Lecture 16 –

Management of Projects
Summary and Outlook

Matus Korman (PhD student)

matusk@gmail.com
Lecture outline

• Goals of the course

• Summary of some lecture content

• Short outlook
We wanted…
We wanted… & you wanted.
 Lectures summary
L3, Project planning
(Joakim)
L4, Project economy
(Joakim)

Planning
L5, Risk management Budget
(Matus) management

L2, Project
Risk L12, Leadership
management (Peter Roos)
management L9, PPS
(Joakim)
(Anna Burack)
L1, Intro
(Joakim) Projects Leadership
(types, goals, models, phases)
L13,
L15, Multi-project Transformational
Experience management Leadership
& tips (Bo Tonnquist) (Björn Fenelert)

L10, Project mgmt. Group

from the inside
(Terence Acton) Agile dynamics
L14, Northern Link L6, Agile L8,
(Tor Tomassen) L7, (Henrik Kniberg) Feedback &
Agile methods group dynamics
and use cases (Joakim)
L11, Agile planning
(Lars Brodén) (Martin Bäcklund)
What is a project?
The definitions are many…
• ”A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service or result.” (PMI, 2004)
• ”A temporary organization that is needed to produce a unique
and predefined outcome or result at a given time using
predefined resources.” (PRINCE 2, 2009)

A form of work that is:

• Focused (goal-driven)
• Unique
• Temporary
• Resource-constrained + gives temporary organizational
hierarchies
=> Clear project goals are a must!
A typical project lifecycle

Source: Slides from Bo Tonnquist.

 Types of projects DEVELOPMENT

PROCUREMENT
Intention: buy, procure…
Intention: create, engineer, innovate, develop…

OTHER…?
Research, education,
exploration, construction, DELIVERY
maintenance, event, relocation, Intention: produce, install, provide,
change, promotion, marketing, info gathering… sell, deliver…
Goals & constraints:
project quality = f ( scope, time, cost );

outcome extent – e.g. features,

outcome quality – non-functional
properties

Source: Internet.
 Project phases

Note:
Phases overlap.

(Source: Fordham university)

Beginnings are most decisive
Project roles

Source: Slides from Bo Tonnquist.

 All projects follow a process…

Deming cycle:

Source: Internet.
Project models

Business & Management (project models):

• PROPS
• PPS
• PRINCE 2
• EXPM
• ProjectBase

Development models (process models / work models):

• Traditional: Waterfall, V-model, Spiral, RUP…
• Agile: Scrum, DSDM, Kanban, Scaled Agile Framework…

Dynamic systems development method (dsdm.org)

Maturity of processes
– including that of project management

(CMMI)

Source: Wikipedia.
Project planning (traditional)

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

”Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” (Eisenhower)

Planning activities:
1. Formulate goal 4. Estimate time
2. Break down the work 5. Identify the critical path
• Identify tasks 6. Distribute resources
(WBS…) 7. Transfer to Gantt-
• Identify milestones schedules or other
3. Identify dependencies diagrams
(PERT)
Do not only put milestones on task deliverables
– that won’t help you control the deliveries!
 Project planning (agile)
Team plans this … and then executes it …
Product
owner
prioritizes

Product
backlog
Team pulls
stories

Source: Internet.
Project economy & EVM

Keeping an eye on the project costs increases chances for

the project to succeed.

With tools like the Earned Value Management we can get:

• Status regarding costs
• Forecasts about cost and time (progress)

Estimate At Completion (EAC)

EAC gives is a very important
estimate/prognosis regarding your
project – it should be estimated
very seriously.
 Risk
management

Courtesy of Joakim Lilliesköld.

The aim and purpose of RM is to see and control risks,

although they cannot all be eliminated.

The strengths of Minirisk are simplicity & low time demands.

Supports agility – you can redo it repetitively…
… when planning … prior to decisions … upon uncertainties/difficulties.

The risk picture changes all the time – RM agility is valuable.

What risks to look for?

All relevant risks are too many – we need to filter them.

• It is easy to end up a lot of risks that don’t give us much guidance.
• It is an art to identify the truly relevant ones.

The most valuable ones to capture are:

• The ones with high magnitude (impact * likelihood).
• The specific ones rather than the general.
• The ones we can control through attainable actions.

Useful one? Ask yourself and think:

Can my awareness of this risk help me in the end? How?
 What actions to look for?

Both the proactive ones and the reactive.

We take them no matter what We take them when we see that something
• is wrong, or
 to reduce the risk surface. • is going to be wrong (from an indication)

 to reduce the amount of trouble once

we knowingly face a problem.

Useful one? Again, ask yourself and think:

Will this action help me if the risks actualize? How?
Quality in PM

Measure the quality

• Quality of the outcome (product/service)
• Quality of the project

Track faults – trouble reports (TRs).

Sort out avoidable faults
– Fault-Slip-Trough (FST) – a fault that could have been
eliminated before (earlier => cheaper).

Want to increase/change quality?

