1.

Define your Project

2. List the tasks.
3. Plan the running order.
4. Add contingency.
5. Consider Crashing
6. Make a Gantt Chart
7. Calculate resource requirements
8. Assess risks and prepare action plans
9. Monitor progress using the Gantt Chart
10. Monitor costs
11. Readjust your plan
12. Review

1.1. What defines a project ?

a. Finish Date
b. Something New

1.2. Define Iron Triangle

a. Quality
b. Cost
c. Time

Ask : what do they want (in terms of cost-quality-time) ? by when ? how much can they pay ?

1.3. Plan before you commit.

Plan first and say yes later

No, I cannot do this in a given time and given requirement.
Maybe, it's the worst option.

Have a gantt chart at first.

 1.4. Kick-off meetings

Two kickoff meeting

Don’t start the work without planning

a. First Meeting:
What does everyone want ?
b. Second Meeting :
i. agree and commit to the plan
c. Put the plan in writing.

1.5. Key project drivers

Key driver of project

a. Quality
b. Time
c. Cost

- Identify why that budget or time limit

- What if ?
- Can we trade?
2. LIST THE TASKS

2.1. Three ways to list all the project tasks

a. Hold a brainstorm meeting

Get a random list of everything that is involved in the project.
b. Categorize the task - work breakdown structure.
c. Ask others. (brain of experts-inside or outside - look at written records, project plans, or gantt charts)

2.2. Choose the level of granularity

a. Tasks that are too big

- Cannot be estimated . breakdown work until it can be estimated.
- Ongoing - ‘o-word’

b. Get the right level of detail : not too little also not too much.

3. PLAN THE RUNNING ORDER.

a. Use Post-its to plan the order of the tasks

b. How to estimate durations
c. The importance of your projects critical path- slowest or longest point.(draw the diagram)

4. ADD CONTINGENCY

a. Safety margin : how much safety margin should we add. Halfway between average and worst.
b.
5. CRASHING

- Overlapping Tasks
- Don’t bend estimates to fit.
- Don’t remove contingency.

6. GANTT CHART

a. Do post-its before you do a Gantt chart.

b. Put a list of tasks on the left hand side and week across the top.
c. Put in a critical path.
d. Put floating tasks.

Why Gantt Chart ?

a. Communication
b. Resource Planning
c. Checking Progress
d. Interpreting costs.

Setting up a basic gantt chart in excel.