Dealing with Projects

A Handbook for a fast Introduction into Project Management


Elaboration, 2007

34 Pages, Grade: 1,0


Excerpt


Table of Contents

1. Introduction
1.1 Definition of a project and project management
1.2 Background of project management
1.3 Advantages and disadvantages in organizing a project
1.4 Different kinds of projects and objective of this handbook
1.5 Summary

2. Fundamental terms and documents
2.1 Important definitions
2.1.1 Letter of Intent
2.1.2 Factory acceptance test and Site acceptance test
2.1.3 The triple constraint
2.2 Documents
2.2.1 Project plan
2.2.2 Project budget
2.2.3 Status report
2.2.4 Final report
2.3 Summary

3. Project Model
3.1 Why a project model?
3.2 Phases of the project model
3.3 Milestones and Tollgates
3.4 Stage-specific documents
3.5 Important stages
3.5.1 Planning
3.5.2 Tracking
3.5.3 Risk and opportunity analysis
3.6 Summary

4. Economic tracking
4.1 Budgeting
4.2 Tracking
4.3 Pitfalls
4.4 Summary

5. Project completion
5.1 Why project completion is important
5.2 Routines for screening of project documents
5.3 Experience capture
5.4 Summary

6. Checklists
6.1 Project Start
6.2 Risk Analysis
6.3 Budgeting
6.4 Project completion
6.5 Summary

7. Project Organization
7.1 Why is project organization important?
7.2 Project organization guidelines
7.3 Organization structure
7.4 Summary

8. Project Manager
8.1 The role of a Project Manager
8.2 Ten tips to be a successful Project Manager
8.3 Summary

9. Document Management
9.1 Types of documents and how to name them
9.2 Saving documents
9.3 Backup copies
9.4 Summary

10. Sources
10.1 Sources from the course EH2720_Management of Projects (2007/08)
10.2 Other external sources

11. Appendices

1. Introduction

This section presents some general definitions and the background of project management is defined.

Contents

1.1 Definition of a project and project management
1.2 Why project management?
1.3 Advantages and disadvantages in organizing a project
1.4 Different kinds of projects and objective of this handbook
1.5 Summary

1.1 Definition of a project and project management

A project is a temporary activity, started to achieve in a unique way specific goals, within quality, time and budget constraints. A team is usually put together to complete a task.

Project management is the dynamic and complex subject that has to manage all these aspects of a project in order to meet its requirements and expectations. This very interesting job does not cover just technical issues but it is a broader study that involves also managing knowledge and resources, both human and economic ones.

The level of complexity can vary from a project to another, but the underlying idea of delivering an output within fixed limits is the same. The challenge of project management is to do this, always adapting itself to the changing surrounding conditions.

1.2 Background of project management

The Manhattan project (1945), on the developing of the atomic bomb, and the PERT (1958), for planning missile development, were two of the first projects in the history of project management. The term was used for the first time by Gaddis in 1959.

In the 70s computer programs were used to control complex projects. In the 80s projects management developed also outside engineering disciplines and it became the dominant tool for all kinds of projects in the 90s [1]. Nowadays it is multi-task management is developing as another fascinating area of enquiry.

1.3 Advantages and disadvantages in organizing a project

Organizing a project has first of all the advantage of simplifying and differentiating the process of decisions taking. Furthermore organization can be applied to a specific task but it may also go further, crossing the classical borders of management and involving the surrounding environment.

Disadvantages are related to the facts that a good organization requires time and resources and that sometimes it is difficult to make people understand why organization is necessary. For these reasons, especially for small project, it is important to select the tools that are really indispensable for a successful project completion, without losing time with an excess of documentations and templates.

1.4 Different kinds of projects and objective of this handbook

Procurement projects are engagements in which there is not the creation of a new system, but the project team is in charge of evaluating and negotiating a system, already present on the market, for its client. These projects end with the customer adaptation and the installation. Fundamental part of this kind of projects is the negotiation, a sort a pre-phase that includes the offer and the bid for the client.

