Project Management

During my 1.5 years working as a Cloud Product Owner on a major defense company private Cloud, I had the opportunity to use Project Management methodologies and pass the Project Management Associate certification. Project management is the engine that translates strategic vision into tangible results.

Reading Time: 30 minutes

Principles

Concepts

A project is a temporary organization with the objective of creating a product. A project manager must manage incomplete specifications, lack of financial and personnel resources, customer dissatisfaction.

A project being temporary, it ends when the defined objectives are achieved / the deliverables are completed / the objectives will not be or are not achievable / it is no longer useful. A project is not a process or a current operation that involves repetitive operations. However, it can evolve.

Project management (PM) is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to achieve these requirements through 5 process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring / controlling, closing.

Portfolio

A portfolio includes projects and sub-projects, programs and operations managed by groups to achieve strategic objectives. Portfolio management helps to better align projects and programs with organizational objectives. A program is a group of projects and programs linked in a coordinated manner to achieve benefits that would not be possible if they were treated individually.

Project management enables organizations to execute projects effectively and efficiently. A lack of project management can cause missed deadlines, cost overruns, poor quality, the need for rework, uncontrolled project expansion, loss of reputation, dissatisfied stakeholders, and failure to achieve set goals.

Operations management is about ongoing production and project management intersects with it at several stages of the life cycle: development/improvement of a new product, improvement of operations/product development process, at the end of a product life cycle, at each phase of closure. Operations are habits and the project is the change in these habits.

Lifecycle

The lifecycle of a product is a series of phases that represent its evolution: concept, development (cost reduction with economy of scale, increase in sales), maturity (less cost, more competition), retirement (less sales and profits)(concept, growth, maturity, retirement). For the lifecycle of a product, the work is divided into phases to better control and manage. The lifecycle depends on the type of project, the industry and the application, but the phases remain sequential. At the beginning there is little cost and personnel, these elements are at their maximum during the middle phases and then decrease towards the end. There are 3 categories of lifecycle of a project: predictive, iterative / incremental, adaptive. Predictive involves progressive phases that follow one another, iterative adds incrementation, adaptive repeats the cycles using what has been learned in previous cycles.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are the individuals, groups and organizations that affect / are affected / feel affected by the decisions, activities and results of the project. In other words, they are those who impact or are impacted by the project, whether positively or negatively. These stakeholders must be identified in the initial phase because this is where they are most important and influential. The goal is to meet their expectations throughout the life cycle. You have to think about as many people as possible, the different spheres of influence, possible conflicts of interest, the contributions / impacts / implications of each. Some examples of stakeholder: future customer / user, sponsor (the one who provides the budget for the project and protects it from resource losses and unnecessary change), portfolio manager, program manager, the project team, Project Management Office (PMO), functional managers, operational management (R&D, design, manufacturing, provisioning, maintenance). Project phases are established based on several factors: management needs, nature of the project, characteristics of the organization/industry/technologies, project elements (legal, process, business, engineering, technological, etc.), decision points (financing, go-no-go, milestone review).

Phases

A phase gate is used to analyze the performance and progress of the project and then update the documents (project business case, project charter, project management plan). The business documents of project management are the Project Business Case (PBC) which is the economic feasibility study that establishes the validity of the benefits provided by components that are not well defined and acts as authorization to continue activities, the Project Benefits Management Plan (PBMP) which is the explanation defining the process to create, maximize and maintain the benefits provided by a project, the Project Charter & Project Management Plan, the Project Success Measures.

• The Project Business Case (PBC) answers "Why are we starting / continuing this project?" with the project objectives and the reasons behind it as well as an analysis of the differences. There are the details of what happens if we do not do / do the minimum / do more than the minimum. The PBC is completed by a recommendation and an evaluation for each of these options.

• The Project Benefits Management Plan (PBMP) measures the benefits of the project once it is completed. It contains the tangible and intangible target benefits, the link between the project and the company's strategy, the timeframe to achieve these benefits, the owners of the benefits (the one who measures them), the metrics (what, how, when), the assumptions (market growth, stagnation of inflation), the risks.

• The Project Charter (PC) is created by the sponsor to validate the existence of the project within the company.

• The Project Management Plan (PMP) is the document describing how the project will be executed / monitored / controlled with the little understanding that we have at the beginning of the project, so there are not too many details but only the guidelines.

• The Project Success Measures (PSM) defines the financial quantities to be measured: the Net Present Value (NPV), the Return on Investment (ROI), the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), the Payback Period (PBP) and the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR).

• The Project Management (Information) System (PMIS) is the set of tools, techniques, processes, procedures, control systems and methodologies that allow the project to function, to be documented and to be shared with the rest of the organization, in particular the PMO that takes care of it (communication, consistency of documents).

Constraints

The triple constraint of a project is scope, cost, time/schedule. An impact on one of these three constraints affects the other two. If these three dimensions are fixed, there will surely be complications and the sponsor must be informed. The other constraints are quality, resources, risks, stakeholders, etc.

Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) are constraints over which the project team, the program and the portfolio have no immediate control. Internal EEFs are the cultural / structural / governance organization, the geographical distribution of infrastructures, employee resources and their expertise, software, employees.

Organizational Process Assets (OPA) are the elements (plans, processes, policies, procedures and specific knowledge bases) used by the organization on which it is possible to have an influence. OPA are the standards, models / templates, performance measurement criteria, change control procedures, communication expectations, information history.

Organization

Process

A process is a systematic series of activities directed towards obtaining a final result, it must bring added value. It receives inputs and produces outputs through tools and techniques. These inputs can be documents, plans, designs, activities, resources, data, completed procedures or any other documented information. Tools can be models, software and techniques are well-defined systematic procedures that a human will carry out. Outputs can be products, design specifications, test results, documents. We must be interested in the inter-process interaction and where the inputs come from. Inputs are PMP, EEF and OPA. Output is WPD.

