Summary

References:Lecture Note

•As the number and complexity of projects continue to grow, it is becoming even more important to practice good project management.
•A project has several attributes, such as being unique, temporary and developed incrementally.
•A framework for project management includes project stakeholders, the nine knowledge areas, tools and techniques, and creating project portfolios to ensure enterprise success.
•Successful project managers must possess and development many skills and lead their teams by example.
•The project management profession continues to mature as more people become certified and more tools are created.

Importance of Leadership Skills

References:Lecture Note

•Effective project managers provide leadership by example.
•A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals.
•A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals.
•Project managers often take on both leader and manager roles.

Most Significant Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Project Managers

References:Lecture Note

Effective Project Managers

• Leadership by example
• Visionary
• Technically competent
• Decisive
• Good communicator
• Good motivator
• Stands up to upper management when necessary
• Supports team members
• Encourages new ideas

Ineffective Project Managers

• Sets bad example
• Not self-assured
• Lacks technical expertise
• Poor communicator
• Poor motivator

Media Snapshot – Good Project Management Skills from The Apprentice

•Leadership and professionalism are crucial.
•Know what your sponsor expects from the project, and learn from your mistakes.
•Trust your team and delegate decisions.
•Know the business.
•Stand up for yourself.

•Be a team player.
•Stay organized and don’t be overly emotional.
•Work on projects and for people you believe in.
•Think outside the box.
•There is some luck involved in project management, and you should always aim high.

Suggested Skills for Project Managers

References: Lecture Note


•Project managers need a wide variety of skills.
•They should:
–Be comfortable with change.
–Understand the organizations they work in and with.
–Lead teams to accomplish project goals.

•Project managers need both “hard” and “soft” skills.
–Hard skills include product knowledge and knowing how to use various project management tools and techniques.
–Soft skills include being able to work with various types of people.

•Communication skills: Listens, persuades.
•Organizational skills: Plans, sets goals, analyzes.
•Team-building skills: Shows empathy, motivates, promotes esprit de corps.
•Leadership skills: Sets examples, provides vision (big picture), delegates, positive, energetic.
•Coping skills: Flexible, creative, patient, persistent.
•Technology skills: Experience, project knowledge.

Fifteen Project Management Job Functions*

References: Lecture Note
•Define scope of project.
•Identify stakeholders, decision-makers, and escalation procedures.
•Develop detailed task list (work breakdown structures).
•Estimate time requirements.
•Develop initial project management flow chart.
•Identify required resources and budget.

•Evaluate project requirements.
•Identify and evaluate risks.
•Prepare contingency plan.
•Identify interdependencies.
•Identify and track critical milestones.
•Participate in project phase review.
•Secure needed resources.
•Manage the change control process.
•Report project status.


*Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies, “Building a Foundation for Tomorrow: Skills Standards for Information Technology,” Belleview, WA, 1999.

The Role of the Project Manager

References:Lecture note

•Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities such as planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals.
•Remember that 97 percent of successful projects were led by experienced project managers.

What the Winners Do*

References:Lecture Note

Recent research findings show that companies that excel in project delivery capability:

• Use an integrated project management toolbox that includes standard and advanced tools and lots of templates.
• Grow project leaders, emphasizing business and soft skills.
• Develop a streamlined project delivery process.
• Measure project health using metrics, including customer satisfaction and return on investment.

*Milosevic, Dragan and And Ozbay, “Delivering Projects: What the Winners Do,” Proceedings
of the Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium (November 2001).

Extreme Project Management (XPM)

References:Lecture Note

•A new approach and philosophy to project management that is becoming increasingly popular.
•Characterizes many of today’s projects that exemplify speed, uncertainty, changing requirements and high risks.
•Traditional project management often takes an orderly approach while XPM embraces the fact that projects are often chaotic and unpredictable.
•XPM focuses on flexibility, adaptability and innovation
•Traditional and new approaches together can provide us with a better understanding of how to improve the likelihood of project success.

Putting the SDLC into Practice

References:Lecture Note

•Structured Approach to Systems Development
–Waterfall Method
•Rapid Applications Development (RAD)
–Prototyping
–Spiral Development
–Extreme Programming

The Relationship Between the PLC and the SDLC

References:Lecture Note

•The systems development life cycle (SDLC) becomes part of the project life cycle (PLC).
–The PLC focuses on the project management phases, processes, tools and techniques for effectively managing the project.
–The SDLC focuses on the software engineering phases, processes, tools and techniques for building and/or implementing the IT solution.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

References:Leture Note

•Represents the sequential phases or stages an information system follows throughout its useful life
•Useful for understanding the development of the project’s largest work product – the application system
•Phases/Stages
–Planning
–Analysis
–Design
–Implementation
–Maintenance and Support

The Project Life Cycle and IT Development

References:Lecture Note

•Project Life Cycle (PLC)
–A collection of logical stages or phases that maps the life of a project from its beginning to its end in order to define, build and deliver the product of the project – i.e., the information system
•Projects are divided into phases to increase manageability and reduce risk
–Phase exits, stage gates, or kill points are decision points at the end of each phase to evaluate performance, correct problems or cancel the project
–Fast tracking is the overlapping of phases to reduce the project’s schedule
•Can be risky!

Generic Project Life Cycle

Project Stakeholders

References:Lecture Note


•Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities.
•Stakeholders include:
–Project sponsor
–Project manager
–Project team
–Support staff
–Customers
–Users
–Suppliers
–Opponents to the project

Project Management Framework

References:Lecture Note

Nine Project Management Knowledge Areas

References:Lecture Note


•Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers must develop.
–Four core knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives (scope, time, cost, and quality).
–Four facilitating knowledge areas are the means through which the project objectives are achieved (human resources, communication, risk, and procurement management).
–One knowledge area (project integration management) affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas.
–All knowledge areas are important!

PMBOK®

References:Lecture Note

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)

•The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) documents 9 project management knowledge areas.
•The PMBOK® Guide is published and maintained by the Project Management Institute (PMI).
–http://www.pmi.org/
•PMI provides a certification in project management called the Project Management Professional (PMP) that many people today believe will be as relevant as a CPA certification.
•PMP certification requires that you pass a PMP certification exam to demonstrate a level of understanding about project management, as well as satisfy education and experience requirements, and agree to a professional code of conduct.


PMBOK® Knowledge Areas

1.Project Integration Management
2.Project Scope Management
3.Project Time Management
4.Project Cost Management
5.Project Quality Management
6.Project Human Resources Management
7.Project Communications Management
8.Project Risk Management
9.Project Procurement Management

Advantages of Using Formal-Project Management

References:Lecture Note


•Better control of financial, physical, and human resources.
•Improved customer relations.
•Shorter development times.
•Lower costs.
•Higher quality and increased reliability.
•Higher profit margins.
•Improved productivity.
•Better internal coordination.
•Higher worker morale (less stress).

What is Project Management?

References:Lecture Note


•Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.” *


*PMI, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide) (2004), p. 8.
c

The Triple Constraint

References:Lecture Note

•Every project is constrained in different ways by its:
–Scope goals: What work will be done?
–Time goals: How long should it take to complete?
–Cost goals: What should it cost?
•It is the project manager’s duty to balance these three often-competing goals.

The Triple Constraint of Project Management

Successful project management means meeting all three goals (scope, time, and cost) – and satisfying the project’s sponsor!