Playing The Project

Management Game

Tools and Techniques to Win the Game

Dean Athanassiades, PMP
Nancy Stetson, PMP

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 Presenters
¾ Dean Athanassiades, PMP
– Philips Medical IT Professional Services
¾ Nancy Stetson, PMP
– ChartMaxx Project Manager
– MedPlus, Inc

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 Workshop Objective
¾ Provide attendees with opportunity to learn /
practice / apply project management skills and
techniques using a “game” oriented approach
¾ Provide attendees with a set of project tools that
they can use in managing projects within their
organizations
¾ Provide attendees with a game-oriented
framework that they can use within their own
organization to facilitate learning among their own
project teams
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 Time Guidelines
¾ 10:00-10:10 – Introductions
¾ 10:10-10:20 – Game background and rules
¾ 10:20-10:35 – Project management basics
¾ 10:35-10:50 – Initiation Phase
¾ 10:50-11:05 – Planning Phase
¾ 11:05-11:20 – Control and Execution Phase
¾ 11:20-11:35 – Closing Phase
¾ 11:35-11:50 – Game Wrap-Up and Questions
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 Project Management
Overview

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 What Is Project Management
¾ Process of planning, scheduling, and
controlling project activities
¾ Science and art of making tradeoffs
between schedule, scope, cost, and quality
while solving the problem defined for the
project

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 Why Projects Fail
¾ Disagreement about desired result
¾ Disagreement about how to achieve desired result
¾ Insufficient or inappropriate resources
¾ Insufficient time to complete project
¾ Inadequate budget to complete project
¾ Poor communications
Ill-defined roles
(Source Unknown)

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 Games as a Learning Tool
¾ Gaming defined
– Use of games as a tool to practice and apply business
skills
¾ Examples of Games used as learning tools
– EIS
– Banking / Finance Asset Management
– Industrial Marketing
– Pharmaceutical
– Merger and Acquisition

Source: http://www.insead.fr/facultyresearch/teaching_tools/simulations.htm

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 Case Scenario
¾ Your organization has elected to re-design its emergency
department processes to better serve its clients
¾ Scope of the project may involve
– Physical redesign (bigger, smaller, different location)
– Change in processes and workflow
– Changes in equipment
– Changes in staffing
¾ You have been appointed to lead the effort to come up with
the desired physical and logical workflow for the new ED

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 Rules of the Game
¾ Game flow similar to popular board game called
“Cranium”
¾ Form teams based upon attendance at workshop
¾ Game “board” has 4 sides representing 5 phases of
a project:
– Initiation
– Planning
– Executing & Controlling
– Closing

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 Rules of the Game
¾ Within each Phase, there are multiple “stops” for
the key project Knowledge Areas:
– Integration management
– Scope management
– Time management
– Cost management
– Quality management
– Human resource management
– Communications management
– Risk management
– Procurement management
¾ At each “stop”, the player will have to correctly
answer a question related to the Knowledge Area
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 Rules of the Game
¾ Object of the game is to traverse the board
through the 5 phases of project management
before any of the other players

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 Rules of the Game
¾ Complete the tool provided for the Phase
– Example: for Initiation Phase, the tool provided
is a Charter Statement
¾ Then, move through each Phase by
answering one or more Knowledge Area
questions related to that Phase

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 Rules of the Game
¾ Movement through each Phase is controlled
by the draw of Random Number Cards.
¾ If you draw 1 through 9, you move forward
that number of spaces and answer the
Knowledge Area question associated with
the space that you land on.
¾ If you draw 10, 11, or 12, you go directly to
the beginning of the next Phase

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 Rules of the Game
¾ If you answer the Knowledge Area question
correctly, then, on your next turn, you roll again.
– If you answer incorrectly, on your next turn, you draw
another question from the same Knowledge Area.
¾ You reach the end of the Knowledge Areas for a
Phase by:
– either by answering Knowledge Area questions
correctly,
– or drawing 10, 11, or 12,
– drawing an Outcome card, and perform the action on
the card.

