implementing projects (2)

8/6/2019 Implementing Projects (2)

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Implementing projects

Project planning 1 (Scheduling and Resourcing)

Project planning 2 (Quality and Risk) Change and Conflict


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Project planning 1

(Scheduling and resourcing)

Learning objectives

Time planning

Scheduling

Budgeting

Resourcing

Reading from the set text

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7 (7.1 7.4)


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Ready, Fire Aim

Tom Peters well known business author and management guru

suggests that for most organisations planning almost never cuts

implementation time


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Formulating the plan

Those involved in developing the plan can include;

The sponsor or senior management

The project manager

The project team

A stakeholder committee

A planning group


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Content of plans

The plan seeks to address the following questions;

What are we trying to achieve ?

Who needs to be involved, when and what is their role ?

What resources are needed and when ?

When is the result required ?

In what order do events take place ?

What are the critical milestones ?

How will we control activities ? What could go wrong ?


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Content of the plan

Having asked the questions the plan is the document(s) which provides the answers;

Project schedule

- activities

- dependencies

- milestones

- critical path

Resource requirements

- project team

- training

- I.T.

- finance

- equipment etc.

Monitoring and control

- methods

- communication

- reporting

- slippage

Risk management methods


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Planning/diagnosing complex situations

What

How

clear

clear unclear

unclear

Situationtypes

questspainting bynumbers

movies lost in thefog

Winter 2006

Adapted from Obeng 1994


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Activity analysis

Most plans derive from an understanding of what has to be done.

Therefore we need to;

Identify tasks (or phases)

Establish durations

Identify dependencies


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Time planning

To establish an effective plan for time it is necessary to;

Estimate durations

Map networks or graphical representations

Establish schedules

Understand constraints


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Estimating time

When establishing time estimates project managers should;

Understand the level of accuracy that is required

Have classified tasks based upon prior experience

- familiar

- similar

- new

Understand the uncertainty of estimates and when they are morelikely to be inaccurate


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Project network techniques

The value of producing network charts and diagrams is threefold;

Aids project planning

Aids decision making

Enables communication of plans and decisions


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CPM (Critical Path Method)

and Pert (Programme Evaluation and Review Technique)

Activity on Arrow (A-o-A) or Activity on Node (A-o-N)

Handles inter-relationships between activities

Identifies critical activities that determine project duration

Conventions

Time flows left to right

Events are numbered left to right

No event can occur until all the activities leading to it are complete

No activity can start until the preceding event has occurred


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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

8

10

3

7

6

7

5

3

1

2

3

4

5

6

EET

(F=1)

EET

TPT

=

= =

=

=EET

11

8 17

18

22

(F=1)

(F=1)

(F=2)

EET


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GANTT Charts

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Comparison of Networks and Bar Charts

Complexity

Training required

Ease of understanding

Operational planning

Use for control

Shows relationships

Plans resources

CPM/PERT GANTT

high low

yes minimal

poor good

no yes

poor good

yes can do

no can do


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Scheduling

Schedules are based upon;

Activities sequence (network logic)

Activities duration (time estimates)

Resource capability

Resource availability and capacity


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Project Name;

Date;

Task Number;

Resources Person to

contact

How many/much

needed

When needed Check if

available

Manpower

Money

Machinery

Materials

(Methods)


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Resource loading

The stages involved are;

The network diagram is annotated with the resource requirements

for each activity

The diagram is converted to calendar form, i.e. the activities aredrawn against a real time base for a GANTT chart

The demands for resources are summed vertically down the chart

for each time period

A load diagram is produced for each resource, in the form of a

histogram spanning the project time scale


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Resource levelling

Project managers benefit when resources are levelled by;

Spending less time managing fluctuating resources

achieving regular arrangements with materials suppliers

fewer errors in achieving the correct resource levels


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Priority rules

Shortest task first

Most resources first

Minimum float first

Most successors first

Last tasks as late as possible


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Project cost

Clear analysis of project activities and associated costs contribute to

an organisations performance in two ways;

They enable us to check upon and control the efficiency of the

project itself

They enable us to evaluate the likely cost of future projects more

effectively


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Mistakes on estimating costs

The number of things that may produce errors in estimates is almost

without limit, however some things occur with particular frequency;

Failure to account for learning curves

Changes in resource prices

Failure to account for the time value of money/resources

Failure to account for wastage and spoilage

Inadequate collection and analysis of data

Los of a key resource (e.g. technical specialist)


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Project budgets

Cannot be based upon previous track records and data

Should not possess slack to permit internal adjustments

Should be established at the outset of the project

When using budgets as a control mechanism, the project manager must;

Be familiar with the organisations financial and management accounting

systems

Allocate unique identifiers to each project task for logging itens of

expenditure


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Developing the project budget

Top down budgeting

Senior managers estimate overall project costs(based upon judgement and experience)

Overall cost estimate are broken down by less senior managers(into budgets for specific work packages)

Broken down further by junior mangers(into successively finer detail)

The project budget

Indirect costs, contingency and profit margins are added

Task budgets are aggregated

(to give total direct costs)

Estimates are improved(by applying analytical and statistical methods)

Estimates are made for labour and materials(based on the work breakdown structure)

Bottom up budgeting


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Project planning 2

(Quality and risk)

Learning objectives

The quality planning process

Organisational orientation and

quality

Risk management

Assessing risk

Reading from the set text

Chapter 7 (7.5 onwards)

Chapter 8


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Orientation and quality

Starting point Focus Means Ends

Production Products Selling and build Profit through

volume

Markets Customer needs Co-ordination

communication

Profit through

satisfaction

Adapted from Kotler


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Dominant activity and quality

Organisationalquality

definition

Customerrequirements

Manufacturing

paradigm

Service

paradigm

Project quality

definition

Conformancesystems

Performancesystems


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Quality definition

Quality in projects may therefore be seen as;

Products and designs

Satisfiers of needs

In many cases projects represent a little drawn from each approach, indoing so they need to plan for;

Core product/output

Augmented product/output

Performance quality

Conformance quality


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Quality and stakeholders

Is a piga pig?

