Project Planning

1. Project Planning Nadeem Kureshi

2. Planning "Better go home & make a net, rather than dive for fish at random." Chinese proverb • "When you are thirsty, It's too late to dig a Well.” Japanese Proverb “Good fortune is what happens when Opportunity meets with Planning” Thomas Alva Edison • “He who fails to Plan, Plan to fails It is a bad Plan that admits of no Modification” Peter Drucker

3. A Definition of a Project A project is a “well-defined sequence of events with a beginning and an end, directed towards achieving a clear goal, and conducted by people within such established parameters as time, cost, resources, and quality.”

4. Project Plan Planning is not same as Scheduling, it must Precede Scheduling. Schedule is a “Calendar for Execution of Plan”. Improper Project Plan- Cause of Poor Project Execution It is Important to develop the plan early in Project, prior to any major activities.

5. Project Plan - Not Static Document Revised during life of project whenever appropriate. But doesn't mean it can be changed anytime there is forecasted schedule or cost overrun. Plan changed to avoid negative variations from cost & schedule targets

6. Planning can be approached by asking a series of questions: • What actions are needed? • By when are these actions needed? • Who is going to do them? • What resources are required? • What other work is not going to be done? • How shall we know if it is working?

7. Discussing the issues to produce a joint plan with the team usually creates a sense of commitment that can be crucial to the project's success. • Communication Plan and Communication Matrix

8. The Communications Matrix • a way of noting who needs to be consulted and at what stage. • Can be a formal chart or rough notes • Purpose is to help minimise the problems that arise when people feel they have not been consulted.

9. Communication Matrixfor putting a new building into use

10. Taking an Overview - Phases

11. Phases – Costs and Staffing

12. Phases – Stakeholder Influence and Change Costs

14. Classic 6 Phase Projects

15. The project plan – 7 Elements • a work breakdown structure to show separate tasks and activities; • the team structure and responsibilities of key people; • an estimate of effort and duration for each task; • a schedule to show the sequence and timing of activities; • details of resources to be allocatedto each task; • details of the budgetto be allocated to each cost identified; • contingency plans to deal with risks identified.

16. Approach to Planning • bottom-up • top-down • work backwards

17. Contingency plans • indicate what to do if unplanned events occur. • As simple as formalising and recording the thought processes when you ask ‘what if …?’ and decide which options you would follow if the ‘what if?’ situation happened.

18. Identifying Key Stages – Logic Diagram

19. Project Brief - Checklist • Project title • Name of sponsor and main contact for project approval • Locations – address of sponsor, project location, contact address • Name of person managing the project and possibly their organisation if different from that of the project sponsor • Date of agreement of project brief • Date of project start and finish • Background to the project and purpose with goals outlined • Key objectives with quality and success criteria • Details of how achievement of these will bring benefits to the business or sponsoring organisation • Scope of the project and any specific boundaries

20. Project Brief – Checklist …. • Constraints • Assumptions • Timescale of the project • Deliverables and target dates (milestones) • Estimated costs • Resourcing arrangements • Reporting and monitoring arrangements • Decision-making arrangements – level of authority and accountability held by manager of project and arrangments for any necessary renegotiation • Communications arrangements • Signature of sponsor with date, title and authority

21. Identifying deliverables • The project brief - goals of the project and key objectives. (S.M.A.R.T) • At an early stage of planning identification all of project objectives and the deliverables crucial (including implied deliverables). • Each objective must identify a clear outcome. (the deliverable) • Some sort of change achieved - production of something new – A handing over ….

22. Mapping Tasks and Activities One of the most difficult aspects of planning a project is estimating how long it will take to complete each key stage. An estimate might be based on: • the size of the tasks and the effort required to complete them; • the number of days that are not available for working on the project; • historical data from other projects, including the experience of colleagues.

23. Work Breakdown Structure • Identify the major task categories • Identify sub-tasks, and sub-sub-tasks • Use verb-noun to imply action to something • Example: Getting up in the morning • Hit snooze button • Hit snooze button again • Get outa bed • Avoid dog • Go to bathroom…

24. Work Breakdown Structure A work breakdown structure enables: • the work of a project to be divided into ‘packages’; • these ‘packages’ can be further subdivided into ‘elements’; • these elements are then divided into individual ‘tasks’. (Work Package –based on Statement of Work – SOW)

25. WBS • Basis for estimating the time and effort required. • Work to be allocated to teams or team members so that they could identify and schedule the subtasks. • The deliverables identified in the work breakdown structure • WBS - Initial team-building tasks?

27. Work Breakdown Structure

28. Work Breakdown Structure

29. Work Breakdown Structure

30. Work Breakdown Structure

31. Work Breakdown Structure

32. Work Breakdown Structure

33. Work Breakdown Structure • Requires structured brainstorming

34. WBS Dictionary • A companion document to the WBS • May have detailed content of the components contained in a WBS, including work packages and control accounts • For each WBS component, the WBS dictionary includes a code of account identifier, a statement of work, responsible organization, and a list of schedule milestones • Can include a list of associated schedule activities, resources required, and an estimate of cost • Each WBS component is cross-referenced, as appropriate, to other WBS components

35. Planning Consists of • Subdivision of Work • Quantification • Sequencing of Work • Budgeting • Scheduling

36. Example goals Write a book Write a textbook on Engineering Economics suitable for sophomores. Write a textbook on Engineering Economics suitable for sophomores. The book should be less than 300 pages in length, be supported by Excel spread sheets and contain all material needed for the FE exams.

37. Project PlanningTerminology -1- Tasks - the activities or steps needed to complete a project. Subtask - a task that is subordinate to another task. Summary tasks - General headings with subtasks. Summary tasks provide an outline structure that identifies a project’s major phases. Successor - A task that follows another task.

38. Project PlanningTerminology -2- Milestone - a clearly identifiable or condition that marks the completion of a task, summary task, or project. Resources - the people, material, equipment, or facilities required to complete a task, summary task, or project.

39. Project PlanningTerminology -3- Predecessor - A task that must precede another task. Duration - The amount of time required to complete a task. Can be measured in real time, work time, or both. Critical tasks - Tasks that, if delayed, would result in the delay of the project. Critical path - The sequence of critical tasks.

40. Project PlanningTerminology -4- Gantt Chart - A graphical representation of the project schedule containing bars that represent tasks. The length of a bar corresponds to the task duration. Date line - A vertical line on the Gantt representing the date. Outline - A format to view Gantt charts where a hierarchical structure is established for a project. Subtasks are indented under summary tasks.

41. A Gantt Chart

42. Template

43. Project Planning, Session 2, Tomorrow