Module 3: Project Planning

• Planning is covered in Module 3.

Planning Process Group

• These processes establish the project scope, refine objectives, and define the required course of action.
• A set of behaviors are encouraged through the application of basic tools and techniques for Schedule, Scope, and Budget baselines.
• Poor planning results in underestimation of the work, overestimation of staff, high stress, mismanaged tasks, and missed deadlines.

Knowledge Areas in Planning

• Integration Management develops the project management plan.
• Scope Management collects requirements, defines scope, and creates a WBS.
• Time Management defines activities, sequences activities, estimates activity resources and durations, and develops the schedule.
• Cost Management estimates costs and determines the budget.
• Quality Management involves quality planning.
• Human Resource Management develops the human resource plan.
• Communications Management involves communications planning.
• Risk Management plans risk management, identifies risks, performs qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, and plans risk responses.
• Procurement Management plans procurements.

Develop Project Management Plan

• The document describes how a project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed - PMBOK.
• Key integrative document uses other planning processes to create a consistent document for guiding execution and control
• The plan states how the project will be performed.
• The plan describes how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled.
• The Project Plan is scalable and can contain other management plans.
• Case Study: Shell Carmon Creek's Project Execution Plan has 5 gates:
• Gate 1: Opportunity Approval
• Gate 2: Bid Approval
• Gate 3: Project Planning
• Gate 4: Demobilization/Project Completion
• Gate 5: Project Closeout

Collect Requirements

• To Collect is to bring or gather together things typically scattered or widespread.
• Requirements are things that are needed or wanted.
• Investigate and ask what is desired to achieve project outcomes.

Define Scope

• Breaking down major project deliverables into manageable work packages.
• This is more detailed because more information is known.
• Stakeholder requirements are converted into detailed project requirements.
• Project constraints and assumptions are analyzed and updated.
• Critical for project success because it improves estimates, provides a performance baseline, and clarifies responsibility.

Create WBS

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work; deliverables identified by the project team.
• A WBS identifies all of the work’s pieces and logical structure; important milestones.
• The Work Package is the the work found at the lowest level of task breakdown for which cost/time is estimated and managed.
• The WBS Dictionary provides information for each component in the work breakdown structure.
• Tips:
  • Break down project logically (geographically, chronologically), by components.
  • Use nouns instead of verbs.
  • Ensure lowest level is the work package.
  • Include project management as a WBS element.
• Techniques for WBS Development include:
  • Brainstorming
  • Team meetings
  • WBS Templates
  • Reviewing Lessons Learned
  • Expert judgement

Define Activities

• Activities describe the work to be performed.
• Tasks describe what needs to be done.

Sequence Activities

• Ensure activities are sequenced logically.
• Consider what activities must precede others, and what can be done in parallel.
• Refer to work Breakdown Structure.

Estimate Activity Resources

• Identify and estimate necessary resources.
• Determine who is needed for the project, examples:
  • Engineers
  • Technologists
  • Accountants
  • Scheduler
  • Risk Management Specialist
  • Legal Team
• Use work packages from the WBS.

Estimate Activity Durations

• Estimate effort; consider how much time to complete specific activities or the number of hours.
• Estimate duration like above.
• Reference the Work Breakdown Structure.

Work Package

• Key pieces of information:
  • Effort, duration, issues, risks, constraints
  • Minimum level of WBS
  • Microsoft Excel/Project can be used
• List all tasks, who is responsible, create a schedule, and determine a budget.

Develop Schedule

• Project Schedule the output of a model with linked activities, dates, durations, milestones and resources - per PMBoK.
• Identify critical and due dates.
• The Critical Path is a sequence of activities representing the longest path; determines the shortest duration.

Critical Path Method

• Used to estimate the minimum project duration, with flexibility of logical network paths.
• A Predecessor is an activity completed before another activity starts.
• The Successor is the activity dependent on another activity's timing.
• A Network Diagram is a graphical representation of a project, which uses connected arrows and boxes to describe the inter-relationship.
• Follows 2 passes:
  • Forward Pass determines early dates and starts with no predecessor activity
  • Backward Pass considers late dates with no successor activity and assumes activity days are "full".
• Total Float represents the difference between the finish dates, or how late a task can occur without impacting the projects end date (slack).
• Free Float measures how prolonged an activity is without delaying the early start of it's successor activity.
• Free Float = ES (Early Start) of next activity - EF (Early Finish) of current activity

Estimate Costs

• Develop approximation of resource costs, and assess how much something may cost to complete.
• Includes estimates of all resources: labor, materials, equipment, and facilities.
• Is a quantitative assessment of the likely amount/outcome of a variable; project cost, resources, effort, or duration - as per PMBOK.

Resource Types

• People
• Tools
• Hardware
• Vehicles
• Training
• Expertise
• IT Services
• Software
• Cash
• Legal
• Facilities
• Patents
• Infrastructure
• Raw Materials
• Marketing
• Processes
• Buildings
• Supplies
• Specialists

Determining Resource Factors

• WBS and Work Packages
• Activity lists and project descriptions.
• Expert judgement from project managers.
• Historical Data and Software Tools for previous projections.
• Spreadsheets

Cost vs Price

• Cost: the amount it takes to complete a task.
• Price: the amount to charge for completing the task.

Estimate Cost Considerations

• Estimate how much it costs the performing organization to provide product or service.
• Determine how much each resource needed to complete the project costs.
• Business decision on how much to charge for the project.
• Consider the cost of labor, employee wages, building costs, and maintenance costs.

Cost-estimation Tools and Techniques

• Analogous Estimating
• Bottom-up Estimating
• Parametric Modelling
• Three Point Estimate
• Project Management Software

Analogous Estimating

• Top-down Estimating: choosing an overall project estimate, then apportioning it to individual tasks.
• This is a form of expert judgement.
• Based on the actual cost of a prior similar project.
• Considers how similar the project is and the experience level.
• Uses actuals of previous activities, advantageous due to low cost, but generally less accurate.
• Analogy - a comparison between things, typically for explanation or clarification.

Bottom-up Estimating

• Estimate costs for each activity.
• Impacted by of level of detail.
• Determine task level estimates and roll them up into an overall project estimate.

Parametric Modelling

• Mathematical model used as estimate basis.
• Considers data accuracy, model quantifiability, and model scalability.
• Determine example cost for unit and multiply by needed amount.

Project Management Software

• Cost estimating tools, spreadsheets, simulations, and analytical software.
• Examples include Procore and Xactimate.

Three Point Estimate

• Technique used by professionals, producing 3 figures required:
  • Optimistic (Best case)
  • Pessimistic (Worst case)
  • Most Likely based on prior experience and/or "best-guesses"
• Estimate uncertainty and risk through a standard average based on three scenarios.
• Optimistic (O) → based on best case scenario
• Pessimistic (P) → based on worst case scenario
• Most Likely (M)→ based on normal case scenario
• Equation:

E = O + P + M / 3

• Also used for duration estimates.

Levels of Estimates

• Order of Magnitude is high level made during initiation phase, without scope information. -25% to +75% from actual, relatively easy to do, a "50,000-foot view".
• Budget Estimate - early Estimate made during early planning, using analogy orparametric models. -10% to +25% from actual.
• Definitive Estimate is from detailed scope of the late planning phase, using prices. -5% to +10% from actual, very costly to use, must consider level of detail vs cost.

Determine Budget

• Aggregate estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish a baseline.
• Inputs: cost estimates, scope baseline, schedule, contract.
• Cost Baseline is time-phased, and measures and monitors cost performance.
• Depicts an "S Curve" which includes the cumulative costs by unit time; represents growth over time.