Inspiration Operation

A miracle occurs

Time span between the two end points is called a project cycle

Introduction Definition Stages/Phases of a Project Cycle Approaches Effort Vs Time Conclusion

The Project Life Cycle refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish the projects goals or objectives. Regardless of scope or complexity, any project goes through a series of phases during its life.

Sequential but overlapping Useful for allocation of resources Important to carry out the budgeting Different for different Industries

Many industries use variations on these project stages. For example, when working on a brick and mortar design and construction, projects will typically progress through stages like Pre-Planning, Conceptual Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Drawings (or Contract Documents), and Construction Administration. In software development, this approach is often known as the waterfall model i.e., one series of tasks after another in linear sequence.

 Definition  Initiation  Planning  Execution  Monitoring  Closure

& Control

Definition
Before a project starts the project manager must make sure the following have been clearly defined
      

Project goals Objectives Scope Risks Issues Budget Timescale This must be communicated to all the stakeholders to get their concurrence. Any differences of opinion need to be resolved before work starts.

Initiation
    

Most important stage of any project Terms of reference are set The business case is declared, Scope of the project decided Stakeholder expectations set.

Time spent on planning, Refining the business case and communicating the expected benefits will help increase the likelihood of success. It is tempting to start working quickly, but a poor initiation stage often leads to problems and even failure

Develop a Business Case

     

Research the business problem or opportunity Identify the alternative solutions available Quantify the benefits and costs of each solution Recommend a preferred solution to your sponsor Identify any risks and issues with implementation Present the solution for funding approval

Undertake a Feasibility Study  Research the business problem or opportunity  Document the business requirements for a solution  Identify all of the alternative solutions available  Review each solution to determine its feasibility  List any risks and issues with each solution  Choose a preferred solution for implementation  Document the results in a feasibility report

Establish the Project Charter  Identify the project vision and objectives  Define the complete scope of the project  List all of the critical project deliverables  State the customers and project stakeholders  List the key roles and their responsibilities  Create an organizational structure for the project  Document the overall implementation plan  List any risks, issues and assumptions

Appoint the Project Team  Define the real purpose of the role  List the key responsibilities of the role  Define who this role will be reporting to  Create a detailed Organizational Chart  List the skills and experience needed  Define any relevant qualifications  Set out the key performance criteria  Identify the salary and working conditions

Set up the Project Office  Identify the right location for your PMO team  Ensure that you have the correct infrastructure  Procure the right PMO equipment and tools  Define the PMO roles and responsibilities  Put in place suitable standards and processes

Perform Phase Review  Project is currently delivering to schedule  Budget allocated was sufficient at this point  Deliverables have been produced and approved  Risks have been controlled and mitigated  Issues were identified and resolved  Changes were properly managed  Project is on track

The key to a successful project is in the planning. Creating a project plan is the first task you should do when undertaking any project. Often project planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the work. However, many people fail to realise the value of a project plan in saving time, money and many other problems.

Creat a Project Plan  Identify all of the phases, activities and tasks  Sum up the effort needed to complete those tasks  Document all of the project inter-dependencies  List the planning assumptions and constraints  Create a detailed project planning schedule Create a Resource Plan  Types of labor required for the project  Roles and key responsibilities for each labor type  Number of people required to fill each role  Items of equipment to be used and their purposes  Types and quantities of equipment needed  Total amount of materials needed Create a Financial Plan  Types of labour costs to be incurred during the project  Items of equipment needed to deliver the project  Various materials needed by the project  Unit costs for labor, equipment and materials  Other costs types such as administration  Amount of contingency needed

Create a Quality Plan  Identifying the customers requirements  Listing the project deliverables to be produced  Setting quality criteria for these deliverables  Defining quality standards for the deliverables  Gaining your customers agreement with the targets set Create a Risk Plan  Identify risks within your project  Categorize and prioritize each risk  Determine the likelihood of the risks occurring  Identify the impact on the project if risk does occur Create an Acceptance Plan  Creating a full list of all project deliverables  Listing the criteria for gaining customer acceptance  Putting in place, acceptance standards to be met

Create a Communications Plan  Listing your communications stakeholders  Defining each stakeholders communication needs  Identifying the required communications events  Determining the method and frequency of each event  Allocating resource to communications events  Building a communication event schedule Create a Procurement Plan  Define your procurement requirements  Identify all of the items you need to procure  Create a sound financial justification for procuring them Contract the Suppliers  Defining the type of supplier that you wish to appoint  Describing the materials and equipment you need  Specifying the deliverables to be provided by the supplier  Stating your terms and conditions for payment

