Project Management Jukka A. Miettinen September 4, 2006

Contents Project Management Introduction Project Management Phases Project Management Tools Project Plan What Can Go Wrong? Event Assignment

Introduction What is a “Project” ? Any unique, complete task with defined results, resources and time spent on it Examples ? Building a factory in China taking a new SW into use establishing a new sales office developing a new product Launching a product Moving to new facilities also: writing a novel Doing an assigment

Why Project Management? Introduction Why Project Management? Being organized “Well planned is half done” Best use of resources Preparing for the unexpected What if no Project Management? Who is responsible of what? Is outcome clear?

Introduction Project Project is lead by Project Manager Large projects can be divided into sub-projects “Project Plan” is created to describe the project Project management phases

Project Management Phases The Five Phases Initiation Planning Execution Controlling Closing Planning Execution Initiation Closing Controlling

Project Management Phases Initiation What are the goals?, what is the scope? (“Project Overview Statement”; “Project Proposal”) The task and its result must be clearly defined (Cost, Time, Quality, Resources) Assemble team, nominate Project Manager, establish Review Board

Project Management Phases Planning Refine the scope, identify specific tasks and activities to be completed, and the deliverables Map tasks and activities to resources Develop a schedule and a budget several stages/milestones/gates, if needed Use project management tools Project management SW, GANT charts, communication tools, etc. Establish reviewing practise Define how to close the project Everything explained in ”Project Plan”-document Use Supporting Plans if needed Review Board accepts the plan Examples of supporting plans -training plan -quality plan -marketing plan -communications plan

Project Management Phases Execution Accomplish your goals by leading the team, solving problems, and building the project Follow-up of project metrics Regular project team status updates Regular project management meeting Agile to unexpected happenings Early reaction to project deviations

Project Management Phases Controlling There will be problems and surprises Keep track of the project advancement To respond to problems, make corrections, adjust the schedule or expectations and goals. Maintain a risk list, with back-up plans for each risk Solve minor problems within the team If you face major problems,which have effect to outside of the project, bring them to review board

Project Management Phases Closing The project is not complete if 99% is complete! Sign-off according to predefined steps Important to define how the outcome of this project in handled in the organization after the project closes Project team should be freed to other projects with no un-finished tasks for this project Written ”Lessons Learned” evaluation of the project

Project Management Tools Software Tools can be used during planning and execution Helps linking time and resources Usually informative printouts Versatile reports

Project Management Tools Gant Chart Gant chart is a graphical representation of the duration of tasks against the progression of time. Used by different Project management software tools But easy to compile e.g with Excel for smaller projects “Critical Path”, determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay directly impacts the planned completion date

Project Plan Project plan is a document containing all relevant information for carrying out a project Clearly states the outcome of the project and the means to accomplish it Project Manager’s responsibility Required at the beginning of the project, can be updated during the project Should be stored in safe place

Project Plan Typical contents of a Project Plan Scope and Objective Deliverables Organization Resources Management Schedule Cost budget Review practise Risk plan Exit criteria Supporting plans can be attached training plan quality plan marketing plan communications plan

What Can Go Wrong? Overly optimistic plan in the beginning: not enough time, money, resources Unclear goals or expectations Unclear responsiblities No back-up plans for foreseeable risks Slow reaction to problems

Summary Any task to accomplish something is a project Project Management helps achieve the best use of resources within a project The 5 phases are Initiation Planning Execution Controlling Closing