NCV 4 Project Management Hands-On Support Slide Show - Module 4

Project Management 4

Module 4: Supervision of a project

Module 4: Supervision of a project

• After completing this module, you will be able to:– undertake the management activities from start to

end for a small project– describe and explain the need for consistent

processes and standards to achieve quality– describe and explain how quality management

impacts a project– supervise and monitor a team working on a small

project– report progress for a small project

1. UNDERTAKE THE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FROM START TO END FOR A SMALL PROJECT

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• explain how activities and responsibilities for the activities

are assigned to personnel

• identify communication procedures for key stakeholders

• identify and explain management processes of:• project operations to support timeframes of project, using identified

personnel

• project process measurement tool to measure progress of a project scope and requirements

• evaluation tools to monitor evaluate and control project according to project management plan

• execution of close-down procedures according to project management plan

1.1 Explain how activities and responsibilities for the activities are

assigned to personnel• Does the person have the skills needed to

complete the activity within the specifications?

• Does the person have time to work on the activity at the time specified in your schedule?

• What factors, such as other responsibilities and commitments, will affect the person’s ability to complete the activity?

1.2 Defining communication in a project

• Within project management context, communication focuses on:– how the project team members communicate with one

another– how the project team, and specifically the project manager,

liaise with senior management and internal stakeholders on project resources and progress

– how the project team liaise with external stakeholders such as the media and community leaders

– the distribution of information to all project stakeholders and role-players using appropriate media and technology

– the planning and compilation of a communication plan– project-related documentation, for example, business plan,

progress reports, etc.


• Informal and formal communication– Informal communication is

vital to the organisation

– However, formal communication procedures must also be followed, especially the confirmation of essential in writing


• Communication planning– Involves determining the information and

communications needs of the stakeholders

– Information needs and distribution vary widely from project to project

– In a large project, all communication take place in the context of an overall communications strategy and plan


• Communication with key stakeholders– Project managers may not want to convey too

much information for fear that it will result in implied warranties

– However, project managers must also be careful not to convey too little information otherwise the project manager might be accused of withholding information


• Project stakeholder categories– People who are needed as resources, for example,

the human resources department and the developers

– People who need to be taken along, for example, those in the institution who need to be persuaded and talked round as their role in the ultimate success of the project is vital

– People who are going to be affected by the project, including people from within the institution and external stakeholders (i.e. community leaders)


• Projects can be hampered by:– Lack of trust

– Lack of horizontal and vertical communication, internally and externally

– Poor motivation

– Lack of skills among managers

– Slow decision-making

– Lack of collaboration and co-ordination among functions, teams and individuals


• Communication to the public and political representatives– Project managers needs to spend a large amounts of time

engaging stakeholders– Communication with a wide audience can be communicated

through:• Posters• Newsletters• Emails• Bulletin boards• Web pages• Presentations

– On large projects specialist PR and advertising agencies may be required


• Communicating with the public is favoured if:– the beneficiaries of the project are geographically

dispersed– there are many stakeholders– the project is fairly standard and non-technical– the project has hidden qualities that need to be

revealed– there are powerful emotional and political reasons

to support the project– the project has enough resources to see it through –

in other words, project success rates are high


• The project needs to address the following:– Timing

– Content

–Medium

– Response


• Communication with top and functional managers– In project planning and

objectives setting– In conflict resolution– In priority setting– In project “sponsor”

(providing needed resources)


• The project manager should also liaise with line or functional managers on a regular basis, since they provide:– Expert staff from their respective departments to

serve on the project– Much needed resources, such as finance and

information technology– Advice and general support for the project– Synergy, and interface between their departments

and the project

1.3 Project operations to support time frames of a project

• Compile a task list– It is important to identify interdependencies

between tasks– This can be shown through a network diagram

• Estimating time– Time comparison– Setting a time on the basis of key milestones– Building up a picture of the durations using

