1 - 4 - Phase of Project Management
Project Basics
Project definition: Temporary endeavor to create unique product/service/result.
Temporary nature: ends when objectives met, cannot be met, or need no longer exists.
Unique deliverables distinguish a project from routine ops.
Strategic fit:
Projects organize activities beyond normal operational limits.
Vehicle for achieving org’s strategic plan, whether internal team or contracted provider.
Hierarchy of Work
Portfolio: Group of programs/sub-portfolios/operations managed together to achieve strategy.
Program: Coordinated group of related projects/sub-programs for benefits unattainable if managed separately.
Project: Plan & implement scope driven by program/portfolio objectives; direct route to strategy.
Operations: Ongoing, repetitive work per life-cycle standards.
Governance Structures
PMO (Project Management Office)
Standardizes governance, shares resources, methods, tools.
Manages methodologies, common risks/opportunities, metrics, inter-project dependencies.
Project Manager (PM)
Assigned by performing org to lead team toward objectives (scope, time, cost).
Controls assigned resources; manages constraints & changes.
Needs knowledge (technical, functional, industry regs), performance ability, personal leadership traits.
Project Characteristics
Occur at all org levels; single or many people; weeks to years.
Cross multiple units.
Iterative processes due to progressive elaboration.
Organizational Context
Project-Based orgs: Revenue from projects; “management by projects.”
Non-Project-Based: Ongoing production; may lack project systems.
Culture & Style: Established norms influence initiation & planning; essential in multi-org/geo projects.
Structures
Functional (hierarchical by specialty)
Projectized (teams co-located, PM high authority)
Matrix
Weak (PM ≈ coordinator)
Balanced (shared authority)
Strong (PM full authority, admin staff)
Comparative summary
PM authority: Functional < Weak < Balanced < Strong < Projectized.
Budget control: Functional manager→ mixed → PM in stronger forms.
Roles in Matrix
Functional managers: Responsible for establishing organizational policies and procedures within their specialized departments. They act as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for specific disciplines and provide discipline oversight, ensuring technical quality and adherence to standards. They are also involved in resource matrixing, assigning personnel from their functional areas to various projects.
Senior PMs: Focus on strategic project aspects, including setting key milestones, overseeing high-level project planning, ensuring safety protocols are integrated into project activities, and leading the overall program implementation. They also manage inter-project dependencies within a larger program.
Deployed staff: Engaged in detailed job planning for specific tasks and provide hands-on field oversight to ensure that work is executed according to plan and specifications. They are essential for on-site coordination and problem-solving.
Workers: Expected to follow established procedures and guidelines diligently. Crucially, they have the authority and responsibility to halt unsafe work if conditions or practices pose a risk to themselves or others, ensuring workplace safety.ts (OPAs) & Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)
Organizational Process Assets (OPA): Plans, processes, policies, procedures, templates, lessons learned, knowledge bases.
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF): External/internal factors beyond project team control; constrain/enable choices.
Project Governance & Life-Cycle
Governance gives structure, decisions, tools across life cycle.
Project Governance & Life-Cycle
Governance gives structure, decisions, tools across life cycle.
Life-Cycle Phases: Projects typically progress through distinct phases, each with specific objectives and deliverables:
Each phase typically ends with deliverables and a hand-off, allowing for review and potential termination of the project if objectives are not met or alignment changes.
Start (Initiating Group): This phase formally authorizes the project.
Key activities include defining the project's purpose, measurable objectives, and high-level requirements.
The Project Charter is created and approved, formally appointing the Project Manager and committing organizational resources.
Initial risks, milestones, budget, stakeholder influences, assumptions, and constraints are also identified.
Organize/Prepare (Planning Group):
During this phase, the Project Management Plan (PMP) and all its subsidiary plans are developed.
This involves defining selected processes, tools, the execution approach, and establishing baselines for scope, cost, schedule, and performance.
Planning is often iterative, with new information leading to re-planning efforts and feedback loops across phases.
