4E1 Project Management

1. 4E1 Project Management Running the Project

2. Key Concepts • Day-to-day running of projects • Problems of project management • Communicating • Project Office • Earned value analysis • Qualities of a good project manager

3. Assign task as planned Task successfully achieved Closed Loop Control in Projects Perform the Task Issue fresh instructions Monitor progress against plan Decide corrective action Identify variances in performance Lock p. 471

4. The Art of Project Management

5. What Could Go Wrong? • ‘Routine’ problems • Small delays, minor technical hitches, inaccurate estimates • Large problems/major delays • Serious technical or legal problems, changes in project scope • Showstoppers • Problems fall into three groups levels • Self-generated (i.e. my fault) • PM-controlled or owned (i.e. not my fault but my responsibility) • Outside PM’s control (not my fault, not my responsibility)

6. Self-Inflicted Problems • Scope creep and minor design changes • Impact time and/or cost • Options • Fit in (use available slack) • Refer up • Revise plan • No changes (the ‘N’ word) • Detection • Project Management Information Systems • Traffic light systems • Earned value analysis

7. Traffic Light System for a Programme Behind budget On time and budget - 500 - 400 - 300 - 200 - 100 + 100 + 200 7 4 16 15 13 10 Behind Schedule Ahead of Schedule (weeks) 12 8 + 12 +10 +8 +7 +4 +2 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 2 9 14 6 11 3 1 Ahead of budget 5

8. Accept and adjust People, machinery Additional resources? (Crashing) Time Try to make up elsewhere Overall re-planning? Bypass Substitution/ alternatives Unorthodox methods? Major Project Problem/Delay Scope culling Dealing with Major Problems

9. The Project Management Office • Two concepts • (General) project management office • Site project office • Goals • Promote/spread good PM practice • Knowledge management • Improve success rate • Reduce lead times • Consolidate and simplify data • The PM’s PM

10. PM Office Tasks • Champion excellence in project management • Establish good practice • Assess and improve PM maturity • Develop an enterprise approach • Provide training • Develop and mentor managers • Help with administration • Procedures, filing system • Tracking • Analyses • Report preparation • Maintaining archives, resources database/pool

11. PM Office Tasks (cont.) • Provide technical support • Assist with new project set-up and launch • Advise on cost-benefit analysis • Assist in estimating • Assist in management of risks • Conduct quality checks • Assist in project termination • General functions • Provide a centre of expertise • Offer consulting services • Conduct audits • Assess implications of changes • Collect and disseminate information on PM generally

12. Example: Dublin City Council • DCC has a highly developed procedures manual • Amongst other procedures it contains: • Statement of confidentiality • Performance reviews • Making a change request • Cost management planning • Project organisation and roles • Requests for proposal • Bidders’ conference management • Reporting on works • Quality management planning • Risk response planning

13. The Site Project Office

14. Communication Management Partners/other managers Users/customer Project Team

15. Communication • Up to 80% of PM’s time can be spentcommunicating • A two-way process • Communicating upwards (with senior management) • Reporting • Communicating downwards (with subordinates) • Meetings (formal, informal) • Instructions • Sideways (with other project managers) • Liaison, coordination

16. Good Communication • Characteristics of good communication • Regular • Open • Honest/accurate • Full • Two-way • Timely • Avoids conflict • Appropriate • Problems • Putting off the evil day • Games • Unnecessary confrontation • Greatest problem: assumption that communication has happened

17. Project Team Meetings • Basics • Regular • Attendance is important • Agenda, action lists/minutes • Don’t get into fights or personalise issues • Do: • Control the process • Firmness • Ownership • Clarity • Fast follow-up • Take problems off-line

18. Action Lists Date Action Responsibility Status Deadline

19. “Work To” Lists ID Description Orig Sched. Sched. Rem. % % Progress expected by next review durn Start Finish durn. 100 Com. 1 Project start 0 13MAY07 12MAY07 0 0 2 Make/prime door 1 13MAY07 13MAY07 1 0 3 Dig foundations 4 13MAY07 16MAY07 4 0 7 Position door frame 1 14MAY07 16MAY07 1 0 4 Make doors 3 15MAY07 17MAY07 3 0 8 Concrete foundations 2 17MAY07 20MAY07 2 0 9 Prime doors 1 20MAY07 20MAY07 1 0 11 Lay bricks for walls 10 21MAY07 03JUN07 10 0 13 Fit RSJ Lintel 1 04JUN07 04JUN07 1 0 18 Case lintel/ parapet 2 05JUN07 06JUN07 2 0 12 Lay floor base 2 07JUN02 10JUN02 2 0 6 Cut roof timbers 1 07JUN07 07JUN07 1 0 17 Screed floor 1 11JUN07 11JUN07 1 0 21 Hang doors 1 12JUN07 12JUN07 1 0

20. Cost Management • Key concepts • Budget • Actual • Variance • Forecast • Current period • Cumulative • Commitment accounting • Financial management is important • For costs, need to know where and why

21. Actual Cost Profile Budgeted Cumulative Cost Time Limitations of this information

22. Commitment Accounting Task Status Budget Spent Balance Expected to Expected to date completion variance ___________________________________________________________________ 0244H Ongoing €30,000 €22,000 €8,000 €8,000 €0 0246H Complete €45,000 €50,000 (€5,000) €0 (€5,000) 0347J Ongoing €7,000 €3,000 €4,000 €6,500 (€2,500) 1488C NS €17,250 €0 €17,250 €17,250 €0 4601H Ongoing €8,300 €7,000 €1,300 €4,300 (€4,000) 3122J Ongoing €12,000 €6,000 €6,000 €2,500 €3,500 ……. There are several variations on this

23. BCWP BCWP SPI = CPI = BCWS ACWP Earned Value Analysis • Links cost reporting with cost control • Starts from the WBS and cost coding • Terminology: • ACWP: Actual Cost of Work Performed • BCWP: Budgeted Cost of Work Performed • BCWS: Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled • CPI: Cost Performance Index • SPI: Schedule Performance Index • We have:

24. Example • Plan • Build a wall of 1,000 metres (estimate €40,000) • Time estimate 50 days (10 weeks @ 5 days) • Linear rate of progress • Implied budget • €800/20 metres per day, €40 per metre • At the end of day 20, 360 metres completed • ACWP = €18,000 • BCWS = €16,000 • BCWP = €14,400

25. 14,400 = = 0.8 18,000 BCWP BCWP CPI = SPI = ACWP BCWS EVA Example • What does this tell us? • Using a pro-rata approach we might: • forecast that the cost will rise by €10,000 • forecast that the time will rise to 56 days • This must be done for each task • Progress may not be linear • Activity may be interrupted or completed • Tasks may be modified 14,400 = = 0.9 16,000

26. Cost-Profit Graph Commissioning snags cause unexpected cost Too early to detect any clear trend Overspend Predicted Management vigilance improves performance Expd. 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Selling price Projected cost X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Cost budget Step caused by price variation Actual cost 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88 96 104 112 120 128 Weeks

27. Project Manager’s Roles • Management by • Exception • Walking about • Example (leadership and motivation) • Delegation • The iron fist in the velvet glove • Clarity and determination • Starting new tasks • Closing tasks and projects • The “95% complete” syndrome • Taking hard decisions

28. Summary: Key Points • Project managers need to be • good communicators • strong personalities • firm, but fair • able to take hard decisions • capable of keeping focus in complex situations • able to work on their own • Running a project is about • Knowing what is happening at all times • Communicating with all relevant parties • Making sure that information gets to the right people • Taking appropriate actions quickly • Top class project managers are special