What is a Project? What is a Project?

• A project is a collection of related activities

• There is a clearly defined customer

• There is a clear scope with measurable outcomes

• There are definable beginning and end points

• It has a single person, a Project Manager, who can be held accountable for all aspects of the work including tasks, activities, budget and quality assurance associated with the project

Project Ideas

•Reduce costs

•Identify waste eg material, paper, labour, space

•Introduce or improve process, procedure,

•Improve design of a form, report etc

•Eliminate double-handling

•Increase accuracy

•Reduce searching time

•Improve efficiency, consistency

•Introduce coaching and/or mentoring process

•Develop and implement training day

Lifecycle of Projects

All projects need to go through the following steps:

• Specify what project for - Project Brief / Definition)

• Plan the project & how it will be completed

• Complete the project & create the deliverables according to plan

• Check that deliverables are as originally intended & that meet the needs of clients

• Close the project

• define the benefits to stakeholders, organisation

• define the project’s aims/objectives• determine project scope • define deliverables • define success criteria• define assumptions you are making re

ability to complete project (access to data, support from...)

• obtain approval to proceed to next stage

Project Brief’s /Definition’s Project Brief’s /Definition’s Purpose is to:

Sufficient detail for feasibility

Success in developing a Project Definition requires that the information be precise, specific, complete, unambiguous and concise.

Aims & ObjectivesAims & Objectives

• Objectives are the project targets. They need to be• Specific• Measurable• Achievable / Actionable• Relevant / Realistic• Time-based

For example:

Create Memorandum of Understanding between the

local police units and local hospital and support services by

January 2010

The Planning Stage

The more time you put into planning, the more likelihood of implementation

80% planning20% implementation

Ensuring Quality of DeliverablesEnsuring Quality of Deliverables

Each deliverable should meet certain quality requirements - be fit for the intended purpose & do the job it was designed for.

O-D-W ModelO-D-W Model

1. Identify deliverables from objectives

2. Create work-plan from objectives & deliverables by breaking down the project into its component tasks (WBS)

Objectives Deliverables

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)Work Plan & Schedule

Process to develop a Workplan

• Brainstorm a task list

• Convert the task list into a skeleton plan

• Estimate times, add dependencies & delays

• Build the plan into a schedule

• Work out relevant costs

• Add in milestones & contingencies

• Review & amend. Adjust dimensions of the project if appropriate (such as time, scope, cost, quality)

Brainstorm a task list: a process to use

• Write each task on a Post-it Note. (one task per note)

• Group the related tasks together & determine the “hierarchy of the tasks”

ie Major Task (for ex “install new computer at station)

• Minor task select computer

• Minor task select software

• Minor task load software onto computer

Check

• Have you covered all the tasks necessary to achieve your objectives?

• Have you broken down the tasks to a level that enables you to see what needs to be done?

• Do you need all the tasks?

Once you are happy with your task list:

• Number the tasks in the order you have them. Put number (Task Number) at top LH corner

• No. the tasks again (WBS Number) taking into account the hierarchy of tasks - For example:

2. Install new computer at station2.1 Select computer2.2 Select software2.3 Load software onto computer

• Put this second number on the top RH corner• Put list up on a wall or large space to view• Alter as necessary

Estimate times & delays

• Estimates are the “effort” it takes to do the task not how long it takes before you have completed a task which is “duration”

• If task broken into sub-tasks, estimate length of sub tasks, not overall task

• Factor in expected delays such as waiting for delivery of goods, (+10)

Dependencies & allocate tasks

• Determine dependencies – where a task cannot commence until a previous task (predecessor) is completed

• Allocate tasks to the person who will complete that task.

How to Estimate Time- Methods to use

• Ask someone who knows

• Model against other similar tasks

• Break task down further until you get tasks you can estimate

• Make an assumption

Set aside contingency time to deal with calculation errors

Next determine your “Milestones”

• A point in time of the project, typically marking an important event such as the completion of a phase, a decision point or completion of a project deliverable.

• Milestones are NOT activities & they do NOT take time or consume resources.

• For example milestones for producing a short training film could include - script finalised, cast selected, filming completed etc.

Gantt chart

• It is a bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate start & finish dates of parts of the project.

• Some Gantt charts also show the dependency relationships between activities.

• There are many ways to create a Gantt chart - Microsoft Project, Excel.

Establish Financial ScopeEstablish Financial Scope

• Document the total amount of money budgeted for the project • Include people resources (internal and contract), training,

travel, testing etc.• Consider variable & fixed costs• Include contingency reserve• Amounts must be agreed by Project Sponsor

Communication StrategyCommunication Strategy

Communication is a critical success factor for projects. You should consider:

Who?

What information?

What means / media?

How often / when?Review Communication Plan worksheet in handouts

Managing Risk

Threat – specific event that causes unfavourable impact on your project.

Steps:• Identify risk• Determine likelihood of risk occurring• Determine impact of risk• Establish priority of dealing with risk(Priority = Likelihood X Impact)

Managing RiskManaging Risk

Nature of Risk or Uncertainty

Likelihood

High/Medium/

Low

Impact High/

Medium/ Low

Likelihood x Impact (Score)

Actions required and who will take responsibility to manage the risk

The 5 Dimensions of a Project

• Scope• Quality• Time• Cost• Risk

The 5 dimensions of the project are not independent facts but inter-dependent

variables.

• With your project, you may need to consider whether you can adjust any of the dimensions to get the desired result.

• If you find that you need to reduce the:

(a) cost

(b) time taken

what trade-offs could you make?

Learning from the ProjectLearning from the Project

• Evaluate the Project• Input from Team, Sponsor, Key users

• Complete Project Assessment • What went well, what could be improved

• Consider lessons learnt on both personal and organisational level