COURSE 4 - Google PMP Certification (Week 1)

Escalations

-Act as checks and balances -Generate speedy decision making -Reduce frustrations -Encourage participation

Which of the following issues can result in a major change to a project plan? Select all that apply.

-An earthquake damages the foundation of a construction project exp: Force majeure can cause damage that has a big impact on project tasks, structures, and processes. -A client doubles their original order exp: Scope creep isn't always a negative, but it can still have a big impact on project tasks, structures, and processes. -A client cuts their budget because of an economic recession exp: Budgetary restrictions can have a big impact on project tasks, structures, and processes.

Question 1 How does tracking and measuring progress benefit a project? Select all that apply.

-Builds confidence that the project will finish on time, in scope, and within budget exp: Tracking and measuring progress gives an up-to-date picture of the project's status, which helps to motivate and focus the team. It also helps team members stay on top of deadlines, makes project information more transparent, and helps identify risks and issues. -Makes project information transparent exp: Tracking and measuring progress makes information more transparent, which is essential for accurate decision-making. It also helps team members stay on top of deadlines, helps identify risks and issues, and builds confidence that the project will finish on time, in scope, and within budget. -Helps team members and stakeholders stay on top of deadlines and goals Exp: Tracking and measuring progress helps the project team stay on top of project milestones and complete tasks on time. It also makes project information transparent, helps identify risks and issues, and builds confidence that the project will finish on time, in scope, and within budget.

Which of the following are tools for tracking project progress? Select all that apply.

-Burndown charts exp: Burndown charts give a detailed breakdown of tasks for projects where finishing on time is the top priority. Roadmaps and Gantt charts can also help you track project progress. -Gantt charts exp: Gantt charts measure tasks against time and include information like the owner and order of each task. Roadmaps and burndown charts are also helpful tools for tracking project progress. -Roadmaps exp: Roadmaps illustrate how projects should evolve over time and help track big milestones. Burndown charts and Gantt charts are also useful for tracking project progress.

Which type of dependency describes the relationship between two tasks within the same project?

-Internal dependency exp: Internal dependencies describe the relationship between two tasks within the same project. For example, a project manager would not tell a team to start working before scoping work and signing contracts—these activities need to come first.

Which items should you track throughout the project execution phase? Select all that apply.

-Key decisions and changes to the project exp: Keeping track of big decisions, like scope changes, will help keep stakeholders aligned so the project can succeed. You should also track the project schedule, progress towards milestones, and project costs. -Progress toward milestones exp: In order to avoid missing deadlines, it's important to track tasks as the team approaches key milestones. You should also track the project schedule, project costs, and key decisions and changes.

Which of the following are common components of a project status report? Select all that apply.

-Milestones and tasks exp: A description of the project's major milestones thus far and current tasks helps the team and stakeholders easily visualize the progress of those elements. The project status report also generally includes the project name, date, summary, status, and any issues. -Summary exp: The summary condenses the project's goals, schedule, highlights, and lowlights in one central place for easy stakeholder visibility. A project status report also generally contains the project name, date, status, milestones and tasks, and any issues. -Issues exp: The issues section includes your project's current roadblocks and potential risks. Other common components of a project status report include the project name, date, summary, status, and milestones and tasks. -Status exp: The status of the project illustrates your actual progress versus your planned progress. Other common components of a project status report include the project name, date, summary, milestones and tasks, and any issues.

Examples of project risk

-a contractor misses a deadline -a new tool leads to a communication breakdown -workload increases due to the implementation of an unforeseen policy

Critical problems are issues that may cause a delay to a major project milestone

-cause a delay on a major project milestone -cause budget overruns -can result in the loss of a customer -push back the estimated project completion date

Tracking Methods

-gantt chart -roadmap -burndown chart

types of changes

-new or changing dependencies -changing priorities -capacity and people -limitations on budgets and resources -scope creep -force majeure

commonly tracked items

-project schedule -status of action items, key tasks and activities -progress toward milestones -key decisions and changes

To pursue effective dependency management, there are four important steps that a project manager can take

-proper identification -recording dependencies -continuous monitoring and control -efficient communication

Imagine you are managing a project that hits a major milestone early, putting the team ahead of schedule. This alters the project plan's original course of action. What is the name for this type of event?

