Download - EPM5 Exercises De
Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme
Presented by(facilitator name)
Managing Complexity in the Face of Uncertainty
Individual, class and team exercises
There are more than 30 exercises in this file. I have collected these exercises together in one place for your use. They are a mixture of individual, team and class exercises. Most are team exercises because that is the format I use for all of my teaching and training courses. I have used these exercises for several years with great success. Feel free to modify them and integrate them into your slide presentations for use in class. Many of them draw upon the PDQ Case Study and tend to be the more difficult exercises.
They are numbered consecutively for easy reference.
Note to the instructor
Introduction
Create the Hot Topics List
Here is your opportunity to contribute any topics or issues you have that you would like discussed.
We’ll list your contributions and integrate them into thecourse as appropriate. As part of our course wrap-up,
we will return to the list to make sure all items have been addressed to your satisfaction.
Individual Exercise #1
Introduction
Class Exercise #2
Read the Case Study and Form Teams
Pizza Delivered Quickly (PDQ) has fallen on hard timesand needs your help to survive. Read the Case Study inyour book and be prepared to ask questions forclarification.
Once the Case Study has been clarified, teams will bechosen. Teams will work on the same Case Study butindependently of each other. Team size should bebetween 4-6.
Introduction
Is everything a project?
Some organizations are projectized. That is, every business activity is defined as a project. Suppose your organization were to consider being projectized. What obstacles and issues would you see having to be resolved? How might they be resolved? Identify advantages and disadvantages to this form versus the traditional functional or matrix organization.
Team Exercise #3
Ch01: What Is a Project?
Define the Quality Metrics for your Project
Define the specific quality metrics you will use for PDQ. What values will you set as trigger values? Give
examples of trigger values and how you would react tothem, i.e., what corrective measures might you take?
You have 60 minutes for this exercise. Appoint aspokesperson to present the metrics to the class.
Team Exercise #4
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Team Exercise #5
Create the outline of an RFP
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Your company is seeking a vendor to design, develop, and implement a comprehensive Project Support Office (PSO). This will include three major goals: Establish the mission, objectives, functions, roles, responsibilities, and organizational structure of the PSO and implement it Design and implement a project management methodology Design, develop, and offer a project management training curriculum including a train the trainer component
Develop an RFP outline for one of the goals. You have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your team’s findings.
Team Exercise #6
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Choose the contract type for your project
The purpose of this exercise is to decide which type of contract is best for PDQ. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of each and choose the one you will use. What type of payment schedule will you use? Should there be any incentives? If so, define them. You will have 60 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your team’s decisions.
Team Exercise #7
Involving the vendor in planning
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Make a list of all the planning activities that the vendor should be involved in and specify a strategy for getting that involvement. You have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your team’s findings.
Team Exercise #8
Identify the Risks
Using Figure 4-26 identify the top ten risks in your project. Prioritize them from A to J. You will have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present your list to the class.
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Team Exercise #9
Quantify the Risks
Using a Risk Assessment Worksheet like the example shown on the following slide, assess the current risks in your project. Use your own process steps to define the rows of the matrix. The columns identify your prioritized risk events (A through J). Establish your own metric for risk assessment. The example uses 1 (low) to 3 (high). You will have 60 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present this information to the class.
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Team Exercise #9 – Risk Assessment Worksheet
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Team Exercise #10
Building Risk Mitigation Plans
Using the risks previously identified, select 2 “show-stoppers” and develop complete mitigation plans. Include the strategy and implications of resources, costs, schedule, and any risk that this mitigation measure will generate.
Deliverables: Detailed Plan, Assumptions and Risks, Cost and Schedule Estimates
You will have 60 minutes. Choose a spokesperson to present your mitigation plan to the class.
Ch02: Understanding the PM Process Groups
Team Exercise #11
Create the RBS
Generate the RBS for the PDQ project. You have 60 minutes.
Appoint a spokesperson to report your RBS.
Ch03: How to Scope a Project
Write the POS for the Case Study
Each team will complete a POS for the PDQ Project.Appoint a spokesperson to present the POS to the class.The class will critique the POS paying particularattention to the language used.
1. Could anyone in your company understand it?2. Is it too technical? 3. Will it convince Dee that your idea is worthy of support to
the next level?
Team Exercise #12
Ch03: How to Scope a Project
Build a Complete WBS for the PDQ Project
Using the RBS as input build as much of the WBS as you can. You may use either the indented outline or graphical format.
Appoint a spokesperson to present your WBS to the class.
Team Exercise #13
Ch04: How to Plan a Project
Team Exercise #14
Build the Dependency Diagram for the PDQ Project
Follow the steps discussed above to build the dependency diagram for your project.
Once the dependency diagram is complete, load the predecessor and successor relationships into MS Project.
