IT Project Management - Lecture notes 1-3 PDF

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IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Text book: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 3RD edition (PMBOK Guides) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Introduction of PM Tools PMI’s knowledge areas Technical fundamentals in SPM Lifecycle relationships Classic mistakes Product-Process-Peoples –Technology mistakes

What is Project Management? Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. A key factor that distinguishes project management from just 'management' is that it has this final deliverable and a finite timespan, unlike management which is an ongoing process. Because of this a project professional needs a wide range of skills; often technical skills, and certainly people management skills and good business awareness. What is a project? A project is a unique, transient endeavor, undertaken to achieve planned objectives, which could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits. A project is usually deemed to be a success if it achieves the objectives according to their acceptance criteria, within an agreed timescale and budget. Time, cost and quality are the building blocks of every project. Time: scheduling is a collection of techniques used to develop and present schedules that show when work will be performed. Cost: how are necessary funds acquired and finances managed? Quality: how will fitness for purpose of the deliverables and management processes are assured Six stages of Project Management: A project undergoes six stages during its life cycles and they are noted below: 

Project Definition - This refers to defining the objectives and the factors to be considered to make the project successful.

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Project Initiation - This refers to the resources as well as the planning before the project starts.

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Project Planning - Outlines the plan as to how the project should be executed. This is where project management triangle is essential. It looks at the time, cost and scope of the project.

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Project Execution - Undertaking work to deliver the outcome of the project.

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Project Monitoring & Control - Taking necessary measures, so that the operation of the project runs smoothly.

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 1.

Project Closure - Acceptance of the deliverables and discontinuing resources that were required to run the project.

Introduction of PM Tools: (Helping Aids of Project Managers)

Project management is one of the high-responsibility tasks in modern organizations. Project management is used in many types of projects ranging from software development to developing the next generation fighter aircrafts. In order to execute a project successfully, the project manager or the project management team should be supported by a set of tools. These tools can be specifically designed tools or regular productivity tools that can be adopted for project management work. The use of such tools usually makes the project managers work easy as well as it standardizes the work and the routine of a project manager. Following are some of those tools used by project managers in all domains: 1. Project Plan: All the projects that should be managed by a project manager should have a project plan. The project plan details many aspects of the project to be executed. First of all, it details out the project scope. Then, it describes the approach or strategy used for addressing the project scope and project objectives. The strategy is the core of the project plan. The strategy could vary depending on the project purpose and specific project requirements. The resource allocation and delivery schedule are other two main components of the project plan. These detail each activity involved in the project as well as the information such as who executes them and when. This is important information for the project manager as well as all the other stakeholders of the project. 2. Milestone Checklist: This is one of the best tools the project manager can use to determine whether he or she is on track in terms of the project progress. The project manager does not have to use expensive software to track this. The project manager can use a simple Excel template to do this job. The milestone checklist should be a live document that should be updated once or twice a week. 3. Gantt Chart: A Gantt chart is a popular project management bar chart that tracks tasks across time. When first developed in 1917, the Gantt chart did not show the relationships between the tasks. Since then, it has become common to track both time and interdependencies between tasks, which is now its everyday use. Since their first introduction, Gantt charts have become an industry standard. They are an important project management tool used for showing the phases, tasks, milestones and resources needed as part of a project. Lect. Yasmin Afzaal

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One of the first uses was on America's Hoover Dam project started in 1931. There are many ways you can create a Gantt chart. If the project is small and simple in nature, you can create your own Gantt chart in Excel or download an Excel template from the Internet. If the project has a high financial value or high-risk exposure, then the project manager can use software tools such as MS Project.

4. Project Management Software: With the introduction of computer technology, there have been a number of software tools specifically developed for project management purpose. MS Project is one such tool that has won the hearts of project managers all over the world. MS Project can be used as a standalone tool for tracking project progress or it can be used for tracking complex projects distributed in many geographical areas and managed by a number of project managers. There are many other software packages for project management in addition to MS Project. Most of these new additions are online portals for project management activities where the project members have access to project details and progress from anywhere. 5. Project Reviews: A comprehensive project review mechanism is a great tool for project management. More mature companies tend to have more strict and comprehensive project reviews as opposed to basic ones done by smaller organizations. In project reviews, the project progress and the adherence to the process standards are mainly considered. Usually, project reviews are accompanied by project audits by 3rd party (internal or external) .The non-compliances and action items are then tracked in order to complete them. 6. Delivery reviews: Delivery reviews make sure that the deliveries made by the project team meet the customer requirements and adhere to the general guidelines of quality. Usually, a 3rd party team or supervisors (internal) conduct the delivery review and the main stakeholders of the project delivery do participate for this event. The delivery review may decide to reject the delivery due to the quality standards and non-compliances. 7. Score Cards: When it comes to performance of the project team, a scorecard is the way of tracking it. Every project manager is responsible of accessing the performance of the team members and reporting it to the upper management and HR. This information is then used for promotion purposes as well as human resource development. A comprehensive score card and performance assessment can place the team member in the correct position.

