Chapter 2-3 Traditional Project Management Defining The Project

Chapter 2-3
Traditional Project Management

Defining the Project
Dr. Anwar Abu-Zarifa . Islamic University of Gaza . Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering 2017/2018 1
Traditional Project Management Life Cycle
Defining
Planning
Executing
Controlling
Closing
Defining
Five questions to be answered by any good definition of a

project:
What is the problem or opportunity to be addressed?

What is the goal of the project?
What objectives must be met to accomplish the goal?
How will we determine if the project has been successful?
Are there any assumptions, risks, or obstacles that may
affect success?
Planning
complete plan clearly state:
What is to be done?
Why it is being done?
Who will do it?
When it will be done?
What resources will be needed?
What criteria must be met in order for the project to be
declared complete and successful?
Planning - continued
Planning reduces uncertainty
Allows us to consider likely outcomes and put corrective
measures in place
Planning improves efficiency
By recognizing dependencies and resource relationships
in advance, can optimize tasks and shorten total duration
Planning increases understanding
Act of planning gives insight into goals and objectives
A basis for measuring:
Planning provides a basis for measuring work planned
against work performed
Executing
Executing the project plan involves a number of steps:
Identify the specific resources that will be required to

accomplish work
Scheduling workers to activities
Schedule activities with start and end dates
Launch the plan
Controlling
Initial Schedule lists:
What must be accomplished in project

When each task must be accomplished
Who is responsible for completing each task
What deliverables are expected as a result of project
completion
Closing
There are several questions that should answered as part of
any closing:
Did the project do what the requestor said it would do?

Did the project do what the project manger said it would do?
Did the project team complete the project according to plan?
What information was collected that will help with later projects?
How well did the project management methodology work and how well
did the project team follow it?
Formal means of signaling the completion of project.

Should evaluate what worked and what didnt for use in later
projects.
Causes of Project Failure:
Projects that have failed generally display several of the
following characteristics:
The customers conditions of satisfaction have not been
negotiated.
The project no longer has a high priority
No one seems to be in charge
The schedule is too optimistic
The project plan is not used to manage the project
Sufficient resources have not been committed
Project status is not monitored against plan
No formal communications plan is in place
The project has lost sight of its original goals
There is no change management process in place
Levels of Project Management:
Defining, planning, organizing

Especially for small projects in which one person
responsible for all activities
Defining, planning, organizing, controlling
Typical project management
Defining, planning, organizing, controlling, closing
Often used with formal/large projects
Project Management Life Cycle:
Scope the Project

Develop the Detailed Plan
Launch the Plan
Monitor/Control Project Progress
Close Out the Project
Scope the Project
Begins with an exchange of info between requestor and
project manager
Goal is bound by a number of objective statements that
clarify goal statement
Documented in form of Project Overview Statement (POS)
POS (Project Overview Statement)
Brief document (usually one page) that describes, in the
language of business:
What problem or opportunity is addressed by the project?

What are the projects goal and objectives?
How will success be measured?
What assumptions, risks, and obstacles may affect the
project?
The purpose of POS is to gain the approval of management

to proceed to the next phase, which is the generation of the
detailed project plan.
Develop the Detailed Plan
Deliverable is Project Proposal

Detailed description of each work activity
Resources required to complete the activity
Scheduled start/end date of each activity
Estimated cost and completion date
Use of tools like Microsoft Project help manage
interrelationships between variables and ease management.
The Project Management Pain Curve
Proper Planning is painful but pays off in less pain later in the project
Launch the Plan
Project team is specified

Exact work schedules are determined
Team operating rules, reporting requirements, and
status meetings are established
Monitor/Control Project Progress
Status reports are used to monitor projects progress

Some only for project team, others shared with
management and customer
Change Management is critical

May require re-planning, hence, the feedback loop in
life cycle
Close Out the Project
Customer says project is complete

