M I E K O A . O Z E K I E L P S E N I O R F E L L O W

Project Management Strategies for the Environmental Leader: Organizational

Toolkit for Long-Term Sanity

Presenter

  Projects Coordinator at the University of Vermont’s Office of Sustainability since 2008.

  Worked for non-profit organizations and schools, coordinating programs and managing data systems.

  Manage and support a portfolio of projects and programs to meet our department’s mission to “foster sustainable development and promote environmental responsibility at the University of Vermont by strategically bridging the academic activities of teaching, research, and outreach with the operations of the University.”

“Our culture celebrates the idea of the workaholic. We hear about the people burning the midnight oil. They pull all-nighters and sleep at the office. It’s considered a badge of honor to kill yourself over a project. No amount of work is too much work. Not only is workaholism unnecessary, it’s stupid. Working more doesn’t mean you care more or get more done. It just means you work more.” - Excerpt from Rework (2010) by Jason Fried and David Heinemeir Hansson, cofounders of 37Signals.

Premise

Life Work Work

Work

Work

Life

Image Source: www.zentofitness.com

Challenging to balance life and work. Challenging to stay focused.

Does managing projects and programs look like this for you?

Or does the digital version look like this?

“The Scream” by Edvard Munch

Do you start to feel like screaming when your work gets out of hand?

Image source: www.lacelesteblog.com

Presentation Overview

  Project Management Framework   What is a project? What does managing a project involve?   What is the difference between managing a project, program,

and/or portfolio?

  Sane Management   Tips on how to develop a work plan and set boundaries on your

work time.

  Project Management System   Finding a system that fits you and your team.

Project Management Framework

  What is project management (PM)? The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.* *As defined by the Project Management Institute’s 2008 Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)

  PM involves balancing competing demands, including: project scope, schedule, budget, quality, resources, risks, stakeholder needs and expectations.

Definitions

Portfolio

A collection of projects and programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management to meet strategic objectives. Projects and programs not necessarily interdependent or directly related.

Program

A group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.

Project

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create unique product, service, or result.

*As defined in PMBOK Guide and Standards (2008)

Operations Management

Operations management is similar to project management, whereby the work is planned, executed, and controlled; performed by people and resource constrained. The difference is:   the purpose of operations is to sustain the organization;   it occurs in an on-going process, no definite beginning and

end points;   the outcome is a non-unique product, service, or result;   functional teams generally aligned with organizational

structure.

5 Processes of Project Management* Management

Initiating

•  Identify needs, key resources, and needs

•  Establish •  Goals &

objectives •  Business case •  Key stakeholders • Major risks •  Implementation

strategy •  Prepare a project

charter. •  Stakeholders

analysis.

Planning

•  Identify project requirements •  Requirements

documentation •  Requirements

management plan.

•  Requirements Traceability Matrix

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

•  Project Schedule •  Budget •  Risk Analysis •  Stakeholder

communications Communication Management Plan

•  RACI chart

Executing

•  Performance reporting includes: •  Project plan as

baseline to assess project performance

• Work results the actual results, fully or partially complete deliverables

•  Variance analysis •  Projections •  Variance Analysis

Monitoring and Controlling

•  Risk monitoring and control •  Executing risk

plans •  Risk Review

Risk Register

Closing

• Document project closeout

•  Close procurements

•  Administrative closeout

•  Project acceptance form signing off upon completion of project

•  Complete closeout checkout

*As defined in PMBOK Guide and Standards (2008)

Key Points about Project Management

  Documentation throughout the life cycle of a project.   Offers clear communication about the project scope and objectives.   Helps reduce any potential “scope creeping” and project bloating.

  Understanding whether you are managing a project,

program, or portfolio.   And understanding the % of time you manage projects/programs/

portfolios vs. general operations management.

  Opportunity to become a certified project manager through the Project Management Institute.   But this is not a necessary step Develop a project management

protocol that fits your work environment.

Sane Project Management Begins with You

Image source: Ebaum’s World

Look at your work from 30,000+ feet

Develop a work plan that captures the areas you’ll address during a week, month, quarter, or year.

Align your work plan with your organization’s strategic goals. Use your work plan as an evaluation tool to identify skills/knowledge areas to improve on and/or learn.

From brain dump… To mind mapping

From 30,000+ Feet

Individual Group

Work Plan

Make your work plan public

It’s OK to say “no” than to regret saying “yes”.

Designate time to work alone and in a place where you can get work done.

Maintaining Sanity on a Project

Image Sources: www.huffingtonpost.com and www.stockphoto.com

Get to Know Your Team

Try the Marshmallow Challenge! www.marshmallowchallenge.com

TED2010 Talk by Tom Wujec http://tinyurl.com/TEDwujec

An exercise that encourages teams to collaborate, innovate, and be creative as well as opportunity to see the group’s dynamics on a project. The objective: Construct the tallest free-standing structure in 18 minutes from: •  20 sticks of spaghetti •  1 yd. of tape •  1 yd. of string •  1 marshmallow, which needs to

be at the top of the structure. Image Source: http://marshmallowchallenge.com

Understand your work environment

Image Sources: http://my-fashion-school.blogspot.com/ and http://www.home-designing.com/

Find a Project Management System that work for you (and your team)

When selecting a PM tool

It should be:

  Accessible

  Web-based

  Cloud-based

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  Function and makes sense to you and your team

  Easy to use

  Accommodates internal & external collaborators

External Partners

Internal Partners

Core Users

• Who are your external partners?

• How do they work? • What is the group

culture?

• Who are your internal partners?

• How do they work? • What is the group

culture? • Who is your core

group? • How do they work? • What is the group

culture?

When selecting a PM tool

  Make sure the service can accommodate “x” of current and future projects.

  Online storage size is sufficient and secure for your organization.

When selecting a PM tool

Image source: www.askbobrankin.com

  It should not break the bank.

  Monthly or annual costs should be low, preferably free!

  Try the free or trial service before making a $ commitment.

Image source: www.shutterstock.com

When selecting a PM tool

Project Management Software & Services

Starter list of PM software and online services from Wikipedia

http://tinyurl.com/projmgmtools

Once you select the tool…

  Give your PM tool a test drive for at least a month.

  Customize the PM tool to your group’s management needs.

  Take the time to train collaborators and/or your staff on how to use the tool.

  If the system you select doesn’t work for your group, shop around till you find something that fits.

Image source: www.thedailygreen.com

UVM’s Office of Sustainability Project Management System: 37 signals® Suite

Basecamp™

http://basecamphq.com/

Questions

What systems do you have in place to manage your projects, programs, and portfolios? Is it well-organized and manageable? Are you able to collaborate with internal and external partners with the system you have set-up? Does the PM system give you a 30,000 foot view of you (and your team’s) projects and progress?

Resource Page

http://tinyurl.com/ELP111

If you enjoyed the webinar, please consider donating $10 or any amount of your choosing to the Environmental Leadership Program at:

www.elpnet.org/donate Upcoming webinars:   1/25/12: “Carbon Offsets from Residential Energy Efficiency” presented by ELP Senior Fellow Stephen Erario, Carbon Quantification Project Coordinator at Maine State Housing Authority. Register at: www.elpnet.org/events-all

Thank you!

Mieko A. Ozeki Sustainability Projects Coordinator

mozeki@uvm.edu

www.uvm.edu/sustainability

Have more questions?

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