PDBM ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT

www.regenesys.co.za

Brad Bell

July 2017

PDBM

ADVANCED

PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

DAY 2 (units 7.5 – 7.9)

REMINDERS FROM LAST WEEK …

1. Have you grabbed a copy of the prescribed textbook?

2. Have you done (or at least started) your digital

assessments (MCQs) for Sections 7.1 – 7.4?

3. Additional enrichment material shown in purple

SCOPE OF CONTENT

7.1 An overview of project management 1 – 3

7.2 Project problem analysis --

7.3 Project team management 11–12

7.4 Project planning 4, 5, 8 & 10

7.5 Project scheduling 6 – 7

7.6 Project monitoring and control 13

7.7 Project documentation and reporting --

7.8 Contract and tender management 14

7.9 Project closure 16

Assignment

Unit in study guide Chapter in prescribed text book

PDBM

Advanced Project Management

DAY 2, GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Project Management Software (free)

INTRO TO … ‘LIBREOFFICE’

• LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite (from The

Document Foundation) available for Microsoft Windows,

macOS, and Linux

• Descended from OpenOffice in 2010 (other descendent =

Apache OpenOffice)

• LibreOffice uses the OpenDocument file format (ODF) as

standard, but also saves as / opens from MS-Office and

most other major office suite formats

Writer A word processor = MS-Word

Calc A spreadsheet = MS-Excel

Impress A presentation program = MS-Powerpoint

*DrawA vector graphics editor = MS-Visio (and

parts of MS-Publisher)

MathCreating and editing mathematical

formulae

Base A database = MS-Access

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LibreOffice_4.0_Impress_Icon.svg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LibreOffice_4.0_Base_Icon.svg

• The basic package of LibreOffice does word processing, spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams, databases, and mathematical formulae (all available in 110 languages)

• One of the basic components is ‘LibreOffice Draw’ which mimics MS-Visio

• It is designed to be used, amongst others, for drawing networking (and other) diagrams

• It comes with a standard package of common network diagram icons, but additional specialised network icon packs can also be downloaded for specialised flowcharts, etc.

• In addition to the ‘basic’ package, there are also additional add-ons available, such as PRM software (which can be installed independently)

INTRO TO … ‘PROJECTLIBRE’

ProjectLibre is the leading open source alternative to Microsoft

Project. It has been downloaded over 3,000,000 times in over

200 countries and has won InfoWorld "Best of Open Source"

award. The goal of ProjectLibre is to provide free and open

source project management software around the world.

ProjectLibre is compatible with Microsoft Project 2003, 2007

and 2010 files. You can simply open them on Linux, Mac OS or

Windows. ProjectLibre key features include:-

• Compatibility with Microsoft Project

• Gantt Charts and PERT diagrams

• Network Diagrams

• WBS / RBS charts

• Earned Value Costing

• Resource Histograms

The main menu bar from ProjectLibre

• You can see how all main project planning and

management functions (e.g. WBS, network diagram, Gantt

chart, people and other resources, etc.) are integrated with

‘click button’ convenience

• ProjectLibre even generates (amongst others) ‘click button’

progress reports (in textual or graphic formats), showing

progress of work, expenditure, contributions of people, etc.

CarterRadley support videos on ProjectLibre (YouTube)

www.regenesys.co.za

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!

PDBM


DAY 2, SECTION 7.5

Project scheduling (the big one for today!)

DAY 2 – HOW’S OUR PROGRESS?

7.5 Project scheduling ✓

7.6 Project monitoring and control

7.7 Project documentation and reporting

7.8 Contract and tender management

7.9 Project closure

Assignment

7.5.1 WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

Pages 133 – 135 in textbook

• Either: “A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a

deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work

to be executed by the project team to accomplish the

project objectives” (PMBOK)

• Or: “A WBS is when you take a big job and break it down

into small steps”

• Or alternatively: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at

a time”

• A WBS can take any one of several different styles or

formats, but they generally follow the same rules

• 100% rule: The WBS must include 100% of the work

defined by the project scope and capture all deliverables –

internal, external, interim; no more, no less

• Mutually exclusive elements: The WBS must allow no

overlap in scope definition between different elements,

causing possible ambiguity or duplication

• Plan outcomes, not actions: The WBS elements must be

defined in terms of outcomes or results, not actions. This

avoids being over-prescriptive regarding methods, allowing

for greater creative thinking

• Level of detail: The WBS breaks work down into the

smallest unit, i.e. ‘work package’, the smallest reasonable

unit of work that can be costed / delegated / monitored, etc.