Deliverables get installed
Final reports and documentation filed
Perform post-implementation audit
Celebrate!
1. Scope the project. 4. Monitor/control project progress
State the problem/opportunity. Establish progress reporting system.
Establish the project goal. Install change control tools/process
Define the project objectives. Define problem-escalation process.
Identify the success criteria Monitor project progress versus plan.
list assumptions, risks, and obstacles. Revise project plans
2. Develop the project plan. 5. Close out the project.
Identify the project activities. Obtain client acceptance
Estimate activity duration. Install project deliverables.
Construct/analyze the project network Complete project documentation
Prepare the project proposal. Complete post implementation audit
3. Launch the plan Issue final project report
Recruit and organize the project team.
Establish team operating roles.
level project resources.
Schedule work packages.
Document work packages.
Defining the Project
The top 10 reasons why projects succeed are these:
Executive management support
User involvement
Experienced project manager
Clear business objectives
Standard infrastructure
Firm basic requirements
Formal methodology
Reliable estimates
Skilled staff
Communication is the key!
Managing Client Expectations
Clients always seem to expect more than we are prepared to

deliver
Many problems result from disconnect between what client
says they want and what they really need
Sometimes client does not really know what they need
PM forces them into specifying what they want when that is
the absolute wrong thing to do
Example => Conversation between Requestor and Provider

(Page: 84)
Conditions of Satisfaction (COS)
Often project runs into trouble at the very beginning

For some reason, people have a difficult time understanding
what they are saying to one another
How often do you find yourself thinking about what you are
going to say while the other party is talking?
An essential skill that project managers need to cultivate is
good listening
Establishing Clarity of Purpose
The COS process is to negotiate to closure on exactly what
will be done to meet the request
This process repeats itself until there is an agreed-to request
that is satisfied by an agreed-to response
As part of this agreement there will be a statement, called
success criteria, in the POS that specifies when and how the
request will be satisfied
The result is documented as the COS and becomes input

to the POS
Conducting Milestone Reviews
The COS is a dynamic agreement that becomes part of the
continual project monitoring process
Situations change throughout the project life cycle and so will
the needs of the customer and that means that COS will
change
At every major project status review and project milestone,
review the COS
Creating the Project Overview Statement
The POS is a short document (ideally one page) that

concisely states what is to be done in the project, why it is to be
done, and what business value it will provide to the enterprise
when completed
The main purpose of the POS is to secure senior
management approval and the resources needed to develop a
detailed project plan
It will be reviewed by the managers who are responsible for
setting priorities and deciding what projects to support
It becomes the reference document for questions or conflicts
regarding project scope and purpose
Parts of the POS
Stating the Problem or Opportunity
The first part of the POS is a statement of the problem or

opportunity that the project addresses
A problem or opportunity statement that is known and
accepted by the organization is the foundation on which to build
a rationale for the project
It sets the priority with which management will view what
follows
If you are addressing a high-priority area or high-business
value area, your idea will get more attention and senior
management will read on
Establishing the Project Goal
The second section of the POS states the goal of the project:
What you intend to do to address the problem or opportunity
identified in the problem/opportunity section
The purpose of the goal statement is to get senior
management to value the idea enough to read on
A project has one goal
The goal statement will be used as a continual point of
reference for any questions that arise regarding scope or
purpose
The goal statement should not include a specific completion
date (If you expect management to ask for a date, estimate the
date to the nearest quarter, month, or week as Appropriate)
S.M.A.R.T. Characteristics of Goal Statement
Dorans S.M.A.R.T. characteristics provide the criteria for a
goal statement:
Specific
Be specific in targeting an objective
Measurable
Establish measurable indicators of progress
Assignable
Make the object assignable to one person for completion
Realistic
State what can realistically be done with available
resources
Time-related
State when the objective can be achieved
Defining the Project Objectives
The third section of the POS is the project objectives
Objective statements as a more detailed version of the goal
statements
The purpose of objective statements is to clarify the exact
boundaries of the goal statement and define the boundaries or
the scope of your project
Every objective must be accomplished in order to reach the
goal
No objective is superfluous
An objective statement should contain
An outcome
A statement of what is to be accomplished
A time frame
The expected completion date
A measure
Metrics that will measure success
An action
How the objective will be met
Identifying Success Criteria
The fourth section of the POS answers the question, Why do
we want to do this project?
Represents the measurable business value that will result
from doing this project and sells the project to senior
management
Must answer the question, What must happen for us and the
customer to say the project was a success?
State the business value to be achieved, and therefore,
provide a basis for senior management to authorize the
resources to do detailed planning
Types of Success Criteria
Success criteria all reduce to one of three types:
Increased revenue
Reduced costs
Improved service
Alternatively, consider quantifiable statements
about the impact your project will have on:
Efficiency and effectiveness
Error rates
Reduced turnaround time
Reduced cost of providing service
Quality
Improved customer satisfaction
Assumptions, Risks, and Obstacles
The fifth section of the POS identifies any factors that can
affect the outcome of the project that you want to bring to the
attention of senior management
These factors can affect:

