Lecture 1: Introduction to Project Management in Data Science PDF

Lecture 1: Introduction to Project Management in Data Science OUTLINE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Introduction (1 of 4) Many people and organiza...

Lecture 1: Introduction to Project Management in Data Science OUTLINE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Introduction (1 of 4) Many people and organizations today have a new or renewed interest in project management Worldwide spending in Data Science and IT was £2.73 trillion in 2017, a 2.4 percent increase from 2016 spending. The Project Management Institute reported that the number of jobs reached almost 66 million in 2017. By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management– oriented roles Introduction In 2017, the average annual salary (without bonuses) (2 of 4) for someone in the project management profession was £87,360 in the U.S. and £102,077 in Switzerland The top skills employers look for in new college graduates are all related to project management: team-work, problem-solving, and verbal communications Organizations waste £77.66 million for every £1 billion spent on projects, according to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession® report  Introduction (3 of 4) The average project manager salary in the UK has remained at £47,500 for five years, but rising living costs mean its real value is decreasing. London and the South-East offer the highest salaries, with more professionals in the South-East now earning over £70,000, matching those in London. Despite the stable average, 65% of project managers saw pay increases in 2022, and the percentage of high earners (£70,000+) rose slightly, making project management an attractive career choice. (by association of project management) Introduction Advantages of Using Formal Project Management: (4 of 4) Better control of financial, physical, and human resources Improved customer relations Shorter development times Lower costs and improved productivity Higher quality and increased reliability Higher profit margins Better internal coordination Positive impact on meeting strategic goals Higher worker morale  What is project? A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (PMBOK® Guide, Sixth Edition, 2017) A temporary endeavor: Means that a project has a clear start and end date. It is not an ongoing operation but a specific effort that lasts for a defined period of time. Undertaking: The purpose of a project is to achieve something unique. It could be developing a new product (e.g., building a software application), providing a new service (e.g., launching a new customer support system), or generating a specific result (e.g., conducting research to produce new findings). Data Science Customer Churn Prediction: Projects Goal: Develop a machine learning model to predict which customers are likely to stop using a company’s service (churn). Result: A predictive model that helps the company reduce churn by identifying at-risk customers and intervening with targeted marketing strategies. Unique Aspect: The churn model is specific to the company’s customer data and business context, making it a one-of-a-kind solution for that particular organization. Fraud Goal: Create an algorithm that detects fraudulent Detection transactions in real-time for an e-commerce or financial services company. System Result: A system that flags suspicious activities for review, helping to reduce financial losses from fraud. Unique Aspect: The system is tailored to the specific types of fraud the company is vulnerable to and adapts over time to new fraud patterns. Recommender Goal: Build a recommendation engine that System for suggests products to users based on their browsing and purchase history. E-commerce Result: A personalized recommendation system integrated into the company's platform, increasing user engagement and sales. Unique Aspect: The recommendations are based on the company’s specific product catalog and customer behavior, making the solution unique to that business. Sales Goal: Use historical sales data to build a model that predicts future sales trends for a retail chain. Forecasting Result: A forecasting tool that helps the company optimize inventory, staffing, and marketing efforts. Unique Aspect: The model is customized to the company's sales data, location-specific factors, and product lines.  Goal: Build a machine learning model that predicts the Disease likelihood of a patient developing a certain disease Prediction and based on medical data. Diagnosis System Result: A diagnostic tool that assists doctors in identifying patients at high risk for diseases such as diabetes or cancer. Unique Aspect: The model is developed using patient data from a specific region or healthcare facility, making it unique in its predictions for that population. Project Attributes (1 of 4)    Attributes (2 of 4) A project is temporary: A project has a definite beginning and end. In the data science and IT collaboration project, Anne might form a team of people to work immediately on the project, and then expect a report and an executive presentation of the results in one month. A project drives change and enables value creation: A project is initiated to bring about a change in order to meet a need or desire. Attributes (3 of 4) A project is developed using progressive elaboration: Projects are often defined broadly when they begin, and as time passes, the specific details of the project become clearer. Therefore, projects should be developed in increments. A project team should develop initial plans and then update them with more detail based on new information. A project requires resources, often from various areas: Resources include people, hardware, software, and other assets. Many projects cross departmental or other boundaries to achieve their unique purposes. For the Data Science collaboration project, people from IT, marketing, sales, distribution, and other areas of the company would need to work together to develop ideas.  