Project Management & Project Structure

Deepak Mehtani

Deputy Director Project Execution & Delivery

Unlimited Innovation Inc.

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Topics

Introduction

What Does Project Structure Include?

What Are The Key Areas?

Utilizing WBS

Know The Stakeholders

Know Your Team

Build Team For Success

Training

Cost & Budgeting

What You Already Have

ROI With Structured Approach

Quality Process

Senior Management Review

Organization Project Charter

Sample Documents

Overall Process

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Introduction

A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end

Various aspects include

Initiate

Plan

Execute

Monitor & Control

CloseTakeaway: While planning and sourcing are important ingrediants, performance and

reusability are vital to the project(s)

Project implementation require

Commitment

Control

CommunicationAvoid This

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What Does Project Structure Include?

Communication Structure

Establish reporting structure for team

Regular status meeting

Escalation path

Team Roles & WBS

Create WBS to list activities & resources

Assign team members roles and tasks

Takeaway: Structuring / Standardizing / Organization processes are the key

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What Does Project Structure Include?

Project Documentation Structure

Use standard templates

Set documentation standard

Set reporting standard and access

Change Control Structure

Define change management

Adjustment to plan and scope Risk Management

Plan for risk

Use preventive techniques – part of QA and process

Identify high-risk components

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What Are The Key Areas?

Project Planning Documentation – include project brief, schedule, execution

plan, deployment plan and technical specification

Enables using standardization process

Provide traceability

May slow down process

Verification & validation process & documentation

Change log document

Plan = description of activities + budget + schedule

Quality Assurance (QA) External process

Validates everything is happening per documents and organization process

Can be done at any step or phase of a project

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Utilizing WBS

Utilizing Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Essential to project lifecycle and timeline

Helps in defining tasks for a project

Makes it easier for stakeholders to understand scope

It is much easier to manage a project when it is split into smaller component

Easy to assign, understand, execute & report

Takeaway: While WBS is important, we should no lose focus of the key deliverables

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Know The Stakeholders

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Takeaway: Program Management Plan template, Stakeholder Management Plan template, sample Project Stakeholder Mgmt plans

Relevant stakeholders must be identified Plan their involvement

Should have organization-wide approach

Approach should be tailored to specific project

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Know Your Team

Team members are vital to success of a project

Team selection for the skills required for the project

Organization level training and project specific training

Promote contribution and collaboration

Responsibility should lie with one personKnow who is working for you

Project Manager Leads the team (a lot is expected) Experience in implementing Projects

Communicates easily with all levels, including senior management, middle management, and practitioners

Understands what stakeholders are looking for, and can discuss unique aspects of implementation

Provides tools and templates

Has a proven track record

An effective project team has combination of skills, experience, motivation & teamwork

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Covert level

Intermediate level

Overt level

Build Team For SuccessSponsors and performers must have a strong vision of the desired culture People should know their roles and responsibilities

Should be able to understand overall vision and understand the behavior changes required

Sponsors should understand underlying beliefs and values?

Overall benefit to team members and management

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Culture

Ethics Values Norms

Attitudes Beliefs Priorities

Opinions Behavior Conduct Do’s & Don’ts

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TrainingTrain the people to perform their role(s) in the project Be proactive

Recognize skills & knowledge for job function

Evaluate team members background against knowledge and determine if training is required

The organization should address process training

Projects should address specific training

Project plans should include project-specific training

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Takeaway: Standard Training Modules & sample Project Training

Record / recognize training course completions

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Cost & Budgeting

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Takeaway: Estimation Template, Sample process / task estimates

Maintain estimates repository along with skill sets required to perform a task Every project should collect the process / tasks measures

Have common measures with definitions

Support Basis Of Estimate (BOE)

Cost & Budget is very important to project execution Use organization workflow for estimation process

Estimate each task

Take technical input

Input from PM regarding value proposition

Get the project cost together

Identify risks associated with tasks and assign risk percentage

Combination of tasks estimates and risk associated with form the project budget

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What You Already HaveEnterprise assets Standard organizational process + tailoring by project or departments

Adapt processes to specific project (Common Process)

Utilize standard plans & reviews

Use specifications, design documents & interface documents

Utilize process aids like checklists

Lessons learnt repository Utilize experience from previous projects

Takeaway: Configuration Management Plan Template, Sample Project Plans

Project Plans, Schedules, &

Budgets

ProjectResults

OrganizationalTraining

Industry Standards

OrganizationalPolicies & Processes

Measurement Repository

Project Defined Process,Procedures, & Standards

Project-SpecificTraining

Process AssetLibrary

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ROI With Structured ApproachOrganize Project Plan activities – identify goals, assumptions & limitations

Define milestones & set deadlines

Define cost – task & resource cost

Finalize budget

Reap Benefits Predictable project performance

Document process

Easy communication with performers & stakeholders

Quality process ensuring process are being followed correctly

Capture what works, and what doesn’t

Utilize the knowledge to create rules (policies) that guide projects

Create a learning process by capturing measures, and learn from them

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Quality Process

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Takeaway: Task / Progress checklist template, Requirement Traceability Matrix

Monitor and control the task against the plan for performing the project and take appropriate corrective action Project should include audits / evidence to show that project activities

are reviewed against plan, budget & schedule. Use team meetings, cost reviews and variance reports

Budget should be tracked with the tasks involved

Review tasks progress with schedules to review project progress

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Senior Management Review

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Takeaway: Briefing template & metrics

Review the activities, status, and results of the process with higher level management and resolve issues Provide a wholesome approach to project management with long term

organization health

Provides for balanced approach rather than project manager’s short-term perspective - success of the project

“Higher Level Management” is defined as someone above project manager

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Organization Project Charter Organization level team for planning, implementation and process improvement

Typical structure includes Sponsor – Sets goals, timeline, budget Process Group – Organization level group usually responsible for

quality on various aspects of project implementation Steering Group – Senior management team to review plans,

determine impacts, assess progress Project Process Leads – Coordinate work on projects & provide

feedback

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Takeaway: Organization project charter helps creating a solid team for a project

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Sample Documents

Requirement Traceability

Matrix

SRD

Tasks or Progress Checklist

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INITIATING PLANNING EXECUTING & CONTROLLING CLOSURE

BusinessOpportunity

Project Charter, lessons learned

Project Charter,Project Plan

Project ResultsProject ProgressProject Deliverables

1. Know your project (Become expert on your project topic – It is important to know!)

2. Set a vision (Your team will easily understand and will be excited about the project, if you create a vision rather than tasks – tasks will be needed but in later phase – you first sell a vision)

3. Create & Communicate project charter (this should always be done during initiation so everyone understands the scope, budget and timeline)

4. Get formal sign offs (Get your team and stakeholders to formally sign offs)

5. Create project notebook / document folder / SharePoint site (This has all information about the project – every document)

6. Build Relationship (It is important to build relationship with your team and the stakeholders)

INPUT

PROCESS

OUTPUT

Overall Process – Works!

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References Project Management Institute (PMI) http://www.pmi.org/

Software Engineering Institute – CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi/

ProjectManager.com (http://www.projectmanager.com/)

Pictures or icons taken from internet

Thank You!Deepak Mehtani

dmehtani@uius.com