Project Planning and Execution

The process of defining, planning, doing and evaluating the work is the hallmark of
a well-run project.

– I understand the benefits of Project Management

– I can describe and define the requirements and scope of a project
– I can develop a project plan
– I can Identify and manage risk on a project
– I manage project resources as changes occur on projects
– I describe best practices to follow at the end of a project

Definition of a Project

– I recognize a project, as distinguished from a business process.

○ Differs from standard business or people management
Project Characteristics Process Characteristics
One Time Event A repeated event
Moderate to long duration Usually shorter duration
Temporary cross-functional work teams Permanent work teams, usually in the
same dept.
Team members change for different Team members remain constant
projects

– Some challenges of project management as opposed to business processes

○ Problems difficult to anticipate, as specific projects are unique
○ Keeping team members motivated, as projects take longer than
established business processes to complete
○ It may be difficult for project managers to coordinate between project
teams and exercise authority over project team members due to the
temporary and cross-functional composition of project teams.

Common Problems in Projects (Effective project management can help to avoid

these problems)

– I describe common problems that occur in projects.

○ Customers’ expectations on quality and functionality are not met
○ Deadlines are not met
○ Project team members feel overworked
○ Communication on the project status is insufficient

Goal of Project Management

– State the goal of effective project management.

○ Scope of project is clearly defined
 ○ Customer and team member expectations regarding scope, quality and
schedule are understood and accepted.
○ Everyone affected by the project has the desired level of involvement
and information about the project
○ Project-related issues are handled with minimal harm to the project
○ The final project deliverable is of acceptable quality and is delivered as
per schedule
○ Results are evaluated. The relevant information from the evaluation
exercise is documented and analyzed for the benefit of future projects.

Project Stakeholders (It is important to collaborate with project stakeholders as soon

as inititiated)

– Describe common project stakeholders

○ Stakeholders are people who have an interest in the results and
activities of a project.

Project Stakeholder Role

Project Sponsor – Proposes the idea for the project.
– “Sells” the idea to senior
management.
– Supports the project.
Project Leader – Drives results of the project.
– Coordinates activities of the
project team.
– Communicates status and issues.
Functional/Resource Managers – Provides resources to complete
project.
– Responsible for implementing and
sustaining final outcome of the
project.
Team Members – Provides input to the project
– Complete the work on the project
Customers – Define the requirements for the
project.
– Provide feedback on project
deliverables.
– Accept the final deliverable.

Generic Project Execution Process

– Describe a typical process for managing projects.

1. Project Definition: Foundation for the project is established
a. Key players (stakeholders) are identified
b. Vision of project is decided
 c. Requirements for the final deliverable are established
d. Scope of the project is defined
e. Issues the project will address and not address are defined
f. All stakeholders accept
2. Planning Stage: Provides the specifics about how the project will be
executed
a. Project plan created
b. Accepted by stakeholders
c. Scheduled and lays out when important tasks will be completed
d. Critical to establishing a framework that is acceptable to all
stakeholders

3. Development and Implementation Stage: Actual work is done

a. Controlling and Handling changes in the project
b. Managing issues that pose a risk to the project outcome
c. Communicating project status
d. Ensuring desirable progress is made toward the final deliverable
4. Review Stage: Results are evaluated and customer satisfaction is
measured.
a. Provides valuable input to future projects

Assessing requirements and defining scope

– The team needs to understand the specifics about the customer and the
situation before designing a solution.

Understanding the Customer

– The process for determining the characteristics of the customer’s

environment
○ The customer is the stakeholder who accepts the final deliverable of
the project.
○ Define customer requirements
○ Analyze the characteristics of the customer environment
○ What is the problem or issue being addressed? Why is it a problem?
○ What is the current situation? How do things work now?
○ What is the ideal situation? How would things work in the perfect
world?
○ How many people will be using the solution implemented by the
project?
○ Are there any other characteristics of end-users that are important?

Gathering the requirements (the specifications for a project)

– The process for gathering customer requirements for a project

 ○ Features and functions of the final deliverable
○ Timeframe
○ For efficiency, a brainstorming meeting or focus group would be an
appropriate method for gathering requirements.

Project Essential Helpful Optional

Requirements

Defining Scope

– How to define the scope of a project

○ States the issues to be addressed by the project
○ Described what is included and excluded
 Customer and environment characteristics in the description to
help clarify why features have been included (or excluded) from
the scope.
 Requirements and relevant input from all groups that
participated in the gathering of requirements.
 Reality check of the final scope to ensure that it is manageable

Developing a Plan

– The project plan can be developed once the scope of the project is defined
and accepted by the stakeholders.
– Outlines what is to be done and how it will be done

Components of a Plan

– The typical components of a project plan

○ Describes all relevant aspects of a project
○ Must be clear and complete
○ The plan will serve as a guide
 Description of the problem or customer situation
 The names and roles of the project stakeholders
 List of project team members and their roles
 The requirements for the project
 The tasks and milestones to be accomplished
 Project schedule
Defining Tasks

– The rationale for defining tasks within a project

– In order to plan the work for an entire project, the work needs to be
separated into manageable components called tasks.
○ Knowledge of work processes and skills required to complete them is
essential to developing a task list.
○ Each task should be such that one or two people can complete in a
short period of time
○ Being aware of the skills and abilities of the project team members
helps define tasks of a manageable size.
○ Guidance and feedback to the team on tasks is an integral part of
project execution

Developing a Schedule

– Technique for developing a project schedule

1. Organize project tasks and milestones in chronological order
2. Assign people to tasks
3. Specify the time required to complete each task and subtask
4. Review the schedule and make adjustments as necessary
5. Lay out tasks in a calendar format

Task Assigned Resources Time Required

Problem Suggestions