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Project Management Skills

• Leadership is a crucial project management skill.
• Strong communication skills are essential for successful project management.
• Problem-solving abilities are needed to address project challenges.
• Negotiation skills are important for reaching agreements with stakeholders.
• Influencing the organization is needed to gain support and resources.
• Mentoring team members is crucial for their development and growth.
• Process and technical expertise are vital for efficient project execution.

Project Manager Positions

• Project Administrator/Coordinator handles administrative tasks.
• Assistant Project Manager assists the project manager.
• Project Manager/Program Manager manages projects or programs.
• Executive Program Manager leads a group of related projects (programs).
• Manager of Program Development oversees development of programs.

Software Project Management

• Software project management is a subset of project management.
• Project management encompasses software project management.
• Management encompasses project management, which in turn encompasses software project management.

PM History

• In the 1970s, the military, defense, and construction industries used project management software.
• The 1990s saw a significant shift towards project-management-based models.
• 1985 saw the implementation of TQM (Total Quality Management).
• The period from 1990 to 1993 involved re-engineering and self-directed teams.
• From 1996 to 1999, risk management and project offices gained prominence.
• Global projects became more common by 2000.

Project Definition

• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.
• Project management involves guiding a temporary team towards a unique outcome.
• A project manager's role is analogous to that of a conductor leading an orchestra, or a coach leading a team.

Project vs. Program Management

• Program management often involves a collection of related projects.
• Programs typically span a longer duration than individual projects.
• The scale of a program is larger compared to a project.
• Definitions of both terms can vary.

Interactions/Stakeholders

• Project managers interact with various stakeholders.
• Project sponsors are key stakeholders who provide funding and support.
• Executives are high-level managers involved in the project.
• Team members are part of the project's workforce.
• Customers are recipients of the project's output.
• Contractors are external suppliers.
• Functional managers supervise team members within their departments.

Project Management Framework

• Project management involves various knowledge areas and facilitating functions.
• These include tasks like scope, time, cost, quality, and risk management, within a broader framework context.
• Human resource management, communications management, risk management, and procurement are core functions.

Project Management Tools (Software)

• Low-end project management software offers basic features such as task management and charting capabilities.
• MS Excel and other tools like Milestones and Simplicity are examples.
• Mid-market software, exemplified by MS Project, handles larger projects and has multiple project analysis tools.
• High-end solutions address the needs of large, enterprise-level projects, with specialized features.

Example: Tools (Network Diagram)

• Network diagrams visualize project tasks and dependencies.
• They indicate the sequence of work and critical aspects of the project roadmap.
• In addition to diagrams, different project management tools are discussed.

Project Management Knowledge Areas

• Core functions like project integration management, scope management, time management and quality management are crucial.
• Supporting functions such as human resource management, communications management, and procurement, are necessary.

Why Rapid Development

• Rapid development enables quicker delivery.
• Reducing risks to the customer is important to rapid development.
• Providing increased visibility to the customer is also a key of rapid development.
• Maintaining quality during rapid development is important.

Four Project Dimensions

• People, process, product, and technology are the core elements for project dimensions.

Trade-off Triangle

• Project management involves balancing competing factors (scope, time, and cost).
• A "trade-off triangle" illustrates the constraints faced by project managers.
• Flexibility is critical to accommodate various challenges.
• Understanding fixed and variable aspects of projects is crucial for effective planning.

People

• Project success is usually based on the quality of the people involved.
• Motivating team members through selection and organizing.
• Key success factors include matching people to their tasks, fostering career development, ensuring balance between individuals and the team, and maintaining clear communication.

Process

• Project process includes management and technical types.
• Fundamental concepts like development, quality assurance, risk management, and lifecycle planning need to be considered.

Process 2

• Customer orientation is important for project success.
• Improving process maturity is crucial for efficiency and productivity.
• Avoiding rework reduces wasted effort and expense.

Product

• The products are the tangible deliverables of the project.
• Managing product size, characteristics, requirements, and features contribute to project accomplishment.

Technology

• Technology choices make a difference in the project.
• Selection of tools is important for project execution and maintenance.
• Value and cost of reuse are major factors that need consideration.

Planning

• Requirement and resource determination are needed for project planning.
• Defining a lifecycle model and product features is critical.

Tracking

• Project trackers are used for monitoring progress against schedules, costs, and timelines.
• Project planners will use data from plan vs. actual analysis to assess progress.
• This activity will allow planners to evaluate how well the project goes off plan, and react effectively appropriately.

Measurements

• Project measurements include cost, schedule, effort, and product features.
• Earned value analysis helps evaluate project performance.
• Defect rates, productivity measurements, and complexity assessments are important components of successful project management.

Technical Fundamentals

• Project technical fundamentals are vital to producing a desired product.
• Quality assurance is part of these fundamentals.
• All aspects of product engineering, from initial requirements gathering to final testing and deployment are important to the project.

Project Phases

• All projects are divided into logical phases.
• The project lifecycle is a series of consecutive phases for defining, planning, and executing project activities.
• Each phase's completion is marked by deliverable completion.
• Identifying project phases in software projects is a major project management concern.

Lifecycle Relationships

• The business lifecycle and project lifecycle are closely connected.
• Understanding the interrelationships between the project and the business is crucial.

Seven Core Project Phases

• Project sequencing and coordination across different phases is important.
• Software project phases include concept, requirements analysis, architectural design, detailed design, coding and debugging, systems testing, deployment, and maintenance, in common projects.

Classic Mistakes

• Project management is prone to specific types of mistakes.
• These include mistakes relating to people, process, product, and technology.

People-Related Mistakes

• Undermined motivation, weak personnel issues relating to individuals working on the project, uncontrolled problem employees, heroic attempts, and adding people to a late project are factors to consider.
• Noisy, crowded offices, customer-developer friction, unrealistic expectations, and politics influencing a project are other areas needing attention.
• Lack of project sponsorship, stakeholder buy-in, and user input are serious problems.

Process-Related Mistakes

• Optimistic schedules, insufficient risk management, contractor failure, insufficient planning, and abandonment of the project plan are process-related problems.
• Project delays are often caused by insufficient or incorrect project planning.
• Wasted time during initial phases, upstream activities, and design or quality assurance shortchanges are serious problems.
• Insufficient management controls, inappropriate convergence practices, and estimating mistakes need to be avoided.

Product-Related Mistakes

• Requirements and feature creep, developer gold-plating (the pet project), push-me-pull-me negotiation strategies, and research-oriented development often interfere with efficient and successful implementations.

Technology-Related Mistakes

• Overestimating the benefits of new tools, switching tools during a project, and lacking automated source-code control all have negative impacts on project success.

Summary

• Planning, measurement, and tracking are crucial project management skills.
• Effective project management requires a holistic approach, considering people, process, product, and technology.

This quiz covers essential skills required for effective project management, including leadership, communication, and problem-solving. It also explores various project manager positions and the specifics of software project management as a subset of project management.