BTE 417 - FINAL EXAM
Common problems during execution
*The project sponsor and/or other senior managers are not very supportive of the project. *Project stakeholders, such as people who would use the products and services the project is attempting to create, are not sufficiently involved in project decision-making. *The project manager is inexperienced in managing people, working in a particular organization, or understanding the application area of the project. *The project objectives/scope are unclear. *Estimates for time and cost goals are unreliable or unrealistic. Business needs/technology changes have impacted the project. People working on the project are incompetent or unmotivated. There are poor conflict-management procedures. Communication is poor. Suppliers are not delivering as promised.
Main reason CEOs failed
- was poor execution - the same is true for project managers
Tuckman Model of Team Development
1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4. Performing 5. Adjourning
Sample Work Performance Data
A common way to summarize work performance information is by using a milestone report A milestone is a significant event on a project, such as completing a major deliverable or awarding a major contract In addition to listing the milestones, the report lists the planned date for completion (in month/day format), the status, the person responsible for the milestone, and issues/comments.
Milestones
A milestone is a significant event in a project It often takes several activities and a lot of work to complete a milestone, but the milestone itself is like a marker to help identify necessary activities There is usually no cost or duration for a milestone Project sponsors and senior managers often focus on major milestones when reviewing projects Sample milestones for many projects include: Sign-off of key documents Completion of specific products Completion of important process-related work, such as awarding a contract to a supplier
Change Requests
A number of requests for changes emerge during project execution The process for handling changes should be defined during project planning as part of the project management plan It is important during project execution to formally and informally request appropriate changes
Project Management Plans
A project management plan is a document used to Integrate and coordinate all project planning documents and to help guide a project's execution and control Plans created in the other knowledge areas are subsidiary parts of the overall project management plan and provide more detailed information about that knowledge area Project management plans facilitate communication among stakeholders and provide a baseline for progress measurement and project control
Collecting Requirements
A project's size, complexity, importance, as well as other factors affect how much effort is spent on collecting requirements The PMBOK® Guide, defines requirements as "a condition or capability that is necessary to be present in a product, service, or result to satisfy a business need." A requirements management plan describes how project requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed. Requirements must be documented in enough detail so that they can be measured during project execution
Creating the Work Breakdown Structure
A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project The WBS is a document that breaks all the work required for the project into discrete deliverables, and groups those tasks into a logical hierarchy Often shown in two different forms: Graphical or chart form Tabular or list form
Work Packages
A work package is a deliverable at the lowest level of the WBS, where it can be appropriately assigned to and managed by a single accountable person Each work package should be defined in enough detail to estimate what it would cost and how long it would take to create
Implemented Solutions to Problems
All project teams face numerous problems Some problems can be avoided by doing a good job of initiating, planning, or monitoring and controlling the project, but other problems cannot be avoided When problems are encountered during project execution the project managers must be creative and flexible.
Defining Activities
An Activity is a distinct,scheduled portion of work performed during the course of a project The goal of the defining activities process is to ensure that project team members have a complete understanding of all the work they must do as part of the project scope so that they can start scheduling the work Example: How can you estimate how long it will take or what resources you need to prepare a report if you don't have more detailed information on the report?
Cost Estimating Techniques
Analogous estimates, also called top-down estimates, use the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project. This technique requires a good deal of expert judgment and is generally less costly than others are, but it can also be less accurate Bottom-up estimates involve estimating individual activities and summing them to get a project total. This approach can increase the accuracy of the cost estimate, but it can also be time intensive and, therefore, expensive to develop Parametric modeling uses project characteristics (parameters) in a mathematical model to estimate project costs
Brainstorming
Approach - Generate all activities you can think of that need to be done - Group them into categories Both Top-down and Brainstorming can be used on the same WBS Remember to get the people who will be doing the work involved (buy-in matters!) Advantages - Detailed - Buy-in Disadvantages - Time consuming
The Impact of Team Size on Project Communications
As the number of people involved increases, the complexity of communications increases because there are more communications channels, or pathways, through which people can communicate Number of communications channels where n is the number of people involved n(n-1)/2 For example, two people have one communications channel: (2(2-1))/2 = 1. Five people have ten channels (5(5-1))/2=10 It is helpful to form several smaller teams within a large project team to help improve project communications
Thamhain and Wilemon's Ways to Have Influence on Projects
Authority: The legitimate hierarchical right to issue orders. Assignment: The project manager's perceived ability to influence a worker's later work assignments. Budget: The project manager's perceived ability to authorize others' use of discretionary funds. Promotion: The ability to improve a worker's position. Money: The ability to increase a worker's pay and benefits. Penalty: The project manager's ability to cause punishment. Work challenge: The ability to assign work that capitalizes on a worker's enjoyment of doing a particular task. Expertise: The project manager's perceived special knowledge that others deem important. Friendship: The ability to establish friendly personal relationships between the project manager and others.