A deviation

In which of the following scenarios is a Gantt chart the most effective project tracking tool?

A large construction project involving multiple contractors and many interdependent tasks Exp: Gantt charts lay out ownership and responsibilities explicitly. This makes them a good choice for large projects with multiple dependencies.

Tracking

A method of following the progress of project activities

Key components of a project status report

A project status report gives an overview of all of the project's common elements and summarizes them in a snapshot. It is an efficient communication tool to convey ithe latest status in one place for the team and stakeholders. Most status reports contain the following components: Project name: The project name should be specific to the purpose of the project so that the overall goal of the project can be understood at-a-glance. Date: You will create project status reports many times during the course of a project's implementation phase. Reports can be created weekly or monthly—it all depends on the stakeholders' needs and pace of the project. Adding the date to each status report acts as a reference point for your audience and also creates a history log of the project's status over time. Summary: The summary condenses the project's goals, schedule, highlights, and lowlights in one central place for easy stakeholder visibility. Usually, the summary section will be followed by, or grouped with, the timeline summary and the overall project status. Status: As you can imagine, status is a crucial piece. The status of the project illustrates your actual progress versus your planned progress. In project management, a common way to depict this is through RAG (red, amber, green), or Red-Yellow-Green, status reporting. RAG follows a traffic light pattern to indicate progress and status. Red indicates that there are issues that need resolution and that the project may be delayed or go significantly over budget. Amber/Yellow means that there are potential issues with schedule or budget, but that the issues can likely be resolved with corrective actions. And green means the schedule and budget are doing fine and that the project is on track. You can use RAG to indicate the overall project status, as well as milestone status. Every project team and stakeholder may have a slightly different perspective on what the colors mean and how urgent it is to escalate issues when they see an amber/yellow or red status, so it's important to make sure everyone understands what the different color statuses mean for your project. Milestones and tasks: A summary of the project's major milestones thus far and current tasks helps the team and stakeholders easily visualize the progress of those elements. In a project plan, you will typically depict the tasks and milestones as 'not started,' 'in progress' or 'completed' at an item-by-item level. But, in the project status report, it is common to summarize these items into two categories to better communicate the status. You'll use key accomplishments to detail what has happened, and upcoming to detail what big milestones you will accomplish next. Issues: The issues include your project's current roadblocks and potential risks. Status reports are an important opportunity to set expectations with your stakeholders. If your project status is red or amber, you can flag what is preventing you from being where you planned to be. You can also use this opportunity to state your plan to get the project back to green, and ask for any resources or help you may need to do so. You will learn more about communicating big risks and issues in the upcoming videos.

How does a roadmap differ from a Gantt chart?

A roadmap tracks big milestones and includes a high-level project overview; a Gantt chart is useful for large projects with many dependencies.

You and your stakeholders will use change request forms to stay on top of and manage changes. What information should be included in these forms? Select all that apply.

A short description of the current situation exp: This should include a discussion of the change and any difference you expect to make to the plan of record, like a snapshot of the before and after. You should also include the project name, the discussion owner, the target discussion date, the expected outcome, an in-depth proposal, and any background information. Background information exp: This enables everyone to share the same context. You should also include the project name, the discussion owner, the target discussion date, the expected outcome, a short description of the change, and an in-depth proposal.

In which of the following scenarios is a roadmap the most effective tracking tool?

A software development project in which clear communication about big milestones is key Exp: Roadmaps are great for tracking big milestones and conveying a sense of the big picture to stakeholders.

What is risk exposure?

A way to measure the potential future loss resulting from a specific activity or event exp: Risk exposure helps to measure potential future loss. One way to calculate risk exposure is to build a matrix with two variables: risk impact and probability.

