Project Management Process

This proposal is for an initial state of Engineering and Operations project management process. The intent of
the new standardized PM processes is to enhance project efficiency, transparency, predictability, and chances of
success.

Overview
Currently, project management is the responsibility of the engineering leads. The proposed process will assign
the PM responsibility to dedicated project managers. The goals of this shift include a standardized and
professional project management methodology that can provide success in managing delivery schedule, cost
and quality; a uniform process across all projects and leads; executive management insight into project status;
improved communication among Engineering, Operations, other AMP departments, customers and other
stakeholders; and relief for engineering leads from project management tasks.

In the initial phase, E&O will institute standardized project scheduling for projects over a certain size, and a
financials tracker; and begin work on an executive dashboard.

Deliverables
Schedule

The project scale that will require a formal schedule is yet to be determined. It is vital to understand the
timeline for completion of the project as well as significant phases. The work of external (non-AMP) parties
must be reflected, as many of their tasks are prerequisites to AMP’s; but they will be shown at a lower level of
detail than AMP’s work.

Project managers will create the schedule of record in MS-Project. The schedule can be ported into Excel or PDF
format for distribution to staff members who do not have Project. Schedules will be kept up to date on an
agreed-on frequency.

PM’s and engineering leads will work together to develop the information that is input to the formal schedule.
Key data the leads should provide include:

 Task list, organized by activities within a project phase. Each task should take no more than two weeks
Commented [GS1]: Breaking the project down to a 2-week task
to accomplish. Example: level may be more detailed than we need at this point. Perhaps we
o Project: build a house should just say the WBS must be broken down far enough to yield
accurate work and cost estimates and accurate measures of
 Phase: physically construct the house progress. Or, that the task/activity can be completed by one
person/group.

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 Activity: lay the foundation

o Task: pour concrete
 Each task should have a person or persons assigned to it. If a person cannot be identified, an
organizational unit should be assigned.
 Each task should have a duration estimate in days. When a begin- and/or end-date is required, that
should be communicated. In the case of multiple people being assigned to one task, their percentage of
the effort should be stated. Example:
o Tito 40%, Alex 60%
 Predecessor (dependency) tasks should be identified. Where no predecessor task or firm start-date is
given, it will be assumed that the task can begin at the start of the project.
 It is understood that the lead will not have access to all of this information, especially regarding the
tasks of non-AMP groups and even other AMP staff outside Engineering. The project manager will work
the leads and with management to seek clarification from other groups. With regard to time estimates,
they are rarely precise. Over time, project managers will look for ways to improve the quality of
estimation, including scientific methodology and learning from historical data.

Financials

Here the concern is only with AMP (and subcontractor) costs. AMP labor hours and cost should be captured,
with a distinction made between costs that are billed to a customer and those absorbed by the company.
Reimbursements should be tracked as well. Currently, costing is done within the Cayenta software, which has
pricing information for materials. However, Cayenta lacks certain key abilities and lacks integration with
enterprise systems. Work is ongoing to determine business needs and optimal technical solutions.

Engineering leads will provide most of the information that is input to the financials tracker. Key data the leads
should provide include:

 Cost estimates given to customers, initial and revised, with dates and customer names
 AMP project expenses incurred and paid, with dates and vendor names
 Subcontractor bills received and paid, with dates and contractor names
 AMP staff hours spent by week, customer billable, with dates, rates, and staff member names
 AMP staff hours spent by week, customer non-billable, with dates and staff member names. Question: Commented [GS2]: I think we have to rely on Cayenta for this
detailed information. I think it is too hard for the Eng Lead to
how do we track rates without a bill-rate? We want to understand the total cost of the project. Should collect this data.
we track by employee pay-rate? Or is there an AMP or City standard for the value of an employee’s
time? Or is this too complicated to deal with?
 Payments received from customers, with dates and customer names

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Dashboard

AMP management needs a project dashboard containing critical information on each open project as well as
those in the pipeline. Key data to be reflected on this dashboard include status of the project and phases,
red/yellow/green status, milestone dates, budget status, and issues facing the project.

The dashboard will be set up and maintained (populated) by the project manager using input from the schedule
and the financial tracker. Additionally, engineering leads will supply information on issues to the project
manager.

Definition of the data items:

 Phases: project phases can overlap and active phases should all show status
 Red/Yellow/Green: triggers must be defined. A typical definition is:
Red: Serious issues, and the project will probably be delayed or have significant budget overrun.
Yellow: Potential issues with schedule or budget, but both can probably be saved with
corrective actions.
Green: On schedule, on budget, all good.
This is a subjective definition, and we could work toward one that is both quantitative and qualitative.
For the moment, it suffices.
 Issues: these are problems that have the potential to derail a project. They are not the same as risks.
Issues can be considered risks that have come to pass, like a fulfilled prophecy, and must be addressed
now. Risks are tracked in a special risk or RAID log.

Future Phases

Follow-on phases of project management process improvement may include documents such as Work
Breakdown Structure, project definition, change management, Risk/Issue log, and others. For the moment, the
initial set is considered an important step forward in improving E&O process.