Project Management tips
Project Management tips
Why do you say that Project Management is the best method of implementing change?
Although change occurs continuously in the world and in our
daily lives it is rarely implemented that way in organisations but rather as a
series of steps; a ladder of change.
A new piece of legislation, market imperatives, management
initiatives and new technology create projects that need to be managed, often
across departmental or disciplinary lines. Project Management is a methodology
and a discipline which can bring significant benefits to organisations by:-
- Ensuring
limited resources are used on the right projects
- Harnessing
the energy of staff in achieving beneficial change
- Managing
complex changes in an organised way
- Assessing
risks, defining goals and key success areas and setting quality
objectives.
However, every organisation has finite resources and,
therefore, a limit to the number of projects it can initiate and control.
Pushing too many projects through a resource limited organisation causes
gridlock and stress. Managing the project portfolio efficiently is a
fundamental principle of good project management.
Because most projects involve new ideas and learning (even
a project to build houses or flats may involve new materials or unusual soil
conditions or there may be new initiative for tenant selection or co-ownership
schemes) project management has evolved a discipline to manage the new and
unusual. Its objective is to:
o define the project
o reduce it to a set of manageable tasks
o obtain appropriate and necessary resources
o build a team or teams to perform the project work
o plan the work and allocate the resources to the tasks
o monitor and control the work
o report progress to senior management and/or the project sponsor
o close down the project when completed
o review it to ensure the lessons are learnt and widely understood.
It is this structured approach that makes project
management the best method for change management.
A project is generally defined as a programme of work to
bring about a beneficial change and which has:-
o a start and an end
o a multi-disciplinary team brought together for the project
o constraints of cost, time and quality
o a scope of work that is unique and involves uncertainty
Examples of a project:-
The development and introduction
of a new services
The development of a management
information system
The introduction of an
improvement to an existing process
Setting up a new care
initiative
The creation of a large tender
or the preparation of a response to it.
The production of a new
customer newsletter, catalogue or Web site
How is a project different to any other work?
A continuous process is not a project. The development of a
new rent or lettings policy is a project but the subsequent day to day
operation of that policy is a continuous process that is usually managed by an
individual or a department.
Is Project Management
relevant to me?
If you have been given a specific job to complete then you
should consider using the principles of project management if it has the following
features:-
A defined goal
Time, cost and quality (or
functionality) constraints
Requires expertise and support
from other functions
Involves a unique (to you or
the organisation) scope of work
Using a project team approach will help you to achieve the
beneficial gain in a structured, controlled and cost effective way.
How is project management related to
other initiatives?
Total Quality Management (TQM)
The introduction of TQM aims to encourage ‘divine
discontent’ in staff and to give them the tools to achieve continuous
improvements in the way they work. Improvement projects use the principles of
project management especially where the improvements are cross functional ones.
TQM looks critically at the operational side of the
business using a project management methodology to implement the improvements.
Performance Management
Performance management brings together all the best
practice for managing staff to achieve their full potential. Effective project
leaders use all the principles of performance management to motivate the team
but do not have the authority of a line manager.
Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR)
BPR focuses on optimising the processes in an organisation
and, if necessary, redesigning them to meet the customer’s needs. In a major
survey on BPR by the Harvard Business School Review the second most significant
factor in the recent failure of BPR initiatives was the lack of Project
Management expertise and culture. The first was the failure to analyse and
understand the process requirements. The research and the implementation should
be managed as a project.
What is the Project
Management Methodology?
If a project has a beginning and an end, what is its life
cycle and how is it managed?
To be effective and workable project methodologies should
be appropriate to the task and the organisation.
For simple projects in a small organisation, agreed
milestones, a few checklists and someone to steer the project are all that are
required.
For complex projects in a large organisation a more structured
approach is needed, to set up and approve the project, monitor and guides its
progress, solve its problems, deliver the end product (or gain) and close it
down.
In order to understand the methodology we need to look at
the project life cycle. The detailed life cycle will be dependent upon the size
and type of organisation and the size and type of the project. However, in
outline they all have very similar elements.
The Project Life Cycle
A typical methodology would involve a number of stages and
activities which occur at different parts of the life cycle.
- The
preparation stage involves the project manager and sponsor in the
preparation and approval of an outline project justification, plan and
project budget.
N.B. There is no reason why a project sponsor should not also be the project manager. A senior manager who has a strong business reason to drive the project will have the organisational authority and "clout" with other senior managers and will often make an excellent project manager.
- The start
up stage involves the selection and briefing of the project team and some
discussion on the roles and organisation.
- The
Feasibility or Research stage will establish whether the project is
feasible and establish the risks and key success measures. Unless the
organisation undertakes research or new product development, feasibility
often means ‘can this process or technology be cost effectively applied to
the organisation or department’, rather than is it generally feasible. It
may include the identification of external resources such as specialist
consultants or product and service providers who may wish to tender goods,
software or services for the project.
