OCP guide

SUMMARY

1. Strategy from A to Z a. What is a strategy? b. What does a strategy contain? c. How to write a strategy? 2. We need team-work a. How to promote your project positions in the LC ?
b.

How to choose the most suitable members in your team?

c. Tips&Tricks for the Interviews 3. Strategic Map 4. Keep them focused

a. b. 5.

How do you motivate the team? How to hold an efficient meeting

Tips&Tricks
a. b. c.

Causes of an unsuccessful project How to maintain a sustainable project Trainee - how to make their experience more interesting?

The role of an OCP

The role of an OCP is to coordonate a project in order to achieve the objectives. How does he do that? By following two sets of responsibilities, one in the quality of project manager and the other one in the quality of team leader. Responsibilities:

Strategy from A to Z
The strategy is the first step of an OCP experience. This strategy will be evaluated by the interviewers and their decision is based on how well done is it. What is a strategy?

The overall picture that you have on the opportunity taken into consideration; The personal mean that you want to approach this opportunity It assumes: Analysis of what constitutes an opportunity; Steps in building the final result; What resources are involved (human, financial, logistics); Manner of development; The desired results of the assessment.

What does a strategy contain? Motivation Motivation is the personal touch that you offer in the implementation of future roles. Example: My motivation is to learn from this experience new things regarding project management and to find out how to coordinate a team in order to reach the projects goals. Vision It means understanding the ideal situation, as a result of your activities on the following mandate. Example: This project will help develop the human potential of stakeholders so that theyll make a real difference in the local community. Goal An observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe. Example: Main purpose of this project is to provide new development opportunities for the students from Iasi, by delivering them specialized trainings. Objectives What is the objective? An objective is the expected result to be obtained in an effort to achieve my goal experience and thus improve the current situation. Roles of an objective - Possibility of monitoring and evaluation; - Motivates team members to achieve a common result; - Create a consistent focus of the entire team.

 Problems in writing the objectives: Problem The objective is too complex Mistake The objective is a topic too broad or includes more objectives. Solution SMART

Those who can not meet the objective of realizing the level The objective has criteria that of performance they need to can not be assessed. reach. Paraphrasing the purpose, without specifying the Writing an unsuitable objective. performance of certain activities. SMART objectives

SMART

SMART

The objectives that youve set for the position you want for that role should be SMART, which means:

Specific - You can set a clear objective and identifiable;

Measurable - quantify the objective to continuously evaluate the current situation to that desired;

Achievable You are sure that you can do what you wish;

Realistic - Compare the current situation that you want and make sure the necessary resources exist (financial, human, logistics, time) to improve the situation;

Time framed - To better control the steps that will achieve the desired result, each target must be within a period of time. Example: To achieve attendance of at least 100 students at the X conference on 31 March 2012 by having a promotional campaign by 10 March 2012. Ten Steps to SMART Objectives 1. Sort out the difference between objectives and aims, goals and/or targets before you start. Aims and goals relate to your aspirations; objectives are your battle-plan. Set as many objectives as you need for success. 2. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time framed. 3. Measurable is the most important consideration. You will know that youve achieved your objective, because here is the evidence. I will, too! Make sure you will state how you will record your success. 4. Achievable is linked to measurable. Usually, theres no point in starting a job you know you cant finish, or one you cant tell if/ when youve finished it. How can I decide if its achievable? You know its measurable; Others have done it successfully (before you, or somewhere else); Its theoretically possible; You have the necessary resources, or at least a realistic chance of getting them; Youve assessed the limitations.

5. If its achievable, it may not be realistic. If it isnt realistic, its not achievable. You need to know: Whos going to do it?

 Do they have (or can they get) the skills to do a good job? Wheres the money coming from? Who carries the can? Realistic is about human resources/ time/ money/ opportunity. 6. The main reason its achievable, but not realistic is that its not a high priority. Often something else needs to be done first, before you succeed. If so, set up two (or more) objectives in priority order. 7. The devil is in the specific detail. You will know your objective is specific enough if: Everyone whos involved knows that it includes them specifically; Everyone involved can understand it; Your objective is free from jargon; Youve defined all your terms; Youve used only appropriate language.

