Preparing And Implementing The Project Plan

Preparing And Implementing The Project Plan SHRADDHA SHARMABuilding the Project PlanThe project plan will vary based on the size of our project.The project plan is not one big plan, but the collection of plans that detail how different conditions, scenarious and actions will be managed.It is a formal document that is reviewed and hopefully, approved by management.The project plan is a guide that allows for changes to the project plan as more details become available.There are some elements within the project that generally do not change.The foundation of the project is the project scope.The project scope is all of the required work and only the required work to complete the project objectives.Once the project scope statement has been agreed upon our change control protects it.Other elements of the project plan that should be immune to change are the project charter and performance baselines.Project plan elementsWhen project team create the elements of the project plan, can start from the scratch and build the plan.Many times, project managers will find that their projects are similar , or even identical to past projects they have completed.To building the project plan, there are some common elements are-Project charter:- This document authorizes the project. It is the formal document that allows the project manager to manage the project work, resources and schedule to deliver on project scope.Scope statement:- This document is written to clearly define project objectives for scope, schedule, cost and quality. The project requirements help define the scope statement. This important document is the foundation for all future project decisions as it helps determine if requests, actions, or project work results are in or out of scope.

Scope statement defines what the project will and wont accomplish. Work breakdown structure:- The WBS represent a logical decomposition of work to be performed and focuses on how the product, service or result is naturally subdivided. It is an outline of what work is to be performed. The project components are decomposed to work packages, which are the smallest, most manageable elements within the structure.Time and cost estimates for each work packages:- Cost and time estimates reflects the labor and materials needed to deliver the projects.Performance measurement baselines:- These baselines are boundaries or targets the project manager and team are expected to perform within.Milestones and target dates for the milestones:- Within project there should be easily identified milestones that signal you are moving toward project completion.Required staff and their availability and costs:- There may be portions of project plan that require temporary specialized resources to complete a portion of the project work. Risk management plan:- This plan addresses the risks within project, documents of projects and details how each risk is managed.Open issues:- This section of plan identifies and documents issues to be determined and allows project to continue.Supporting details:- It is any relevant documentation that influenced project decision, any technical documentation and any relevant standards the project operate under.

There are additional plans that organization may requires are:-

Scope management planSchedule management planCost management planQuality management planStaffing management planCommunication management planRisk management planProcurement management planDefining the project scheduleProjects must have a definite set of deliverables that mark its end.Projects require a finish date .Runway projects stem from loosely guarded project scope , poor planning and lack of research.Longer the project more the cost. In addition to make it personal a missed deadlines can affect bounces, incentives and the raises for the project manager and team members.The best way to reach a target date is to plan, plan & plan & then analyze the plan.A project schedule should be a reflection of the work breakdown structure, the accumulation of all of work packages within the project & then assignment of resources for each task.IT professionals are used to working from a specific calendar for so much of their lives.Project managers should not work around specific dates when creating the project plan, but instead should initially work around units of time. eg.-1 day, 2 weeks, 3 months & so on.

FIG.-Assign tasks to be completed in units of time rather than by specific dates.Creation of a project network diagramA WBS structure is a topology of the project deliverables.

A WBS takes the project & breaks the project down into major components.

Once the WBS has been created the activity list can then be entered into Microsoft project.Gantt chart:-Gantt chart shows a mapping of each of the units of work required to complete each phase of the project.

The Gantt chart is ideal for simple short term projects.

It is a timeline of the events with consideration gives to tasks that can be completed concurrently within a project s lifespan.Disadvantages of Gantt chartIt do not display detailed information on each work unitThey only display the order of tasksThey do not clearly reflect the order of tasks in multiple phasesThey do not reflect the shortest path to completionThey do not reflect the best usage of resourcesProject network diagramThey are a fluid mapping of the work to be completed.

They are allow the project manager and project team to make the relationships between the task clear & create alternative solution to increase productivity & profitability.

A PND visualizes the flow of work from conception to completion.

PND provide detailed information on work units & allow project managers to analyze tasks, resources & the allotted time for each task.PND can be used to predict the earliest completion date.

In this simultaneously tasks are started & completed at a time.

We can use a PND to determine the flow of work to predict the earliest completion date.

Figure - Network diagrams demonstrate the relationship between tasks.Detailed project planning:- In a large projects a PND is essentialImplementation tracking:- A PND allow the project manager to react to the changes by adjusting resources or other dependent tasks.Contingency plans:- PND allow a project manager to play out what if? scenarios with any work unit within the project plan.Resource control:- A project manager can add or remove resources to a task to complete it faster or delay completion. Resources can be worker & physical objectsPrecedence diagramming methodIt requires the project manager to evaluate each work unit & determine which task are successor & predecessor task.Once this information is obtained we can begin to snap the pieces of the precedence diagramming methodEach unit of work in project network diagram using precedence diagramming method is represented by rectangle called the activity node.

