Chapter 1: Modern Project Management

PMI: Project Management Institute

- Establishes Project Management standards - Administers the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential via exam. - Provides code of conduct and encourages use of best practices.

Major Characteristics of a Project:

- Has an established objective. - Has a defined life span with a beginning and an end. - Requires across-the-organizational participation. - Involves doing something never been done before. - Has specific time, cost, and performance requirements.

PMP - 5 major process groups

- Initiating - Planning - Executing - Monitoring & Controlling - Closing

Sociocultural

- Leadership. - Problem solving. - Teamwork. - Negotiation. - Politics. - customer Expectations.

PMP - 10 major knowledge areas:

- Management of Integration - Scope - Time - Cost - Quality - Human Resources - Communications - Risk - Procurement - Stakeholder Management

Technical

- Scope. - WBS, Work Breakdown Structure. - Schedules. - Resource Allocation. - Baseline Budgets. - Status Reports.

Project Manager duties and responsibilities

- manages temporary, non-repetitive activities and frequently acts independently of the formal organization. - manages resources for the project. -linked directly to customer interface (Vendors, Supplier, Contractors). -provides direction, coordination & integration to the project team. - must induce the right people to address the right issues and make the right decisions.

Project

-A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Ex: completion of a required course in project management

Integration, centralization, of project management provides senior management with:

-An overview of all project management activities. -A big picture of how organizational resources are used. -A risk assessment of their portfolio of projects. -A rough metric of the firm's improvement in managing projects relative to others in the industry. -Linkages of senior management with actual project execution management.

Current Drivers of Project Management

-Compression of the Product Life Cycle. -Knowledge explosion. -Triple Bottom line: planet, people, profit. -Corporate downsizing. -Increased Customer Focus. -Small Projects represent big problems

Major Functions of Portfolio Management: The "Science" and "Art" of Project Management

-Oversee project selection. -Monitor aggregate resource levels and skills. -Encourage use of best practices. -Balance projects in the portfolio in order to represent a risk level appropriate to the organization. -Improve communication among all stakeholders. -Create a total organization perspective that goes beyond silo thinking. -Improve overall management of projects over time.

Problems resulting from the uncoordinated project management systems include:

-Projects that do not support the organization's overall strategic plan and goals. -Independent managerial decisions that create internal imbalances, conflicts and confusion resulting in dissatisfied customers. -Failure to prioritize projects results in the waste of resources on non-value-added activities/projects.

Triple Constraints of a project

-Time. -Cost. -Performance Requirements.

Compression of the Product Life Cycle

-average life cycle, 6 months to 3 years. -rule of thumb: six months result in 33% revenue loss. -Speed is the competitive advantage. -use of cross-functional teams for speed.

Project managers need to know

-how to avoid dangers of scope creep. -manage the critical path. -engage in timely risk management. -negotiation. -utilization of virtual communication tools.

Increased Customer Focus

-increased competition requires customer satisfaction. -customers want specific needs and request catering. -closer working relationships

Knowledge explosion

-increased complexity. -Product complexity increases the need to integrate divergent technologies.

Triple Bottom line: planet, people, profit

-influenced by global warning threat. -reduce carbon footprint. -re-utilize resource. -movement toward sustainability.

Project Manager Functions

-plan. -schedule. -motivate. -control.

Small Projects represent big problems

-problem with sharing and prioritizing resources. -many small projects add up to large sums of money. -measuring inefficiency is non existent.

Corporate downsizing

-rightsizing, if employed. -elimination of middle management. -changes approaches to projects. -outsourcing occurs. -project managers are cross-organizational.

Defining Stage includes: (Project life Cycle)

1. Goals 2. Specifications 3. Tasks 4. Responsibilities

Planning Stage includes: (Project Life Cycle)

1. Schedules 2. Budgets 3. Resoures 4. Risks 5. Staffing

Executing Stage includes: (Project Life Cycle)

1. Status Report 2. Changes 3. Quality 4. Forecasts

Closure Stage includes: (Project Life Cycle)

1. Train Customer. 2. Transfer Documents. 3. Release Resources. 4. Evaluation. 5. Lessons Learned.

Program

A group of related projects designed to accomplish a common goal over an extended period of time. Ex: completion of all courses required for a business major

ISO 9000

A set of standards governing the requirements for documentation of a quality program.

Project Management Professional (PMP)

An individual who has met specific education and experience requirements set forth by the Project Management Institute, has agreed to adhere to a code of professional conduct, and has passed an examination designed to objectively assess and measure project management knowledge. In addition, a PMP must satisfy continuing certification requirements or lose the certification.

In which of the following stages are project objectives established, teams formed, and major responsibilities assigned? Conceptualizing Defining Planning Executing Delivering

B) Defining

A series of coordinated, related, multiple projects that continue over extended time intended to achieve a goal is known as a: A) Strategy B) Program C) Campaign D) Crusade E) Venture

B) Program

From among the following activities, which is the best example of a project? A) Processing insurance claims B) Producing automobiles C) Writing a term paper D) Completing a college degree E) All of these are good examples of projects

C) Writing a term paper

In which of the following stages are you more likely to find status reports, many changes, and the creation of forecasts? A) Conceptualizing B) Defining C) Planning D) Executing E) Delivering

D) Executing

Project management is ideally suited for a business environment requiring all of the following except A) Accountability B) Flexibility C) Innovation D) Speed E) Repeatability

E) Repeatability

Technical Sociocultural Dimensions of the PMP

Sociocultural, interface between project and external environment, the "art" of project management. Technical, the "science" of project management.

Project Life Cycle

The stages found in all projects - definition, planning, execution, and delivery.

Primary Function of Project Management

balancing trade-offs between time, cost, and performance while ultimately satisfying the customer

Centralization

entails governance of all project processes and practices to improve project management.

Program Management Defined

the process of managing a group of ongoing, interdependent, related projects in a coordinated way to achieve strategic objectives.