detailed explanations of how the project comes together

1.4 Project process measurement tools to measure progress of project scope

and requirements• Initiation– The process of formally recognising that a new

project exists or than an existing project should continue into its next phase

• Tools and techniques for initiation– Benefit measurement methods

– Constrained optimisation methods

– Expert judgements


and requirements• Scope planning– Consists of the product description, project

charter, constraints and assumptions

• Tools and techniques for scope planning– Product analysis

– Cost-benefit analysis

– Alternatives identification

– Expert judgement


and requirements• Scope definition– Involves the sub-dividing of the major project

deliverables as identified in the scope statement into smaller, more manageable components in order to:• Improve the accuracy, cost, time and resource estimates• Define a baseline for performance measurement and

control• Facilitate clear responsibility assignments

• Tools and techniques for scope planning– Work breakdown structure– Decomposition


and requirements• Scope verification– The process of formalising acceptance of the

project scope by the stakeholders

• Tools and techniques for scope planning– Doing an inspection, including measuring,

examining and testing


and requirements• Scope change control– Concerned with influencing the factors which

create scope changes to ensure that changes are beneficial, determining that a scope change has occurred and managing the actual changes when and if they occur

1.5 Evaluation tools to monitor, evaluate and control the project according to the

project management plan• The following management plans are all

part of the project plan:– Scope– Risk management plan– Cost management plan– Staff management plan– Communications management plan– Procurement management plan– Quality management plan

Execution of close down procedures according to the project

management plan• Meet with stakeholders

• Finalise all contractual commitments

• Reassign people in the project

• Release non-human resources

• Complete the final accounting

• Document the results

2. DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN THE NEEDS FOR CONSISTENT PROCESSES AND STANDARDS TO ACHIEVE QUALITY

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• explain the need to introduce and maintain a

consistent quality control system into the project• explain the processes required to control quality in

accordance with organisational standards and practices, or recognised industry practices

• deviations from specifications may be acceptable – con-conformance are acceptable

2.1 Explain the need to introduce and maintain a consistent control

system into the project• Fundamentals of quality control– Quality control involves monitoring specific

project result to determine if the comply with the relevant quality standards

– Identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory results

• The purpose of quality control is to ensure that a finished product has certain quality characteristics and that unacceptable product traits are corrected

Quality control and quality assurance

• Quality assurance– Focuses on developing and implementing

quality related activities

• Quality control– Focuses on ensuring that the quality related

activities achieve their desired effect

Quality control system• A good quality control system should:

– specify the measurements used to determine the degree of conformance or non-conformance

– designate someone to check measurement tools to make sure the tools are properly calibrated

– compare actual project and product results to the project’s quality standards

• Several issues you should consider when developing a quality control system for a project are:– establish the desired level of product performance and the standards

needed to achieve that level– evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the various quality control

techniques so you can choose the technique best suited to your project goals

– identify the conditions that must be met if the chosen quality control system is to operate effectively

– examine the effectiveness of the quality control system throughout the project’s life cycle and modify the system when necessary, to improve product quality

2.2 Explain the process required to control quality in accordance with organisational standards and

practices or recognised industry practice

• An effective way to achieve commitment is to make the person aware of the cost of any delay to the project

• When the project involves the repetitive manufactured of components it may be appropriate to change the management style to production management. Production management applies effective control not through activity based planning but through earned man-hours

• Any change to the plan should be discussed with the foreman first:– To see if they are possible– To get their input for the planning– To gain their commitment

• If your resources are being under-utilised remember that assigning more men to the job may actually slow down production

• It is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that all the project members appreciate that data capture is an important aspect of their management function



• Short training programmes should be developed to ensure that all the managers appreciate and understand how the information is flowing in the project

• The process of project tracking and analysis should be seen as a tool for the project manager and not a means of removing responsibility

• Avoid persecution of the responsible parties if there are overruns, otherwise in future the managers will be reluctant to give you any information for fear that it will be held against them

• Failure to co-ordinate and communicate information between departments may lead to dissipation of company resources and duplication of effort

• It is the project manager’s responsibility to establish priorities and differentiate between what is urgent and what is important. If you allow the workforce to set their own priorities they may leave low paying jobs they dislike until last. This could adversely affect the scheduling of the project