The work will be undertaken by the team (which may include external consultants) and co-ordinated by the project manager. This team should consist of the key users or main beneficiaries of the beneficial change the project is delivering (hence the term ‘project deliverables’ or ‘products’. They may be line managers, supervisors or staff with particular skills. They must be the best people available and never those ‘who can be spared’ because they have difficult or awkward personalities. The object is to build a team that is better than the sum of the individuals.
N.B. it is often the difficult people who consider and manage the detail. Their expertise and diligence should not be ignored but they are usually happier working in a solitary way or with like minded individuals. - Defining
and planning the project in more detail by writing and publishing a full
definition of the project and determining a project plan. This work is
undertaken by the team and co-ordinated by the project manager. Both
should be communicated widely to ensure maximum understanding of the
project’s objectives by all staff who will be affected by the project. Now
is the time to ensure their input to minimise surprises at a later stage.
- The
implementation stage involves the execution of the project as agreed,
whilst carefully monitoring progress and managing changes. The team may
need to be expanded at this stage to resource all the tasks. If so, it is
essential they are fully briefed and feel ‘included’ as part of the team.
When project management is not an integrated part of an organisation’s culture it is a very good idea to undertake some team building events that allow the team to work together in a competitive but non-threatening environment. As people get used to forming and dissolving teams the need for and style of such team building events will be decided by the team. - The close
down stage involves the satisfactory delivery (satisfactory to the project
‘customer’ that is) of the products or services that achieve the
beneficial gain. A project review should be held to learn the lessons.
These should be formally documented and published ‘warts and all’.
I have attended seminars in which very senior managers have disclosed the best and worst features of their most critical projects. They are always received with respect because people like to learn from the experience of others and bad experience is often more informative than good. The popularity of such books as ‘The Real Thing’, the story of Coca Cola’s disastrous introduction of New Coke is a testament to this fact. Indeed, that book did much to restore faith in the company and the executives who listened to their customers and were honest about their mistakes. Mistakes are not failures, they are how we learn. Ignoring or denying mistakes is how we fail.
Doesn’t Project
Management stifle creativity?
No - in fact a well managed project will encourage cross
functional creativity because that is what is needed in ‘change projects’. An
experienced project manager will know when to tap into this creativity and when
to drive the project forward. It is only when project methodologies become
bureaucratic and override common sense that creativity can be stifled.
So what does a Project Manager do?
Typically a project manager will be nominated to lead a
project and will be expected to be fully accountable for meeting its
objectives. The project manager will be the leader of the project team and will
be responsible for ensuring the following are completed in a timely way:-
- Gaining
approval for the project aim and terms of reference
- Selecting
and leading the team and setting individual objectives
- Ensuring a
feasibility study is complete
- Ensuring
that the project is planned in appropriate detail
- Allocating
and monitoring the work and cost
- Motivating
the team
- Reporting
progress back to the organisation
- Helping
the team to solve project problems
- Achieve, through
the team, the goals
- Reviewing
and closing down
What skills does a
project manager need?
Very broad skills and a deal of experience are needed to
manage a large project successfully. They include business knowledge, technical
skills and individual and team leadership skills.
Individual Skills
The personal skills are likely to include good presentation
and persuasive skills, good written skills but allied to goal orientation, high
energy and credibility.
N.B. Having high energy does
not mean you play squash five times a week but that you have the intellectual
energy and commitment to deliver the project with a positive ‘we can do it’
team approach. Good project managers know their own strengths and weaknesses
and will compensate for these in selecting the team.
Team Skills
They will appreciate the differing needs of both
individuals and the project team at different stages of the project. They will
be aware of different team types.
Technical Skills
They will have technical skills in setting objectives,
planning complex tasks, negotiating resource, financial planning, contract
management, monitoring skills, managing creative thinking and problem solving,
as well as their own specialist topic.
What tools and techniques are used?
Project managers use a number of tools and techniques
during a project life cycle such as:-
Verifiable objective setting
This ensures that the objectives for the project can be
measured and verified to ensure that they have been met.
Brain storming
This technique is used at all stages of the project to
encourage creative thinking and solve problems
Work Breakdown Structures
This is a technique to analyse the content of work and cost
by breaking it down into its component parts. It is produced by :-
- Identifying
the key elements
- Breaking
each element down into component parts
- Continuing
to breakdown until manageable work packages have been identified. These
can then be allocated to the appropriate person.
Below is a work breakdown structure for the recruitment of
a new person to fill a vacant post.
Project Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)
Network analysis or PERT is used to analyse the
inter-relationships between the tasks identified by the work breakdown
structure and to define the dependencies of each task. Whilst laying out a PERT
chart it is often possible to see that assumptions for the order of work are
not logical or could be achieved more cost effectively by re-ordering them.