A project should have a primary customer or Attributes sponsor: (4 of 4) Most projects have many interested parties or stakeholders, but for a project to succeed someone must take the primary role of sponsorship. The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project. Executive support is crucial to project success, as described in later lectures. Anne Roberts would be the sponsor for the DS collaboration project. A project involves uncertainty: Because every project is unique, it is sometimes difficult to define its objectives clearly, estimate how long it will take to complete, or determine how much it will cost. External factors also cause uncertainty, such as a supplier going out of business or a project team member needing unplanned time off. Project Every project is constrained in different ways, often by its scope, time, and cost goals. These limitations are sometimes referred to in project management as Constraints the triple Constraint. Scope: What work will be done as part of the project? What unique product, service, or result does the customer or sponsor expect from the project? How will the scope be verified? Time: How long should it take to complete the project? What is the project’s schedule? How will the team track actual schedule performance? Who can approve changes to the schedule? Cost: What should it cost to complete the project? What is the project’s budget? Who can authorize changes to the budget? Constraints     What is Project Management? Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements” Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint (project scope, time, and cost goals) and facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of project stakeholders. Figure 1.2 conveys that successful project management requires coordinating multiple knowledge areas through project integration management. By effectively managing scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risks, procurement, and stakeholders, and using appropriate tools and techniques, projects within the portfolio can achieve success. Project Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project Stakeholders activities Stakeholders include the project sponsor banks and other financial institutions the project manager the project team support staff suppliers opponents to the project These stakeholders often have very different needs and expectations.  A familiar example of a project is building a new house. There are Project several stakeholders in a home construction project. Stakeholders: The project sponsors would be the potential new homeowners who would be paying for the house. An Example The house may require financing by a financial institution. This institution is an example of a legal stakeholder who must be informed of any changes to the plans or schedule because the project is part of a legal contract. The project manager in this example would normally be the general contractor responsible for building the house. The project manager needs to work with all the project stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations. The project team for building the house would include several construction workers, electricians, and carpenters. These stakeholders would need to know exactly what work they must do and when they need to do it. A project might have opponents. In this example, a neighbor might oppose the project because the workers make so much noise that she cannot concentrate on her work at home, or the noise might wake her sleeping children. Project Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that Management project managers must develop Knowledge Areas (1 of 3) Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10 knowledge areas (scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communications, risk, procurement, stakeholder, and project integration management). The center of Figure 1.2 shows the 10-knowledge area of project management. Project Management Knowledge Area (2 of 3) Project schedule Project scope management includes management involves estimating how long it will Project cost management defining and managing all take to complete the work, consists of preparing and the work required to developing an acceptable managing the budget for complete the project project schedule, and the project. successfully. ensuring timely completion of the project. Project resource Project quality management is management ensures that concerned with making the project will satisfy the effective use of the stated or implied needs people and physical for which it was resources involved with undertaken. the project. Project Management Knowledge Area (3 of 3) Project procurement Project communications Project risk management management involves management involves includes identifying, acquiring or procuring generating, collecting, analyzing, and responding goods and services for a disseminating, and storing to risks related to the project from outside the project information. project. performing organization. Project stakeholder management includes Project integration identifying and analyzing management is an stakeholder needs while overarching function that managing and controlling affects and is affected by all their engagement of the other knowledge throughout the life of the areas. project. History of project management A free online video on the history of project management created by Mark Kozak-Holland This video summarizes how the project management knowledge areas can be applied to building the Giza Pyramid Project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1uxCBx2-UQ AstraZeneca Case Study 1.Scope Management Question: What was the primary scope of AstraZeneca’s project, and how did they maintain focus on essential activities? Answer: The primary scope of AstraZeneca’s project was to develop, test, manufacture, and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine globally. They kept focused on this goal by prioritizing tasks that directly contributed to delivering a safe and effective vaccine and avoided activities outside this main scope. 