Sherry Hicks VP, Global Implementation SafeGuard World International October 9, 2015.

Project Management 101

Sherry HicksVP, Global Implementation SafeGuard World InternationalOctober 9, 2015

Project Management 101: The Basics

Project Phases and Key Activities

Defining Excellence to Maximize Results

Driving the Project

The Do’s and Don’ts When the First Payroll Hits

Excellence After the Project

Agenda

Project Management 101: The Basics


What is a project? A temporary endeavor undertaken to

create a unique product, service or results

What is project management? The application of knowledge, skills,

tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements

Project Management Institute (PMI) definitions

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

◦ Sum of knowledge within the profession of project management

◦ Set of standards and best practices established via consensus based process

◦ Provides a framework

Project Management Institute (PMI)


World’s largest professional association of project professionals

PMI Certifications

◦ PMP – Project Management Professional (the Project Management profession’s most globally recognized certification credential)

◦ PgMP – Program Management Professional

Project Management Institute (PMI)


Project Management 101A project has a defined beginning and end, executed by a group of people to meet a specific objectivePMI Project Phases Typical Payroll Project Phases

Initiation Planning

Planning Discovery/Requirements Gathering

Execution Configure/Build

Control and Monitoring Test

Close-out Transition/Go Live

Responsible for the day-to-day management, status reporting, issue, risk, scope and resource management

◦ Ensures timeline decisions and communication of decisions made

◦ Manages and coordinates activity of project team to meet project schedule and deliverables


A designated Project Manager is vital to the success of the project

◦ Ensures timely decisions and communication of decisions made

◦ Manages communications to team and organization

◦ Manages constraints and obstacles, escalates to Stakeholders as necessary


Designated Project Manager is vital to the success of the project


Question why

Positive, “can do”

attitude

Partner well

Hold team

accountable

Respect others

Attributes of an effective Project Manager

See the Big

Picture, thinks

detail

Excel in

communication

Organized and

disciplined

Lead

Executive Sponsor and/or Steering Committee

Project Manager

Workstream Leads (Payroll, HR, Finance, IT, etc.)

Subject Matter Experts/End Users

Change Management resource

Essential Project Resources


Constraints/Risks


Identify uncertainties

Assess their potential impacts

Estimate the likelihood

Develop plan to mitigate or control the uncertainties

Prioritize the risk

Periodically review and assess the risk

Project Phases and Key Activities

Confirm the business case for and objective of the project

Determine how to meet the project objectives and how success of the project will be measured

Identify the Stakeholder’s expectations

Confirm the scope of the project

Identify the constraints and assumptions

Generate the project budget

Establish change control process

Develop a Communication Plan

Planning Phase

Proper planning is the foundation of every project.

Create the project schedule (Work Breakdown Structure)

oWhat tasks are needed?

oWho is responsible for which tasks?

oWhat are the dependencies?

oDetermine critical path

• The longest path of planned activities

• These activities will determine the duration of the project

Planning Phase

Key Activities

Develop a risk management plan

o Identify known risks and possible risks (constraints)

oPay particular attention to risks with high impact and high probability of occurring

Project budget

oMonitor and manage via change control

Planning Phase

Key Activities

Changes throughout the project are common and to be expected

Purpose of change control

◦ To manage and control changes identified after the scope has been approved

◦ Disciplined process for assessing impact of change to cost, schedule and scope/quality

Managing change through Change Control

Planning Phase – Key Activities

Ensures timely an appropriate communication of all project related information

o Communication standards

Identifies communication requirements for all project team members

o Meetings (Project Status, Stakeholder, etc.)

o Documentation

o Action Items

Communication Plan


Establishes expectations for project information distribution (who, what, when, how)

Documents process for resolving open items and escalations

o Status Report (for reporting period) Overall status of project Accomplishments Areas of Focus Critical Open Issues and Risks

Communication Plan


Planning is an iterative process and does not end at the end of the phase but continues throughout the project

Discovery/Requirements GatheringThe objective of this phase of the project is to finalize requirements for resources, process and technology to result in an accurately configured solution. In order to get what you want, you must be able to define what you want.Key Activities and Deliverables

Future System Design

Global Requirements

Local Requirements

Reporting Requirements

Integration Requirements and definitions

Updated Project Charter and Project Plan

Configure/Build The objectives of the Configure/Build Phase are to complete the configuration based on the requirements documented during the Discovery/Requirements Gathering Phase. Key Activities and Deliverables

Configuration

Integration Development

Report Development

Data conversion

Unit Test

System is prepared for Testing and Training

Test PhaseThe Test Phase ensures the configured system sufficiently meets documented requirements and users are trained. The Test Phase may consist of various test efforts.

End to End testing

Validates the configuration and that the data flows properly

Confirm the integrations meet requirements

May use subset of test data

Scenario Testing

End users run through real life scripts

Validates configuration meets requirements

Parallel Payroll Testing

Uses actual data from a live payroll, paralleled in new system

Validates the configuration and integrations meet the

requirements

Transition/Go Live Phase

When the exit criteria for the Test Phase has been met, the project moves into the final phase, Transition/Go Live. This phase is a collection of controls and processes to ensure a smooth transition to a “live” status and a steady state environment. Key Activities and Deliverables:

Training and roll out

Final data conversion

Transition Activities

Transition to Production

Defining Excellence to Maximize Results

Defining excellence to maximize results

A successful project will be a disciplined

effort

Set realistic expectations about the transition

Communications need to be clear, concise and

in writing

A project plan should be current and at the

center of all activities

Tightly manage change control to avoid scope

creep

Transparency and consistency are key for

success

A comprehensive Change Management Plan

will increase adoption

Document or review as-is processes

Identify the difference between policy and practice

Standardize policies, pay type and deductions to the highest degree possible

Ensure standards are valid across all locations and not just HQ- centric, have provisions for local needs


Best Practices

Always consider upstream and downstream impacts

Standardization should be the underpinning for an effective information management strategy

Intentionally define roles and processes for transition and steady state


Best Practices

Ensure data being migrated is clean data

Use the data from the incumbent payroll system

Identify external constraints (other business activities, competing projects, shutdowns, etc.)


