IT Project Management Course Outline PDF

PROMG2 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE OUTLINE COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE LEVEL OF COURSE PROMG2 FINANCIAL MANAGEME...

PROMG2 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE OUTLINE COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE LEVEL OF COURSE PROMG2 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL TRAINING CREDITS FIELD LANGUAGE CERTIFICATE MIS ENGLISH LECTURER MODE OF DELIVERY VLE TUTOR DISTANCE LEARNING OUTCOMES: After completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:   Create extensive project plans and schedules.  Be able to administer project resources.  Develop allocation/coordination resources, and interface with management.   Develop tools and techniques of project management software.  Gain skills in the human and organizational implications of change. OBECTIVES OF THE COURSE: The main objectives of the course are to:   Illustrate an overview of concepts in project management in organizational context  Examine the theoretical aspects of the most important project  management’s knowledge concepts  Understand the significance of Project Life Cycles   Analyze the significance of teamwork and the part of each member when  conducting a project  Explore the importance of appropriate project management and administration, as well as the vitality of documentation COURSE CONTENT Week 1 – Introduction to IT Project Management and Project Planning Week 2 – Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Project Risk Management Week 3 – Introduction to MS Project Week 4 – Monitoring, Controlling and Tracking Progress on Tasks Page 1 of 2 ASSESSMENT CRITERIA There is one multiple choice quiz at the end of the course (Week 4) which carries 100% of the final mark. The passing grade for this quiz is 50%. The content covers the entire material taught throughout this module. You have three attempts for this quiz and thirty minutes per attempt in order to complete your quiz. It is always the highest scoring attempt that will be taken into consideration in order to calculate the final grade. Please make sure that you have studied very well and understood all the important concepts analyzed in the material available in each section before registering your attempts for your quiz. Page 2 of 2 Learning Objectives Understand the growing need for better project management, especially for information technology projects and investigate project management principles Explain what a project is and provide examples of information technology projects Describe what project management is and discuss key elements of the project management framework i.e. examine project processes and procedures. What is a project? A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to accomplish a unique product or service” (PMBOK® Guide 2000, p. 4) Attributes of projects unique purpose temporary require resources, often from various areas should have a primary sponsor and/or customer involve uncertainty The Triple Constraint Every project is constrained in different ways by its Scope goals: What is the project trying to accomplish? Time goals: How long should it take to complete? Cost goals: What should it cost? It is the project manager’s duty to balance these three often-competing goals What is Project Management Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements” (PMI*, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 2004). Page 1 of 11 Project Stakeholders Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities Stakeholders include: the project sponsor and project team support staff customers users suppliers opponents to the project Project Management Tools and Techs Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management. Some specific ones include Project Charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope) Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time) Cost estimates and earned value management (cost) Page 2 of 11 Sample Gantt Chart The WBS (work breakdown structure) is on the left, and each task’s start and finish date are shown on the right using a calendar timescale. (We shall be more specific in future readings). (Project Management Gantt Chart Example: TeamGantt. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/gantt-chart-example.) Project Management Overview Managing a project is not an easy enterprise. At its very core, the management process involves handling and facilitating complex interactions between and within various groups of people who are directly or indirectly involved in the project and are interested in its successful conclusion. The skills needed for accomplishing this task vary as the needs and the activities of the project evolve and change during its lifetime. Project Phases and the Project Life Cycle A project life cycle is a collection of project phases Project phases vary by project or industry, but some general phases include concept Page 3 of 11  Development Implementation support Phases of Project Life Cycle Life Cycle Models The waterfall model has well-defined, linear stages of systems development and support. The waterfall model is a sequential design process in which progress is seen as flowing steadily downwards (like a waterfall) through the phases of Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, Production/Implementation, and Maintenance. Page 4 of 11 The spiral model shows that software is developed using an iterative or spiral approach rather than a linear approach. The spiral model is a risk-driven software development process model. Based on the unique risk patterns of a given project, the spiral model guides a team to adopt elements of one or more process models, such as incremental, waterfall, or evolutionary prototyping. The incremental release model provides for progressive development of operational software. Page 5 of 11 The prototyping model is used for developing prototypes to clarify user requirements. Prototype methodology is defined as a Software Development model in which a prototype is built, test, and then reworked when needed until an acceptable prototype is achieved. It also creates a base to produce the final system. Software prototyping model works best in scenarios where the project's requirement are not known. It is an iterative, trial, and error method which take place between the developer and the client. Page 6 of 11 Step 1: Requirements gathering and analysis A prototyping model starts with requirement analysis. In this phase, the requirements of the system are defined in detail. During the process, the users of the system are interviewed to know what is their expectation from the system. Step 2: Quick design The second phase is a preliminary design or a quick design. In this stage, a simple design of the system is created. However, it is not a complete design. It gives a brief idea of the system to the user. The quick design helps in developing the prototype. Step 3: Build a Prototype In this phase, an actual prototype is designed based on the information gathered from quick design. It is a small working model of the required system. Step 4: Initial user evaluation In this stage, the proposed system is presented to the client for an initial evaluation. It helps to find out the strength and weakness of the working model. Comment and suggestion are collected from the customer and provided to the developer. Step 5: Refining prototype If the user is not happy with the current prototype, you need to refine the prototype according to the user's feedback and suggestions. This phase will not over until all the requirements specified by the user are met. Once the user is satisfied with the developed prototype, a final system is developed based on the approved final prototype. Step 6: Implement Product and Maintain Once the final system is developed based on the final prototype, it is thoroughly tested and deployed to production. The system undergoes routine maintenance for minimizing downtime and prevent large-scale failures. Types of Prototyping Models Four types of Prototyping models are: 1. Rapid Throwaway prototypes 2. Evolutionary prototype 3. Incremental prototype 4. Extreme prototype Page 7 of 11 Rapid Throwaway Prototype Rapid throwaway is based on the preliminary requirement. It is quickly developed to show how the requirement will look visually. The customer's feedback helps drives changes to the requirement, and the prototype is again created until the requirement is baselined. In this method, a developed prototype will be discarded and will not be a part of the ultimately accepted prototype. This technique is useful for exploring ideas and getting instant feedback for customer requirements. Evolutionary Prototyping Here, the prototype developed is incrementally refined based on customer's feedback until it is finally accepted. It helps you to save time as well as effort. That's because developing a prototype from scratch for every interaction of the process can sometimes be very frustrating. This model is helpful for a project which uses a new technology that is not well understood. It is also used for a complex project where every functionality must be checked once. It is helpful when the requirement is not stable or not understood clearly at the initial stage. Incremental Prototyping In incremental Prototyping, the final product is decimated into different small prototypes and developed individually. Eventually, the different prototypes are merged into a single product. This method is helpful to reduce the feedback time between the user and the application development team. Extreme Prototyping Extreme prototyping method is mostly used for web development. It is consisting of three sequential phases. 1. Basic prototype with all the existing page is present in the HTML format. 2. You can simulate data process using a prototype services layer. 