8. Time framed means setting deadlines. You must include one, otherwise your objective isnt measurable. But your deadlines must be realistic, or the task isnt achievable. T must be M and R, and S; without these, your objective cant be top-priority. 9. It is worth the effort! Youll know youve done your job well, and so will others. Means Means represent the method through you can reach your objectives and it contain specific steps or resources (human, financial, logistics). Example: Objective - To achieve attendance of at least 100 students at the X conference on March 31, 2012 by having a promotional campaign by March 10, 2012. Means Starting promotional campaign on 1 February 2012

Start promoting media on February 10, 2012, through two TV channels and three newspapers Start promoting online on February 20, 2012 social media, online media, advertising Organizing 3 infodesks during February 15 to 25, in buildings A, B, C of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Organizing a presentation event at X Caf, on February 27, 2012

Action Plan Identify the primary and secondary activities, timeframe them, and forecast resources needed for each action. Then, I write them in the table (Gantt sheet), in chronological order. Primary activities Secondary activities Time Designated person Resources

How to write a strategy? First, I need to inform myself about the role that I want to have. So I:

TIPS:

Inquire about previous editions of the project, TF (actually, deployment issues, SWOT) Read JD's; Talk to people who can answer my questions (EB, CMO, etc.). Write Brand Strategy Aligned (with logo on top and LGP in the bottom of the page).

I adapt depending on who reads the presentation strategy or how that person is familiar with the subject discussed by me. Write clearly and concisely;

Underline important aspects; Speak naturally and easily, while maintaining a corporate identity and serious; Add charts, tables and drawings, where they are easier to understand; Request feedback.

We need team work!

How to promote your project positions in the LC ? Theres a new OCP in town! Which is the best way to promote the project positions? We often build logos, presentation templates and develop slogans to establish a project's identity and its reputation within the organization. But its not enough to motivate the others to apply on one of the positions. You should ...

present them the advantages of being part of your team, and some personal experiences of those who were involved on that project. approach them personally to encourage them to apply. put on their disposal the necessary materials.

How to choose the most suitable members in your team?

A great project team requires more than technical skills. It takes the right mix of "soft" skills, personalities and attitudes to get and achieve results. Here are some tips from project managers about whom you need on your team and how to get them.

Fewer is Better - After the fifth member, a project team's effectiveness is inversely proportional to its mass, so its better to have a small team where each person understands the project's direction and his role, and they all pull together. Attitude counts - Look for people with positive attitudes and behaviors. People with a good work ethic who are cheerful, respectful of others and continually learning will help lift the team's spirit. Skills are mandatory You must choose members with different skills to have a more diverse team, which complement perfectly. Availability Trumps Everything - In most of the decisions about project teams, the No. 1 factor is who's available.

Tips&Tricks for the Interviews

The success of an interview depends on how well you know to ask questions and listen to the one in front of you, and how well you know to make the candidates to be open and honest to tell you their skills and professional discipline. In order to make the candidate feel comfortable, you should:

First put certain questions so that the candidate well feel confortable (How do you feel? Are you nervous? Why have you choosed this project?) This atmosphere must be maintained throughout the interview Smile and dont put aggressive questions.

Strategic Map

What is the Strategic Map? Strategic Map is a set of tools for Project Management, which helps you during the phases of a projects life cycle (Initiation, Planning, Implementing, End ). These tools guide you during the project to do the right things at the right moment. Why do we need it? This is maybe the most important thing in understanding and implementing Strategic Map. When you will use it in your project, the first thing that you must do is explain to all the members of the OC why it is important. This should be done before you start to implement any tool from it. For each phase of the project you start, you must explain to the OC, why it is important to implement all the tools from it. Lets take each of them: Initiation In this phase you must decide what you want to deliver with your project (ex: What type of conference it will be? How many people will be at your event? Who will be present at your event? And have in mind the main 5 activities for the event you want to do). Stakeholder Management you must answer to: Who are your stakeholders? What needs do they have? What will happen if you will not satisfy their needs? Set deliverable What is the product that we want to deliver to them? Product RM If a part of our product will fail, what will happen? How can we prevent this? MBO You must answer to: What are the organizational objectives regarding this project? What are the project objectives? How to plan this objectives?