• Numbering: WBS elements must be numbered

hierarchically and sequentially

Example: Horizontal WBS

Example: Vertical WBS

Examples: Chart v text formats

Example: Left-hand column of Gantt Chart

7.5.2 PROJECT LOGIC EVALUATION


The next step is to sequence the activities through project logic evaluation (PLE). This is important for planning:-

• Time: The project manager must know when each WBS activity will start and finish, and, by extension, when the project as a whole will be complete.

• Cost: With regard to budgeting, the project manager should indicate when expenditure will start and end for each activity (i.e. cash flow implications).

• Quality: The PLE defines the work windows for each task and work package, which will determine the scheduling of any necessary testing.

• Sequence: Activities may run sequentially or in parallel, and have predecessors / dependencies.

This can be represented through network diagrams …

… which can become increasingly complicated / info rich

‘ProjectLibre’ style

7.5.3 PROJECT TIME CONTROL


• How long does each activity take? (e.g. calculated using

*PERT)

• What is the longest (slowest) path in your network

diagram? This is your ‘critical path’ defining the quickest

path to completion

• Which activities fall along this critical path? These are the

critical activities

• When a risk delays a critical activity, it causes ‘drag’ (i.e.

slows down the whole project)

• Non-critical activities don’t directly affect the core

timeline, and can have ‘float’ or ‘slack’, which means any

delays don’t directly affect the whole project

*Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)


When you want to estimate how long any particular project

activity will take, you should:-

• Make an optimistic estimate (‘If everything goes right first

time, how long would this take …?’)

• Make a realistic estimate (‘If most things go right, and a

few things go wrong, how long would this take … ?’)

• Make a pessimistic estimate (‘If everything that can go

wrong, does go wrong, how long would this take …?’)

• Then combine (1 x optimistic) + (4 x realistic) + (1 x

pessimistic) and divide by 6 for PERT estimate

• Note: The gap between (a) optimistic and realistic is usually

smaller than the gap between (b) realistic and pessimistic,

which is normal

*Examples of PERT time estimate calculations

www.regenesys.co.za

https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=t6KVR80B7Dc

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6KVR80B7Dc

7.5.4 SCHEDULING


• Project scheduling is the conversion of work breakdown

structures and logical sequencing into an achievable

methodology for their completion: it creates a timetable and

reveals the logic that relates project activities to each other

in a coherent fashion.

• Gantt charts (also known as ‘project barcharts’, ‘timebar

schedules’, etc.) are the most common tools for scheduling

project information.

• Gantt charts have been automated in almost every

available PRM software package (resulting in many

different styles)

Explanatory layout of Gantt Chart

Gantt Chart with progress indicators (e.g. shading in the

bars, ‘today line’, etc.)

Example of ProjectLibre Gantt Chart

Add, edit, delete tasks, timeframes (including

progress), predecessors, resources, etc.

Gantt Chart with same info automatically

develops itself as info is changed

7.5.5 SCHEDULE CONTROL

• One of the most common tools to monitor and control the

schedule is milestone analysis.

• A milestone is an event or stage of the project that

represents a significant accomplishment on the road to the

project's completion.

• Completion of a deliverable (a combination of multiple

project tasks), an important activity on the project's critical

path, or even a calendar date can all be milestones.

Setting milestones in ProjectLibre

• Each task in ProjectLibre is fully editable, and one of the

options available is to “display task as milestone” which

then changes the visual appearance, reporting, etc.

• Note: It may sometimes be better to insert a ‘milestone task’

in between all the normal tasks at important stage points

QUICKIE PRACTICAL

• ‘Project scheduling’ is when you make a WBS, network

(sequencing) diagram, do PERT calculations, and

compile everything into a Gantt chart

Can some brave volunteer please come forward and …

• Tell us about a project you know of

• Describe the kind and amount of planning the project team

did or did not do

• Explain the end result of the project’s success or failure

www.regenesys.co.za

END

OF

THE

UNIT

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!