2.Schedule Management Question: What scheduling challenges did AstraZeneca face, and how did they ensure timely completion of each phase? Answer: AstraZeneca faced a compressed timeline due to the urgency of the pandemic. They implemented an accelerated development and testing schedule, with close monitoring of milestones and phases to ensure they met critical deadlines. 3.Cost Management Question: How did AstraZeneca manage the budget, especially given the not-for-profit pledge and financial constraints? Answer: To manage the budget under a not-for-profit model, AstraZeneca adopted a bottom-up budgeting approach for government contracts, allowing detailed tracking of costs and ensuring they stayed within financial constraints while delivering the vaccine affordably. AstraZeneca Case Study 4.Quality Management Question: How did AstraZeneca maintain high quality standards for the vaccine despite the accelerated timeline? Answer: Despite the rush, quality standards were critical. AstraZeneca maintained rigorous testing protocols and adhered to regulatory requirements to ensure that the vaccine met safety and efficacy standards, which was crucial for public confidence. 5.Resource Management Question: How were resources, including manufacturing partners and materials, managed to meet global demand? Answer: AstraZeneca coordinated resources globally, engaging contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to help with vaccine production. Effective resource allocation allowed them to scale up manufacturing to meet demand while balancing their other R&D activities. 6.Communications Management Question: How did AstraZeneca handle communication with various stakeholders, and why was transparency important? Answer: AstraZeneca managed communication with a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies, the public, and internal teams. Regular updates and transparent messaging helped maintain trust and keep everyone informed of progress and any challenges. AstraZeneca Case Study 7.Risk Management Question: What types of risks did AstraZeneca face, and how did they plan to mitigate them? Answer: The project involved significant risks, such as regulatory delays, public scrutiny, and potential supply chain disruptions. AstraZeneca’s PMO facilitated risk management by identifying potential issues early and preparing contingency plans, which allowed for quick responses to emerging challenges. 8. Procurement Management Question: How did AstraZeneca handle procurement and contracts, especially when working with governments and external partners? Answer: AstraZeneca worked with multiple governments and international partners, requiring complex procurement strategies and contract management. They managed contracts with suppliers for raw materials and production capacity to ensure that all required resources were available on time. 9. Stakeholder Management Question: Who were AstraZeneca’s main stakeholders, and how did they manage relationships and expectations with each group? Answer: The main stakeholders included governments, regulatory agencies, the public, and internal teams. AstraZeneca worked to understand and manage each group’s expectations, ensuring that all stakeholders were informed and aligned with the project’s goals and timelines. AstraZeneca Case Study 10. Integration Management Question: How did AstraZeneca ensure all project aspects were aligned and managed collectively toward the project’s main goal? Answer: To bring all these elements together, AstraZeneca set up a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO). The PMO oversaw budget, schedule, risk, and communications management, integrating each knowledge area to keep the project aligned with its mission. This integration allowed AstraZeneca to deliver the vaccine efficiently and effectively. Project Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in carrying out work in all 10 knowledge areas. Management: For example, some popular time-management tools and techniques Tools & include  Gantt charts: Techniques A powerful tool for project planning and monitoring, allowing teams to stay organized and focused on completing tasks in the correct order and on time. Modern project management tools like Microsoft Project, Asana, Trello, and Monday.com allow users to create Gantt charts. Specialized tools like GanttProject and Smartsheet are also popular for creating detailed Gantt charts.  Network diagrams: Network diagrams are essential tools for project managers to map out tasks, understand dependencies, and identify the critical path, ultimately helping in better scheduling, resource allocation, and risk management. Network diagrams can be created using project management tools like Microsoft Project, Lucidchart, SmartDraw, or Visio. Project Success (1 of 5) How do we define success or failure of a project? There are several ways to define project success: The project met scope, time, and cost goals The project satisfied the customer/sponsor The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy Project Success (2 of 5) The list that follows outlines a few common criteria for measuring the success of a project. Illustrating each with an example of upgrading 500 desktop computers within three months for £300,000: 1. The project met scope, time, and cost goals. If all 500 computers were upgraded and met other scope requirements, the work was completed in three months or less, and the cost was £300,000 or less, you could