Project management and planning Lars Peter Jensen

What are your previous experiences of working on a project?

About projects and management of people and time Contents: Defining a project The project settings and goal Code of conduct/team charter Management of time and other resources

Project What ? A unique task Have a lot of complex activities Needs several people with different skills Have a final goal/objective Limited resources (time, money, people) Have to deliver a result at a given time: –As a minimum a written report

Learning goals in project work

It must be possible To accomplish goals Through the project Starting a project

Project Management Planning Goals objectives Organizing People resources Controlling monitor maintaining Change

Project Management Management of people Management of time and other resources

Team charter or code of conduct Why ? Create common expectations Secure clear agreements What? Contract with supervisor Group contracts: – Task strategies – Process strategies

Code of conduct – A tool for managing people Expectations and ambitions ? Meetings – How often ? – What if somebody is late ? Organizing meetings, chairman, referee, use of blackboard ? Division of labor ? What kind of response do you give within the group ? To what extent will we socialize together, and when ?

Contract with supervisor DRAFT Contract between project group XX and supervisor NN What I am willing to do (if you want me to) –Help… Meet… Discuss…. Read…. What I prefer not to do –Meet…. Read…. What I expect of you –write a memo, send the memo, chair meetings etc.

Code of conduct – questions to ask Task strategies What is the purpose, process, and timing of meetings? What does ’on time’ mean? What is the priority of time? What are the importance and priority of deadlines? Is it more important to achieve time deadlines, or to delay for higher quality? What do we do about missing commitments? To what extent do roles and responsibilities need to be formalized and written? Who needs to attend, when? What is the role of the leader? Of team members? How will the task be divided up and the integrated? What work can be done together or apart? How will information be passed? To whom? When? Formally or informally? Within the team or outside? How, where and when do we make decisions? Consensus, majority rule, compromise?

Code of conduct – questions to ask Process strategies How will we manage relationships – dive right into business versus take time to socialize? To what extent will we socialize together, and when? What is trust and how is it earned? How formal or informal will we be? What language(s) will we use? How will differences in language fluency be managed? To what extent does participation reflect potential contributions? Who dominates? Who listens to whom? Who talks to whom? How are interruptions managed? How is conflict managed? Forcing, accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, compromising? How is negotiation viewed? Win/lose, or win/win? How is feedback provided? Face to face, third party, direct?

Code of conduct example

Management of time Contents: Introduction Activity diagram How long time do we need for a given activity? - how to make a qualified guess The Gantt chart Project monitering

Project overview and structure Problem Statement A Major Goal functions as –Defining the final outcome (e.g. in terms of product) –Being the continual point of reference for settling disputes and misunderstandings about the project –Being the guide keeping all objectives and the work associated with them on track Objectives should be: – S pecifc in targeting an objective – M easurable: Establish a measurable indicator(s) of progress – A ssignable: Make the objective capable of being assigned to someone for completion – R ealistic: State what can realistically be achieved within budgetted time and resources – T ime-related: State when the objective can be achieved, that is, the duration. (George Doran 1981) Risks, assumptions and questions

Agree on the goal, otherwise you won’t reach it! -OR GET ON A DESERT WALK The goal statement should be action-oriented, short, simple, straightforward, understandable, and clear to all.

Be aware of your differences YOU ARE STUPID ! WE DON’T KNOW

Management of time Management of (often unpredictable) change via project planning and project monitoring Project planning – what is it? 50 % thinking ahead 25 % communication 25 % milestones

Project Planning - contents A model of the project, including all activities = tasks, that together constitute the complete project How can the model be used? To experiment with, without actually carrying out the timing and scheduling of activities of the project As a yardstick against which to measure progress and monitor the project As a basis for a regular review and update process, e.g. Plan the remaining part of the project

Planning at different levels Overview (long term) level: –Big tasks, few milestones Activity level: –Where you are right now –Detailed activity plan with many smaller tasks –Deadlines Daily level: –What are we going to do today

1 st Semester 2000 – P0 Project – Group – TETRaA System P1 Planning

P1 Period Planning Motor selection Battery selection Design of Control Strategy Weekly report Simulatio n Implement the Strategy Module report Supervisor meeting Test Practical Work P1 Report No Yes No Yes

P1 Period Time schedule 8 th. Oct. 15 th. Oct15 th. Nov 19 th.Dec Programming the controller and implement the strategy Choose motor and supply Control Stategy Design Practical Work and Documentation

Control strategy design Analysing controllersModelling the motor Matlab simulation of motor Matlab simulation of Control system and motor Choose strategy OK? No Yes TOTAL: 10X 2X 3X X 2X

How to find X ? We need 10 X There is 6 members of the group There are 15 half project day until finish of activity What is X then ? X = 15/10 [½project day] = 1½ [½project day] ? X = (15/10)x6 [½man day] = 9 [½man day]

Tasks Week 43Week 44Week 45Week /102127/10283/114910/ Analysing controllers 2X Modelling the motor 3X Matlab simulation of motor X Choose control strategy 2X Matlab simulation of control strategy and motor 2X

Tasks Week 43Week 44Week 45Week /102127/10283/114910/ Analysing controllers 2X Modelling the motor 3X Matlab simulation of motor X Choose control strategy 2X Matlab simulation of control strategy and motor 2X

Tasks Week 43Week 44Week 45Week /102127/10283/114910/ Analysing controllers 2X Modelling the motor 3X Matlab simulation of motor X Choose control strategy 2X Matlab simulation of control strategy and motor 2X

Tasks Week 43Week 44Week 45Week /102127/10283/114910/ Analysing controllers 2X Modelling the motor 3X Matlab simulation of motor X Choose control strategy 2X Matlab simulation of control strategy and motor 2X

Tasks Week 43Week 44Week 45Week /102127/10283/114910/ Analysing controllers 2X Modelling the motor 3X Matlab simulation of motor X Choose control strategy 2X Matlab simulation of control strategy and motor 2X

Tasks Week 43Week 44Week 45Week /102127/10283/114910/ Analysing controllers 2X Modelling the motor 3X Matlab simulation of motor X Choose control strategy 2X Matlab simulation of control strategy and motor 2X

Gannt chart (Timescedule)

Project Monitering Why has some activities taken to long time? Can we compensate for the delay by working harder? Is it possible to reorganize the work schedule If we are to cut out some activities, which one? What are the consequences of each of these choices?

Discussion of findings 1: How do students develop process competences? Planning and project management

Group exercise and homework Exercise Make a code of conduct for your group Make a plan of time schedule for your P0 project. Present it on lecture 4, September 25th