Some customers called to cancel their subscription despite your team's best efforts. How do you categorize this issue?

Accepted exp: Your team has tried to resolve this issue, but there is nothing more you can do. This means you have accepted it.

Explain the consequences

After explaining the problem, clearly outline the consequences. Describe specifically how this issue is negatively impacting the project or how it has the potential to negatively impact the project later in the project timeline. Again, keep your explanation concise and your tone friendly.

Plan a meeting to discuss open issues

After your presentation, you'll meet with the team to discuss areas to improve as you prepare for launch. To ensure a focused and productive conversation, you'll create a meeting agenda that lays out open issues and lists topics for discussion.

Escalation email best practices

All projects—even those managed by experienced project managers—occasionally have problems. Your role as the project manager is to help resolve problems and remove barriers that prevent your team from making progress toward your goals. While many problems might be small enough to resolve within your core team, other problems—like a major change in your budget or timeline—may need to be brought to stakeholders for a final decision. Detailing these problems, their potential impact, and the support you need in a clear and direct email to your audience can be an effective communication tool. Effective escalation emails: -Maintain a friendly tone -State your connection to the project -Explain the problem -Explain the consequences -Make a request Let's discuss these five keys to writing a strong escalation email.

Deviation

Anything that alters your original course of action. Deviations from the project plan can be positive or negative

Imagine that an aerospace company builds a new line of passenger jets. Increased raw material costs cause the company to spend more on aluminum than planned. Which of the triple constraints does this change impact the most?

Budget

A stakeholder wants you to create a chart with a granular breakdown of each task and the time remaining to complete the tasks. What type of chart can you present to them?

Burndown chart

Imagine you are a project manager working on a large campaign for a public relations (PR) firm. One of the designers you have contracted with has pulled out of the project at the last minute, requiring your in-house design team to take on more work while you search for a replacement. What type of project change does this represent?

Capacity and people available exp: If you have to change the people you are using to complete the work, this may affect your team's capacity to complete project tasks on time.

How does a change request form differ from an escalation email?

Change request forms help teams manage proposed changes; escalation emails enlist leadership to remove obstacles, reinforce priorities, and validate next steps

Create a project status report

During the planning phase, you made a project plan for Plant Pals. Now that the project is underway and you're sending out test batches, you'll create a status report to summarize progress, identify problems, and keep stakeholders informed.

When writing an escalation email, you describe how the current obstacle will delay the project in the next phase. Which of the five keys to writing a strong escalation email is this an example of?

Explain the consequences

Imagine that a restaurant supplier has been asked to develop a new dessert for their client, a popular restaurant chain. Even though they are not contractually required to do so, the project team from the restaurant supplier decides to get the client to approve the recipe for the dessert before beginning development on it. From the restaurant supplier's perspective, what two dependencies does this scenario demonstrate?

External dependency exp: An external dependency relies on outside factors like another company, project, or regulatory agency. This scenario also illustrates a discretionary dependency, which is defined by the team.

What should a project manager do first in order to incorporate dependency management into a project effectively?

Identify all possible dependencies and categorize them

Key takeaway

In this example, Sayid maintains a friendly tone, clearly explains the problem and its potential consequences, and makes a clear request of the recipients. The email is also brief and to the point. To recap, effective escalation emails apply these five best practices: -Maintain a friendly tone -State your connection to the project -Explain the problem -Explain the consequences -Make a request Escalation is a useful skill for solving problems quickly, and sending a strong escalation email that applies these best practices can help get your team the help it needs.

State your connection to the project

Introduce yourself early in the email if you have less familiarity with the project stakeholders. Be sure to clearly state your name, role, and relationship to the project. This helps the reader understand why you are reaching out. Keep your introduction brief and to the point—a single sentence should suffice. If you know the person on the receiving end of the escalation email, you can simply reinforce your responsibility on the project before getting straight to the problem.

