Project Management

1. A concise operational introduction Project Management

2. Project: A temporary endeavor undertaken to produce a unique product, service or result Temporary means a specific beginning & end End means achievement of project’s objectives or realization that the project cannot succeed Temporary does not necessarily mean short project duration Temporary does not necessarily apply to the project’s resulting product, service, or result which may endure Contrast project environment with more repetitive ongoing operations Uniqueness of result Uncertainty about outcome Requirement for project management by all participants

3. PMBOK Purpose Generally recognized: Knowledge & practices applicable to most projects Good practices: Agreement that skills, tools, & techniques will improve project success Common vocabulary: Essential element of a professional discipline Maintained by PMI (Project Management Institute) as a guide under continuous review, not a methodology

4. Project Management: Application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. PMBOK describes 42 project management processes divided into five groups: Initiating; Planning; Executing; Monitoring & Controlling; Closing Initiation and Closing processes distinguish PM from more general operations management Project management is primarily concerned with Identifying requirements; Addressing needs, concerns, and expectations of stakeholders during project planning & execution Balancing constraints like scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, risk Project management activities are separate & distinct from project execution activities

5. PMBOK In A Nutshell

6. PMBOK In A Nutshell

7. PMBOK In A Nutshell

8. Dilbert Wisdom Abandoning – or not starting – a project can be excellent project management

9. PMBOK In A Nutshell

10. PMBOK In A Nutshell

11. PMBOK In A Nutshell

12. PMBOK In A Nutshell

13. Dilbert Wisdom At the end of the day it’s about results, not processes & methods and PMBOK knowledge.

14. PMBOK Versus Agile AGILE VALUES Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software (or project results) over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan While there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

15. Things You Should Know Before your Frist Project Team Stages Tower of Babel Mythical Man Month

16. Team Development Stages Form Storm Norm Perform

17. Form Forming happens when people first come together. They are initially polite and the conversation is mostly exploratory, finding out about one another and the work that is to be done. People here are typically in the 'honeymoon' period and are quite excited about the newness and potential of being in the team. Some also may be more fearful and timid, whilst others are less gregarious, observing from the sidelines more than getting in there and exposing themselves Managing forming Managing the 'form' stage is best done by introducing people to one another and ensuring the quiet ones are drawn out and not left out. Rituals may be used to introduce people and get them engaged. The work to be done needs to be communicated in a way that helps the team understand what needs to be achieved without overwhelming them with detail.

18. Storm As the initial politeness fades, people start to get more into the work and their roles and so start to argue about things that were left unsaid or not realized when they first met.  Storming can be fiercer if one or more conditions exist: More than one dominant person who wants to be the leader (formal and/or social). Unclear formal roles Unclear objectives Little or large external threat Managing storming The manager here needs to assert their role and help draw out and resolve differences that might otherwise bubble along under the surface, causing continuing team cohesion problems. Storming can also be reduced by clarifying work goals and individual role and objectives. When people know what individual success means, they become more focused. External threat can be used to focus the team, but care is needed. When there is little external threat, people easily turn inwards. Extreme threat can also lead to conflict as revert to high-control behavior. Team rules such as collaboration and sharing may also start to be developed here, continuing into the next stage of developing group norms. At the very least, storming gives a clear indication as to why such rules are needed!

19. Norm As roles and personal conflicts are sorted out, the focus turns towards the task and what needs to be done. Objectives are clarified and the detail of work is laid out. Feeling more as a team, people start to help one another more. Socially, group rules develop and are refined. People begin to feel like they are members of the same team and form a clear sense of identity. Internal conflict may be replaced with external conflict as the human focus turns to 'us and them.' Managing norming Managing the process of norming requires a balanced focus on people and work. Work planning will proceed apace as people feel more comfortable in their roles and in working with other people. Group norms and behaviors may be deliberately developed and stories used to discuss and deploy these.

20. Perform Finally, a steady-state is achieved, where the team reaches and optimal level of performance. A good team will feel like a happy family whilst other teams reach working agreements where personal differences are managed and largely kept under control. Managing performing The manager cannot sit back and relax in this stage, but their focus can now be significantly more on the work as the people-related activity falls into a maintenance mode with ongoing performance management and motivation. Care does need to be taken to sustain an effective task-people balance as it is easy to slip into a happy and lower-performing family or to forget the people in an ever-increasing focus on the task at hand.

21. Other Stages Adjourn Deform Reform Mourn

22. Dilbert Wisdom Too much formality can create smoke screens

23. Why did the Tower of Babel Fail? Look at Genesis 11:1-8 They had Clear & well understood mission Support & enthusiasm from all Plenty of manpower Materials & related technology Plenty of time

24. Communications Plus Clear Roles & Responsibilities

25. Careful of shared roles

26. Not all roles have same exposure

27. The Mythical Man Month Techniques for estimating time are poorly developed & usually assume all will go well Techniques equate effort with progress – false assumption that person power & months are interchangeable Uncertainty in estimates leads to lack of courteous stubbornness Schedule progress against plan is often poorly monitored Schedule slippage often leads to bad reactions: adding person power & myopic schedule regeneration

28. If 1 person can do x in y hours, how long will it take z persons? Perfectly partitionable tasks Unpartitionable tasks Partitionable task requiring communication Partitionable task with complex inter-relationships

29. Dilbert Wisdom Be careful managing by the numbers (more on time, man hours, schedules later) and be a project evangelist

30. A concise operational introduction Project Management