Project management pocket skills

Monthly Learning ReviewProject Management

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Project management is essentially aimed at producing an end product that will effect some change for the benefit of the organisation that instigated the project.

• produce something new or altered, tangible or intangible;• have a finite timespan: a definite start and end;• are likely to be complex in terms of work or groups

involved;• require the management of change;• require the management of risks.

Why do we need project management?


1. Specification2. Time management3. Manage client

expectations4. Projected start and end

date5. Technicalities6. Budget and profit

manageability7. Delegation

The important factors for Project Management


PM- Current Challenges

Inability to achieve on time, within the budget

and quality of the deliverables due to

unrealistic deadlines and/or lack of control

Resource conflicts- organisations rarely have sufficient resources to staff all projects concurrently. As

such, projects compete against each other for resources, and people are often assigned to several projects at the same time. Those with special expertise of scarce skills may be in

high demand.

Misalignment between projects and their

business objectives- Projects drift and business

objectives change and evolve. Without redirection,

projects and deliverables end up failing to meet

expectations

Late or delayed projects- delays reaping

business benefits and disrupting the long-term

return on investment.

Dependency conflict- most projects are interrelated; sharing people, equipment, resources and deliverables. These dependencies mean that a single project delay has a significant ripple effect on related projects, disrupting schedules, causing resource conflicts etc.

Little/no project communications-

lack of buy-in due to project managers/team members not providing enough information to enough people, along with

the lack of an infrastructure or culture for good communication.

No accountability- Failure to continuously

monitor and communicate project milestones in real

time, and budget performance, dilutes

project accountability and responsibility

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The 5 stages of project management

Initiation

Planning

ImplementationReview

Closure

Taken together, these phases represent the path a project takes from the beginning to its end and are generally referred to as the project “life cycle.”

PROJECT MANAGEMENT


PHASE 1 - Initiation Phase• The project objective or need is identified; this can be a business problem or

opportunity. An appropriate response to the need is documented in a business case with recommended solution options. A feasibility study is conducted to investigate whether each option addresses the project objective and a final recommended solution is determined. Issues of feasibility (“can we do the project?”) and justification (“should we do the project?”) are addressed.

• Once the recommended solution is approved, a project is initiated to deliver the approved solution and a project manager is appointed.

• The major deliverables and the participating work groups are identified, and the project team begins to take shape. Approval is then sought by the project manager to move onto the detailed planning phase.


Project managers need to be very good communicators


PHASE 2 -PlanningThis is where the project solution is further developed in as much detail as possible and the steps necessary to meet the project’s objective are planned

The team need to identify: A quality plan – including all of the work that needs be done The clients criteria scope management - the project’s tasks and resource requirements are identified A project plan - outlining the activities, tasks, dependencies, and timeframes The project manager coordinates the preparation of a project budget by providing cost estimates for the labour,

equipment, and materials costs. The budget is used to monitor and control cost expenditures during project implementation

Once the project team has identified the work, prepared the schedule, and estimated the costs, the three fundamental components of the planning process are complete.

Threats & Risks - Risk management – identify the “high-threat” potential problems - Actions to be taken to reduce the probability that the problem will occur or to reduce the impact on the project if it does

occur- to identify all project stakeholders and establish a communication plan describing the information needed and the

delivery method to be used to keep the stakeholders informed.


PHASE 3 - Implementation (Execution)

Status reports should always emphasize the anticipated end point in terms of: • Cost• Schedule • Quality of deliverables Each project deliverable produced should be reviewed for quality and measured against the acceptance criteria.

• Maintaining control and communication during implementation• Monitor progress and make appropriate adjustments where necessary• Have regular team meetings to ensure the project is going in the intended direction• Highlight & record the modification plans that have taken place from the original project plan• Communicate with key stakeholders regarding the progress and status of the project

The project manager uses this information to maintain control over the direction of the project by comparing the progress reports with the project plan to measure the performance of the project activities and take corrective action as needed.

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Objectives & Goals

• Specific – A detailed solution• Measurable – the beginning and end of the project, how will you measure your

success or failures?• Attainable – the project constraints & risk management • Relevant - identifying all the Stakeholders needs • Time Based – delivering the deadlines

C.L.E.A.R. Goals – A newer method for setting goals that takes into consideration the environment of today’s fast-paced businesses.Collaborative – The goal should encourage employees to work together.Limited – They should be limited in scope and time to keep it manageable.Emotional – Goals should tap into the passion of employees and be something they can form an emotional connection to. This can optimize the quality of work.Appreciable – Break larger goals into smaller tasks that can be quickly achieved.Refinable – As new situations arise, be flexible and refine goals as needed.

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Project Aims Aligned with the People and New Ways of working

Organisational level change

Projects

System Wide front line change Projects

ProgrammeInitiation

ProgrammeSuccess

Review Learning

ReviewLearning

Transformation

Don’t lose sight of the people & the culture

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Phase 4 and 5 – Review and Closure

• The project closure & review phase is where the organisation implements the change into business as usual and determines that the intended benefits of the project have been met. Identified improvements to the PMM process, benefits realisation or project outputs are captured in a lesson learned log for future projects.

• After project tasks are completed and the client has approved the outcome, an evaluation is necessary to highlight project success and/or learn from project history.

• Projects and project management processes vary from industry to industry; however, these are more traditional elements of a project. The overarching goal is typically to offer a product, change a process or to solve a problem in order to benefit the organization.

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Transforming the Experience of Work…Releasing Potential in People

Empowering Effective Teams

Driving Innovation in Organisations

Connecting Expertise across Systems

Project management pocket skills

Leadership & Management

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