Project Management

Project Management Has a New Blog Location

2010-05-08T14:03:00.000+08:00

Please visit Jessica's Journal for it's new blog location. Thank you for the visits.

Scope Management: Doing the Right Stuff

2009-08-06T08:06:00.004+08:00

Product Scope refers to the features and functions of a product or service while Project Scope refers to the works that need to be performed in order to deliver the product or service.

Scope Management is about planning, defining and detailing the works that need to be done, controlling the project to be on track and verifies what were developed match what needs to be delivered.

Scope Management Processes:

Scope Planning
Scope Definition
Create WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)
Scope Control
Scope Verification

Scope Planning Process:
Definition: Develop Scope Management Plan and it falls under Planning Process Group
Inputs: Project Charter; Preliminary Scope Statement; Project Management Plan; Enterprise Environmental Factors; Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgement; Templates, Forms and Standards
Outputs: Scope Management Plan (input for Project Management Plan)

Scope Management Plan is a document that describes processes for creating the scope, verifying that it's complete and deals with scope changes. It contains information such as How to prepare the project scope statement; Creating and verifying the WBS; What to do to ensure that the deliverables are met; Controlling scope changes.

Scope Definition Process:
Definition: To define Project Scope before work starts
Inputs: Preliminary Scope Statement; Approved Change Requests; Project Charter; Scope Management Plan; Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques: Stakeholder Analysis; Product Analysis; Alternatives Identificatio; Edpert Judgement
Outputs: Project Scope Statement; Change Request; Scope Management Plan Updates

Stakeholder Analysis refers to discussion with the project stakeholders and come out with quantifiable goals. Product Analysis refers to turning Product Scope into Project Scope. Both methods ensure project goals are met.

Project Scope Statement document contains information such as Project Objectives; Product Scope Descriptions; Project Requirements; Project Boundaries; Project Deliverables; Product Acceptance Criteria; Project Constraints; Project Assumptions; Initial Project Organization.

Create WBS Process:
Definition: Defines all the works that need to be done in a project
Inputs: Scope Management Plan; Scope Statement; Organizational Process Assets; Approved Change Requests
Tools and Techniques: Decompositions and Templates
Outputs: Wrok Breakdown Structure; WBS Dictionary; Scope Baseline

A Work Package is a unit organised as part of a project. It resides at the lowest of the WBS and only contains a name.

WBS Dictionary contains the details of the Work Package. WBS Dictionary document contains information such as Work Package ID and Name; Statement of Work; Responsible Organization; Schedule Milestones; Quality Requirements; Code of Account Identifier; Required Resources and Cost Estimate.

Scope Baseline (Scope Management Plan + Project Scope + WBS) is used to check the project progress and ensure that it is on track. Scope Baseline needs to be updated whenever there are approved change requests.

Integration Management: Getting the Job Done

2009-07-29T11:30:00.001+08:00

Integration Management simply means making sure all the processes work together seamlessly to make the project a success.

7 Integration Management Processes:

Develop Project Charter
Develop Preliminary Scope Satement
Develop Project Management Plan
Direct and Manage Project Execution
Monitor and Control Project Work
Integrated Change Control
Close Project

How the 7 Integration Management Processes are incorporated into the 5 Process Groups:

Initiating - Develop Project Charter and Develop Preliminary Scope Satement
Planning - Develop Project Management Plan
Executing - Direct and Manage Project Execution
Monitoring and Controlling - Monitor and Control Project Work and Integrated Change Control
Closing - Close Project

Develop Project Charter Process:

Definiton: Prepared by the Project Sponsors that give authority to the Project Manager to perform project works
Input: Enterprise Environmental Factors; Contract, Project Statement of Work; Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgement; PMBOK; Project Management Information System; Project Selection Methods
Output: Project Charter

Enterprise Environmental Factors describes how the customer does business while Organizational Process Asstes describes how the customer normally runs the projects.

