Technical Consulting

Introduction to Project Management

By:

Wg Cdr Sunil Soni (Retd)

Project & Knowledge Management Consultant

Visiting Faculty
BITS Pilani & GGSIP University
Consultancy Development Centre
 Project Plan Execution

• Project plan execution involves managing and performing

the work described in the project plan
• The majority of time and money is usually spent on
execution
• The application area of the project directly affects project
execution because the products of the project are
produced during execution
 Tools and Techniques for Project Execution

• Work Authorization System: a method for ensuring that

qualified people do work at the right time and in the proper
sequence
• Status Review Meetings: regularly scheduled meetings
used to exchange project information
• Project Management Systems/Software: special
systems/ software to assist in managing projects
Integrated Change Control

• Integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating,

and managing changes throughout the project life cycle
(Note: 1996 PMBOK called this process “overall change
control”)
• Three main objectives of change control:
– Influence the factors that create changes to ensure they
are beneficial
– Determine that a change has occurred
– Manage actual changes when and as they occur
Integrated Change Control Process
Project Monitoring & Control

• Monitoring – collecting, recording, and reporting information

concerning project performance that project manger and others
wish to know
• Controlling – uses data from monitor activity to bring actual
performance to planned performance
Project Monitoring & Control
Why do we monitor?
• Simply because we know that things don’t always go according to
plan (no matter how much we prepare)
• To detect and react appropriately to deviations and changes to
plans
What we do monitor?
• Men (human resources)
• Machines
• Materials
• Money
• Space
• Time
• Tasks
• Quality/Technical Performance
Project Monitoring & Control

When do we monitor
• End of the project
• Continuously
• Regularly
• Logically
• While there is still time to react
• As soon as possible
• At task completion
• At pre-planned decision points (milestones)
Where do we monitor
• At head office?
• At the site office?
• On the spot?
• Depends on situation and the ‘whats’
Project Monitoring & Control

How do we monitor
• Through meetings with clients, parties involved in project (Contractor,
supplier, etc.)
• For schedule – Update PERT Charts, Update Gantt Charts
• Using Earned Value Analysis
• Calculate Critical Ratios
• Milestones
• Reports
• Tests and inspections
• Delivery or staggered delivery
• PMIS (Project Management Info Sys) Updating
Meetings – Some monitoring issues

• What problems do you have and what is being done to

correct them?
• What problems do you anticipate in the future?
• Do you need any resources you do not yet have?
• Do you need information you do not have yet?
• Do you know anything that will give you schedule difficulties?
• Any possibility your task will finish early/late?
• Will your task be completed under/over/on budget?
Project Control Cycle

PLAN
ACTION Specifications
Project Schedule
Correct Project budget
deviations from Resource plan
plan Vendor contracts MONITOR
Record status
RE-PLAN as Report progress
necessary Report cost
COMPARE
Actual status against
plan
- Schedule
- Cost
Project Control

• Control – process and activities needed to correct deviations from

plan
• Control the triple constraints
– time (schedule)
– cost (budget, expenses, etc)
– performance (specifications, testing results, etc.)
 Use Simple Tools for Tracking
Schedule Milestones as of 2/15/2004

Accomplishments and Setbacks for Period Starting ID Milestone Scheduled Actual Variance
Completion Completion in Days
2/ 9/ 04 – 2/ 15/ 04

Accomplishments for Setbacks for Period

Period
Cost- to- Date Milestones as of
2/ 15/ 2004
ID Milestone Scheduled Actual Cost-
Cost to Cost to to- Date
Date Date Variance

Top 5 Risks as of 2/ 15/ 2004

Rank/ Risk Status Activities Activities
Previous This Period Planned for
Rank Next Period
And Don’t Forget…
Constraint 1 2 3 Measurement
Building must be completed by
Time  October 31 of this year to
accommodate corporate move
Cost  Costs for the project must not
exceed $22.5 Million
Quality/ Scope  Must Provided Workspace for 120 call
center staff
+

Changes to either are significant!

