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Lean Project Management Ebook
Lean Project Management Ebook
Advanced Projects, Inc. 2005 5239 South Pegasus Way Boise, Idaho 83716 www.Advanced-projects.com
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Contents
PRINCIPLE ONE: PROJECT SYSTEM ....................................................... 1 Begin With the End in Mind: The PMO? ....................................................... 5 The Basics Count: PM101 .............................................................................. 6 LPM Principles and the Theory of Constraints............................................. 10 Lean Principles ............................................................................................. 14 Single Project LPM Plan............................................................................... 16 Linking Measurement and Control to the Plan ............................................. 21 Pulling the Critical Chain (Multiple Projects) .............................................. 24 Project Pipelining: Big Rocks First............................................................... 27 Special Cases ................................................................................................ 30 TOC Portfolio Management ......................................................................... 31 When are you going to be done?.............................................................. 31 How much is it going to cost? .................................................................. 32 Defining Your Project Delivery System ....................................................... 34 Summary of the First Principle ..................................................................... 35 Discussion Questions.................................................................................... 36 References..................................................................................................... 37 PRINCIPLE TWO: LEADING PEOPLE..................................................... 39 Stakeholder Endorsement ............................................................................. 41 Team Building .......................................................................................... 45 Individual Leadership .............................................................................. 45 Team Leadership...................................................................................... 48 Project Roles................................................................................................. 51 Project Leader/Manager Role.................................................................. 52 Task Manager Role .................................................................................. 55 Resource Role .......................................................................................... 57 Resource Manager Role........................................................................... 57 Additional Roles....................................................................................... 58 Conflict Management ................................................................................... 59 Summary of the Second Principle................................................................. 66
Discussion Questions:................................................................................... 66 References..................................................................................................... 68 PRINCIPLE THREE: CHARTERING......................................................... 69 The Charter ................................................................................................... 72 Vision............................................................................................................ 74 Project Assumptions and Constraints............................................................ 75 Business Case................................................................................................ 76 Issue and Action Resolution ......................................................................... 80 Summary of the Third Principle.................................................................... 82 Discussion Questions .................................................................................... 82 References..................................................................................................... 83 PRINCIPLE FOUR: RIGHT SOLUTION.................................................... 85 Requirements ................................................................................................ 86 Solution Design............................................................................................. 91 Breakthrough Thinking ............................................................................ 92 Critical Thinking ...................................................................................... 95 DeBono Methods...................................................................................... 99 TRIZ ....................................................................................................... 101 Solution Selection ....................................................................................... 102 Decision Making .................................................................................... 104 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) ............................................................ 106 Work Packages....................................................................................... 114 Summary of the Fourth Principle................................................................ 116 Discussion Questions:................................................................................. 116 References................................................................................................... 117 PRINCIPLE FIVE: MANAGING VARIATION ....................................... 119 Variation ..................................................................................................... 121 Common-cause and Special-cause Variation.............................................. 127 Effects of Variation in Projects ................................................................... 129 Buffers ........................................................................................................ 131 Summary of the Fifth Principle................................................................... 141
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Discussion Questions:................................................................................. 141 References................................................................................................... 142 PRINCIPLE SIX: PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT ............................. 143 Uncertainty ................................................................................................. 144 Risk Management Process .......................................................................... 145 Risk Matrix ................................................................................................. 147 Identifying Risks......................................................................................... 151 Probability of Risk ...................................................................................... 153 Risk Impact................................................................................................. 156 Take Action! ............................................................................................... 156 Summary of the Sixth Principle .................................................................. 157 Discussion Questions.................................................................................. 157 References................................................................................................... 158 PRINCIPLE SEVEN: PROJECT PLAN .................................................... 159 Project Plan Content ................................................................................... 160 Project Plan Process.................................................................................... 163 Project Task Network ................................................................................. 164 Network Building ....................................................................................... 165 The Gantt Chart .......................................................................................... 168 The PERT Chart.......................................................................................... 176 Network Building Good Practices .............................................................. 178 Finding the Critical Chain........................................................................... 179 Pipelining.................................................................................................... 184 Cost Estimate ......................................................................................... 188 Project Procedures ...................................................................................... 189 Grading Your Project Plan.......................................................................... 194 Summary of the Seventh Principle.............................................................. 195 Discussion Questions.................................................................................. 196 References................................................................................................... 197
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PRINCIPLE EIGHT: EXECUTING........................................................... 199 Which task do I work on next? ................................................................... 201 When are you going to be done?................................................................. 203 How much is it going to cost?..................................................................... 205 Buffer Recovery.......................................................................................... 206 Project Execution Process Management ..................................................... 208 End With the Beginning in Mind ................................................................ 209 Summary of the Eighth Principle................................................................ 210 Discussion Questions:................................................................................. 210 References................................................................................................... 212 GLOSSARY ................................................................................................... 213 INDEX ............................................................................................................ 223
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It is important that an aim never be defined in terms of activity or methods. It must always relate directly to how life is better for everyone The aim of the system must be clear to everyone in the system.
W. Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993)
5 Manage Variation
3 Charter
4 Right Solution
7 Project Plan
8 Execute
6 Manage Risks
1 Project System
2 Leading People
Begin With the End in Mind: The PMO? The Basics Count: PM101 LPM Principles and the Theory of Constraints Lean Principles Single Project LPM Plan Linking Measurement and Control to the Plan Pulling the Critical Chain (Multiple Projects) Project Pipelining: Big Rocks First Special Cases TOC Portfolio Management When are you going to be done?
The figure on the previous page illustrates that the project system underlies all of the Principles for Lean Project Management success. All eight principles relate to each other through the project system. While the figure shows a flow for principles three through eight, relationships connect all of the entities in both directions. Project planning and execution comprise a system, which I call the project delivery system. Some people are intimidated by system thinking, likening it to rocket science. The Theory of Constraints (TOC), an approach I have used to develop LPM, asserts that system thinking can and should be simple. This chapter will address the key elements needed to design your Lean project delivery system, with special emphasis on the contributions of Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) to that system.
People interact with and design systems all the time, often without thinking about it How much is it going that way. I defined Critical Chain Project to cost? Management (Leach, 2004) as the Defining Your Project synthesis of several systems, including Delivery System conventional project management, the Theory of Constraints (TOC), and Total Summary of the First Principle Quality Management (TQM, now frequently called Six Sigma). The Lean Discussion Questions system continues this synergy to include References Lean manufacturing principles, beginning with focusing on eliminating waste.
Project delivery systems deploy people to use processes to create a result: a product or service. As with all systems, the relationships between the entities over time determine the results. The relationships in a project delivery system, including most importantly the people, matter more than the entities themselves. For example, how you develop your plan determines how people will perform the work. The way people perform the work influences how you can measure and control it.
Environment
Product Task Outputs People Project Plan
Figure 1-1: A view of the project system as the intersection of People, Process, and the Product the project will produce. Figure 1-1 depicts a project system comprised of people, process, and the product that the project will produce. The project system functions within the environment of many other systems; some larger; some smaller. Defining a system is always somewhat arbitrary because all things relate to some degree. The figure also shows variation as the central part of the system. TOC and Six Sigma focus on variation, but
Variation
conventional project management often considers it as a minor point, or part of risk management. The figure illustrates a few of the relationships between the entities shown. There are many more. Some relate project planning and execution to team sports. It often makes a fair comparison. In the Olympics, well-trained amateur teams frequently triumph over groupings of the worlds best individual performers. It is the same with projects. Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the world famous quality guru, liked to list several things that he felt most management tried to use to improve their system: