Practical Project Management

Project Services
IS Applications Division
 About this course
Getting to know the basics

Laying the foundations

Right people, right message

Planning the journey

Adapt and survive

Reaching the finishing line

Getting to know you

• Who are you?

• What do you do?
• What do you want to get
out of today?
What is a project?
 What is a project?

' a unique set of co-ordinated activities,

with definite starting and finishing
points, undertaken by an individual or
team to meet specific objectives within
defined time, cost and performance
parameters'

Cabinet Office
What is project management?

A structured approach to managing

the activities in a project…

…often referred to as a common sense

approach!
Why use a project methodology?

• Roadmap
• Efficient
• Improves quality
• Standard
 Why undertake a project?

•Research
•New process or service
•Building
•Software upgrade
EXERCISE -
Why do projects fail?
 Why do projects fail?
Poor communication
4%
4%
Unrealistic budget or schedule
6%
28%
Inadequate planning
7%
Poorly defined requirements
or success criteria
Lack of stakeholder buy-in
15%
Other

18% Lack of change control

18% Poor risk management

Source: PMI
 Project lifecycle
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
 Project lifecycle
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
 Initiate

Initiating a project - benefits

What are benefits?

The positive outcomes that a project is
being undertaken to deliver, and which
justify the investment.

Or

“Why are we doing this project?”

 Initiate

Initiating a project - benefits

• Tangible benefits
– Financial savings e.g. staff time

• Intangible benefits
– Non-financial savings e.g. staff morale
– Use proxy measures e.g. staff turnover
 Initiate

Initiating a project - benefits

Compare benefits against costs
– Costs
– resources
– equipment
– consumables
– ‘Cost/Benefit Analysis’
– The benefits should justify the costs
 Initiate

Initiating a project - objectives

What is an objective?
‘An objective describes what the project is
trying to achieve in order to deliver the
benefits.’

• Objectives should be SMART:

Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Time bound
 Initiate

Initiating a project - scope

What is scope?

‘The way we describe the boundaries of a

project – it defines what the project will be
responsible for and what it will not be
responsible for.’

• Projects with general scope are hard to control

• Stating what is not included can be as important

as what is included
 Initiate

Initiating a project - deliverables

What is a deliverable?
- Any output from the project
- Research data/ paper
- New software / process
- Links to project objectives and benefits
- Should meet agreed requirements
 Initiate

Initiating a project – success criteria

What are success criteria?

‘Criteria on which the success of the
project is judged – it is not always
possible to measure benefits
immediately.’
 Initiate

Success or failure?
 Initiate

Success or failure?
 Initiate

Success or failure?
 How will we
know when
SUCCESS CRITERIA  we’re done?

Why are we
doing this
project?
BENEFITS
What things
will we be

Deliverables
producing?

What are we
trying to
achieve?

OBJECTIVES What’s our

responsibility
& what’s not?

In Scope
Out of Scope
 Agreeing the Project Brief

Project Brief

https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/p0093
 Initiate

EXERCISE -
Objectives and Scope
 Project lifecycle

Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
What is a stakeholder?
 Plan

What is a stakeholder?

‘A stakeholder is defined as anyone who

has an interest in the change and can
influence or impact the success of the
change’

Cabinet Office
 Stakeholders
1. Identify

5. Review 2. Analyse

4.
3. Plan
Implement
 Plan

1. Identifying stakeholders
1. Identifying stakeholders
Be systematic

Remember the interest groups

Use past stakeholder information

Consider the entire project lifecycle

People matter – identify the right people

 Plan

2. Analysing stakeholders
HIGH

Keep Satisfied Engage Closely

Power/Influence

Monitor
Keep Informed
(minimum effort)

LOW HIGH
Interest
2. Analysing stakeholders
What do you
need from
them?

What do they
What are their
need from
expectations?
you?
 Roles & responsibilities
Does everyone know their part?
Roles & responsibilities
 Monitoring and Control

Communication

One size doesn’t fit all

• Who needs the information?