Project Cost Management Processes

Project Cost Management includes the processes involved in planning,

estimating, budgeting and controlling costs so that the project can be
completed within the approved budget.
• Cost Estimating – Developing an approximation of the costs of the resources
needed to complete project activities
• Cost Budgeting – Aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or
work packages to establish a cost baseline
• Cost Control – Influencing the Factors that create cost variances and controlling
changes to the project budget
These Processes interact with each other and with the processes of
other knowledge areas like Time Management, Procurement
Management, Scope Management , Communication Management and
Integration Management
Earned Value Management (EVM)
• EVM is a project performance measurement technique that
integrates scope, time, and cost data
• Given a baseline (original plan plus approved changes), you
can determine how well the project is meeting its goals
• You must enter actual information periodically to use EVM.
Earned Value Management Terms
• The Planned Value (PV), formerly called the budgeted cost
of work scheduled (BCWS), also called the budget, is that
portion of the approved total cost estimate planned to be
spent on an activity during a given period
• Actual Cost (AC), formerly called actual cost of work
performed (ACWP), is the total of direct and indirect costs
incurred in accomplishing work on an activity during a given
period
• The Earned Value (EV), formerly called the budgeted cost
of work performed (BCWP), is an estimate of the value of
the physical work actually completed
Earned Value Formulas
 Risk Identification Worksheet
Risk Identification Worksheet
• Enter risk Scenario (how an event could Scenario:

jeopardize project outcome).

• Rate probability, impact, and degree of control
using rating scale of: Probability Impact Control Index

1 = Low
2 = Medium Financial Impact:

3 = High
• Compute risk index using formula: Action to be Taken: Ignore Eliminate Manage
Mitigations:
Probability * Impact
Risk Index =
• If possible, enter financial impact Control
• Determine actions to take: Contingencies:

– Ignore (do nothing)

– Eliminate (sidestep)
– Manage Manager of This Risk:

• For managed risks, indicate mitigations and Actions Taken

contingencies and assign risk manager. Action: Date:

• Log actions taken as they occur.

Giving Risks Priorities
Maintain inventory of all risks identified—updating probabilities, impacts, and controls if
changes occur.
R i s k P r i o r i ty W o r k s h e e t
R is k ID R is k S c e n a rio P ro b a b ility Im p a c t C o n tro l In d e x
1 K e y stake holde rs unav ailable during proje ct de finition phase 2 3 2 3
2 Ve ndors late in de liv e ring re quire d software for se curity syste m 2 2 1 4
3 Loss of ke y te am me mbe r in middle of proje ct 1 3 2 1.5
4 Powe r failure due to se asonal storms 1 3 1 3
5 Final re gulations controlling administration of ne w syste m late 2 3 1 6
6 Scope change s re quire additional tasks and re source s 2 3 2 3

Focus attention on the risks with the highest indices!!!

R i s k P r i o r i ty W o r k s h e e t
R is k ID R is k S c e n a rio P ro b a b ility Im p a c t C o n tro l In d e x
5 Final re gulations controlling administration of ne w syste m late 2 3 1 6
2 Ve ndors late in de liv e ring re quire d software for se curity syste m 2 2 1 4
1 K e y stake holde rs unav ailable during proje ct de finition phase 2 3 2 3
4 Powe r failure due to se asonal storms 1 3 1 3
6 Scope change s re quire additional tasks and re source s 2 3 2 3
3 Loss of ke y te am me mbe r in middle of proje ct* 1 3 2 1.5

* How would this change if you learned that a team member has announced that she is a
finalist for a new position at the home office 1,500 miles away?
 Responsibility Matrix (also known as RACI Chart)

• Cross-reference of tasks and resources assigned to the

project.

Project Item Sponsor Project Manager Project Team Project Office

Project Definition A A R I
Risk Management A R R C
Detailed Design A R R C
Weekly Web Bulletin I R R I
etc.

