Basic Project management principles

SLA Vs KPI:

SLA and KPI are elements of business process management, which is abbreviated as BPM. SLA
stands for service level agreement. KPI stands for key performance indicator. They both pertain to
monitoring specific measurements of the performance of your business. The difference between
them is when they’re most useful.

Service Level Agreements

You might have a service level agreement to set expectations with a vendor providing supplies or
services to your business. Or you might have a service level agreement to document the
expectations for your contribution to your clients or business partners. Your SLA could set the
standards for timelines, quality levels or the amount of service you expect a business deal to include.

Key Performance Indicators

Which key performance indicators will serve you best can vary by the size of your business and the
type of market you’re in. Your KPIs might include some combination of web traffic, social media
engagement and net profit on the products or services you offer. The performance measurements
for a restaurant will likely be very different from the KPIs for a computer repair shop or an online
retailer.

Using SLA and KPI

Service level agreements and key performance indicators are closely related, but clearly different.
An SLA is forward-looking, while KPIs focus on past performance. Your SLA will set benchmarks
ahead of time for you to measure performance in the near future. The KPIs you choose will measure
the performance of your business against those benchmarks as time passes. Your SLA could even
specify which performance indicators will be used.

Making Adjustments
Using an SLA and performance indicators together allows you to monitor your business as you
progress through a business agreement. Trends will develop and you can find opportunities to
recalibrate your role in the partnership. If you’re under-performing against the expectations set in the
SLA, performance measurements will show how much improvement is needed. If you identify an
ability to perform beyond the parameters of the service agreement, you’ll see an opportunity improve
your timelines or increase the volume of your business.

Key Personality Traits of an Operations

Manager
Operations management is one of the most sought after career options in India. This unconventional
career choice is not only monetarily rewarding, but also helps to earn recognition in your organization. An
operations manager contributes to the company to a very great extent.
In order to work as an operations manager, you need to earn a management degree in operations. Apart
from the educational qualifications, you also need to possess some other skills to work in the operations.
Let’s understand some of the essential qualities required to make a successful career in operations.

Multitasking
An operations manager is expected to be the ‘jack of all trades and master of one.’ Multitasking is
essential because he has to deal with a number of aspects like budget management, vendor
management, logistics, inventory management, etc.

Good communication skills

Maintaining third party relations is one of the critical aspects of operations management. It requires crisp
communication skills to ensure that there is proper flow of information between various departments.
Similarly, good presentation and interpersonal skills are important too.
Leadership skills
An operations manager needs to constantly keep his team motivated and be on his toes so that the
balance is maintained between the various organizational aspects. An Operations Manager is expected to
be an effective leader and take initiatives because many crucial decisions need to be taken by him.

Technically sound
Most of the engineers or students with technical background make a career in operations
management. This is because it requires some technical or I.T. knowledge along with managerial skills.
It is said that an operations manager does all that an engineer with more than five years of experience
does.

Process oriented
An Operations Manager is expected to have sound knowledge of the business processes and must remain
updated with the changing market trends. He is expected to adhere to the quality standards of the
organization.

Analytical mindset
An analytical mindset is very important. Additionally, it is also imperative that he must have problem
solving abilities and must be able to resolve conflicts internally and even with the external suppliers.

Accountability
Operations manager needs to have a sense of accountability because he is responsible for a number of
aspects. He is answerable to the higher management as well as the third parties.

An eye for quality

Quality assurance and quality control are the responsibilities of an operations manager. He has to
ensure that the quality of the product is as per the expectations of the clients. He has to introduce new
and innovative methods to improve quality.

Ability to work under pressure

There are a number of things that an operations manager has to look after. He has to adhere to stringent
deadlines and work to deliver on time. Hence, it is necessary that he works effectively even under
pressure situations.
All in all, operations management is a very challenging and dynamic career. If you have the right blend of
knowledge and skills, you can perform exceedingly well.
Performance Management - Definition
Performance management is an ongoing process of communication between a supervisor
and an employee that occurs throughout the year, in support of accomplishing the strategic
objectives of the organization. The communication process includes clarifying expectations,
setting objectives, identifying goals, providing feedback, and reviewing results.

Managing Employee Performance – The Cycle

Overseeing performance and providing feedback is not an isolated event, focused in an
annual performance review. It is an ongoing process that takes place throughout the year.
The Performance Management process is a cycle, with discussions varying year-to-year
based on changing objectives.
The cycle includes Planning, Checking-In, and Review.