Best Practices

Role of Future State Change Agent

◦ Authority to make decision

◦ Drives standardization, challenges need for special requirements

◦ Gets buy-in from organization (at all levels), ensures partnering


Best Practices

Partner with vendors

◦ Listen to your vendors, they have experience that you can benefit from

◦ Be open and honest with vendor regarding your constraints

◦ Work together to assess risks


Best Practices

Change Management is essential to ensure excellence before, during and after the project. It is the bridge between the solution and the results.

Change Management is a systematic and proactive approach to dealing with change

Change Management is:

o Creating leadership

o Changing attitudes

o Communication and Training in order to be able to adopt the change


Change Management is essential to ensure excellence before, during and after the project.

Clearly articulate the overall business benefits of the project – why are we doing this now?

Shadow organizations exist mostly because buy-in was never achieved upfront or lost

Change Management should start before the project begins and not end until the new solution has been adopted


Effectiveness of your Change Management is the key to a successful implementation and will greatly impact excellence after the project

Impact Assessment

oAssess the impact of the new solution on your people and processes

Change Management Plan

oDefines and implements new procedures and/or technologies



Communication Plan

o Establishes a common vision and integrated approach to the communication campaign

Training Plan

Ensures end-users are ready to perform tasks in the system prior to go-live and their correct on-going use



Readiness – What is a successful end state?

oEmployees are able to access their data, and request service using new tools and processes

oManagers are able to perform their roles using new tools and processes


Driving the Project

Driving the Project

Primary reasons projects fail

Unrealistic expectations Lack of involvement from Subject Matter

Experts/End Users

Requirements are not completely identified

Lack of accountability

Lack of project governance/discipline

Driving the Project

Use Technology

Track Progress

Identify Right Resources

Maintain Control

Keep Everyone Informed

All Decisions Made Should Align with Project

Objectives

Encourage Peak Performance

Successful projects require strong project governance to ensure that the project follows the plans correctly and, as a result, leads to the desired results.

Driving the Project

Project Governance provides framework for managing the project and keeping it on track.

Provides oversight at multiple levels

◦Strategic (Stakeholders/Executive Sponsor)

◦Operational (Project Leadership)

◦Tactical (Project Manager)

Driving the Project

Project Governance provides framework for managing the project and keeping it on track.

Stakeholders/Executive Sponsor

◦Ensure project remains aligned with strategic objectives and direction

◦Confirm status and resolution of escalated issues or risks

Project Governance Review and confirm alignment of

program with business strategy and direction

Confirm status or resolution of any escalated issues or risks

Weigh-in on “Go/No Go” decisions

Strategic

Direction

Setting

Strategic

Direction

Setting

Issue Escalatio

n

Issue Escalatio

n

Strategic

Manage program issues/risks Track progress against program

work plan Revise milestones and deliverables Decision of “Go/No Go” events Confirm transition criteria Coordinate internal policy alignment Confirm scope changesOperation

al

Manage program/project team participation

Prepare documentation Verify activities and tasks have

occurred Verify transition criteria achieved

(readiness) Identify and resolve issues and risks Monitor and verify operational

readiness

Tactical

Steering Committee

(Meet Monthly)

Project Leadership

Team (Monthly)

Project Manager(Daily to Weekly)

Workstream Leads

(Weekly)

Confirm Interface Requirements Design Oversight Review scope impacting

transformational activities Approve Deliverables

The Do’s and Don’ts When the First Payroll Hits

The Do’s to Prepare for First Payroll

Do Ensure Go Live Checklist is complete

Review criteria for a no go decision

Review contingency plans

Determine where and how support will be provided for time critical issues

Ensure pay period schedule dates are accurate

Pay period begin and end date

Pay particular attention to the pay date to ensure it is correct

The Do’s to Prepare for First Payroll

Do

Ensure all parties (internal and partners) are aware

of the cutover dates

Proactively communicate any known issues and the mitigation plan

Audit, audit, audit

Ensure direct deposit files have been transmitted

Communicate to all, announcing the go live

Clearly document open items, drive to resolution

Don’t

Process first payroll without a Contingency Plan

Move forward without successful test results without contingency plans and proactive communications

Move forward with partial set up on test results without contingency plans and proactive communications

Forget to celebrate your success as a project team

The Don’ts for the First Payroll

Ensure the delivered solution meets the documented project objectives


Create transition plan to ensure an organized and effective transition from project team to steady state team

Evaluate training needs – is any retraining necessary

Document ownership of any open items

Project evaluation – did project meet all objectives

Thank you and please remember to complete your evaluation for this session.

Sherry Hicks VP, Global Implementation SafeGuard World International October 9, 2015.

Documents

Transcript of Sherry Hicks VP, Global Implementation SafeGuard World International October 9, 2015.