Deliverables
The realization of the success criteria
The ability of the project team to complete the project as
planned
Any other environmental or organizational conditions that
are relevant to the project
Examples of Risk Factors
Technological
New technology
Rapidly changing
Environmental
Changing management structure
Skill level required
Interpersonal
Poor working relationships between teammates or
stakeholders
Cultural
Project inconsistent with existing corporate culture
Submitting a POS for Approval
Once POS is complete, it is submitted to management for
approval
As part of the approval process, senior management asks
several questions regarding the information presented
Expect several iterations
Approval of the POS commits the resources required to
complete a detailed plan for the project
Rough estimates of time or cost variables are often
requested from the project manager and the project team
It is not unusual to have the project manager return to the
drawing board several times for more analysis and thought as
a prerequisite to management approval
Participants in the Approval Process
Core project team
May have been identified at the early stages of the project
Will be the managers, professionals, and perhaps the customer who will
remain on the project team from the beginning to the very end of the project.
May participate in developing the POS and reach consensus on what it
contains
Project team
Some potential members of the project team are usually known beforehand
Their subject matter expertise and ideas should be considered as the POS is
developed
Project manager
Ideally, the project manager will have been identified at the start and can participate in
drafting the POS
Should have a major role to play in its definition and its approval
Participants in the Approval Process continued
Resource managers
Those who will be asked to provide the skills needed at the times when they
will be needed are certainly important
Little point in proposing a project if the resources are not or cannot be made
available to the project
Function/process managers
Several units will provide input to or receive output from the project products or
services and their advice should be sought
Customer
PM-methodology includes a significant role for the customer
Discussed the COS
Senior Management
Their support is a critical factor in successful projects
Using the JPP Session to Develop the POS
The Joint Project Planning (JPP) session is the tool text recommends for
developing the project plan.
This session will involve the customer or his or her representative, the project
manager, and, if they have been identified, key members of the project team
It may have to be completed in two parts:

First part drafts the POS
Second part completes the detailed plan after having received approval of
the POS

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Chapter 2-3 Traditional Project Management Defining The Project

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Chapter 2-3

Traditional Project Management

Five questions to be answered by any good definition of a

What is the problem or opportunity to be addressed?

complete plan clearly state:

Executing the project plan involves a number of steps:

Identify the specific resources that will be required to

Initial Schedule lists:

What must be accomplished in project

Did the project do what the requestor said it would do?

Formal means of signaling the completion of project.

Defining, planning, organizing

Scope the Project

What problem or opportunity is addressed by the project?

The purpose of POS is to gain the approval of management

Deliverable is Project Proposal

Project team is specified

Status reports are used to monitor projects progress

Change Management is critical

Customer says project is complete

Clients always seem to expect more than we are prepared to

Example => Conversation between Requestor and Provider

Often project runs into trouble at the very beginning

The result is documented as the COS and becomes input

The POS is a short document (ideally one page) that

The first part of the POS is a statement of the problem or

These factors can affect:

It may have to be completed in two parts:

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