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8. Conclusion: A project manager cannot execute his/her job without a proper set of tools. These tools do not have to be renowned software or something, but it can pretty well be simple and proven techniques to manage project work. Having a solid set of project management tools always makes project managers' work pleasurable and productive.

2. PMI’s knowledge areas: In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) the process groups are the chronological phases that the project goes through, and the knowledge areas occur throughout any time during the process groups. The process groups are horizontal, and the knowledge areas are vertical. They are the core technical subject matter of the project management profession, and they bring the project to life. These are the 10 Project Management knowledge areas: Project

 Integration Management

Project

 Scope Management

Project

 Time Management

Project

 Cost Management

Project

 Quality Management

Project

 Human Resource Management

Project

 Communication Management

Project

 Risk Management

Project

 Procurement Management

Project

 Stakeholder Management

1) Project Integration Management: Project complications also occur when working on a larger project with many moving parts that must eventually align. Without proper alignment of these parts, the project can slow down, become less productive and possibly grind to a halt. To create harmony between the various departments and parts of a project, project integration management is implemented. Project integration management is a way of making various processes work together. Meaning, it takes the numerous processes that are being used in a project and makes sure that they’re coordinated. This knowledge area contains the tasks that hold the overall project together and integrate it into a unified whole. Lect. Yasmin Afzaal

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Develop Project Charter: One of only two processes during the Initiation phase, the development of a project charter initiates the project and authorizes the project manager. A Project Charter is a document that, while describing the purpose of a project and its scope, it legally authorizes the beginning of the project. Any business nowadays, before initiating a new project requires a signed project charter. Develop Project Management Plan: This is the primary guiding document for the project manager and the end result of the planning phase. It is used to ensure a successful outcome to the project. The project management plan is distributed and approved by relevant stakeholders, particularly the project sponsor, and changes are tracked through the change log. Direct and Manage Project Work: This process encompasses the production of the project’s deliverables. Monitor and Control Project Work: This process contains the work necessary to monitor the project, perform earned value analysis and project status reports, and identify potential project changes. Perform Integrated Change Control: In this process the change control is carried out. Whether your project requires change request forms, project sponsor approvals, and other administration or if it’s a basic change log, this process manages project changes. Close Project or Phase: This process contains the tasks necessary to close the project, or the project phases.

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2) Project Scope Management: This knowledge area involves the project scope, that is, the work that is included within the project. Since scope changes are one of the top causes of project changes and grief in general, it is very important that the boundaries of the project be well defined from the outset and monitored rigorously. It is very easy for people to insert unauthorized work into the project when the project appears to be big enough to absorb it, but most projects are estimated with the minimum cost. Project Scope Management When competing for (or obtaining) work, we are motivated towards the minimum scope. But when the project has begun we are motivated towards the maximum.   

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Plan Scope Management. The Scope Management Plan is part of the project management plan and can be a section within it rather than a stand-alone document. Collect Requirements. At this stage the detailed requirements of the final product or service are assembled and itemized. Define Scope. A scope statement is created which can be in sentence form or bulleted. You can’t delineate every project boundary, but the scope statement should be comprehensive enough that it reduces some of the major risks to the project. Create WBS. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) contains either a graphical or table-style breakdown of the project work. Validate Scope. During the project the deliverables are “validated” meaning they are approved by the recipient. Note this appears during the Monitoring & Controlling process group, and it

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refers to the formal acceptance of the deliverables after they have been submitted, not the specifications for the deliverables during the planning phase.  Control Scope. The scope statement must be revisited regularly in light of the project work that has been completed and current project status. If you are behind schedule, for example, you may wish to gravitate toward a minimum acceptable scope rather than all the bells and whistles you wanted to produce in the beginning.