3. The services are implemented and integrated into the final prototype. Best practices of Prototyping Here, are a few things which you should watch for during the prototyping process: You should use Prototyping when the requirements are unclear It is important to perform planned and controlled Prototyping. Regular meetings are vital to keep the project on time and avoid costly delays. The users and the designers should be aware of the prototyping issues and pitfalls. At a very early stage, you need to approve a prototype and only then allow the team to move to the next step. In software prototyping method, you should never be afraid to change earlier decisions if new ideas need to be deployed. You should select the appropriate step size for each version. Implement important features early on so that if you run out of the time, you still have a worthwhile system Page 8 of 11 Advantages of the Prototyping Model Here, are important pros/benefits of using Prototyping models: Users are actively involved in development. Therefore, errors can be detected in the initial stage of the software development process. Missing functionality can be identified, which helps to reduce the risk of failure as Prototyping is also considered as a risk reduction activity. Helps team member to communicate effectively Customer satisfaction exists because the customer can feel the product at a very early stage. There will be hardly any chance of software rejection. Quicker user feedback helps you to achieve better software development solutions. Allows the client to compare if the software code matches the software specification. It helps you to find out the missing functionality in the system. It also identifies the complex or difficult functions. Encourages innovation and flexible designing. It is a straightforward model, so it is easy to understand. No need for specialized experts to build the model The prototype serves as a basis for deriving a system specification. The prototype helps to gain a better understanding of the customer's needs. Prototypes can be changed and even discarded. A prototype also serves as the basis for operational specifications. Prototypes may offer early training for future users of the software system. Disadvantages of the Prototyping Model Here, are important cons/drawbacks of prototyping model: Prototyping is a slow and time taking process. The cost of developing a prototype is a total waste as the prototype is ultimately thrown away. Prototyping may encourage excessive change requests. Sometimes customers may not be willing to participate in the iteration cycle for the longer time duration. There may be far too many variations in software requirements when each time the prototype is evaluated by the customer. Poor documentation because the requirements of the customers are changing. It is very difficult for software developers to accommodate all the changes demanded by the clients. After seeing an early prototype model, the customers may think that the actual product will be delivered to him soon. The client may lose interest in the final product when he or she is not happy with the initial prototype. Developers who want to build prototypes quickly may end up building sub-standard development solutions. The RAD model is used to produce systems quickly without sacrificing quality. RAD stands for the Rapid Application Development model. It is a type of incremental model. In this model, the components or functions are developed in parallel as if they were mini-projects. Page 9 of 11 Requirements gathering and analysis Types of software development projects There are different types of software development projects, each with its own difficulties, risks, and requirements for special management skills. Keen (1987) describes these under four headings: Application orientated projects which develop an applications system implemented on an existing computer utilizing established system software. These may relate to a particular self-contained function in the organization (e.g., payroll). Projects that install hardware, involving the implementation of a computer configuration (including tasks such as site preparation and acceptance tests). Such projects are usually relatively easy to manage unless early delivery of a new range of hardware or software is involved. Software implementation projects such as the introduction of new file structures for a future application whose difficulty relates to the end- product itself. Projects involving combinations of the above. Page 10 of 11 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-work-breakdown-structure/ 2. https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ 3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_project/ms_project_introduction.htm 4. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/risk_assessment.html 5. https://managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm 6. https://www.guru99.com/software-engineering-prototyping-model.html Page 11 of 11 What is Project Planning? Project planning refers to everything you do to set up your project for success. It’s the process you go through to establish the steps required to define your project objectives, clarify the scope of what needs to be done and develop the task list to do it. The activities in project planning are varied because you have to work out how to achieve your goals. Every project is going to be different as the objectives will be different. Most of the work of planning is thinking about what you need to do to get everything done and putting the structure in place to make that happen. By structure, we mean the processes and governance to keep everything running smoothly. These are things like the change management process, the budgeting process, how you are going to sign off the deliverables when the time comes, what quality measures are important and things like that. We’ll cover those in more detail later. The IT project manager must understand the users' requirements, hire quality team members, and manage the team members well. He or she must be able to complete the project successfully on time, within the budget, and to the satisfaction of the users. Figure 1 Project−Related Characteristics Achieves the objectives and goals of the project within the established schedule, budget, and Procedures Develops IT projects on budget and on time to the complete satisfaction of the users Has experience in related or similar project Can control project outcomes by measuring and evaluating performance against established objectives Page 1 of 5 [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.] Team−Related Characteristics Has good communication and managerial skills. Is able to plan, organize, lead, motivate, and delegate proper responsibilities to team members. Respects team members and has their confidence and respect. Selects the right person for the right job. Guidelines for Successful Project Planning The most important for an IT project covers coordination of management activities, phases, scheduling, timetables, and staffing. It includes the delegation of duties and responsibilities, exploration of modern technology, and system efforts in an organization. What is needed to proceed – A Project Book The IT project manager must maintain the project book. The project book consists of clear definitions of the project and the steps taken to put all of the activities into action. The book contains all of the references used to inform decisions made in handling problems and contains limitations, meetings, reviews, checkpoints, and the overall outline of the progress of the project. The purpose of the project book is to assist the project manager. This should have : A chronological record of events with dates A record of tasks and activities Organizational charts showing who controls and provides funding All correspondence in a chronological order Names of those with authority, executives, users, customers, and stakeholders controlling the project Plans and schedules for the project and its phases Assessments of risk factors [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.] Establishing Project Objectives As part of planning, the manager must establish the project objectives, which should include scope, constraints, and assumptions. The scope consists of boundaries and contours that shape the project. Constraints are the limitations of the project environment. Page 2 of 5 Setting Project Goals The project manager sets the goal to make sure that the project is cost−effective; efficient; profitable; and completed within the time limit to the complete satisfaction of the users, customers, and stakeholders. The manager plans these goals on both short− and long−term bases. The project goals should include at least the following goals. Managerial effectiveness Efficiency Profits Quality products Better services [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.] Planning Project Recovery The project manager establishes various types of recovery procedures and controls to manage the recovery of the project in case the project strays from the schedule or budget. This plan consists of implementing activities from the start of the project until it is completed. The manager selects and establishes standards, methodology, techniques, and tools to develop the system. His or her goals are to produce quality products on time and within the allotted budget to the customer's satisfaction. The manager achieves these goals by doing the following: Planning Setting specific goals and objectives Developing milestones Developing a prototype of the system Scheduling Monitoring the progress of the project Acting immediately to remedy variance from the set goals Providing status reports and feedback Page 3 of 5 The Elements of a Project Plan A lot of project planning is talking to your team, getting the views of the people who will be affected by the project and working out how it all hangs together. There’s a lot of chat and a lot of thinking time. The end result of your planning phase is a document called the project plan that is made up of lots of subsidiary plans. These include: A plan for managing the human resources on the team both in terms of availability and skills A plan for managing costs and the budgeting elements of the project including any procurements or supplier engagements you might have. A plan for dealing with project risk including the processes for logging and tracking risks A quality plan that specifies the quality targets for the project. [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.] How to Manage Your Plan Your project plan is not a document written in stone. You should be referring back to it and making changes to it as often as you need to. Parts of it, like your project schedule, will change almost daily. Other parts, like your procurement plans and cost management processes, won’t change at all during the life of your project. The important thing to remember is that if your plan isn’t working for you, think about what you can do to change it. It’s there to guide your project management, not restrict you from doing the right thing. If you need to review how you manage project resources, then go back and review it. Make the changes you need, get the document approved again and share it with the team. [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.] Page 4 of 5  BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-work-breakdown-structure/ 2. https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ 3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_project/ms_project_introduction.htm 4. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/risk_assessment.html 5. https://managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm 6. https://www.guru99.com/software-engineering-prototyping-model.html 7. Hwang, W. L., Lim, G. K., & Tham, S. K. H. (2005). It project management. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 8. Berkeley, D., Humphreys, P., & Hoog, R. D. (1990). Software development project management: process and support. New York, London, Toronto: Ellis Horwood. 9. Schwalbe, K. (2019). Information technology project management. Australia: Cengage. 10. Marchewka, J. T. (2013). Information technology project management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. 11. Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 5 Page 5 of 5  PROMG2 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT WEEKLY VIDEO LINKS 1. IT Project Management – Information Technology (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNpGKYUB0UI) 2. Your First Step as a Project Manager – Project Management (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiUGCUOm9gA) 3. Project Management Basics for Beginners: 13 Simple Project Management Tips (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT66tw1cKCA) 4. The Role of the Project Manager (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkd7JGl0-90) 5. Technical Project Manager (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yLmCZTHz8) 6. Project Planning for Beginners – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWmXi3TW1yA) 7. Resource Planning for Projects: A Guide – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akj4R1xZHzA) Page 1 of 1 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) The work breakdown structure (WBS) model depends on the customer's requirements as analysed by the project manager. The system model provides a clear picture that enables the manager to understand the customer's requirements and define the WBS. This model includes the major events, activities, and tasks necessary for dealing with the IT system engineering product throughout the life cycle. The manager must plan the budget, schedule, estimate, and organization to achieve success for the WBS. The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can understand, as each level of the work breakdown structure provides further definition and detail. Figure 1(below) depicts a sample work breakdown structure with three levels defined. [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. ] Figure 2 below shows the Breakdown structure. Figure 1 - Breakdown Structure Page 1 of 16 An easy way to think about a work breakdown structure is as an outline or map of the specific project. Scheduling the Work Breakdown Structure The project manager plans the schedule model for each WBS. This process establishes a schedule for the completion of activities and tasks. The project manager reviews and updates the schedule periodically. Some of the activities and tasks are completed in parallel, and others are achieved serially. Scheduling helps the project manager maintain control over the progress of the system's development. The manager can update or modify schedules depending on the activity being delayed or successfully completed in a phase. The manager must take proper action in response to delayed activities to avoid such occurrences in the future. The project team creates the project work breakdown structure by identifying the major functional deliverables and subdividing those deliverables into smaller systems and sub-deliverables. These sub-deliverables are further decomposed until a single person can be assigned. At this level, the specific work packages required to produce the sub- deliverable are identified and grouped together. The work package represents the list of tasks or "to-dos" to produce the specific unit of work. If you've seen detailed project schedules, then you'll recognize the tasks under the work package as the "stuff" people need to complete by a specific time and within a specific level of effort. Budgeting A budgeting model estimates the cost of accomplishing a WBS as scheduled. The assigned budget allows expenditures so that the project manager can perform the different tasks, activities, system training, and The project manager determines the cost and schedule status and compares them with what is required to remain within the budget and schedule. Page 2 of 16  Figure 2 - Budgeting The budget allows for expenditures such as the following: Hardware costs Networking Internet access Travel Material procurements Temporary living expenses Page 3 of 16 Sample Intranet WBS - Organized by Product Intranet WBS in Tabular Form 1.0 Concept 1.1 Evaluate current systems 1.2 Define Requirements 1.2.1 Define user requirements 1.2.2 Define content requirements 1.2.3 Define system requirements 1.2.4 Define server owner requirements 1.3 Define specific functionality 1.4 Define risks and risk management approach 1.5 Develop project plan 1.6 Brief Web development team 2.0 Web Site Design 3.0 Web Site Development 4.0 Roll Out 5.0 Support Page 4 of 16 Intranet WBS and Gantt chart Page 5 of 16 Intranet WBS and Gantt chart Organized by Project Management Process Groups Factors Causing IT Project Problems Page 6 of 16 Suggestions for Improving User Input Develop a good project selection process and insist that sponsors are from the user organization Have users on the project team in important roles Have regular meetings Deliver something to users and sponsors on a regular basis Co-locate users with developers What is Project Scope Management? Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them. It defines what is or is not to be done Deliverables are products produced as part of a project, such as hardware or software, planning documents, or meeting minutes The project team and stakeholders must have the same understanding of what products will be produced as a result of a project and how they’ll be produced. Project Scope Management Processes Initiation: beginning a project or continuing to the next phase Scope planning: developing documents to provide the basis for future project decisions Scope definition: subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components Scope verification: formalizing acceptance of the project scope Scope change control: controlling changes to project scope [Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. ] Project Time Management Processes Project time management involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project. Processes include: Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity duration estimating Schedule development Schedule control [Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. ] Page 7 of 16 Activity Definition Project schedules grow out of the basic document that initiate a project Project charter includes start and end dates and budget information Scope statement and WBS help define what will be done Activity definition involves developing a more detailed WBS and supporting explanations to understand all the work to be done so you can develop realistic duration estimates. Project Network Diagrams Project network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing A project network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities Page 8 of 16 Sample Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) Network Diagram for Project X [Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. ] Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) Also called activity-on-arrow (AOA) project network diagrams Activities are represented by arrows Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of activities Can only show finish-to-start dependencies Page 9 of 16 Task Dependency Types Sample PDM Network Diagram Page 10 of 16 Activity Duration Estimating After defining activities and determining their sequence, the next step in time management is duration estimating Duration includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time Effort is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task. Effort does not equal duration People doing the work should help create estimates, and an expert should review them Schedule Development Schedule development uses results of the other time management processes to determine the start and end date of the project and its activities Ultimate goal is to create a realistic project schedule that provides a basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project Important tools and techniques include Gantt charts, PERT analysis, critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling Gantt Charts Gantt charts provide a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format Symbols include: o A black diamond: milestones or significant events on a project with zero duration o Thick black bars: summary tasks o Lighter horizontal bars: tasks o Arrows: dependencies between tasks Page 11 of 16 GANTT CHART for Project X Gantt chart for Software Launch Project Page 12 of 16 Milestones Milestones are significant events on a project that normally have zero duration You can follow the SMART criteria in developing milestones that are: o Specific o Measurable o Assignable o Realistic o Time-framed Sample Tracking Gantt chart Critical Path Method (CPM) CPM is a project network analysis technique used to predict total project duration A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determines the earliest time by which the project can be completed The critical path is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float Page 13 of 16 Finding the Critical Path First develop a good project network diagram Add the durations for all activities on each path through the project network diagram The longest path is the critical path Simple Example of Determining the Critical Path Consider the following project network diagram. Assume all times are in days. C=2 4 E=1 A=2 B=5 start 1 2 3 6 finish D=7 5 F=2 How many paths are on this network diagram? b. How long is each path? c. Which is the critical path? d. What is the shortest amount of time needed to complete this project? Page 14 of 16 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-work-breakdown-structure/ 2. https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ 3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_project/ms_project_introduction.htm 4. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/risk_assessment.html 5. https://managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm 6. https://www.guru99.com/software-engineering-prototyping-model.html 7. Hwang, W. L., Lim, G. K., & Tham, S. K. H. (2005). It project management. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 8. Berkeley, D., Humphreys, P., & Hoog, R. D. (1990). Software development project management: process and support. New York, London, Toronto: Ellis Horwood. 9. Schwalbe, K. (2019). Information technology project management. Australia: Cengage. 10. Marchewka, J. T. (2013). Information technology project management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. 11. Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. 12. Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. Page 15 of 16 Page 16 of 16 Project risk Project Risk is the possibility of unpredictable and unwanted loss that can occur anytime and anywhere during the project's life cycle. Risk is associated with all aspects of the project, such as requirements, architecture, design, implementation, team members, management, and work breakdown structure (WBS). Risk can be due to cost overruns, schedule delays, manpower turnaround, design constraints, influence of new technology, hardware defects, software bugs, communication problems, and network and Internet failure. The project manager continually assesses, identifies, monitors, and manages risk before it becomes a problem. The manager establishes an industry best practices risk management plan to identify and control performance, cost, and schedule risk. What is Project Risk? Project risk is a subjective assessment that is made on the probability of not achieving a specific objective within the time, costs, and allocated resources. In addition, project risk is the possibility of suffering any loss during the project's life cycle. In a development project, the loss describes the influence to the project in the form of diminished quality of the end product, increased costs, delayed completion, or failure of the project. A loss associated with a surprise event can take place during the project's system development and maintenance phases. This event creates loss of time, quality, money, control, and understanding among the developers, customers, users, stakeholders, and project manager. [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. ] Project Risk Management Understand what risk is and the importance of good project risk management Discuss the elements involved in risk management planning List common sources of risks on information technology projects Describe the risk identification process and tools and techniques to help identify project risks Discuss the qualitative risk analysis process and explain how to calculate risk factors, use probability/impact matrixes, the Top Ten Risk Item Tracking technique, and expert judgment to rank risks [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. ] The importance of project Risk Management Project risk management is the art and science of identifying, assigning, and responding to risk throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of meeting project objectives Page 1 of 5  Risk management is often overlooked on projects, but it can help improve project success by helping select good projects, determining project scope, and developing realistic estimates Risk Factors The IT project manager should carefully calculate risk factors. The manager creates and maintains a list of the risk factors at regular intervals until the completion of the project. Risk factors can be due to changes in the project requirements, environment, technology, organization, personnel, and unforeseen events. The three levels of risk factors are low, moderate, and high. The manager prioritizes and resolves high−level risk factors first. During its life cycle, the system can potentially contribute to risk through the effect of the software on system hazards. Therefore the manager should ensure that the software executes within the IT system context without resulting in unacceptable risk. System risk safety involves such factors as identifying hazards, assessing hazards, and controlling hazards risk. [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. ] What is Project Risk Management? Risk management is a practice of controlling risk. The risk management practice consists of processes, methods, and tools for managing risks in an IT project before they become problems. Risk management consists of actions taken to identify, assess, and eliminate or reduce risk to an acceptable level in such areas as cost, schedule, technical, and products. The risk management process provides a disciplined environment for the IT project manager to make decisions for those areas. The process includes the following factors: Risk management planning: deciding how to approach and plan the risk management activities for the project Risk identification: determining which risks are likely to affect a project and documenting their characteristics Qualitative risk analysis: characterizing and analyzing risks and prioritizing their effects on project objectives Quantitative risk analysis: measuring the probability and consequences of risks Risk response planning: taking steps to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to meeting project objectives Risk monitoring and control: monitoring known risks, identifying new risks, reducing risks, and evaluating the effectiveness of risk reduction MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 2 Page 2 of 5  Figure 1- Risk Management Process Risk Management Plan The risk management plan is an organized, well−structured, comprehensive, and iterative approach for managing risk. The risk management plan records the results of the risk−planning process. The plan includes a set of functions that are identified as continuous activities throughout the life cycle of the project The main output of risk management planning is a risk management plan The project team should review project documents and understand the organization’s and the sponsor’s approach to risk The level of detail will vary with the needs of the project Figure 2 - Risk Management Plan [Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. ] MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 3 Page 3 of 5  Several common mistakes in managing project risk include: Not understanding the benefits of risk management—Often the project sponsor or client demands results. Sponsors or clients may not care how the project team achieves its goal and objectives—just as long as it does. The project manager and project team may rely on aggressive risk taking with little understanding of the impact of their decisions. Not providing adequate time for risk management—Risk management and the ensuing processes should not be viewed as an add-on to the project planning process, but should grow as a capable and mature process integrated throughout all projects Not identifying and assessing risk using a standardized approach—not having a standardized approach to risk management can overlook both threats and opportunities. Consequently, more time and resources will be expended on problems that could have been avoided; opportunities will be missed; decisions will be made without complete understanding or information; Commitment by all stakeholders—to be successful, project risk management requires a commitment by all project stakeholders. In particular, the project sponsor or client, senior management, the governance committee, the project manager, and the project team must all be committed. Stakeholder responsibility—it is important that each risk have an owner. This owner should be someone who will be involved in the project, who will take the responsibility to monitor the project in order to identify any new or increasing risks, and who will make regular reports to the project sponsor, client, or governance committee. Different risks for different types of projects—a study that looked at IT project risks found that patterns of risk are different across different types of projects. MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 4 Page 4 of 5  BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-work-breakdown-structure/ 2. https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ 3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_project/ms_project_introduction.htm 4. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/risk_assessment.html 5. https://managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm 6. https://www.guru99.com/software-engineering-prototyping-model.html 7. Hwang, W. L., Lim, G. K., & Tham, S. K. H. (2005). It project management. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 8. Berkeley, D., Humphreys, P., & Hoog, R. D. (1990). Software development project management: process and support. New York, London, Toronto: Ellis Horwood. 9. Schwalbe, K. (2019). Information technology project management. Australia: Cengage. 10. Marchewka, J. T. (2013). Information technology project management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. 11. Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. 12. Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 5 Page 5 of 5  PROMG2 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT WEEKLY VIDEO LINKS 1. Project Management: What is a Work Breakdown Structure? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEWhnodF6ig) 2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZoHMi-RuUE) 3. IT Risk Management Strategies and Best Practices – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ZrPeQW8HQ) 4. Risk Analysis How to Analyze Risks on Your Project – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ZrPeQW8HQ) 5. 5 Ways to Improve Accountability in the Workplace – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijtudIQjVg8) 6. What is Risk Management In Projects? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7A9idByPA4) 7. How to Manage Risks on Smaller Projects – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swIP9ZzYITc) Page 1 of 1 Introduction to MS- Project Microsoft Project is a project management software program developed and sold by Microsoft, designed to assist a project manager in developing a schedule, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget, and analyzing workloads. Project creates budgets based on assignment work and resource rates. As resources are assigned to tasks and assignment work estimated, the program calculates the cost, equal to the work times the rate, which rolls up to the task level and then to any summary task, and finally to the project level. Each resource can have its own calendar, which defines what days and shifts a resource is available. Microsoft Project is not suitable for solving problems of available materials (resources) constrained production. Additional software is necessary to manage a complex facility that produces physical goods. Page 1 of 10 Let’s walk through the major parts of the Project interface: The Quick Access Toolbar is a customizable area of the interface where you can add your favourite or frequently used commands. Use the Tell Me box to quickly find a Project command, or help about that command or feature. Page 2 of 10  The ribbon contains the commands you use to perform actions in Project. Tabs on the ribbon organize the major features and commands in Project into logical groups. The tabs on the Project ribbon are discussed in detail later in this topic. Groups are collections of related commands. Each tab is divided into multiple groups. Commands are the specific features you use to perform actions in Project. Each tab contains several commands. Some commands, like Cut on the Task tab, perform an immediate action. Other commands, like Change Working Time on the Project tab, open a dialog box or prompt you to take further action in some other way. Some commands are available only when you’re in a particular type of view or report. ScreenTips are short explanatory descriptions of commands, column headings, and many other items in Project. You can see an item’s ScreenTip by pointing to the item. [Chatfield, C. S., & Johnson, T. D. (2016). Microsoft Project 2016. Redmond: Microsoft. ] Figure 1- Information about commands and many other items throughout Project can be The active view (or report) is displayed in the main Project window. Project can display a single view or multiple views in separate panes. A multiple-view display is called a split view or combination view. The view label (or report label) appears along the left edge of the active view. Project includes dozens of views, so this is a handy reminder of what your active view is. The status bar displays some important details like the scheduling mode of new tasks (manual or automatic) and whether a filter has been applied to the active view. You use view shortcuts to quickly switch between recently used views and reports. The Zoom Slider zooms the active view or report in or out. Shortcut menus (also called context menus or right-click menus) and Mini Toolbars appear when you right-click most items in a view or report. Page 3 of 10  [Chatfield, C. S., & Johnson, T. D. (2016). Microsoft Project 2016. Redmond: Microsoft. ] Diving in MS Project Windows 10 − Click on Start menu → All apps → Microsoft Office → Project 2013. Create Blank Project MS Project 2013 will display a list of options. In the list of available templates, click Blank Project. Project sets the plan’s start date to current date, a thin green vertical line in the chart portion of the Gantt Chart View indicates this current date. Page 4 of 10 Tasks They are the most basic building blocks of any project’s plan. Tasks represent the work to be done to accomplish the goals of the project. Tasks describe work in terms of dependencies, duration, and resource requirements. In Project 2016, there are several kinds of tasks. These include summary tasks, subtasks, and milestones. More broadly, what are called tasks in Project are sometimes more generally called activities or work packages. Build Task List Before we start, let us assume you already have a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). In context of WBS, “Work” refers to “Deliverables” and not effort. WBS identifies the deliverable at the lowest level as work package. This work package is decomposed into smaller tasks/activities, which is the effort necessary to complete the work package. So a task is action- oriented, and the work package is the deliverable or a result of one or more tasks being performed. There is a significant amount of confusion between what constitutes an activity and what constitutes a task within the project management community. But for MS Project, a task is the effort and action required to produce a particular project deliverable. MS Project does not use the term “activity”. Enter Task This is simple. In Gantt Chart View, just click a cell directly below the Task Name column. Enter the task name. In the following screen, we have entered 5 different tasks. Page 5 of 10 Enter Duration A duration of the task is the estimated amount of time it will take to complete a task. As a project manager you can estimate a task duration using expert judgment, historical information, analogous estimates or parametric estimates. You can enter task duration in terms of different dimensional units of time, namely minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months. Change Default Time Dimensions Click Project tab → Properties Group → Click Change Working Time → Click Options. You can apply this to all projects or a specific project that you are working on currently. Create Milestones In Project Management, Milestones are specific points in a project timeline. They are used as major progress points to manage project success and stakeholder expectations. They are primarily used for review, inputs and budgets. Mathematically, a milestone is a task of zero duration. And they can be put where there is a logical conclusion of a phase of work, or at deadlines imposed by the project plan. There are two ways you can insert a milestone. Page 6 of 10 Method 1: Inserting a Milestone Click name of the Task which you want to insert a Milestone Click Task tab → Insert group → Click Milestone. MS Project names the new task as with zero-day duration. Click on to change its name. You can see the milestone appear with a rhombus symbol in the Gantt Chart View on the right. Method 2: Converting a Task to a Milestone Click on any particular task or type in a new task under the Task Name Heading. Under Duration heading type in “0 days “. MS Project converts it to a Milestone. Method 3: Converting a Task to a Milestone In Method 2, a task was converted to a Milestone of Zero duration. But one can also convert a task of non-zero duration into a Milestone. This is rarely used and causes confusion. Double-click a particular Task name. Task Information dialog box opens. Click Advanced tab → select option “Mark Task as Milestone”. Page 7 of 10 Make Project Summary Task visible The project summary task summarizes your whole project. In Gantt Chart View → Format Tab → Show/Hide → click to check Project Summary Task on. Create Summary Task There can be a huge number of tasks in a project schedule, it is therefore a good idea to have a bunch of related tasks rolled up into a Summary Task to help you organize the plan in a better way. It helps you organize your plan into phases. In MS Project 2013, you can have several number of sub-tasks under any higher level task. These higher level tasks are called Summary Task. At an even higher level, they are called Phases. The highest level of a plan’s outline structure is called the Project Summary Task, which encompasses the entire project schedule. Remember because summary task is not a separate task entity but a phase of the project with several sub-tasks in it, the duration of the summary task is from the start of the first sub-task to the finish of the last sub-task. This will be automatically calculated by MS Project. Of course, you can enter a manual duration of the summary task as well which could be different from the automatically calculated duration. MS Project will keep track of both but this can cause significant confusion. In most cases, you should ensure that there is no manually entered duration for any task you will be using as a Summary Task. Page 8 of 10 Templates: Avoid reinventing the wheel Instead of creating a plan from scratch, you might be able to use a template that includes much of the initial information you need, like task names and relationships. Sources of templates include: Templates installed with Project These can vary depending on the installation options that were selected when Project was installed on your computer. Online templates Microsoft makes a large number of Project templates available for free download via the web. Templates within your organization You might be in an organization that has a central library of templates. Often, such templates contain detailed task definitions, resource assignments, and other details that are unique to the organization. Page 9 of 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-work-breakdown-structure/ 2. https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ 3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_project/ms_project_introduction.htm 4. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/risk_assessment.html 5. https://managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm 6. https://www.guru99.com/software-engineering-prototyping-model.html 7. Hwang, W. L., Lim, G. K., & Tham, S. K. H. (2005). It project management. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 8. Berkeley, D., Humphreys, P., & Hoog, R. D. (1990). Software development project management: process and support. New York, London, Toronto: Ellis Horwood. 9. Schwalbe, K. (2019). Information technology project management. Australia: Cengage. 10. Marchewka, J. T. (2013). Information technology project management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. 11. Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. 12. Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. 