Project Management in a Nutshell Tips to Keep Your Project on Track Ceilyn Boyd & Cathy Conroy Programs, Projects & Operational Planning December 2015

Overview Project Management in a Nutshell – 1) Plan, 2) Manage, 3) Deliver – Project Management: Principles Tools Strategies Utilities Page 2

Project Management in a Nutshell Project Management Goals 1.Plan 2.Manage 3.Deliver Page 3

Project Management Principles Planning helps to minimize risk and ensure good outcomes Plans always change, but change can be managed Good lines of communication help to: – manage stakeholder expectations, and – ensure that team members stay engaged Page 4

Project Management Tools 1.Project charter – Goals and deliverables – Benefits and/or impact statement – Workplan To-do list Timeline – Budget – Resources Roles and responsibilities – Communications plan* 2.Status Reports 3.Lessons Learned Page 5

Project Management Strategies Project scope management – Avoid scope creep Resource management – Document roles and responsibilities – Identify members of the ‘critical path’ Risk management – Identify risks to project in advance – Create risk mitigation plans Change management – Document changes to goals, scope, and, deliverables Communications* Page 6

Project Communications Audience – Internal: project team, stakeholders Charter, Status Reports, Lessons Learned – External: other members of the community Charter, Status Summaries, Deliverables Modes – Written Project documents: charter, workplan, schedule, meeting notes, status reports. Reports: formal reports to funders, etc. – Other Informal Formal Page 7

Common Project Management Utilities Goal: Use the simplest tool possible – spend time executing and managing your project, not wrangling with your tool Microsoft – MS Project Most projects do not need the advanced functionality of MS Project – MS Excel Most projects can be managed easily using a tool like Excel – MS OneNote Good support for collaboration Online Project Management and Collaborative Utilities/Apps – Collaboration Google Docs: Evernote: TeamSnap: – Project Management Asana: TeamSnap: Smart Sheet: Page 8

Contact Us Ceilyn Boyd – – Cathy Conroy – – Page 9