Project Selection Methods consist of 2 models, ie. Benefit Measurement Model (also known as Comparative Approach) and Mathematical Model (also known as Constrained Optimization). Mathematical Measurement Model predicts success rate based on features and benefits whereas Benefit Measurement Model make comparisons based on features and benefits.

Project Charter document contains information such as Project Description, Project Requirements, Assigned Project Manager and Authority Level, Summary Milestone Schedule, External Assumptions and Constraints, Business Case and Signoff Signatures. It is normally created by Project Sponsors.

Develop Preliminary Scope Statement Process:

Definition: Defines the high-level objectives of a project
Input: Enterprise Environmental Factors; Project Statement of Work; Organizational Process Assets; Project Charter
Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgement; PMBOK; Project Management Information System
Output: Preliminary Scope Statement

Preliminary Scope Statement document contains information such as Project and Product Objectives, Product or Service Requirements and Characteristics, Product Acceptance Criteria, Project Boundaries, Project Deliverables, Project Constraints and Assumptions, Initial Project Organization, Initial Defined Risks, Schedule Milestones, Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate, Project Configuration Management Requirements and Approval Requirements.

Develop Project Management Plan Process:

Definition: Most important document that guide the project and it spans across all the 9 knowledge areas
Input: Project Statement of Work; Organizational Process Assets; Enterprise Environmental Factors; PMBOK
Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgement; PMBOK; Project Management Information System
Output: Project Management Plan

Project Management Plan is a single document that comprises of subsidiary plans. There is a subsidiary plan for each knowledge area, which are Scope Management, Schedule Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Staffing Management, Communications Management, Risk Management and Procurement Management. It is the core of Integration Management and it is the mail tool used to run a project.

Direct and Manage Execution Process:

Definition: Execute the Project Management Plan activities
Input: Approved Change Request or Defect Repair, Preventative Repair or Corrective Action; Project Management Plan
Tools and Techniques: PMBOK; Project Management Information System
Output: Work Performance Information; Deliverables; Implemented Change Request or Defect Repair, Preventative Repair or Corrective Action

3 Components of Direct and Manage Execution Process:

Use the plan to create deliverables
Repair defects in deliverables
Make approved changes and corrections to deliverables

Monitor and Control Project Work Process:

Definition: Ensures project is going smooth and as planned
Input: Work Performance Information; Project Management Plan; Rejected Change Requests
Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgement; PMBOK; Project Management; Information System; Earned Value Management
Output: Requested Changes; Recommended Defect Repair; Recommended Corrective & Preventive Actions

Earned Value Management is a tool used to measure a project performace

Integrated Change Control Process:

Definiton: Determines if defects, correctives or preventive actions will be taken
Input: Project Management Plan; Devliverables
Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgement; PMBOK; Project Management Information System
Output: Approved Corrective & Preventive Actions; Approved & Rejected Change Requests; Approved &Validated Defect Repair

All changes in project need to be approved by Change Control Board (CCB). All changes are controlled in a Change Control System which is a set of procedures that let changes to be made in an organized way.

Monitor and Control Project Work Process> Consult Project Management Plan> Change Request> Integrated Change Control Process> CCB Approval> Update Project Management Plan> Apply the change in Direct and Manage Execution Process

A Project Manager has the authority to make changes to the project if they do not affect the project 3 constraints, ie. Cost, Time and Scope.

Close Project Process:

Definiton: Officially closes the project with deliverables met and documents filed
Input: Project Management Plan; Organizational Process Assets; Enterprise Environmental Factors;Work Performace Information; Deliverables; Contract
Tools and Techniques: PMBOK; Project Management Information System; Expert Judgement
Output: Project Closure Documents; Project Files; Organizational Process Assets; Formal Acceptance Documentation; Historical Information; Updated Lessons Learnt Information in the Origanizational Process Assets

The Process Framework: It All Fits Together

2009-07-21T13:24:00.001+08:00

A Process Anatomy - A Process has inputs such as information which are used to generate outputs. Tools and Techniques are used in the process. For example, in the cookies baking process. Inputs such as dough, sugar and water are used which generate cookies as tehoutputs. Cooking utensils are the tools used in the cooking process.