Analogy
Base WBS upon that of a "similar" project Use a template Analogy also can be estimation basis Advantages Based on past actual experience Disadvantages Needs comparable project
General Advice on Managing Teams
Be patient and kind with your team Fix the problem instead of blaming people Establish regular, effective meetings Allow time for teams to go through the basic team-building stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning Limit the size of work teams to three to seven members to enhance communications Plan some social activities to help project team members and other stakeholders become acquainted Stress team identity Nurture team members and encourage them to help each other Acknowledge individual and group accomplishments
Quality Improvement Techniques
Benchmarking generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside of the organization itself A quality audit is a structured review of specific quality management activities that helps identify lessons learned, which could improve performance on current or future projects Process analysis involves analyzing how a process operates and determining improvements. Many organizations use lean, a system based on the Toyota Production System to help improve results and efficiency by eliminating waste and reducing idle time and non-value added activities. Kanban is a visual technique used to improve workflow. Cause-and-effect diagrams—also called fishbone diagrams (because their structure resembles a fishbone) or Ishikawa diagrams (named after their founder)—can assist in ensuring and improving quality by finding the root causes of quality problems
Conflict Handling Modes (T/R) Blake and Mouton (1964)
Confrontation or problem-solving: Directly face a conflict (high/high). Compromise: Use a give-and-take approach (medium/medium). Smoothing/Accommodate: De-emphasize areas of differences and emphasize areas of agreement (low/high). Forcing: The win-lose approach (high/low). Withdrawal: Retreat or withdraw from an actual or potential disagreement (low/low).
Project Cost Management
Cost control includes monitoring cost performance, ensuring that only appropriate project changes are included in a revised cost baseline, and informing project stakeholders of authorized changes to the project that will affect costs Outputs include work performance information, cost forecasts, change requests, project management plan updates, product documents updates, and updates to organizational process assets, such as lessons-learned documents
Schedule Compression Techniques
Crashing is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost If two critical tasks each take two weeks, and it will take $100 to shorten Task 1 by a week and $1,000 to shorten Task 2 by a week, shorten Task 1 Fast tracking involves doing activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence Instead of waiting for Task 1 to be totally finished before starting Task 2, start Task 2 when Task 1 is halfway done Schedule compression often backfires by causing cost, human resource, and quality problems, which lead to even longer schedules
Critical Path Analysis
Critical path method (CPM)—also called critical path analysis—is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed. It is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date The longest path or the path containing the critical tasks is what is driving the completion date for the project
Discrete, Range, and Three Point Estimates
Duration estimates are often provided as discrete estimates, such as four weeks A range estimate might be between three and five weeks A three-point estimate is an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate, such as three, four, and five weeks
Activity Duration Estimating
Duration includes the actual amount of time spent working on an activity plus elapsed time For example, even though it might take one workweek or five workdays to do the actual work, the duration estimate might be two weeks to allow extra time needed to obtain outside information or to allow for resource availability Effort is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task A duration estimate of one day could be based on eight hours of work or eighty hours of work Duration is used to determine the schedule; effort is used to determine labor costs
Work Performance Data
During project execution, project managers must collect, assess, and communicate work performance information Many project managers, use the "management by wandering around" (MBWA) approach, meaning they informally observe and talk to project team members, suppliers, and other stakeholders as much as possible Also used formal communications, such as status reports, survey results, and course evaluations, to address work performance on the project
Earned Value Management
Earned Value Management (EVM) recognizes that it is necessary to jointly consider the impact of time, cost, and project performance on any analysis of current project status.
