Project Management in Practice ISV

Fourth Edition
3-1

Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, and Sutton

Prepared by
Scott M. Shafer,
Updated by
William E. Matthews and
Thomas G. Roberts,
William Paterson University

John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

CHAPTER THREE
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PLANNING THE
PROJECT

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Two Extremes Approaches to Planning

3-3

Ready, fire, aim

Paralysis by analysis

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Key Elements of a Project Plan

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Overview

brief description of project

Deliverables Deliverable

is a term used in project management to describe a tangible or intangible object produced as a result of

the project that is intended to be delivered to a customer (either internal or external). A deliverable could be a report, a document, a server upgrade or any
other building block of an overall project

Milestones

a milestone is an event that receives special attention. It is often put at the end of a stage to mark the completion of a work

package or phase. Milestones can be put before the end of a phase so that corrective actions can be taken, if problems arise, and the deliverable can be
completed on time

expected profitability and competitive effects

intended for senior management

Objectives

detailed description of projects deliverables

project mission statement
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Key Elements of Project Plan

3-5

General approach

technical and managerial approaches

relationship to other projects
deviations from standard practices

Contractual aspects

agreements with clients and third parties

reporting requirements
technical specifications
project review dates
compliance with legal/environmental constraints

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Key Elements of Project Plan

3-6

Schedules

outline of all schedules and milestones

Resource requirements

estimated project expenses

overhead and fixed charges

Personnel

special skill requirements

necessary training
special legal arrangements (such as non-disclosure
agreements)

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Elements of a Project Master Plan

3-7

Risk management

listing of potential disasters

late subcontractor deliveries, bad weather,
unreasonable deadlines, equipment failure, changes
in project scope, etc.

Evaluation

methods

evaluation procedures and standards

procedures for monitoring, collecting, and storing
data on project performance

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Project Charter

3-8

A Project Charter consists of most, if not all, of

the nine items described in the project plan

plus the sign-off on the plan by all major
stakeholders
The signers include a representative of the
project sponsor, the client user, the project
manager, the program manager (if the project
is part of an overall program) and other
concerned stakeholders
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Project Managers Initial Tasks

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Review the project objectives project scope

plus expected desirable outcomes
Understand the expectations that the
organization, the client, and other stakeholders
have for the project.
Identify who among senior managers has a
major interest in the project.
Determine if anything about the project is
atypical.

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Launch Meeting - Invitation List

3-10

At least one representative from senior

management
Managers from functional areas that will
contribute to the project
[Perhaps] highly specialized technical
experts

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Project Launch Meeting

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Senior management introduces project

manager
Project manager chairs meeting

develop general understanding of the functional

inputs the project will need
may brainstorm the problem
may review a tentative budget and develop
preliminary plan

Important results
scope understood and temporarily fixed
functional managers understand their
responsibilities and have committed to developing
the initial plan
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Developing the Project

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Hierarchical

planning process

begin with projects objectives

list major activities needed to achieve objectives
(level 1 activities)
delegate level 1 activities to individuals or
functional areas to develop list of level 2 activities
degree of detail should be same within a given level

The outcome of this hierarchical planning

is the development of a Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS) for the project

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The Project Action Plan

3-13

Project activities identified and arranged in

successively finer detail (i.e., by levels)

Type and quantity of each required resource
identified for each activity
Predecessors and task durations estimated
for each activity
All project milestones identified
Individual or group assigned to perform the
work identified for all activities

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Project Master Schedule

3-14

The Project Master Schedule is created

by combining milestones, task
durations, and predecessors
This master schedule allows the
project manager to compare actual and
planned task durations and resource
usage

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Approach for Creating the WBS

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Gather project team

Provide each member with a pad of Sticky-

Notes
Team members write down all the tasks they
can think of
Sticky-Notes are then placed and arranged
on wall
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A Partial WBS (Gozinto Chart) for an Annual Tribute Dinner

Project
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Example of a RACI Matrix

3-17

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MIND MAPPING
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Mind mapping is a visual approach that closely

mirrors the way the human brain records and stores

information
In addition to its visual nature, this methodology
has the advantage of tapping in to the creative
potential of multiple team members
Mind mapping is an entertaining approach that
helps generate enthusiasm and involvement

Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Developing A Mind Map

3-19

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Approaches to Integration Management

3-21

One approach to integration management is

known as Parallel Tasking (PT) (simultaneous

engineering) which involves carrying out steps
concurrently rather than sequentially
helps minimize conflict across functional groups
reduces project duration

Another approach is to identify and map the

interdependencies between members of the project

team
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

An Interface Mapping of a Silicon Chip Design

Project
3-22

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Design Structure Matrix

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Traditional project management tools (such

as Gantt charts and precedence diagrams)

tend to focus on those tasks that have to be
completed in order for other to start
Often a more important question is: what
information is needed from other tasks to
complete specific task?
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Empowerment and Work Teams

3-24

Research suggests that the success of

empowered teams depends heavily on how

the team program is implemented rather
than with the team itself

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Advantages of Empowerment
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Teams generate high quality solutions

Micromanagement is avoided
Team is given accountability for part of the

project deliverable
Synergistic (group) solutions are frequent
The PM has a tool for timely team
evaluation and feedback
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright
3-26

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