Project Genome Mapping Kerry R. Wills, PMP Director The Hartford Financial Services Group

Introduction All projects are made of the same elements Some are more successful than others It is the structure of these elements that enables PMs to be successful Objectives Identify the atomic elements of all projects Understand how the elements make up project deliverables Identify genetic defects in projects Understand how the deliverables relate and how to gage success from them Identify some best practices on each deliverable

All projects have the same atomic elements… Projects are made up of activities that drive towards deliverables and milestones ACTIVITIES These activities take a period of time to be performed DURATION The activities are performed by project resources RESOURCES The project resources have specific rates/costs RATES

Deliverables from Atomic Elements

The Project Plan The Project Plan is a list of activities with their DURATION RESOURCES RATES The Project Plan is a list of activities with their relationships, durations and assigned resources Plan should be deliverable based (“bottom up” view) The team should come up with the activities and duration Deliverables should be no more than 10-20 days duration Should track dependencies

The Project Schedule SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES DURATION RESOURCES RATES The Project Schedule shows the activities laid out to a timeline with their durations and milestones Should be used to communicate to stakeholders Should show critical path activities A “community plan”

The Project Resource Model ACTIVITIES RESOURCE MODEL DURATION RESOURCES RATES The Project Resource Model identified the resources on the project and the duration of their tenure “Top down” view on project based on resources Duration should map to project phases

The Project Budget The Project Budget is comprised of resource costs ACTIVITIES BUDGET DURATION RESOURCES RATES The Project Budget is comprised of resource costs and other costs The resource costs represent the number of resources, multiplied by their rates and duration

The Project Change Control Log ACTIVITIES DURATION RESOURCES RATES Change Control is against anything that impacts the project activities, schedule, or resource costs

Integration of Deliverables PLAN SCHEDULE CHANGE CONTROL ACTIVITIES RESOURCE MODEL BUDGET DURATION RESOURCES RATES Since the deliverables are made of the same elements, they are tightly related to each other and should be managed as such

Genetic Defects

Genetic Defect: Schedule separate from budget ACTIVITIES BUDGET DOLLARS DURATION Many projects treat schedule and budget as separate Usually estimated through a high level number Cant assess impact of schedule changes No clarity around what makes up the financials of the project “Living paycheck to paycheck”

Genetic Defect: Resources separate from budget MODEL DURATION BUDGET DOLLARS RESOURCES Projects also separate the resources from the budget Managing the budget as one big amount vs the components that make it up No clarity around what makes up the financials of the project No good ability to reforecast or compute Estimate at Complete

Genetic Defect: Only performing CC on the plan CHANGE CONTROL ACTIVITIES DURATION RESOURCES RATES Change control is commonly used against scope items Scope is important but changes in duration, resources, and rates for existing deliverables can have a financial or schedule impact as well

Relationships

Relationships: Plan and Schedule ACTIVITIES DURATION RESOURCES RATES The schedule and plan are tightly linked and both are made up of the activities and timeframes Use the plan to manage activities and the schedule to communicate to stakeholders (community plan) Both should be reviewed on a regular basis for progress, status, and to plan upcoming work

Relationship: Schedule and Resource Model ACTIVITIES RESOURCE MODEL DURATION RESOURCES RATES The resource model should map to the schedule to determine duration of resources Resources should map to specific phases and deliverables (e.g. BAs on requirements) Level load resources to deliverables to determine capacity for concurrent activities/projects

Relationships: Resource Model and Budget ACTIVITIES RESOURCE MODEL BUDGET DURATION RESOURCES RATES The budget is made up of the resource model and the rates Project work is mostly made up of resource cost which ties to the rate and duration on which they are on the project

Relationships: Plan and Budget ACTIVITIES BUDGET DURATION RESOURCES RATES The budget and resource model are derived from the activities Any slippage to critical path activities will result in an extension to the schedule which will increase the cost of the project

Relationships: Change Control PLAN SCHEDULE CHANGE CONTROL ACTIVITIES RESOURCE MODEL BUDGET DURATION RESOURCES RATES Change control has to be on all of the atomic elements

Proposed Model

Proposed Model Create a detailed resource model/budget in one view SCHEDULE Requirements Design Resource Rate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total RESOURCE MODEL Resource A $$ 1 1 1 1 1 1 $$ Resource B $$ 1 1 1 1 1 .5 $$ Resource C $$ 1 1 1 1 1 $$ BUDGET $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ Create a detailed resource model/budget in one view Create the schedule across the top by month Map the resources to it and identify FTE allocation Add the monthly rates for each resource Calculate the budget - total, monthly, and by resource

Proposed Model: Change Control Requirements Design Resource Rate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total Resource A $$ 1 1 1 1 1 1 $$ Resource B $$ 1 1 1 1 1 .5 $$ Resource C $$ 1 1 1 1 1 $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ Document change controls against the budget Baseline the budgeted view Show any changes in rate, duration, or allocation Calculate the forecasted view EAC = ATD +ETC

Summary All projects are made of the same elements These elements combine to form the project deliverables These deliverables are tightly integrated and must be managed as such to avoid the genetic defects Create on detailed view to have clarity around the project financials, resources, and schedule which Tightly manage that view through change control