The AOA method uses arrows to represent the start and end of activities.

Arrows link predecessor and successor tasks using AON.

There are 4 types of dependancies :- Finish to start : It requires predecessor task to complete before successor task can being.Eg.- installing network cards before connecting PCs to the internet Start to start : Task should be started but not necessarily completed at same time. eg.- planning for physical implementation of a network & determining each network IP addressing configurationFinish to finish : It require that predecessor and successor task be completed at the same time.Eg.- rolling out a new software package & finishing the user training seesions. Start to finish : The predecessor does not begin until successor finishes. eg.- if u r opening a coffee shop u will want ur inventory of coffee to be hand as close as possible to when construction of shop is done

Dependencies describe the relationship between tasksProject constraintsA constraints is a boundary or limit based on the project.Deal with the constraints before a preset budget for project an inflexible deadline , limited availability of computer hardware , locating a resources with a specific skill.Constraints are any factors that can limit options. They must be documented ,their risks examined & then project manager must plan on how to meet the project objectives with the identified constraints.Hard logic : The relationship between activities eg.- you must install the operating system before install the application.(finish to start relation)

Soft logic : The project manager decides to do tasks in a particular order based on experience, conditions in the project, time or other reasons. This logic called discretionary logic. eg.- Completed all the coding before beginning the testing phase.There are 4 types of constraints :- 1. Date constraint: Project have deadlines that require project managers to work backward from the assigned completion date.

Whenever possible avoid using specific dates for tasks unless it is absolutely required.

The best method of assigning tasks is to use a unit of time & then predict when the task may happen based on the best & worst case.There are 3 types of date constraints : 1. No earlier than : Task may happen any time after a specific date not earlier than given date.

2. No later than : Task must completed by this date or else.

3. On this date : Time oriented constraints, there is no margin for adjustment , task must be completed on this date no sooner & later.2. Management constraints : These are the dependency relationships imposed because of a decision by management this includes the project manager. eg.- Development of a web based learning management system. 3. Technical constraints : Within an IT project tasks will be logically sequential to get from the start to the end. This constraints may use when building network diagram into two major categories are :1 . Discretionary constraints : They allow the project manager to change the relationship between activities based on educated guesses.

2 . Resource constraints : A project manager may elect to schedule two tasks as FS rather than SS based on a limitation of a particular resources.

Organizational constraints :

Within organization there may be multiple projects that are related.

The completion of another project may be a key milestone for another project to continue. Should another project within organization be lagging it can impact our own projects success.Building the PND The PND can be a long & detailed map of the project.One of the best method of building & implementing the PND is on a whiteboard utilizing sticky notes.Project manager & project team can use the activity lists so identify the relationships between the units of work.To create the PND by adding activities in order they should happen based on the upstream and downstream activities.When reconvene to finalize the PND consider the amount of risk have allowed into project by asking these questions : 1. Are there adequate resources to complete the project? 2. Are the time estimations accurate? 3. Are there too many concurrent tasks? 4. Are resources spread too thin? 5. Is this a proven plan? 6. Is the plan realistic?Analyzing the PND Critical path : It is the sequence of events that determine the project completion date.

The critical path is the longest duration from project start to project completion. Calculating the project slack : 1. Free slack : Total time a single activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any successor activities. 2. Total slack : Total time an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion. 3. Project slack : Total time the project can be delayed without passing the customer expected completion date.

Early finish= ES + duration of the activity-1

Formulas for calculating the project slack :1. slack = early finish late finish2. slack = late start early startEarly finish = early start + duration of activity - 1Late start = late finish duration of activity + 1There are 4 processes can do to affect the flow of project schedule : 1. Fast tracking : This method allows activities to be done in parallel than in sequence. This approach usually increases project risk. 2. Crashing : This allows the project manager to add more resources to effort driven activities in an attempt to shorten their duration. Crashing usually increases the project costs because of the expense of the labor. 3. Lead time : It is a negative time because it brings activities closer together even allowing them to overlap.

4. Lag time : It is waiting time ,its often applied to activities where there must be an added duration between the tasks.To begin the schedule compression do the following : 1. Analyze the critical path to move tasks earlier in the workflow. 2. Consider relationships between tasks to change FS to SS. 3. Identify tasks that require lag time & evaluate the predecessor tasks to move it earlier in the workflow. 4. Consider any tasks & level of acceptable risks by changing relationship types. 5. Consider adding additional resources to tasks to shorten the duration required to complete tasks.Implementing the project planIn this portion of project, team will create the components defined in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and the sequence of activities in the Project Network Diagram (PND).PM will interact with team members to ensure their successes as they complete the tasks.Finally, tracking the implementation against PND, cost, and time estimates and then implementing corrective actions as needed to keep the project on track and on budgetThis part of project management will test and challenge all of planning, research, and ability to lead and react to situations that may impact project completion.