Ch04: How to Plan a Project
Estimate Task Duration
You may use any method available to you for this exercise. Do not spend a lot of time on any one estimate. Remember, we just want to get it roughly right. Later in the project these estimates may be updated with new information.
Team Exercise #15
Ch04: How to Plan a Project
Project Manager Skills Assessment
Complete the PMSA in your book. How do your team members’ skills align with the needs of the project?
Appoint a spokesperson to present your analysis to the class.
Individual Exercise #16
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Team Exercise #17
Prepare the Project Impact Statement
Dee has just discovered a third carry out restaurant that has gone out of business. She would not have been interested in it at this stage of the project except that it was in an excellent location to serve the outer fringes of the PDQ market in a section of town where middle class homes were being constructed. Design has been completed on all subprojects and coding is nearly complete. A Scope Change Request Form has been completed by Dee and will be distributed to your team.
Complete the Project Impact Statement. You have 60 minutes to complete this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson from your team to report your results to the class.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Team Exercise #18
Building Your Effective IT Project Team
Your team is now together for the first time. Begin with the Assessment Stage and discuss the inventory of skills on your team from the PMSA you conducted in Exercise #16. Identify the major tasks that your team will have to execute and build the RASCI Matrix for your team.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Getting Clients Meaningfully Involved
Make a list of all those initiatives you have taken to get your clients meaningfully involved.
Which ones have been successful? Which haven’t? How would you approach them now?
You have 60 minutes. Appoint a spokesperson to present your team’s initiatives.
Team Exercise #19
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Class Exercise #20
Client Scenarios
Respond to the issues shown on the following slides.
For each issue, identify what you could do to prevent the issue from arising and what you would do if it has already occurred.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Class Exercise #20
Note to Instructor
The following slides should be shown to the students one at a time. First you display the slide that shows only the issue. Have the students suggest possible preventative measures. Then show the slide with your preventative measures and discuss. Next have the students suggest prescriptive measures. Then show your slide with your prescriptive measures and discuss. Feel free to substitute any of your own measures.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ISSUE #1The client changes requirements frequently.
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ISSUE #1The client changes requirements frequently.
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Become more proactive at beginning of the project.2. Negotiate requirements.3. Base requirements on business rules and processes.4. Keep the client meaningfully involved in the project.5. Establish a change request bank and make a deposit. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ISSUE #1The client changes requirements frequently.
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Become more proactive at beginning of the project.2. Negotiate requirements.3. Base requirements on business rules and processes.4. Keep the client meaningfully involved in the project.5. Establish a change request bank and make a deposit. Prescriptive measures:1. What was the cause of the change request?2. What if the change is not accommodated?3. What is the impact of the change on the project?4. Is there an alternative to the change?
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #2The client does not provide good people for theproject.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #2The client does not provide good people for theproject.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Ask for a junior member from the client
organization.
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #2The client does not provide good people for theproject.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Ask for a junior member from the client
organization.
Prescriptive measures:1. Meet with the client manager and state your
minimum requirements.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #3The client group cannot agree among themselves.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #3The client group cannot agree among themselves.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Meet with the client groups to identify potential
problems.2. Seek agreement on solutions in advance.3. Show how your approach meets the needs of each
group. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #3The client group cannot agree among themselves.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Meet with the client groups to identify potential
problems.2. Seek agreement on solutions in advance.3. Show how your approach meets the needs of each
group. Prescriptive measures:1. Meet with each client group independently to get
opinions.2. Formulate a solution all will accept.3. Follow up with sales efforts.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #4Client managers and staff lack technical knowledge.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #4Client managers and staff lack technical knowledge.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Present technology as it impacts the client’s
business process. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #4Client managers and staff lack technical knowledge.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Present technology as it impacts the client’s
business process. Prescriptive measures:1. Explain use and benefits of the technology.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #5Client management is replaced.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #5Client management is replaced.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Anticipate change.2. Introduce project to as wide a group as possible. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #5Client management is replaced.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Anticipate change.2. Introduce project to as wide a group as possible. Prescriptive measures:1. Be proactive.2. Introduce new managers to benefits of project.3. Involve new managers in the issues.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #6The client has no interest in the project.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #6The client has no interest in the project.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Point out benefits early in the project.2. Seek to establish support from top management. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #6The client has no interest in the project.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Point out benefits early in the project.2. Seek to establish support from top management. Prescriptive measures:1. Involve client groups that will benefit.2. You may want to change the project.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #7Team members resist project management.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #7Team members resist project management.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Discuss how the project will be managed.2. Lay out the role of each team member early in
planning stage. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #7Team members resist project management.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Discuss how the project will be managed.2. Lay out the role of each team member early in
planning stage. Prescriptive measures:1. Talk one on one about past projects.2. Show how your approach is different.3. Reinforce methods described earlier.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #8Team members are overcommitted to projects.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #8Team members are overcommitted to projects.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Be informed of all team members’ commitments.2. Identify realistic minimum expectations.3. Monitor how their time is spent. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #8Team members are overcommitted to projects.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Be informed of all team members’ commitments.2. Identify realistic minimum expectations.3. Monitor how their time is spent. Prescriptive measures:1. Approach the individual and review their
commitments.2. Work out a compromise with other managers.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #9There are missing skills on your team.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #9There are missing skills on your team.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Assess skill levels of the team.2. Identify outside contractors. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #9There are missing skills on your team.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. Assess skill levels of the team.2. Identify outside contractors. Prescriptive measures:1. Involve the team in solution identification.2. Look for outside help.3. Plan ahead for bringing new people on the project.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #10A team member leaves and produces a gap.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:
Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #10A team member leaves and produces a gap.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. As a risk mitigation strategy consider back up for
critical skills.2. Use cross training whenever possible. Prescriptive measures:
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
ISSUE #10A team member leaves and produces a gap.
