Essentials of Project Management

A Presentation To OTCTC 3/17/06

By Dan Reke, PMP,

MSPM Orange Belt

Presentation Scope

• What is a “project”?• What does it mean to “manage” a project?• Project Management Processes/Phases• Project Managers

– Skills– Organization– Training– Certification– Employment Market

What Is A Project?

• Let’s Play “Is this a Project?”

Cleaning My Garage

Every year (almost), I:– Check the weather.– Pull everything out of my garage.– Sweep out the cobwebs.– Clean off the foundation– Sweep the floors.– Scrub the floors.– Let the floors dry.– Wash off the things that go on the shelves– Put everything back in the garage.

• Is that a “project”? • Why?

Painting and Degreasing My Garage

• Two years ago, I decided that I should:– Paint the inside of my garage, and – Clean the gunk of the floor with a solvent called “Goof Off”.

• I couldn’t just pull everything out, because this would take several days.

• So I had to plan out several steps to:– Move things from one area of the garage to another, – Paint the walls, – Clean the floors with a solvent.– Move things to another area of the garage.– Etc.

• Was that a project?• Was I managing a project?

Remodeling• We are replacing flooring and remodeling our guest bathroom before our son’s

graduation:– We did some refinancing for the funds.– We shopped (and shopped and shopped) for carpet and floor tile.– We placed an order for carpet and floor tile.– We requested a proposal/quote from a local contractor for repairing the bath/shower.

• It was too expensive, so we decided to be our own general contractor.• We ordered wall tile from a store that would also install it.• We ordered faucets for the tub and shower from a home improvement center.• We contracted with a plumber to install the new valve.• We scheduled the plumber to come the day before the wall tile was installed.• We removed the old wall tile before the plumber came.• He put in the new valve.• The tile contractor tiled the wall.• I finished the faucets.• Added: Replace cabinets.

– The flooring store’s subcontractors will install the tile.• Coordinated with cabinet installation.

– The flooring store will install the new carpet.– We are coordinating the packing up of rooms for carpet installtion with painting.

• Is that a project?• Are we project managing? Why?

Answer Key

• Cleaning the garage was not a project because we do it repeatedly – it’s not unique.

• Painting and degreasing the garage could be called a project, but we didn’t management it as a project.

Answer Key Continued

• The remodeling is a project and we had to manage it as a project because:– It is expensive and we have limited resources,

just like your organization.– We have a limit on time.– It involves several parties whose work had to

be coordinated.– There are objectives we want to achieve – i.e.

there was a scope requirement.

Definition of “Project”• Work can either be classified as operations or

projects.• Operations are ongoing and repetitive.• Projects are temporary and unique.• “…a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken

to create a unique product or service. Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. Unique means that the product or service is different in some distinguishing way from all similar products or services.”– From the PMBOK Guide

What is project management?

• “The process of bringing a project to fruition in as effective a manner as possible.”– From “Managing Projects in Organizations” by ESI.

• Project management almost always involves cross-functional teams.

Scope

Cost Time

Project Processes

Initiating

Planning

Executing Controlling

Closing

Project Management Phases

• Selection [Develop new accounts payable system]

• Analysis [What does the organization need the new A/P system to do for it in broad terms? - Customer Requirements Analysis]

• Definition [What exactly will the A/P System do and how will it function? – GUI appearance, business rules, logical database design]

• Design [How will the A/P System work in detail? – What’s behind the GUIs? Program flows, what DLL’s or executables will need to be constructed, and what will they do.]

PM Phases Continued

• Construction [Do the programming, unit testing, integration testing.]

• Testing/User Acceptance [Beta or Acceptance Testing]

• Implementation [Put the system into production.]

• Close out [Lessons Learned]

Project Management Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of project life cycles

• Project selection– Cost/Benefit Analysis

• Discounted cash flow analysis (NPV, IRR)

– Business Analysis– Strategic Alignment– Political Savvy

PM Skills Continued• Planning

– Scope Definition– Work Breakdown structure (decompose tasks)

1 "Single Family House - Architect Design (3,000 square feet with full basement)"

1.1 General Conditions1.1.1"Finalize plans and develop estimate with owner, architect"1.1.2Sign contract and notice to proceed1.1.3Apply for Permits1.1.3.1 Secure foundation permit1.1.3.2 Secure framing permit1.1.3.3 Secure electrical permit1.1.3.4 Secure plumbing permit1.1.3.5 Secure HVAC permit1.1.3.6 Secure miscellaneous permits

1.2 Site Work1.2.1Clear and grub lot1.2.2Install temporary power service1.2.3Install underground utilities

1.3 Foundation1.3.1Excavate for foundations1.3.2Form basement walls1.3.3Place concrete for foundations & basement walls1.3.4Cure basement walls for 7 days1.3.5Strip basement wall forms1.3.6Waterproof/insulate basement walls1.3.7Perform foundation inspection1.3.8Backfill foundation