• Have a culture of continuous improvement.
• Accept the current situation and then improve it.
• Read and actively respond to measurement data.
• Communicate metric results appropriate and timely.
Quality in PM – continued

Source: Slides from Michel Koivisto.

 Communication

Tell me, I forget.

Show me, I understand.
Involve me, I remember. Our communication is fragile.
Messages are distorted at multiple points
on their way between our minds.
What media (channels) do we choose for what
communication? We need redundancy, e.g., in form of:
• regular meetings
(Meetings, e-mails, telephone, …)
• multiple checks
• multiple transfer channels
Different media have different properties: (phone/verbally & in writing)
• What content can we put through?
• Content… how rich?
• Transfer… how reliable, fast, synchronous,
and how sensitive to disturbances?

What the customer Important: Orderliness.

needs and wants are 10x that important: Good communication.

two different terms. 100x that important: Customer satisfaction.
How to treat stakeholders...

Source: Lecture of Anna Burack.

What do you need to succeed?

Inspired by: Michel Koivisto, Lena Schagerström.

 Group dynamics – FIRO model
LEADER:
facilitates,
LEADER: enables
coaches

Control
(role search)

up/down

Inclusion Openness LEADER:

(to belong or not to) delegates,
(fellowship) Performing oversees,
coaches
LEADER: in/out close/far
directs, left/right
instructs
Group dynamics • You want to be on this side
– the feedback stair when receiving feedback.
• You want to help the other one
land/end up on this side, too.

Change/remain

Make an enlightened
Understand decision.
Listens and tries to understand.
Explain Asks questions.

Yes, but …..

Defend

Reject
No, it was not like that.

This does not concern me.

How to help others listen to your feedback?

”I like – I wish” principle

• Helps you balance your feedback (+/-)

1. Say what you like

2. Say what you wish to be improved

Give feedback on behavior

– good or bad behavior.

Do not give feedback on

person. It backfires in one way
or another.

Seek to give feedback

personally and privately.
1. ”When you…”
2. ”I feel/become…”
3. ”It makes/results in…”
4. ”I would like you to…”
 Leadership
The purpose of leadership is to:
• Show the way towards the goal
• Make the most of the capabilities of your team – everybody involved
• Give people the opportunity to grow
• Ensure and maintain conditions for effective teamwork

How… that’s more difficult, but let’s try: • Show interest and respect
• Be positive, happy and confident
• Motivate
• Be honest and authentic
• Support – facilitate, enable;
protect from threats • Be open and flexible/adaptable
and problems • Walk the floor, feel the
• Coach temperature, be present
• Direct/instruct • Know what is good enough
• Delegate & follow up • Think consensus
• Avoid obsessions, pet projects
…the right people, • Avoid egoist behavior
at the right time, (our goals before just mine)
in the right way, • Be a paragon,
and in the right extent! lead by example!
Source: Lecture of
Agneta Östlund.
Leadership… the baseline

• Be assertive – not aggressive, nor submissive.

• Don’t act in an affected or agitated state (e.g., angry)
– keep calm or wait until you chill down.
• Get time to think, take command of your own agenda.
• Walk the talk – do yourself what you want from others.
• KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid.
(Complexity arises anyway – don’t help it overwhelm you.)
• Take decisions once – don’t go back to old ones.
• Unpleasant measures? Act immediately, don’t postpone.
• Negative matters? Handle them in person, not over e-mail.
• Pick a good boss – then you will develop & grow.
• Be true yourself, don’t play roles – falsity ruins credibility.
Levels of leadership & management

”Solve the mission”

Creativity & • Goal given.
• Choose means and
Independence method.

”Think a little bit yourself”

Flexibility & • Goals and means given.
• Choose method!
Adaptability

”Follow the playbook”

Knowledge & • Goals, means and method given.

Skills
Leadership styles
 Agility in projects
We implicitly wish that:
• The customer knows
what he/she wants
• The team knows
how to deliver it
• Things don’t change during
the project
Why write a document when it gets
outdated before people read it?
Why make a detailed plan when
changes around ruin its relevance
before the outcome sees the light?
• ”Plan is nothing, planning is
everything” (Eisenhower), remember?
The reality is that:
• The customer will discover
what he/she wants
• The team will find out
how to deliver it
• Most things will change
during the project
The answer?
Short iterations.
Many iterations.
Incremental work.
Empowerment & self-organization
rather than command & control.
Methodologies & techniques?
Scrum, XP, Kanban, DSDM, …
 The project triangle… in reality

“Traditional” Approach Agile Approach

Time Cost Scope

[VARIABLE] [VARIABLE] [VARIABLE]

Quality of the
Quality solution agreed
[FIXED?] and fixed

Quality treated
as a known risk Quality
to be actively [FIXED]
managed

Scope Cost Time

[FIXED] [FIXED] [FIXED]

Source: Lecture of Lars Brodén.

Scrum (in Scaled Agile Framework)

Source: Lecture of Lars Brodén.