• Research has shown that workers tend to have a preference for a regular income, which if not controlled can influence their progress reporting

• Respond early to any variation, before small problems become disasters

• Encourage the team members to inform you of the deviations• As the schedule is only an estimate, you must expect activities not to be

exactly as per the schedule – introduce a degree of flexibility• Although plans should be revised to reflect the current progress, it is

important not to forget the original baseline plan to guide the project to completion

• Contractors may be tempted to over-claim to improve their cash-flow (in the short term)

• If the project is in serious jeopardy, the client and stakeholders should be involved

Distinctions that a project team should know

• Prevention and Inspection– Prevention requires careful planning to avoid

errors before a project begins

– Inspection occurs during project execution or after a project is completed


• Attribute sampling and variation sampling– Both attribute and variation sampling tell

whether a product conforms to quality standards

– Variation sampling accounts for the degree to which it doesn’t conform


• Special causes and random causes– Special causes are generally unexpected or

unanticipated

– Random causes are normal difficulties associated with a certain process such as equipment failure or faulty design


• Tolerances and control limits– Tolerance refers to the amount of acceptable

variation from product quality standards

– Control limits apply to a project’s process rather than to a product

Controlling the project participants

• Set up a file for each identity on the project, this could be per person, per department, per supplier or per contractor

• When of any of these people are contracted, log the conversation and confirm in writing any agreements. Try to set performance targets which can be monitored and reported back at the next meeting

• File the minutes of any discussions, memo’s and emails and mark action required

• As a memory prompt, mark in your work dairy all future meetings, items to be expedited and reply by dates

Controlling the project participants

• This procedure can be supplemented by developing an action list. The action list is a control sheet which logs all the actions numerically and groups them per responsibility. An action may be any item of work or re-work that needs re-planning and controlling by the project manager. The process is as follows:– Open an action file per work item. This could be a person,

department, location or item of work.– Link to the WBS (Work breakdown structure) and activity

number– Sort the action list per work item, which will usually relate to

a person– Initiate control– Regularly update the list increasing the revision number

each time

Typical action list

Quality control tools

• Pareto analysis• Flow charting• Scatter diagrams• Trend analysis• Graphs• Checklists• Inspection• Control charts


• Pareto analysis– Uses histograms to project defects based on

type and frequency of occurrence

– Based on the 80 / 20 rule which states that 80% of problems occur in 20% of processes

– Are used to determine whether corrective action has actually fixed a problem and to evaluate differences between project activities or methods


• Flow charting– Used to determine the weak points in a

process– Cause and effect diagrams illustrate

relationships between variables– Basic steps for cause and effect analysis

• Identify a problem, and then write a clear detailed description of it

• Analyse the problem to identify likely causes• Construct a diagram using a separate box to

represent each possible cause of the problem• Develop a plan to correct the problem based

on the cause illustrated on the diagram


• Scatter diagrams– Illustrate the relationship between two

variables

• Trend analysis– Uses scatter-diagrams to monitor the

performance of technical operations

– Project manager determines the mathematical equation that best fits the slope of the line on a scatter diagram

Scatter plot with trend line


• Graphs– Used to determine whether or not a project’s

processes need to change by comparing variables


• Checklist– Used to ensure the quality control steps are

completed

– Generally formatted with “Yes”, “No” and “Not applicable”

– Effective for ensuring completion of quality steps


• Inspection– End products should go through a final

inspection to make sure they conform to standards


• Control charts– Used to establish the extent to which

characteristics can vary from product to product

–Main purpose is to identify potential problem areas of a project

2.3 Deviance from specifications may be acceptable – non conformance is

unacceptable• Non-conformance is the extent to which

products deviate from quality standards

• The cost of non-conformance is the total amount of money and resources used to correct problems so that goods and services meet a project’s quality standards

DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN HOW QUALITY MANAGEMENT IMPACTS A PROJECTAfter completing this outcome, you will be able to:• explain the need for quality management on a project