Structure

The type of organizational structure determines the project manager's ability to communicate up and down the chain of command, determines his authority as it relates to rewards and discipline, determines his ability to obtain resources and other characteristics (policies and procedures, authority relationship and reporting, chain of command, project working hours, etc.). He has no authority in flexible / silo organizations (organic, functional, multi-divisional, virtual) but has authority in structured ones (full matrix, project-oriented, PMO).

The Project Management Office (PMO) is an organizational structure that standardizes processes related to project governance and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools and techniques between projects. It is the center of excellence that guides projects. Some PMOs guide and provide support directly to project managers. The PMO allows the sharing of documentation, templates, project policies and other common tools and techniques. The PMO determines and implements project standards. It improves inter-project communication, continuously monitors schedules and budgets, and focuses on overall organizational objectives. The project manager communicates directly with the PMO, which ensures that it always acts in the interest of the project. There are 3 types of PMO: support in project file mode taking little control (advisory role providing models, best practices, training, access to information), moderate control imposing certain practices and adherence to the framework (active role with support and various compliance requirements), directive who takes direct control of project management.

Project Manager

The project manager (PM) is the person assigned to lead the team by the organization and who is responsible for achieving the project objectives. He guides the team so that it achieves the project objectives and stakeholder expectations. The PM manages the balance of project constraints with the resources available. He has the role of a conductor, he knows the music but does not know how to play all the instruments. He controls, guides, manages, makes decisions. He takes into account the overlap of disciplines: the standards specific to each field, the atmosphere / environment in which the project is located, general management skills, interpersonal skills as well as ethics and professional conduct. His 3 main skills are mastery of project management techniques, understanding of the company's business / the objective of the project, leadership.

Project management techniques focus on the critical technical elements of the project such as key success factors, schedule, financial report, problems. It is necessary to adapt the techniques (traditional, agile), tools and methods to each project by taking the time to plan completely and prioritize well. The elements to be managed are the schedule, costs, resources, risks and others.

Understanding and strategic management of the business allows to explain the essential business aspects of the project to others and to work with the sponsor, experts and other stakeholders in order to develop an appropriate delivery strategy. This business understanding allows to implement the strategy in such a way that the added business value is maximized. Leadership consists of having the skills to guide, motivate and lead the team such as resilience, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, interpersonal, negotiation and other basic essential needs. Are recognized as qualities of a leader: being visionary, being optimistic / positive, being collaborative, managing people and conflicts, communicating, being respectful, promoting integrity and cultural sensitivity, being courageous, being decisive, putting others first, learning throughout life, being action and result oriented, focusing on important things, being holistic (global point of view), having common sense and critical thinking, knowing how to build a team, having humor.

The types of leadership are laissez-faire, transactional (management by reward according to the objectives achieved), servitude (putting others before oneself, focusing on their progress, their well-being and relationships), transformative (inspiring, encouraging, giving strength), charismatic (enthusiasm, confidence, having strong convictions), interactional (a combination of transactional, transformative and charismatic).

A project manager must have the following personality traits: authenticity, courtesy, creativity, cultured, emotional, intellectual, managerial, political, service-oriented, social and systemic.

Code of Conduct

The professional code of conduct and ethics sets standards of ideals and mandatory behaviors. It instills personal confidence, helps PMs become better in their field, advances the profession by creating collective standards of behavior to promote the credibility and reputation of the profession. This code forms a basis for better decision-making, especially when they are difficult, serves as a catalyst for everyone to study, debate and challenge each other, allows the profession to progress and evolve.

Ethics and professional code of conduct are based on the structure of responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty with the aim of inspiring and even forcing PMs to achieve them, especially in difficult times.

Responsibility: It is desirable to do what you say, to take responsibility for your mistakes and to protect confidential information. It is mandatory to stay informed of policies, rules and laws of the field and the organization as well as to report illegal and unethical behavior.

Respect: It is desirable to be aware of local and organizational norms and customs, to listen and try to understand all points of view, to resolve a conflict directly with the person concerned, to remain professional even if it is not reciprocal, not to gossip and to belittle others. It is mandatory to always negotiate in good faith and never act abusively towards others.

Equity: It is desirable to be transparent in decision-making, to distribute information only to authorized persons and to ensure that qualified candidates have equal opportunities. It is mandatory to resolve potential conflicts of interest before continuing a project, to disclose one's own potential conflicts of interest, not to discriminate or favor according to bad criteria (sex, color, religion, age, nationality, handicap). Honesty: It is desirable to provide accurate information in a timely manner including bad news that could be poorly received, commitments and promises are made in good faith, to create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable telling the truth. It is mandatory not to endorse or have dishonest or deceptive behavior, never to try to fool others with half-truths and information out of context.

The 5 process groups are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, closure.

Integration

Process

In integration we deal with resource allocations (human, material), balance the scale between need and allocation of resources on the schedule, continuously examine alternative approaches to improve operation, adapt processes to the contexts and objectives of the project, manage interdependencies between the domains (knowledge areas) of the project.

The 7 processes in integration are:

1. Develop Project Charter (PC) - creation of a document formally authorizing the existence of a project and providing the authority to the PM to use organizational resources for activities.

2. Develop Project Management Plan (PMP) - definition, preparation and coordination of all components to consolidate them into an integrated Project Management Plan (PMP).

3. Direct and Manage Project Work (PW) - guide and carry out the work defined in the PMP and implement approved changes to achieve project objectives.