Importance of Meaningful Client Involvement
ACTIONPreventative measures:1. As a risk mitigation strategy consider back up for
critical skills.2. Use cross training whenever possible. Prescriptive measures:1. View vacancy as an opportunity and consult with
your team.2. Reformulate and reassign work until the vacancy is
filled.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Team Exercise #21
Conduct Stakeholder Analysis
Each team will identify their stakeholder groups and conduct a stakeholder analysis using the form on the following slide. You will have 30 minutes for this exercise.
Appoint a spokesperson from each group to report your experiences throughout the exercise.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Team Exercise #21 – The Communications Interfaces
TO WHOM WHAT WHEN HOW
Client
Functional manager
Team members
Outside contractors
The public
Sponsor
FROM WHOM: Project Manager
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Team Exercise #22
Build a Communications Management Plan
A communications management plan should be part of the WBS. Use the stakeholder analysis generated in the previous module as input to this exercise and create your communications management plan. Use the template in the workbook as your guide to creating your plan. You have 45 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to report your plan to the class.
Ch05: How to Launch a Project
Team Exercise #23
Create a Project Status Report
Create a status report for your project. Appoint one or more spokespersons from your team to present your project status report to the class.
Ch06: How to Monitor & Control a Project
Class Exercise #24
Compare and Contrast Each Model
Now that you have been exposed to all of the models, it isworth the time to reflect back on what we have done andidentify where these models might have application inyour organization. Identify any obstacles you envision and
how you might mitigate them. Propose an implementation plan.
Ch08: Project Management Landscape
Using TPM for the PDQ Project
The PDQ Project has six subsystems to be developed. Which, if any, would lend themselves to a TPM approach. Defend your choices.
Team Exercise #25
Ch09: Traditional Project Management
APF Implementation Challenges
Your have assembled a team of the only three senior project managers who have experience using APF but not in your organization. They have the respect and credibility of the other TPM project managers. You have been asked by the PMO Director to develop an implementation plan for APF. To begin that planning activity identify three major obstacles you might face and define your strategy for overcoming them. You have 45 minutes to complete the exercise.
Appoint a spokesperson to report your findings.
Team Exercise #26
Ch11: Agile Project Management
Using xPM for the PDQ Project
If you had to pick a subsystem in the PDQ Project that was best suited for an Extreme PMLC model, which subsystem would you pick and why? How might you execute such a project?
Team Exercise #27
Ch12: Extreme Project Management
PSO Maturity
Describe how you would implement a PSO at PDQ. What programs would you implement to move the organization from Level 2 to eventually Level 4?
Team Exercise #28
Ch13: Establishing & Maturing a PSO
PDQ Project Portfolio Management Process
The PDQ team and its contractors do not have enough resources to complete the project as quickly as it could have been done. Establish a temporary portfolio management process for the PDQ project.
Team Exercise #29
Ch14: Establishing & Managing a PPMP
PDQ Process Improvement Program
Once the PDQ Project is complete and all six subsystems are working, there will be problems in the level of performance that actually occurs. Construct a PQM for PDQ. In other words what are the rows and columns of the PDQ PQM. Also determine the correlations (recall that these are the little squares). Be very specific. You do not have to define the process maturity level column.
You have 90 minutes to complete this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present your PQM to the class.
Team Exercise #30
Ch15: Establishing & Managing a CPIP
Team Exercise #31
Ch16: Managing Distressed Projects
Root Cause Analysis
You have two development projects that have become distressed projects:
Project Alpha: Under budget and behind schedule Project Beta: Over budget and behind schedule
Create a Root Cause Analysis template for each project. You have 30 minutes for this exercise. Appoint a spokesperson to present your team’s templates.
PDQ Project Team Organization
Suppose that PDQ were a project whose team consisted of six independent teams – one for each subsystem. Which team structure would you use and why? Given that team structure how would you organize the project?
Appoint a spokesperson to present your team’s analysis.
Team Exercise #32
Ch17: Managing Multiple Team Projects