• describe the impact of good quality management on a project

• discuss and describe the lack of quality management on a project

• assess a given project’s quality systems and management styles

3.1 Explain the need for quality management on a project

• A well-developed quality management plan– directs project according to customer expectations

and clearly states how a project team will carry out quality policy

– identifies suppliers at the beginning of a project, so materials can be ordered far enough in advance of when they are needed

– can be used to verify that the quality management process for a project is functioning correctly

– can also be used to confirm that project quality objectives are met

3.2 Describe the impact of good quality management on a project• The quality management cycle– Quality design and specification – an integration of

quality into the design and specification of the product or service being rendered

– Organising for quality – quality is not necessarily a result of specifications and standards

– Quality assessment – product or service providers must routinely assess whether plans are accomplishing the desired outcome

The quality cycle

Stages in the development of quality management


• Stage 1: Inspection– Under a simple inspection based system, one or

more characteristics of a product or service are examined to assess conformity.

– Products that do not conform are reworked or rejected


• Stage 2: Quality control– Quality control is a means of detecting whether

quality has been achieved and of taking action to correct any deficiencies

– Quality control activities include:• Establishing specifications of parameters to be controlled

• Preparing plans for control, called quality plans

• Performing, checks or inspection

• Diagnosing and taking action on the variations observed

• Checking that the variations have been corrected


• Stage 3: Quality assurance– Quality assurance is the prevention of quality

problems through planned and systematic activities– Includes:

• Establishment of a good quality management system and the assessment of its adequacy

• The audit of the operation of the system• The review of the system itself

– It is essential that all service users should be able to expect high quality

– For the quality of a project to be high, the quality of its support services must also be high


• Stage 3: Quality assurance– Examples of quality control systems• The definition of a quality policy and objectives• The development of a quality manual• Ensuring competency of personnel• Conducting periodical internal audits• The elimination of root causes of problems• Periodical reviews of the system by senior

management• Above all, there is a shift in emphasis from mere

detection to prevention of non-conformance


• Stage 4: Quality management– Focus changes from the product or end

outcome to the process

– Quality is viewed as a continuously improving process

– The focus of organisations is on developing quality improvement processes

Managing quality in projects

• The responsibility and leadership for creating effective quality design and delivery belongs to the project manager

• The project manager must demonstrate to the project team a commitment

• Project quality management should include product quality and process quality

• The project manager should know the relationship between project management processes and the critical success factors of the organisation, and be able to construct continuous quality initiatives to ensure success

Integrating quality in project planning

• Performance indicators need to be set for each task• Standards should be attached to each indicator• Standards should be:– Measurable– Understandable– Verifiable– Equitable– Achievable

• The degree to which each team member meets these standards will be used as a basis for performance appraisal

Integrating quality in project planning

• Standards require the existence and operation of procedures for:– Defining management responsibilities– Contract review– Design control, including document control– Purchasing, including purchaser supplied product and product

identification– Process control, including inspection and testing control of non-

conforming products and corrective action– Handling, storage, packaging and delivery– Servicing– Monitoring appropriate records– Internal procedure audits– Employee training and training records

Monitoring

• Monitoring well means consistently measuring performance and providing ongoing feedback to team members on their progress towards reaching project milestones.

• Ongoing monitoring provides the project manager with an opportunity to check how well team members are meeting predetermined standards and to make changes to unrealistic or problematic standards

• By monitoring continually, project managers can identify unacceptable performance at any time during the appraisal period, and provide assistance to address such performance rather than wait until the end of the period where summary rating levels are assigned.

Rating

• Rating means evaluating team members against the standards set for each task for which they are responsible by assigning a summary rating

• It is based on work performed during the project life cycle as per the performance contract agreement

3.3 Discuss the lack of quality management on a project

• Internal failure costs:– Replacement, rework or repair work

– Scrap and waste material

– Re-inspection and re-testing of final product

– Defect diagnosis

– Downtime

– Downgrading of product

3.3 Discuss the lack of quality management on a project

• External failure costs:– Receiving and actioning complaints–Warranty claims– Product reject and returned– Concessions– Loss of future sales– Increased marketing to replace lost clients– Recall costs– Product liability