3) Project Time Management: This is usually the most time consuming of the knowledge areas. During planning, the project manager must divide the project into tasks and create both a schedule (start and finish dates for each task) and budget for each task. During the project, earned value analysis must be performed to determine the project status at regular status intervals. Because most project changes involve a change to the schedule, it must be continuously re-base lined and the project management plan updated (and approved by the project sponsor).  

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Plan Schedule Management. The Schedule Management Plan contains information such as how the schedule will be created, who will be responsible for it, how aggressive it will be, and under what circumstances it will be changed. Define Activities. The project is divided into tasks. Note that according to the PMBOK this process is different from Create WBS within the Scope Management knowledge area, but in practice they are generally the same. A task list is produced which defines all of the project (not most of it!). Sequence Activities. The tasks are “sequenced” that is, they are ordered and the relationships between them are established. These relationships take the form of Finish-to-Start (FS), Finish-to-Finish (FF), Start-to-Start (SS) and Start-to-Finish (SF). For small projects with simple schedules this is not necessary. Estimate Activity Resources. Once the tasks are ordered, each task must be assigned the resources necessary to complete it. Estimate Activity Durations. Using its resource list, duration is estimated for each task. Develop Schedule. Firstly, a network diagram is produced which determines the critical path as well as floats for each task. Secondly, a graphical bar chart schedule is created with each activity plotted on their early start dates. Lastly the resource usage is plotted and tasks are moved along their floats to flatten the resource usage. This is called resource leveling. Control Schedule. Earned value analysis is performed on regular project status intervals to determine the project status at that status point.

4) Project Cost Management: The project budget is usually one of the most sensitive parts of a project. I would love to have project budgets that are comfortable and contain plenty of cushions, but very few projects have this luxury. The budget must be established through rigorous estimating

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techniques and monitored to ensure there are no unnecessary changes that make stakeholders unhappy.  Plan Cost Management. The Cost Management Plan establishes things like the methodologies with which the project budget will be established, the criteria for changes, and control procedures.  Estimat e Costs. The cost of each task is estimated, taking into account the resources, labor, materials, equipment, and any other item of cost necessary to complete the task.  Determi ne Budget. The task budgets are rolled up into an overall project budget.  Control Costs. Earned value analysis is performed on regular project status intervals to determine the project status at that status point.

5) Project Quality Management: Quality is one of the triple constraints of Time, Cost, and Quality. As such, when you need better quality you need to put in more time or cost. Because of this integral nature of the quality of the project’s deliverables, the quality level should be established during project planning and specified within the project management plan. Then when issues arise regarding product specifications, there is a plan to deal with it. Plan Quality Management. The Quality Management Plan can be a section of the project management plan or a stand-alone document, and it contains the quality specifications for the product or service. There should be no doubt whether the product being produced is a Mercedes-Benz or a Chevy.  Perform Quality Assurance. The processes that ensure the quality of the deliverables must be inspected regularly to ensure they are working.  Control Quality. The deliverables themselves are inspected to ensure they conform to the quality standards.

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6) Project Human Resource Management: The project team is usually one of the most important factors in the success of a project. If you have a good team, you will have a successful project. This knowledge area is concerned with acquiring the right team, ensuring their satisfaction, and tracking their performance.  

Lect. Yasmin Afzaal

Plan Human Resource Management:. The Human Resource Management Plan identifies the roles/positions required by the project, the minimum requirements for those roles, and how they fit into the overall project structure. Acquire Project Team. Once the job descriptions have been identified the project team can be acquired, either through attrition from other departments or through new hires (or both).

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Develop Project Team. The project team often requires training to develop the necessary competencies to complete the project, but the development of the team environment and interaction between team members is also actively managed. Manage Project Team. The project team is actively managed to ensure their production is maximized and they are satisfied.

7) Project Communication Management: Communication with stakeholders is often the key factor that allows stakeholders to be satisfied even with unexpected changes. It is essential to develop a communications plan to keep all stakeholders “in the loop” throughout the project and communicate early and often when unexpected issues occur.  Plan Communications Management: The Communications Management Plan identifies the regular communication requirements of each stakeholder, such as investor circulars, progress updates, and so forth. It also identifies any specific communications procedures for unexpected issues or project changes.  Manage Communications: During the project execution the communications plan is put into practice and communications are actively managed.  Control Communications: During regular status points the project communications are reviewed and revisions to the communications plan are initiated.

8) Project Risk Management: Managing project risk is one of the most underrated aspects of project management. Major risk are very seldom identified up front and analyzed within the project management plan, but when they are project stakeholders tend to forgive the unexpected issues much quicker. Not to mention th...