Ignite Your Passion is a text book that is included as a part of a learning program. This text book and corresponding learning program is intended to teach you the discipline of project management in a simple and enjoyable way.
Ignite Your Passion
Project Management BasicsBy Dorcas M. T. CoxAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Dorcas M. T. Cox
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4634-0824-4Contents
Preface............................................................ixIntroduction.......................................................xiChapter 1, Dream Big...............................................1Projects, Programs, and Portfolios.................................1Project Management.................................................6The Project Manager................................................11Initiate Your Project..............................................17Chapter 2, Make a Plan.............................................23Plan Your Project..................................................23Scope Out Your Project.............................................29Scheduling.........................................................37Let's Talk Money...................................................48Don't Forget Quality...............................................52Getting Good People................................................57Effective Communication Is Key.....................................61Assess the Risk....................................................66Make or Buy........................................................75Chapter 3, Work Hard...............................................84Acquire Your Team..................................................84Distribute Information and Manage Expectations.....................92Chapter 4, Follow Up...............................................103Monitor and Control Your Project...................................103Control Scope, Schedule, and Costs.................................113Report Performance and Control Risk................................121Chapter 5, Celebrate...............................................128Close Your Project.................................................128About the Author...................................................141Resources..........................................................143
Chapter One
Dream Big Lesson 1: Projects, Programs, and Portfolios
After studying this lesson, you should be able to:
? define a project.
? explain how projects come about.
? describe a program.
? explain how programs are managed.
? define portfolios.
? explain what is included as a part of portfolio management.
? differentiate between projects, programs, and portfolios.
An Idea
Imagine this: you get an idea, a really, really big idea for a project that you believe might just work. This project is in an area that you are passionate about. It could be in any industry, music, construction, small business, the creative arts ... anything. Your project idea may have come about as a result of market demand, strategic opportunity, business need, customer request, technological advance, or even a legal requirement. Maybe your idea is to create a product that can either be a component of another item or an end in itself. Your project idea may be to perform a service or result, such as to produce a video, a concert, or an event.
Definition of a Project
So now what? What do you do next? Should you start planning the project? Maybe, but before you do, it may not be a bad idea to first figure out whether your idea actually fits the definition of a project. What exactly is a project? A project may be defined as any initiative that has a clear start date and a clear finish date, is intended to produce a unique product, service, or result, and is developed in greater detail as the work progresses.
Immediately you may see how your idea satisfies two of the three requirements according to the definition. Your idea may have a clear start and finish date and may be developed in greater detail as the work progresses. But what about the unique product, service, or result? What is meant by unique? Unique in this context does not mean that the methods, models, and principles used to produce your outcome are unique. These methods and principles may be standard in your profession or industry and are in place to govern the production of certain works.
Just because a standard method is used does not mean that you will not produce a unique outcome. For example, just because you use the principles of floral designing, which is a standard method used to design and develop floral arrangements, does not mean that the wedding contract that you will produce the floral arrangements for is not unique. That said; take a look at the components of your idea again to make sure that they satisfy the three requirements according to the definition of a project.
Programs
Now that you've determined that your project idea satisfies the definition of a project, you need to decide whether your project should be managed as a stand-alone project or whether it should be included as a part of a program or a portfolio. Your decision in this regard depends on the nature of your initiative. The terms program or portfolio are used to describe how projects are grouped based on similarities and differences. A program, for example, groups related projects together for enhanced efficiency.
Perhaps you are considering constructing a shopping center that has a number of attached and detached buildings. The construction of each building may be defined as a separate project. If managing the construction of each of these separate but related projects is achieved more efficiently and effectively by using the same techniques in a coordinated fashion, we would refer to this as a program.
Program Management
Programs are managed in a coordinated way. This allows you to gain access to benefits and control that may have been unavailable to you if each of the projects in the program were managed individually.
Portfolios
A portfolio, on the other hand, is a collection of projects or programs that are not necessarily similar. For example, a portfolio may include a home improvement project, an account cleanup project, an office renovation project, and a systems upgrade project.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio management focuses on making sure that projects and programs are reviewed so that resources can be allocated and prioritized. Another important aspect of portfolio management is the focus on making sure that projects included in the portfolio are managed in a way that is in keeping with the organization's strategies.
Key Points to Remember
? A project may be defined as any initiative that has a clear start date and clear finish date that produces a unique product, service, or result and is developed in greater detail as the work progresses.
? Just because a standard method is used does not mean that you will not produce a unique outcome.
? Program and portfolio are terms that are used to describe how projects are grouped based on similarities and differences.
? Program management allows you to gain access to benefits and control that may have been unavailable to you if each of the projects in the program were managed individually.
? A portfolio is a collection of projects or programs that are not necessarily similar.
? Portfolio management focuses on making sure that projects and programs are reviewed to prioritize resource allocation.
Discussion Questions
1. What is a project?
2. Why do projects come about?
3. How can projects be used for personal and community development?
4. What are some examples of project ideas for personal and community development?
5. What is a program?
6. What is a portfolio?
7. Why are projects, programs, and portfolios managed differently?
Debrief Questions
1. What are the key learning points?
2. What information was new to you?
3. Which concepts will you apply in the future? When?
4. What challenges do you anticipate that may limit your ability to apply the concepts?
5. What needs to be in place to overcome these challenges?
6. Who would you recommend these concepts to and why?
Activity
The following is an activity that may be completed individually or as a small group activity to assess your comprehension:
1. Answer the discussion questions above based on the material presented in this lesson.
2. Answer the debrief questions.
Lesson 2: Project Management
After studying this lesson, you should be able to:
? define project management.
? explain the five process groups that projects are categorized in.
? describe the project phases.
? differentiate between project process groups and project phases.
? state the nine knowledge areas that are included as a part of project management.
What Is Project Management
Let's say you're having lunch one day, and a colleague says to you that he or she is considering a career move into the area of project management. Before he makes his mind up, he really needs you to give him an idea of what project management involves. Naturally, you clear your mouth of food before responding; while this act has nothing to do with the definition of project management, it would be considered the polite thing to do.
There is silence. You speak, and this is what you say: "Project management includes the planning and control required to measure, analyze, forecast and report cost, and schedule performance data for decision making." Broken down, what you really should have said is that whenever there is a project, your goal should be to create a plan with the kind of structure in place that allows you to measure how you are doing for time, figure how much money you have spent, and make predictions for the future outcome of the initiative. In a nutshell, this is essentially what project management is all about. Project management is a discipline that is based on efficiency, measurement, and effective results.
When, as a project manager, you apply the knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques associated with the discipline, you are able to build a high-performance team that achieves multiple benefits, which include:
? Service excellence through efficient output and effective use of resources.
? Increase in quality and reduction of waste using performance metrics and other methods of accountability.
? Innovation in process that may contribute to achieving a competitive edge.
Knowledge Areas
You should have knowledge in a wide range of areas to complete project work from start to finish.
? First, you should identify and define the project work as well as understand how all aspects of the project work are coordinated. This knowledge requirement is referred to as project integration.
? Second, you should know how to properly determine exactly how big the project is and what it will require from start to finish. This is referred to as knowledge of scope.
? Next, you should know how to determine the cost of the project to budget and ensure that there are sufficient funds available to the project from start to finish.
? You also need to know how to properly determine and manage the schedule. This is referred to as time management.
? It is important to have knowledge of how to determine and manage quality throughout the project, as well as how to properly communicate and manage human resources, risk, and procurement.
In all, there are nine interconnected knowledge areas that you may use multiple times when managing a project from start to finish.
In addition to the need to know a whole lot of stuff, as project manager you should also have and demonstrate certain skills to effectively execute your project work. These skills include, but are not limited to, communication, budgeting, conflict management, negotiating, influencing, leadership, team building, and motivating skills.