Delivery projects involve only the activities to deliver the engagements to the client. They don’t include the pre-study or the negotiation phases.

In development projects, instead, a team has to create a new system or product to meet the customer needs and requirements. Usually these are internal projects but they can also consist in the development of a system for a client (see, for example, Ref. 7).

This handbook is about development projects because they are the most comprehensive ones; but the main concepts and structures can be useful also for managing delivery and procurement projects. The objective of this handbook is to provide a source of ideas and a guide to new approaches that can be used by individuals and organizations in the execution of their work.

1.5 Summary

Both individuals and organizations are devoting significant effort to improve the efficiency of the decisions taking process. This efficiency leads to a major economic benefit and is the key of project management activity.

As projects are getting more and more important, the final aim of this book is to present project management as one of the most challenging and creative tasks that a person can undertake.

2. Fundamental terms and documents

This section presents and defines the most important terms and documents concerning project management.

Contents

2.1 Important definitions
2.2 Documents
2.3 Summary

2.1 Important definitions

During the run of a project, one is always confronted with terms, which are explained below. These documents, which cover managing methods and important events during the different phase of a project, are very important for the administration of the project and they are expressing necessary events during a project. It is absolutely imperative to know how to deal with them.

2.1.1 Letter of Intent

Before a project is started is necessary to write a letter of intent. In this letter you specify your goals and define what you are going to do, i.e. you are going to clarify the key points of the projects. This document has to be approved by the customer. So it might be seen as a replacement of a written contract. When the customer will be unhappy with the result of the work, you can refer to the letter of intent.

2.1.2 Factory acceptance test and Site acceptance test

Acceptance testing is often used in development projects. It is black-box testing performed on a system, e.g. software, lots of manufactured mechanical parts, or batches of chemical products, prior to its delivery. Black-box testing means just to regard the functionality of the system.

It is important to distinguish acceptance testing done by the system provider from acceptance testing done by the customer. If the testing is done by the provider, it is called factory acceptance test (FAT), sometimes functional acceptance test. It is internal and it is the last step before the outcome of project is shown to the customer. If the testing is done by the customer, it is called site acceptance testing (SAT). This is usually prior to accepting the delivery of the system.

2.1.3 The triple constraint

During a project, there are three things, which measure the success of a project. If the project is successful it has to work, like it was described in the letter of intent e.g.; it has to be finished in time and it has to be finished within a given budget. This is the triple constraint. If your project does not work, it just has failed and you will not get paid. If you not finish in time, you might have to pay a penalty and if you not finish within the given budget, the project was a losing deal and your company will be bankrupt, if this happens to often.

It is inevitable in a project life cycle that there will be changes to the scope, time or cost of the project. If one area changes, is it necessary, in order to be successful to make appropriate adjustments to the other areas. You always have to balance these three areas.

2.2 Documents

Documents are one of the most difficult things to manage within a project. This topic will be analysed several times from different points of view in this handbook (see Project Model, paragraph 3, and Project completion, paragraph 5.2). In the following, the main documents are defined in a detailed way.

2.2.1 Project plan

A project plan (see Appendix 2, Template_projectplan) is a document to control and execute a project. It is approved by the supervisor of the project manager and it might be seen as a contract between the project manager and his supervisor. It contains information about planning assumptions and decisions, costs and a time schedule. It also has to contain measurable goals and a description of the execution of the project, as well as all the required resources and milestones. Furthermore, it states who is involved in the project and what the responsibility of these persons is.

The Project plan is the starting point for all the following work concerning all the activities of project.

2.2.2 Project budget

The project budget is the amount of money that the provider of a project makes available for its running. The project manager has to be aware of the project budget. The difference between the initial budget and the final project costs represents the profit. If the project is not finished within the budget, the project is a losing deal. Because of that, the project manager should use his technical experience to understand whether the project is able to stay in the budget or not. In the second case probably some parameters need to be redefined with the Project Sponsor.