Reviewing Assignments with the Project Team :

An ideal project team will consist of people who are confident in their work, their abilities, and their commitment to the project.They will always complete their tasks on time, without flaw, and happily report to pm that everything is perfect and on schedule.One of responsibilities as the project manager will be to mold this team into a reliable, interdependent collection of professionals who can rely on each other, themselves & project manager.Through regular team meetings, outings, and one-to-one conferences, project manager will develop a working relationship with each member and learn how to motivate, inspire, and lead each individual. Focus on the Work :

One message all project managers should convey to the project team members, is to simply focus on their work, their tasks, and their responsibilities.once the plan has been created, the team should just get to work, ignore the gossip and the details that dont involve them, and focus on their duties to complete their tasks. Planning is an iterative process throughout the project. Part of planning is to find the most appropriate resource for each project task. The assignment of resources to tasks allows the team members to know what they have to do and when they need to do it.Encourage them to focus on their duties and their commitment to completing their assignments, and ignore what anyone else may or not be doing.The team is a collection of individuals who need to work together, but also have the ability to work independently as their tasks require it.Hosting a Project Status Meeting :Within Communications Management Plan define which people need what information, when they need it, and how theyll get the information. Communication can be both formal, like a report, and informal, like a hallway conversation. In project management, both methods of communication are needed. office is, close to the team or in a different building, PM will need to create a regular schedule to meet with project team. Regular meetings, whether weekly, biweekly, or on own custom schedule, will serve several purposes: Allows a team member to report on his activitiesUnderscores the project vision Allows the team to resolve problems Allows the project manager to lead the team without hoveringCreates a sense of ownership of the projectCreates a sense of responsibility to the project for team membersTo host a team meeting pm need one thing: preparation.Create an agenda, even if its a quick list of what needs to be discussed, and then follow it. Also, set a time limit for these meetings.For every meeting, agenda should include at least these points:The objectives accomplished since the last team meeting Discussion of any situations impacting the entire teamAcknowledgment of major team member accomplishments Overall project statusgood or badPending risks, issues, and upcoming activitiesThe objectives in queue before the next meetingThe foundation for successfully implementing an IT project is not the project plan, the technology being implemented, or the speed of the network, processor.The foundation is the ability of the team to honestly communicate to the project manager how the actual work is going, the challenges the members are facing, and how theyve reacted to those challenges.

Team morale has a huge impact on the projects success.Remember, acknowledgments, thank-yous, and are not something can fakedevelop a true sense of care and compassion for your team.

The morale of the team can impact the projects success.Tracking Progress :Tracking project progress will help you make adjustments and tweaks to the implementation plan, should you need to.Imagine a long-term project that has several milestones and teams dispersed throughout the world. A weekly meeting is not going to be a feasible method to get a grasp on the project status.Here need to develop an internal process for your team to report completed tasks so that you can reflect the project progress in an electronic form and analyze the teams work, the budget, and the days until completion. This also allows to accurately report to management how the project is moving along.Creating a Reporting Process :create a mechanism that allows team to report the status on assigned tasks on a regular schedule.It is important that collection of data be on a consistent schedule. Develop a schedule that works best for you and fits the timings of the project and stick with it. Determine the format for how work should be reported. Ideally, you should base this on the number of hours or days assigned to the task.

Tasks that exceed their durations impact both the budget and the projectThe figure shows the impact of exceeded hours on the budget and the overall time of the project duration. The actual collection of work completed will allow to see how the progress is going and to make adjustments to the project schedule to keep things on track.To react to this problem, need to analyze how additional hours will impact the following:Dependent tasks in the PNDOther, nondependent tasks in the PND that Rick has been assigned toThe critical pathThe budgetThe management reserveAdditional resourcesRisksTo resolve a problem : 1 . Assign Additional Resources : When a task is delaying dependencies and needs additional time to resolve an issue, assign additional resources to the task, such as team members or consultants, to reduce the amount of time required.2. Invoke Management Reserve : Management reserve is a final task in the critical path of the PND. It is an artificial task that is a generally 10 to 15 percent of the total amount of time allotted for all tasks. When tasks exceed their allotted time, assign the overrun to the management reserve task. 3. Reassign the Work Unit : choose to reassign the task to someone more qualified in the procedure.Status Collecting Tools :A project manager, may not always have the time to chat with each team member each week to get a verbal confirmation on the progress of each task.In this case information from the team can be collected by 1. E-mail 2. Spreadsheet 3. Web forms 4. Microsoft project 5. Microsoft project serverTracking Financial Obligations :In addition to collecting information on the status of tasks from team members.PM also has a responsibility to collect information on the financial aspect of project.The following items are to be reported The amount of finances spent on the project to dateAny cost variancesActual costs versus the budgeted costsValue of work performedCost variances and offsetSuggestions, when necessary, to reduce the cost of resourcesControlling Finances :The processes for how requests for payments, purchase orders, and payment on invoices may be set in the orgnization.A formal approach is needed for tracking & analyzing the actual costs.Microsoft excel & Microsoft project can be used for collecting this information