Please remember not to forget to

remember to:-

1. Check out the ‘Key Points’

summarising this unit

2. Do your digital assessment

(MCQs) for this unit online

PDBM


DAY 2, SECTION 7.6

Project monitoring and control



7.6 Project monitoring and control ✓

7.7 Project documentation and reporting


7.9 Project closure

Assignment

7.6.1 APPROACH TO PROJECT M&C


• Significant challenges with running projects have to do with

maintaining accurate monitoring and control systems.

• Projects are designed around constraints – time, cost, and

quality – and therefore all three must be tightly controlled.

• As such, there are two important questions:-

1.What information regarding the project timeframes, costs

and quality should be measured?

2.When are the best times to measure them (daily, weekly,

monthly, ad hoc, etc)?

‘Single loop learning’ ‘Double loop learning’

7.6.2 EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT


This simply means:-

• Calculating progress of ‘work by time’

• But not calculating ‘budget by time’

• Rather calculating ‘budget by work’ (using ‘unit costs’)

• Example:

• Planned: Resurface 12 kms of road at a cost of R12 million

between Jan and Dec 2018 (i.e. in 12 months)

• Actual: By the end of June 2018, we have resurfaced 5

kms of road at a cost of R6 million

Performance 1: Work by time ✓

• Actual work = 5 kms

• Planned work = 6 kms

• Performance = 83% (formula = actual ÷ planned x 100)

Performance 2: Money by time X• Actual spend = R6 million

• Planned spend = R6 million

• Performance = 100%

Performance 3: Money by work (‘earned value’) ✓

• Actual unit cost price = R6 million ÷ 5 kms = R1.2 m/km

• Planned unit cost price = R12 million ÷ 12 kms = R1 m/km

• Performance = 120%

QUICKIE PRACTICAL

• When ‘performance monitoring’ shows poor results

(lack of progress against benchmark), then you can

either (a) analyse how to improve progress or (b)

change the benchmark



• Describe how some aspect (e.g. quality, time or cost) fell

behind schedule

• Explain your reaction to this poor performance, and how

you knew which option (‘a’ or ‘b’ above) to choose?

www.regenesys.co.za

END

OF

THE

UNIT

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!


remember to:-





PDBM


DAY 2, SECTION 7.7

Project documentation and reporting




7.7 Project documentation and reporting ✓


7.9 Project closure

Assignment

7.7.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFO SYS

Most organisations are managing multiple projects with

different scopes, complexities, timelines and documents. In this

context, the implementation of a project management

information system (PMIS) is considered advantageous

• PMIS is a framework, tool or system for:

• Collecting • Organising • Storing • Processing, and •

Disseminating project information (documentation)

• That:

• Provides answers to stakeholder questions

• Facilitates communication among stakeholders

• Assists in ‘what if’ analyses, and

• Helps organisational learning

• PMIS software should ideally support all project

management knowledge areas such as Integration

Management, Scope Management, Time Management,

Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resource

Management, Communications Management, Risk

Management, Procurement Management, and Stakeholder

Management.

• Software that can manage multiple projects at one time is

generally considered to be starting point / basic level PMIS

software (e.g. ProjectLibre)

• Software that can manage multiple projects at one time and

also allow projects to see / reference / calculate based on

each other (e.g. resource sharing) is ‘real’ / enterprise-wide

PMIS software

7.7.2 WORK PERFORMANCE REPORTING

• During project implementation, data is collected and

analysed in the context of the project to provide information

for stakeholders (e.g. circulated in a project work

performance report).

• Project performance reports are the physical or electronic

representation of work performance information collated on

a regular basis intended to “generate decisions or raise

issues, actions, or awareness”

Basic text report from ProjectLibre

7.7.3 EFFECTIVE PROJECT REPORTING

• Demonstrate knowledge and expertise (proficient use

and understanding of project management principles and

practices applicable to the context)

• Maximise reader insight (logical development of report

leading to conclusive findings and prioritised and realistic

recommendations/ actions where appropriate), and

• Minimise reader effort (organise text logically using

appropriate headings; reader should be able to choose the

level of technical detail he or she wishes to read through

the use of headings, subheadings, display techniques and

appendices)

QUICKIE PRACTICAL

• One of the major problems with project reporting is that

the Project Manager is essentially ‘both the player and

the referee’ and, by reporting on the project, is

indirectly reporting on his or her own performance



• Describe how some project reports were misleading or

even false

• Explain how reporting could be improved to minimise this

risk

www.regenesys.co.za

END

OF

THE

UNIT

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!