Carry out work (Executing Group):
This is where the project plan is put into action.
It involves coordinating people and resources according to the PMP.
A large share of the project budget is typically consumed in this phase.
Key processes include acquiring, developing, and managing the project team, distributing information, managing stakeholder expectations, conducting procurements, and implementing approved changes.
Close (Closing Group):
This phase involves the formal termination of all project activities.
It includes verifying that all processes are completed, transferring the final product, service, or result to the relevant stakeholders, or formally closing project cancellations.
Closing also involves completing each contract (close procurements) and administrative closure procedures to capture activities, roles, and responsibilities
Phase Relationships
Sequential: Phases occur one after another; a phase must be completed before the next begins.
Overlapping (fast-track): A subsequent phase begins before the preceding phase is completed, often to compress the schedule, which can increase risk.
Iterative (rolling-wave planning): Project phases or planning activities are repeated with increasing levels of detail as more information becomes available and work progresses.
Process Groups & Integration
Process Groups & Integration
Five groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Contrilling, Closing.
Integration = aligning processes, anticipating issues, resource focus, trade-offs.
Initiating Group
Project Charter
Formally authorizes project, names PM, commits resources.
Contents: purpose, measurable objectives, high-level reqs, risks, milestones, budget, stakeholder influences, assumptions/constraints.
Inputs: SOW, contract, business case, EEFs, OPAs.
Tools: Selection methods (benefit vs mathematical), PMIS, expert judgment, decision matrix.
Preliminary Scope Statement
High-level definition: objectives, requirements, acceptance criteria, boundaries, constraints, assumptions, initial WBS, cost estimate, risks.
Planning Group
Outputs: Project Management Plan (PMP) + subsidiary plans.
Defines selected processes, tools, execution approach, change/config management, baselines (scope, cost, schedule, performance).
Iteration: New info
Major Subsidiary Plans & Registers
Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, HR, Communications, Procurement, Stakeholder, Risk, Safety, Env. protection, Radiation, Process Improvement, etc.
Executing Group
Coordinate people/resources per PMP.
Large share of budget consumed.
Team processes
Acquire, Develop, Manage Team (staff assignments, resource calendars, performance assessments).
Comms
Distribute info; manage stakeholder expectations.
Procurements
Conduct procurements
-> selected sellers, contracts.
Change Implementation: Approved corrective, preventive actions, defect repairs.
Monitoring & Control Group
Track, review, regulate progress; propose & execute changes.
Monitor & Control Project Work: Status, progress, forecasts; risk monitoring.
Integrated Change Control
Review/approve/deny changes; maintain baseline integrity; coordinate across scope-schedule-cost-quality-risk.
Only approved changes implemented; baseline changes forward-looking.
Specific Controls
Scope: Verify (accept deliverables) & Control (manage scope baseline).
Schedule: Control (update, manage deviations).
Cost: Control (update budget, manage deviations).
Risk: Monitor & Control Risks
-> track residual, identify new, evaluate effectiveness.
Outputs: Performance info, reports, forecasts, change requests, updates.
Closing Group
Formal termination of activities; verify processes; transfer product or close cancellations.
Close Project/Phase: Finalize all groups; outputs include final product/service/result transition.
Close Procurements: Complete each contract.
Administrative closure procedure captures activities, roles, responsibilities.
Five groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, Closing.
Create flashcard(s) from selection
Flashcard #1
Term: Project Management Process Groups
Definition: The five fundamental stages of project management: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing.Integration = aligning processes, anticipating issues, resource focus, trade-offs.
Initiating Group
Project Charter
Formally authorizes project, names PM, commits resources.
Contents: purpose, measurable objectives, high-level reqs, risks, milestones, budget, stakeholder influences, assumptions/constraints.
Inputs: SOW, contract, business case, EEFs, OPAs.
Tools: Selection methods (benefit vs mathematical), PMIS, expert judgment, decision matrix.
