Project Management Fundamentals

Project Management Fundamentals

• Process: A series of actions to achieve a particular end.
• Project: A set of interrelated activities to achieve a common goal over a specified time.
• Project Management: Planning, scheduling & orchestrating project activities to achieve objectives.
• Team: A group of people with complementary skills working towards a common goal.
• Self-Directed Work Team: Teams meeting daily to complete a whole work process (e.g., steel mill).
• Virtual Team: Geographically dispersed individuals working together on specific tasks (e.g., global consultants).
• Project Team: A team assembled to address a specific problem and then disbands (e.g., medical unit leaders).
• Project Characteristics: Complex, one-time processes with budget, schedule and resource limitations, customer-focused.
• Project Definition: A temporary endeavor to create a unique product, service or result.
• Modern Management Functions (Project Management): Planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling.
• PMP Certification: The highest standard of professional qualification for a project manager.
• PMI: The world's largest professional project management association.
• PMBOK Guide: PMI's flagship publication, a fundamental resource for project management.
• PMP Certification Requirements: Passing a comprehensive exam testing knowledge of PMBOK components.
• Functional Managers (Project Role): Provide specialized resources & support to project teams.
• Project Development Stages: Concept/design, prototyping, testing/validation, final delivery.
• Matrix Organizational Structure (Project): Team members report to both project & functional managers.
• Project Manager Responsibilities: Leading the project team and overseeing project execution.
• Project Manager Designation: Project manager.

Project Initiation & Scope

• Project Initiation Phase (First Step): Determining the real problem.
• Project Phases: Conceptualization, Planning, Execution, Termination.
• Progress Reporting: Define communication and reporting systems.
• Execution Phase Activity: Monitor progress regarding schedule, budget & risks.
• Project Termination Phase: Closure, identifying the next step.
• WBS: Work Breakdown Structure
• Project Planning: Identify stakeholders, define objectives, make rough cost/time/skill estimates.
• Project Selection Factors Beyond NPV: Organizational goals, strategy, industry specifics.
• Simplified Scoring Model Limitation: Lack of accuracy.
• Project Scope Definition: Identify stakeholders and needs.
• Project Objectives Definition (Step 4): Define Objectives.
• Project Objectives Process (Step 2): Brainstorm Alternatives.

Project Scope, Objectives, & Stakeholders

• Project Scope & Objectives Anticipation: Trade-offs.
• Project Scope & Objectives Definition Step 1: Define the problem.
• Problem Solving Questions: Questions that uncover practical and business issues the project will tackle.
• Importance of Defined Objectives: Guiding the project towards problem-solving, reflecting stakeholder needs.
• Probing Questions (New System): Uncover underlying problems, ensuring solutions meet fundamental concerns.
• Symptoms (New System): Difficulty accessing/retrieving data, complex process to update records.
• Project Sponsor: The individual authorizing the project.
• Project Stakeholder: Anyone with an interest in the project outcome.
• Project Manager Role (Stakeholder): Integrating stakeholder expectations into coherent project objectives.
• Importance of Stakeholder Needs: Understanding what success means to each stakeholder, integrating their expectations into project objectives.
• Stakeholder Success Definitions: Differ due to varying interests and priorities.
• Project Sponsor Responsibilities: Authorizing the project, championing it, supporting senior management, defining scope of work, providing necessary resources, approving final deliverables, communicating project progress.
• Project Objectives Definition: Project specific goals, guiding the project, reflecting stakeholder needs.

Project Time, Cost, & Resources

• Time-Bound Objectives: Achieved within a specific timeframe (e.g. timely project completion)
• Realistic Objectives: Achievable given constraints (e.g. time and resources)
• Measurable Objectives: Gauged using quantitative or qualitative assessments.
• Specific Objectives: Clearly define the details of the objective.
• SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound.
• Project Iron Triangle: Quality, Time, and Cost.
• Quality: Features that make the product suitable for its intended purpose.
• Time: The duration needed to complete the project’s deliverables.
• Cost: The expenditure of money, people, and resources necessary for project completion.
• Project Scope Definition (Team): What the team realistically can achieve.
• Customer Perception of Quality (Features): Quality is sometimes seen to be linked to the number and complexity of features in a product.
• Scope & Quality (Interchangeable): Customers perceive items in terms of qualities or deliverables.
• Identifying Trade-Offs (Key Steps): Understand stakeholder conflicts, master communication skills, strategically manage scope.
• Scope Creep: Expanding project goals while in progress.
• Avoiding Scope Creep: Resisting pressure to solve everyone's problems; prioritising project goals over others.

Project Scheduling

• Project Scheduling with Deliverables: Use deliverables as a basis for creating realistic milestone dates.
• Project Scheduling First Step: List project tasks using Work Breakdown Structure or a similar framework.
• Project Scheduling Systems: Control and communication systems for updating & revising.
• Scheduling Flexibility: Room for problems.
• Time Segment Recording: Record all time segments in consistent increments (e.g., days, weeks).
• Schedule & Resource Allocation: Develop schedules according to logical possibilities, allocating resources later.
• Scheduling Deadlines: Be aware of rigid vs. flexible deadlines, allowing flexibility where possible.
• Project Scheduling Tools: Bar charts, flow charts, PERT charts.
• Bar Charts (Gantt Charts): Listing project tasks, showing task sequences, and indicating task start/end times.
• Bar Chart Blocks: Indicating task start and end times, based on task relationships.
• Bar Chart in Project Management: Visual representation of project schedule.
• Bar Chart Components: Task names, start & end dates, task duration, task dependency.
• Critical Path: Longest task sequence, determining project completion time.
• Critical Path Benefit (Resource Allocations): Efficient resource allocation by focusing on activities on the critical path.

Project Costs & Budgeting

• Contingency Funds: Budget allocations for unplanned expenses.
• Budget Estimates: Best guesses, estimates may deviate from actual costs.
• Contingency Fund Percentage: Commonly suggested 5% of the estimated project budget.
• Contingency Fund Importance: Flexibility for unforeseen expenses.
• Project Budget Adjustment Reasons: Changing circumstances.
• Typical Cost Categories: Personnel, Travel, Training.
• Personnel Budget Considerations: Full-time, temporary workers (often largest part).
• Travel Budgeting: Whether team members are on-site or require travel; location impacts meals, lodging; if any travel is required.
• Training Budgeting: Location (in-house vs. external), if hiring external training staff, fees and expenses are to be considered.
• Professional Service Budgeting: Costs of market research, consultants, legal advice.
• Capital Expenditure Budgeting: Equipment, technical upgrades that may need to be paid for.
• Relocation Budgeting: Cost if relocating team members.
• Equipment/Supply Budgeting: Costs for physical supplies.
• Research Budgeting: Options for data collection: purchase existing data or perform in-house research.
• Overlooked Costs: Training costs, ongoing maintenance costs, insurance, licensing fees, consulting with external parties.

Project Management Overview

• Project Charter: Concise written document outlining project mission, roles, scope, objectives, relationship with organizational goals, estimated timeframe, milestones, resources, constraints, assumptions, quality requirements, and major risks.
• Project Charter Benefit: Ensuring your project aligns with greater organizational goals.
• Project Charter Issues: Scope creep.
• Project Charter Project Relationship: Aligning a project with strategic organizational goals.
• Project Success Measurement: Project completion within budget.