What is a pig ?


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Value creation

Specification

Cost Time

Value/benefits

Deliverables Delivery

Classical view of projects

projects share three basic goals;

delivery on time, to specification, within budget

Business view of projects

satisfying customers and contributing

to strategic intent

Winter 2006


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Project risk

There is an element of risk in all projects. Risk management occurs

in three stages;

Risk identification (what are the risks?)

Risk assessment (how likely are they?)

Risk analysis (what will be their impact?)

Risk elimination/control (can we minimise this?)


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Risk identification

Risk occur through;

Inaccurate analysis of the project dynamics or change of

specification

Inappropriate choice(s) of methodology, resources, technology,

equipment etc.

Unplanned (unforeseen) occurrences

External factors beyond the control of the projects leadership


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Internal and external sources of risk

Quality/specification

Cost Time

External factors

the Macro environment

PEST(LE)

External factors

the competitive environment

customers, competitors

External factors

the project environment

contractors, weather, suppliers

Internal factors

design, resources, control


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Control point identification charts

(what if? Analysis to solve project problems)

Task What could go

wrong?

How/when would I

know?

What could I do?


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Linking common project problems and solutions

Problem Possible solution

Loss/ absence of ateam member

Vendor delays insupplies, materials,

equipment

Unavailability ofresources

Budget slippage

Profile the skills andknowledge sets,

develop an alternative

Vendor certification andassurance,

multi-sourcing,incentivise/penalise

Plan contingencies,shift resources,

reschedule, buy-in

Offer incentives for costsavings, descope


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Risk and project design

If we are able to identify potential risk during the definition of the

project we can hope to address it during the design stage;

Eliminate the risk

Reduce the risk

Share the risk

Control the risk


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Change and Conflict

Learning objectives

Change and resistance

Differences within projects

Conflict handling styles

There is no set reading for this

section, however you are

encouraged to access change

and conflict articles/literature

from other sources. In

particular writings by Noel

Tichy and Karl Lewin.


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The nature of change

When considering change it is important to be aware of two dimensions;content and process

Content

What is to be changed? The project purpose.

- systems

- resources- structure

- culture

Process

How is it to be changed? The project design

- with consultation and involvement- by imposition

- gradually

- quickly


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Resistance to change

Resistance occurs in a number of forms;

Rational resistance

- a logical assessment that the project will fail.

- a calculation that the costs to them outweigh the benefits.

- do not agree/accept the purpose of the project.

Emotional resistance

- fear of uncertainty

- need for functional structures and lines of authority

- low trust of stated project aims

Political resistance

- the project threatens status/power- the project reallocates resources

- peer group pressure

Adapted from Plant 1987 and Hicks 2004


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Overcoming resistance

Driving forces(forces for change)

Restraining forces(forces against change)

Lewins equilibrium

Project managers can overcomeresistance by listing each set of forces

and devising strategies to strengthen driving forcesand weakening resisting forces

It is not necessary to changesurvival is not mandatory

Demming


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Differences within projects

Handy outlines three types of difference that might arise within

organisations, these might equally be applied to projects;

Argument

Competition

Conflict


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Outcomes of conflict

Positive outcomes;

Better ideas produced

People forced to seek new

approaches Problems brought to the

surface

Clarification of views

Stimulation of interest and

creativity

Tests capabilities

Negative outcomes;

Some are defeated and

demeaned

Distance between people isincreased

Mistrust and suspicion

Focus on self interest

Resistance of teamwork

Loss of team members

Schmidt


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Conflict in projects

Thamhain and Wilemon suggest that conflict in projects arises from;

Schedules

Priorities

Staffing/labour

Technical issues

Administrative procedures

Cost estimates and budgets

Interpersonal issues and relationships


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Conflict and the project life cycle

It is possible to map conflict hotspots against the life cycle and

identify what might be triggers;

Different goals and expectations

Involvement and contribution

Responsibility and authority

Personalities and enmity


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Stages of conflict

Overt

conflict

Aftermath of

previous conflict

Perceived/felt

conflict

Latentconflict


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Conflict handling styles

Style Appropr iate use

Competition When quick action is vital

When important but unpopular actionis vital

Against those who take advantage ofnon competitive behaviour

Collaboration When both sets of concerns areimportant

To merge different perspectivesWhen mutual interests can beestablished

Avoidance When an issue is trivial

When potential disruption outweighsbenefits

When others ca resolve conflict moreeffectively

Accommodation When youre wrongTo minimise loss

When harmony and stability areimportant

Compromise When goals are important but notworth disruption

To achieve a temporary settlement

To arrive at solutions under time

pressure

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