3.4 Assess a given project’s quality systems and management systems

ID Description Duration(Days)

Mo1

Tu2

We3

Th4

Fr5

Sa6

Su7

Mo8

Tu9

We10

1 Foundations 1

2 Erect steel columns

3

3 Install roof trusses

2

4 Brickwork 3

5 Fit roof tiles 1

4. SUPERVISE AND MONITOR A TEAM WORKING ON A SMALL PROJECT

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• explain the impact of the needs and constraints of the

project environment on team work and team composition• list supervisory activities with reference to project teams• delegate activities within the team as per project plan;• identify, agree and document the objectives and goals for

the team according to management plan• identify and describe the monitoring tool of the

achievement of the team against goals and objectives• identify corrective action to sustain team performance• describe the implementation process of the corrective

action

Project teams

• What is the core team?– The core project team includes managers,

stakeholders and key personnel

– The core team is the group you identified to help define and plan the project

• The implementation team– The project implementation team includes the

people who will actually do the work to develop the project deliverables

Creating a project team• Investigate the parent company’s internal culture, its inclination

toward taking risks, and how much money it is budgeting for the project

• Ascertain whether or not the parent company has already established the project’s completion date

• Clearly define project roles and responsibilities• Outline the channels of communication that will be used

throughout the project• Determine the type of project organisational structure that will

work best for the parent company, the team members, and for project execution

• Acquire personnel for the project team• Develop a team culture that fits within the bounds of the parent

company’s culture

Addressing team members’ needs

• Belonging and personal identification• Commitment and involvement• Self-actualisation• Opportunities for growth• Recognition of contributions and efforts• Compensation• Adequate working environment• Interpersonal relationships• Addressing team member’ needs has the following benefits:

– Helps avoid hidden agendas– Provides development opportunity to provide new capabilities to

future projects.– Build trust, even if it is decided that a particular need cannot be

met on the project

4.2 List supervisory activities with reference to project teams• Three major questions must be answered

regarding the people used to complete the work on a project:–What skills are required to complete the tasks

on the project?

–Where will the people come from to complete the tasks?

– How should the people working on the project be organised?

4.2 List supervisory activities with reference to project teams• More questions about whom to choose– If you could choose anyone you wanted for your

team, who would these people be and why?

– Given the team that you actually get to work with, what levels of supervision will be required?

–Where will the people come from?

Staffing options

• Your own staff and other people from your department

• Staff from other departments

• Contracting with consultants and temporary agencies

• Hiring and training new staff

Skills inventory

• Once the basic project goals have been outlined, you should create a list of the skills necessary to complete the main project tasks

• Group similar skills together to create job descriptions for the various tasks

• Describe the characteristics of the individual who would best fill each of the job descriptions

• Put the names of the staff that you feel would make the project successful next to each job description

Training

• Mentoring relationships with existing experts in the organisation. Mentoring programmes are excellent for developing management skills

• Training programmes are best for general technical or basic skills training. But, because these programs can be costly, check their quality before you enroll people.

• Internal training programs, developed by in-house specialists. These programs are good for company-specific technologies and procedures

Imposed team members

• Do the best you can with the people you have, but make sure resulting problems are documented as they occur

• If your team doesn’t have all the skills necessary, build training into the project.

• If your team is not qualified in all required skills and training takes too long, consider hiring a consultant or an outside vendor to fill the gaps

• Compromise and negotiate for the team members you really need

• As an alternative, you may attempt to approach the manager with specific alternatives in mind Suggest an alternative team-selection process for the next project

Delegate activities within the team as per project plan

• Effective project team members have some of these qualities:– Project team members must be focused on

achieving goals. – Project team members must have technical skills to

solve any project-related technical problems– Project team members must have a good problem-

solving back ground– Project team members should have good

communication skills– Project team members must be team players

Matching skills to tasks on work breakdown structure

• Is there a specific technical skill or combination of skills required to complete this task?

• How much experience should the person or people have to complete this activity? Does a person need to have specific experience doing this activity or can general experience be applied? If so, what general experience is required?