Stakeholder Analysis

It is good to do a Stakeholder Analysis fairly early in the process, because it is then possible to involve key stakeholders from the very beginning. It can also help to avoid problems which might otherwise be overlooked. Usually, the Stakeholder Analysis is done by the membrs of the team.. If the group members are familiar with each other, and already have a good working relationship, then one of them can facilitate the analysis. If there is a likelihood of disagreement or dissent, however, it may be good to invite an independent and neutral facilitator to take the group through the process. Steps in the Stakeholder Analysis Develop a Stakeholder Analysis Matrix like the one below: Stakehold er Stakeholder Interest(s) in the Project Assessment of Potential Strategies for Obtaining Impact Support or Reducing Obstacles

HOW? Organize group brainstorming. Identify all the people, groups, and institutions that will affect or be affected by your initiative and list them in the column under "Stakeholder." Once you have a list of all potential stakeholders, review the list and identify the specific interests these stakeholders have in your project. Consider issues like: the project's benefit(s) to the stakeholder; the changes that the project might require the stakeholder to make; and the project activities that might cause damage or conflict for the stakeholder. Record these under the column "Stakeholder Interest(s) in the Project." Now review each stakeholder listed in column one. Ask the question: how important are the stakeholder's interests to the success of the proposed project? Consider:
o

The role the key stakeholder must play for the project to be successful, and the likelihood that the stakeholder will play this role

The likelihood and impact of a stakeholder's negative response to the project

Assign A for extremely important, B for fairly important, and C for not very important. Record these letters in the column entitled "Assessment of Impact." The final step is to consider the kinds of things that you could do to get stakeholder support and reduce opposition. Consider how you might approach each of the stakeholders. What kind of information will they need? How important is it to involve the stakeholder in the planning process? Are there other groups or individuals that might influence the stakeholder to support your initiative? Record your strategies for obtaining support or reducing obstacles to your project in the last column in the matrix. Set deliverable You should do a list of the deliverables to be produced by the project. Describe each deliverable in an unambiguous manner that is understood by the team member responsible for it. Lets see how to set deliverable using Strategic Map: What do we wish to achieve through this project enumerate these things. What do we need in order to achieve that enumerate all resources needed for this. How much does it cost estimate cost of all resources needed for each deliverable item

Product RM analyze risks of deliverable.

MBO

Is formed by four tools used to create an overview of the project in the organization and of the project according to the objectives set:

Organizational objectives - is designed to measure the impact of the objectives set within the organization. For example there are established how many positions TLP and TMP will be created for the project.

Example from RTS 2011

Project objectives there are set measurable tasks for each area, establishing for each task one factor of importance so that in each area the sum of coefficients to be 100. In the end it will determine the percentage of tasks completed and will calculate a final score.

Example from RTS 2011

Project Plan - for each task will establish a number of objectives. These will be planned for each area and will highlight the achieved objectives

Example RTS 2011

Scoreboard - this will help the OCP to evaluate himself by grading activities performed with 1 and calculating a final score according to this.

Example from RTS 2011

Planning

Planning is the second phase of the Project Management Life Cycle. You'll set the plans needed to manage time, risks and issues, changes, quality and everything else that will be done during project execution. It is very important to estimate realistic; dont try to be too optimistic. Planning must be done with all the OC! Everybody must know all the steps from project. The members of the OC must only do a draft of the AP of their area at home and then finalize it with the entire OC. A better way to do this is to make a big calendar on a flipchart, and in a chronologic order put all the activities of the members. In the mean time the members will think about the risks of the activities and make changes where it is needed. While adding activities the OC will give feedback if it is realistically timeframed or if it is a good period to do an activity and so on. You can group activities by objectives or by functional areas. After this transfer your AP from flip-chart in MS Project. These steps will help you make a more realistic and better synchronized Action Plan. It is a very important phase in your project, because after this all your activities will be based on your action plan.
Planning

making Action Plan. In this step you must answer: What activities I must do to achieve each objective? To test if you have a complete Action Plan, you can ask yourself If I will do all the activities from the AP related to one objective, will I achieve it at 100%?

Risk

Management Here you will make risk management on your activities during the project. You should identify the risks and give solutions to prevent them first reporting set checkpoints in the project in terms of time and objectives to be achieved. Here you must answer: When are the most important moments in the project when I should check its state?

