Project Management Basics Ten Secrets of Completing Projects Successfully

1. Project Management BasicsTen Secrets of Completing Projects Successfully By Project Masters Inc.

2. Project Management BasicsTen Secrets of Completing Projects Successfully Presented byApril Wennerberg, PMP, MBA Project Masters Inc. awennerberg@projmasters.com410.772.6316

3. Ten Secrets of Completing Projects Successfully • Continuous and Effective Communication • Change Control • Risk Planning • Critical Path Method (CPM) • Team Buy-in

4. Ten Secrets of Completing Projects Successfully Continued • Customer Relationships • Triple Constraints • Team Selection • Quality • Ethics

5. Flow Message - Medium Sender Encode Decode Decode Encode Receiver NOISE Feedback - Message Channel Continuous & Effective Communication • 80% of projects fail due to problems with communication

6. Continuous & Effective Communication LACK OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS THE NUMBER ONE REASON PROJECTS FAIL.

7. Continuous & Effective Communication • Because of these two facts, it is critical that before the project kick-off meeting, a clear Project Communication Plan is in place.

8. Continuous & Effective Communication (Cont.) • To ensure that information pertaining to the status of project activities is captured, assessed, and reported, the Project Team must have planned for and implemented an adequate Project Communication Plan.

9. Change Control System • The most important function of the Change Control System is to help the Project Manager and Project Team control changes to the project plan. (i. e. To maintain control over project scope)

10. Change Control System • Configuration (Baseline) Control • Design Control • Document Control • Acquisition Control • Specification Control

11. Change is Inevitable • Change is going to occur. For the Project Manager, management of change is a way of life.

12. Project Plan Problem Change Request Form

13. Planning vs. Executing • Many organizations find that though they do a good job of writing Project Plans, they are unable to execute their plans. For the most part, this failure is a result of not putting in place the necessary systems and structure to properly monitor and control activity in the organizational context.

14. Functions of a Change Control System • Identify changes from the original scope • Forecast the cost of changes and their effects on performance and schedule • Analyze proposed changes • Make decisions regarding how to handle recommended changes • Implement changes • Record actual information pertaining to changes made to the project • Solve disputes

15. Changes to the Project Affect: • Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) • Project estimates • Project staffing plan • Project budget

16. Change Control Documentation is Important For: • Project Control • Evaluation • Debugging • Coordination of project effort • System maintenance

17. Request forChange ProjectManagementOffice Assign &Evaluate Request Approval to Research DefineChange in Scope No Log & File RejectRequest No Modify WBS Define Risks DevelopRisk Plan(s) ProfitabilityAnalysis EstimateResources / Cost Requirements Modify WBS DefineChange in Scope Approval of Change Modify Scope In Plan Assign Team Determine Internal / External Tasks No Incorporate Change Design Approval Review Design Planning Complete Yes / No Flow of Change Control

18. Gather Data Project Adjustments Project Plan to Analysis Data Monitor Baseline Update Project Plan Scope Management Cycle

19. Risk Management System • Project Risk may be defined as the chance of certain occurrences adversely affecting attainment of project objectives. Risk represents the degree of exposure to negative events and their probable consequences.

20. Project Risk Factors • The Risk Event, i.e. precisely what might happen that would be detrimental to the project • The Risk Probability, i.e. how likely it is that the Risk Event will occur • The Amount At Stake, i.e. the extent of loss that could result should the Risk Event actually occur

21. Risk Management is the art and science of identifying, analyzing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of the project and in the best interests of the project’s objectives.

22. Monitoring and Controlling Project Risk • Determining what factors to monitor • Capturing information relative to these factors • Assessing the information pertaining to the monitored factors to determine levels of variance • Taking corrective actions in order to control the effects of Risk Events when they occur

23. Planning for Risk Management • Risk Management – like any other aspect of Project Management – should be planned for

24. Important Risk Management Documents: • Risk Assessment Document • Risk Plan

25. Critical Path Method (CPM) CPM allows the Project Manager to answer the question: • “What happens if we use more resources to shorten the project completion time?”

26. CPM The Critical Path is the path through the Project Network that determines the shortest time within which the project can be completed

27. CPM Example

28. Advantages of Using CPM • Critical activities are known at all times • A valuable tool in calculating the most economical way to crash a program • Identifies those activities having float (slack) in the schedule • Calculates project completion time

29. Advantages of Using CPM • Serves as a warning signal should critical activities take longer than expected or problems arise • Provides important decision making information if it becomes necessary to shorten the project, reduce funds, or reallocate resources

30. Advantages of Using CPM • Communicates to team members the importance of various activities, as well as what impact decisions during the project can have on the outcome.

31. Team Buy-in • Give them responsibility and trust • Listen to their ideas • Give praise when deserved • Recognize their ideas • Let them know they are important to the organization • Flexible control of work environment

32. Team Buy-in • Give them clear direction with measurable goals • Give them the skills they require through training and information • Give support through coaching, feedback, and encouragement

33. Team Buy-in • Make sure resources are readily available for the project • Provide them upward and downward communication

34. Team Buy-in • Produce emotional buy-in from the team by allowing them to participate in project decisions • Reward team for a job done well • Give team credit for project success • Let people know their job is an important part of the team

35. Customer Relationships • Serve our clients with integrity, competence, and objectivity • Keep client information and records of client engagements confidential and use proprietary client information only with the client’s permission

36. Customer Relationships • Do not take advantage of confidential client information for ourselves or our firms • Do not allow conflicts of interest which provide a competitive advantage to one client through our use of confidential information from another client, who is a direct competitor, without that competitor's permission.

37. Time Cost Quality Scope Triple Constraint • The 3 sides of a triangle move together to maintain the integrity of the form. So must scope, cost, and schedule move together to maintain the integrity of the project.

38. Team Selection • Need to have input on team selection to make sure the correct person is obtained for the job • Need to ensure your individual team members are matched up correctly with the project work • Need to have the right to remove a person from the team if they are causing harm to finishing the project successfully

39. Quality Our goal is to improve project performance through the utilization of Quality Management Principles

40. Secret to Quality • Quality is determined by the customer • Quality goes beyond merely fulfilling the explicitly stated specifications • Quality is not an absolute characteristic • Quality is different from grade

41. Ethics • Integrity, competence, and objectivity • Keep our stakeholders informed • Assign team members to the project in accord with their experience, knowledge, and expertise • Only accept projects for which we are qualified by our experience and competence.

42. Review of the Ten Secrets of Completing a Project Successfully • Need to communicate, communicate, communicate … • Need to manage change because all projects have change • Remember Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong, will. Be prepared with your Risk Plan

43. Review of the Ten Secrets of Completing a Project Successfully • Knowing your critical path is the key to keeping every activity on track • Having team buy-in allows you to perform tasks that people on the outside would think were impossible

44. Review of the Ten Secrets of Completing a Project Successfully • Having an excellent customer relationship gives you an edge, because they are part of your team • Understanding that the triple constraint triangle moves to maintain project integrity and will give you the edge you need to keep your project on track • Having the right team members can make or break your project

45. Review of the Ten Secrets of Completing a Project Successfully • For years to come, people will remember the quality of the product or service • If you and your team are not ethical, it will come back to bite you in the end

46. Project Masters Inc.PresidentApril Wennerberg Thank You awennerberg@projmasters.com410.772.6316