• Does the person have the knowledge, or education, required to fulfill the role that you need filled?

• In addition to technical skills, are many specific interpersonal skills required to complete this task effectively such as good written or verbal communication skills, diplomacy or negotiating skills, or management ability?

• How many of these skilled people will be needed for each task and how would they be organised by job title and job function?

Example

4.4 Identify, agree and document the objectives and goals for the team according to management plan

• To achieve the schedule the volume of work must be distributed (shared) amongst a number of people

• The scope of the project may require a range of skills, which any one person is unlikely to have

• Brainstorming and discussions are a good example of interactive team-work to generate creative ideas and solve problems

• Once a project team has made a collective decision, the team will be committed to support their course of action.

• Project teams generally take riskier decisions than an individual would on their own

• Project teams enhance motivation• Project teams support other team members when they

need help both technically and emotionally

4.5 Identify and describe the monitoring tool of the achievements of the team

against goals and objectives• Characteristics of successful (work) teams:

– The team has a clear vision and goal (project)– The team consists of a diverse number of individuals who,

due to their unique characteristics, make unique contributions to the team’s success

– Members will disagree, but are willing to consider all ideas with an open mind

– Interpersonal relationships are relaxed, with ample open communication and mutual support

– Team members identify strongly with the team, and feel proud of the way the team functions as well as its achievements

– Team members evaluate their own development and performance, and seek opportunities for continuous learning

4.6 Identify corrective action to sustain team performance• In order to perform their best, project team

members should:– understand their own roles and responsibilities and

those of their team mates– know to who they are to report progress or problems.– understand the project’s goal and expected results of

their work– receive assurance that their work is satisfactory– have adequate means to perform their assigned

activities and correct their work– grasp the importance of the project to the organisation

as a whole

Individual performance self-evaluation

• Questions that might be included on a self-evaluation form include:– How well have I gotten to know the other team

members?– Do I understand the team’s goals?– Do I understand the tasks that have been

assigned to me?– Have I completed my tasks in a timely manner?– Do I listen to the concerns of other team

members?

4.7 Describe the implementation process of the corrective action

• There are several potential pitfalls to be aware of when staffing a project:– Project team members who are accustomed to having a single supervisory

figure might find it hard to serve multiple levels of management– Team members might not understand how to maintain a good working

team– Project and functional managers might not always cooperate with each

other, which can cause project problems and delays– Team members are usually required to do more self-managing on a

project, which can cause frustration and lead to mismanaged time and resources

– There are usually less formally developed procedures and role definitions, which can lead to frustration on the part of team members who are accustomed to clearly defined roles

– Team members might feel less loyal to the project than they do to their functional job or department

Activity 1

• Name the possibilities why a project team may fail

Pitfalls in project teams

• Lack of faith and trust

• Disagreement over standards

• Stubbornness over scheduling

• Resistance to feedback

5. REPORT PROGRESS FOR A SMALL PROJECT

After completing this outcome you will be able to:• explain the variety of reporting lines within a project• develop and document reporting lines of identified

project• identify and document priorities and requirements

within the reporting process• develop process to document progress in accordance

with established procedures• explain the need to produce reports according to

client specifications and timeframes• develop reports to meet client needs and timeframes

5.1 Explain the variety of reporting lines within a project

• Some specific steps to follow when deciding on an organisational structure for a project include:– Define the project objectives– Determine the key tasks associated with each objective– Establish which functional department each task would

fall into within the parent organisation– Consider the individuals who will do the work and the

customer who is being served– Name any special characteristics associated with the

project, such as a need for specific technology– Analyse the pros and cons of the functional project, and

matrix structures, and choose a structure that best fits the project

Purely project organisational structure

• Some of the advantages of a pure project organisation are:– Communication is easier when team members are only

required to communicate with other members of the team, rather than with the team and the parent organisation

– Team members report directly to the project manager, instead of reporting to both the project manager and the functional manager

– The project manager has full authority over the project– A project team can develop a stronger sense of commitment,

since each member will not have to worry about commitments to their functional departments as well

