Project Management Base Information

Project: a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

 

Characters of project:

1. Has a unique purpose

2. Is temporary

3. Is developed using progressive elaboration

4. Requires resources, often from various areas

5. Should have a primary customer or sponsor

6. Involves uncertainty

 

Project management: the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements

 

Purpose of project management: ensure that the project is successful and meets its objectives.

 

Advantages of using formal project management methods:

1. better control of financial, physical, and human resources

2. Improved customer relations

3. Shorter development times

4. Lower costs

5. Higher quality and increased reliability

6. Higher profit margins

7. Improved productivity

8. Better internal coordination

9. Higher worker morale

 

Program: a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.

 

Progra Manager: provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program

 

Purpose of Project Portfolio Management help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective

 

Project management --> Tactical goals

1. Are we carrying out projects well?

2. Are projects on time and on budget?

3. Do project stakeholders know what they should be doing?

 

Project Portfolio Management --> Strategic goals

1. Are we working on the right projects?

2. Are we investing the right areas?

3. Do we have the right resources to be competitive?

 

Responsible of project manager:

1. Planning and organizing the work

2. Managing the day-to-day activities of a project

3. Delivering the project deliverables to the client

4. Identifying potential stakeholders

 

Value of project manager:

1. Produce quality products

2. Stay on schedule

3. Complete within budget

4. Satisfy the client's requirements

5. Lead to follow-on business

6. Achieve success

 

Role of project manager:

1. To archive the end objective with the available resources and within the constraints of time, cost and performance / technology.

2. To meet contractual profit objectives.

3. To make all required decisions whether they be for alternatives or termination

4. Responsibility for bottom line

5. To act as the communication focal point to the customer (external) and to the upper management and fucntional management (internal).

6. To "negotiate" with all functional disciplines for accomplishment of the deliverables, within time, cost and performance / technology.

7. To resolve all conflicts, if possible.

 

Main responsibility areas of the project manager:

1. Manage the project activities and tasks

    A. Planning and Organising:

        a. Ability to determine appropriate measures for themselves and for others to achieve the project goals.

        b. Prioritisation of these measures

        c. Co-ordination of these measures

    B. Controlling

        a. Ability to control processes and activities in a result oriented manner.

        b. Ensures project progress

    C. Stress Tolerance

        a. Experience and keen instinct for the customer's respective field of activity or sector of industry and the hierarchical levels

        b. Ability to "sell" the project result in the organisation

 

2. Manage the customer

    A. Customer Orientation

        a. Experience and keen instinct for the customer's respective field of activity or sector of industry and the hierarchical levels

        b. Ability to sell the project results in the organisation

    B. Personal "Chemistry"

        a. Ability to make a good and competent impression right from the first contact

    C. Analytical Skills

        a. Ability to focus on the essetials, capacity for abstraction, sound judgment and experience.

 

3. Manage the team

    A. Leadership Qualities / Managing People

        a. Ability to motivate the team to work towards a common goal and to achieve co-operation within the team

        b. Ability to provide professional support

        c. Ability to delegate

    B. Guiding and Managing Performance

        a. Ensures customer oriented quality.

        b. Combines various disciplines to find the best solution.

    C. Sensitivity

        a. Recognises and appreciates each person's strengths, interests and problems.

        b. Fairness when dealing with others.

        c. Encouragement of a culture of constructive controversy.

 

Knowledge required for project managers:

1. The project management body of knowledge

2. Application area knowledge, standards and regulations

3. Project environment knowledge

4. General management knowledge and skills

5. Soft skills or human relations skills

 

Knowledge areas for project management:

1. Scope management

2. Time management

3. Cost management

4. Quality management

5. Human resource management

6. Communication management

7. Risk management

8. Procurement management

9. Project integration management

 

Ten top skills for project managers

1. People skills

2. Leadership

3. Listening

4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent

5. Strong at building trust

6. Verbal communication

7. Strong at building team

8. Conflict resolution, conflict management

9. Critical thinking, problem solving

10. Understands, balances priorities

 

Leadership: the art of influencing people to work togeher to achieve shared goals or objectives.

 

Manager vs Leader

Manager: administrator, plan, staff, control, monitor

Leader: forward thinker, build team, inspire, motivate, coach individuals and teams, empower individuals and teams

 

Different skills needed in different situations:

1. Larger projects: leadership, relevant prior experience, planning, people skills, verbal communication, and team-building skills

2. High uncertainty projects: risk management, expectation management, leadership, people skills, and planning skills

3. Very novel projects: leadership, people skills, having vision and goals, self confidence, expectations management, and listening skills

 

Project success:

1. The project met scope, time, and cost goals

2. The project satisfied the customer/sponsor

3. The result of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy.

 

Items help project succeed

1. Executive support

2. User involvement

3. Experienced project manager

4. Clear business objectives

5. Minmized scope

6. Standard software infrastructure

7. Firm basic requirements

8. Formal methodology

9. Reliable estimates

10. Other criteria, such as small milestones, proper planning, competent staff, and ownership

 

Project life cycle:

Concept phase

Develop phase

Execute phase

Finish phase

Pre-Initiation Activities:

1. Determine the scope, time, and cost constraints for the project

2. Identify the project sponsor

3. Select the project manager

4. Develop a business case for a project

5. Meet with the project manager to review the process and expectations for managing the project

6. Detemine if the project should be divided into two or more smaller projects

 

Process: a series of actions directed toward a particular result

 

Project Management Process: Each phase have below processes

Initiating processes

Planning processes

Executing processes

Monitoring and controlling processes

Closing processes

 

 

Project charter:

1. Short and include key project information and stakeholder signatures.

2. A document that formally recognises the existence of a project.

3. Kick-off meeting. stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans.

 

Plan Process

Purpose: guide execution

Output:

1. A team charter

2. A project scope statement

3. A work breakdown structure

4. A project schedule, in the form of a Gantt chart with all dependicnies and resources entered

5. A list of prioritized risks (part of a risk register)

 

Executing Process

1. Usually takes the most time and resource to perform

2. Project managers must use their leadership skills to handle the many challenges that occur during project execution.

 

Monitoring and Controlling Process

1. Involves measuring progress toward project objectives, monitoring deviation from the plan, and taking corrective actions.

2. Affects all other process groups and occurs during all phases of the project life cycle.

3. Outputs include performance reports, change requests, and updates to various plans

 

Closing Process

1. Involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services

2. Even if projects are not completed, they should be closed out to learn from the past

3. Outputs include project archives and lessons learned, part of organizational process assets

4 Most projects also include a final report and presentation to the sponsor/senior management

 

Management Reviews: also called phase exits or kill points, should occur after each phase to evaluate the project's progress, likely success, and continued compatibility with organizational goals.