Kanban

Source: Henrik Kniberg,

https://www.crisp.se/file-uploads/kanban-example.pdf
 Additional DOs & DON’Ts
DOs:
• Understand the assignment
and requirements
• Put together a team
• Formulate a vision and goal
• Make requirements visible
and tickable
• Fight with the soldiers you’ve
got
• Lead your team
• Communicate with all parts
• Keep good relations
DON’Ts:
• Don’t take negative critique
personally. Understand the
difference between you as a
person and your business.
• Don’t go for scapegoats
(don’t make anyone else take
blame for you)
• Don’t forget to involve
stakeholders
• Inherited a project?
Do not assume the
requirements are still valid –
revisit the requirements.
 The assignments
(NOTE: this view is EH2720-centeric! EH2070 & EH2760 differ.)

A1 (Project plan): The course as a project

• Planning in familiar environment -> understanding of complexity
• Follow up on project -> Status reports (progress, resources)
• Reflect on project in final report, what went wrong? What could have been done better, and why?

A2 (Project description): Investigating a real project

• Interview PM
• Write readable article -> reflect/analyze what learnt in course and reality
• Voluntary: oral presentations of article

A3 (Risk analysis): Doing some risk management

• Conduct and document a risk analysis (MR-method)
• Consider possible risks in suggesting actions to manage these

A4 (Agile reflection with or without workshop)

• Get hands-on, applied experience with Agile
• Deepen your knowledge on the differences between traditional and Agile approach
• Do some reflection regarding the application of these in your own future
 This course was about…

Simple tools to help you manage projects and lead your teams
• A simple tool is often enough.
• Many successful projects used just Excel and Power Point (as the IT tools).

Project management is about people

• Learn to communicate and interact with people.
• In a global workspace, extra effort is needed to create an understanding of
the differences you have in the team.
• … friction between people will occur – spot it & act – don’t ignore/wait.
Tools will NOT save you,
people will
 A short outlook

Certification
Books … for better outlooks
for your PM career
… for your further
education and
growth
Project Organizations
management
as a profession, ”craft”…
 Organizations

• Project Management Institute (PMI)

http://www.pmi.org

• International Project Management Association (IPMA)

http://ipma.ch/about/

• The Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering

through Total Cost Management (AACE International)
http://www.aacei.org

• Svenskt projektforum (Swedish organization connected to IPMA)

http://projektforum.se/
Certification at PMI

• Project Management Professional (PMP ®)

• Started in 1984
• ~ 260 000 certified PMPs in the world

• PMP is becoming required to get promoted as PM

in more and more organizations

• The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM ®)

• For team members and entry-level project managers
• For qualified undergraduate and graduate students
 Certification at IPMA

• Introduced in 43 countries
• ~ 170 000 IPMA-certified PMs

• 4 levels:
• Level A: Certified project director
• Level B: Certified senior project manager
• Level C: Certified project manager
• Level D: Certified project management associate
 Why becoming certified?

 For the company:

• Assurance of professional PMs
• Common terminology, tools and methods
• Satisfies customer demands

 For the employee:

• Knowledge (through the learning process)
• Professional network (community of PMs)
• Defined level of competence,
recognition as a PM professional
• Career opportunities
 Books

• This course has covered just basics

about project management.

• There is more knowledge to gain – broader and deeper.

Project Management
by Bo Tonnquist, 2016.

A guide to the Theory and Practice of:

• Project management
• Program management
• Portfolio management
• Organizational change

ISBN: 978-9-152-33612-0

Supports certification (IMPA/PMI).

Comprehensive.
Project Management
by
Anette Hallin &
Tina Karrbom Gustavsson, 2012.

ISBN: 978-8-215-02146-1

Supports certification.
Among other, includes the Earned Value
Management method.
Earned Value
Management
by
Erik Philipson &
Sven Antvik, 2012.

ISBN: 978-91-977394-7-4

EVM.
Project Management
Toolbox
by Dragan Z. Milosevic, 2003.

Tools and Techniques for the

Practicing Project Manager

ISBN: 978-0-471-20822-8

A very concrete and practically focused

reference-like text on PM tools & techniques.
Also tells when to use what tool.
Project Management
by Harvey Maylor, 2010.

(fourth edition)

ISBN: 978-0-273-70432-4

A fundamental book used at many

university courses.
Human Dynamics
by
Sandra Seagal &
David Horne, 1997.

A new framework for

understanding people and
realizing the potential in our
organizations.

ISBN: 978-1-883-82307-8

Related to
leadership and group dynamics.
Individer, grupper och
ledarskap i projekt
by
Tomas Jansson &
Lennart Ljung, 2011.

ISBN: 978-9-144-06807-7

Related to
leadership and group dynamics.

In Swedish only (to date).

Creating Effective
Teams:
A Guide for Members and Leaders
by
Susan A. Wheelan, 2013.

ISBN: 978-1-452-21707-9

Very nice, short and practical book on

Susan Wheelan’s IMGD (integrated
model of group dynamics). Considered
as one of the freshest models on group
dynamics.
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&
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