Project Process Groups
I believe that I mentioned earlier that project management is very organized—well, maybe I didn't. Now is a good time to tell you that project management is a very organized discipline. Project activities are typically grouped into five distinct categories that represent how project work should be completed from start to finish. These categories, which are sometimes referred to as process groups, are called initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
Project Phases
Not only are projects organized into categories but they may also be organized into phases. Organizing project work to be completed in phases allows for easier management, planning, and control of the work. Phase completion is often marked by specific, tangible outputs or multiple outputs that may be measured or easily proved. These outputs are often referred to as deliverables. Deliverables must be produced, reviewed, and approved to bring the phase or project to completion.
Project phases may be sequential, where one phase must finish before the next phase can begin; overlapping, where one phase starts before the prior phase is completed; or iterative, which means that the work for the subsequent phases is planned as the work for the previous phase is performed. The processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing are typically performed during each project phase. When all of the phases that a project progresses through are looked at holistically, this is referred to as the project life cycle.
Key Points to Remember
? Project management is a discipline that is based on efficiency, measurement, and effective results.
? Knowledge in a wide range of areas is required to complete the project work from start to finish.
? There are nine interconnected knowledge areas that you may use multiple times when managing a project from start to finish.
? Project work is typically organized into five different categories.
? Project work is often completed in phases.
? Project phases may be sequential, overlapping, or iterative.
? When all of the phases that a project progresses through are looked at holistically, this is referred to as the project life cycle.
Discussion Questions
1. What is project management?
2. Why is it necessary?
3. What are the five process groups?
4. Why are the five process groups necessary?
5. How are the five process groups used to manage projects?
6. How many types of phases of a project are there?
7. How do project process groups and phases interact?
8. What are the project management knowledge areas?
9. How many project management knowledge areas are there?
10. Why are knowledge areas required for managing projects?
11. How do knowledge areas interact with the five process groups?
12. What happens if the project management knowledge areas and process groups do not interact as intended?
Debrief Questions
1. What are the key learning points?
2. What information was new to you?
3. Which concepts will you apply in the future? When?
4. What challenges do you anticipate that may limit your ability to apply the concepts?
5. What needs to be in place to overcome these challenges?
6. Who would you recommend these concepts to and why?
Activity
The following is an activity that may be completed individually or as a small group activity to assess your comprehension:
1. Answer the discussion questions above based on the material presented in this lesson.
2. Answer the debrief questions.
Lesson 3: The Project Manager
After studying this lesson, you should be able to:
? state the role of the project manager.
? discuss the importance of a project manager.
? explain what a project manager needs to know and what behavioral skills he or she should demonstrate.
? demonstrate the behavior that a project manager must exhibit.
? summarize how a project manager applies knowledge and skills in and out of project settings.
The Role of the Project Manager
When you think about the role of the project manager, the first thing that comes to mind should not be going up to receive the PEMMY award for the role of lead actor in a project management drama or for role of best supporting actress in a project suspense thriller. Before you start getting too excited, calm down. This is not what we will be discussing in this lesson. At the same time, there are roles, a set of connected behaviors, and obligations that you should demonstrate in certain situations as project manager. As project manager, you will often be required to play multiple roles. You may be a guide, an influencer, a consensus builder, an observer, a peacemaker, a taskmaster, an empathetic listener, an encourager, or a documenter based on the situation.
Guide
As a guide, you must know the steps in the process from beginning to end and carefully guide your project team, customers, and stakeholders through each phase in the project life cycle.
Influencer
As an influencer, you must ignite enthusiasm in your team and stakeholder group as you establish momentum for your project and keep the team on pace.
Consensus Builder
As a consensus builder, you must find ways to establish an environment conducive for building consensus.
Observer
In your role of observer, you must watch carefully for potential signs of strain, frustration, and resistance from members of the stakeholder group and your project team.
Peacemaker
As a peacemaker, you must move quickly to effectively restore order and direct your team toward constructive resolution when conflict arises.
Taskmaster
You are ultimately responsible for keeping your project team on track and managing the respective processes on the project.
Empathetic Listener
You must listen with empathy to understand the meaning of and relate to what is being said.
Encourager
You must praise effort and achievement at every opportunity.
Documenter
You must keep accurate records and ensure that the project management methods meet conventional standards.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Ignite Your Passionby Dorcas M. T. Cox Copyright © 2011 by Dorcas M. T. Cox. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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