Project Management

A Project is a temporary endeavour which uses a series of tasks that have defined start and end dates, consume resources, have funding limits, and create a lasting outcome.

Iron Triangle

Scope, Cost and Time/Schedule defines the quality of the work.

Project Organization Type

• Functional Organization: Staff members belong to its own functional unit under the clear supervision of a functional manager. Production, marketing, engineering, or accounting is an example of functional unit. Each functional unit works independently. Functional managers is responsible for project coordination.
• Matrix Organization: Staff members still belong to its own functional unit but the project manager authority is greater. The strongest the matrix is, the greater the Project Manager power and influence.
  • Weak: Really close to a functional organization but the Project Manager has a little more power. The role of the Project Manager is more of a coordinator. The Project Manager handles the communication but he cannot enforce or make decisions.
  • Balanced:The Project Manager can enforce and make decisions but he does not have full authority on the project and the funding.
  • Strong: A full-time project Project Manager with considerable authority on the project.
• Project-based Organization: Staff members do no belong to a functional unit but to a project under the supervision of a Project Manager who has full authority of the project. Staff members are fully dedicated to the project. The project coordination is on the project unit only and does not encompass multiple functional units.
• Composite Organization: This organization is a mix between different organization types at different levels.

Organization Structure	Functional	Weak Matrix	Balanced Matrix	Strong Matrix	Projectized
Project Manager's Authority	Little	Low	Moderate	High	Total
Resource Availability	Little	Low	Moderate	High	Total
Who manages the project budget	Functional Manager	Functional Manager	Mixed	Project Manager	Project Manager
Project Manager's Role	Part-time	Part-time	Full-time	Full-time	Full-time
Project Management Administrative Staff	Part-time	Part-time	Part-time	Full-time	Full-time

Manage Stakeholders

A stakeholder is a person, group, or entity that may affect or be affected by a project.

First, you need to identify the stakeholders, then you need to assess/analyse their impact on the project.

Classify stakeholders using the following tools depending on what is most import to the Project Manager:

• Power/interest grid
  • Monitor Low Power/Low interest: give the information they need
  • Keep informed Low Power/High interest: people interest and impact can change over time
  • Keep satisfied High Power/Low interest (e.g. senior level manager): keep them updated to the appropriate level (maybe not everyday)
  • Manage closely High Power/High interest: this person has the power to impact the project, he should kept updated
• Power/influence grid
• Influence/impact grid
• Salience model: ability to impose their will on the project
• Stakeholder cube

A stakeholder register helps record the stakeholder prioritization. It contains the name, role, type and how they want to be communicated with and how often.

A stakeholder engagement plan contains:

• their desired and current level of engagement: Unaware, Resistant, Neutral, and Leading
• their scope and impact of change
• interrelationship
• their communication requirements
• type of information distributed and how (reason, frequency)
• method of updating the plan throughout the process

Manage stakeholders engagement

The following tools should be used to manage the stakeholders engagement:

• Interpersonal skills: building trust, resolving conflict, active listening, change management, cultural & political awareness, observation
• Management skills: influence people, facilitate cooperation, negotiation, influence or modify organizational behaviour

Project Integration Management

• Initiating:
  • Develop Project Charter
• Planning:
  • Develop Project Management Plan
• Executing
• Monitoring & Controlling:
  • Perform Integrated Change Control
• Closing

Project Charter

Also called Project Frame, Scoping Document. Often, it is part of a contract.

This is a one to two pages documents. It formally authorizes the Project. It contains the Project name, description, purpose, scope, requirements, deliverable, schedule, financial resources, assumptions/constrains, known risks, references and the Key Stakeholders section.

The Key Stakeholders section should at least include: Owner/Client, Project Sponsor, Project Manager. In addition to that, it should include the level of authority of the Project Manager, the Project Approval Requirements and the Project Exit Criteria.

The input to the Project Charter are:

• Benefits Managements Plan
  • Target benefits, Strategy, time frame, ...
• Business Case: defines the economic feasibility study for the project
  • Assists the company in allocating resources
  • Compares different options
• Agreements
• Environment Factors (company culture, legal framework, customer base)
• Organizational Process Assets: standard templates

Business case

The most common methods to prepare a business case:

• Payback Time
  • Easiest to calculate
  • Time it takes to pay back the initial investment
  • Summing cash flows over time until the total Cumulative value turns positive
• Net Present Value (NPV)
  • Most commonly use for project justification
  • Takes into account the time value of money
  • Base on Project live N and discount rate i
  • NPV(i, N)= Sum(t=0, N, R(t)/(1+i)^t) where Rt is the net cash flow period
    • NPV(0, N)=R(0) + R(1) + ... + R(N)
    • NPV(1, N)=R(0) + R(1)/2 + R(2)/4 + ... + R(N)/2^N
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)=discount rate i where the NPV is 0

Project Management Plan

This document describes how the Project will be planned, executed, monitored, controlled. Each function unit owns a section in the Project Management Plan. For instance, this document may contain the Cost Management Plan or the Quality Management Plan. It can also include the:

• Executive Summary
• Execution Approach: How the Project should be executed?
• Change Management Plan

The Key Project Baseline Elements are:

• Project Charger
• Scope Baseline
• Project Management Plan
• Cost Baseline
• Schedule Baseline
• Risk Register

Changes to these elements will result to changes elsewhere according to the Iron Triangle.

Change control is process to identity, document and approve modifications to the Project Baseline.

Resources

Engineering Project Management: Initiating and Planning	https://www.coursera.org/learn/initiating-planning
Iron Triangle	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_triangle
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)	http://suncoastpmi.org/images/downloads/BusinessAnalysis/pmbok_5th_edition.pdf