Chart?

6.6 How can we use a Program Evaluation and Review

Technique to understand dependencies between tasks?

6.7 How can we estimate the longest duration of project

activities using a Critical Path Method?

6.4 How can we use a Work Breakdown

Structure (WBS) to develop an Assignment

Responsibility Matrix (ARM)?

• Graphically display the deliverables of the

project in a hierarchical fashion, i.e. levels of

detail

• Organizes the work of the project into logical

groupings

• Helps assign resources and estimate time and

costs

Organizing the WBS levels

• Level 1: the name of the project– e.g. annual conference project

• Level 2: deliverables or major milestones of the project or project phases– e.g. PCs set up

• Level 3: tasks or grouping of tasks– e.g. Obtain PCs, Set up PCs

• …

• Lowest level (Here level 4) : work packages– e.g. Arrange delivery, Load software

Organizing the WBS levels

- tree form -

From K. Heldman 2005, “Project management jumpstart”, Wiley.

Organizing the WBS levels

- outline form -

Task list

• Tasks are single activities, or units of related

work, completed to satisfy a project deliverable or

the requirement of a deliverable

• Deliverable is a “noun” while task is “verb” action

Organizing WBS levels

• Where to stop?– Keep adding levels of the WBS until you’ve broken the work out

to the point where responsibility for each unit of work can be assigned to a specific person or to a team

– work packages: the lowest level of a WBS where resource assignments and time/cost estimates are established

• Why use task identification codes?– allows you to uniquely identify each element of the WBS

– serves as convenient reference numbers to other planning information

• Link to scoping statement?– Make sure all deliverables in scope statement are included in

WBS

Constructing a Responsibility

Assignment Matrix (RAM)• Organizes personnel requirements as in Stage 2 report

• Assign roles and responsibilities to available resources (staff)

• Row: types of resources needed

• Column: WBS work packages

• Resource assignments use judgment from your experience (or someone informs you of their experience) and from historical information

6.5 How can we characterize a task

calendar schedule using a Gantt Chart?

• Using the WBS, determine the number of

work periods needed to complete the tasks

• Identify the duration of each task

• Identify when tasks are likely to occur

• Gantt chart depicts tasks in project calendar

Gantt Chart is a foundation of a work calendar,

but not the only way to understand workflow

Gantt Chart - task duration and timing

6.6 How can we use a Program Evaluation and

Review Technique (PERT) to understand

dependencies between tasks?

• Tasks are dependent on one another, thus one task cannot start or finish until the previous task has finished or started

• Network diagram shows project tasks in dependent order

• Visualizes the progress of the project, and determines how the work of the project should (must) be performed

PERT

Each box is a project task. Arrows show dependencies between

tasks. The tasks in red are on the critical path. If any tasks on the

critical path take longer than planned, the whole project will slip

unless something else is shifted, e.g. overall end date.

B

2 2 days

Mon 8/3/98 Tue 8/4/98

C

3 3 days

Mon 8/3/98 Wed 8/5/98

D

4 4 days

Tue 8/4/98 Fri 8/7/98

E

5 5 days

Wed 8/5/98 Tue 8/11/98

G

7 6 days

Thu 8/6/98 Thu 8/13/98

H

8 6 days

Wed 8/12/98 Wed 8/19/98

I

9 2 days

Fri 8/14/98 Mon 8/17/98

F

6 4 days

Wed 8/5/98 Mon 8/10/98

A

1 1 day

Mon 8/3/98 Mon 8/3/98

J

10 3 days

Thu 8/20/98 Mon 8/24/98

Source: Tom Nolan’s lecture note

6.7 How can we estimate the longest duration

of project activities using a Critical Path

Method (CPM)?

• Used to calculate the duration of the project

• Critical path is the longest full path for the project;

when you change the duration of a critical path

task, it always changes the project duration

• Float time: the amount of time you can delay the

early start of a task without delaying the finish date

of the project

• All tasks with zero float time are considered critical

path tasks

Critical path method

1. List the tasks on the worksheet, WBS number, and task description

2. List the dependencies of each task

3. Record the duration of each task

4. Calculate the early start date and early finish date for each task, beginning with i = min (task #) {• Early finish date of the ith task = early start date + duration

• Early start date of the (i+1)th task if dependent on other task i = (the early finish date of task i) + 1

• Set i = i + 1}

5. Calculate the late start date and late finish date for each task, beginning with i = max (task #) {• Late start date of the ith task = late finish date – duration

• Late finish date of the (i-1)th task if the ith task depends on the (i-1)th task = (the late start date of task i) – 1

• Set i = i – 1}

6. Calculate float for each task where float = late start date – early start date

7. Determine the critical path for the project by adding up the duration of every task with zero float• Task # 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are the critical path tasks and their durations total 144 days

1

2 3

4 5 6

7

Questions / Comments ?