– Decision-making is easier, since the entire organisation does not need to be involved

Purely project organisational structure

• There are also some disadvantages of using a purely project organisational structure:– Pure project groups tend to be inconsistent in the way

they carry out policies and procedures– Rivalry can develop between the project members and

the parent organisation– The concerns that project members feel can cause

problems, since there might be uncertainty about their future once the current project is completed

– When several projects are being worked on simultaneously, there can be duplication of effort in many areas, and resources might be more effectively used if they were shared across projects

Reporting lines within a project

Parent organisation

Parent organisation

Project managerProject

manager

Project team member 1








Project designers and

engineers

Project designers and

engineers

Civil foremanCivil foremanProject contractor

Project contractor Sub-contractor

(plumbing)Sub-contractor

(plumbing)

Sub-contractor (electrician)

Sub-contractor (electrician)

5.2 Develop and document reporting lines of the identified project

• Status reporting– Describing where the project now stands

• Progress reporting– Describing what the project team has

accomplished

• Forecasting– Predicting the future project status and

progress

Status reports

• Project reports should:– clearly state the current status of the project

– compare actual achievements with the planned target achievements

– draw attention to critical issues

– identify problems and propose solutions

– promote effective management and control

Project status report

Variances reports

Activity 122: 3 000 100-------- X ----- = 7,8%38 000 1

Activity 214 3 500 100

------- X ----- = -8,2%42 500 1

Exception reporting• Exception reports are designed to flag an occurrence or event,

which is outside the predetermined control limits• For example, the project planner may be requested to report:

– All activities that have a float less than five days – that would highlight all the activities that could go critical in the next week

– All the deliveries that are due in the next week – this would focus on the deliveries that could disrupt the work and resource planning

– All non-conformance reports (NCR) where the product has not attained the required condition as outlined by the specifications or contract – this would focus on the work force that may need more training or equipment that may need upgrading

Monthly reports• On a project with a long duration time, monthly reports give the

project manager an excellent forum to quantify what is happening on the project and report it to senior management (parent organisation) and stakeholders

• The monthly report should roll-up the weekly progress meetings and any other special meetings to give an overall picture of the project

• The report should highlight any significant changes such as:– Schedule change because of a late delivery of material– Variance change with a revision of the budget– The report should also identify all major events happening in the

next month so that the client, parent organisation and other stakeholders can plan ahead

Weekly reports

• If the duration of the project is not so long, the client, parent organisation and stakeholders can requested the project manager to hand-in weekly progress reports – spelling out what they achieved in the past week, all the problems they experienced, any delays and any other information that is important for the project.

5.3 Progress reporting

• Performance reviews– Include every project team member– Inform the project team about any changes to the

project– Identify problems and encourage team members to

brainstorm solutions– Motivate team members– Reaffirm the project’s goals– Ask team members what questions they have

regarding the project

Individual status meetings

• Routine

• Exception

• Special analysis

6. IDENTIFY AND RECTIFY PROBLEMS OCCURRING IN A PROJECTAfter completing this outcome, you will be able to:• explain the problem-solving process

• identify and document potential problems that may occur in a project

• identify reporting and documenting systems for problems

6.1 Problem solving process

State the problemState the problem

Determine the factsDetermine the facts

Identify the priority problemIdentify the priority problem

Explore alternativesExplore alternatives

ImplementImplement

Selection solutionSelection solution

Follow-upFollow-up

6.2 Identify and document potential problems that may occur in a project

• Time• Money• Team members’ skills• Logistic problems• Lack of resources• Economic influences• Lack of motivation• Stress• Injuries and/or accidents

Activity 2

• In your groups, brainstorm possible problems (excluding the ones mentioned) which might influence a project and list them.

6.3 Identify reporting and documenting systems for problems

• Process to follow:– Team members should first try to solve the

problem

– The project manager will then try to solve the problem

– The project manager can ask for help from the parent organisation and other stakeholders

NCV 4 Project Management Hands-On Support Slide Show - Module 4

Education

Transcript of NCV 4 Project Management Hands-On Support Slide Show - Module 4