Planning the key to success

Active collective planning prerequisite of making realistic plans higher degree of commitment improves quality of plans improved communication about plans: ensure effective regulation of the process shared feeling of the responsibility See management principles 7, 8, 10

Creating a balance Costs Quality Duration

Planning and other management activities PlanningEvaluation Regulation

The plan should be in writing Evaluation –whether different expectations to the project are in balance, and whether the plan is realistic –of the distance between actual and expected state of the project –of the consequences of the changing the project’s conditions Planning –sub-projects or single activities in more detail –of own working practices of groups and individuals Regulation –of own working practices of groups and individuals see themselves in the plan contribute to the expected course of the project The project plan is a model of the course of the project, it should make the following possible:

Kinds of expectations activities services products resources duration participants’ qualifications interaction between activities resources and products...

Minimum standard for content of the project plan (1) 1. The project main components –Resources –Conditions –Organisation –Activities –Products and services –Side effects Describe when each component occurs. Group intermediate products in baselines

Minimum standard for content of the project plan (2) 2. Relations in the project plan The project plan must argue that –the activities can be carried out within the available resources under the given conditions on the basis of the available intermediate products –the activities will result in desired products desired services only desired side effects –the activity schedule is consistent

Minimum standard for content of the project plan (3) 3. Critical conditions Obvious risks must be discussed: –What could go wrong? –What are the consequences? –If something goes wrong - what can be done?

Baselines A baseline is a coordinated project state to which everyone participating in the project can refer When the project has reached a baseline, the intermediate products are in well defined states, and other prerequisites are known The description of the baseline should include criteria and procedures for how it can be assertained that the baseline is reached Baseline 1Baseline 2 Baseline 3

Checkpoints checkpoints are those points in time where it is planned to check whether baseline is reached if a checkpoint reveals that described baseline is not reached, then either –plan new activities and new checkpoint later in the project or –define a new baseline corresponding to the actual state of the intermediate products, and then change a plan accordingly

A phase a phase can be defined as a set of activities performed between two checkpoints –it is easier to ascertain whether a baseline is reached than ascertain that particular activities has been accomplished –phases are unsuitable as a fundamental means to divide the work in the project phases confuses temporal and material dimensions phases fails to account mutual interaction between different types of work specification construction

Temporal division -which checkpoints? When is a need for evaluating the situation in the project seen? –in relation to development organisation –in relation to user organisation How often does the project group need to undertake an overall evaluation of the situation in the project? What products and services should result from the individual phases?

Material division - Which activities? What should constitute checkable baselines? Which activities should be undertaken to produce desired products and services? Which criteria and procedures should be defined for evaluation of products and services?

Ieteikumi un vadlīnijas projekta plānošanai Izveidot plāna kopsavilkumu, balstoties uz plāna minimālo standartu Pjautājiet sev: Ko mēs gribētu zināt par darbu, kas mums jāuzsāk. Kas ir neskaidrs? Saklasificējiet visu jūsu rīcibā esošo informāciju par projekta galvenajām komponentēm un ievietojiet to zem atbilstošiem nodaļu virsrakstiem Iedziļinieties katrā nodaļā un mēģiniet to papildināt tā, lai informācija būtu pilnīga Pārliecinieties, ka projekta plāns ir saskanīgs Ņemiet vērā riska elementus Pārejiet uz citu nodaļu, ja kādā nespējat rast risinājumu (atgriezīsieties pie tās vēlāk) Padomājiet par kādu citu projektu. Kas tur tika darīts Atcerieties, ka labām idejām vajadzīgs nogatavošanās laiks. Tāpēc necentieties plānu izveidot vienā “rāvienā“

Ieteikumi un vadlīnijas projekta plāna formai Plānam jābūt īsam un precīzam. Tas ir darba dokuments nevis romāns Plānam jābūt labi saprotamam: –rakstot par cilvēkiem, jāidentificē viņu kvalifikācija un pieejamība –rakstot par aparatūru, jāraksturo tās atribūti un pieejamība –projekta organizācijas daļā jāparāda, kurš par ko ir atbildīgs un kā cilvēki projekta laikā kontaktēsies (sapulces, ziņojumu apmaiņa) –darbi un pakalpojumi jāapraksta vispārzināmos (jeb vismaz projekta un lietotājorganizācijas ietvaros zināmos) terminos –produktu un starpproduktu aprakstā jānorāda atribūti, ko vēlāk varēs novērtēt Ja vien iespējams, jānorāda darba laiks un apjoms Jāatsaucas uz eksistējošajiem dokumentiem (līgumiem, projekta dokumentiem u.c.) Jālieto diagrammas Jāizmanto teksta procesors, lai būtu viegli izdarīt izmaiņas