Project Management

Processes

Chapter 3

Taila Jabeen
IT Project Management
 Problems Classification

i. Simple
ii. Intermediate
iii. Complex

i. Simple Problems:
■ Can be analyzed in one’s head without extensive analysis
– Do I buy a semester parking pass, or buy a bicycle?
– How often should I purchase a shirt?
– Should I pay cash or use my credit card?
■ These are pretty simple questions, and good solutions do
not require much time or effort.
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 Problems Classification

ii. Intermediate Problems:

• Must be organized and analyzed
• Are sufficiently important to justify serious thought and
action
• Have significant economic aspects
• Are primarily economic
• Assume an economic situation in equilibrium
• Are generally adequately solved with single-criteria
decision making

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 Problems Classification

Intermediate Problems Examples:

■ Shall I lease or buy my next car?

■ Which materials should be used as roofing, sides, and
structural support for a new building?
■ Shall I buy a 1 or 2 semester parking pass?

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 Problems Classification

iii. Complex Problems:

■ Represent a mixture of economic, political, and

humanistic elements

For instance:
■ Selection of a president of a Country
■ Building a nuclear power plant?

5
Introduction

■ Project Management Processes

Process – It is a set of actions and activities to achieve a product, result or
service.
Project Management is an interactive endeavor – an action or failure to take
action, in one area will usually affect other areas

■ Process Group:
Combination of one or more process is called a Process group
Introduction

Both Processes overlap and interact throughout the

project
Project Management Process Groups

■ Initiating Process Group

■ Planning Process Group
■ Executing Process Group
■ Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
■ Closing Process Group
Level of Activity and Overlap of
Process Groups Over Time

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Initiating Process Group

■ Formal Authorization for starting a Project

– Initiation, High-level planning, Charter
■ Business Needs and Requirements documentation
■ Feasibility Study Report
■ Basic description of Project Scope, the deliverables, project duration and resources
■ Allocation of Project Manager
■ Documentation of assumptions and constraints
■ Stakeholder’s Involvement
■ Purpose: To validate the assumptions and decisions are made
Initiating Process Group

■ Initiating a project includes recognizing and starting a new project or project

phase
■ Some organizations use a pre-initiation phase, while others include items like
developing a business case as part of initiation
■ The main goal is to formally select and start off projects
■ Key outputs include:
– Assigning the project manager
– Identifying key stakeholders
– Completing a business case
– Completing a project charter and getting signatures on it

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Planning Process Group

■ To Develop Project Management Plan (PMP)

■ Purpose: Identification of risks and opportunities, Scope is matured
■ Rolling Wave Planning
■ Amount of planning proportional to the scope of the project – Core
Planning
– PMP – source of information
– Scope Definition – written statement
– Scope Planning – subdividing major deliverables into more manageable units,
Requested changes, updates
– Create WBS – subdivision of the major tasks
– Activity Definition – determine specific tasks needed to produce project
deliverables
– Activity Sequencing – plotting dependencies
Planning Process Group

■ Core Planning (continued)

– Activity Resource Estimating – determine type and quantities of resources
– Activity Duration Estimating – determine amount of work needed to complete
the activities
– Schedule Development – analyze activity sequences, duration, and resource
requirements and schedule constraints
– Resource Planning – identify what and how many resources are needed to
perform the activities
– Cost Estimating – develop resource and total project costs
– Cost Budgeting – allocating project estimates to individual work items
– Project Plan Development – taking results from other planning processes into a
collective document
Planning Process Group

■ Planning/Facilitating Processes – manage the interaction

among the planning processes
– Quality Planning – standards that are relevant to the project and
determining how to meet standards
– Human Resource Panning – identify and document roles and
responsibilities, reporting relationship
– Organizational Planning – identify, document, and assigning project
roles and responsibilities
– Staff Acquisition – obtaining the human resources
– Communications Planning – determining rules and reporting
methods to stakeholders
Planning Process Group

■ Planning/Facilitating Processes (continued)

– Risk Management Planning – how to approach, plan and execute the activities
– Risk Identification – determining what is likely to affect the project and
documenting these risks
– Risk Qualification – prioritizing risks for further analysis
– Risk Quantification – evaluating risks and interactions to access the possible
project outcomes
– Risk Response Development – defining enhancement steps and change
control measures
– Procurement Planning – determining what to buy and when
– Plan Contracting – documenting products, services and results requirements
and identifying sellers
Executing Process Group

■ Complete the Work

– Project Plan Execution – performing the activities
– Complete Tasks/Work Packages
– Implement Approved Changes
– Analysis and Updation of PMP
■ Executing Processes
– Direct and Manage Project Execution – execute PMP, reporting and documentation
– Scope Verification – acceptance of project scope
– Quality Assurance – evaluating overall project performance on a regular basis; meeting
standards
– Acquire Project Team – obtaining Human Resources
– Team Development – developing team and individual skill sets to enhance the project
– Progress Meetings
Executing Process Group

■ Executing Processes (continued)

– Information Distribution – making project information available in a timely
manner
– Solicitation – request seller response, obtaining quotes, bids, proposals as
appropriate
– Source Selection – select sellers, deciding on appropriate suppliers
– Contract Administration – managing vendor relationships
Monitoring and Controlling Process
Group
■ Identification of potential problems and apply corrective actions
■ Purpose: needed to regularly measure project performance and to
adjust project plan
■ Take preventive actions in anticipation of possible problems
■ Controlling Processes
– Change Control – coordinating changes across the entire project plan
– Project Work Control – Status reporting, progress measurement, risk
identification
– Scope Verification – formalizing acceptance of the work
– Scope Change Control – controlling “scope creep”
– Schedule Control – adjusting time and project schedule of activities
Project Management Processes

■ Controlling Processes (continued)

– Cost Control – managing project budget
– Quality Control – monitoring standards and specific project results; eliminating
causes of unsatisfactory performance
– Performance Reporting – status, forecasting, and progress reporting schedule
– Manage Project Team – tracking performance, providing feedback, resolving
issues
– Manage Stakeholders – establishing communication and resolve issues
– Risk Response Control – responding to changes in risk during the duration of
the project
– Contract Administration – managing the contract and relationship between
buyer and seller
Closing Process Groups

■ Formally terminate all activities

■ Closing Processes
– Administrative Closure – generating necessary information to
formally recognize phase or project completion
– Contract Close-out – completion and delivery of project deliverables
and resolving open issues
■ Procurement Audits
■ Product Verification
■ Formal Acceptance
■ Lessons Learned
■ Update Records
Project Management Knowledge
Areas
■ Project Integration Management
■ Scope
■ Time
■ Cost
■ Quality
■ Human Resource
■ Communications
■ Risk
■ Procurement
■ Stakeholder

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Process Group & Knowledge Area

■ Knowledge Area

“what you need to KNOW”

■ Process Group

“what you need to DO”

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Class Activity

■ Write 3 examples of each classified type of problems, as

– Simple,
– Intermediate and
– Complex
■ Project Management Processes (2 examples)
■ Product Oriented Processes (2 examples)

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Summary
Initiating Process Group
Performed to define new
project or new phase of Identify Stakeholders
an existing project by
obtaining authorization to
start the project or phase

Initiating When Project charter

Process is approved, the
Develop Project project is officially
Charter authorized
Summary
■ Planning Process Group
Summary
Executing Process Group
Summary
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
Summary
Closing Process Group
Questions?