Implement

Action Plan

Create a list of tasks that need to be carried out for each deliverable identified in previous phase. For each task identify the following:

 The amount of effort (hours or days) required to complete the task The resource who will carry out the task Once you have established the amount of effort for each task, you can work out the effort required for each deliverable and an accurate delivery date. Update your deliverables section with the more accurate delivery dates. At this point in the planning you could choose to use a software package such as Microsoft Project to create your project schedule. Input all of the deliverables, tasks, durations and the resources who will complete each task. A common problem discovered at this point is when a project has an imposed delivery deadline from the sponsor that is not realistic based on your estimates. If you discover that this is the case, you must contact the sponsor immediately. The options you have in this situation are: Renegotiate the deadline (project delay) Employ additional resources (increased cost) Reduce the scope of the project (less delivered) Use the project schedule to justify pursuing one of these options.
Exemple from RTS 2011

 Communications Plan Create a document showing who needs to be kept informed about the project and how they will receive the information. The most common mechanism is a weekly/monthly progress report, describing how the project is performing, milestones achieved and work planned for the next period. Risk Management Risk Management is the process of identifying, analyzing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of its objectives. Proper risk management implies control of possible future events. Develop a Risk Management Plan like the one below, exemple from GROW 0.9. 2011:
Example from GROW 0.9.2011

How?

Identify risks within your project - A risk is any event that could prevent the project from progressing as planned. Risks can be identified from a number of different sources. Some may be quite obvious and will be identified before the start of the project and others will be identified during the project lifecycle. A risk can be identified by anyone associated with the project. Some risk will be inherent to the project itself, while others will be the result of external influences. Identify the impact on the project if risk does occur this can be done with the help of the team, by organizing a brainstorming. Determine the likelihood of the risks - its based on previous experiences in a similar project. For establish the right probability you should read the final report of the past editions. Come up with new solutions Always you have to make a plan B for those activities whitch are riscky. Dont try to do that on your one, ask your team members to help you!

Implementing Its time for action now! You will now hold a formal kick-off meeting to start the execution phase of your project during which you will direct your teams activities in order to produce the agreed upon deliverables as detailed in the project plan. Also, this is phase of project control that consists of ensuring that your project is progressing according to plan, and taking action if any deviation from the plan is identified. Use the project plan to monitor and control your project. During the controlling process, you may have to update the project plan and other documents. this is the longest phase of the project. during this phase you should check if you plan is accomplished. You should make weekly reports about the state of project.

Track activities here you should update projects state in MS Project and report this state to the OCP and the VP Projects.

Track stakeholders here you should check if what you do is what your stakeholders want. Some people may go in meetings with stakeholders and ask for feedback.

Check Project Progress here you must centralize all the information from OC meetings where the state was discussed on each functional area and from these pieces to make a big picture.

Track activities

Here you should update projects state in MS Project and report this state to the VP Projects. This report have simple format:

Position- position of the OC member

Activity - activity of the member

Set Outcomes - what he should have done Realized Outcomes - what he did Reason - reason why he havent done some activity Rescheduled work - set new deadline.

Track stakeholders

Here you should check if what you do is what your stakeholders want. Some people may go in meetings with stakeholders and ask for feedback.

Check Project Progress

Here you must centralize all the information from OC meetings, where the state was discussed on each functional area, in roder to have a big picture of the project. Also, you may check milestones.

End After you deliver your product you must evaluate if the stakeholders were satisfied, which part of the product was good and which was bad. After you identify these, you should analyze the reasons for these results and give some suggestions to avoid unpleasant situations in the future. This will help you better understand your mistakes, learn from them and help others avoid them in future.

Evaluation Report after 2 weeks you delivered the project, make a meeting with all the OC members and make an evaluation Report. This will help all of you learn more from your mistakes and from your success.

Evaluation Report

At the end of the project, write a project evaluation report. Such a report can contain the following sections:

Project performance: a comparison of what the project achieved with what was in the original plan (cost, schedule and outcome). Explain all deviations from the original plan. Team member appraisals (should be confidential): provides an appraisal of the performance of team members during the project. Lessons learned: provides information about what worked and did not work during the project. Recommendations for future projects.

Keep them focused

How do you motivate your team? Its very important in coordinating a project the human resources factor. You should maintain a relaxed environment, but in the same time, all the tasks to be completed. In order to do that, you may take in consideration the next advices: Always start with yourself; to motivate others you have to be motivated yourself and should look for positives in all situations. As a role model, if you are energetic, your team will be the same. Share the information you have about the project and give them a sense of ownership. It is their project; they should know the circumstances and limitations surrounding the project. This can lead to team members coming up with good suggestions as well. When you face a work related problem your team is your best resource. Take your problems to them; discuss and look for ideas and ways out of trouble. Once they feel you are a part of the team it is easier for them to communicate with you. While discipline is important, strive to keep your work environment as informal as possible. People usually work better without the boss breathing down their neck, so push for deadlines but in a manner that makes the team to realize the importance of the actions into the dynamic of the project. Always appreciate your team members, even the small tasks that result in the leader saying thank you can make people strive harder for appreciation. While communicating, choose your words wisely; be humble, use words like WE instead of I. During evaluation do not try to pin the blame on anyone. For a good team environment you have to make them believe it is a team accomplishment or team failure. Provide feedback in a positive manner; give them what was done right, mention the shortcomings and how the team can do better. Be a

