BUSINESS DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY Business Plug-In B10 Project Management

LEARNING OUTCOMES Describe the three primary activities performed by a project manager Explain change management and how an organization can prepare for change Explain risk management and how an organization can mitigate risk Summarize the different strategies a project manager can use to ensure a successful project

Introduction Project – a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service Project management – the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations

Project Management Fundamentals Project deliverables – any measurable, tangible, verifiable outcome, result, or item that is produced to complete a project or part of a project Project milestones – represent key dates when a certain group of activities must be performed Project manager – an individual who is an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan, and tracks the plan to ensure all key project milestones are completed on time

Project Management Fundamentals Project Management Role

CHOOSING STRATEGIC PROJECTS Organizations must determine which projects to pursue Three common techniques for selecting projects: Focus on organizational goals Categorize projects Perform a financial analysis

CHOOSING STRATEGIC PROJECTS

SETTING THE PROJECT SCOPE Project scope – defines the work that must be completed to deliver a product with the specified features and functions. Typically includes: Project product Project objectives Project deliverables Project exclusions

SETTING THE PROJECT SCOPE SMART criteria are useful reminders on how to ensure that the project has created understandable and measurable objectives

MANAGING RESOURCES AND MAINTAINING THE PROJECT PLAN Project plan – a formal, approved document that manages and controls project execution A well-defined project plan should be: Easy to understand and read Communicated to all key participants Appropriate to the project’s size, complexity, and criticality Prepared by the team, rather than by the individual project manager

MANAGING RESOURCES AND MAINTAINING THE PROJECT PLAN Two primary diagrams used in project planning include PERT and Gantt charts PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart – is a graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between those tasks (Dependencies and Critical paths are found in PERT charts) Gantt chart – a simple bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar

MANAGING RESOURCES AND MAINTAINING THE PROJECT PLAN PERT Chart EXPERT – PERT Chart Example

MANAGING RESOURCES AND MAINTAINING THE PROJECT PLAN MS Project – Gantt Chart Example

Change Management and Risk Management Good project managers understand the fundamentals of project management and how to effectively deal with change management and risk management

CHANGE MANAGEMENT Change management – a set of techniques that aid in evolution, composition, and policy management of the design and implementation of a system Change management system – a collection of procedures to document a change request and define the steps necessary to consider the change based on the expected impact of the change Change control board (CCB) – responsible for approving or rejecting all change requests

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Preparing for Change

RISK MANAGEMENT Project risk – an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project objective Risk management – the process of proactive and ongoing identification, analysis, and response to risk factors

RISK MANAGEMENT

Mitigating Risk

Successful Project Management Strategies

Closing Case One Staying on Track – Toronto Transit Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) serves over 1 million customers daily TTC currently has over 50 large engineering and construction projects TTC’s 50 projects average 100 – 150 activities each, with some projects encompassing as many as 500 – 600 activities

Closing Case One Questions Describe Gantt charts and explain how TTC could use one to communicate project status Describe PERT charts and explain how TTC could use one to communicate project status Determine how TTC could use its Master Schedule to gain efficiencies in its supply chain Discuss how TTC could use its Master Schedule to identify change management and risk management issues

Closing Case Two Automating Autodesk Autodesk provides popular graphics applications and Internet portal services to more than 4 million customers in over 150 countries Autodesk implemented Evolve’s integrated project management suite to help its global IT department improve project success rates

Closing Case Two Questions Explain why project management, change management, and risk management are critical to a global company such as Autodesk Assess the impact on Autodesk’s business if it failed to implement Evolve’s project management solution and continued to manage its projects using a myriad spreadsheet and Word documents Explain why Opportunity, Resource, and Time & Expense Manager applications would be of value to a company like Autodesk