Project Management 2015

Business 2015

Mission

Objectives

Strategy

.

“We have entered the Age of Transformation. We’regoing to see the development of new technologiesthat will simply astound us – from increasinglycapable robots and other applications of AI to hugebreakthroughs in biotechnology. The winners aregoing to be those who identified the trulytransformational technologies early on in theirdevelopment and invested wisely. I see the Age ofTransformation as a 100% probability and willprovide a real return on investment for businesstoday.”

John Mauldin is a renowned financial expert, a New York Times best-selling author, and a pioneering online commentator.

2015 – The Year of Innovation and Change

“Changes of consequence are happening notvirtually overnight, but actually overnight," Cramersaid. “Therefore, if you want to make money in thismarket, you've got to stay nimble. You need tomonitor developments, digest the changes andplot a new course as needed.”

James J. "Jim" Cramer is an American television personality, a former hedge fund manager, and a best-selling author. Cramer is the host of CNBC's Mad Money and a co-founder and chairman of TheStreet.com, Inc.

The Way Forward in 2015

In 2015 there will be a move towards agile project management which will allow businesses to

incorporate the significant changes in technology, business models, and global value chains, as well as

the very nature of products and services across business requirements, product development and

production.

Over and above this the Project Manager will begin to move away from a pure project focus to taking on

an entrepreneurial role as projects become a part of the wider organisation that will need to show

economic value to both the stakeholders and shareholders.

Ultimately business and project management will provide a unified force that will keep the company

moving forward in this innovative and advanced technical world keeping ahead in a very competitive

market. “Fast to market while delivering a quality solution” will become the business slogan in 2015

whether the business is a small operation or a large corporation.

Business

Thanks to the continuing decline in cost for technology this will allow for a better, economicviable and robust year for innovation and new concepts. 2015 will be a very good year forgetting your product or service to market which will require business leaders to adopt newapproaches to survive in this fast moving competitive market.Paul Nunes

Larry DownesForbes Business Contributors

Business

ProjectPerformance

StrategyVision

The Way Forward in 2015

Project Performance

2015 A New Approach

StrategyVision

Business 2015The VisionThe StrategyThe Business CaseThe StakeholdersThe Charter

Vision

Where are we going and how are we going to get there?

This question allows the company vision to be discussed, brainstormed andultimately agreed to clearly outline the goals and objectives, the core values and thecore purpose of the organisation.

With the understanding of the company’s vision, the mission statement will providea written declaration of an organisation's business focus that normally remainsunchanged over time and is used as the direction that the company would like tofollow.

Business Vision Business Goals Mission Statement

Inputs

Outputs

Brief and succinct revealing the company and their vision in just a few words

Smart Goals

S Specific

M Measurable

A Achievable

R Realistic

T Timely

Goals and objectives

Core Values

Core Purpose

A Balance Scorecard approach will ensure that all of the current businesscomponents covering financials, customer requirements, operatingprocedures and processes are analysed to identify where and ifimprovement measures need to be introduced to the meet the marketdemand in 2015. Taking each component and using a SWOT analysis willallow for the strategy to be planned and quantified correctly and provide aframework that will outline the key performance targets that need to bemet and maintained throughout the planning and launching of the product.

Financial

Customer Relations

Learning and Growth

Internal Service Process

Scorecard Segments SWOT Analysis Scorecard Framework

Strategy

Inputs

Outputs

Internal Stakeholders

Shareholders

Employees Management

Owner

Suppliers Government

CustomersPartners

External Stakeholders

Identifying your stakeholders and building good relationships will allow for a

partnership that will work together to make the right decisions at the right

time which will be a critical success factor for business in 2015. The

Stakeholder Management Plan will give you the right tools to ensure that

have the right way forward to manage and communicate with all of the

stakeholders at the right time and in the right way.

I

n

f

l

u

e

n

c

e

Interest

Identify StakeholdersStakeholder

AnalysisStakeholderManagement

Shareholders

Strategy Communication

ReportingManaging changes

Stakeholders

Inputs

Outputs

Compiling the business canvas and getting it right from the onset is the keyingredient for successful management of the end to end product and projectlife cycle. The Business Canvas looks at each area that will provide the correctinformation for a business case to be compiled. It is important to ensure thatthe information provided is approved by the nominated stakeholders. Goingforward the approved business case becomes the barometer throughout theproject guiding the way towards meeting the agreed strategy, goals andobjectives

The Business Canvas

The Business Canvas

Inputs

Outputs

The Business Canvas, is a strategic management and entrepreneurial tool. It allows you to describe, design, challenge, invent, and pivot your business model.

Alex Osterwalder

http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2875

Stakeholders Committed

Return on Investment

Agreed

Project Team Assigned

Suppliers Approved

Risk Assessment Finalised

Mandate Approved

Product Roadmap

Finalised

Marketing Plan Approved

Technical Infrastructure

In Place

Validating the business charter gives the project manager the necessary approval tokick start the project. The charter will provide the reason for undertaking the projectand a high level summary of the vision, the goals and benefits to ensure that thenominated stakeholders both agree and approve the end result that the project willdeliver. It is useful to note that the combination of the charter and approved businesscase allows the project management team to position the project plan in line with theagreed scope, cost, schedule and quality baselines and ensures that the stakeholdersobjectives are clearly represented.