 To begin the planning process, you and your employee review overall expectations,
which includes collaborating on the development of performance objectives.
Individual development goals are also updated. You then develop a performance
plan that directs the employee's efforts toward achieving specific results to support
organizational excellence and employee success.
 Goals and objectives are discussed throughout the year, during check-in meetings.
This provides a framework to ensure employees achieve results through coaching
and mutual feedback.
 At the end of the performance period, you review the employee's performance
against expected objectives, as well as the means used and behaviors
demonstrated in achieving those objectives. Together, you establish new objectives
for the next performance period.

https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/managing-
successfully/performance-management

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/phrases-for-performance-reviews-and-other-
conversations-1918841

https://coach4growth.com/coaching-skills/high-low-matrix-coaching-model-coaching-
techniques-for-will-and-skill-issues

https://www.analyticsinhr.com/blog/a-guide-to-strategic-workforce-planning/
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-productivity-and-efficiency.html

SMART Goal Setting

 S means that in addition to specific, don't you find that stretching,

systematic, synergistic, significant, and shifting round out the picture?
 M means measurable, but I also recommend meaningful, memorable,
motivating and even, magical.
 A is an achievable goal but it also needs to stand for action plans,
accountability, acumen, and agreed-upon.
 R means relevant, but it also stands for realistic, reasonable, resonating,
results-oriented, rewarding, responsible, reliable, rooted in facts, and
remarkable.

 T means time-based and it also represents timely, tangible, and thoughtful.

KRA Vs KPI

A key result area (KRA) is an strategic factor either internal to the

organization or external, where strong positive results must be
realized for the organization to achieve its strategic goal(s), and
therefore, move toward realizing the organization’s longer term vision
of success. Key result areas are sometimes referred to “critical
success factors” or “key drivers of success.”

Once 6-9 KRAs are defined, a leadership team can move on to

spelling out (and eventually selecting) a set of feasible strategy
alternatives for positively impacting each Key Result Area. These
strategies can then be incorporated into the organization’s long term
strategic plan with appropriate responsibilities and time frames
assigned. This set of longer term strategies must then be translated
into a balanced set of operational objectives, which are foundational to
building and implementing the near term operating plan.
https://coach4growth.com/coaching-skills/high-low-matrix-coaching-
model-coaching-techniques-for-will-and-skill-issues

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on the other hand are high level
measures or metrics, for one particular objective, which (when
measured and reported) give the leadership team an “indication” as to
whether the organization is making progress towards achieving that
particular objective. Careful attention should be given in defining each
of these core strategic planning and management elements.

What is the difference between SLA and TAT ?

SLA means the Service Level Agreement that is entered into between the service
provider and the client. The SLA document contains different parameters basis which the
services (to be delivered) are measured on an agreed frequency. Before signing the SLA
document, the various metrics that would be measured and tracked are agreed between the
service provide (contact center / BPO) and the client. The measurement criteria, the minimum
service levels, acceptable and target service levels are also agreed, along with the frequency of
measurement. Any dependencies that the service provider might have on the client, are usually
documented as exclusions or reverse SLAs. This is because, the SLAs are linked to the fee
payable by the client - any miss on the performance SLAs are considered as a ‘penalty’ or
‘service credit’ for the service provider.

TAT, on the other hand, means the Turn Around Time - this is the time within which the
specified activity or step or process is agreed to be completed. TAT is a metric, which may form
part of the SLAs agreed. TAT is usually associated with the ‘timeliness’ and ‘completeness’
measure. The calculation for TAT for a process is defined from the beginning (or first step) in
the process to the end (or last step or deliverable) in the process. For example, if you measure the
TAT for a helpdesk query, it is measured from the time the query was first received (or picked
by the agent) till the query is answered or resolved. It could be possible that the resolution is not
available in the first instance - in that case, usually the TAT is defined in detail to include the
time when the first resolution / response was provided and the time until this is finally resolved.

https://www.process.st/prioritization-matrix/
What is Commitment vs. Compliance?
It’s as about your team being “all in!” vs. “simply going through the motions.” It’s about
achieving stellar results vs. just getting buy-in.
Think of it as taking on a quest for excellence as opposed to just meeting the minimum
performance requirements.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet to motivate everyone to be committed. It will take
work and focus on your part.
Let’s examine some of the most critical ingredients to inspire your team members to
perform in the “totally committed zone.”

Create a “Culture of Commitment”

As a high-performance leader, you’ll likely recognize that you should motivate your
team. And hopefully it’s to perform in their areas of responsibility.
After all, you can’t do all the work yourself. So, the inspiration to perform must come
from within.
To achieve that, you need to create a “culture of commitment.” This begins with letting
your own personal values—your behavior and commitment—become a model for your
team members.
Remember, to be a leader, you must have followers and people won’t choose to
enthusiastically follow and commit to people who are disingenuous. In short, you must
“walk the talk.”
To create a “culture of commitment,”you need to clearly establish the direction and
objectives of the organization. And, to be truly effective, the direction and objectives
must be inspirational—almost larger than life.
They need to offer real meaning and purpose to the work of your team. As a result, your
team members will be able to see that their individual and collective contributions
play key roles, and are vital to realizing the organization’s vision and mission.
Of course, merely defining direction isn’t nearly enough. You will also have to provide
the requisite resources: budget, your time, political capital, coaching, etc.
And, you must also offer your team the third key ingredient: the removal of obstacles
and barriers to their performance.

