Project Management

Anytime a new project arises, it can seem like a daunting task. There are many components to consider that will help ensure that a project is brought to successful completion. The steps needed to complete a project are known as the Project Management process.

What is a Project?

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition, 2004). The first step in the Project Management process is to identify what a project is. Projects are different from operational processes in that they are temporary and have measurable results, products or services as a direct output. An operational process is ongoing, such as invoice processing or meeting scheduling. Operational processes keep business moving on a day-to-day basis. A project may help improve an operational process, but the main word to remember is “temporary”. If the work is temporary, it’s a project. Once a project has been identified, a project manager must break the project down into it’s components—timeline, resources, desired results, budget and phases.

Section 1: Needs Analysis & Initiating a Project (describes how to complete a project charter)

First, the requirements have to be identified, more specifically, what will the outcome of the project be? This can be done via a needs analysis process. A needs analysis process helps to identify what the business or organizational problem is, who the target audience for the project is and what success will look like. This will help to set the framework and make sure that the solution recommended is on point with the needs. Often times, someone will come in and say “I have this problem” and have a solution at the ready. A project manager’s job is to assess the problem, and talk through business issue to get to the best solution. The Needs Analysis process is where the questions are asked that help all parties to gain greater understanding of the task at hand. These are the questions that are asked during assessment :

1. Describe the work that is being requested: Company X would like a program for new and incumbent workers that will train them on the new system that they are implementing for vendor management
2. Target Audience for work requested: New and Incumbent associates
3. Projected Timeline: 6 months from conception to roll-out.
4. What business or organizational result are you trying to impact: Company X would like to increase output by 20%
5. What business or organizational need is this tied to: Profits have declined over the past two years and Company X would like to gain efficiencies and enhanced profits with the introduction of this new system.
6. What is the current performance: Currently no associates know how to use the system and need to be trained prior to roll-out
7. What is the desired performance: That all associates will be trained on the system and use it with minimal disruptions and six months after roll out have a customer satisfaction rating of 90% or higher.

Section 2: Leading the Project Team

(what is the role of the project team and team leader and why team management is crucial to the successful completion of the project)

The project team will be responsible for the project’s success. A project manager’s main responsibility is supervising this team. These people may have never worked together before. They may have different areas of expertise, come from different parts of the world, and it’s the project manager’s job to make sure everything goes smoothly. Gathering resources (workers) can happen in many different ways. Sometimes, the resources are pre-defined. Sometimes the project manager will have an opportunity to ask for different people from different departments or hire outside consultants. The project manager will know who they need based on the needs analysis. And once that team is assembled it is time to manage them. And the most effective rule in managing a project team is this: FEED THEM. A well-fed team will be more productive than one that is looking at their watch for the next lunch break. Every time the team is together is a an opportunity for team building. There are icebreakers that work really well, such as having everyone write down one fact that no one knows about them. The project manager then compiles them all, and reads them out loud. The team can then guess who the person is. Some may look at this as a frivolous activity. It is not. Team building is the most important part of the project because the more engaged the workers are, the more trust and comfort that the team can gain with each other, the better the project will go. The team need to be invested in each other as much as they are in the work. For instance, someone may need to take a vacation day to go to the doctor but they have an important meeting to attend. If one of the other team members feels comfortable, they can step in, and get the work done.

Section 3: Planning the Scope

(planning the scope and setting an appropriate target for your project. Recognize the different types of customers and define the customer’s need appropriately, etc.)

Once the needs analysis is completed, two items are typically filled out: (1) a project charter and (2) a project scope. A project charter is what a project manager uses to gain approval from whomever has authority over the funding of the project. This can be a Senior Vice President of an organization, a Board of Directors, or an outside contractor. But the project manager is responsible for managing their expectations and ensuring that the project and aligns the project goals with the strategy of the organization. Essentially, a charter documents what the business needs are, i.e. enhanced service delivery, a new invoicing system--and what the output of the project will be, i.e. a technology platform in place to support the invoicing system.

A project scope document incorporates the project charter and outlines what the deliverables for the project will be, who the stakeholders (anyone who is impacted by the project) are, what is in-scope for the project and most importantly, what is out-of-scope of a project. In-scope means what the team is responsible for. A lot of project teams find themselves dealing with “scope creep”. This is when responsibilities or expectations are added that were not part of the original agreement. That is why it is very important to determine what is specifically in bounds of the project. What is out of scope are items that this team is not responsible for and that can be part of a separate project. This helps to maintain the focus of the project team, and apply resources and time in an efficeient matter. The project scope is where everyone comes to agreement about what it will take in order to meet the business requirements. Additionally, this is where the risks are identified: what are the risks if the project isn’t completed? Are there any external (environmental, etc.) or internal factors (operational, organizational) that may put the project at risk? Risks are key to determining what contingency plans need to be in place in the project plan should any problems arise and also how to handle outside factors and adjust the timelines if necessary. A contingency plan is what is put in place should these items happen. For example, if Vendor A cannot provide the materials, a contingency plan will have a list of alternate vendors, their prices and time constraints that the project team can call upon should the need arise.

