1. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Business Plug-In B15 Project Management

2. B15-2 LEARNING OUTCOMES 1.Describe the project stakeholders and executive sponsor’s roles in choosing strategic projects. 2.Highlight the five components of a project charter. 3.Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning. 4.Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success.

3. B15-3 PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS Project—Temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result Project Management—The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements Project Manager—An individual who is an expert in project planning and management

4. B15-4 CHOOSING STRATEGIC PROJECTS Project Stakeholders — Individuals and organizations actively involved in the project or whose interests might be affected as a result of project execution or project completion Executive Sponsor — The person or group who provides the financial resources for the project Three common techniques for selecting projects: 1.Focus on organizational goals 2.Categorize projects 3.Perform a financial analysis

5. B15-5 PROJECT CHARTER Project Charter—A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities and includes: –Project scope –Project objectives –Project constraints –Projects assumptions

6. B15-6 PROJECT CHARTER SMART criteria are useful reminders on how to ensure that the project has created understandable and measurable objectives

7. B15-7 PROJECT PLAN Project Plan—A formal, approved document that manages and controls project execution A well-defined project plan should be: –Easy to understand and read –Communicated to all key participants –Appropriate to the project’s size, complexity, and criticality –Prepared by the team, rather than by the individual project manager

8. B15-8 PROJECT PLAN PERT Chart—A graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between those tasks –Dependency –Critical Path Gantt Chart—A simple bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar

9. B15-9 MANAGING PROJECTS Project Manager—An individual who is an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan, and tracks the plan to ensure the projects is completed on time and on budget Managing a project includes: –Identifying requirements –Establishing clear and achievable objectives –Balancing the competing demands of quality, scope, time, and cost –Adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders

10. B15-10 MANAGING PROJECTS A project manager must focus on managing four primary areas to ensure success: –Managing people –Managing communications –Managing change –Managing risk

11. B15-11 MANAGING PROJECTS Change Management—A set of techniques that aid in evolution, composition, and policy management of the design and implementation of a system –Change Management System — A collection of procedures to document a change request and define the steps necessary to consider the change based on the expected impact of the change –Change Control Board (CCB) — Responsible for approving or rejecting all change requests

12. B15-12 MANAGING PROJECTS Common reasons change occurs: –An omission in defining initial scope –A misunderstanding of the initial scope –An external event –Organizational changes –Availability of better technology –Shifts in planned technology –Users needs and requests –Management reducing funding

13. B15-13 MANAGING RISK Three important guidelines for effectively dealing with change management: 1.Institute change management polices 2.Anticipate change 3.Seek change

14. B15-14 MANAGING RISK Project Risk—An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project objective Risk Management—The process of proactive and ongoing identification, analysis, and response to risk factors

15. B15-15 MITIGATING RISK Actions to improve risk management capabilities: –Promote project leadership skills –Learn from previous experience –Share knowledge –Create a project management culture