Output = Inputs + Tools and Techniques

The Process Framework which includes Process Groups, Knowledge Areas and Processes ensure project goes smoothly.

Process Groups and Knowledge Areas are 2 different ways to organize the 44 processes in PMBOK. Process Groups divide the processes by function (kind of work) while Knowledge Areas divide the processes by subject matter.Process Group is really about the actions that Project Manager take in a project. Knowledge Area is about helping the Project Manager to understand PMBOK Guide. They are 2 different areas that do not overlap. Every process exists in only 1 Process Group and 1 Knowledge Area. Each Process Group Group or Knowledge Area can have more than 1 process.

Projects, Processes and Projects: How You Do the Job

2009-07-16T12:18:00.001+08:00

In PMBOK, there are 3 types of organizations, namely Functional Matrix (Weak, Balanced and Strong) and Projectized. Functional Manager has more authority in a Functional Organization while Project Manager has higher authority in a Ptoject Organization. In a Matrix Organization, responsibility and authority are shared among the Function and Project Mangers.

Project Expeditor and Project Coordinatior exist in Functional and Weak Matrix Organizations only. Prohect Expeditor does not have any decision authority in a project and merely report and document the project status. Project Coordination is similar to Project Expeditor but is able to make minor decision in a project and normally reports to higher-level managers. However, neither role has as much power or authority as a real Project Manager.

A Project is temporary with a Start and End period. It starts when the project kicks off and ends when an end product or service is created or when it is decided to end. A project end product is normally measurable. A project always have new input during the project timeline where decision need to be made for the project to be on track. Project is not an on-going process.

A Project Manager needs to deal with the 3 common constraints in a project. There are Time, Scope and Cost. Any changes in a project quality, one or more of the 3 constraints are affected. The same goes with any changes in a constraint, the other 2 constraints are affected too. In other words, all 3 constraints need to be managed at the same time. Project Stakeholders need to be constantly informed of any project changes as they normally affect the Cost, Time or Scope of a project.

Project Stakeholder is anyone who is affected by the Cost, Time or Scope of a project.

Introduction: Why Get Certified?

2009-07-08T09:36:00.002+08:00

PMBOK Guide is an abbreviation for Project Management Book Of Knowledge. It is a guide to the best practices for dealing with problems that happen in projects. It was created by a team of experts around the world on the project management wisdoms. Project Managers can learn from past experiences with similar problems and on how to avoid the pitfalls. However, it doesn't contain all the knowledge of project management due to its constant change. Afterall, it is only a guide.

PMBOK 5 Process Groups:

Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing

PMBOK organizes information into 4 Areas of Responsibility:

Identify the Requirements for the Project
Establish Objectives that can be achieved
Balance Scope, Time and Cost
Satisfy Everyone's Needs

PMBOK 9 Knowledge Areas:

Risk
Quality
Scope
Procurement
Communication
Time
Integration
Cost
Human Resources

Getting certified as a Project Manager requires many hours of learning practices. Getting certified means you may have the knowledge to solve the most common project problems. It also means your project will have a higher success rate as you are on board (as a certified manager). Lastly it certainly leads to a higher job salary.

Head First PMP

2009-07-03T16:38:00.002+08:00

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Why Get Certified?
Projects, Processes and Projects: How You Do the Job
The Process Framework: It All Fits Together
Integration Management: Getting the Job Done
Scope Management: Doing the Right Stuff
Time Management: Getting it Done on Time
Cost Management: Watching the Bottom Line
Quality Management: Getting it Right
Human Resource Management: Getting the Team Together
Communications Management: Getting the Word Out
Risk Management: Planning for the Unknown
Procurement Management: Getting Some Help
Professional Responsibility: Making Good Choices
A Little Last-Minute Review: Check Your Knowledge