13. Chatfield, C. S., & Johnson, T. D. (2016). Microsoft Project 2016. Redmond: Microsoft. Page 10 of 10 Link Tasks Once you have a list of tasks ready to accomplish your project objectives, you need to link them with their task relationships called dependencies. For example, Task 2 can start once Task 1 has finished. These dependencies are called Links. When fine-tuning task relationships, you need to keep track of the predecessor tasks that affect the scheduling of their successor tasks. In complex plans, visually identifying predecessor and successor relationships is not always easy. This is especially true when a single task has multiple predecessors or successors. The Task Path feature applies color formatting to the Gantt bars of the selected task’s predecessor and successor tasks. Task Path can also distinguish a task’s driving predecessors (the predecessor tasks that directly determine, or drive, the start date of the task) from that task’s other predecessors. The distinct color highlighting applied to driving predecessor and successor tasks is especially useful when you’re focused on managing the overall duration of a sequence of linked tasks. Without Task Path formatting applied, it can be difficult to determine the path of related tasks on a Gantt chart. [Chatfield, C. S., & Johnson, T. D. (2016). Microsoft Project 2016. Redmond: Microsoft. ] In MS Project, the first task is called a predecessor because it precedes tasks that depend on it. The following task is called the successor because it succeeds, or follows tasks on which it is dependent. Any task can be a predecessor for one or more successor tasks. Likewise, any task can be a successor to one or more predecessor tasks. Page 1 of 8 There are only four types of task dependencies, here we present them with examples. Finish to Start (FS) − Finish the first floor before starting to build the second floor. Most used. Finish to Finish (FF) − Cooking all dishes for dinner to finish on time. Start to Start (SS) − When doing a survey, we would seek survey responses but will also start tabulating the responses. One does not have to finish collecting survey response before starting the tabulation. Start to Finish (SF) − Exam preparation will end when exam begins. Least used. In MS Project you can identify the Task Links Gantt Chart − In Gantt Chart and Network Diagram views, task relationships appear as the links connecting tasks. Tables − In Tables, task ID numbers of predecessor task appear in the predecessor fields of successor tasks. Method 1 Select the two tasks you want to link. In the following screenshot taken as an example, we have selected names, Task 1 and Task 2. Page 2 of 8 Click Task tab → Schedule group → Link the Selected Tasks. Task 1 and Task 2 are linked with a Finish-to-Start relationship. Note − Task 2 will have a Start date of the Next working day from Finish date of Task 1. When you link tasks in Project by using the Link Tasks button on the Task tab, in the Schedule group, those tasks are given a finish-to-start relationship by default. This is fine for many tasks, but you will most likely change some task relationships as you fine-tune a plan. The following are some examples of tasks that require relationships other than finish-to-start: Check Plan’s Duration In Gantt Chart View → View Tab → Split View group → Timeline checkbox. You will be able to see the plan’s start and finish dates. In the Gantt Chart view, you can also look at the project summary task, to note the duration, start and finish dates of the plan. In the following example, Assign Resources is the project summary task (identified as Task 0). Duration=53 days, Start date: 1/5/15 and Finish Date: 3/19/15. One can switch Project Summary Task on by following these steps − In Gantt Chart View → Format Tab → Show/Hide → To check Project Summary Task on. Page 3 of 8 Check Plan’s Cost Click View tab → Data group → Tables → Cost. Cost for each task gets rolled up into summary tasks, and then ultimately to project summary task. Check Plan’s Work Click Report Tab → View Reports group → click Resources → click Resource overview Page 4 of 8 In Resource status table which appears at the bottom, you will get a summary of resource’s earliest start dates and latest finish dates as well as remaining work. [Chatfield, C. S., & Johnson, T. D. (2016). Microsoft Project 2016. Redmond: Microsoft. ] Page 5 of 8 Check Project Statistics Click Project Tab → Properties group → Project Information → in the new dialog box click Statistics… Once your project plan is ready in MS Project, it becomes essential for a project manager to measure the actuals (in terms of work completed, resources used and costs incurred) and to revise and change information about tasks and resources due to any changes to the plans. A Project Manager should not assume that everything is progressing according to plan and should always keep track of each task. Resistance to formal tracking of project management data is normal. You can overcome resistance to tracking by explaining your expectations, explaining the benefits of tracking, and training people to track the task themselves. Enter deadline dates One common mistake made by new Project users is to place semi-flexible or inflexible constraints on too many tasks in their plans. Such constraints severely limit your scheduling flexibility. In many cases, setting a deadline date for a task is a better choice. When you set a deadline for a task, you identify the latest date by which you want the task to be completed. The deadline date itself does not constrain the scheduling of the task. Project displays a deadline symbol on the chart portion of a Gantt chart view. If the task’s finish date moves past its deadline date, a missed deadline indicator (a red exclamation point) appears in the Indicators field for that task. When you spot the missed deadline indicator, you can take corrective steps. Here’s an example of how you might use a deadline rather than a constraint. Assume that you have a five-day task that you want completed by April 20. If you enter a Must Finish On constraint on the task and set it to April 20, Project will move the task out so that it will indeed end on April 20. Even if the task could be completed earlier, Project will not reschedule it to start earlier. In fact, by applying that constraint, you have increased the risk for this task. If the task is delayed for even one day for any reason (if a required resource is sick, for example), the task will miss its planned finish date. A better approach to scheduling this task is to use the default As Soon As Possible constraint and then enter a deadline of April 20. Page 6 of 8 Figure 1-The deadline date lets you keep track of the important target finish date, but gives you greater scheduling Flexibility. Create a recurring task Many projects require repetitive tasks, such as attending team meetings, creating and publishing status reports, or running quality-control inspections. Although it is easy to overlook the scheduling of such events, you should consider accounting for them in your plan. After all, team meetings and similar events that indirectly support the project require time from resources, and such events take time away from your resources’ other assignments. To help account for such events in your plan, create a recurring task. As the name suggests, a recurring task is repeated at a specified frequency such as daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Page 7 of 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-work-breakdown-structure/ 2. https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/ 3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ms_project/ms_project_introduction.htm 4. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/risk_assessment.html 5. https://managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm 6. https://www.guru99.com/software-engineering-prototyping-model.html 7. Hwang, W. L., Lim, G. K., & Tham, S. K. H. (2005). It project management. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 8. Berkeley, D., Humphreys, P., & Hoog, R. D. (1990). Software development project management: process and support. New York, London, Toronto: Ellis Horwood. 9. Schwalbe, K. (2019). Information technology project management. Australia: Cengage. 10. Marchewka, J. T. (2013). Information technology project management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. 11. Sodhi, J., & Sodhi, P. (2001). It project management handbook. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. 12. Dubey, S. S. (2018). It strategy and management. Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. 13. Chatfield, C. S., & Johnson, T. D. (2016). Microsoft Project 2016. Redmond: Microsoft. Page 8 of 8  PROMG2 IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT WEEKLY VIDEO LINKS 1. 3 Ways to Improve Your Digital Project Management – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z77MnxSP3xM) 2. What is Project Scheduling? – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNWSQOynrl0) 3. How to Monitor Daily Progress as a Project Manager – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Qahnv1j1g) 4. How to Conduct a Feasibility Study – Project Management Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI6_snOjlm0) 5. Tracking Progress using Microsoft Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD2nqPPy6xg) Page 1 of 1  Save a Baseline To evaluate project performance, you need to create a baseline against which you will compare the progress. One needs to save the baseline, once a plan is fully developed. Of course, due to rolling wave planning or progressive elaboration needed to manage projects one can always add new tasks, resources, constraints and costs to the plan. Also note, it makes sense to save the baseline before entering any actual values such as percentage of task completion. Note − With MS Project 2013, you can save up to 11 Baselines in a Single plan. These multiple baselines seem contrary to the definition of baseline. You can use this flexibility when − You have a baseline plan for the external customer and another for the internal team. You are preparing for a risk event. You want to develop separate baseline plans for risk response and recovery. You are accommodating a big change request; you might still want to keep the original plan for future reference when communicating with a stakeholder. Create a Baseline Click Project Tab → Schedule group → Set Baseline → OK. View Baseline on Gantt Chart Click View Tab → Task Views group → Gantt Chart. Click Format Tab → Bars and Styles group → Baseline (that you want to display). MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 1 Page 1 of 30  You will see Baseline Gantt bars displayed together with the current Gantt bars. Update a Baseline As time and work progresses