Tools and Techniques for Controlling Costs
Earned value Forecasting To-complete performance index (TCPI): This index is the cost performance that must be achieved on the remaining work in order to meet a specified goal, such as the BAC or EAC Performance reviews DataAnalysis
Project Resource Management
Effective resource management is crucial to project execution The main processes project managers perform include acquiring, developing the team, and managing the project team
Scope Creep
Even when the project scope is fairly well defined, many projects suffer from scope creep—the tendency for project scope to grow bigger and bigger Even for fairly simple projects, people have a tendency to want more
Explicit knowledge Tacit knowledge
Explicit knowledge: This type of knowledge can be easily explained using words, pictures, or numbers and is easy to communicate, store, and distribute. Examples include information found in text books and encyclopedias as well as project documents and plans. Tacit knowledge: Unlike explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, sometimes called informal knowledge, is difficult to express and is highly personal. Examples include beliefs, insight, and experience. It is often shared through conversations and interactions between people. Many organizations set up programs like mentorships, communities of practice, or workshops to assist in passing on tacit knowledge.
Importance of a Good WBS
Foundation document in project management because it provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources, and changes The WBS contains 100% of the deliverables(often called "work") of the project Often depicted in a graphical format, similar to an organizational chart; and can also be shown in tabular form as an indented list of elements
Project Communications Management
Good communications management is crucial to project execution The process of managing communications involves gathering information to create, distribute, store, retrieve, and dispose of project communications in accordance with the communications management plan
Defining Scope
Good scope definition is crucial to project success because it Helps improve the accuracy of time, cost, and resource estimates Defines a baseline for performance measurement and project control Aids in communicating clear work responsibilities Contents of a scope statement vary, but it should include a product scope description, product user acceptance criteria, and detailed information on all project deliverables
Integrated Change Control
Integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project's life cycle Objectives are as follows: Influence the factors that cause changes to ensure that changesare beneficial Determine that a change has occurred Manage actual changes as they occur The project management plan provides the baseline for identifying and controlling project changes
Common Elements in Project Management Plans
Introduction/overview of the project Project Organization Management and technical processes Work to be performed (Scope) Schedule information Budget information References to other project planning documents
Monitoring and controlling
Involves regularly measuring progress to ensure that the project is meeting its objectives and addressing current business needs Monitoring progress against plans and taking corrective action when necessary
Sequencing Activities
Involves reviewing activities and determining dependencies Sequence activities into how the work will be performed A dependency or relationship relates to the sequencing of project activities or tasks For example, does a certain activity have to be finished before another one can start? Can the project team do several activities in parallel? Can some overlap? Sequencing activities has a significant impact on developing and managing a project schedule
Project Schedule Management
Involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project
Project Time Mgt Process
Involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project Planning schedule management: determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling the project schedule Defining activities:identifying the specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables Sequencing activities: identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities Estimating activity durations: estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual activities Developing The Schedule:analyzing activity sequences,activity resource estimates, and activity duration estimates to create the project schedule
Formal and Informal Communications
It is not enough for project team members to submit formal status reports to their project managers and other stakeholders and assume that everyone who needs to know that information will read the reports Many people may prefer to have an informal, two-way conversation about project information Project managers must be good at nurturing relationships through good communication
Important Project Communications Concepts
Key concepts include: Formal and informal communications Nonverbal communications Using the appropriate communications medium Understanding individual and group communication needs The impact of team size on project communications
Lead and Lag
Lag: you might want to wait a certain period of time, perhaps 30 days, after holding the first training class before holding the second one (a lag of 30 days) Lead: you might want to get started on writing a long research report 5 days before all of your reference materials are gathered (a lead of -5 days)
Importance of project schedules
Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one of their biggest challenges Time has the least amount of flexibility; it passes no matter what happens on a project Schedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on projects, especially during the second half of projects
Managing the Project Team
Managing a project team is no small task Project managers must use their soft skills to find the best way to motivate and manage each team member Tools and techniques include: Observation and conversation Feedback Conflict management
Developing the Project Team and Assessing Team Performance
Many failed projects have been staffed by highly talented individuals; however, it takes teamwork to complete projects successfully The main goal of team development is to help people work together more effectively to improve project performance Project managers should understand and apply good team-building practices because it takes teamwork to successfully execute most projects
Poor Conflict Management
Most large projects are high-stake endeavors that are highly visible within organizations When the stakes are high, conflict is never far away, and even small projects with low budgets have conflicts—it is a natural part of work and life in general Project managers should lead their teams in developing norms for dealing with various types of conflicts that might arise.