The Charter

Inputs

Outputs

Problem Statement

Project Scope

Goals

Business Benefits

The Project Team

Approvals

Checkpoint Composition Detail

Problem StatementOutline what the project will solve

Project ScopeOutline the full constraints

The Project TeamOutline the project organogram and skill set

Kick-off Approver:Date:

Resources confirmed

Approver:Date:

GoalsInclude approved goals from business case

Business BenefitsSpecify business target

Project Manager approved

Approver:Date:

Financials confirmed

Approver:Date:

Mandatefinalised

Approver:Date:

Project Managers are the most creative Pros in the world; we have

to figure out everything that could go wrong

before it does

Project Management 2015 The Project ModelThe Project PlanThe Project ProcessThe Project TeamThe Project Office

Fredrik Härén

Designing a project model that aligns to your environment provides a wellstructured approach to launch and deliver the approved product or service.The project model will ensure that the correct fundamentals are in place byincorporating the best practice and methodology based on the risk, size andcomplexity of the project. This will effectively incorporate the level of projectmanagement required ensuring that the baselined Software Delivery LifeCycle (SDLC) meets the agreed targets of scope, cost, time and quality.

The Project Model

SDLC Approach

Project Methodology is setup using best practice and tailored to suit the project environment

Project governance is approved and communicated

Project Process is used by the team as a guideline to ensure that standards are maintained

Project is aligned to both project management and software development

Inputs

Outputs

Risk Assessment Project Model Results

High Impact and

likely to occur

Low Impact and

likely to occur

High impact and unlikely to

occur

Low impact and unlikely to

occurLike

liho

od

Impact

Developing a project plan that builds in strategies and tactics will spell outthe details of the project looking at the what's, when's, where's, who's,and why’s. This will lead to a better understanding of the issues andchallenges the project faces and provide the correct approach toincorporate the project model as well as clearly outlining the projectconstraints and the technology to be deployed.

The project plan will describe in detail how the project will be planned,executed, monitored and controlled. The plan should be agreed andapproved by the project team and the nominated stakeholders.

Identifies the technical and management requirements

Focuses on the project constraints

Identifies the correct approach for each of the planning components

Forms a baseline for the project to be measured and managed against

Provides the cost baseline

Provides a baseline for future changes within the project life cycle

Inputs

Outputs

The Project Plan

Components Results

HR Management Plan

Communication Management Plan

Risk Management Plan

Procurement Management Plan

Stakeholder Management Plan

Scope Management Plan

Time Management Plan

Cost Management Plan

Quality Management Plan

Planning FrameworkTo be outlined in full in your project plan

Technical approach

Planning

Components

Project Constraints

Quality

Risks

Time

Cost Scope

Context

Having the right project team in place is a sure fire way to ensure that theproject will have a greater chance of being successful. The best way to do this isto clearly define what the roles are for the project and source the correct skillsto fill those roles. At the same time it is also important to ensure that theresources being assigned to the project fit in with the culture of theorganisation so it does become a balancing act. Providing the correct level ofmanagement will also play an important part and if this is done correctly thiswill ensure a successful project and a happy team.

Inputs

Outputs

The Project Team

Define Skills Recruitment SelectionSetup Project Organogram

Pro

ject

Tea

mProject

Management

Analysis

Design

Development

Testing

Implementation

Production

Define role for each category

Internal

External

Global

The role of the Project or Programme Management Office (PMO) variessignificantly from organisation to organisation with the primary purpose toobtain the maximum value for the organisation as well as the project.

In 2015 one of the key functions of a PMO will be to align operational andadmin processes to meet the demand of the organisation’s drive to becomeagile. Meeting the technical and innovation momentum of organisations willrequire the PMO to source skilled resources both locally and across the world.Once the full structure of the PMO has been setup to suit your projectenvironment it will allow the project manager to have full control and ensurethat each project delivers the strategy and projected earned value targets.

Inputs

Outputs

Components ResultsContext

Control of PM processes, governance, templates and tools

Stakeholder reporting

Managing project performance

Assessment of project portfolios

Provision of skilled PM’s

PM development

Align projects to strategy

Provide support for programmes at release level

Improve communication between the project team and stakeholders

Monitoring of best practices and new approaches for project management

Ensure training for project managers

Setup of structure to align all projects and programmes to show viability

The Project Office (PMO)

Project Management 2015

Business 2015

In the long run, to have a long run, your company needs a narrow and memorable focus that is constantly being updated in innovative ways. It’s easy to think that doing less as a company means you’re slacking, but results and longevity are all that count. Every entrepreneur and executive must learn how to build and maintain a culture of doing fewer things better

Martin ZwillingForbes Contributor

Integrating technology to meet business focus

Project and business aligned to strategic goals

Moving away from large projects to smaller agile

implementations

Incorporation of Project Management Software as a

Service

Integrating cloud technology to manage global

partnerships

Project Management 2015

Market Penetration

and new niche

markets

Development of innovative and quality

products

Growth and Return on

Investment

Resulting in

A final word

Being a project manager today is without a doubt one of the most excitingand rewarding places to be. Project Managers are becoming involved inthe whole process from generating the concept, outlining the strategy andbusiness plan and managing the project until you launch and go live. Thiswill bring a new set of challenges as we strive to add value and to provide aprofessional level of project management and finding the right balancebetween managing too little and managing too much. There is a wealth ofinformation for project managers today which really helps and networkingwith your peers always seems to provide the right answer at the right time.

Ultimately a structured, methodical approach is essential, and forms thebasis of good project management and in 2015 as we move into a moreagile environment we must ensure that as we meet the speed required todeliver the project at the same time we are not compromising on thequality of the end product.

Contact Information

Email cliona.ohanrahan@yahoo.com

Mobile +27(0)60 798 2769 (South Africa)

LinkedIn Profile LinkedIn Profile

Skype clionaoh

Cliona O’HanrahanMPM; Prince2 ; PMI SME