on a project, you might need to change the baseline as well. You have several options for the same − Update the baseline. Update the baseline for selected tasks. Save multiple baselines. Update the Baseline for the Entire Project This simply replaces the original baseline values with the currently scheduled values. Click Project Tab → Schedule group → Set Baseline → OK. Update the Baseline for Selected Tasks This does not affect the baseline values for other tasks or resource baseline values in the plan. Click Project Tab → Schedule group → Set Baseline → For select Selected tasks → OK. Save Multiple Baselines You can save up to 11 baselines in a single plan. The first one is called Baseline, and the rest are Baseline 1 through Baseline 10. Click Project Tab → Schedule group → Set Baseline → click the dropdown box to save any baseline you like. MBA 742 – IT Project Management Page 2 Page 2 of 30 Click OK. Interim Plans An interim plan saves only two kinds of information for each task − Current start dates and Current finish dates. It can be used as a project marker. It is visually easy to see how off-track or on-track the project progress is. Because it only specifies dates, it is simple, clear and easy information. Click Project Tab → Schedule group → Set Baseline → Set interim plan → OK. Page 3 of 30 Track Plan by Specific Date If all tasks have started and are finished as scheduled, you can record this in the Update Project dialog box. Most of the times, a seasoned project manager understands that this isn’t true. But sometimes this approach might be fine when the actual work and cost values generated are close enough to your baseline schedule. Click Project tab → Status group → Update Project. Switch on the radio button for “Update work as complete through” option, and then Set 0% -100% complete. Select the current date. Click OK. Check marks will appear in the indicators column for tasks that have been completed. On the right in the Chart portion, progress bars are generated in the Gantt bars of each task. Page 4 of 30 Track Plan as % Complete Method 1 Click any Task → Task Tab → Schedule group → either 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%. Method 2 Click View tab → Data group → Tables → Tracking. Now for the required Task, click the corresponding % Comp column and enter the required % complete. Page 5 of 30 Track Plan by Actual Values You can enter the following actual values for your project − Actual Start and finish dates − Project moves the schedule accordingly. Task’s Actual duration − If equal or greater than schedule duration: task = 100% complete. Task’s Actual Duration Click View Tab → Data group → Tables → Work. You will see the % W. Comp. (% work complete) column. This table includes Work (Scheduled work), Actual, and Remaining columns. Click on Task you want to update. In the following example, Task 9’s Actual field is clicked and 24 hours is entered. For this task, initial scheduled Work was 16 hours, because 24 hours is greater. The project marks the task as 100% complete and updates the Work column to 24 hours (from initial 16 hours). In the example, a Baseline is saved, because the Baseline does not change and is used as a comparison. The Baseline is still at 16 hours and a Variance of 8 hours is now calculated by MS Project. Note − Actual work is rolled up and also reflects on the summary task. Actual Start and Finish Dates Click Task whose dates you would like to change. Click Task tab → Schedule group → dropdown menu for Mark on Track → Update Tasks. Page 6 of 30 Change Start or Finish field in Actual group. You can fill Actual duration field as well. There are four types of task dependencies. Finish to Start (FS) − Finish the first floor before starting to build the second floor. Most used. Finish to Finish (FF) − Cooking all the dishes for dinner to finish on time. Start to Start (SS) − When doing a survey, we would seek survey responses but will also start tabulating the responses. One does not have to finish collecting survey responses before starting the tabulation. Start to Finish (SF) − Exam preparation will end when exam begins. Least used. Adjust Task Link Relationship Click Task Tab → double-click the required task under Task Name column → Task Information dialog box opens → Predecessors Tab. Click the box under the Type column and choose the relationship according to your requirement. Page 7 of 30 Apply Lead and Lag By default, when you link tasks they are assigned a “Finish to Start” relationship. In this relationship, Lead − Lead time causes successor task to begin before its predecessor tasks ends. Lag − Lag time causes successor task to start after its predecessor task ends. Click Task Tab → double-click the required Task under Task Name column → Task Information dialog box opens → Predecessors Tab. Under Lag heading column, enter the lag in terms of hours, days, weeks, or years. You can also apply lag or lead as a percentage. If you enter 50% for the selected Task which is 6 days long, the task is delayed by 3 days after the predecessor ends. Lag is entered as positive units and lead in negative units (example, -3d or -50%). Page 8 of 30 Apply Task Constraints Each task created in MS Project 2013 will be constrained as “As Soon as Possible” by default when Automatic Scheduling is turned ON. As Soon as Possible means the task starts as soon as the project starts, if there are no dependencies that would delay it. So, no fixed start or end dates are imposed by this constraint type, but of course predecessor and successor dependencies are maintained. When MS Project 2013 performs calculations to save you time in a project that’s running late, constraint settings are enforced. There are 8 Task Constraints. Constraint Constraint name Description type Task is scheduled as late as possible with the task ending before the As Late As Possible project ends and without delaying subsequent tasks. Default constraint (ALAP) when you schedule from the project finish date. Do not enter a task start or finish date with this constraint. Flexible Task is scheduled to begin as early as possible. Default constraint when As Soon As Possible you schedule from the project start date. Do not enter a start or finish (ASAP) date with this constraint. Start No Earlier Than Semi-Flexible (SNET) Task is scheduled to start on or after a specified date. Page 9 of 30  Finish No Earlier Than Task is scheduled to finish on or after a specified date. (FNET) Start No Later Than Task is scheduled to start on or before a specified date. (SNLT) Finish No Later Than Task is scheduled to finish on or before a specified date. (FNLT) Must Finish On (MFO) Task is scheduled to finish on a specified date. Inflexible Must Start On (MSO) Task is scheduled to start on a specified date. Click Task Tab → double-click the required Task under Task Name column → Task Information dialog box opens → Advanced Tab. Click dropdown box for Constraint type. Choose the constraint you would like to apply. Enter Deadline Date If you use Tasks Constraints, you limit your scheduling flexibility, where MS Project 2013 will fix a particular start or finish date of the task according to the constraint. It is a better idea to use a Deadline Date which has no effect on the scheduling of a task or summary task. MS Project will alert you with a red exclamation symbol in the indicators column, if the scheduled completion of the task exceeds its deadline date. Click Task Tab → double-click the required Task under Task Name column → Task Information dialog box opens → Advanced Tab. Page 10 of 30 Enter Fixed Cost Fixed Cost is associated with a task that is not tied to any resources or amount of work. Click View Tab → Data group → Tables → Cost. Enter the cost under the Fixed Cost column for the task of interest. In the following example, we have assigned a fixed cost of $500 to Task 7. Page 11 of 30 Enter a Recurring Task Status meetings, status reports, inspection dates can recur with a particular frequency. In MS Project 2013, you can specify recurring tasks without having to assign tasks each time separately. You can also assign resources to these task. In Gantt Chart View → Task Tab → Insert group → dropdown box for Task → Recurring Task. Enter Task Name and choose Recurrence pattern. You can also choose a specific time for the task to start as well. By default, Project schedules a recurring task to start on plan’s default start time. You can add time value in the Start box for Recurring Task Information dialog box to change this. In the following figure, start time of 10:00 AM is entered. Page 12 of 30 View Critical Path Critical Path is the succession of connected tasks that will take the longest to complete. The word “critical” does not mean that the tasks are complex or important or need to be closely monitored, but the focus is on terms schedule that will affect the project finish date. So, if you want to shorten the duration of a project, you should first start with activities/tasks on the critical path. Critical path can be a single sequence of tasks (a single critical path) or there can be more than 1 critical paths for a single project. While schedule changes are made, it is also likely that the critical path will change from time to time. One needs to always focus on the Critical Path first, when one wants to apply fast-tracking or crashing to shorten the project duration. Slack or Float are key to understanding Critical path. There are two types of Float − Free Float − It is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying another task. Total Float − It is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the completion of the project. In Gantt Chart view → Format Tab → Bar Styles Group → Check the Critical Tasks box ON. All task bars in the critical path, in the Gantt Chart View on the right, will turn Red in color. Page 13 of 30 Check Resource Allocations Relationship between a resource’s capacity and task assignments is called allocation. This can have defined by 3 states − Under allocated − An Engineer who works for 40 hours a week, has work assigned for only 20 hours. Fully allocated − A skilled worker who works for 40 hours a week, is assigned 40 hours of work in that week. Over allocated − A carpenter is assigned 65 hours of work, when he only has a 40-hour work week. In Gantt Chart View Click View Tab → Task Views group → Gantt Chart view. Gantt Chart View displays some limited resource information, as shown in the following screenshot. It summarizes