Deliverables
Most project sponsors would say that the most important output of any project is deliverables Deliverables are products or services produced or provided as part of a project
Herzberg's Motivational and Hygiene Factors
Motivational factors: Factors that cause job satisfaction, such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth Hygiene factors: Factors that cause dissatisfaction if not present, but do not motivate workers to do more. Examples include larger salaries, more supervision, and a more attractive work environment.
Network Diagrams
Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing A network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities In the activity-on-arrow (AOA) approach, or the arrow diagramming method (ADM), activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes (starting and ending point of an activity) to illustrate the sequence of activities; only show finish-to-start dependencies (most common type of dependency) The precedence diagramming method (PDM) (also called activity on node, or AON) is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities These are more widely used as they can show all dependency types
Acquiring Resources - Project resources:
Physical resources include equipment, supplies, and materials Human resources include the people required to perform the project work There's a saying that the project manager who is the smartest person on the team has done a poor job of recruiting! Managers must also motivate their staff and remember why people choose to leave their jobs
Planning, Estimation, Scheduling What's the difference?
Plan: Identify items. No specific start and end dates. Estimating: Determining the size & duration of activities. Schedule: Adds specific start and end dates, relationships, and resources.
Project Planning Should Guide Project Execution
Planning is often the most difficult and unappreciated process in project management Normally, people do not want to take the time to plan well, but theory and practice show that good planning is crucial to good execution
Project Scope Statement
Product Scope Description: The characteristics of the products, services, and/or results your project will produce. Project Deliverables: The products, services, and/or results your project will produce (also referred to as objectives). Project Acceptance Criteria: The conditions that must be met before project deliverables are accepted. Project Exclusions: Statements about what the project will not accomplish or produce. Project Constraints: Restrictions that limit what you can achieve, how and when you can achieve it, and how much achieving it can cost. Project Assumptions: Statements about how you will address uncertain information as you conceive, plan, and perform your project.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates. PERT weighted average = (optimistic time+4×most likely time+ pessimistic time)/6 Example: (O=1, ML=2, P=9) ~ PERT weighted average = (1 workday+4×2 workdays+9 workdays)/6 = 3 workdays Instead of using the most likely time of two workdays for this task, you'd use three workdays with a PERT estimate
Cost Budgeting
Project cost budgeting involves allocating the project cost estimate to tasks over time The tasks are based on the work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project The main goal of the cost budgeting process is to produce a cost baseline, or time-phased budget, that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance
Project Cost Management
Project cost management includes the processes required to ensure that a project team completes a project within an approved budget The main planning tasks are: planning cost management, estimating costs determining the budget The main documents produced: cost management plan a cost estimate cost performance baseline
Project Integration Management
Project integration management involves coordinating all the project management knowledge areas throughout a project's life span The main planning output is a project management plan
Attributes of Project Management Plans
Project management plans should be dynamic, flexible, and receptive to change when the environment or project changes Just as projects are unique, so are project plans. For a small project involving a few people over a couple of months,a project charter, scope statement, and Gantt chart might be the only project planning documents needed; there would not be a need for a separate project management plan A large project involving 100 people over three years would benefit from having a detailed project management plan and separate plans for each knowledge area It is important to tailor all planning documentation to fit the needs of specific projects
Motivation Intrinsic/Extrinsic
Project managers must understand motivation theories to effectively execute projects. Psychologists, managers, coworkers, teachers, parents, and most people in general still struggle to understand what motivates people, or why they do what they do Intrinsic motivation causes people to participate in an activity for their own enjoyment Extrinsic motivation causes people to do something for a reward or to avoid a penalty
WBS Benefits
Project schedule: The WBS is the foundation of the project schedule and budget. Once you know all the deliverables required to complete the project, as well as their hierarchical relationships, it will be much easier to assign resources and set deadlines. Accountability: Since all elements in a WBS are mutually exclusive, it helps create accountability. A team assigned to a single work package is wholly accountable for its completion. This reduces overlaps in responsibility. Commitment: The WBS gives teams a very high-level overview of their responsibilities. Since each team is responsible for a specific component at a time, it helps make them more committed to completing their assigned tasks. Reduces ambiguities: The process of developing the WBS involves the project manager, project team, and all relevant stakeholders. This encourages dialog and helps everyone involved flesh out their responsibilities. Thus, everyone has less ambiguity and a better idea of what they're supposed to do.
