Putting Discipline to Work
Enterprise Project Management
Ch 13
Introduction:
Only in the last 15 years or so has the development of project management as a skill, and supplementary project management skills really taken shape in the corporate world, or in any field, for that matter. We should take full advantage of all the new perspectives in project management available to us. One dramatic change that has taken place is the use of competition to focus projects and their end goals. Since then focus on end project-driven projects as a result of competition has greatly increased.
Defining enterprise project management:
What is enterprise project management, exactly? Enterprise project management (EPM) is the conscious integration of processes, technology, organizational structure, and people in order to align strategy with the execution of project. EPM ties together project resources and organizational strategy. Similarly, all the enabling components of EPM work together. However, the term EPM can only be applied in certain situations, situations in which the business is project driven, and usually where some sort of external competition is involved.
Defining practices requires assigning responsibility and authority
Authority determines almost every factor in a project: whose responsibility it is to assign tasks, whose responsibility it is to complete those tasks, whose responsibility it is to make sure that tasks are being completed promptly and accurately, and whose responsibility it is to manage the project. Assigning responsibility is just as important as assigning the authority which administers such responsibilities. Assigning authority begins by defining the manager and the sponsor, as well as any other relevant roles. An organization chart showing where authority lies and the escalating steps to that authority can be very useful to a project team.
EPM technology Capability
EPM covers an expansive range, from managing smaller, individual projects to monitoring project progress. EPM can be summarized by eight common capabilities. Project management, the most basic, consists of the plan for a project, from costs to scheduling. Team collaboration is the correct assignment of responsibilities and authority for a group to work together to reach their common goal. Visibility of interproject dependencies is the perception of common resources needed by different projects, and the correct utilization of those resources to all projects that need them. Visibility of resource use across all projects ties in to the previous point, in that common resource use can be seen within several projects. Project portfolio summary is quite simply the summary of reports for all factors concerning a project. Project status reporting is the frequent and accurate reporting of the status quota of a project regularly. Cost accounting is the management of all financial aspects of a project. The utilization of interfaces to complementary systems can also help take the work load off of accounting staffs
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Controlling the Project / Measuring Progress
Controlling the Project
Measuring Progress
Ch 12
Introduction:
It is imperative to track progress just as carefully all along the span of a project, for starting out strong ensures ending a project in the same manner. If we were to only start tracking progress towards the end, it would be too late to change anything anyways. This helps using up valuable project time only to help catch up to an earlier lapse in progress. This helps us to identify problems while they are still small so they can be dealt with more efficiently.
Earned value reporting
Keeping track of costs is paramount to running a successful project. However, simply comparing planned cash flow against actual cash flow may not be sufficient; it doesn’t tell whether or not the project will be under budget, or if the project will be over budget. With earned value reporting, you can develop a more complete overall picture of the project by combining schedule and cost status, thus giving a more whole viewpoint. Only tracking schedules or only tracking cash flow blocks your perspective of the project. There are many formulas you can use to employ earned value reporting in your project.
Escalating Thresholds
Sometimes certain situations within a project arise in which certain people must be granted more authority in order to properly deal with said situation. Such temporary shifts in authority or position as a result of situational necessity are escalation thresholds. Depending on a situation, one may be brought up to higher management or even brought to the attention of senior management. Such escalation thresholds separate the changes that can be made by a project team and those that can only be made by a change board. Problem resolution thresholds give arisen problems the proper attention they need in order to be dealt with promptly and efficiently. Overall project thresholds signal to upper management the necessity to be more directly involved in a project.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics
Measuring Progress
Ch 12
Introduction:
It is imperative to track progress just as carefully all along the span of a project, for starting out strong ensures ending a project in the same manner. If we were to only start tracking progress towards the end, it would be too late to change anything anyways. This helps using up valuable project time only to help catch up to an earlier lapse in progress. This helps us to identify problems while they are still small so they can be dealt with more efficiently.
Earned value reporting
Keeping track of costs is paramount to running a successful project. However, simply comparing planned cash flow against actual cash flow may not be sufficient; it doesn’t tell whether or not the project will be under budget, or if the project will be over budget. With earned value reporting, you can develop a more complete overall picture of the project by combining schedule and cost status, thus giving a more whole viewpoint. Only tracking schedules or only tracking cash flow blocks your perspective of the project. There are many formulas you can use to employ earned value reporting in your project.