Section 4: Organizing the Project

 (breaking down the project in manageable pieces and how to organize those pieces into a greater whole). 

Once the project charter and scope are completed, a project plan can be created. Many people make the mistake that project plans and project timelines are the same thing. A project plan is a narrative of the tasks and deliverables through the various phases—initiation, execution, monitoring and controlling and closing. A timeline is the list of tasks and deliverables with assigned start dates, end dates and owners. Whereas a project plan presents a comprehensive and or thorough approach to how the project will be handled, a timeline breaks down the various tasks into manageable units. When creating the project plan, it is important to keep in mind the three constraints of any project: time, scope and money. As discussed in the needs assessment and then redocumented on the project scope and charter, there will be a general timeframe of the project, i.e. six months, what is included in the work and how resources (people and money) are going to be allocated.

Created in the beginning of the project plan, there will be a table that gives an overview of the work entailed in the project, that has been outlined in the project charter and scope, as well as input from the project team that has been assembled. For instance, “Project X will take approximately six months to complete (unclear how this relates to what is being stated above. It appears there may be a sentence or bridge that is missing). The breakdown below gives the general timeline by phase and deliverables that will take place during those phases (or, give a more step-by-step guide: “a project plan chart typically lists the “time frame on the left hand column, the estimated time length in the middle and deliverables on the right hand side” How do project managers decide what constitutes a “phase” – this should be explained).

Here is a very general description of the different phases:

Investigation Phase: During the investigation phase, the Business Owner and project manager work together to identify, at a high level, the target audience, projected timeline, desired business impact, performance gaps, and how success will be measured.

Analysis Phase: During the analysis phase, objectives, project scope and objectives, project participants, project manager, business project manager, the staff that will perform project planning, and budget tasks are identified. The project manager analyzes existing source materials and talks with the Business Owner and Subject Matter Experts to formulate project recommendations.

Design Phase: Once the objectives of the project have been identified, a project plan is created, which is the blueprint for project. This project plan document contains the project outline, work strategies, and how the resources will be allocated. More time and effort spent on the previous phases increases the quality of the content and reduces the time needed for design and development.

Implementation Phase: The implementation phase includes activities leading up to the project completion or rollout. During the implementation phase, the project team partners with other involved parties to develop an implementation plan, including planning and executing the pilot/dry run, communicating to all stakeholders, and if necessary the planning the production and/or delivery of materials. Most of the tasks in the implementation phase occur after the project work has been approved, but some tasks (such as scheduling and planning communication) may occur concurrently with the previous phases.

Evaluation Phase: Evaluation is an ongoing process and should be actively conducted during each phase of the project. Everyone involved in the project program should evaluate the decisions made and their effect on subsequent tasks/steps continuously.

Once the table is created, the project plan will explain what will take place during those phases. For example, “In Phase One, we will identify the retailer that will be able to create our marketing campaign. We will ask these multiple retailers to send us their price estimates, or bids, based on the following criteria that has been created as a best practice through our advocacy department, who has had success in gaining awareness for their Human Rights campaigns. The project plan also and includes other plans and processes that are crucial to the successful completion of the project: the communication plan, the change council process (and the risk management plan .

Creating a Communication Plan

A communication plan is crucial to a project plan, because it outlines the ways that all successes, challenges and issues can be properly communicated to the right people, at the right time. There are internal communications which will occur between the team members, such as status updates and regularly scheduled meetings and those that are external communications. External communications can go to the media, project stakeholders, interested parties, etc. and will be different than just the communications used to manage the project. An effective communication plan can be drafted based on the needs of the different project stakeholders identified in the needs analysis and chart. A good way to start to chart this information is to: (1) bring the project team together and create a chart of who all the stakeholders are and then (2) identify the stakeholder level of interest in the project as well as the stakeholder’s impact on the project. They have already been identified in the other documents, but now is where you will determine how they will be communicated to based on their needs. A useful way to do this is by using a RACI diagram:

• Responsible (Those involved in achieving the task; there can be multiple people) responsible).
• Accountable (Those who are ultimately accountable for the completion of the task- there must be exactly one “A” specified for each task.)
• Consulted (Those whose opinions are sought because they are subject matter experts or informed parties )
• Informed (Those that are kept up-to-date on progress but don’t have any real input into the project.)

