Project Management

Project Management • Introduction • Course aim • Business organization development • The “Project”: definition and characteristics • Project Management • Conditions to manage a good project

Project definition “…Projects mean achieving defined targets respecting time and budget. Projects cut the traditional organization lines (functional). Projects are unique tasks and never similar to past projects…A project may be like a complete new product development process, a new company or another specific results. The target to achieve, often, is more important than the process adopted to achieve it. Both, product and process, have to be object of a effective management system” da R.D. Archibald, “Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects”, New York,Wiley, 1976.

Project definition What is a project? • Every non-routine job… • …finalized to achieve specific operative results… • …with costraints of: • time • cost • quality • …involving several units or roles belonging of different function, temporary joined in a inter-functional team.

OWNER INPUT OUTPUT Target/ customer Project definition • What is a process? ACTIVITY ACTIVITY ACTIVITY ACTIVITY ACTIVITY Perf. index 1 Organized set of activities and decisions, finalized to create an output requested by a customer, who assign a defined valute to it Perf. index 2 KPI Perf. index n…

Project definition • Project like a impulse process Project Process Single output Esplicit target Defined time Parallel interdipendences Repetitive and standardize Implicit targets Permanent Sequential interdipendences Impulse process Flow process

Project definition • Projects and processes – some samples Impulse process Management innovation Organization innovation Product development Research Marketing activities Internal customer Esternal customer Internal production Sales Maintenance Service Planning Finance and control Flow process

Project definition • Projects and processes – management guidelines Impulse processes Flow processes How to control Feed-fwd (forecast) Feed-back (report) Focus on Effectiveness (things happen) Efficiciency (resources used) Report standardized Low High Frequency On event Defined frequency Informations Timely Precise

PROCESS OWNER INPUT OUTPUT TARGET Effectiveness improvement Indice perf. 1 KPI Indice perf. 2 Indice perf. 3 Efficiency improvement Project definition • Processes and projects TARGETS RESOURCES TIME PROJECTS PLANNING

Project definition • Tipical business projects are: • A new organizational procedure; • Implementation of a new cost control system; • A new production site (facility); • Production transfer between two facilities; • A new market conquest; • A new product market launch; • Reengineering of a organization structure;

Project definition Projects: • Have defined target • Start and end • Are managed by a specific organization • Have Projects Managers responsiblefor their development • Are defined by specifying starting point, intermediate activities and final result • Are single efforts to achieve esplicit targets in a defined time

Project definition Project = target / time / path / resorces / control / corrective actions Resources: Human Instruments and tools Financial Time

Project definition The Human Resources: the most precious resource. • Projects are places where people work together • The correct spirit/culture to achieve results together is cooperation • The “project spirit”: • Taking part in, • Giving help, • Achieving the goals with the same individual dignity

Project definition • Kinds of projects Requests known before(customer says specifications) Requests unknown before(customer target) External customer Design-to-order projects New product development Internal customer Internal services prjs Huge innovation

Project Management • Introduction • Course purpose • Development of business organization • The “Project”: definition and characteristics • Project Management • Conditions to manage a good project

Project Management • Old history “Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.” (Lc 14, 28-32)

Project Management • Historic evolution • The problem to manage projects was born in the ancient in several ways (military, construction, buildings, shipping, etc…) • Became object of study starting from the end of XIX century (Gantt) • Develops during the WWII due to the war military industry needs (Es: Liberty ships) • In the middle of the XX century the first formalized tecniques were born (Pert/CPM) to manage military and aerospace projects • From 60’s some tools enter in the managing system of big industries (DuPont, Remington Rand, ecc…) • From 80’s extend to another kind of companies and business • In the 90’s became the most common method to manage projects and no-repetitive activities in business and administration organizations.

Project Management What is the Project management? • PM is a method that considers a project like a target to achieve respecting time, cost and quality defined • PM is a sistemical application of knowledge, capabilities, tools and tecniques to all the project activities to achieve the business targets! • This requests a balance between: • Target, time, cost, quality • Needs of who is involved in • Defined and non-defined requests (espectations).