consider the project successful. The Standish Group studies used this definition of success, but several people question this simple definition of project success. (Search for articles by Robert L. Glass to read more about this debate.) Project Success (3 of 5) 2. The project satisfied the customer/sponsor Even if the project met initial scope, time, and cost goals, the users of the computers or their managers might not be satisfied. Perhaps users had their daily work disrupted during the upgrades or had to work extra hours due to the upgrades. If the customers were not happy with important aspects of the project, it would be deemed a failure. Conversely, a project might not meet initial scope, time, and cost goals, but the customer could still be very satisfied. Many organizations implement a customer satisfaction rating system to measure project success instead of tracking only scope, time, and cost performance. Project Success (4 of 5) 3. The results of the project met its main objective Even if the project cost more than estimated, it took longer to complete, and the project team was hard to work with, the project would be successful if users were happy with the upgraded computers, based on this criterion. As another example, suppose that the sponsor approved the upgrade project to provide a good return on investment by speeding up work and therefore generating more profits. If those goals were met, the sponsor would deem the project a success, regardless of other factors involved. Project Success (5 of 5) The table summarizes the factors that contribute most to the success of data science projects are listed in order of importance. Executive sponsorship is the most important factor, followed by emotional maturity of the organization. Program and Project Portfolio About one-quarter of the world’s gross Management domestic product is spent on projects Two important concepts Use of programs that help projects meet Project portfolio enterprise goals: management Programs A program is “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually” (PMBOK® Guide — Sixth Edition, 2017) Examples of common programs in the Data Science field include Data Infrastructure Program, Customer Insights Program, Predictive Analytics Program, Machine Learning Platform Development Program and Healthcare Analytics Program. A Program Manager in Data Science plays a strategic role in overseeing and coordinating multiple related projects within a program. Their primary goal is to ensure that all data science projects within the program align with the organization's strategic objectives and deliver maximum value. Project Portfolio Management (1 of 2) As part of project portfolio management, organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success. Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective.  Project Portfolio Management (2 of 2)    The Role of the Project managers must work closely with the Project other stakeholders on a project, especially the Manager sponsor and project team. They are also more effective if they are familiar with the 10 project management knowledge areas They ensure that the project team stays on track, risks are managed, quality is maintained, and stakeholders are satisfied with the final deliverables Advice for A few questions to ask yourself to know if you would Young be a good project manager Professionals Do you get frustrated by bad bosses? Do you think you could do a better job? Are you interested in understanding the big picture of how organizations work and how your individual work or your project fits in? Have you had other leadership roles, such as being a team captain, president of a club, or entrepreneur of a small business? Did you enjoy it? Did others think you did a good job? Are you good at mentoring others? Do people ask you for help in developing their skills or your advice on what to do? Advice for If you answered “yes” If you prefer just focusing on your own work and Just remember that it will help you in the long run if you at to most of these young questions, you should want to remain in a technical position, there’s least understand what project managers do and assist them as needed doing things consider being a absolutely nothing professionals project manager. wrong with that. like creating estimates, identifying risks, etc. Or, many ex-project What if you try it but no You can often go back to managers move into longer want to stay in a your former, more higher level project management technical role, and move management positions, career path? along that career path. such as director, vice president, or even CEO. Some become consultants, educators, or entrepreneurs. Their experience leading projects makes them marketable in several different professions. PMI Talent Triangle® and the Importance of Leadership Skills* The PMI Talent Triangle is a framework developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) to define the three core skill sets that project managers need to succeed in today’s dynamic and complex work environment. These include: Technical project management skills: This focuses on the technical skills and knowledge needed to effectively plan, manage, and deliver projects. PMI Talent Triangle® and the Importance of Leadership Skills* 2. 3. Ethics in Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guides decision making based on personal values of what is considered right and Project wrong. Management Making ethical decisions is an important part of project managers’ personal and professional lives because it generates trust and respect with other people. Project managers often face ethical dilemmas. If project managers can make more money by taking bribes, should they? No! Should project managers accept subpar work to meet a deadline? No! Ethics guide us in making these types of decisions.  