Planning Continued

– Human resource needs– Time and cost estimating– Scheduling

• Gantt Chart• PERT/CPM

Gantt ChartsID Task Name Duration Work Start Finish

0 Paint Garage Example 15.5 days? 104 hrs Thu 9/8/05 Thu 9/29/051 Remove Old Paint 3 days? 24 hrs Thu 9/8/05 Mon 9/12/05

2 Power Wash 1 day? 8 hrs Thu 9/8/05 Thu 9/8/05

3 Scrape flaking paint 2 days 16 hrs Fri 9/9/05 Mon 9/12/05

4 Caulk/Repair Holes 1 day? 8 hrs Tue 9/13/05 Tue 9/13/05

5 Paint First Coat 3 days? 24 hrs Wed 9/14/05 Fri 9/16/05

6 Paint Sout Side With Primer 0.5 days 4 hrs Wed 9/14/05 Wed 9/14/05

7 Paint East Side With Primer 0.75 days 6 hrs Wed 9/14/05 Thu 9/15/05

8 Paint North Side With Primer 1 day? 8 hrs Thu 9/15/05 Fri 9/16/05

9 Paint West Side With Primer 0.75 days 6 hrs Fri 9/16/05 Fri 9/16/05

10 Paint Second Coat 3 days? 24 hrs Fri 9/16/05 Wed 9/21/05

11 Paint Sout Side With Yell 0.5 days 4 hrs Fri 9/16/05 Fri 9/16/05

12 Paint East Side With Yellow 0.75 days 6 hrs Mon 9/19/05 Mon 9/19/05

13 Paint North Side With Yellow 1 day? 8 hrs Mon 9/19/05 Tue 9/20/05

14 Paint West Side With Yellow 0.75 days 6 hrs Tue 9/20/05 Wed 9/21/05

15 Paint Trim 6 days 24 hrs Wed 9/21/05 Thu 9/29/05

Joe

Bob

Bob

Joe

Joe

Joe

Joe

Bob

Bob

Bob

Bob

Bob[50%]

W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M TSep 4, '05 Sep 11, '05 Sep 18, '05 Sep 25, '05 Oct 2, '05

Critical Path Method (CPM)

CPM Continued

• CPM diagrams are seldom used, but they are helpful for illustration and training.

• CPM concepts are used constantly.– The critical path is the longest path.– It determines the length of the project.

• They could be used even more– Focus attention on critical path activities.

Scheduling

• Schedules are almost always essential.– They help PMs to make sure that the required

resources are available at the right time.– They help everyone focus on those tasks that

can cause the entire project to run over.– They are useful in making decisions about

scope or quality changes.

Planning Skills Continued

• Microsoft Project Schedule ≠ Plan• Communications Planning• Contingency Planning• Risk Analysis

PM Skills & Knowledge Cont’d

• Leadership/People Skills– Managing people without authority – See next

• Political Skills– To get the needed resources and support.

• Both are needed because the project team members seldom report directly to the Project

• Ability to track details

PM Skills & Knowledge Cont’d

• Leadership/People Skills– Managing people without authority

• Political Skills– To get the needed resources and support.

• Both are needed because the project team members seldom report directly to the Project

• Ability to track details

PM Skills & Knowledge Cont’d

• Contracting• Computing skills

– Project Specialists (coordinators) vs. Project Managers

• Industry or discipline knowledge– Some industries prefer to take people who

know the industry an make them into PM’s.– E.g. Most construction PM’s are Civil

Engineers

Project Management Organizations

• In some organizations, project managers can be found in many different departments, e.g.– IT– Product Development– Engineering– Facilities Management

• In other organizations, the PMs are all grouped together in a Project Management Office (PMO)

• Project Coordinators

Project ManagerTraining and Certification

• Most often come from the field in which they are working.– Engineering degree.– Construction Management.– Software Development

• General education in a variety of areas:– Business– I/T– Finance

PM Training & Certification Cont’d

• Additional Training in Project Management

• ESI International & George Washington University have a Master’s Certificate in Project Management– Areas of specialization– Many other organizations have similar

programs.

PM Training & Certification Cont’d

• Certification by the Project Management Institute:– Project Management Professional. (PMP)– Requires passing a lengthy test and satisfying an

experience requirement.• The questions are based on the PMBOK – Project

Management Book of Knowledge• Heavy on phases and processes.

– Continuing education and applying for renewal are needed for maintenance.

– There are several PMP Examination Preparation Courses of about 20 hours/each.

PM Employment Market

• Department of Defense

• Information Technology Organizations

• Construction Companies– Typically hired from the ranks of civil

engineers or people with muddy boots (i.e. job site experience)

• Universities