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Project Communication, Tracking, and Reporting. Importance of Good Communications. The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to communicate Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being good communicators
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Importance of Good Communications • The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to communicate • Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being good communicators • Research shows that IT professionals must be able to communicate effectively to succeed in their positions • Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career advancement for IT professionals
PMBOK – Project Communications Management Processes • Communications Planning — attempts to answer: • How will information be stored? • How will knowledge be stored? • What information goes to whom, when, and how? • Who can access what information? • Who will update the information and knowledge? • What media of communication is best?
PMBOK – Project Communications Management – Continued • Information Distribution—getting the right information to the right people in the right format • Performance Reporting—collection and dissemination of project information to the various project stakeholders. • Administrative Closure—verifying and documenting the project’s progress.
Project Communications Plan • can be formal or informal, depending on the needs of the project stakeholders and the size of the project • communications plan should determine: • Who has specific information needs? • What are those information needs? • How will a particular stakeholder’s information needs be met? • When can a stakeholder expect to receive this information? • How will this information be received?
Project Metrics • Project Metric - qualitative measurement of some attribute of the project. • Project metrics should focus on the following key areas: • Scope • Schedule • Budget • Resources • Quality • Risk
A good project metric should be:Edberg, 1997 • Understandable • Quantifiable • Cost Effective • Proven • High Impact
Project Measurement PrinciplesMeyer, 1994 • A measurement system should allow the team to gauge its progress. • The team should design its own measurement system. • Adopt only a handful of measures. • Measures should track results and progress.
Monitor And Control Progress • Purpose of Control • To track progress • To detect variance from plan • To take corrective action
Monitor And Control Progress • Tracking Techniques • Conducting periodic project status meetings in which each team member reports progress and problems • Evaluating the results of all reviews conducted throughout the software engineering process • Determining whether formal project milestones have been accomplished by the scheduled date. • Comparing actual start date to planned start date for each project task listed in the project table • Meeting informally with practitioners to obtain their subjective assessment of progress to date and problems.
Monitor And Control Progress • Graphical Reporting Tools • Gantt Charts • Milestone Charts • Metrics • Cost Schedule Control(Earned Value)
Earned Value • Suppose you just signed a contract with a consulting firm called Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe for developing an IS. • Project Budget, Schedule, Tasks • $40,000 • 4 months • 20 Tasks (evenly divided over 4 months) • $2,000 per task • 5 tasks per month • Therefore , you plan to pay $10,000/month. This is called budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS).
End of Month 1 Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe Amount Due: $8,000 Payment due immediately! page 1 of 2 Actual Cost of Work Performances (ACWP) Invoice
BCWS Versus ACWP Is your project ahead of budget $2,000 ?
Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe Work Completed for Month 1 Task A - $2,000 Task B - $3,000 Task C - $3,000 page 2 of 2 Complete only 3 from 5 tasks Invoice Spent $8,000 to achieve only $6,000 of actual work 6,000 is Earned Value
Comparison of BCWS, ACWP, and Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)
Definitions • Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) • Planned expenditure cash flows based on the completion of tasks in accordance with the project’s budget and schedule • Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) • Actual Project Expense based on completed tasks • Earned Value or Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) • The amount of the budget that we should have spent for a given amount of work completed
Cost Metrics • Cost Variance (CV)-The difference between a task’s estimated cost and its actual cost: • CV = BCWP - ACWP • Negative Value = over budget and/or behind schedule • Positive Value = under budget and/or ahead of schedule • Cost Performance Index (CPI)-percentage of work completed per dollar spent • CPI = BCWP ACWP • ratio > 1 = ahead of schedule and/or under budget • ratio < 1 = behind schedule and/or over budget
Schedule Metrics • Schedule Variance (SV) – the difference in terms of cost between the current progress and our originally scheduled progress • SV = BCWP – BCWS • Schedule Performance Index (SPI) – a ratio of the work performed to the work scheduled. • SPI = BCWP BCWS • ratio > 1 = ahead of schedule and/or under budget • ratio < 1 = behind schedule and/or over budget
Earned Value Metrics • Minimum Funds Needed if things do not get worse • Minimum funds = Original total budget CPI • Funds Needed if things continue to get worse at the same level of slippage • Funds Needed = Original total budget (CPI x SPI)
Reporting Performance and ProgressReporting Categories • Reviews • Formal & informal meetings with stakeholders • May focus on specific deliverables or milestones • Used to get acceptance, surface problems or issues, or make key decisions
Reporting Performance and ProgressReporting Categories • Status Reporting • Describes present state of the project • Compares actual progress to baseline plan • Scope, schedule, and budget • Like a snap shot of the project at a specific time
Reporting Performance and ProgressReporting Categories • Progress Reporting • What activities or tasks has the team accomplished? • Actual versus planned • Forecast Reporting • Predicting the project’s future status or progress • Example: trend analysis
Information Distribution • Face-to-Face Meetings (F2F) • Telephone, email, other wireless technology • Collaboration technology • NetMeeting, Groove, Notes, Exchange
Running Effective Meetings • Determine if a meeting can be avoided • Define the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting • Determine who should attend the meeting • Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting • Prepare handouts, visual aids, and make logistical arrangements ahead of time • Run the meeting professionally • Build relationships
Using E-Mail Effectively • Make sure that e-mail is an appropriate medium for what you want to communicate • Be sure to send the e-mail to the right people • Use meaningful subjects • Limit the content to one main subject, and be as clear and concise as possible • Limit the number and size of attachments • Delete e-mail you don’t need, and don’t open it if you question the source • Make sure your virus software is up to date • Respond to and file e-mails quickly • Learn how to use important features
Using Templates for Project Communications • Many technical people are afraid to ask for help • Providing examples and templates for project communications saves time and money • Organizations can develop their own templates, use some provided by outside organizations, or use samples from textbooks • Recall that research shows that companies that excel in project management make effective use of templates
Sample Template for a Letter of Agreement for a Class Project