4. Manage Project Knowledge (PK) - use existing knowledge and create new knowledge to achieve project objectives and contribute to organizational learning.

5. Monitor and Control Project Work (PW) - track, review and report overall progress to achieve performance objectives defined in the PMP.

6. Perform integrated Change Control (CC) - review each change request, approve changes, manage the modification of deliverables / processes / documents / PMP, communicate on decisions.

7. Close Project or Phase - Finalize the activities of the project, phase or contract.

The key concepts of integration are:

• Ensure the alignment of the product schedule with its lifecycle and the benefits management plan.

• Provide a PMP to achieve the project objectives.

• Ensure the creation and use of appropriate knowledge by and for the project.

• Manage the performance and changes of PMP activities.

• Make decisions in line with key changes impacting the project.

• Measure and monitor the progress of the project and take appropriate actions to achieve the project objectives.

• Collect and analyze data on the results achieved to obtain information to communicate to stakeholders.

• Complete all the work of the project and formally close each phase, contract as well as the project as a whole.

• Manage the transition between two phases when necessary.

Emerging trends and practices for integration include the use of automation and visualization tools, project knowledge management such as finance and stakeholder engagement, the extension of PM responsibilities, and hybrid/agile methods.

Develop Project Charter (PC)

The Project Charter authorizes the existence of the project and provides legitimacy to the PM in its requisition of resources. The PC appoints the PM and grants them permission to use the company's resources, name, and money. Projects are authorized by someone external to the project, and the sponsor must be at a sufficient level of authority to obtain the funds and other resources needed for the project. The sponsor may create the PC themselves or provide information to the PM for them to write. Once the PC is created and approved, the project is formally linked to the organization's strategies and ongoing work.

The Project Charter documents high-level information about the project and product: project objective, measurable objectives with their success criteria, high-level requirements, high-level key project descriptions/boundaries/deliverables, general project risks, milestone schedule summary, pre-approved financial resources, list of key stakeholders, project approval requirements (which defines whether the project is a success according to which criteria), project cancellation conditions, assigned project manager with his responsibility and level of authority, sponsor and his authority.

Develop Project Management Plan (PMP)

This process includes all the planning, coordination and negotiation necessary to detail how all aspects of the project will be conducted and managed. The Project Management Plan defines what a project is and how it will be managed throughout its lifecycle. The PMP will be updated during the project and changes are made to it during the Perform Integrated Control process. The PMP compiles the outputs of all other planning processes (Scope Management Plan, Requirements Management Plan, Scope Baseline, Schedule Management Plan, Cost Management Plan, Cost Baseline, Process Improvement Plan, Quality Management Plan, Human Resource Management Plan, Communications Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Procurement Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan). The PMP is based on defining project baselines in terms of scope, cost and schedule so that project execution can be measured and compared to these baselines to measure performance.

The PMP is a collection of documents created by the Project Manager based on what he receives from the project team, stakeholders and management. The PMP is formal and approved, meaning that signatures must be collected from the various parties with the approval of authority. The PMP is the basis on which the project work is done and measured. It can be used as an aid to communication between stakeholders as well as to define the content and timing of project reviews. The PMP is "alive"! The PMP consists of subsidiary management plans (Scope, Requirements, Schedule, Cost MP), bases / references (scope, schedule, cost baseline) and additional components (Change, Configuration, Performance, Life Cycle, …).

Direct and Manage Project Work (PW)

This process involves doing the work described in the PMP to achieve the project objectives. The project team works according to the plan and performance measurement data is obtained, analyzed and used to develop and implement corrective and preventive actions. During this process, the PM must review the changes that will be processed through the Perform Integrated Chance Control (PICC) process and ensure that the changes already approved are implemented as planned. This process is proactive; the PM acquires, guides and manages the project team through the work and manages the risks and the implementation of planned risk responses. Since resources are used in the Direct and Manage Project Work process, the majority of the project budget is spent there.

Manage Project Knowledge (PK)

This process uses existing knowledge to create new knowledge to achieve project objectives and contribute to organizational learning. The key benefits of MPK are the leverage to produce/improve project outputs and associated knowledge to support organizational operations as well as future projects and phases. MPK is performed throughout the project. Knowledge is divided into 2 divisions: explicit and tacit (difficult to codify). Knowledge management must manage them to reuse existing knowledge and create new knowledge through sharing and integration, which is possible if an atmosphere of motivation and trust prevails.

Monitor and Control Project Work (PW)

This process determines the overall health of the project by collecting, measuring and interpreting data compared to the PMP (are corrective actions needed, monitoring and evaluating risk response plans, forecasts). This performance information is distributed to stakeholders.

Perform integrated Change Control (CC)

This process is concerned with influencing things that cause changes, determining whether or not a change is necessary, and managing the change. The PICC process includes reviewing change requests and approving or rejecting requirements. When a change is approved, it must be managed and incorporated into deliverables including the PMP and this change must be coordinated throughout the project, which is the major theme of Project Integration Management PIM. PICC is necessary to determine the root cause of problems and changes must be evaluated against baselines for possible incorporation into revised baselines.

Before baselines are established, changes do not need to be formally controlled by the PICC process, but once the project baselines are defined, change requests will need to go through this process. The general rule is that each project's configuration management plan should define which project artifacts are to be placed under configuration control. Any change in a configuration item should be formally controlled and requires a change request. Configuration Management (CM) is a sub-element of PMIS that deals with configuration activities (identification, status accounting, verification and auditing). Actions during integration focus on PICC to maintain the integrity of baseline performance, implement changes and coordinate approved changes across Knowledge Areas. It should be remembered that a change request has no impact on a project, the impact only happens if it is approved. The Change Control System (CCS) has change assessment groups (CCB, ERB, TRB, TAB). There should be a separate procedure for emergency changes that cannot wait for the next CCB (Change Control Board). The PM may or may not be a member of the CCB and should assess the impact of a change on the project and provide this information to the CCB to enable these members to make the right decisions.