remember to:-





PDBM


DAY 2, SECTION 7.8

Contract and tender management





7.8 Contract and tender management ✓

7.9 Project closure

Assignment

7.8.1 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT


• Contracts are integral to project management from small

projects to large complex programmes and, therefore, an

understanding of the different types of contracts is essential

for project managers

• A contract is a legal and binding agreement between two

parties — the contractor and the client

• The contractor agrees to perform a service and the client is

obligated to pay for the service

• This document governs the relationship spelling out the

conditions, responsibilities, and legal rights should there be

a breach of the contract

Three basic types of contracts

• Fixed price or lump sum contracts: A specific price is

agreed for the good or service with well-defined

deliverables

• Cost reimbursable contracts: All the costs that the seller

incurs during the project are charged back to the buyer

(seller reimburses costs). The costs that are allowable are

clearly defined in the contract

• Time and materials (T&M) contracts: This type of

contract is a cross between fixed price and cost-

reimbursable contracts.

The ‘battle of the forms’

• Customer: We place the order subject to our terms and

conditions …

• Supplier: We accept, subject to our terms and conditions …

• Various forms of ‘standard contracts’ offered by

professional associations or regulatory councils

Risk management of the ‘iron triangle’

• Risk of poor quality: ‘Retention clause’

• Risk of time delays: ‘Penalty clause’

• Risk of cost over-runs: ‘Escalation clause’

• … and always: ‘Escape clause’

7.8.2 TENDERS (BIDS)

• The project scope document is a key document used to develop the request for tender proposal. The clearer you are about the project the better the request for tender proposal will be. This, in turn, will improve the quality of the tender submissions.

• Remember, the project scope statement clearly puts forward what needs to be accomplished:-

• Product scope description, service description and or result description;

• The list of deliverables together with acceptance criteria;

• Important information regarding technical issues or concerns that could impact cost estimating; and

• Identified constraints (e.g. required delivery dates, organisational policies and procedures).

South African government tender evaluation process

• Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act No. 5 of

2000 plus Regulations, 2011

Screening

• Is it complete? E.g. tax clearance certificate

• Is it acceptable? E.g. within expected price range

• Is it functional? E.g. above threshold of 65%

• Does it have sufficient ‘local content’ (if applicable)

Scoring

• Points for price (e.g. out of 80 or 90 by formula)

• Points for BEE scorecard (e.g. out of 10 or 20 by table)

Awarding

• To bidder with highest points

QUICKIE PRACTICAL

• Tendering and ‘tenderpreneurs’ have, rightly or

wrongly, become associated with fishy business, fraud

and corruption in South Africa


• Suggest one or more weaknesses in government’s current

tenders processes

• Propose some ways in which to improve government’s

tender process until it actually achieves its objectives (good

service delivery at fair price)

www.regenesys.co.za

END

OF

THE

UNIT

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!


remember to:-





PDBM


DAY 2, SECTION 7.9

Project closure






7.9 Project closure ✓

Assignment

7.9.1 TYPES OF TERMINATION

Pages 362 – 374 of textbook

There are four main reasons for projects to be terminated:-

• Extinction: When the project is completed successfully or

is no longer viable in terms of quality, time or cost

• Addition: When one project is added to another similar

project in order to form one new, larger, project

• Integration: When the (originally short-term) project and its

people, resources, structures, etc. get absorbed into the

company (e.g. as an ongoing programme)

• Starvation: When a project loses its priority status, and

thus loses ‘political’ support, budget, etc.

7.9.2 HANDING OVER THE PROJECT

The process of handing over is often complex and goes

beyond formal transfer of ownership, e.g.:-

• Establishing training programmes for users;

• Transferring and sharing technical designs and features;

• Connection and commissioning;

• Licences, certifications and registrations;

• Defect liability periods, including maintenance and callouts;

• New supplier contracts; and

• New end user policies and procedures (including manuals).

• Example: Build – Operate – Transfer (‘BOT’)

7.9.3 PROJECT REVIEW

Lessons learned analysis is one of the most important

elements in the project closeout. Some lessons include:-

• “We failed to recognise the strategic link with the project.”

• “The wrong business requirements were addressed.”