R= Responsible
A= Accountable
C= Consulted
I= Informed
Communication Made Simple
The Two-Floor Rule

– Every stakeholder should receive information at just the right level of detail
for him or her.
– High-level managers won’t want to see all the gory details of the project.
– Your team members need to see a great deal more.
– If your level of reporting is appropriate, and one of your stakeholders
steps into the elevator and asks about the status of the project, you should
be able to brief him or her by the time the elevator stops two floors away.
Communication Plan

Communication Format Frequency Distribution

Team Briefing Restricted Intranet Daily at 9:00 Team and stakeholders
with access to secure
project info area
W eekly W eb Bulletin Internal Intranet W eekly Team, sponsor, senior
management
Technical Incident Email Immediately after W ebmaster, IT
Report Incident Department
Budget and Schedule Spreadsheets and Bi-W eekly Sponsor, Senior
Detail Detailed Gantt Chart Management
Accomplishments and Email and Intranet W eekly All internal stakeholders
Setbacks
Schedule Milestones Email and Intranet W eekly All internal stakeholders
Cost-to-Date Email and Intranet W eekly All internal stakeholders
Milestones
Current Top Five Email and Intranet W eekly All internal stakeholders
Risks
Project Close-Down

This essential final stage is to ensure efficient closure of the project,

and should:
• Confirm whether all project objectives have been achieved
• Ensure that best practice experience is recorded and
transferred to standards for future projects
– Project Methods
– Management Practices
– Strengths & Weaknesses
• Ensure that benefit realisation plans are in place
– Expected Benefits
– Responsibilities for achieving
– Timetable & Measurement Plan
• Recognise achievement
Post Project Review
POST-PROJECT REVIEW
Project Name:
Overall Evaluation of the Project

What was the overall mission of the project? Provide a short description based on your
understanding of the project.

All in all would you say that the project was successful? Why or why not?

How close was the project to meeting its scheduled completion date?

How close was the project to being completed within budget?

Did the project meet its final stated objectives? Why or why not?
Post-Project Review (continued)
Project Management Issues

Did the project have a sponsor? If so, what was his or her role during the project?

What tools and techniques were used in planning and tracking the project?

Did the scope of the project change after the project was underway? If so, what was
the overall impact of the change of scope? How were changes approved?

How was project status communicated during the course of the project?

How were risks managed for the project? Were they identified ahead of time? Did any
unforeseen occurrences hinder the progress of the project?

At the end of the project, was there a formal review of lessons learned or any sort of
review similar to the one used here?
Post-Project Review (continued)
Collaboration and Team Issues
How effective was the overall leadership of the project? Did the project manager have
the resources and support required to be as effective as he or she could be?

In general, how well did the team members collaborate? Why was this so?

Did team members work together in a single physical area or were they physically
separated?

What were the primary modes of team communication? Which ones worked best?
Which worked least well?

Were all team members available at the times they were needed for project work or
status meetings? What impact did this have on the project?

Were all stakeholders and subject matter experts available to answer questions when
needed? What impact did this have on the project?
Post-Project Review (continued)
Technology and Knowledge Management Issues
How did technology help or hinder the progress of the project?

Were any new technologiy tools introduced for this project?

Did the project use any kind of project management software, such as Microsoft Project? In what
ways was it was used? Itr used )for example, scheduling, reporting, or cost reporting,)?

What other tools (such as word-processors, spreadsheets or presentation software, diagramming

tools) were used in the project?

Was the project team able to obtain adequate advice and technical support for the technology
tools used in the project? How could it improve?

Are there any areas about which you would like to learn more that would make you more
effective in working on your next project? What resources are available for obtaining that
knowledge or skill?

Participant Name:
Participant Signature:
Evaluation Date:
Measures for Consulting Project Success

• Project Schedule Performance

• Project Budget Performance
• Project Scope Changes
• Project Risks Performance
• Team Satisfaction Survey
• Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Profitability
• Quality of Product or Deliverables
• Usable Knowledge (IP) Creation / Generation
• Repeatability of Business
• Technical Performance Measurement
Stakeholders Report/Celebration

• Communicate results
• Pinpoint successes
• Propose maintenance/corrective measures if
needed
– share contributing success factors
– present plans for corrective action
• “Sharpen the Saw” for future project best
practices
• Celebrate successes!!!!
Continuous Improvement

Lessons
Learned

P roject

Initiation D efinition P lanning Im plem entation C losure