Project Management

… an overview

Rodney Grubb, PE, PMP, PEM

February 28, 2013
Rev 11

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 Rodney Grubb, PE, PMP, PEM
Chairman, ASEM Professional Development &
Continuing Education
President RMX Technologies, LLC
rgrubb@rmxt.co
www.rmxtechnologies.net

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 Today? – 45 minutes
 Why do we care?
 Project Management as a Process

 Some supporting activities

– Communication, Earned Value, Risk

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 Session Guidance
 Enjoy and learn something useful
 Focus on communication, EV
management and risk
 Cheer or Boooo … just don’t ignore -
CWE
 PM is a Professional Discipline
 Accepted Body of Knowledge
 College Degrees

 Extensive Lessons Learned

 Professional Society – PMI

 Certification Program (s), PMP and

others
 Consistent Vocabulary

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 Why Project Management?
Why Plan?
 In case something happens to the Lead person.
 To obtain management / team buy-in.
– This is what I am going to do.
– This is what it will take.
– This is how long and how much.
 As a simulation of the project – don’t forget
something.
 Resources are limited – use them wisely.

The tools are good even for small PROJECTS –

just use the graded approach.

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 Why Plan – consequences?

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 Why is there interest in Project
Management?
 Resources Are Limited
 Jobs Are Regularly Underestimated
 Missed Schedules Are Common
 Staff / Support Downtime is a Wasted Resource
– Time Lost Cannot Be Recovered
 To Get the Most For the $$ Invested – Value
 Project Management Can Improve the Way We
Do Business – Plan, Do, Check, Act
 Provides a consistent vocabulary and way to do
business

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 What Is A Project?
 Single set of objectives
 Finite life span
 Organized team effort
 Recognized project manager
 Impose unique set of requirements on
organization
 Authorized by top management

A PROJECT SHOULD BE VIEWED AS A

SINGLE ENTITY!
 Project or Operations?
Another way to define a project – by comparison.

Scope: Owner to builder: “I said

the LEARNING TOWER of PISA.”
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 A Project Management Process
 Project Objectives – Value
 SOW – Alignment with Customer
– What are the deliverables?
– What is in and what is out of scope?
 WBS – To the Action Level
 Schedule – Built on WBS
 Estimate – Resource Loaded Schedule
 Approval – Know the Decision Maker
 GO! – Now Manage All Changes
(PMBOK shows the process)

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 Home improvement projects – issues?
(risk, scope, objective, cost)

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 Do you see project issues?
Quality, risk, schedule, objective, scope

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 Project Planning Overview

Have you heard:

“Scope, Schedule, or
Budget:
pick two”
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 Scope

Project

Triple

Constraint
Cost/Budget Time/Schedule
 Plan begins with scope
 Write scope statement in clear and narrow
terms.
 Provide statement of processes, internal
entities, systems, customers, and outside
entities that will /will not be part of project.
 Cross-reference scope statement, project
objectives and project deliverables for
consistency.

Mark Twain – “I am sorry I did not have

time to write you a short letter.”

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 Then we must manage scope
Scope Creep is the Leading Cause
of Project Failure

Soooooo … it is really important that we

document the scope and then manage
changes

Booooooooo!!

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Managing Teams is key to PM Success

If Teams are so important to Successful

Projects … what does a good team look like?

Sports?
Business?
Professional Organizations?

I know it when I see it …

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Do you see any team issues??
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L
7pXIC49R3c
 Team Examples
 Think about the best team you have
been a part of.

 Why was it the best?

 Research says that the most

effective teams have common
attributes … what are they?
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 Any of these attributes?
 Challenging Work
 Clear Objectives

 Over Communication

 Involvement in planning

 Team input

 Shared effort

 “Good” leader – Attributes?

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 “In the Beginning” …Does your
organization charter teams / projects?
 Why is it important?
– Management buy-in
– Team Understanding
– Definition of Objectives and plan
 Do you have electronic Project
Information?
 How are project teams chartered in your
organization?
 You can control this process ... Even if
the organization does not require it.
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 WBS Process – The Action List
 WBS is Work Breakdown Structure –
The Preparation is a Process
 THINK Task List or Action Items

 Action list to complete the Scope

 Good Info in Your Book

 Hierarchy – manageable pieces

 ALL Of the Work

 Action Level At the Bottom

 There is Rarely “ONE Correct WBS”

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 Intro to Schedules
 The schedule is the heart of the plan
 Tie it to the WBS – Action Level –
Know who is responsible and involve
them in scheduling
 Understand Dependencies –
Predecessors and Successors
 Define your milestones

 Use scheduling tools

 Critical Path Concept – Critical Chain

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Once we are underway there are
execution processes
 Measuring Progress
 (cost and schedule variance)

 Earned Value Concept

 Communication
 Human Resources
 Risk Management
 Monitoring Progress
 Track Against the Plan
 Communicate the Objectives Regularly
 Change Management is key
– Recognize, document and agree
 Report Progress – EARNED VALUE is
about THE WORK ACCOMPLISEHED not
the MONEY SPENT or TIME PASSED.
 Understand Variance
 Document what we learn and USE IT for
planning, estimating, and risks and
problems

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 Communication is critical to
successful project plan & execution
 Push communication
– don’t wait … be proactive
– Use your process so something doesn’t get missed
– Five times rule – say it, write it, e-mail it …

 Pull the string … if you feel uneasy then

ask the question.
 “Seek first to understand then to be
understood” – Covey
 Are you listening … or waiting your turn to
talk?