2.2.3 Status report

A status report (see Appendix 3, Template_statusreport) is a periodical report which is used to control if the project is following the estimated plan, e.g. regarding the triple constraint. It has to be checked if the estimated work was done, if the estimated money was spent and if the estimated progress of the project was reached. In order to control the time and the progress of the project, the time plan, the cost plan and the resources plan have to be updated. To control the financial outcome, one can use the earned value management which informs about current costs, estimated result, outcome, estimated and actual worked hours. If one of the mentioned areas differs from the plan, you have to analyze whether this will endanger the success of the project and if yes, you should take some action.

2.2.4 Final report

The final report (see Appendix 4, Template_finalreport) is a general summary of the project. It discusses whether the mentioned goals were reached and if the customer was satisfied. Furthermore, it reports if the project was finished within the time and the budget limits. If not, one needs to figure out what went wrong. Comments and final considerations are useful for use in future projects if possible and not to commit the same mistakes.

2.3 Summary

A project manager, as well as all the people involved in the project, always must be aware of these terms and documents. All the documents can be used either to control the administration of the project or to define the execution of the project. A good knowledge of these basic concepts makes your work easier, and they represent useful tools, especially regarding the project administration.

3. Project Model

This section presents a basic structure to conduct a project, explaining the steps and framework necessary to end the project successfully. A particular focus is put on important stages of the project, such as planning, tracking and risk analysis.

Contents

3.1 Why a project model?
3.2 Phases of the project model
3.3 Milestones and Tollgates
3.4 Stage-specific documents
3.5 Important stages
3.6 Summary

3.1 Why a project model?

Having a model to base actions around is necessary, especially when complex tasks and different people are involved. The goal of the project models is to explain the general structure to obtain an output from an input, taking in account time, resources and budget constraints.

The inputs are the original needs and the reasons why the project has started. Resource inputs are the people involved in the project, the available data, the location, the machineries, etc… The main economical input is the budget, while usually projects have also a fixed delivery date that is the time input.

The outputs may be tangible or intangible but their and they represent what is necessary to satisfy the initial project needs.

The project will take place under a set of control milestones and documents in order to make the transformation process possible and successful.

3.2 Phases of the project model

The process followed in carrying out projects has four identifiable phases and they are shown in Figure 1 – Project Model.

- Project definition : this is the time where it is determined why the project has started, its background and its goals. This is also the time for planning the project, writing a Project plan and all the related documents, such the Resource plan, the Time plan, the Cost plan and the Risk Analysis.
- Design & development : this is the phase to analyse the problem and find a solution. During this time there is the conceptualization of a model to reach the project goals. Documents needed in this phase are the Design description, the Software code and/or the Product description. The presence of these documents depends on the type of project under development.
- Execution : this is the time to carry out and test the project following the plan and the design of the previous phases. The documents of this phase concern the testing, the production and the integration of the project.
- Delivery & close : during the final step the product is delivered and approved by the client. The project ends with a completion meeting and the approval of the Final Report.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Figure 1 – Project Model

Especially for large projects a repetition of one o more phases can be necessary to improve the process and continue with the following stage. In fact, when complexity increases, a cycle replication is often more likely than a linear structure.

In Figure 1 and in Table1 the FAT and SAT are mentioned. It is important to notice that if the project is internal, as a lot of development projects are, probably these tests will be done within the firm and not with the client. But testing represents always a fundamental check for all the projects. This is why they occupy strategic positions in the Project model.

3.3 Milestones and Tollgates

Table 1 explains the milestones and the tollgates that should be present in all the project in order to control it during all its phases.

[...]

Excerpt out of 34 pages

Details

Title
Dealing with Projects
Subtitle
A Handbook for a fast Introduction into Project Management
College
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Course
Management of Projects
Grade
1,0
Author
Year
2007
Pages
34
Catalog Number
V206595
ISBN (eBook)
9783656336129
ISBN (Book)
9783656336891
File size
1866 KB
Language
English
Keywords
dealing, projects, handbook, introduction, project, management
Quote paper
Dipl.-Ing., MBE Stefan Ponto (Author), 2007, Dealing with Projects, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/206595

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