• What information do they want?
• When will it be required?
• How will it be provided?
Communication
 Plan

Communication plan

Stakeholder Key Message Frequency Communication Responsibility

(Who) (What) (When) Method (Who’s going to
(How) do it)
Project Are we on track? Monthly Status report Project Manager
Sponsor

Taxi drivers Road blockages & Weekly Laminated A4 Office junior

diversions sheet delivered to
taxi rank
 Plan

EXERCISE -
Stakeholders
Project Governance
There to support you
 Project Governance

Who’s • Project Sponsor

• Key stakeholders
involved? • Project Board

• Monitors progress of a project

What do • Agreed reporting

they do? •
•
End of stage sign offs
Ensure project delivers benefits
 Project Governance
Sets boundaries and tolerances to ensure the
project stays on track, typically focussing on:

Cost Scope
Project
Outcomes

Time
 Project status reporting
Project Status Report
Achievements this period

Issues

Next steps

Target milestones

Time RED Approved budget

Cost GREEN Spent this period
Scope AMBER Spent to-date
Overall RED Estimate to complete
Planning a project
 Planning a project – step 1

Identify the tasks to be done

What skills will be needed?

 Plan

Planning a project – step 2

Estimate the effort

& duration
 Planning a project – step 3

Identify the sequence of

the tasks

What are the

dependencies?
 Planning a project – step 4

Identify milestones

Are they hard or soft?

 Plan

Planning a project – MS Project

 Plan

Planning a project – MS Excel

 Plan

Planning a project – MindGenius

 Plan

Planning a project – other options

 Planning tips

Be realistic about people’s availability

Keep it somewhere visible
Review regularly
Allow some contingency
Remember to ask about holidays
 Planning tips

Working to a fixed end date?

- Can you remove any tasks?
- Can you overlap tasks?
- Will more people shorten tasks?
 Plan

EXERCISE -
Planning a project
Estimating
Estimation techniques – 3 point
estimation
Estimation techniques – Planning
poker
Estimation techniques – Relative
sizing
Estimation tips

Include the people who will be doing

the work
Record any assumptions

Recognise under/over tendencies

Re-estimate periodically
 Project Lifecycle
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
Project Execution
 Project Lifecycle
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
 Project Lifecycle
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
What is a risk?
 Monitoring and Control

Risk management

What is risk?

' uncertainty of outcome, whether positive

opportunity or negative threat'

Cabinet Office
 Monitoring and Control

Risk management
Identify

Review Analyse

Implement Plan
 Monitoring and Control

1. Identify risks
Potential sources of risk
 Monitoring and Control

2. Analyse risks
CRITICAL

C Amber Amber Red Red

Probability

H Amber Amber Red Red

M Green Amber Amber Amber

L Green Green Amber Amber

L M H C
LOW CRITICAL
Impact
 Monitoring and Control

3. Plan your approach

Reduce
Remove
Retain
Transfer
Share
 Monitoring and Control

3. Plan your approach

What is your
contingency plan?
(plan B)?
4. Implement your plans
 5. Review risks

Initiate Plan Execute Close

 Monitoring and Control

Risk Log

https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/p0093/risks
 Monitoring
Execute
and Control

EXERCISE -
Risks
What is an issue?
 Monitoring
Execute
and Control

Issue management

What is an issue?

' a relevant event that has happened, was

not planned and requires management
action'

Cabinet Office
 Monitoring
Execute
and Control

Issue management
Capture

Examine

Propose

Decide

Implement
 Monitoring
Execute
and Control

Issue/Change Log

https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/p0093/issues
 Monitoring
Execute
and Control

Managing change
What is the impact of the proposed change?

Cost Scope
Project
Outcomes

Time
 Project Lifecycle
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
 Close

Closing a project
• Measuring benefits
– Has the project delivered benefits
promised in the Project Brief?
– What will be measured and when?
– Success criteria met?
 Close

Closing a project
• Lessons learned
– What went well?
– What could have been done better?
• Business as usual
– Has a handover to business as usual from
the project team taken place?
 Close

Completion Report

https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/p0093/completion_report
 Summary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LSnINglkQA&feature=player_detailpage
 Summary
Monitoring and Control

Risks Issues Communication

Initiate Plan Execute Close

Benefits Stakeholders Do it Benefit

Realisation
Objectives Tasks Check it
Lessons
Scope Milestones Release it
Learned
 Summary
Laying the • Project definition
foundations
Right people, • Stakeholder mapping
• Communication plan
right message • Project governance

Planning the • Project planning

journey • 3-point estimation

Adapt & • Risk management

• Issue management
survive • Change management

Reaching the • Project closure

finish line • Completion reporting

 Contacts and Resources

Email project-management-training@mlist.is.ed.ac.uk

Twitter https://twitter.com/UoE_PMO

Projects website - www.projects.ed.ac.uk