Close Project or Phase

This process occurs at the end of each phase as well as at the end of the project and certain administrative procedures must be followed. This process involves collecting project records, documenting the results and formally accepting the results. It is necessary to transfer the completed work to the appropriate parties, release resources that are no longer needed and remember that a contract can be closed before the administrative closure of the phase or project.

The activities required for administrative closure are the actions and activities necessary to satisfy the completion of the phase or project, namely ensuring that documents are up to date and problems are resolved, confirming delivery and formal acceptance of deliverables by the client, ensuring that all costs are billed to the project, closing project accounts, reassigning personnel, managing excess project materials, reallocating resources, preparing final project reports according to organizational policies. Actions and activities can be added to collect records, audit successes and failures, manage and share knowledge, identify lessons learned, archive project information for future uses, actions and activities necessary for moving to the next phase, collect suggestions for improvements such as updating organizational policies and procedures and send them to the right entity, measure stakeholder satisfaction.

Bonus

• Prevent unnecessary changes.

• Formal acceptance from the customer is the best technique to ensure that the project work is really completed.

• The biggest problem is retaining team members until closure of the project.

• Scope Management, Risk Management and Quality Management are examples of Project Management skills.

• Communication, leadership, and negotiation are examples of General Management skills.

Scope

Scope Management

The scope is the most important subject on which everything will depend. The scope involves understanding the final deliverable and doing only the work required to complete the project, no more, while ensuring that all this work is done as agreed and avoiding any uncontrolled extension. Contracting is done according to the clarity of the scope, if it is clear we sign a fixed price otherwise we sign a management. The scope therefore includes the functionalities, functions, capacities and any work required to deliver the product.

There are 6 processes in the scope knowledge area:

1. The Scope Management Plan aimed at creating the Scope Management Plan (SMP) to document how the scope will be defined, validated and controlled.

2. The Collect Requirements which collects the project and product requirements necessary to achieve the needs of the stakeholders and the project objectives.

3. The Define Scope to detail the description of the project and its product.

4. Create WBS to break down the project into smaller deliverables.

5. Validate Scope to formalize the acceptance of the completed deliverables.

6. Control Scope to monitor project and product scope status.

The key concepts of Project Scope Management (PSM) are the Product Scope (functionalities and functions that characterize the product) and the Project Scope (work to be done to deliver the product, can be done in a predictive or adaptive/agile way). A project with an adaptive lifecycle responds to the high level of change and requires continuous engagement of stakeholders. The general scope will be broken down into sets of requirements and work to be done (product backlog). There are 3 processes for each iteration: Collect Requirements, Define Scope, Create WBS). For a predictive project, these 3 processes are performed at the beginning of the project and updated if necessary with the Integrated Change Control Process. Validate Scope is the process of formalizing the acceptance of deliverables once accomplished, it takes as input the deliverables obtained from the Quality Control process. One of the outputs of Validate Scope are the deliverables accepted and formally approved for the authorized stakeholder. Stakeholders should be involved from the beginning of the planning, even during the initiation, to provide inputs on the quality of the deliverables so that Control Quality can evaluate performance and recommend necessary changes.

There are emerging trends and practices in scope management as requirements are and continue to be the focus of attention and organizations are beginning to learn how to use business analysis to define, manage and control requirements-related activities. What is emerging is defining business problems and needs, identifying and recommending viable solutions to achieve them, documenting and managing stakeholder requirements in order to move closer to project and business objectives, and facilitating successful project implementation. The relationship between the project manager and the business analyst should always be a collaborative partnership.

Plan Scope Management (PSM)

Focus on the creation of the Scope Management Plan (SMP) which is a subset of the PMP based on lessons learned from previous projects and is intended to provide guidance for scope definition and management as well as a basis for recognizing and controlling Scope Creep/drift (SC).

Collect Requirements

Carefully and completely determine and document stakeholder needs. Define and document the features and functions of the project and product. A requirement is the condition required for a product to meet the required specifications. Product and project requirements are identified from the analysis of stakeholder needs and wants. This collection process is the foundation of the Scope Statement and the WBS.

Define Scope

Develop a detailed description of the project and product, which is crucial to the success of the project as it helps prevent score creep. The project scope must be continually linked to the underlying business needs that drove the project and the strategic objectives of the company. Scoping can be very iterative and for an iterative project lifecycle, a high-level vision will be built for the project as a whole but the detailed scope will be determined iteration by iteration as will the detailed schedule.

Define Scope involves subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components to: Improve the accuracy of cost, time and resource estimates. Define a baseline for performance measurement and control. Facilitate clear responsibility assignments.

Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Break down major deliverables into smaller, more manageable components with more accurate estimates and measurements as well as clear assignment of responsibilities. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS, is actually a Product Breakdown Structure PBS) is a hierarchical breakdown of the entire scope of the project that will be carried out by the project team in order to achieve the objectives and create the required deliverables. The WBS has several levels, the highest being the product itself. It is created with input from the team and once it is built for a project, it can be reused for similar projects. The benefits of the WBS are its graphical nature which makes it easier to understand, a good communication tool with stakeholders, anything that is not in it is not in the project scope and it is the foundation for planning. Other advantages are that it involves the team and allows for a low-level view with "work packages" that are easily estimable in time and cost and which are deliverable-oriented.

