Project Management Week-1 [8/3/2009]

Operations versus Projects Operations are repetitive, ongoing activities Projects are unique one time initiatives that drive business innovation and change In 50’s GM’s single model would sell in millions and in 2003 GM offered 89 models; selling an average of 50,000 /model

What has fuelled this change? Compression of the product life cycle Global Competition IT Knowledge Explosion ( Product complexity has increased the need to integrate divergent technologies ) Corporate Downsizing ( outsourcing the projects) Increased Customer Focus ( Customer satisfaction) Operational efficiency has an upper limit Quality is taken for granted

Project Projects are a temporary organization and process set up to achieve a specified goal under the constraints of time, budget and other resources A project is complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resources, and performance specifications designed to meet customer needs. A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that have a specific objective, start and end dates, funding limits, ( if applicable), consume resources

Recap-Project Management Project Management, on the other hand, involves project planning, and project monitoring, and includes such items as: Definition of work requirements Definition of quantity and quality of work Definition resources needed Tracking progress Comparing actual outcome to predicated outcome Analyzing impact Making adjustments

Most Projects Still Fail Only about 28%of IT projects were successful Out 0f $382 billion spent on IT projects in US 82 billion were straight down the drain, 1/3rd either failed or missed targets with overruns of 200 to 300% Another study on new product development revealed 46 % of resources allocated to projects that were cancelled or failed to yield financial return In UK 75% of IT projects missed deadline, 55% exceeded budget and 37% did not project requirements

Why even well managed projects fail Examples: Denver International Airport started in 1989 to takeover Denver Stapleton Airport was delayed by 16 months with overrun of $1.5 billion Segway made unnecessary huge investments in infrastructure NASA Mars Climate Orbiter failed due to use of metric units in one of ground software Common feature of all above: dedicated mangers top of line teams absence ability to assess uncertainty and complexity

Why Traditional PM Often fails? Triple constraint or iron triangle One size fits all

Traditional versus Adaptive Approach Traditional project management Adaptive project management Project goal Getting the job done on time, on budget, and within requirement Getting business results, meeting multiple criteria Project plan A collection of activities that are executed as planned to meet the triple constraint An organization and a process to achieve the expected goals and business results Planning Plan once at project initiation Plan at outset and replan when needed Flexible, changing, adaptive Managerial approach Rigid, focused on initial plan Flexible, changing, adaptive Project work Predictable, certain, linear, simple Unpredictable, uncertain, nonlinear, complex Environment effect Minimal, detached after the project is launched Affects the project throughout its execution Project control Identify deviation from plan, and put things back on track Identify changes in the environment, and adjust the plans accordingly Distinction All projects are the same Projects differ Management style One size fits all Adaptive approach; one size does not fit all

The Diamond Approach a diamond-shaped framework to help managers distinguish among projects according to four dimensions: novelty, technology, complexity, and pace (NTCP). a disciplined tool for analyzing the expected benefits and risks of a project diamond analysis is also helpful in assessing a project in midcourse, identifying possible gaps in a troubled project, and selecting corrective actions to put the project back on Provides common language for discussion among executives, managers, teams, and customers during the project approval, contracting, and monitoring process

NTCP Novelty. This base represents the uncertainty of the project’s goad, the uncertainty in the market, or both. It measures how new he project’s product is to customers, users, or to the market in general and thus how clear and well defined the initial product requirements are. Novelty includes three types: derivative, platform, and breakthrough. Technology. This base represents the project’s level of technological uncertainty. It is determined by how much new technology is required. Technology includes four types: low-tech, medium-tech, high-tech, and super-high-tech. Complexity. This base measures the complexity of the product, the task, and the project organization. Complexity includes three types: assembly, system, and array (or system of systems). Pace. This base represents the urgency of the project – namely, how much time there is to complete the job. Pace includes four types: regular, fast/competitive, time-critical, and blitz.