Unit 6.2: Project Planning, Personas, and Process Mapping

In this lesson, students will learn how to utilize a mind map to generate and organize ideas for a specific project.
Students will learn how to apply personas to gain an understanding of what various people expect and want from a project.
Students will learn how to employ process diagrams to comprehend how a project can benefit a business.

The planning stage of the project life cycle is frequently referred to as the 'discovery' phase.
The discovery phase is a critical component of a project, as all subsequent phases depend on its outcomes.
The primary purpose of discovery is to understand precisely what the project needs to achieve.
Overlooking details in this stage makes it significantly harder to achieve the project's ultimate goals.
The project team performs research to better understand:
- Project Goals and Objectives: Project goals must be subdivided into objectives. An objective is defined as something that can be measured, allowing the team to determine when it has been successfully achieved. Meeting all objectives results in the achievement of the overall goal.
- Requirements: These are the specific instructions provided to the solution development team.
- Users or Audience: Understanding the users or audience of the project's product or service ensures that the final result works effectively for them.

At the start of a project, understanding of the delivery requirements may be unclear. Mind maps are used to create and record ideas for research and action items.
High-level features of mind maps:
- Can be created individually or as a team.
- Can be produced using digital applications, drawing tools in word processors/presentation software, or on paper.
Construction of a mind map:
- Centre: Write down the central idea or problem.
- Branch: Add related ideas extending from the centre.
- Twig: Add new ideas that relate to an existing idea in a branch.
Example Case Study: The Cake Factory (Mind Map Branches)
- Project Title: The Cake Factory.
- Products Branch: Leads to 'Biscuits' (which includes 'Chocolate cookies' and 'Ma'amoul cookies') and 'Cakes' (which includes 'Birthday cakes', 'Festival cakes', and 'Everyday cakes').
- 00.Sales Branch: Leads to 'Online' (via 'Website') and 'Supermarkets'.
- Marketing Branch: Leads to 'Advertising'.

Most IT projects deliver a product or service intended for "business as usual" use in the future, used either by people inside the organization (internal systems) or customers (external products).
It is vital for everyone in the project to understand who the users are and what is important to them, as different stakeholders have varying needs and expectations.
Case Study Example: Designing a New Washing Machine Model
- Solution Developer: Focused on technology; wants built-in Wi-Fi and integration with the "Internet of Things."
- Project Sponsor: Focused on business constraints; wants the model launched in $3$ months with costs kept as low as possible.
- Customer: Focused on utility and values; wants to use less water to save money and protect the environment.
- Impact of Neglect: If the team only listened to the solution developer, the product might have unnecessary features, and the cost might exceed the sponsor's budget.

A persona is a tool used by project teams to record and share their understanding of users.
A persona is an imaginary person created based on known facts about actual users and customers.
Personas are used throughout every stage of the project to plan the product or service.
Customer Persona Case Study: Mrs Khan (Birthday Cakes)
- Name: Mrs Khan.
- Job: Account manager at The International Bank.
- Family: Married, with $2$ children.
- Personality and Behaviour: Outgoing, friendly, and kind, but often rushed because she is very busy.
- Motivators (Why buy?): She loves to treat her children on their birthdays and lacks the time to bake a cake herself.
- Barriers (Why NOT buy?): Concerns about expensive pricing, concerns about late delivery, or the alternative option of asking her mother to bake the cake instead.

Projects often involve developing or improving specific processes, such as online sales.
Business Process Model: A diagram similar to a flowchart that uses symbols to display activities and decisions.
Cross-functional Diagrams: A specific type of model that shows how different people/teams work together.
Swimlanes: The sections in a cross-functional diagram where each user or role has their own lane showing the specific tasks they perform.
Standard Symbols:
- Box: Represents an activity with a short description.
- Diamond: Represents a decision point (e.g., 'Yes' or 'No').
Example: The Cake Factory Ordering, Production, and Delivery Process
- Roles Identified: Customer, Bakery team, Custom icing team, and Despatch team.
- Process Flow:
  1. Customer: Starts the process, browses the website, chooses a cake, and pays.
  2. Bakery team: Receives the order and bakes the cake.
  3. Decision: Is it a custom order?
  4. Custom icing team (If Yes): Adds the custom icing design to the cake.
  5. Despatch team: Packs the cake and sends it via parcel courier.
  6. Customer: Receives the cake (End of process).

Activity 1: Looking at the cross-functional diagram for The Cake Factory, what are the four roles? (Answer: Customer, Bakery team, Custom icing team, Despatch team).
Activity 2: Create a cross-functional diagram for buying lunch in a school canteen, labeling three swimlanes and joining tasks with arrows.
Extra Challenge: Review Mrs Khan's persona. Name three things The Cake Factory can do to help her decide to order a custom cake (e.g., offer guaranteed fast delivery, provide a competitive price/discount, or highlight the professional quality).
Test Questions:
1. What is a persona? (Answer: An imaginary person based on known facts about users used to plan products).
2. Explain how a mind map can help you write down ideas. (Answer: It allows for recording and branching ideas and sub-ideas/twigs around a central problem).
3. Which of these is a valid project objective?
  - Choice 1: "I want my customers to be happy."
  - Choice 2: "I want to improve customer satisfaction by $25\%$ in $3$ months."
  - Choice 3: "I think we should be measuring how happy our customers are."
  - Correct Answer: The second choice, as it is measurable and time-bound.
4. What is the main difference between a flowchart and a cross-functional diagram? (Answer: A cross-functional diagram uses swimlanes to show which specific individuals or teams perform which activities).