7-1 Project Management from Simple to Complex

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7-3 Chapter 7 Starting a Project

7-4 Learning Objectives Describe the difference between an organization’s mission, goals, and objectives Describe how the missions are different depending on the type of organization Define economic terms used for choosing projects Define a project champion and his or her role Describe the influences of funding, timing, and unofficial considerations on project selection

7-5 Learning Objectives Define scope and describe how it is affected by project complexity Identify the uses of a scope document Describe how a scope document is developed and changed Identify the major activities included in project start-up Explain how the project start-up activities may differ on a highly complex project Identify the purpose of the alignment process Identify the components of the alignment process

7-6 Learning Objectives Identify the effects of a lack of trust on a project Describe the differences between communications in an existing organization compared with a new project Describe how the detail of the communication plan is related to the complexity of the project Describe a communication matrix and its function Describe conventions for naming files to indicate their content and the version

7-7 Mission, Goals, and Objectives of an Organization Mission: Statement of the purpose of an organization Sections: – Purpose of the organization – Primary stakeholders – Responsibility of the organization toward the stakeholders – Products or services offered

7-8 Mission, Goals, and Objectives of an Organization The missions of organizations can be categorized as: – Profit - To make profit for its owners and shareholders – Not for profit – The service it provides – Government - Its responsibilities to the citizens it represents Goal: An end toward which effort is directed Objective: An end toward which effort is directed that has a measurable outcome

7-9 Figure Relationships between Mission, Goals, and Objectives Click below to view full-size

7-10 Economic Selection Criteria Cash flow: The movement of money where income is positive and spending is negative Companies can raise money by: – Borrowing it – Funding the project from existing earnings – Selling additional stock or ownership shares in the company Interest: Charge for a loan

7-11 Economic Selection Criteria To qualify for selection, a project that is must be able to do the following: – Repay loans if money must be borrowed to fund the project – Increase future earnings for shareholders – Make the company stock more valuable

7-12 Economic Selection Criteria Simple payback: Time period it takes to recoup the original expense without considering interest payments or other complicating factors Internal rate of return (IRR): Average annual return on an investment that earns or saves money

7-13 Figure Simple Payback Click below to view full-size

7-14 Figure Internal Rate of Return Click below to view full-size

7-15 Other Selection Criteria Keeping up with competitors Meeting legal requirements Improving the organization’s public image A project might be selected at a particular time for reasons such as: – Accumulating a year-end budget surplus – Increasing executive bonus for the year or quarter – Funding or certification review deadline

7-16 Project Champions and Opponents Project champion: Influential person who is willing to use his or her influence to help the project succeed To identify the advocates and opponents of the project: – Read public documents (meeting minutes) – Obtain the opinion of trusted colleagues

7-17 Project Scope Scope document: Written description of what activities are included in the project and some of those that are specifically not included The size and character of the project scope document is related to the project complexity On more technical projects, the scope would include a significant amount of technical specifications

7-18 Project Scope A well-developed project scope statement provides the project team with: – Information to design and implement the project execution plan – An understanding of the purpose of the project – The basis for defining project success

7-19 Project Scope The project manager develops the first draft of the project scope and then solicits feedback from: – The project team – The client – Key vendors The project manager attempts to develop consensus around the scope The project client or sponsor gives the final approval Changes are made to the scope document to reflect new information

7-20 Project Scope Maintain a written record of changes to the scope of a project – On the least complex projects – s – On larger projects – Standard forms Steps to follow when documenting changes: – Inform project stakeholders of the change request process – Require that the change request is made in writing – Enter the request in the scope change log – Estimate the time needed to evaluate the change

7-21 Project Scope – Evaluate the change and its impact on the schedule and budget if the evaluation is approved – Present the change request to the project sponsor for approval – Distribute the scope change log periodically to team members – If the change is approved, update the project charter or other initiation documents – Update the work plan – Distribute the revised work plan to stakeholders and team members

7-22 Project Scope Use the “Project Scope Template” to develop a project scope documentProject Scope Template Students can present their project scope documents to the rest of the class Source:

7-23 Project Start-Up Major activities included in project start-up: – Selecting project manager – Establishing funding – Developing project infrastructure – Accounting, procurement, IT – Holding kickoff meetings – Determining staffing – Building relationships

7-24 Project Start-Up On a project with a low complexity level: – Developing project infrastructure can be a simple task Large complex projects require: – More dedicated infrastructure – Full-time staff – Longer start-up meetings involving more people

7-25 Alignment Process Purpose of alignment sessions: – Developing a common understanding of the project purpose – Agreeing on the means and methods for accomplishing the purpose – Establishing trust among team members

7-26 Alignment Process Components of the alignment process: – Project purpose – Goals – Participant roles – Methods of tracking progress and cost – Methods of managing change – Methods of building trust

7-27 Alignment Process When a person’s trust in another person on the project is low, he or she: – Will doubt the information received from that person – Might not act on information without checking it with another source – Might not share information that is necessary to the other person’s function The result is delayed action

7-28 Communications Planning In existing organizations: – Information gatekeepers exist – Generation, flow, and storage of information reflect the organizational culture – A person’s communication style must be consistent with the organization Projects do not have: – An existing organizational culture – A communication structure

7-29 Communications Planning The project leadership team: – Understands the information needs of the project members and stakeholders – Develops a communication plan Highly complex projects require a detailed communication plan Information needed is generated and distributed to support: – The project schedule – The project decisions

7-30 Communications Planning Communication matrix: Table that displays the responsibilities and distribution for each type of document or information

7-31 Figure Simple Communication Matrix Click below to view full-size

7-32 Document Control File names should be used as codes to describe the contents of the file Parts of the name can be used to identify: – Category – Location – Subject – Author – Date File naming conventions should match those used by the parent or client organization