(PM Q3) Module 1

Introduction to Project Management

Project

is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Major goal of a project

is to satisfy a customer’s need

Characteristics of a Project

1. An established objective.

2. A defined lifespan with a beginning and an end.

3. Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals.

4. Typically, doing something that has never been done before.

5. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.

Ordinary daily work

typically requires doing the same or similar work over and over while a project is done only once

program

is a group of related projects designed to accomplish a common goal over an extended period of time.

Each project within a program has a project manager. The major differences lie in scale and time span

The Project Life Cycle

projects have a limited lifespan and that there are predictable changes in level of effort and focus over the life of the project

Generic Project Life Cycle

Defining

Planning

Executing

Closing

Defining

Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are established; teams are formed; major responsibilities are assigned

Goals

Specifications

Tasks

Responsibilities

Planning

The level of effort increases, and plans are developed to determine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, what quality level should be maintained, and what the budget will be

Schedules

Budgets

Resources

Risks

Staffing

Executing

A major portion of the project work takes place— both physical and mental. The physical product is produced (e.g., a bridge, a report, a software program). Time, cost, and specification measures are used for control.

Status Reports

Changes

Quality

Forecasts

Closing

includes three activities: delivering the project product to the customer, redeploying project resources, and conducting a post-project review

Train customer

Transfer documents

Release resources

Evaluation

Lesson lerned

Program Management

A process of managing a group of ongoing, interdependent, related projects in a coordinated way to achieve strategic objectives

The Project Manager

Manages temporary, non-repetitive activities and frequently acts

independently of the formal organization.

• Marshals resources for the project.

• Is the direct link to the customer.

• Works with a diverse troupe of characters.

• Provides direction, coordination, and integration to the project team.

• Is responsible for performance and success of the project.

• Must induce the right people at the right time to address the right

issues and make the right decisions

Factors leading to the increased use of project management

• Compression of the product life cycle

• Knowledge explosion

• Triple bottom line (planet, people, profit)

• Increased customer focus

• Small projects represent big problems

Agile Project Management (Agile PM)

• Is a methodology emerged out of frustration with using traditional project management processes to develop software.

• Is now being used across industries to manage projects with high levels of uncertainty.

• Employs an incremental, iterative process sometimes referred to as a ‘rolling wave’ approach to complete projects.

• Focuses on active collaboration between the project and customer representatives, breaking projects into small functional pieces, and adapting to changing requirements.

• Is often used up front in the defining phase to establish specifications and requirements, and then traditional methods are used to plan, execute, and close the project.

• Works best in small teams of four to eight members

Rolling Wave Development

• Iterations typically last from one to four weeks.

• The goal of each iteration is to make tangible progress such as define a key requirement, solve a technical problem, or create desired features to demonstrate to the customer.

• At the end of each iteration, progress is reviewed, adjustments are made, and a different iterative cycle begins.

• Each new iteration subsumes the work of the previous iterations until the project is completed and the customer is satisfied

The Technical Dimension (The “Science”)

• Consists of the formal, disciplined, purely logical parts of the process.

• Includes planning, scheduling, and controlling projects.

The Sociocultural Dimension (The “Art”)

• Involves the contradictory and paradoxical world of implementation.

• Centers on creating a temporary social system within a larger organizational environment that combines the talents of a divergent set of professionals working to complete the project