Some terms need to be familiar with to track and compute projects finances: Budget at Completion (BAC): The amount of money budgeted for your project prior to the start of the project implementation phase. This is the expected cost of the project.Actual Costs (AC): The amount of money actually incurred by the project to date.Cost Variance (CV): The difference in the amount of budgeted expense and the actual expense. A negative variance means that more money was spent on the service or goods than what was budgeted for it.Earned Value (EV): The value of the work performed. Earned value is a dollar amount assigned to the value or worth of the work performed by the project team or vendors. The percentage of the work completed allows the project manager to compute the amount of the Earned Value for the work unit. Earned value can be calculated a formula is EV=% of work complete BAC. Qualitative value: A successful project will produce attributes that are not easily tracked, such as improved customer service, improved quality, and better process to complete tasks within the organization. Y

Tracking Actual Costs : Tracking the actual cost of the project is done by collecting the amount charged on invoices from vendors and consultants, and the dollar amount assigned to the team members hours or the tasks they are completing.The ongoing sum of this collection is the actual cost of the project. This includes rework due to lack of quality, waste from materials, and purchased time from consultants, subject matter experts, or vendors.The comparison of the actual cost and the committed cost should reflect on the cumulative budget cost for the entire project.This is the committed cost. A committed cost is the amount of money approved and assigned to a portion, or the entirety, of a project.The key to controlling the finances within your project is to safeguard your budget and react to cost variances as soon as they appear.The extra expense can be reduced by using less expensive resources to task to complete it sooner & reduce its overall labor costs.Arranging the PND so tasks are SS rather than FSReducing the cost value allotted to the management reserveDetermining Earned Value :Earned Value is an excellent system to test, in an ongoing process, if the work completed on a project is in alignment with the budgeted costs for a project. Earned Value is a measure for project performance. This approach to financial management is ideal for hourly workers such as consultants, application developers, and resources that have a fixed hourly rate.Industrial engineers created a formula to predict the value of a factory. Their formula has three variables: 1.earned standards (what the factory actually produced), 2.the accumulative costs incurred, 3.the original budgeted costs.To use the formula, earned number and compared it to the actual costs amount. Then they compared the earned standards with their planned goals for the factory output.

Without an accurate account of time for each task within a project, Earned Value is not reliable because it compares the current output with the predicted output.Earned Value Management (EVM) has a few fundamental values: Planned Value (PV) - Planned Value is how much the project should cost to get to a specific point in the schedule.Earned Value (EV)- Earned Value is representative of the work completed to date regardless of how long it took to accomplish it.Actual Costs (AC)- Actual Costs is the actual amount of monies the project has required to date.Cost Variance (CV)- A Cost Variance occurs when the actual cost of the project work is more than the EV. Schedule variance (SV) -A Schedule Variance occurs when the EV is less than the PV.

To implement Earned Value Management, the project manager collects the status of the computed percentage of tasks completed.

Earned Value can predict if a project will be financially strapped.

Calculating the Cost Performance Index :The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is a reflection of the amount of actual cumulative dollars spent on a projects work and how close that value is to the predicted budgeted amount.The project manager can use this information to reschedule resources, adjust schedules, reassign tasks, and, if worse comes to worse, ask for additional funding.

CPI reflects how closely the project is following the budgetCalculating the Scheduled Performance Index :The Scheduled Performance Index (SPI) is a formula to calculate the ratio of the actual work performed versus the work planned. The SPI is an efficiency rating of the work completed over a given amount of time. It is not a dollar amount, but rather a percentage of how closely the completed work is to the predicted work. If the result of your formula is 1, you are on schedule. If the result is less than 1, you are behind schedule. Of course, if the result is greater than 1, you are ahead of schedule.

if the EV is $18,887 and the PV is $20,875, the SPI is .90, which is less than one, so this project is not on schedule.

Calculating the To-Complete Performance Index:To predict how much harder you and your project team will need to work to finish the project on time and on schedule, need to calculate the TCPI, which stands for To-Complete Performance Index.if the number is greater than 1, youll have to buckle down and work harder. If the result is 1 or less, breath a sigh of relief, you can make it on your current schedule.

THANK YOU