Project Scope Management
Project scope management involves defining and controlling what work is or is not included in a project The main planning tasks include planning scope management, collecting requirements, defining scope, and creating the WBS The main documents produced are requirements documents, a requirements management plan, are requirements traceability matrix, and a scope baseline, which is composed of an approved scope statement, a WBS, and a WBS dictionary
groupthink
Project team members might become stagnant or develop groupthink—conformance to the values or ethical standards of a group—if there are no conflicting viewpoints on various aspects of a project
Estimating Costs
Project teams normally prepare cost estimates at various stages of a project, and these estimates are fine-tuned as time progresses It is important to provide supporting details for the estimates, including ground rules and assumptions (also called the basis of estimates) A large percentage of total project costs are often labor costs
Ways to Influence that Help and Hurt Projects
Projects are more likely to succeed when project managers influence with the following: Expertise Work challenge Projects are more likely to fail when project managers rely too heavily on the following: Authority Money Penalty
Managing Quality
Quality assurance includes all the activities related to satisfying the relevant quality standards for a project Another goal of quality assurance is continual quality improvement Key outputs of quality assurance include change requests, project management plan updates, and project documents updates, and updates to organizational process assets
Outputs of Collecting Requirements
Requirements documents, which can range from a single-page checklist to a room full of notebooks with text, diagrams, images, etc. A requirements traceability matrix (RTM), which is a table that lists requirements, various attributes of each requirement, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all of them are addressed
Nonverbal Communications
Research poses the theory that in a face-to-face interaction, 58 percent of communication is through body language, 35 percent is through how the words are said, and a mere 7 percent is through the content or words that are spoken It is important to pay attention to more than just the actual words someone is saying Nonverbal communications, such as a person's tone of voice and body language, are often more important than the words being used
Validating Scope
Scope validation involves formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables by the project customer or designated stakeholders Acceptance is often achieved through customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables A validated deliverable has been completed and checked for correctness as part of quality control
Monte Carlo Simulations and Probabilities
Some people prefer using a Monte Carlo simulation over PERT because it accounts for various probabilities To perform a Monte Carlo simulation, in addition to the three- point estimate, you also collect probabilistic information for each activity duration estimate For example, estimators must provide a probability of each activity being completed between the optimistic and most likely times You then run a computer simulation to find probability distributions for the entire schedule being completed by certain times
McClelland's Acquired - Needs Theory
Specific needs are acquired or learned over time and shaped by life experiences, including: Achievement (nAch): People with a high need for achievement like challenging projects with achievable goals and lots of feedback Affiliation (nAff): People with high nAff desire harmonious relationships and need to feel accepted by others, so managers should try to create a cooperative work environment for them Power: (nPow): People with a need for power desire either personal power (not good) or institutional power (good for the organization). Managers should provide institutional power seekers with management opportunities
Top-Down
Start at highest level Systematically develop increasing level of detail Best if: - The problem is well understood - Technology and methodology are not new - This is similar to an earlier project or problem But is also applied in majority of situations Advantages - Quick - Can be done when only part of the requirements is Disadvantages - May lack important details specific to the project that have never occurred in earlier projects
Bottom-Up
Start at lowest level tasks Aggregate into summaries and higher levels Disadvantages - Time consuming - Needs more requirements complete Advantages - Detailed
Advice for Virtual Teams
Take the additional actions necessary to work with virtual team members If possible, have a face-to-face or phone meeting at the start of a virtual project or when introducing a virtual team member Screen people carefully to make sure they can work effectively in a virtual environment Clarify how virtual team members will communicate
Task-related conflict vs Emotional conflict,
Task-related conflict, which is derived from differences over teamobjectives and how to achieve them, often improves team performance Emotional conflict, however, which stems from personality clashes and misunderstandings, often depresses team performance.