Case Study: Key takeaway

Key takeaway In this case study, early risk management planning enabled Naja to act quickly when an issue presented itself at a pivotal time during the project execution phase. By consulting an existing mitigation plan and weighing two options for moving forward, Naja and Abe were able to make an informed decision about the best path forward. Naja also communicated the growth-related risks associated with the plan to the project sponsor in a timely fashion. As you manage projects of your own, issues will come up again and again. When you do the heavy lifting of risk management planning before starting work on the project, you will be better equipped to respond to problems quickly.

Putting it all together

Let's see how these best practices come together to form a strong escalation email. In the scenario that prompts the email, Sayid, a project manager from a company that sells gift baskets, is having a quality control issue with one of the items in a line of holiday baskets. If the issue is not rectified soon, the product launch will have to be delayed and the company will lose money. In the annotated email example below, Sayid explains the issue to his internal stakeholders and requests a meeting with them.

Some plants are being delivered late. Your team reassessed delivery routes to make them more efficient. This has reduced the number of late deliveries, but not eliminated the problem. How do you categorize this issue?

Mitigated exp: The issue is mitigated because you lessened its impact.

Explain the problem

Once you greet your recipient and briefly introduce yourself, explain the issue at hand. Clearly state the problem you need to solve. Provide enough context for the reader to understand the issue, but aim to keep your message as concise as possible. Avoid long, dense paragraphs that may obscure your message and tempt the reader to skim.

As a project manager, you're implementing the ROAM technique for a new risk. You assign the risk to a team member so they can resolve it and monitor it to completion. Which ROAM action did you take?

Owned

There are not enough delivery drivers to ensure all Plant Pals orders are delivered on time. You ask your HR Specialist to hire more drivers. How do you categorize this issue?

Owned exp: The issue is owned by the HR Specialist, who will begin the hiring process.

A project manager closely tracks the hours and pay rate of a writer contracting on an ongoing project. What item are they tracking?

Project costs

Commonly tracked items

Project schedule Status of action items, key tasks and activities Progress toward milestones Costs Key decisions, changes, dependencies and risks to the project

What steps help project managers manage dependencies? Select all that apply.

Record dependencies exp: Project managers should record dependencies in a risk register to track related tasks. They should also identify dependencies properly, practice continuous monitoring and control, and communicate efficiently. Proper identification exp: Project managers should brainstorm dependencies with their teams and group them accordingly. They should also record dependencies, practice continuous monitoring and control, and communicate efficiently. Continuous monitoring and control exp: Project managers should hold regular meetings to manage and track progress on related tasks. They should also identify dependencies properly, record dependencies, and communicate efficiently. Efficient communication exp: Project managers should update stakeholders regularly to help resolve dependencies.They should also identify dependencies properly, record dependencies, and practice continuous monitoring and control.

Write an escalation email

Removing barriers to progress is one of your most important tasks as project manager—but you can't always do it alone. When your team encounters a major issue, you'll write an escalation email to get support and advice from senior stakeholders.

You brainstorm with your team members to identify and list the events that might delay the project. What type of document are you creating in this scenario?

Risk register

Escalation

The process of enlisting the help of higher level project leadership or management to remove an obstacle, clarify or reinforce priorities, and validate next steps

You discover that 10% of Plant Pals orders are not potted properly. In which of the following scenarios is this issue resolved?

The warehouse team updated the potting process and there have been no issues for two weeks. exp: This issue is resolved because it is no longer a problem.

Propose a course of action and make a request

This is the central piece of a strong escalation email. In this section, you propose a solution (or solutions) and state what you need from the recipient. A thoughtful solution accompanied by a clear request lets the recipient know how they can help and moves you toward a resolution.

Two team members in your project cannot seem to come to an agreement on a new design feature. What common issue does this represent in project management?