Preliminary Scope Statement
High-level definition: objectives, requirements, acceptance criteria, boundaries, constraints, assumptions, initial WBS, cost estimate, risks.
Planning Group
Outputs: Project Management Plan (PMP) + subsidiary plans.
Defines selected processes, tools, execution approach, change/config management, baselines (scope, cost, schedule, performance).
Iteration: New info → re-plan; feedback loops across phases.
Major Subsidiary Plans & Registers
Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, HR, Communications, Procurement, Stakeholder, Risk, Safety, Env. protection, Radiation, Process Improvement, etc.
Executing Group
Coordinate people/resources per PMP.
Large share of budget consumed.
Team processes
Acquire, Develop, Manage Team (staff assignments, resource calendars, performance assessments).
Comms
Distribute info; manage stakeholder expectations.
Procurements
Conduct procurements → selected sellers, contracts.
Change Implementation: Approved corrective, preventive actions, defect repairs.
Monitoring & Controlling Group
Track, review, regulate progress; propose & execute changes.
Monitor & Control Project Work: Status, progress, forecasts; risk monitoring.
Integrated Change Control
Review/approve/deny changes; maintain baseline integrity; coordinate across scope-schedule-cost-quality-risk.
Only approved changes implemented; baseline changes forward-looking.
Specific Controls
Scope: Verify (accept deliverables) & Control (manage scope baseline).
Schedule: Control (update, manage deviations).
Cost: Control (update budget, manage deviations).
Risk: Monitor & Control Risks → track residual, identify new, evaluate effectiveness.
Outputs: Performance info, reports, forecasts, change requests, updates.
Closing Group
Formal termination of activities; verify processes; transfer product or close cancellations.
Close Project/Phase: Finalize all groups; outputs include final product/service/result transition.
Close Procurements: Complete each contract.
Administrative closure procedure captures activities, roles, responsibilities.
Scope Management
Processes: Plan Scope → Collect Requirements → Define Scope → Create WBS → Validate Scope → Control Scope.
Plan Scope Management: rules for defining/controlling scope, maintaining WBS, acceptance processes.
Collect Requirements: Determine stakeholder needs; outputs
Requirements Documentation (unambiguous, traceable, complete, consistent, acceptable).
Requirements Traceability Matrix (links origin through life-cycle).
Define Scope: Produce detailed Project Scope Statement (product description, acceptance criteria, deliverables, exclusions, constraints, assumptions).
Create WBS: Decompose deliverables to work packages; rules
Decomposition till work can be reliably estimated (rolling wave for distant work).
Control account: integration point for scope-cost-schedule (earned value).
Outputs: WBS, WBS Dictionary (content, codes, org responsibility, milestones), Scope Baseline.
Validate Scope: Formal acceptance → Accepted Deliverables.
Control Scope: Manage baseline vs actual; avoid scope creep.
Inputs: Baseline, plans, requirements docs, work performance data, OPAs.
Variance analysis tool; outputs: performance measurements, change requests, updates.
Time (Schedule) Management
Processes
Plan Schedule Management: Policies & procedures.
Define Activities: Break work packages into activities; outputs Activity List, Attributes, Milestones.
Sequence Activities: Determine logical relations; outputs Network Diagrams.
Dependency types: Finish-to-Start (FS), Finish-to-Finish (FF), Start-to-Start (SS), Start-to-Finish (SF).
Mandatory, Discretionary (preferred), External, Internal.
Leads (accelerate) & Lags (delay).
Estimate Activity Resources: Type & quantity; outputs Resource Reqs, RBS, Calendars.
Estimate Activity Durations
Tools: Expert judgment, Analogous, Parametric
\text{Duration} = \frac{\text{Quantity of Work}}{\text{Labor\ Hours/Unit}}
Outputs: Duration Estimates (range, assumptions).
Develop Schedule
Inputs: durations, sequences, resources, constraints, assumptions.