Define the Tender Process  Types of Tender Forms released  Release date and release details  Status such as; Approved, Released, Distributed  Outcome of the release of the Tender Forms Issue a Statement of Work  Defining the type of supplier that you wish to appoint  Describing the materials and equipment you need  Specifying the deliverables to be provided by the supplier  Stating your terms and conditions for payment Issue a Request for Information  Defining your supplier needs  Informing supplier of your procurement process  Specifying the rules and timeframes for engaging with suppliers  Selecting suppliers for your business

Issue a Request for Proposal  Tell suppliers about your purchasing needs  Inform suppliers of the information that you need from them  Make your preferred supplier decision Create Supplier Contract  Deliverables to be provided by the supplier  Training, documentation and support to be provided  Responsibilities of both parties  Performance criteria and review process  Pricing schedule and invoicing process  Contractual terms and conditions Perform Phase Review  Project is under schedule and within budget  Deliverables have been produced and approved  Risks have been controlled and mitigated  Issues have been resolved  Project is on track

Execution

 Once

the project is running it is important the project manager keeps control. This is achieved by regular reporting of issues, risks, progress and the constant checking of the business case to ensure that expected benefits will be delivered and are still valid. A project that is not controlled is out of control

Perform Time Management  Put in place a process for recording time within projects  Use Timesheets to monitor the time spent by staff  Identify and resolve time management issues  Keep your Project Plan up-to-date at all times Perform Cost Management  Identify each of the costs within your project  Ensure that expenses are approved before purchasing  Keep a central record of all costs incurred  Control the overall cost of your project

Perform Quality Management  Set Quality Targets to be met by your team  Define how those quality targets will be measured  Take the actions needed to measure quality  Identify quality issues and improvements  Report on the overall level of quality achieved Perform Change Management  Identify requests for change  Confirm the feasibility of each change  Control the way that change is undertaken  Manage the approval of change Perform Risk Management  Identify critical and non-critical risks  Document each risk in depth by completing Risk Forms  Log all risks and notify management of their severity  Take action to reduce the likelihood of risks occurring

Perform Issue Management  Identify and record issues clearly  Use Issue Forms to document issues properly  Determine the impact of each issue  Prioritize issues and report on their status  Review all issues and decide on a course of action  Take the steps needed to resolve issues quickly Perform Procurement Management  Identify the goods and services to procure  Complete Purchase Orders and issue to suppliers  Agree on delivery timeframes and methods  Receive goods and services from suppliers  Review and accept the items procured  Approve supplier payments

Perform Acceptance Management  Perform proper user acceptance testing  Use acceptance forms to document the results  Request your customer's final acceptance  Communicate the acceptance testing results Perform Communications Management  Identify the messages that need to be sent  Determine your target audience for communication  Decide on your message format and timing  Draft your message and gain approval where required  Communicate your message, through communications events  Gather feedback and improve your communication processes

Closure Often neglected, it is important to ensure that a project is closed properly. Many projects never end because there is no formal sign-off. It is important to get the customers agreement that a project has ended and that no more work will be carried out. Once closed, the project manager should review the project and record the good and bad points so successes can be repeated and failures avoided. A project that is not closed will continue to consume resources, albeit slowly.

Project Closure Project Closure involves releasing the final deliverables to the customer, handing over project documentation to the business, terminating supplier contracts, releasing project resources and communicating project closure to all stakeholders. The last remaining step is to undertake a Post Implementation Review to identify the level of project success and note any lessons learned for future projects.

Perform Project Closure Identifying the project completion criteria Listing any outstanding activities or deliverables Creating a plan for passing deliverables to your customer Planning the handover of project documentation Closing supplier contracts and agreements Releasing projects resources to the business Communicating the closure of the project Review Project Completion Measuring the benefits and objectives Deciding whether the project was within scope Assessing the final deliverables produced Reviewing the project against schedule Comparing the expenditure against budget Stating the final outcome of the project

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional approach", we can distinguish 5 components of a project (4 stages plus control) in the development of a project:

It is a method of planning and managing projects that puts more emphasis on the resources (physical and human) needed in order to execute project tasks. The most complex part involves engineering professionals of different fields (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical etc) working together.