whether there may be a problem by the red over allocated icon in the indicator column. Page 14 of 30 Click View Tab → Resource Views group → Resource Usage view. The Resource Usage view displays resources and all tasks assigned to them underneath the Resource Name. The left-hand side of the screen lists the Resources and the Task Names together with columns of total information for the resource or assignment. The right-hand side shows a time-phased view. You can also collapse the outline in the table to see total work per resource over time. Click on Resource Name column heading. Click View Tab → Data group → Outline → Hide Subtasks. Page 15 of 30 Resolve Resource Over Allocation One would need to either change the scope (reduce the amount of work), assign more resources, or accept a longer schedule to resolve over allocation. This can be achieved by using some of the following techniques − Adjust Schedule By changing its lead or lag time when the resource has more tasks assigned than can be completed during a given time period. If you add delay that is less than or equal to the amount of slack on the task, you will not affect the finish date of the project. By default, when you link tasks, they are assigned a “Finish to Start” relationship. In this relationship, Lead − Lead time causes successor task to begin before its predecessor tasks ends. Lag − Lag time causes successor task to start after its predecessor task ends. Click Task Tab → double-click the required Task under Task Name column → Task Information dialog box opens → Predecessors Tab. Under Lag heading column, enter the lag in terms of hours, days, weeks, or years. You can also apply lag or lead as a percentage. If you enter 50% for the selected Task which is 6 days long, the task is delayed by 3 days after the predecessor ends. Lag is entered as positive units and lead in negative units (example, -3d or -50%). Page 16 of 30 Substitute Resources or Add Additional Resources You can manually allot some other resource to the task. Click View Tab → Gantt Chart View → Resource Name column. Click the box below the Resource Name column for the task you need the resource to be assigned. From the dropdown, choose the resource name. In the following example, for Task 1 “PT1”, we have chosen the resource “Celic”. Page 17 of 30 You can also select multiple resources to work on a single task. Reduce Assigned Work Click View Tab → Resource Views group → Resource Usage view. In the following example, Trish Patrick is over allocated, the Resource Name and Work appear in red. On View tab → Zoom group → Timescale box → Days. You can also right-click on the Time-phased grid in the right hand side window to display amount of over allocation by switching on over allocation. Page 18 of 30 Now you can reduce the assigned hours. In the following example, 8-hour assignment is reduced to 4-hour assignments. Not only is Trish Patrick’s work reduced but total work in the plan has changed. You will also notice a new icon in the indicator column to let you know that the assignment work has been edited. Decrease Task Duration You can decrease task duration (if no actual work has been entered) to reduce the amount of work required of the resource, who is assigned to complete the task. If actual work has been recorded, you must manually reduce the remaining work on the task. Page 19 of 30 Remove Over Allocated Resource You can just remove a resource assignment from an over allocated resource. Level Over Allocated Resources If resources are over allocated you can use resource-leveling feature in MS Project 2013. It works by either splitting tasks or by adding delay to tasks to ensure the resource is not overloaded. Leveling can delay the individual task finish dates and even the project finish date. Project does not change who is assigned to each task, total work, or assignment unit values. Project first delays tasks to use up any available slack. Once the slack becomes zero, MS Project 2013 makes changes according to priorities, dependency relationships and task constraints (such as a Finish No Later Than constraint). Set Priorities It is always better to set task priorities (this is a measure of a task's importance/availability for leveling). You can enter value between 1 and 1000, according to the amount of control you like in the leveling process. A priority level of 1000 will ensure MS Project does not level a particular task. By default, priority is set at 500 or a medium level of control. Tasks that have lower priority are delayed or split before those that have higher priority. Click View Tab → Task Views → Gantt chart View. In the Gantt chart table area, scroll to the right to see Add New Column. Click on the dropdown box and select Priority. Page 20 of 30 Now you can add priority to each task as required. Leveling Steps in the Leveling process are only a few, but it is important to understand what each option does. The steps are as follows − Click on View Tab → Resource View group → Resource Sheet. Click Resource tab → Level group → Leveling Options → Level All. Project does leveling and over allocated indicators are removed (If leveling is done completely, sometimes this might not happen). In the following section, we will look at Leveling Options in detail − Click Resource tab → Level group → Leveling Options. Page 21 of 30 In Resource Leveling dialog box, under Level calculations, try to use Manual more often. This will ensure MS Project 2013 does the leveling process only when you ask it to, and not as soon as a resource becomes over allocated even if you don’t want it to (when you choose Automatic option). For examples, if a resource is over allocated, for say half an hour more in a week, from 40 hours to 40.5 hours, you wouldn’t want this to inconvenience you by getting automatically leveled. In Resource Leveling dialog box, under Level calculations, choose Day by Day basis for “Look for over allocations on a” option. Doing so will not level resources, but it will determine when Project displays over allocation indicators next to resource names. In Resource Leveling dialog box, under Level calculations, use the clear leveling values before leveling checkbox is selected. Doing so will ensure Project removes any existing leveling delays from all tasks and assignments before leveling. And if you previously leveled the plan and then added more assignments, you might want checkbox to be unchecked to ensure you don’t lose the previous leveling results. In Resource Leveling dialog box, under Leveling range for “…….”, you can choose Level entire project. Here you choose to level either the entire plan or only assignments that fall within a date range you specify. In Resource Leveling dialog box, under Resolving over allocations, leveling order dropdown box you can choose Standard. You have 3 options here − ID only option delays tasks only according to their ID numbers. Numerically higher ID numbers (for example, 10) will be delayed before numerically lower ID numbers. You might want to use this option when your plan has no task relationships or constraints. Standard option delays tasks according to predecessor relationships, start dates, task constraints, slack, priority, and IDs. Page 22 of 30 Priority, standard option looks at the task priority value before the other standard criteria (Task priority is a numeric ranking between 0 and 1000). In Resource Leveling dialog box, under Resolving over allocations, you have several options that you can select. These are explained as follows − Level only within available slack. Selecting this checkbox would prevent Project from extending the plan’s finish date. MS Project will use only the free slack within the existing schedule, which could mean that resource over allocations might not be fully resolved. Leveling can adjust individual assignments. Selecting this checkbox allows Project to add a leveling delay (or split work on assignments if Leveling Can Create Splits in Remaining Work is also selected) independently of any other resources assigned to the same task. This might cause resources to start and finish work on a task at different times. Leveling can create splits in remaining work checkbox. This allows Project to split work on a task (or on an assignment if Leveling Can Adjust Individual Assignments on a Task is also selected) as a way of resolving over allocation. Level manually scheduled tasks. Selecting this allows Project to level a manually scheduled task just as it would an automatically scheduled task. Check Plan’s Cost Types of cost in a project life cycle includes − Baseline costs − All planned costs as saved in baseline plan. Actual costs − Costs that have been incurred for tasks, resources or assignments. Remaining costs − Difference between baseline/current costs and actual costs. Current costs − When plans are changed due to assigning or removing resources, or adding or subtracting tasks, MS Project 2013 will recalculate all costs. This will appear under the fields labeled Cost or Total Cost. If you have started to track actual cost, it will include actual cost + remaining cost per task. Method 1 You can view plan’s cost values in the Project Statistics dialog box. Click Project tab → Properties Group → Project Information → Statistics… Page 23 of 30 Method 2 Click View tab → Task Views group → Other Views → Task Sheet. Click View tab → Data group → Tables → Cost. Page 24 of 30 After creating a project plan and baselines, the project begins. At this stage, the project manager would be focusing on collecting, monitoring, analyzing project performance, and updating project status by communicating with the stakeholders. When there is a difference between what is planned and the actual project performance, it is called a Variance. Variance is mostly measured in terms of Time and Cost. Task Slippage There are several ways to view task with variance. Method 1: Graphical View by Tracking Gantt Click View tab → Task Views group → Gantt Chart dropdown → Tracking Gantt. By comparing the currently scheduled Gantt bars with baseline Gantt bars, you can see what tasks started later than planned or took longer to complete. Method 2: Graphical View by Detail Gantt Click View tab → Task Views group → Other Views → double-click Tracking Gantt. Page 25 of 30 Method 3: Variance Table Click View tab → Data group → Tables → Variance. Method 4: Filters Click View tab → Data group → Filters → More Filters → choose filter as Late tasks, Slipping task, etc. MS Project 2013 will filter the t