Project Management Processes

Initiation → Planning → Launching → Monitoring and Controlling → Closing

5 Project Management Life Cycle steps

Initiation

■ Identifying stakeholders

■ Recruiting the project manager

■ Eliciting the true needs and high-level requirements of the client

■Documenting the client’s needs

■Writing a one-page description of the project

■Gaining senior management approval to plan the project

Planning

■ Recruiting the project team

■ Writing a project description document

■ Establishing team operating rules

■ Establishing the scope change management process

■ Managing team communications

■ Finalizing the project schedule

■ Writing work packages

Launching

■ Establishing the project performance and reporting system

■ Monitoring project performance

■ Monitoring risk

■ Reporting project status

■ Processing scope change requests

■ Discovering and solving problems

Closing

■ Gaining client approval of having met project requirements

■ Planning and installing deliverables

■ Writing the final project report

■ Conducting the post-implementation audit

Planning

■ Defining all of the work of the project

■ Estimating how long it will take to complete the work

■ Estimating the resources required to complete the work

■ Estimating the total cost of the work

■ Sequencing the work

■ Building the initial project schedule

■ Analyzing and adjusting the project schedule

■ Writing a risk management plan

■ Documenting the project plan

■ Gaining senior management approval to launch the project

1. Each project is unique.

2. The logical ordering of the processes is a function

   of the characteristics of the project.

3. Create and use a RECIPE

4. One size does NOT fit all.

5. Why use a hammer when a screw is needed?

Thigs to remember

Traditional Project Management

•Low complexity

•Few Scope Change Requests

•Well-Understood Technology Infrastructure

•Low Risk

•Experienced and Skilled Project Teams

Traditional Project Management

✓ Each process group is done in order

✓ Whatever is learned in a process group cannot be used to revise and improve deliverables from a previously completed process group

Incremental Project Management Life

Cycle

✓ Deliverables are released according to schedule

✓ Incremental release is done in linear fashion (note the arrows)

✓ Market-driven

Incremental Project Management Life

Cycle

Incremental Project Management Life Cycle

•Some differences to Linear PMLC

• Encourages changes to the product with each incremental release. The manager needs to only factor in some schedule contingencies

• Solution is decomposed into partial solutions. Release schedule must be consistent with the dependencies that exist between partial solutions

Agile Project Management

•Critical problem without no known solution yet

•Previously untapped business opportunity

•Change-driven, high-risk

•Meaningful client involvement

•Small collocated project teams (APM projects do not scale well)

Iterative Project Management Life Cycle

✓ Details of the solution are not clearly defined or missing

✓ Similar to production prototyping

✓ Change is a necessary part of the model

✓ Provides opportunity for learning and discovery

Iterative Project Management Life Cycle

Adaptive Project Management Life Cycle

✓ Almost nothing about the solution is known

✓ Differs in the activities within each process group

Adaptive Project Management Life Cycle

Extreme Project Management Approach

•Research and Development project

•Very high risk

Extreme Project Management Life Cycle

✓ Unstructured

✓ Projects are exploratory in nature, goals cannot be defined

✓ Iterates in an unspecified number of short phases

Extreme Project Management Life Cycle

Linear (Waterfall)

Both goal and requirements are clear.

Incremental

Goal is clear, requirements are partially clear.

Iterative

Goal is clear, but requirements are unclear.

Adaptive (Agile)

Goal is clear, requirements are unclear and changing.

Extreme

Both goal and requirements are unclear.

Risk management

Blank becomes more significant as the degree of solution

uncertainty increases.

need for meaningful client involvement

The blank increases as the degree of solution uncertainty increases.

•Total Cost

as cost increases, so does business value and risk

• Risk Management Plan

•Duration

A longer duration project brings with it a higher

likelihood of change, staff turnover, and project priority

adjustments

• Change Management Plan

•Market Stability

Any venture into a volatile market is going to

be risky

• Implement deliverables incrementally

Technology

difficult to keep up with, difficult to use for advantage

• Allow room to take in something new

•Number of Departments Affected

as the number of departments affected by the project increases, the dynamics of the project change

• Differences in requirements can lead to scope creep

• Needs contention through requirements validation

• as the project becomes more of enterprise-wide,

•Organizational Environment

lack of executive-level support caused by frequent reorganization

• Update Risk Management

•Team Skills and Competencies

The types of skilled professionals you ask for in your plan are often not what you eventually get

• Plan around Type B team