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 Game Materials
¾ Game board
¾ Tokens
¾ Toolkit for each Project Phase
¾ Deck of cards with Knowledge Area
questions
¾ Deck of cards with Outcome Issues
¾ Random number cards

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 Supporting Handouts

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 Project Management
Framework
¾ PMI Project Management Framework
– Initiation
– Planning
– Execution
– Control
– Close

Source: PMBOK 2000, Project Management Institute

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 Initiating
¾ Recognizing that a project is worth doing
¾ Determining what the project should
accomplish
¾ Defining the overall project goal
¾ Defining general expectations of customers,
management, and other stakeholders
¾ Defining the general project scope
¾ Selecting the initial team members
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 Planning
¾ Refining project scope including balance between
results, time, and resource
¾ Listing tasks and activities that will lead to
achieving project goals
¾ Sequencing activities in the most efficient manner
possible
¾ Developing a workable schedule and budget for
assigning resources to the activities required to
complete the project
¾ Getting the plan approved by appropriate
stakeholders
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 Executing
¾ Leading the team
¾ Meeting with team members
¾ Communicating with stakeholders
¾ Fighting Fire
¾ Securing necessary resources to carry out
the project plan

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 Controlling
¾ Monitoring deviation from plan
¾ Taking corrective action to match progress with
plan
¾ Receiving and evaluating project change requests
from stakeholders and team members
¾ Adapting resource levels as necessary
¾ Changing project scope
¾ Returning to planning stage to make adjustments
to project goals
¾ Securing approval for changes from stakeholders

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 Closing
¾ Shutting down the project and disbanding
the team
¾ Learning from the project experience
¾ Reviewing the project process and
outcomes with team members and
stakeholders
¾ Writing a final report

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 Project Management
Knowledge Areas
¾ Integration ¾ Communications
Management Management
¾ Scope Management ¾ Quality Management
¾ Time Management ¾ Risk Management
¾ Cost Management
¾ Procurement
¾ Quality Management Management
¾ Human Resource
Management
Source: PMBOK 2000, Project Management
Institute

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 Integration Management
¾ Project plan development
¾ Project plan execution
¾ Integrated change control

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 Scope Management
¾ Initiation
¾ Scope planning
¾ Scope definition
¾ Scope verification
¾ Scope change control

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 Time Management
¾ Activity definition
¾ Activity sequencing
¾ Activity duration estimating
¾ Schedule development
¾ Schedule control

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 Cost Management
¾ Resource planning
¾ Cost estimating
¾ Cost budgeting
¾ Cost control

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 Quality Management
¾ Quality planning
¾ Quality assurance
¾ Quality control

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 Human Resource
Management
¾ Organization planning
¾ Staff acquisition
¾ Team development

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 Communication Management
¾ Communication planning
¾ Information distribution
¾ Performance reporting
¾ Administrative closure

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 Risk Management
¾ Risk management planning
¾ Risk identification
¾ Quantitative risk analysis
¾ Qualitative risk analysis
¾ Risk response planning
¾ Risk monitoring and control

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 Procurement Management
¾ Procurement planning
¾ Solicitation planning
¾ Source selection
¾ Contract administration
¾ Contract closeout

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 12 Rules for Project
Management Success
¾ Gain consensus on project
outcomes
¾ Build the best team that
you can
¾ Develop a comprehensive
viable plan and keep it up
to date
¾ Determine how much stuff
you really need to get
things done
¾ Have a realistic schedule
¾ Do not try to do more than
can be done
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¾ Remember that people
count
¾ Gain formal and ongoing
support of management
and stakeholders
¾ Be willing to change
¾ Keep people informed of
what you are up to
¾ Be willing to try new
things
¾ Be a leader as well as a
manager
34
 Initiation Tools
¾ Project Charter Statement

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 Planning Tools
¾ Scope
¾ WBS
¾ Resource Plan
¾ Budget Estimate
¾ Risk Assessment

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 Execution Tools
¾ Project dependent

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 Control Tools
¾ Status
Report
¾ Change Request

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 Closing Tools
¾ Milestone Acceptance Form
¾ Deliverable Acceptance Form

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