project management: a critical skill for organizations

Project Management:Project Management: A Critical Skill for OrganizationsA Critical Skill for Organizations

Presented by Hetty Baiz

Project Office

Princeton University

BackgroundBackground

Princeton replaces administrative systems multiple projects cross-functional mutually Interdependent multi-million dollar investment

Success and failure is no longer within the total control of a given project.

What’s A Project?What’s A Project?

A “project”

Will deliver – Business and/or technical objectives

Is made up of– Defined processes & tasks

Will run for– Set period of time

Has a budget– Resources and $’s

What is Project Success?What is Project Success?

The 'Golden Triangle' of

Objectives

Time Cost

Project Success

Project success occurs when we have:

A delighted client (expectations met)Delivered the agreed objectivesMet an agreed budget - $, resources etc.Within an agreed time frame

and

Done it all professionally &without killing the team

Why Do Projects Fail?Why Do Projects Fail?

Changing scope Insufficient planning No risk or issues management Poor communication Lack of commitment and responsibility by stakeholders

ProjectBusiness Units

Who Are Stakeholders?

Outside Groups(Vendors)

TeamMembers

InformationTechnology

Steering Committee

Clients & Users Senior Mgmt

InterdependentProjects

Project ManagementA Maturity Model

seatseatof theof thepantspants

Success rate lessthan 30%

awaree

Success rate of 30to 45%

Success rate of 45to 75%

Success rate betterthan 75%

best practicebest practicebest practicebest practice

competentcompetent

seatseatofof

pantspants

awareawareaware

CompetentCompetent

Methodology and standards are well established and supported Stakeholders understand and accept roles Discrete measures support good management Projects are set up and managed end-to-end Risks are clearly defined and controlled

Why Should We Care?Why Should We Care?

To Increase the likelihood that projects will :

– be done on time and within budget– meet people’s expectations– be done well

What Is Princeton Doing?What Is Princeton Doing?

Established a project management organization

– monitor, assess, manage, support

Developed and supports a Princeton project management methodology

Princeton University IT Governance Model

Provost

Senior AdvisoryGroup for IT

Administrative SystemsPlanning Group

Committee on Academic Technology

Project ManagersTeam

Project Office MissionProject Office Mission

To enable the successful implementation of IT initiatives in a way that establishes a project management culture so that we deliver projects on time, within budget and with expected results.

How?How?

Define a Princeton Project Management Methodology (PPMM)

Support and Mentor Offer Training Facilitation, Audit, Review

Princeton Project Office

Methodology

Consulting/Mentoring Education/Training

ContinuousImprovement

Project Management ProcessProject Management Process

Initiation

Complete&

Assess

Tracking& Control

Reporting

Review

Planning

Initiation Plan

DetailPlan

Status Report

PostProjectReviewReport

Definition

Management TechniquesManagement Techniques

To increase the likelihood of project success you must manage:

Stakeholders Risks Issues Change

Manage StakeholdersManage Stakeholders

A stakeholder is any person or group who, if their support were to be withdrawn, could cause the project to fail.

- Get them involved- Keep them informed- Gain their endorsement

How to Manage StakeholdersHow to Manage Stakeholders

Identify stakeholders Involve in planning Establish expectations / accountabilities Formal communication Gain sign-off Change and issues resolution Project reviews Define project completion

Risk ManagementRisk Management

What is “risk”?

Any factor capable of causing the project to go off track.

Develop, monitor, implement Risk Plan

Issues ManagementIssues Management

Unresolved issues will drive a project towards failure and consume a significant part of a project manager’s time.

Stakeholders play key role in issues management and resolution

Establish Issues log, review, escalation process

Change ManagementChange Management

Uncontrolled changes to a project will probably account for up to 30% of a project’s total effort.

If these changes are not managed, the project will be viewed to be over time and over budget.

Establish a Change Management Process

PPMM Summary OverviewPPMM Summary Overview

PPMM Summary OverviewPPMM Summary Overview

Planning

Tracking &

Control

Reporting

Review

Complete & Aon

& Assess Initiation

Initiation Plan

Status Report

Post project review report

Detail Plan

PPMM ToolsPPMM Tools

Office 2000– Word– Excel

MS Project 2000

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Project Planning and Management

Follow proven methodologies Active Executive/Project Sponsor Identify / revisit “critical success” factors Document assumptions

– Business process change vs. customization

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Project Planning and Management

Have technical staff in place at start-up Plan for backfill Involve Steering Committee early Plan production support in central offices Plan for applying fixes Plan for “end of project” Plan for vacation time

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Scheduling, Tracking and Control

Break large projects into phases (no > 18 - 24 months total)

Control phase “bleed over” Post phase assessments “Go/No Go” decision points Sponsor sign-off Review Scope periodically

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Scheduling, Tracking and Control

Building learning curve into plans Weekly team meetings Detail planning in 1-2 month segments Define and manage to “critical path”

– What’s important– Prioritize– Who, what, when

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Reporting

Establish monthly status reporting Hold monthly status reviews with key stakeholders

– Oral status reports are effective Keep users of system (middle managers) informed

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best PracticesResourcing

Resource Plan Cross functional teams work Co-locate teams Projects are full time job Complete training before prototyping Have full team train together Leverage investment Build team spirit

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Managing Expectations

Communication Plan Make major policy decisions up front Don’t make promises to users up front Monthly status report and review Monthly / bi-monthly presentations Articles, web pages, newsletters Special communications from sponsor Focus groups, demos, town meetings

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best Practices

Promoting the Project

Focus Groups during gap analysis Demos for every user after first release Executive Sponsor showed support Town meetings to endorse system Major presentation to users

Recommended Best PracticesRecommended Best PracticesMethodology

Follow proven methodologies Consolidate methodology ( pre-kick off ) Functional reps go to all prototyping Use standard report formats Co-locate developer with tester (short term)

For more information…...For more information…...

Call the Princeton Project Office at (609) 258-6335

Send e-mail to hetty@princeton.edu

Visit our web site at…www.princeton.edu/ppo