Project Management Fundamentals

• Project management involves initiating, planning, monitoring and controlling, executing, and closing a project.
• Projects are necessary to achieve strategic goals, foster innovation and development, and improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• KOM (Kickoff Meeting): Ensures everyone understands the material and is on the same page before money is spent.
• FM (Final Meeting) marks the end of the project.
• The five stages of project management are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing.

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

• PMBOK is a guide with terms, best practices, strategies, and procedures, standardized by The International Organization for Standardization.

Project Integration Management

• Focuses on the smooth integration of all project elements by coordinating tasks, resources, stakeholders, and changes
• Key processes include:
  • Developing a project charter and a project management plan.
  • Directing and managing project work.
  • Monitoring and controlling project work.
  • Performing integrated change control.
  • Closing the project or phase.
• Goals: Ensure all parts of the project align and work as one cohesive system.
• A project roadmap is a high-level visual overview that outlines key goals, major milestones, and timelines; keeps stakeholders informed.
• What to include in a project roadmap:
  • Project goals and objectives
  • Project risks
  • Project timeline with key milestones and deliverables
  • Task dependencies, often using a Gantt Chart
  • Project resources: people, equipment, materials, etc.
  • Key individuals and stakeholders, including their roles and how to reach them
  • A kickoff meeting to ensure clear expectations
  • Defined roles and responsibilities

Project Charter

• A short document that formally authorizes a project, outlining its purpose, objectives, scope, key stakeholders, timeline, and budget, and giving the project manager authority to start the work
• Should be approved by all key stakeholders to ensure alignment
• Includes:
  • Project overview: Brief introduction to the project, including its purpose, scope, and objectives.
  • Project scope: Outlines the boundaries of the project, including what is included and excluded from the project.
  • Stakeholder identification: Identifies the key stakeholders of the project, including their roles and responsibilities.
  • Project timelines: Includes the start and end dates, milestones, and deadlines.
  • Resource allocation: Outlines the resources required for the project, including personnel, equipment, and budget.
  • Risks and assumptions: Identifies the risks and assumptions associated with the project, and outlines a plan for addressing them.
  • Project management approach: Outlines the approach that will be used to manage the project, including the Project Management methodology and tools that will be used.

Project Scope Management

• Defines what is included and excluded in the project.
• Prevents scope creep (uncontrolled expansion of scope).
• Key processes include:
  • Plan Scope Management
  • Collect Requirements
  • Define Scope
  • Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• A hierarchical breakdown of a project into smaller, manageable parts.
• Helps organize project scope
• Each level represents a more detailed view of the work
• The final level (work packages) is where tasks are assigned and executed

Importance of Work Breakdown Structure

• Improves clarity, accountability, and resource allocation.
• Makes cost and time estimation easier.
• It is important to validate and control scope: to ensure the project delivers exactly what was agreed upon, no more, no less.

Project Schedule Management

• Deals with planning, estimating, and controlling project timelines
• Ensures all work is completed on time and who is responsible for what
• Key processes include:
  • Plan Schedule Management
• Includes Dependencies: relationships between tasks where one task relies on another to start or finish.
• Common types of dependencies:
  • Finish-to-Start (FS): Task B can't start until Task A finishes.
  • Start-to-Start (SS): Task B can't start until Task A starts.
  • Finish-to-Finish (FF): Task B can't finish until Task A finishes.
  • Start-to-Finish (SF): Task B can't finish until Task A starts (rare).
• Dependencies matter because they help create realistic schedules, prevent delays and conflicts, and are essential for critical path analysis.
• Develop Schedule (Gantt/PERT/critical path)

Gantt Chart

• A visual project management tool showing tasks and their timelines on a horizontal bar chart.
• Usefulness:
  • Plan and schedule tasks clearly
  • Track progress and deadlines easily
  • Identify task dependencies
  • Identify bottlenecks early on for good prevention

PERT Chart

• A flowchart-style diagram showing the tasks, timelines, and order needed to complete a project.
• Used to analyze and visualize the sequence of tasks, their time estimates, and dependencies.
• Goal: Create a realistic timeline and manage any delays efficiently.

Project Cost Management

• Involves budgeting/planning, estimating, and controlling costs to keep the project within budget.
• Helps track actual vs. planned expenses.
• Key processes:
  • Plan Cost Management
  • Estimate Costs
  • Determine Budget
  • Control Costs
• Goal: Ensure the project is completed within approved financial limits.

Online Management Tools

• Web-based systems that help teams collaborate, track progress, and manage projects more efficiently from anywhere (e.g., Monday.com, Trello).
• Advantages:
  • Real-Time Collaboration:
    • Team members can work together from anywhere
    • Instant updates and shared progress tracking
  • Centralized Information: All tasks, files, messages, and deadlines in one place, eliminating scattered emails or docs.
  • Transparency & Accountability: Everyone knows who's doing what and when, encouraging ownership and responsibility.
  • Better Communication: Integrated chat, notifications, and comments reduce delays and misunderstandings

Work in Progress (WIP)

• The number of task items a team is currently working on, indicating team workflow capacity.

Needs Analysis

• Identifies and evaluates the requirements, problems, or goals that a project must address.
• Identifies stakeholders with a vested interest in the project or product, including end-users, customers, and sponsors.
• Collecting data: Stakeholders' needs and requirements through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or other data collection methods.
• Analyzing data: Identifying common themes, trends, and patterns to understand stakeholder priorities.
• Prioritizing needs: Prioritizing needs and requirements based on importance, urgency, and feasibility.
• Developing solutions: Potential solutions are developed that can address the identified needs and requirements.
• Evaluating solutions: Evaluating based on their feasibility, impact, and cost to select the most appropriate solution.
• Presenting findings: Presenting to stakeholders to ensure their needs and requirements have been accurately captured and understood.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Keeping stakeholders informed, involved, and supportive throughout the project matters because it:
  • Builds trust and cooperation.
  • Reduces resistance and misunderstandings.
  • Increases project success through better alignment and feedback.
• Bottleneck: A point in the process where work slows down or gets delayed because a task, resource, or person can't keep up with the workflow.