part of the team when there is blame to take but end your feedback on a positive note. Always support your team, give them confidence and give them opportunities to fulfill your confidence. It is imperative that you tell them you are there to support them in case they are stuck. Encouragement goes a long way within a team and individually. When someone does well, be generous in your praise. An email to recognize a good idea, a pat on the back for a well done task or praise in front of the team or better at the LCM-ing is an excellent way to tell them they are appreciated. During a discussion, if there is a point that needs clearing up find the time to clarify or ask for a clarification. Misunderstandings can lead to huge blunders and these can be detrimental to how you feel about your team members. Avoid conflict and resolve situations before they can damage the team morale, or that of individuals. Spot the motivators within your team; there are individuals that put a spark in the atmosphere, they are active and they compel others to show the same energy without ever saying it.

How to hold an efficient meeting An efficiently organized meeting will have (P.A.T.): Purpose Agenda Timeline Purpose: If you dont know why you are meeting, then dont! Take a step back and think about why you need to have the meeting; this will lead to a clear structure. Make sure that all participants understand the purpose of the meeting. Just a few of the common purposes are: communication of information sharing of best practices planning problem solving decision making strengthening relationships and building alignment

Agenda: Consider this the script; it must be distributed beforehand. Without a script people will not realize why they are there and will feel lost and left out. The purpose will define the agenda. An agenda is a checklist that will include: topics presenter/facilitator time allotment Remember: an agenda is meaningless if nobody follows it. Timeline: A clear timeline should: keep people on topic and offer direction Remember: Always start and stop on time. Do not wait for latecomers and do not go over unless everybody agrees. Running over and waiting for others is not only authoritarian but it also punishes people for being punctual and that is not a culture which should be introduced to a dynamic group.

Tips&Tricks

Causes of an unsuccessful project The causes of many project problems are as follows:

Poor scoping the scope and objectives of the project are vague. Maybe some of the stakeholders never really read the scope requirements. Poor planning activities are unclear, the processes are not welldocumented, risks have not been well identified and prepared for, the project manager lacks experience, ineffective project communications, and so on.

Every project has its share of problems, which can be classified into the following categories:

People: your team lacks skills required to accomplish the project activities correctly. In this case, consider the following: Train your people if your projects schedule and budget allows for it. Ideally such training requirements should be identified and factored into your project plan when you were selecting project team members. You can use trainers from AIESEC! Consider calling in an outside consultant or vendor.

Your

project is falling behind schedule:

Review the priorities of tasks and see if all of them are really necessary. Do not accept additional tasks. This is easier said than done, but there are times when you have to say NO.

Project costs are exceeding the established budget: Regularly monitor costs throughout the project so that you are aware of any potential cost overruns as soon as possible. The scope of the project keeps changing.

How to maintain a sustainable project First step is to realize, in colaboration with the OCVP Finnance , the Budget Planning, which is generally a list of all planned expenses and revenues, a plan of saving and spending. A project budget must be clear and as detailed as can be, based on the time period in which the activities are involved and depend on. In order to plan a budget, you need to follow the next steps: Informing and planning: Gather information about each area of work, to be aware of the needs of all departments Do the activities planning with all your mates, to be sure that each activity is treated properly

Make a Gantt Chart Always remember that details can make a big difference

Budgeting: Its time to work with the OCVP Finance; with the information you both have on each department, allocate the budget according to the resources and every day activities Review youre budget constantly

Trainee - how to make their experience more interesting? Trainees are one of the most important stakeholders of AIESEC projects. This is the reason why we have a great team that take care of them - The reception team ! But beside their work, its your duty to make their experience more interesting. In order to do that, you should:

Prepare them, with OCVP ICX, an agenda for the projects period Choose them a buddy, together with OCVP ICX and the Team
Reception.

Leader of

Organize some activities for them, together with your OC. Make sure they will have an Welcome package Show them how we spend our free time (invite them to parties, meetings
etc.)