There are hundreds of different products to Project assist in performing project management Management Software Three main categories of tools: Low-end tools: Handle single or smaller projects well, cost under approx. £150 per user Midrange tools: Handle multiple projects and users, cost approx. £150 -£8000 per user. Microsoft Project continues to lead the Project Portfolio Management (PPM) market with 35 percent of the approx. £700 million market, followed by Oracle (19 percent), ServiceNow, Inc. (7 percent), and SAP and Autodesk (5 percent each) High-end tools: Also called enterprise project management software, often licensed on a per-user basis Several free or open-source tools are also available  Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 1. What was the primary goal of AstraZeneca's 3. Which of the following was NOT identified as a key role of partnership with the University of Oxford? the newly established PMO at AstraZeneca? A. To increase AstraZeneca's revenue A. Integration of schedule and budget B. To develop a COVID-19 vaccine rapidly B. Contract management C. To conduct basic research on COVID-19 C. Marketing and promotion D. To expand AstraZeneca's global footprint D. Risk management Answer: B. To develop a COVID-19 vaccine rapidly Answer: C. Marketing and promotion 4. What was the primary challenge in hiring project managers for AstraZeneca's vaccine project? 2. Which organization provided the framework for AstraZeneca's Project Management Office (PMO) setup? A. Lack of qualified personnel internally B. Delays in the recruitment process A. The World Health Organization (WHO) C. Insufficient financial resources B. The PMBOK® Guide by PMI D. Difficulty in finding candidates with both vaccine and C. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) government contracting experience D. The United Nations (UN) Answer: B. The PMBOK® Guide by PMI Answer: D. Difficulty in finding candidates with both vaccine and government contracting experience Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 5. What major change occurred in the US government’s handling of the AstraZeneca contract? A. It was transferred from BARDA to the Department of Defense B. It was canceled and then restarted C. It was handed over to the FDA for direct management D. It was outsourced to private companies Answer: A. It was transferred from BARDA to the Department of Defense 6. Which risk did AstraZeneca face while ramping up manufacturing and conducting clinical trials simultaneously? A. Financial risk from reduced investments B. Reputational risk from delivering a vaccine at unprecedented speed C. Loss of staff due to time constraints D. Decreased interest from government clients Answer: B. Reputational risk from delivering a vaccine at unprecedented speed Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 7. Why was adaptability emphasized as a key challenge in the vaccine project? A. Constantly changing customer demands and regulatory requirements B. Lack of internal expertise in project management C. Limited budget to support the project D. Inflexible government contracts Answer: A. Constantly changing customer demands and regulatory requirements 8. How did AstraZeneca’s PMO support compliance with government contracts? A. By negotiating lower prices for contracts B. By implementing a government contract management function C. By hiring only internal project managers D. By delegating contract management to technical teams Answer: B. By implementing a government contract management function  Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 9. What motivated AstraZeneca's vaccine project team to work under extreme pressure? A. Financial incentives and bonuses B. Commitment to the mission of fighting the pandemic C. Increased media visibility D. Promises of career advancement Answer: B. Commitment to the mission of fighting the pandemic 10. What approach did AstraZeneca take for project budget management under government contracts? A. Top-down budgeting approach B. Zero-based budgeting approach C. Bottom-up budgeting approach D. Fixed-budget approach Answer: C. Bottom-up budgeting approach Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 11. Which of the following statements about the PMO at AstraZeneca is TRUE? A. It was created before the pandemic as a standard function in R&D. B. It was established quickly due to the pandemic’s urgent requirements. C. It focused primarily on marketing and sales activities. D. It managed all technical aspects of vaccine development. Answer: B. It was established quickly due to the pandemic’s urgent requirements. 12. Who was responsible for leading AstraZeneca’s vaccine project as the R&D global project manager? A. Colleen Dixon B. Tonya Villafana C. Tina Guina D. An Oxford University professor Answer: C. Tina Guina Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 13. What complexity did AstraZeneca face due to the accelerated timeline of the vaccine project? A. Limited data availability B. Managing clinical trials while scaling up manufacturing C. Lack of government support D. Slow regulatory approvals Answer: B. Managing clinical trials while scaling up manufacturing 14. How did AstraZeneca address the shortage of internal expertise in vaccine development? A. By recruiting an external project manager with relevant experience B. By relying solely on existing project managers C. By postponing the project until they had enough internal expertise D. By outsourcing the entire project to another company Answer: A. By recruiting an external project manager with relevant experience Multiple Choice Questions: AstraZeneca Case Study 15. What was a critical function of the PMO in supporting AstraZeneca’s vaccine project? A. Market analysis B. Integration of schedule and budget C. Product marketing D. Clinical trial design Answer: B. Integration of schedule and budget