Assess “Fit” vs. “Fitness”

The engine of this “culture of commitment” is, of course, the people on your team. Here,
the most important ingredients are “fit”and “fitness.”
Whether a person is the right fit for the organization can only be assessed,
whereas fitness can be both assessed and developed.
If the fit isn’t there from the onset, don’t kid yourself–it won’t get better with time. The
individual simply doesn’t belong on your team. Be decisive, and make the call early and
honestly.
Remember that the other members of your team will be assessing you based upon the
skill you demonstrate in choosing highly capable and compatible team members.
You should expect that each one of your team members will require some level of
development to enhance their fitness. However, your failure to confront poor
performance is one of the lethal threats to your organization.

Design Individual Performance Plans

Performance targets are always becoming more rigorous. Every team member will be
expected to perform at higher and higher levels.
Thus, designing and implementing Individual Development Plans (IDPs) is absolutely
critical to the sustained success of the entire team.
By investing in this effort, you’ll be rewarded with your team members’ commitment to
you as their leader.

Inspire “Followership”
The final element that will influence the powerful commitment of your team is, of course,
your prowess as a leader.
Next, focus upon these seven components of leadership and you will inspire
“followership” from the team!
Know yourself
Have the courage to take that pragmatic and honest look in the mirror. If you don’t truly
know yourself, leading others will be virtually impossible.

Know each of your leadership team members

When you align the passions and interests of your people with the goals and objectives
of the organization, your toughest task will be to stay out of the way.

Know what’s going on

Stay connected with your team members. When you are interacting with them on an
individual or group basis, stay completely in that moment. Develop a laser-like focus
that will block out all tangential thoughts or activities.

Develop your team

Commit resources to help them develop their full potential. Commitment generates
commitment.

Create a positive environment

Fear and distrust shuts down human creativity and limits our ability to think beyond the
“survival mode.”

Engage both your EQ and IQ

To motivate superior, committed performance, you have to win your team members’
hearts and minds. The emotional quotient (EQ) of great leaders eclipses the intelligence
quotient (IQ) every time. Your people must select you as their leader, an act that’s
driven by their passions and interests and how they perceive them to be in sync with
your own.

Trust
It must flow both ways between you and the team. Without this critical element, making
a big leap from compliance to being totally committed is simply impossible.

Critical path:
 https://www.workamajig.com/blog/critical-path-method

https://www.workamajig.com/blog/guide-to-work-breakdown-structures-wbs

Any project has two types of tasks:

1. Tasks that depend on other tasks for their completion, i.e. dependent
tasks

2. Tasks that are independent of others and can be done in parallel to

others, i.e. concurrent tasks

How Consensus Building Works

Consensus building is a simple concept, producing a team agreement at the conclusion.
Here are the major steps involved in consensus building.

1. Brainstorm possible topics, issues or problems associated with your Six Sigma project. Make
sure you follow proper brainstorming rules so that team creativity isn’t limited.
2. Briefly discuss all brainstormed options. Limit discussions to a couple minutes per option.
3. Affinitize (combine) similar concepts so duplicates are removed from the list. (Also, bring in data
to the conversation)
4. Add any additional topics, issues or problems that may have resulted during the discussion. It
is important for the team to realize that all input (regardless of when it was said) is needed.
5. Ask the team to discuss the options and select a single, selected topic, issue or problem from
the list.
6. If consensus among the team members cannot be reached (that’s surprising!), a voting process
should be utilized. In addition, it is useful to inform the team that consensus is the primary
decision process, with voting being the fall-back process if agreement cannot be reached. That
way, everyone knows the process before you begin.
Key Points
The term "group dynamics" describes the way in which people in a group
interact with one another. When dynamics are positive, the group works well
together. When dynamics are poor, the group's effectiveness is reduced.

Problems can come from weak leadership, too much deference to authority,
blocking, groupthink and free riding, among others.

To strengthen your team's dynamics, use the following strategies:

 Show adaptability and flexibility by an example.

 Tackle problems quickly with good feedback.
 Define roles and responsibilities.
 Break down barriers.
 Focus on communication.
 Pay attention.

How would you resolve conflict and ambiguity in a project ?