• “We didn't understand the problem fully before we started

work.”

• “We didn't have the right team members or expertise.”

• “Stakeholders were so demanding.”

• “Time and again we had governance issues.”

• “We failed to see the importance of planning.”

• “We didn’t identify the risks correctly.”

• “We did not react quickly enough to emerging risks.”

7.9.4 PROJECT CLOSURE CHECKLIST

The closure of a project is in effect a mini-project, and

demands planning, e.g.:-

1 PROJECT CLOSURE REPORT PURPOSE

2 PROJECT CLOSURE REPORT GOALS

3 PROJECT CLOSURE REPORT SUMMARY

3.1 Project Background Overview

3.2 Project Highlights and Best Practices

3.3 Project Closure Synopsis

4 PROJECT METRICS PERFORMANCE

4.1 Goals and Objectives Performance

4.2 Success Criteria Performance

4.3 Milestone and Deliverables Performance …

QUICKIE PRACTICAL

• Projects can and should be terminated when they reach

the end of their useful lifespan, i.e. completed, no

longer viable, merged with another project, absorbed

into the company, or downgraded in terms of priority

and budget


• Tell us about a project you know of that ended through

‘extinction’, ‘addition’, ‘integration’, or ‘starvation’

• Explain how that project came to the end of its useful

lifespan, and how its termination was managed

www.regenesys.co.za

END

OF

THE

UNIT

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!


remember to:-





PDBM


END OF DAY 2

Individual assignment overview






7.9 Project closure ✓

Assignment ✓

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

• “Go beneath the surface and you can see that the project

manager role changes from situation to situation.

Sometimes the project manager is leading the project by

setting direction, motivating the stakeholders, making

architectural and strategy decisions, resolving conflict, and

exercising authority. In other situations, the project manager

may be co-ordinating and administrating while an architect,

strategist or leadership team makes the key decisions that

drive the project” …

• … Write a report for the HR director in which you motivate

the need for a standard project manager role definition,

what [responsibilities] it must incorporate, how it should be

supported at organisational level, and how you will ensure

its acceptance by both line and project managers.

Study guide

• Section 7.1.1, p 18

Textbook

• Section 3.3, pp 62 – 64

• Section 12.1, pp 266 – 271

Recommended Reading

• Pitagorsky, G. (2016). What a project manager does: A

multi-faceted role. https://www.projecttimes.com/george-

pitagorsky/what-a-project-manager-does-a-multi-faceted-

role.html

• Plus your own research … ☺

https://www.projecttimes.com/george-pitagorsky/what-a-project-manager-does-a-multi-faceted-role.html

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

QUESTION 1 [25 MARKS]

Identify a project to complete in your department at your organisation

(or an organisation that you are familiar with). Present a professionally

written project proposal, including:-

• An executive summary;

• A background to the proposed project (how it is aligned with the

organisation’s vision and mission);

• The key project goals and objectives (apply SMART criteria and

explain the strategic link between plans, programmes and project);

• A stakeholder analysis;

• Findings stemming from your feasibility study and market research;

• Financial projections or cost projections (best, middle and worst

case scenarios of initial estimates of time and resources); and

• General recommendations (tactics) based on your research and

financial projections.


• Concerning your project, document how implementation

will take place (strategy) and how you would address

potential challenges (resistance to implementation) in this

regard. Also, provide an overview of the committees,

decision makers and task teams that will be involved in

your project, including their responsibilities.


• Create a work breakdown structure (WBS) for your project.


• Conduct a risk analysis on your chosen project, clearly

showing the impact and likelihood of specific risks. Be sure

to determine the risk acceptance criteria, risk acceptability

and what action will be proposed to reduce the risk.


• Discuss the earned value management (EVM) technique

and its role in forecasting and controlling performance of

your chosen project.


• Together with monitoring and control is the process of reporting on progress. Discuss what you would include in the project progress report of your chosen project.


• During which development stage of the project management life cycle would leadership be likely to acknowledge successes and failures of the project? Justifyyour answer, and critically discuss how you could manage potential failure and success factors.


• Present a sample project closure checklist that you would use to close your project effectively.

www.regenesys.co.za

END

OF

THE

OVERVIEW

Congratulations!

Nice going … !!

www.regenesys.co.za

Brad Bell

July 2017

Documents

PDBM ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT