Exam 3 (EGS4625 - Fundamentals of Engineering Project Management)

What is a project charter?

a process used to start and guide a project team

What does project chartering accomplish?

- Determine purpose

- Evaluate critical success factors

- Clarify roles and responsibilities

- Establish operating guidelines

- Set up interpersonal behavior guidelines

- Discuss any other elements for clarity and...

- Defines the how's!

Project Kickoff Meeting

addresses the WHAT (deliverables, schedule, etc)

Team Building

addresses the WHO (relationships)

Team Chartering

addresses the HOW (team operational strategies)

Why is Chartering a Crucial Step?

• Builds high levels of clarity, agreement and motivation

• Ensures team members share the same vision

• Ensures better use of resources and knowledge of the team

• Creates team behaviors that are stronger than individual behaviors

Chartering improves ______________ .

Team relationships!

Who should be involved in chartering?

All parties who will play a direct role in executing the essential work of the project!!

Includes: Client/Customer, Project Team Members, Involved Management, Key Stakeholders, Key Subcontractors

The five stages of team development...

1. Forming

2. Storming

3. Norming

4. Performing

5. Excelling

Team chartering gets the team past forming and storming

Chartering Steps (for high performing teams)

1. Define Team (members and roles)

2. Purpose (what's the vision, mission, boundaries, success factors?)

3. Responsibilities (individual, shared, primary/secondary)

4. Operating Guidelines (goals, decision making, communications, processes/tools)

5. Interpersonal Behavior (core values, rules of conduct, conflict resolution)

6. Agreement/Sign-Up (project team, customers, management, and sub-contractors)

RACI

an acronym derived from the four key responsibilities most typically used: responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed.

Once the charter has been crafted, it needs to be:

Endorsed

Communicated

Implemented

Monitored

General actions after charter is complete:

• Document the Charter

• Communicate the content

• Review & Update as needed

Purpose for documenting charter...

> Charter materials a reference through the life of the project

> Charter materials can be used to charter new team members

> Charter materials can be evaluated determine if/how goals are met

Endorsement

Getting everyone to agree on the plan (the charter in this case)

There are different levels of agreement... you want full endorsement

Principle Steps for Endorsement

1. Review Plan

2. Give/Receive feedback

3. Modify

4. Gain commitment + readiness to act

Dilemma in project scoping

The conflict between what the client wants and what the client needs

General steps in the scoping process

1. Develop requirements

2. Develop Scope Statement

3. Create Deliverables List

4. Determine Acceptance Criteria

What do you need before you can define project requirements? (scoping)

To establish the conditions of satisfaction

What are requirements?

A requirement is something the product/project should do/produce or a quality that it must have.

Planning and Conducting a Project Requirements (Scoping) Meeting

Purpose: Document requirements and Develop Project Overview Statement (POS)

Attendees: Project Manager (also may be the facilitator), Client, Core Team Members

Requirements Breakdown Structure

Tree diagram structure: from the project goal branches requirements, and from requirements branches functions/subfunctions, etc.

Advantages of using the RBS

> Does not require a trained facilitator

> Intuitive approach

> Allows the client to work closely with the project team

> Clear picture of the requirements needed to define the project

Agenda of Project Requirements Meeting

Introductions

Purpose of the Meeting (Facilitator)

COS (Facilitator)

Description of current state (led by client representative)

Description of problem or business opportunity (led by client representative)

Description of end state (led by client representative)

Requirements definition and documentation (All)

Discussion of the gap between current and end state (All)

Draft and approve the Scope Statement (All)

Adjourn

Deliverables from Project Requirements Meeting

1. RBS creation

2. Assessment of completeness of RBS

3. The Project Overview Statement (POS)

Acceptance criteria

> Criteria drives deliverables which drives scope

> Who accepts

> How are requirements measured

> What is the recourse if problems

> Quality control determines bounds of deliverables

Approaches to Gathering Requirements:

1. Brainstorming

2. Facilitated Group Sessions

3. Interviews

4. Prototyping

5. Requirements Workshop

Brainstorming Method Pros/Cons

(Scope: Gathering requirements)

Strengths

1. Reduces social inhibitions

2. Stimulates idea generation

3. Increases overall creativity of the group Risks

1. Can be dominated by a strong individual

2. Individual fear of being criticized

3. Evaluation of ideas in public

Facilitated Group Session Method Pros/Cons

(Scope: Gathering requirements)

Strengths

1. Excellent for cross-functional processes

2. Detailed requirements are documented and verified immediately

3. Resolves issues with an impartial facilitator

Risks

1. Untrained facilitators can lead to negative responses

2. Time and cost of planning and executing can be high

Interview Method Pros/Cons

(Scope: Gathering requirements)

Strengths

1. End-users can participate

2. High-level description of functions and processes provided

Risks

1. Descriptions may differ from actual detailed activities

2. Without structure, stakeholders may not know what information to provide

3. Real needs ignored if analyst (interviewee) is prejudiced

Prototyping Pros/Cons

(Scope: Gathering requirements)

Strengths

1. Innovative ideas can be generated

2. Users clarify what they want

3. Users identify requirements that may be missed

4. Client-focused

5. Early proof of concept. . .namely this may really work!

6. Stimulates thought process

Risks

1. Client may want to implement prototype

2. Difficult to know when to stop

3. Specialized skills required

4. Absence of documentation

Requirements Workshop Pros/Cons

(Scope: Gathering requirements)

Strengths

1. Good way for first-time users

Risks

1. May overwhelm participants if they are not fully prepared

Categories of Requirements

- Functional

- Global

- Product/project constraints

Functional Requirement (scope)

What the product or service must do.

Global Requirement (scope)

Highest level, also known as general requirements

Product/Project Constraints (scope)

Requirements that are design or project barriers.

Challenges of Requirements Management

- Many different types of requirements at different levels of detail

- Requirements not independent of one another and may create conflicts

- Many interested and responsible parties with different needs

- Can be time-sensitive as a result of changing business conditions

- Shuttle diplomacy to resolve differences

- Assess completeness of requirement decomposition

Project Overview Statement (POS)

A one-page description that is:

- A general statement of the project

- A reference for the planning team

- A decision aid for the project

- To get management approval

Contents of the Project Overview Statement (POS)

1. Problem/Opportunity

2. Project Goal

3. Project Objectives

4. Success Criteria

5. Assumptions/Risks/Obstacles

POS Problem/Opportunity

A problem needing resolution

An untapped business opportunity from a client

A corporate initiative

Mandated requirements from other sources

POS Project Goal

A one or two sentence statement of how you intend to address the stated problem/opportunity.

OR

A scoping statement that bounds the project you are proposing.

POS Project Objectives

5 or 6 brief statements that further bound your project goal

Clarity on what is in the proposed project

Identify major project deliverables

POS Project Success Criteria

Use quantitative metrics only!

Adresses how much and by when?

POS Assumptions, Risks, and Obstacles

> Technological: New to the company, Obsolescence

> Environmental: Management change, Staff turnover

> Interpersonal: Working relationships

> Cultural: Fit to the company

> Causal Relationships: Will the solution solve the problem

POS Attachments

> Risk Analysis

> Financial Analyses: feasibility studies, cost/benefit analysis, return on investment

Managing Client Expectations During Scoping

- Make sure you understand what your client wants/needs/expects

- Make sure the client understands what you will do

- Assure yourself that what your client wants is what your client needs

- Actively include your client in scoping the project

- Put yourself in the shoes of your client

- Keep your client informed of project scoping status

Gaining Project Approval: Expected Review Questions from Management

- How important is the problem or opportunity to the organization?

- How is the project related to our CSFs?

- Does the goal statement related directly to the problem or opportunity?

- Are the objectives clear representations of the goal statement?

- Is there sufficient business value as measured by the success criteria to warrant further expenditures on this project?

- Is the relationship between the project objectives and the success criteria clearly established?

- Are the risks too high and the business value too low?

- Can senior management mitigate the identified risks?

Building a successful project...

It's Scope FIRST...then Schedule...then Cost...then Price

Root Causes of (most) Project Delivery Problems

1. Inadequate work planning (most costly)

2. Unclear roles/responsibilities

3. Lack of project delivery process

4. No change management process

5. Poor budgeting

6. No reward or recognition (least costly)

How to transition to the WBS

The Scope of Work = Basis for the WBS

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

"A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of the project work to be executed" - PMI

A WBS accomplishes/includes...

> Description of work

> Defines beginning and end

> Measured progress

> Duration and sequence

> Ends with a deliverable

> Supported with assumptions

> Considers risks

> Assesses contingencies

> Eventually aligns to the schedule and budget

Uses for the WBS

> Thought-Process Tool

> Design Tool

> Planning Tool

> Project Status Reporting tool

Approaches to WBS

Noun-type, verb-type, and organizational approaches

Noun-type approaches (WBS)

- Physical components

- Functional components

Verb-type approaches (WBS)

- design-build-test-implement

- objectives

Organizational approaches (WBS)

- Geographic

- Departmental

- Business process

Hierarchal structure of WBS

Goal -> functions -> subfunctions -> activities/tasks

Beauty of the WBS

- project can be thought out in advance

- costs and budgets can be established

- responsibility assignments can begin to take shape

- can be used to put together a schedule

- essential for defining risk

What is a "deliverable-oriented" WBS?

oriented/structured around deliverables that have to be produced

What is a "task-oriented" WBS?

oriented/structured around tasks... (favored in time-dependent organizations that use checkpoints from phase to phase)

Where has PMI shifted? Deliverable- or task-oriented WBS?

Used to favor task-orientation. Now favors deliverable-orientation.

Is RBS from scoping related to WBS?

YES. The RBS is a subset of the WBS.

How do WBS's work?

WBS's organize the work into smaller elements that are:

- manageable

- independent

- measurable

- finite

A Well Defined WBS Will Help You:

1. Organize Activities

2. Divide Responsibilities

3. Determine Activity Cost

4. Align Tasks to a Schedule and Track Progress

5. Communicate Effectively

Principles of WBS:

- Shows Hierarchical Relationships

- No Time Relationship

- No Overlap of Work

- No One Right Way

Assignable work tasks/activities MUST:

- Have a finite duration

- Include a level of effort

- Be measurable

- Have a deliverable at completion

Why tasks should be "measurable"

If the task is measurable, the cost and time to complete the task are also measurable!

How to develop a WBS?

Ask, "what is required?"

How to check a WBS?

Ask, "is this sufficient?"

WBS addresses:

- "in-scope"

- "out-of-scope"

- How PM plans to deliver the work

- basis for scope, schedule, cost, and price negotiations

- ASSUMPTIONS! (List them)

WBS Dictionary

is a list of all numbered activities that provides a detailed description of each activity, AND who has primary responsibility for that activity

80-hour rule

- max duration for a task before you should consider breaking it up or reassess

Right way to do a WBS?

there is no one right way to do a WBS!!

- should contain enough detail to track but not enough to micromanage

Next step after completing WBS is...?

Ordering activities or work packages by determining dependencies (predecessor and successor)

Best tool for establishing dependencies of WBS

The Network Diagram

A network diagram is a critical step to:

- Establishing dependencies between tasks

- Determine when the project will end

- Illustrate the critical path

- Confirm tasks that can be delayed

- Help to allocate resources

- Aid in establishing budget needs and cash flows

Activity on Node (AON)

- a network diagram in which activities are placed on nodes

- arrows leading to nodes show dependencies

Network diagram: RULES

> Networks flow left to right

> Precedence governs when activities start

> Arrows indicate precedence and can cross over each other

> Looping is not allowed

> Conditional statements NOT allowed

> Each activity uniquely identified

Activity

(network diagramming definition)

- an element of the project that requires time

- concurrent activities listed in parallel (vertically)

Merge activity

(network diagramming definition)

multiple tasks merge into the next

burst activity

(network diagramming definition)

a single task bursts into several upon completion

milestone

(network diagramming definition)

- an important stage of development

- indicated by a diamond box

Critical Path

> Longest duration path through the project network

> Determines the earliest the project can finish

> Delay of a task on the critical path will delay the entire project

> By definition, zero slack, or float on the critical path

Time-related task properties

Estimated:

- DUR = duration of task

Calculated:

- ES= Early start or the earliest a task can start

- EF = Early finish or the earliest a task can finish

- LS = Late start or the latest a task can start

- LF = Late finish or the latest a task can finish

- TF = Total Float

- FF = Free Float

Precedence table

Used to organize network diagram...

Three columns:

1. Activity

2. Predecessors

3. Duration

Determining critical path

The easiest way is to add the durations of each task in a path...

Longest duration pathway = Critical path = earliest possible finish time

Total Float

The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.

= LS - ES or LF - EF

PERT

Program Evaluation and Review Technique:

A PERT chart illustrates a project as a network diagram

The Project Schedule

defines the "when"

Schedule logic

How tasks fit together.

- finish to start

- start to start

- finish to finish

- start to finish

Finish to start (FS) relationship

A relationship in which the start of a successor activity depends on the completion of its predecessor activity. This is the default activity relationship.

Start to start (SS) relationship

A relationship between activities in which the start of a successor activity depends on the start of its predecessor.

Finish to finish (FF) relationship

A relationship in which the finish of a successor activity depends on the finish of its predecessor activity.

Start to finish (SF) relationship

A relationship between activities in which a successor activity cannot complete until its predecessor activity starts.

Auditing the schedule

Is it realistic?

- The Whole Is Equal to the Sum of Its Parts

- Assumptions Clearly Stated

- Can You and Your Team Deliver on Time?

- Did you consider other projects like this one?

- Did you allow contingency?

What follows drafting a schedule?

Align project resources and $$ with schedule (labor, travel, supplies, subs, etc)

Direct costs

Costs that can be specifically identified with a particular project or activity.

Cost or Resource 'Loading'

- the way which you add costs or resources to a project task.

- multiple distributions

Indirect costs (overhead)

costs that are not easily attributable to a specific area.

ex: utilities, rent, phone bill, insurance, advertising