Validate Scope

Formal acceptance of the deliverables of the project scope by the stakeholders and assesses whether or not the product is compliant with the regulations / requirements / specifications / conditions imposed. If the scope is validated, it is because the stakeholders accept the work done so far, and this validation must focus on the deliverables while the quality control carried out upstream focuses on the completeness and accuracy of the deliverable. The scope validation process is carried out as frequently as necessary during the project.

Control Scope

Monitor the status of the project and product scope and control changes to the scope baseline. Uncontrolled expansion of the product or project scope without adjusting cost, time, and resources is Score Creep. This process is used to influence the factors that create change, know when changes have occurred, and manage them to ensure they are beneficial to the project.

Bonus

• If = hypothesis, Must = constraint

• De-scoping means dropping some parts of the deliverable.

• When a good change occurs without change control, it's ineffective change control.

• Non-functional requirements are reliability, security, performance, etc.

• Only trained people, engineers, should do the functional analysis to get the best result.

Planning

Time Management

Time management involves deciding what activities need to be done to complete the project, determining the resources required, estimating the time needed to complete each activity, creating a schedule, and monitoring/controlling progress against the schedule.

There are 6 processes in the Schedule Knowledge Area:

1. Plan Schedule Management to establish policies, procedures, and documents for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule.

2. Define Activities to identify and document the actions needed to produce the project deliverables -> Activity List.

3. Sequence Activities to determine and define the logical relationships between project activities -> Schedule Network Diagram.

4. Estimate Activity Durations to estimate the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with the estimated resources.

5. Develop Schedule to analyze project activities, duration estimates, dependencies, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create a schedule for the project work.

6. Control Schedule to monitor the project work and update the project schedule to identify and manage changes to the baseline schedule.

Schedule Management

Schedule Management provides a detailed plan, serves as a tool for communication, and manages stakeholder expectations as well as performance reporting. The document needed to start Project Schedule Management (PSM) is the Scope Statement (which when broken down becomes the WBS). The project management team chooses a planning method (waterfall, critical path, agile) and then enters project-specific data (activities, planned dates, durations, resources, dependencies, constraints) into a planning tool to create a project schedule template. The detailed project schedule must remain flexible throughout the project to adjust it with the knowledge gained, the better understanding of risks and value-added activities. The presentation of the schedule can be done as a list of activities, bar charts (Bar Charts: Good to show progress and controlling tool, Does not display task dependencies, Does not help with project organization) and network diagram (Project Network Diagram = project's activities & software activities). Emerging trends and practices are iterative planning with a backlog (requirements are user stories, prioritization and refinement just before construction, change is welcome) and on-demand planning (in kanban mode).

Bonus

• Finish-to-start (FS) is a logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.

• Crashing is a technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources.

• Fast tracking is doing activities in parallel that, normally, would be done in sequence

• Resource Leveling is adjusting the planning based on resources and the adjusting the load.

• Variance Analysis is comparing target dates with the actual or forecast start and finish dates.

• Total activity float is the amount of time that can be delayed without delaying project completion date.

• More critical path = more risks

• Project Schedule Management consists of processes required to ensure timely completion of the project.

• Documentation the causes of variances, the reasons for the corrective actions that were chosen, and of other information learned through controlling the schedule.

Costs

Cost Management

Cost management includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, managing and controlling costs so that the project is completed within the approved budget.

The 4 processes are:

1. Plan Cost Management (PCM) which defines how the project costs will be planned, managed, scoped and controlled.

2. Estimate Cost (EC) which develops a viable prediction of the costs of the project activities.

3. Determine Budget (DB) which accumulates the cost estimates for the project work to establish an approved cost baseline.

4. Control Costs (CC) which tracks the project costs relative to the baseline and manages changes to the baseline.

The key concepts of Cost Management are:

• Being concerned with the cost of resources required to complete project activities.

• Considering the effects of project decisions on the subsequent and recurring costs of using, maintaining, and supporting the product.

• In many organizations, predicting and analyzing the financial performance of the product is done outside of the project.

• The cost lifecycle consists of two elements: the initial cost of completing the project and the cost of using the project over time (operating, interest, and maintenance costs).

Formulas

PERT Weighted Average = (O + 4*M + P) / 6

Present Value = Future Value / ((1 + Interest Rate) * years)

Triangular Distribution = (O + M + P) / 3

Earned Value = % completed * BAC // BAC = Budget At Completion

CPI = Earned Value / Actual Cost. If < 1 then over-budget. // CPI = Cost Performance Index

Schedule Variance = Earned Value - Planned Value. If < 0 then over-spending.

Cost Variance = Planned Earned Value - Actual Earned Value. If > 0 then over-spending.

SPI = Earned Value / Planned Value. If < 0 then over-spending.

Estimate at Completion = BAC / CPI.

Variance at Completion = BAC - EAC. If < 0 then over-spending.

Present Value = FV/(1+R)n // FV = Future Value, R = Interest Rate, n = number of time period

TriangularDistribution = (tO + tM + tP)/3

Cost Variance = Earn Value - Actual Cost Earn Value = (Total Cost/total project months) * total months completed = ($240,000 / 12) * 4 = $80,000 CV = $80,000 - $120,000 = -$40,000 CV % = CV / EV = -$40,000/$80,000 = -50%

Earn Value = (Total Cost / total project months) * total months completed = ($12,000 / 12) * 4 = $4,000 Variance at Completion = BAC - EAC CPI = EV (Earned Value) / AC (Actual Cost) = $4000/$5000 = .8 Estimate at Completion (EAC) = BAC/CPI = $12,000 / .8 = $1500 Variance at Completion = $12,000 - $15,000 = -$3,000

Bonus

• The people who does the estimates are those who does the work.