Trench wars

Maintain a friendly tone

When drafting an escalation email, you may feel tempted to get straight to the point, especially when dealing with a stressful and time-sensitive problem. But keep in mind that it is important to address issues with grace. Consider opening your email with a simple show of goodwill, such as "I hope you're doing well." When describing the issue, aim for a blameless tone. Above all, keep the email friendly and professional. After all, you are asking for the recipient's help. Be sure to close your email by thanking the recipient for their time.

Imagine that a meal delivery service sources fresh tomatoes from a particular farm, but flooding destroys half the crop. At what point should the project manager escalate this issue?

When the supplier signals that the plants are in danger exp: Project managers should escalate issues at the first sign of critical problems.

Create a presentation for your team

When you're done shipping test batches, you'll present the results of a customer satisfaction survey to your team. To make your presentation engaging and memorable, you'll tell a story using key data points, summarizing takeaways, and outlining next steps.

Project status report types

With those key elements in mind, you can format your report in a variety of ways depending on your audience and what you need to communicate. If you need to share a status report with your team for a project that contains multiple layers of complexity, it may be best to format the report in a spreadsheet in order to keep track of all the moving parts. If you simply need to communicate updates to senior stakeholders, your status report may be best formatted as a slideshow, like the one below, containing only an overview of the most key points.

Conduct a ROAM analysis

Your status report reveals ongoing issues with product and service quality. To help your team stay organized, you'll categorize them as resolved, owned, accepted, or mitigated. Knowing how you'll handle these issues keeps you on track to complete the project.

retrospective

a meeting focused on identifying the contributing causes of an incident or pattern of incidents without blaming any individual

a risk is...

a potential event that might occur and could impact your project

risk register

a table or chart that contains your list of risks and dependencies

risk exposure

a way to measure the potential future loss resulting from a specific activity or event

change

anything that alters or impacts the tasks, structures, or processes within a project

Tracking is also crucial for recognizing risks and issues that can...

derail your progress

A project manager should...

escalate an issue at the first sign of critical problems in a project

Transparency is...

essential for accurate decision-making

Tracking keeps all team members and stakeholders...

in touch with deadlines and goals

a risk register...

is a table or chart that contains your team's list of risks

roam

resolved - consider the risk to be addressed. it's no longer a problem owned - assign a team member ownership of the risk and monitor the risk through to completion accepted - understand and accept the risk for what it is, because it can't be resolved mitigated - formulate a plan to eradicate the risk

timeout

taking a moment away from the project in order to take a breath, regroup, and adjust the game plan

mandatory dependencies

tasks that are legally or contractually required

external dependencies

tasks that are reliant on outside factors, like regulatory agencies or other projects

discretionary dependencies

tasks that could occur on their own, but the team chose to make them reliant on one another

when there's a big change within your project...

that impacts more than one person and is likely to change the budget, deadline, or scope of the project, you'll want to have a team meeting

dependencies

the links that connect one project task to another and are often the greatest source of risk to a project

risk management

the process of identifying potential risks and issues which could impact a project, and evaluating and applying steps to address the effects of the identified risks and issues

dependency management

the process of managing interrelated tasks and resources within the project to ensure the overall project is completed successfully, on time, and in budget

Before starting work on a project...

the project manager, the team, and the project sponsor should establish escalation standards and practices

internal dependencies

the relationship between two tasks within the same project

roadmap

useful for high tracking of large milestones useful for illustrating how a project should evolve over time

burndown chart

useful for projects that require a granular, broken down look at each task useful for projects where finishing on time is the top priority

gantt chart

useful for staying on schedule useful for projects with many dependencies, tasks, activities, or milestones useful for larger project teams

a bad compromise occurs...

when two parties settle on a so-called solution but the end product still suffers

trench wars occur...

when two peers or groups can't seem to come to an agreement, and neither party is willing to give in

when communicating a small change that...

will affect an individual, it's a good idea to send an email

if your scope is tightly managed...

you're less likely to incur changes to your budget or be forced to extend your timeline

if your dependencies are met on time...

your team is less likely to fall behind schedule