A Guide to Project Management For Sponsors and Team Members

1. A Guide to Project Management For Sponsors and Team Members

2. Contents • Project Delivery Performance • What is a Project? • Types of Work Activities • Influences on Projects • Why Project Management? • The Project Process • The Role of the Project Manager • The Role of the Sponsor • The Role of the Steering Committee • The Role of Team Members • Project Scope • Project Estimating • Project Control • In Summary

3. Cancelled 31.1% On time & budget 16.2% Challenged 52.7% Most projects fail to deliver to the basic criteria of on time and budget… Results of analysis of 8380 projects in 365 organisations The Sponsor, Steering Committee and Project Manager need to be aware of this and address the common causes of failure to increase the likelihood of success.

4. Why Projects Fail The main causes of project failure are a lack of effective involvement from the sponsor and insufficient buy-in from key stakeholders. Other common causes are poor scope definition and scope creep, poor estimating and poor project control.

5. What is a Project? • “A Project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service.” (PMBOK 2000) • “Temporary” relates to a project having a definite beginning and end. • “Unique” relates to the deliverable being different to a reasonable extent for other such existing products, services or results.

6. Classification of University Work Activities The PSC classification of work undertaken by CSU is based on: • The nature of the work • The timeframe within which the work is performed • The cost of the work • The significance of the work The following categories have been identified: • Operational Activities – Ongoing, repetitive and operates within the existing status quo • Assignments – small activities, value < $20,000, timeframe < 2 months, University significance - low • Small Projects - value within $20,000 to $100,000, timeframe within 2 -6 months and University significance is not low • Large Projects – value > $100,000, timeframe > 6 months and university significance is high

7. Projects and Operational Work Share similar characteristics… • Utilise resources and are constrained by their availability. • Require activities to be planned, executed and controlled. … and have major differences: Projects • aim to meet the objectives and then finish. • have a unique outcome which is aimed at changing the status quo. Operational Work • is ongoing and repetitive. • repeats over a period of time and operates within the existing status quo.

8. Projects are Challenging Projects are a combination of most or all of the following characteristics: • Large number of activities • High complexity • High risk • Large number of participants • Tight constraints on time, money, people, equipment, facilities.

9. What are the Main Influences on a Project? Resources Time Quality Risk Scope Money The team need to be aware of the priority order of these for the project.

10. Why use Project Management? Project Management is a structured approach that improves the likelihood that a series of large and complex tasks will be undertaken effectively to deliver the project outcomes and minimise the risk of failure.

11. Project Management is Risk Management “Project Management requires the making of decisions under conditions of uncertainty with the objective of managing the risks.”

12. The Project Management Process

13. The Project Manager is responsible for: • Planning the project. • Utilising the project budget to engage resources and to purchase the materials and equipment necessary to cost-effectively deliver the project. • Forming and motivating the project team and allocating work to them. • Utilising effective mechanisms to control the project to keep it on track and within budget. • Implementing effective quality mechanisms to ensure requirements are met. • Implementing effective communications mechanisms to ensure the project’s stakeholders are kept fully informed of the project’s status at all times. • Controlling risk to prevent significant adverse impacts to the project and CSU. • Managing scope to ensure changes are approved and can be delivered. • Negotiating and signing contracts with third parties for external services or products as required by the project. • Delivering the project’s outputs as defined in its scope and requirements. • Implementing the project’s outputs across the relevant areas of CSU

14. The sponsor is responsible for... • Being accountable for the project delivering the outcomes and benefits as defined in the business case • Assigning responsibility and authority to the Project Manager to execute the project • Managing and monitoring the Project Manager

15. What does the sponsor need to do: • Define the project objectives (in terms of requirements, timeframe, budget) and the benefits the project outcomes are being developed to achieve • Provide funds to the project in accordance with the agreed project budget • Make decisions on issues escalated by the Project Manager • Approve changes in scope that require additional funding • Regularly communicate with the Project Manager, in particular to assess progress on the project and adviseon external factors that could impact the project. • Chair the project steering Committee or (for smaller projects) fulfil the role of the project Steering Committee

16. The Steering Committee’s role is to: • Provide governance and direction for the project • Hold Project Manager(s) to account on time, budget and quality performance • Make decisions on issues escalated by the Project Manager(s) • Provide guidance on issues at the organisational level • Keep the project scope under control as requests for major changes are made • Exercise the right to cancel the project if it is not performing to expectations • Reconcile differences in opinion and resolve any disputes arising from them • Act as an advocate for the project's outcomes

17. The team member is responsible for... • Providing estimates on project tasks. • Completing tasks assigned in line with specifications, to quality standards and within the timeframe allocated. • Reporting progress on tasks and advising the Project Manager on any factors that are likely to impact on successful completion of tasks within the agreed timeframe. • Escalating any identified risks and issues to the Project Manager. • Supporting the Project Manager in project delivery. • Providing effective communication with project stakeholders

18. Project scope What is scope? A statement which defines the boundaries of a project such that all parties involved have a clear and common understanding of what is to be provided (and what is not to be provided)

19. Managing the project scope “Scope creep” is a common cause of overruns on projects. Project Managers are required to ensure that all the work performed by the project is within scope and work that is out of scope is not performed. The Project Manager uses scope definition statements and the Work Breakdown Structure to define scope and change control to apply authorised changes to scope. The Sponsor needs to ensure that clear definition of scope is provided to the Project Manager and that where changes of scope are needed that these are authorised and corresponding budget changes approved. Team members need to ensure that they are clear on the scope of tasks assigned to them and they work within the timeframe and other constraints identified for these tasks.

20. Estimating To estimate... ‘To form an approximate notion of the amount, number, magnitude or position of anything, without actual enumeration or measurement.’ Oxford English Dictionary Estimating is not an exact science and sponsors need to understand that actuals will vary from estimates. However, a common reason for failure of projects is poor estimating so this needs to be carefully managed.

21. Estimating responsibilities Project Managers have a responsibility to provide reasonable estimates that are derived using the best methods available to the project. Team members are required to provide best estimates of the tasks they undertake and to keep within these estimates. The Sponsor has a responsibility to challenge the quality of the estimates and the assumptions on which the estimates are based.

22. Project control Control is defined as... ‘the maintenance of predictability’ The Sponsor needs to ensure that the Project Manager has the project under control. Team Members need to feel that the Project Manager is in control of the project.

23. A project is under control when... the planned completion date is on or before the approved completion date and... the planned total spend is within the approved funding of the project assuming… delivery of agreed scope to acceptable quality level.

24. In summary Project Managers are responsible for project delivery. The Sponsor is accountable for the project and is responsible for ensuring that what is delivered will provide benefits for the University. Team members are responsible for ensuring that the project tasks are executed in a way that supports a successful project outcome.