Creating the Activity List and Attributes
The activity list is a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule It should include the activity name, an activity identifier or number, and a brief description of the activity The activity attributes provide schedule-related information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity
What Does the Critical Path Really Mean?
The critical path shows the shortest time in which a project can be completed If one or more of the activities on the critical path takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule will slip unless the project manager takes corrective action
Sample Work Performance Information
The goal of schedule control is to know the status of the schedule, influence the factors that cause schedule changes, determine whether the schedule has changed, and manage changes when they occur
Project Scheduling
The heart of project planning and subsequent monitoring and controlling
Project Time Management
The main monitoring and controlling process performed as part of project time management is controlling the schedule or schedule control Project managers often cite delivering projects on time (schedule control) as one of their biggest challenges, because schedule problems often cause more conflict than other issues During project initiation, priorities and procedures are often most important, but as the project proceeds, especially during the middle and latter stages of the project, schedule issues become the predominant source of conflict
Project Integration Management
The main monitoring and controlling processes performed as part of project integration management include monitoring and controlling project work and performing integrated change control. ~ tracking progress and handling changes
Project Scope Management
The main monitoring and controlling processes performed as part of project scope management are validating scope and controlling scope Key outputs are deliverables that are accepted by the customer and work performance information
Keep Scope Information Current
The project team should update the project scope statement as new information becomes available Name different iterations of the scope statementVersion 1.0, Version 2.0, etc. An up-to-date scope statement helps prevent scope creep, which is the tendency for project scope to continually increase
Planning Cost Management
The purpose of this process is to determine the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, managing, executing, and controlling project costs The project team holds meetings, consults with experts, and analyzes data to help produce a cost management plan, which becomes a component of the project management plan
McGregor's Theory X and Y
Theory X: Assumes workers dislike and avoid work, so managers must use coercion, threats and various control schemes to get workers to meet objectives Theory Y: Assumes individuals consider work as natural as play or rest and enjoy the satisfaction of esteem and self-actualization needs.
Top Three Reasons People Leave Their Jobs (from Fast Company Study)
They feel they do not make a difference They do not get proper recognition They are not learning anything new or growing as a person Managers can ensure these reasons do not occur by doing a good job of motivating and managing their people
Why Schedules Cause Conflicts
Time is the variable with the least amount of flexibility; time passes no matter what happens on a project Individual work styles and cultural differences may also cause schedule conflicts.
Project Integration Management
To direct and manage project, project managers can follow several important practices: Coordinate planning and execution Develop and use soft skills Provide a supportive organizational culture. Break the rules when needed Capitalize on product, business, and application area knowledge Use project execution tools and techniques
Earned Value Management - What for?
Used to measure the current project performance and forecast future performance.
WBS
What needs to be done Not how it needs to be done. Nouns not verbs!
WBS 100% Rule
When a deliverable is decomposed into smaller deliverables (and eventually the work packages), all work required for a deliverable is included in its sub-deliverables, known as the WBS 100% rule.
Controlling Scope
You cannot control the scope of a project unless you have first clearly defined the scope and set a scope validation process in place You also need to develop a process for soliciting and monitoring changes to project scope; stakeholders should be encouraged to suggest beneficial changes and discouraged from suggesting unnecessary changes
Partitioning Your Project
You need to decompose your project into manageable chunks ALL projects need this step Divide & Conquer Two main causes of project failure Forgetting something critical Ballpark estimates become targets How does partitioning help this?
Successful project managers know
how important it is to develop, refine, and follow plans to meet project goals
People are more likely to perform well
if they know what they are supposed to do and when
baseline
is a starting point, a measurement, or an observation that is documented so that it can be used for future comparison
The planned value (PV)
is that portion of the approved total cost estimate planned to be spent on an activity during a given period
purpose of the process of planning scope management
is to determine how the project scope will be defined, validated, and controlled. Project teams usually have several meetings with key stakeholders and experts to help them develop a scope management plan and requirements management plan.
The main purpose of project planning
is to guide project execution, so project plans must be realistic and useful
slipped milestone
refers to a milestone activity that was actually completed later than originally planned