Answer

- Identify root cause for ambiguity; Stand-Up and face the problem
- Acknowledge
- Assess
- Evaluate
- Mitigate
- Communicate

If ambiguity between coworkers about roles and responsibilities, create a RACI matrix together
to come to consensus
Project vs Operations. What are project outcomes?

Unlike day-to-day operations, a project has a definite beginning and end. If a project is implementing a

new system, the project is done when you successfully hand it over to operations. What if a project

seems to go on forever? It could be that you haven't clearly-defined what you're trying to accomplish.

That brings us to the project goal. A project produces a unique result, which could be product, service or

other outcome such as increasing efficiency/cost savings.

The first question you have to answer is: What problem are you solving? Clearly defining what the

project is supposed to accomplish is a big step toward making it a success. on it is, you've got to be very

careful if you don't know where you're going because you might not get there. The second question is:

How are you going to solve this problem? from several possible strategies. it's time to flesh out your

solution, gathering requirements, identifying deliverables, and defining project scope. The next question

is: What's your plan? You have to identify the work to be done in detail, how long it might take, the

resources you need, and how much they cost. With that info in hand, you can build a schedule of when

work should occur. While you're at it, you also need to spell out how you want things to happen in your

project, like communication, managing changes, and so on. Some projects seem to go on forever. But

eventually, someone will pull the plug if it doesn't finish. That's why you also have to answer the

question: How will you know when you're done? Clearly defined objectives, requirements, and

deliverables help answer that question. But you can eliminate uncertainty by defining success criteria:

quantifiable, measurable results that show that the project is complete, or increased productivity

measurements after a system is implemented. When you get to the end of the project, you're ready to

answer the last question. How well did the project go? because everyone is so ready to move on to the
next deal. You really need to take time to review the project. How could we have done better? Project

management boils down to answer several questions about your project. What problem are you

solving? How are you going to solve it? What's your plan for getting the project done?

(Checking Historical data)

Deliverables: Deliverables help you define the project scope which basically means what is and isn't
included in the project. Deliverables then help you measure progress while your project is underway. To
document project deliverables, start by listing the end deliverables, that is the results your project
delivers at the end of the project.

Why Project Scope is required?

It's important to get the project scope in writing. Otherwise you're bound to run into scope creep. That
isn't some weird guy who casts furtive glances at your project scope. Scope creep is when stakeholders
ask questions like, can you do this one thing, we forgot to ask for this, can you add it to the project? And
you say yes, without running the change through your change management process. The other reason
you want project scope in writing is to remind stakeholders what they agreed to at the beginning of the
project. If someone says, I thought you were going to do X, Y and Z, you can go back to the scope
statement and show them that those items are out of scope. If they really want those things in the
project, you can use change management to add them. A scope statement is a document that spells out
the project scope. Everything you've done during project initiation feeds into this document; the goal
and objectives, deliverables and success criteria, assumptions, risks, and constraints.
Work packages are the lowest level tasks in the WBS and represent the work that needs to be done.
Consider breaking down work to match the frequency of your status reports. That way you have
measurable progress and completed tasks for every status report. whether you've broken work down to
the right level. Time and cost are easy to estimate. Status is easy to measure. Task durations are shorter
than your reporting periods. The detail is at the level that you can and want to manage.

If a project represents uncharted territory for your organization, consider bringing in experts who are
familiar with the work like consultants or vendors. The Delphi technique counts on several heads being
better than one. First, you ask several experts You share the results with the group You keep the
estimates anonymous by the reputation or authority of a co-expert. You then ask everyone to estimate
again. and then use the average of the last round as your final estimated value.

Choosing timelines:
Creating Risk management plans:

RACI matrix roles and responsibilities

The RACI model brings structure and clarity to describing the roles that stakeholders play within
a project. The RACI matrix clarifies responsibilities and ensures that everything the project
needs done is assigned someone to do it.

The four roles that stakeholders might play in any project include the following:

 Responsible: People or stakeholders who do the work. They must complete the task or objective
or make the decision. Several people can be jointly Responsible.
 Accountable: Person or stakeholder who is the "owner" of the work. He or she must sign off or
approve when the task, objective or decision is complete. This person must make sure that
responsibilities are assigned in the matrix for all related activities. Success requires that there is
only one person Accountable, which means that "the buck stops there."
 Consulted: People or stakeholders who need to give input before the work can be done and
signed-off on. These people are "in the loop" and active participants.
 Informed: People or stakeholders who need to be kept "in the picture." They need updates on
progress or decisions, but they do not need to be formally consulted, nor do they contribute
directly to the task or decision.

Tools to identify a problem in project:

Fishbone:
Post change, update baseline documents to reflect the new status. The impact must be clearly
documented and communicated to the stakeholders