• The opportunity cost is the amount of the project that was not chosen.

• The cost of the labor may be one of the biggest expenses of a project.

• The cost of the equipment and materials needed to complete the project work must be factored into the project expenses.

• Learning curve means that, as the project team completes more and more units, the time to perform the same task should take less and less time.

• Value Analysis is a systematic approach to find less costly ways to complete the same work.

Quality

Quality Management

Quality management includes the processes of incorporating the company's quality policy into the planning, organization, and control of project quality requirements to meet stakeholder objectives.

The 3 processes are:

• Plan Quality Management (PQM) which identifies the quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables, as well as documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with its requirements/standards. PQM = Customer satisfaction + Prevention over inspection + Continuous improvement. PQM = Planning, Control, Assurance.

• Manage Quality (MQ) which translates the Quality Management Plan QMP into executable quality activities that incorporate the company's quality policies into the project. (e.g. audit)

• Control Quality (CQ) which monitors and records the results of the execution of quality management activities to evaluate performance and ensure that the project outputs are complete, correct, and meet customer expectations. CQ has as input the deliverables and perhaps a cause-effect or scatter diagram or histogram.

Concepts

The key concepts of Quality Management are:

• Addressing project management and its deliverables.

• Using techniques and measures specific to the type of deliverables produced by the project.

• “Quality” as a delivered performance or result is “the degree to which a set of inherent characteristcs fulifll requirements” (ISO 9000).

• “Grade” as a design intent is a category assigned to deliverables having the same functional use but different technical characteristics.

• A quality level that does not meet the requirements is always a problem, but a low-grade product may not be a problem.

• Prevention rather than inspection.

• The project team may need the control process (prevention, sample, tolerance).

• E. Deming’s concepts: Deming PDCA wheel (Plan, Do, Check, Act), the 14-point method, the 7 deadly diseases.

• J. M. Juran's concepts: customer satisfaction, Juran's trilogy (quality planning, control and improvement).

• P. B. Crosby's concepts: Zero defects (forecasts to get it right the first time), Crosby's quality vaccine (determination, education, implementation), Crosby's 14 steps (focused on responsibility management and zero defects).

• ISO900X series of which ISO9000 ensures that the company follows its own quality procedures.

• Just-in-time (JIT) to reduce inventory costs.

• ISO = International Organization for Standardization

• Kaizen / continuous improvement method saying that 10 improvements of 1% are better than 1 improvement of 10%.

• Failure and impact analysis.

• Lean six-sigma to address waste and process efficiency (1 sigma = 68.26% - 2 sigma = 95.46% - 3 sigma = 99.73% - 6 sigma = 99.99%)

Bonus

• Cost of non-conformance = Money spent during and after the project because of the failure = Rework, Scrap, Lost business != Training. Cost of conformance = Money spent during the project to avoid failure

• Pareto chart = 80/20 rule = Histogram, ordered by frequency of occurrence, that shows how many results were generated by type or category of identified cause. Pareto's Law - A relatively small number of causes will typically produce a large majority of the problems or defects

• Histogram helps determine the most common cause of problems

• Run charts = control charts without limits

• Quality audit objectives may include but are not limited to: Identifying all good and best practices being implemented; Identifying all nonconformity, gaps, and shortcomings; Sharing good practices introduced or implemented in similar projects in the organization and/or industry.

• A scatter diagram is a graph that shows the relationship between two variables.

• Quality ensures that the project satisfy customer requirements.

• A process with lack of consistency and predictability is called out of control.

• Project Team is responsible for the deliverables quality.

• Quality is planned into the project and the planning requires time.

• An inspection (Control Quality) is the examination of a work product to determine if it conforms to documented standards.

• Project Quality Policy are written by project team.

• An organization's quality policy should come from the top management.

• Benchmarking is useful for measuring your level of quality against a standard.

• Audit is structured and independent.

• Ishikawa diagrams, sometimes called Fishbone diagrams or Cause and Effect Diagrams, iIllustrate how causes and sub-causes relate and create potential problems or effects.

• Histogram helps determine the most common cause of problems

Resources

Resource management includes the processes of identifying, acquiring, and managing the resources needed to successfully complete a project. They help ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the project team, in the right place, and at the right time.

• Plan Resource Management (PRM) = Define how to estimate, acquire, manage, and use physical and team resources.

• Estimate Activity Resources (EAR) = Estimate team resources and the type and quantity of materials, equipment, and supplies needed.

• Acquire Resources (AR) = Obtain the team members, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies, and other resources needed.

• Develop Team (DT) = Improve team member skills, interactions, and the overall project environment to improve project performance.

• Manage Team (MT) = Monitor project member performance, provide feedback, resolve issues, and manage team changes to optimize performance.

• Control Resources (CR) = Ensure that physical resources assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned, compare usage forecast to actual, and take corrective action if necessary.

The key concepts of Project Resource Management are:

• The PM must invest a lot of effort to acquire, manage, motivate and improve the project team.

• The involvement of all project members in planning and decision-making is beneficial (addition of expertise, better investment later, …).

• The PM is both leader and manager of the project. He is responsible for the effectiveness of the team.

• The PM must understand: the team environment, stakeholder communications, managerial organizational changes, internal and external policies, the uniqueness of the organization's culture.

• Physical resource management focuses on the allocation and use of physical resources required for the successful completion of the project in an efficient and effective manner.

• Trends: JIT/Kaizen, Total Productive Maintenance TPM, Theory of Constraints, Emotional Intelligence.

Bonus

• Forming is where the team members meet and learn about the project and their formal roles and responsibilities. Team members tend to be independent and not as open in this phase. During this phase, the team begins to address the project work, technical decisions, and the project management approach.

