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Week 3

Introduction to ProjectManagement

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Planning Projects

“Planning is laying out the project groundwork to ensure your goals are met“

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Purpose of Planning ProcessIt answers:

How are we going to SOLVE the

problem

What RESOURCES are required

How much effort it requires

What are the DUE DATES

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Project Plans◦Are Not a Microsoft Project File

◦They are documents that:

Define SCHEDULE

Define RESOURCES needed

Project DELIVERABLES/MILESTONES

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Project Deliverables◦Are measurable outcomes or specific items that must be PRODUCED to fulfill the outcomes of the project.

◦All deliverables must be described in enough detail so that they can be differentiated from related deliverables. For example:

A twin engine plane vs a single engine plane

A daily report vs a weekly report

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Project PLANNING Processes

Scope Planning Specifies the IN-SCOPE requirements for the

project and facilitates the creation of the WBS

Preparing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Specifies the breakdown of the project into tasks and sub tasks

Communication Planning Communication strategy with all project

stakeholders

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Project Planning Processes Cont.

Project SCHEDULE Development Specifies the entire schedule of the activities

detailing the sequence of executionRESOURCE Planning

Specifies WHO will do the work Any special equipment or skills required

“Project Schedule Development” & “Resource Planning” are items which have to be inputted into “MS Project 2010”

RISK Planning Charts the risks,

CONTINGENCY plans: having an alternative course of action planned once a risk surfaces

MITIGATION strategies: minimizing risks once they arise; a form of “damage control”

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DEVELOPING SMART GOALS

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Articulating Project ObjectivesSpecific (get into the details).

Measurable (use qualitative language so

you know when you are finished).

Acceptable (Achievable) (to stakeholders).

Realistic (Relevant) (in terms of

achievement).

Time bound (Time frame) (deadlines not

durations)

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SMART GOALS Videohttp://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmOS3dj9h0s

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AFTER THE GOALS ARE DRAFTED, ASK YOURSELF:

Is this goal specific?Are the results easily

measurable?Realistic?Does my goal include a completion

DATE?◦If the answer is NO to any of these questions, you have more work to do!!

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SMART Goals ExampleGOAL = Write A Long Essay

◦Specific: I will write my 15 page final paper for my Business class.

◦Measurable: I will report my progress in terms of pages completed per week.

◦Acceptable (Achievable): By completing 2 pages a day for 8 days, I will be able to finish my paper.

◦Realistic (Relevant): I cannot write a lot at a time, so I am spreading it out over time.

◦Time Bound (Time Frame): I will finish this paper in 8 days.

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POORLY WRITTEN GOALS

Use words like….◦Try, could, should, possibly, hope, attempt, probably, might, maybe These are Not specific enough!

What will you DO?

Poorly written goals ◦Soon, in a few months, by the end of the year YOU SHOULD PICK A DATE!

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PROJECT REQUIREMENT PLANNING

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Project RequirementsRequirements specify what the

project deliverable should look like and what it should do.

Divided into 6 basic categories:

Functional Regulatory

Non-Functional Business

Technical User

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1) Functional Project Requirements

Describe the characteristics of what you want your deliverable to be.

Example:◦ System shall provide users

with the ability to “select” whether or not to produce a hardcopy transaction receipt before completing a transaction.

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2) Non-Functional Requirements

Describe criteria that can be judged

Describe restrictions to be placed on the deliverable

Example:◦ All displays shall be in

white 14 pt Arial text on black background.

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3) Technical Requirements

Emerges from functional requirements

May include:◦ Hardware details◦ Telecommunication

protocols

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4) REGULATORY Requirements

Can be internal or external

Usually non-negotiable

Example:◦ All ATMs shall connect to

“standard utility power sources within their civic jurisdiction”, and be supplied with uninterruptible power source approved by “said company”.

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5) Business Requirements Always from a

management perspectiveStates “business

rationale” for the project

Example:◦ By providing superior service to

our retail customers, ABC Bank’s ATM network will allow us to increase associated service fee revenue by 10% annually on an ongoing basis, using a baseline of December 2011.

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6) User Requirements

What users need to do with the system or product

Example:◦ The system shall complete

a standard withdrawal from a personal account, from login to cash, in less than two minutes for a first time user.

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WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS)

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Define WBSPMI describes WBS as “a

deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create required deliverables.”

In our words:◦A structured method for defining

the work of the project

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Sample WBS WBS does not show the sequence

When creating, start with the goal and then

break it down into smaller and smaller

DELIVERABLES (MILESTONES)

1) Deliverables

◦ define what you are going to do

◦ Are Nouns

2) Activities

◦ define how you are going to accomplish it

◦ Activities are Verbs

Goal

Deliverable

Deliverable

Deliverable

Deliverable

ActivityActivityActivity

ActivityActivityActivity

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WBS DIAGRAM 3

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WBS DIAGRAM 2

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WBS DIAGRAM 1

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Benefits of WBS

Identifies all work necessary to meet the

scope of the project

Clarifies responsibilities

Forces detailed planning and

documentation

Provides structure for measuring success

IDENTIFIES MILESTONES

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MilestonesIdentifiable point that represents

a requirement or completion of an important set of activities

Why use milestones?◦Helps identify progress◦Helps define “dependencies”◦Provides visibility of major deliverable dates

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Milestones vs TasksMilestones are what management

&/or clients really want to hear about

Milestones are the large outcome of many little tasks.◦Not necessarily have a DATE

Tasks are activities that need to be completed in order to make the milestone happen.

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WBS Comes from

◦Past projects

◦Templates and documents of

procedures

◦System tutorials

◦Brainstorming

◦Subject Matter Expert (SME)

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WBS does not show the sequence

When creating, start with the goal and then break it down into smaller and smaller DELIVERABLES(MILESTONES)

1) Deliverables (Milestones)

◦ define what you are going to do

◦ Are Nouns

2) Activities ◦ define how you are

going to accomplish it

◦ Activities are Verbs

WEEK 3 HYBRID Read Chapter 2 Complete ALL activities required while reading

Chapter 2 Complete the Matching questions for Chapter 2 Complete the Multiple Choice questions for Chapter 2 Please note, you must complete Matching and Multiple

Choice questions in an EXCEL document. Please name the excel file: Chapter2_[yrLastName]

Name “Matching” workSHEET “worksheet M Chap2”

Name the “Multiple Choice” workSHEET :“worksheet MC Chap 2”

Provide the answers in the order as they are presented in the book.

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