Project Management Basic elements: • Setting targets (Goal Setting) • Setting modals to evaluate results • Planning activities to achieve results • Defining resources needed • Controlling the activities progress • Setting corrective actions • Evaluating results

Project Management Obiettivi sfidanti, ma realistici e raggiungibili- Concordati- Eventuale assegnazione di prioprità- Misurabili secondo criteri specifici definiti a priori- Chiarezza delle condizioni operative necessarie per il conseguimento degli obiettivi- Gli obiettivi complessi: i progetti intersettoriali The project target: • Is not often easy to define • Is not often easy to communicate • If the target is well defined and shared, then the probabilities to achieve are huge (goal setting) • A defined target is not easy to modify • There are primary and secondary targets • Is very important balance target and time Clip Coach Carter 103-104-105 – Goal setting

Project Management Project target: must be S.M.A.R.T. • Specific – target must be specific and no generic • Measurable – target must be measurable with numbers • Achievable – target must be achievable; impossible missions are non admitted! • Relevant – target must be important for business AND for people involved in • Timed – target must be referred to a time limit

Project Management Results evaluation (terms/guidelines): • Quality of results (compared with specifications) • Forecasted time respect • Resources used in a correct way • Satisfaction of who was involved in the project

Project Management Planning: • Planning is the main PM tool • Planning is used to forecast and anticipate events and activities in order to prepare the team to face of in the better way • Planning allow to understand the impacts of un-forecasted events and to choose the correct action to fix • Planning allow to be flexible because is a strong What-If tool

Project Management • Introduction • Course aim • Business organization development • The “Project”: definition and characteristics • Project Management • Conditions to manage a good project

Conditions to manage projects Why a lot of projects fail? • Why a lot of projects don’t respect timing? • Why a lot of projects have a bigger cost than forecasted? • Why a lot of projects have a poor results? • Why a lot of projects end somewhere in the middle of their life? What is so difficult in the project management???

Conditions to manage projects • If some basic conditions are respected, we can reduce the failure probability. • Those conditions may belong to two classes: • RATIONAL – means the set of rules and methods to manage projects; and regards the basic variables: targets, resources, skills, tools, etc… • RELATIONSHIP – PM is a organization method that exalts the ralationship dynamics (work with…), so all is connected with teamwork, relations between people and with external funcions, enviroment, market, customer, etc…

Conditions to manage projects Organizational enviroment People Tools Activities Effectiveness Efficiency Structure

Conditions to manage projects • RATIONAL DIMENSION = we need to define: • Targets – What we have to do? • Time – When we have to end? • Activities – What is the sequance of activities to achieve the target? • Financial resources – How much money will cost? • Human resources – Who will do the activities? • Control – How can we measure the project progress? • Corrective actions – What we can do when something of un-forecatsed will happen? • Final result – What product/service will born from the project? • End – When we can say the project is ended? • Result evaluation – Who and how will evaluate results?

Conditions to manage projects • RATIONAL DIMENSION = The Plan • Activities map • Planning is the tool that allow us to set in a formal way all the activities we need to manage the project and achieve the target. The plan allow us to control milestones, deliveries, responsabilities (who does what), progress (delay, advance) and is the basis for all decisions about the project

Conditions to manage projects • RATIONAL DIMENSION = The Plan • Tool to discover and solve problems • The plan is the most effective tool to discover every potential project problem or risk and understand the impact toward the final target. It is a very effective what-if tool to take the best decisions or to define alternative scenarios.

Conditions to manage projects • RATIONAL DIMENSION = The Plan • Communication tool • The plan is a fantastic communication tool both for who is involved in the project (allways updated about what to do, who is responsible, when, with who, costs, ….and the project progress), both for the management and the external organization. This is a very important thing because someone is involved in a non-continuous way, if everybody know the “Big picture” of the project, may be more effective and accurate in answering. Caso Africa 1942

Conditions to manage projects • RATIONAL DIMENSION = The Plan • Planning became an habit • Often the plan is just a piece of paper…. A beautiful coloured picture in the wall… Done and forgotten. No one finds it useful. • Plan must be a live tool, updated with frequency. It is the organizational enviroment of the project. It means what, how, when, who of the project!! • To build a good project environment, is necessary that everybody in the company knows planning culture, starting from top management. • Every manager must know the planning tool and technique!!

Conditions to manage projects • RATIONAL DIMENSION = The Plan • The planning bodytrap • Lover planner – the plan is not the target of the project! • Deus plan – the plan is not untouchable. Planning is necessary to check what-if, scenarios and alternative choices, so is normal to change it! • Tenacy (excessive) – the plan represents activities and events, it doesn’t represent the reality in all its particulars • Forgotten picture – if the plan is too much complex, it will not be a work tool, but it will end its days hanged in some wall like a beautiful picture….as a pop art masterpiece!

Project Management