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 COMMUNICATIONS –
Succinct? Why?
The Six-Word Novel – Hemmingway

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn.“

"Epitaph: He shouldn't have fed it.“
“machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time “
"Will this do (lazy writer asked)?“
“He read his obituary with confusion.”
"Oh, that? It's nothing. Not contagious."

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 Again … Communication
 Consider a Communications
(Management) Plan
 Use Your Computer or PDA to Remind
You … Then Call or Visit
 Vary Communication Format
 Regularly with the Customer
 With Team Members – 5 TIMES Rule?
 With Management

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 Actual PM Quotes
COMMUNICATIONS
 "We know that communication is a problem, but the company is
not going to discuss it with the employees.“

 "E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should

be used only for company business."

TEAMWORK
 Quote from the boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what 'I'
say."

RISK
 "What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will
encounter."

 "This project is so important, we can't let things that are more

important interfere with it."

 "Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule."

 RISK Management and Contingency
Planning – part of planning AND execution
 What kinds of risk are there?
– Scope
– Schedule
– Financial
– Safety
 Where are the tasks recorded?
 Some Key questions – KEY TASKS
– What Could Go Wrong?
– Is it a Big Deal if That Happens?
– How Will I Prevent That? – ACTION
– What Will I Do When it Happens Anyway?
 THE NEW ACTIONS GO INTO THE WBS.
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 RISKS and Contingency Planning

 Know and use Potential Problem Analysis –

PPA
– Identify the Critical Tasks from the WBS?
– Ask what could go wrong at this step?
– Ask “Is it a big deal if that happens?”
– Is it is a big deal then how will I prevent it? – What
ACTION will I take? Document the action.
– What will I do when it happens anyway?
 THE ACTIONS GO INTO THE WBS.

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 Risk Management Planning
RISK IS:
An uncertain event that can have positive or
negative effects on our project.
 The WBS allows us to consider the
circumstances and conditions of each
deliverable for risks within our project.
 Once risks are identified, we can then run
them through qualitative and quantitative
analysis to capture which risks need
mitigation and which ones we can live with
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 PPA Form
Action Item Potential Risk PA CA
Problem ?

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 Summary
 Plan the work – Handle the details –
Document the results
 Use task list, schedule, and budget to
measure progress
 Actively manage and communicate

 Amount expended AND work completed

are necessary to know status
 When a project ends – document

 Again and again – Communicate

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Class Objectives – how did we do?

1. Define a project?
2. Introduce a PM Process
3. Show how PM elements fit together
4. Intro supporting processes –
communications, EV management,
risk management

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 Questions?

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 Using the Graded Approach to
Project Management
 First – It Has to Be Safe!
 Think “VALUE ADDED”
– Value added
– Value enabling
– Waste
 Graded Approach to Planning and
Implementation
 Don’t Spend a Dollar to Monitor a Nickel’s
Work
 How Would I Do It At Home?
 Start With Common Sense
 BUT: Some Requirements are Not
Negotiable
– Safety
– Environmental permits
– Waste management
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 Project Management & Lean
Principles
 Understand Value Added
 Flow – the Schedule – the Plan

 Recognize Value Added, Enabling, and

Waste in Your Planning, Tasks, and
Implementation
 Critical Path – Critical Chain

 References – “Building a Project Driven

Enterprise” and “Critical Chain”

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 TEAM CHARTER – a form to use to
document “it” (setting up a project) – agreement / contract?
 Project Team Charter
 Team – _______________ Date – _______________
 Project Objective Statement: Mission / Desired Results:
 Scope / Guidelines / Schedule: (what is included and
excluded)
 Required Resources:
– Equipment:
– Materials:
– Support:
– Budget:
 Accountability / Communicating Results: (Who, how,
and how often)
 Client:
 Team:
 Management:
 Deliverables / Outcomes / Consequences:
 Team Members:
 Approvals – Sign offs

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 Project Risk Management
 Project Risk Management processes include:
– Risk Management Planning - deciding how to approach,
plan, and execute risk management activities for a project.
– Risk Identification - determining which risks might affect
project and documenting their characteristics.
– Qualitative Risk Analysis - prioritizing risks for subsequent
further analysis or action by assessing and combining their
probability of occurrence and impact.
– Quantitative Risk Analysis - numerically analyzing effect
on overall project objectives of identified risks.
– Risk Response Planning - developing options and actions to
enhance opportunities, and to reduce threats to project
objectives.
– Risk Monitoring and Control - tracking identified risks,
monitoring residual risks, identifying new risks, executing risk
response plans, and evaluating their effectiveness throughout
project life cycle.
 PM History Video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C
1uxCBx2-UQ&feature=fvwrel

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