Analysis tools: Critical Path Method, Critical Chain, Resource Leveling, What-If, Leads/Lags, Schedule Compression (Crashing \uparrow\text{cost} vs Fast-Tracking \uparrow\text{risk}), PM Software.
Outputs: Schedule Baseline, Project Schedule (bar charts, milestone charts, annotated network), Schedule Data.
Control Schedule
Monitor status, manage changes; tools: Performance Reviews, Variance Analysis, PM Software, Resource optimization, What-If, Leads/Lags, Compression.
Outputs: Work performance info, forecasts, change requests, updated baselines/docs, OPA updates.
Performance Metrics & Visualization
Metric = quantitative measure of system state; “What gets measured gets done.”
Graphs/charts/diagrams convey trends & issues faster than tables.
Performance/Progress Reviews detect variances; trigger corrective action.
Key Formulas & Concepts (samples)
Activity Duration (parametric): D = Q \times H where Q = quantity, H = labor hours/unit.
Schedule variance analyses compare \text{Planned Finish} - \text{Actual Finish}.
Earned Value at Control Account integrates \text{Scope}, \text{Cost}, \text{Schedule} baselines.
Ethical / Practical Implications
Safety: PM & line mgmt bear direct responsibility for safe performance; workers must stop unsafe work.
Quality: Validation distinct from verification; scope accepted only after meeting quality criteria.
Change Control: Timely decisions prevent cost/schedule impacts; maintain historical integrity (no retro changes).
Culture: Awareness of org norms & multi-cultural influences vital for stakeholder alignment.
Study Connections & Real-World Relevance
WBS underpins cost, schedule, quality planning—errors propagate downstream.
Matrix authority tensions common; PMs must negotiate resources & resolve conflicts.
Progressive elaboration mirrors agile/iterative methods where detail increases with knowledge.
Portfolio perspective ensures projects selected align with ROI & strategic goals.
Roles in Matrix
Functional managers: Responsible for establishing organizational policies and procedures within their specialized departments. They act as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for specific disciplines and provide discipline oversight, ensuring technical quality and adherence to standards. They are also involved in resource matrixing, assigning personnel from their functional areas to various projects.
Senior PMs: Focus on strategic project aspects, including setting key milestones, overseeing high-level project planning, ensuring safety protocols are integrated into project activities, and leading the overall program implementation. They also manage inter-project dependencies within a larger program.
Deployed staff: Engaged in detailed job planning for specific tasks and provide hands-on field oversight to ensure that work is executed according to plan and specifications. They are essential for on-site coordination and problem-solving.
Workers: Expected to follow established procedures and guidelines diligently. Crucially, they have the authority and responsibility to halt unsafe work if conditions or practices pose a risk to themselves or others, ensuring workplace safety.
/Start (Initiating Group): This phase formally authorizes the project.
Key activities include defining the project's purpose, measurable objectives, and high-level requirements.
The Project Charter is created and approved, formally appointing the Project Manager and committing organizational resources.
Initial risks, milestones, budget, stakeholder influences, assumptions, and constraints are also identified.
Organize/Prepare (Planning Group):
During this phase, the Project Management Plan (PMP) and all its subsidiary plans are developed.
This involves defining selected processes, tools, the execution approach, and establishing baselines for scope, cost, schedule, and performance.
Planning is often iterative, with new information leading to re-planning efforts and feedback loops across phases.
Carry out work (Executing Group):
This is where the project plan is put into action.
It involves coordinating people and resources according to the PMP.
A large share of the project budget is typically consumed in this phase.
Key processes include acquiring, developing, and managing the project team, distributing information, managing stakeholder expectations, conducting procurements, and implementing approved changes.
Close (Closing Group):
This phase involves the formal termination of all project activities.
It includes verifying that all processes are completed, transferring the final product, service, or result to the relevant stakeholders, or formally closing project cancellations.
Closing also involves completing each contract (close procurements) and administrative closure procedures to capture activities, roles, and responsibilities.