Once that has been completed, you will create a chart that evaluates the types of information that will be sent to the stakeholders (examples: project updates, meeting minutes, project changes), when it will be sent (examples: quarterly, as-needed, upon completion of task), and how it will be communicated (examples: email, presentation, meetings or press releases). Type of Communication Used for Who receives How it will be sent When it will be sent Project updates Ensuring that all members of the project team are updating their sections of the project plan with deliverables as they become complete Project manager Project team Project Sponors Email Quarterly

Section 5: Assessing Risk

(risk assessment; how best to identify risk? How can risks be avoided? What’s the best way to identify risks, etc.?)

Project risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on at least one project objective, such as time, cost, scope, or quality (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition, 2004). They PMBOK also gives a Risk Breakdown Structure that can be used during project planning meetings, as the team can brainstorm together to identify risks. The Project Manager will facilitate these meetings and determine what the impact these identified risks will have on a project. The best way to do this? Post-It Notes! Under each category put down some risks that your team can identify.

Once the risks have been identified, you can divide them up again, this time into “Probable” and “Unlikely”. Once they’ve been separated out, concentrate on the “Probable”. Determine which have a high impact (they will cause a delay in the entire project, cost time, money and people) or a low impact (they will have a minor disruption on the project and no time, money or people will be lost). Now you have a group of probable and high impact risks to focus on. It’s important to also do the same for “Unlikely” and high impact as well, but now that they’ve been partitioned out, it is easier to work on. You can now create a risk register, which is usually a table or an excel document which will list the risks out, and the actions taken if any of these things happen. The team can work through this and update it regularly.

Section 6: Developing a Schedule/Timeline

A timeline is a how the tasks are distributed to the various workers. A timeline assigns a start and end date, and also links the various deliverables (e.g. in order for a new task to begin, another one must end; or two tasks may run concurrently). It is important to make the linkages between these tasks so that in the event that one task is delayed, adjustments can be made to the rest of the project plan.

The timeline also has the milestones are significant events or points in the project. They do not have a start and end date but rather stand alone. This makes them different from tasks, which may lead to a milestone. Setting milestones also helps to make sure that the project stays on track. Examples of milestones include “Received contract from hospital for 200 free flu shots.” All the work that went into making sure that contract was received are tasks on the timeline. Milestones are also ways to celebrate successes with the team. Items that are crucial to the completion of the project are on what is called the “Critical Path”. Close attention should be paid to “Critical Path” items – because if any item is delayed it could jeopardize the project and would need the immediate attention of the project manager and project sponsor to mitigate any risk or potential collapse. Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel are the two most popular programs used by project managers to chart a timeline Whatever program is used to create the timeline, the components should be the same:

1. Task name and deliverable;
2. Resources
3. Start Date
4. End Date (which will give the duration of the task).

They all should be part of a particular phase of the project as well. Managing the timeline in each phase of the project is how you can ensure you are able to complete a project.

Section 8: Finishing the Project

 (how to evaluate the project, summarize lessons learned throughout the course of the project and assemble a close-out report). 

Monitoring the timeline is essentially the best way to evaluate how the project is going and to determine if it is on track. You can translate these activities into a milestone document or a success report. A milestone document lists out what the milestone was, when it was completed and who was responsible. A success report can list out all the activities that have gone on, what is coming up, and what the significant accomplishments are. These can be in word documents, or powerpoint presentations or emails. It is at the project manager’s discretion.

As projects enter each new phase it is important to do an evaluation. A great way to do this is a “Plus/Delta” exercise with the team. Going around the room, ask “What worked”, “What didn’t work” and “What can we do better next time”. Have someone document these ideas and distribute to the rest of the team. Compile each phases “Plus/Delta” exercise and go through one final one at the end. See if the same mistakes were made in each phase and discuss what factors contributed to that not being able to be changed. See where the areas of opportunity were that may not have been taken. Also, where were significant changes made and celebrate them with the team. Do these last, so you always end a team meeting on a positive note.

Finally, the project manger will create a close out document. There is no set document for this, but in general it will be a final write-up of how the project went, a summary of all significant accomplishments and deliverables met, and a brief description of lessons learned. This is good to be archived for future project use so that other teams can see how these projects were handled. Any other contracts that were entered into for the project should be closed out as well at this point.