• The team charter is a document that establishes the team values, agreements, and operating guidelines for the team.

• As the project progresses, the project team may use trend analysis, based on current performance information, to determine the resources needed at upcoming stages of the project.

• Compromise occasionally results in a lose-lose situation. Collaboration mostly results in a win-win situation.

• A RACI chart is a useful tool to use to ensure clear assignment of roles and responsibilities when the team consists of internal and external resources.

Communication

Communication management involves the proper management of project information, i.e. the generation, dissemination, storage, and provision of project information in an appropriate and timely manner.

Communication is one of the most important parts of project management, a PM should spend 90% of his time communicating with team members and other stakeholders.

• Plan Communication Management (PCM) = Developing an appropriate approach and planning project communication activities based on the information needs of each stakeholder group, available organizational assets and the needs of the project.

• Manage Communications (MaC) = Collecting, creating, distributing, storing, searching, managing, monitoring and making project information available in an appropriate and timely manner.

• Monitor Communications (MoC) = Ensuring that the information needs of the project and stakeholders are met.

The key concepts of Project Communications Management are:

• Communication is an exchange of information, whether voluntary or not. The information exchanged can be in many forms: ideas, instructions, emotions, …

• List of mechanisms and activities: written form (physical or electronic), verbal (face to face or remote), formal or informal, through gestures / tones / easy expressions, through media / images / choice of words. Communication can be internal and focused on stakeholders within the organization or external for customers, suppliers, organizations and external audiences. Communication can be upward (to superiors), downward (to the team and those contributing to the project) or horizontal (other PM).

Communication is two parts:

• Develop an appropriate communication strategy based on the needs of the project and project stakeholders.

• From this strategy, develop a communication management plan to ensure that the appropriate messages are communicated to the stakeholders in various formats as defined in the strategy.

• Efforts to avoid misunderstandings and misinformation are made and attention is paid when selecting methods, messengers and messages to be developed during the planning process.

Communication skills are:

• Active listening (confirmation of receipt, clarification, confirmation)

• Openness to cultural and personal differences

• Identification and management of stakeholders' expectations

• Skills improvement (persuading a person or team to take action, motivating people and providing encouragement, coaching to improve performance and achieving expected results, negotiating to reach mutual agreement, resolving conflicts to avoid strong impacts)

• Being aware of communication barriers (the sender must send clear information, the receiver must ensure that he has understood the message) such as experience, education, culture, attitude. There is noise, distorted perception, lack of trust in the source, transmission errors.

• The elements that improve communication are relevance to the recipient, simplicity of the message, organization, repetition, and active listening (paraphrasing, taking notes, clarifying terms, paying attention to body language).

• The forms of communication, knowing that 55% (non-verbal) of the message is communicated by body language and facial expressions, 38% by tone and pitch of voice, 7% by words. The human comprehension rate is as follows: we can say 150 words per minute while the brain can process up to 600, leaving energy for distraction.

• Verbal communication is faster, less expensive, easier, and less complicated than written communication. Written communication is more detailed, allows the reader to refer to it later for clarification, is more practical for communicating complex cases and instructions.

• Formal written = signed document. Informal written = notes and email.

• Formal verbal = presentations and speeches. Informal verbal = conversations and meetings.

Bonus

• Project Managers spend 50% of their time in meetings and 90% communicating.

• The communication management plan is developed to meet the needs of the stakeholders.

• Client request of additional work should be written formally.

• Complex problems require written communication.

• Information is useless if not received on time.

Risks

Risk management is done throughout the project. Every project has known and unknown risks and while known risks can be managed, unknown risks cannot and are handled based on estimates made on past projects. New risks are always being discovered and the triggers of identified risks must be carefully looked at as well as regularly checked for changes in their severity.

• Plan Risk Management (PRM) = define risk management activities and how they should be conducted.

• Identify Risks (IR) = determine what are the sources of risks relevant to the project and their characteristics.

• Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis (PQualRA) = prioritization according to probability and impact

• Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis (PQuantRA) = prioritization according to financial impact and general objectives

• Plan Risk Response (PRR) = consideration of alternatives and development plan

• Implement Risk Responses (IRR) = implementation of response plans to previously selected risks

• Monitor Risks (MR) = monitoring of the response plan, identified risks, analysis of new risks, evaluation of effectiveness.

Key concepts in risk management:

• Risks exist at 2 levels: individual with effect on one or more project objectives, global with effect on the entire project (maybe of any kind: individual risk, variation of PPs involvement, …).

• We must address the risk appetite (the amount of uncertainty we are willing to accept), the risk tolerance (the amount of uncertainty we are able to support before it becomes unbearable), the risk threshold (the relative point defining the moment of unbearability), the risk triggers (risk triggers called symptoms or warnings).

• Some trends are event-based risks, non-event risks (variability, ambiguity), project resilience (can only be recognized after the occurrence), Integrated Risk Management.

Bonus

• When a risk is found, the best option is to found a workaround and solve the issue.

• Sensitivity analysis helps to determine which individual project risks or other sources of uncertainty have the most potential impact on project outcomes.

• The Risk Appetite describes a person's willingness to tolerate risk.

• A project team can sometimes skip Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis when they have enough expertise and experience with previous projects and risk responses.

Procurement

Procurement includes the processes required to purchase/acquire required products, services or results from outside the project team. It also includes the management and control of the processes required to develop and administer agreements (contract, purchase order, SLA). The personnel authorized to provide the required goods or services to the project team may be part of the project team, management or a purchasing department.

The processes are:

• Plan Procurement Management (PPM) = Documentation of project procurement decisions by specifying the approach and identifying vendors.

