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| A Primer on Project Management |
Project Management Guide
I. Define the Project
A. Who are the Stakeholders?
1. Who will be the Sponsor(s) of the project?
a) should be someone who has authority in the organization beyond the scope of the Project Manager
2. Who are the Managers under whose auspices the project is being done?
3. Who are the Customers of the project?
4. Who will be the Project Manager?
5. Who will be on the Project Team?
B. Publish a Project Charter
1. The purpose of a Project Charter is to show that the project has the support of the leadership of the organization.
2. The name of the project?
3. The purpose of the project?
4. The Project Manager?
5. Include a statement of support from the issuer
II. Plan the Project
A. Solicit Input from the Stakeholders
1. Why is the Sponsor interested in this project?
2. What deliverable(s) do the Customers desire?
a) This may need to be estimated.
b) Sometimes the you may be meeting a Customer need of which they are unaware.
3. What does the Project Team desire in the deliverable(s)?
4. How does the Project Team suggest the deliverable(s) be achieved?
5. For the Project Team, you may use an initial meeting(s) (or more than one) to develop a Statement of Work
a) The Initial Meeting(s)
(1) The Project Manager informs the Project Team of the deliverable and who’s requesting it.
(2) The Project Team (PT) brainstorms possible approaches
(3) Candidate Tasks are then excluded and consolidated
(4) Task Champions are identified
(a) Tasks that don’t have Task Champions are eliminated.
(b) At times an attempt to identify Champions outside of the team might be made before exclusion
(5) Tasks are prioritized
(6) On each Task, Candidate Subtasks (also known as Work Packages) are brainstormed
(7) Candidate Subtasks are excluded and consolidated
(8) Subtask Champions are identified
(a) Tasks that don’t have Subtask Champions are eliminated.
(b) At times an attempt to identify Champions outside of the team might be made before exclusion
(9) Subtask Analysis Begins
(a) How much labor will the subtask take?
(b) How many people will need to work on the subtask?
(c) How long will the subtask take to complete?
(d) What is the dollar cost of doing the subtask?
B. Develop a Statement of Work (SOW)
1. A Purpose Statement
2. A Scope Statement
a) more detailed than the Purpose Statement
b) should include what will not be done.
3. The Project’s Deliverables
a) Formulate a Task List (aka Work Breakdown Structure)
(1) Do it in Outline Form
(a) Include a list of all tasks, subtasks, end by dates and individual responsible for each
(2) Do a Gantt Chart (or other graphical representation
(3) Tip: A Key to Task List success
(a) Do not let a subtask be any longer than the distance between two status meetings or status reports.
4. Cost and Schedule Estimates
5. The Objectives of the Project
a) What are the success criteria?
6. A List of the Stakeholders
7. The Chain of Command
a) Who reports to whom?
b) This is important in case issues need to be elevated for any reason
C. Schedule Regular Status Meetings and Status Reports
1. any changes in the Project Deliverables in the Statement of Work needs to result in an update of the Statement of Work
2. these changes need to be communicate to all relevant Stakeholders
III. Execute the Project
A. Hold Regular Status Meetings and/or Review Status Reports
1. Each individual attends the meeting with an Open Task Report (OTR)
a) The Open Task Report
(1) lists any and all overdue and uncompleted Tasks
(2) lists any and all overdue and uncompleted Subtasks
(3) lists tasks scheduled to be completed over the next two reporting periods.
2. If your team is ready, consider rotating facilitation among all those who are interested
a) this is a great opportunity to mentor future Project Managers!
3. any changes in the Project Deliverables in the Statement of Work needs to result in an update of the Statement of Work
4. these changes need to be communicate to all relevant Stakeholders
B. Communication Tips
1. Initiate Initial Contact with each Project Team Member with a brief personal visit.
2. Ask for Help
3. Personally introduce them to anyone with whom they will need to work closely
4. Provide in-depth information and documentation
5. Invite them to everything
6. Keep them in the information loop – overcommunicate
7. Do milestone check ins
8. Write personal thank you notes
9. Praise them publically, critique them privately
10. When in conflict, balance advocacy with inquiry and realize you might be wrong!
IV.Close Out the Project
A. Obtain Sign-off from all Stakeholders
B. Determine Any Implied New Operational Procedures
1. e.g. a project designed to improve the quality of small groups over a 6 month period might translate to new standard operational procedures that will maintain and improve quality for a longer period.
This Project Management Guide is based on
The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Fast Forward MBA Series)
by Eric Verzuh
Copyright © 2000 by Stephen Shields
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