This is particularly true whilst allocating resources; it may become self
evident that two tasks cannot be completed at the same time by the same person
due to lack of working hours or, conversely, that by adding an extra person to
the project team several tasks can be done in parallel thus shortening the
length of the project.
Below is the PERT chart of the WBS shown
above after network analysis as been applied.
Critical path analysis (CPA)
CPA is used in conjunction with PERT analysis to identify
the tasks that are critical in determining the overall duration of the project.
In the example above the critical path is shown by the tasks with heavy outline
boxes.
Milestone planning is used to show the major steps that are
needed to reach the goal on time. When several tasks have been completed the
milestone is reached. It is often used at senior manager reviews.
What are Milestones? Why are they called Milestones?
Imagine you are walking along the road and you see a milestone that says 20
miles to
- Planning
permission granted
- Foundations
laid
- Walls
constructed
- Roof built
- Fixtures,
fittings and services completed
- Garden
landscaped
- House
inspected and approved
- House sold
For simple projects, a milestone plan may
be the only plan required.
Accrued cost and earned value analysis
These measures enable the progress of the project to be
monitored in financial terms.
Gantt charts
Gantt charts (named after the inventor) or bar charts, as
they are sometimes called, are used to display and communicate the results of
PERT and Critical Path analysis in a simple bar chart format that can be
readily understood by those not involved in the detail of the project.
The PERT chart above is now displayed as a
Gantt chart below .
Who else would be
involved and what would they do?
A number of people may be involved depending on the size of
the project. They fall into a number of groups.
The Project Sponsor
The project sponsor should be a senior person in the
organisation who has the most to gain from the project’s success and the most
to lose if it fails.
The Steering Team
The steering team may only be one person on a small project
(perhaps the project sponsor) who meets informally with the project manager. On
a large project a formal cross functional senior team will be set up to meet
regularly to review progress and provide strategic guidance.
Functional or line managers
The line manager of each team member will want to be kept
informed about the progress of the project and be involved in setting of
individual objectives.
The project customer
The project ‘customer’ should either be a member of the
steering team or represented on that team.
What are the main roles and responsibilities?
There are three key roles in the management of projects
whether they are service development projects, organisational change projects,
TQM projects, or facilities projects.
Top Management
Setting the conditions and culture such that the business
can select and implement appropriate projects to support the business.
Middle management
Ensuring that all projects are selected, allocated, steered
and closed down satisfactorily. Ensure that projects that are not approved are
not worked on.
Operational staff
To use the tools and techniques to manage projects
effectively.
What about running more
than one project at a time?
If an organisation is considering managing a portfolio of
projects it needs to consider 5 key areas:-
Commitment of the senior
management team to the effective use of project management and its acceptance
by staff.
People in the organisation who
have been trained in the principles and practice of project management are
required.
Systems that provide the
information needed by senior management to manage the portfolio of projects.
A methodology that is clearly
understood by everyone and which every project will follow.
An organisational structure to
select the projects that support the strategy, guide them, prioritise them and
close them down.
Is there a hierarchy of
project managers in project management?
Yes - dependent on the size of the project and the number
of projects in the portfolio, an organisation may require several people to
lead different projects or significant stages of a major project. There are
generally 3 management levels but the title ‘senior’ may be added to
differentiate between experienced (or full time) project managers and those who
have less experience or are part time project managers.
Programme Manager (sometimes
known as a Change Manager)
The Programme Manager is responsible to the Senior
Management for the portfolio of projects under his control. The role is a
strategic one. He or she will have command of Project Managers and Project
Leaders who report for individual projects. The Programme Manager is
responsible for ensuring that the portfolio of projects deliver the beneficial
business gain intended.
Project Manager
A Project Manager is experienced in the skills and
disciplines of project management, may manage more than one project at a time
and may have Project Leaders as directly reporting staff.
Project Leader
A project leader usually manages a project stage or a small
project where his or her particular skills or expertise are a large part of the
work. A Project Leader may report to a Project Manager or to the Programme
Manager.
As with most other things in life, good preparation is
essential to success. In practice this requires that you spend time discussing
agreeing and then approving:-
- The
overall aim of the project and the benefit of doing it
- The scope
(or terms of reference) of the project
- The key
objectives project
- The
specific deliverables
- The
resources available to the project
- Roles and
responsibilities within the project
Often it is not possible to define the overall requirements
until some feasibility work has been done, in which case a short feasibility
study may be required. Once feasibility has been established and approved then
the work may be planned in the appropriate detail. This process of planning
will help the team to understand its mission better and resolve outstanding
research questions. The next stage is to implement the plans and monitor
progress continuously until the goal is achieved. The final stage is to close
down and review the project so that the lessons learnt are passed on to the
next projec
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