• Conduct Procurement = Obtaining vendor responses, selecting a vendor, selecting a contract.

• Control Procurement = Managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, making appropriate changes/corrections and closing contracts.

The key concepts are:

• A seller is a (sub)contractor, a service provider, a supplier and can be internal or external to the company.

• A buyer is the customer of the seller and is therefore a key partner for the latter. Here, the PM is the buyer.

• A contract or agreement/purchase order defines the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller. These characteristics are: formality, compliance with the legal system, any changes must be formally written, all requirements must be included and all contractual requirements must be respected. Requirements such as payment terms, ownership and copyrights are also in the contract.

• To have a legal contract, there must be capacity (both parties have the legal authority and competence to do so), consideration (giving something in exchange for something else), offer (an invitation to agreement with limits), legal purpose (must not violate the law), acceptance (must occur within a limited time frame, a counter-offer creates a new agreement).

• Money is not the only acceptable form of consideration and a signature is not a mandatory element to have an agreement.

• The PM must be selected with the signing of a contract so that he can participate in its creation, he must understand the contract and adapt it to the project, he must identify and incorporate risk management into the contract and must adjust the project schedule to include enough time for the procurement process.

• Trends: online tools to have only one point with all the information, advanced risk management, contract change process, logistics and supply chain management, trial engagements and technology for PP relationships.

• Procurement focuses on the buyer or seller relationship, the first being internal to the project team and the second external.

• Unilateral contract = purchase order.

Bonus

• A make-or-buy analysis is used to determine whether work or deliverables can best be accomplished by the project team or should be purchased from outside sources.

• A product description defines the contracted work based on the requirements of the customer.

• A contract addendum needs to be signed by your company and the vendor when he discovers some issues that impact cost and schedule.

• A fair contract shares a reasonable amount of risk between the buyer and the seller.

• Sending a letter of intent means you want to buy from the company.

• Fixed price or lump-sum contracts: The seller assumes the greatest risk because the price is set. If the time it takes to deliver the service or product expands, the seller cannot charge for the extra time and extra price. The seller cannot charge for the extra materials because the price for the contract is already fixed. Incentives can be used with a fixed price contract based on meeting project deliverables or exceeding them.

• In a time and materials contract, the buyer agrees to pay for time used by the seller, which creates the risk. Time and Material contract - Seller is paid a preset amount per unit of service and the total value of the contract is a function of the quantities needed to complete the work. Reimbursed cost contrat is the riskiest for the buyer.

• Three general types of contracts: Fixed Price, time and materials, and cost reimbursable. Time and Material contract - Seller is paid a preset amount per unit of service, and the total value of the contract is a function of the quantities needed to complete the work. Fixed price - A fixed total price for a well-defined product, may include incentives for meeting or exceeding selected project objectives. Cost reimbursable contacts - Payment to the seller of actual costs. 

• In Fixed price contract, the seller assumes the greatest risk because the price is fixed and not going to change. Fixed price- A fixed total price for a well-defined product may include incentives for meeting or exceeding selected project objectives.

• Cost plus fixed fee (CPFF). The seller is reimbursed for all allowable costs for performing the contract work and receives a fixed-fee payment calculated as a percentage of the initial estimated project costs. Fee amounts do not change unless the project scope changes.

• Cost plus award fee (CPAF). The seller is reimbursed for all legitimate costs, but the majority of the fee is earned based on the satisfaction of certain broad subjective performance criteria that are defined and incorporated into the contract.

Stakeholders

Project Stakeholder Management involves identifying stakeholders and analyzing their needs and interests, developing appropriate management strategies to ensure that their needs and interests are understood, that people are always involved in the decisions they make. PSM also aims to maintain stakeholder engagement and influence their views on the project.

4 processes:

• Identify Stakeholders Process: Regularly identify stakeholders and analyze and document relevant information regarding their interests, implications, inter-dependencies, influence and potential impact on the project.

• Plan Stakeholder Management Process: Develop an approach to engaging stakeholders in the project according to their needs, expectations, interests and potential impact on the project.

• Manage Stakeholder Engagement Process: Communicate and work with stakeholders to meet their expectations and needs, address issues and foster appropriate stakeholder engagement.

• Control Stakeholder Engagement Process: Monitor PP relationships and adapt strategies to engage them by modifying engagement plans.

Key concepts of PP management:

• Every project has stakeholders that are impacted or can impact the project positively or negatively.

• It is important to have a structured approach to identifying, prioritizing, and engaging stakeholders.

• It is important to identify and engage stakeholders as early as possible once the Project Charter is approved, as well as the PMs and assigned project team to increase the chances of success.

• Stakeholder satisfaction should be identified and managed as a project objective.

• The key to effective stakeholder engagement is to focus on continuous communication, including team members, to understand their needs and expectations, address issues as they arise, and manage conflicts of interest.

• Identifying and engaging stakeholders is an iterative process that occurs at a minimum when the project changes phase in its lifecycle, there is a change in stakeholders , or there is a significant change in the organization.

• Current trends are to involve the whole team in the relationship with the stakeholders, to bring together a circle of stakeholders regularly, to consult mainly the stakeholders whose work resulting from the project impacts them the most, to capture the value resulting from the stakeholders' engagement whether positive or negative.

Bonus

• Salience model classification model used for stakeholder analysis describing classes of stakeholder based on their power, urgency and legitimacy.

• Project Manager is responsible for stakeholder's expectations management.

• Prioritizing stakeholders may be necessary for projects with a large number of stakeholders, where the membership of the stakeholder community is changing frequently, or when the relationships between stakeholders and the project team or within the stakeholder community are complex.

• The ability of stakeholders to influence the project typically highest during the initial stages.