Escalating Thresholds
Sometimes certain situations within a project arise in which certain people must be granted more authority in order to properly deal with said situation. Such temporary shifts in authority or position as a result of situational necessity are escalation thresholds. Depending on a situation, one may be brought up to higher management or even brought to the attention of senior management. Such escalation thresholds separate the changes that can be made by a project team and those that can only be made by a change board. Problem resolution thresholds give arisen problems the proper attention they need in order to be dealt with promptly and efficiently. Overall project thresholds signal to upper management the necessity to be more directly involved in a project.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics
Monday, June 11, 2007
Application is the Art
Application Is the Art
Solving Common Project Problems
Ch 14
Introduction
As much technology as we have available today to help us with our projects, we are still humans, thus conflicts will always arise. It is absolutely imperative to promptly find the most efficient solution to such conflicts, as to not hinder the overall progress of the project. Different techniques can be employed to solve a variety of conflicts, from technical aspects to personal disagreements.
Responsibility beyond Your Authority
Especially with larger projects, you may find that you must rely on people and sources over which you have no authority. If such these people are shortcoming of their respective duties, your whole project suffers. Learning how to make sure other people are reliable is a vital aspect of a successful project. This can be achieved by a statement of work, communication plans, network diagrams and sponsors, just to name a few methods.
Reducing the Time to Market
We’ve all heard the phrase “time is money”. Especially in this setting, this phrase proves quite true. Since speed counts in the industry, so it is paramount to employ any techniques you need to in order to finish as soon as possible without the suffering of quality. This can be achieved by project plans, completion criteria, project status meetings, and fixed-phrase estimating.
Managing Volunteers
In many situations, in order to get things done one must enlist the use of volunteers in a project. These people do not question your leadership, however you have no real authority over them, which if not managed properly can hinder or even stop the progress of project. This can be done first of all by treating your volunteers slightly different than you would workers. Be more respectful and understanding, because unlike your workers the commitment of volunteers really does depend on how much they like you as a leader. You can also manage a volunteer project by status meetings, statement of work, status meetings, and having small tasks with strong completion criteria.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Solving Common Project Problems
Ch 14
Introduction
As much technology as we have available today to help us with our projects, we are still humans, thus conflicts will always arise. It is absolutely imperative to promptly find the most efficient solution to such conflicts, as to not hinder the overall progress of the project. Different techniques can be employed to solve a variety of conflicts, from technical aspects to personal disagreements.
Responsibility beyond Your Authority
Especially with larger projects, you may find that you must rely on people and sources over which you have no authority. If such these people are shortcoming of their respective duties, your whole project suffers. Learning how to make sure other people are reliable is a vital aspect of a successful project. This can be achieved by a statement of work, communication plans, network diagrams and sponsors, just to name a few methods.
Reducing the Time to Market
We’ve all heard the phrase “time is money”. Especially in this setting, this phrase proves quite true. Since speed counts in the industry, so it is paramount to employ any techniques you need to in order to finish as soon as possible without the suffering of quality. This can be achieved by project plans, completion criteria, project status meetings, and fixed-phrase estimating.
Managing Volunteers
In many situations, in order to get things done one must enlist the use of volunteers in a project. These people do not question your leadership, however you have no real authority over them, which if not managed properly can hinder or even stop the progress of project. This can be done first of all by treating your volunteers slightly different than you would workers. Be more respectful and understanding, because unlike your workers the commitment of volunteers really does depend on how much they like you as a leader. You can also manage a volunteer project by status meetings, statement of work, status meetings, and having small tasks with strong completion criteria.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Controlling the Project / Communication
Controlling the Project
Communication
Ch 11
Introduction
Controlling a project differs from planning and defining a project in that it refers to long term management of the project. Control implies the techniques and skills it takes to measure progress, foresee the direction of the project, and for successful and efficient communication.
Project communication
In any situation, communication is usually the most important factor for success in reaching a common goal. Open communication defies a good working group, more than technical skill. Constant and efficient communication amongst every member involved in the project is paramount to the success of the project. Getting right things done in the right way, which, in essence, is a project, takes communication among all members. Helpful techniques are communicating within the team, communicating with management and customers, change management, and closeout reporting. The value of communication is even greater when it comes to project managers. Each team member has four main communication needs: responsibility, coordination, status, and authorization. The project manager could make these responsibilities easier by making task assignments clear, holding individual status meetings, and putting meetings on the calendar.
Configuration management
A subset of change management, which focuses on how to apply [approved] changes, configuration management limits the changes to control documents, in turn avoiding confusion by keeping all members on the same page. This helps to avoid potential disasters, for correcting the issue can be nigh impossible once well into the project. Control documents, computer files, prototypes, and test environments can all be subject to configuration management. To implement configuration management, the first step is to identify products and items that need to be controlled. Next, the management must establish the control structure. This step must take into account access restriction, possible record of changes, and notification for all the members. The final step in the process is to assign configuration management responsibility. Choosing this person should be a cautious choice, one that can handle the job yet still be respected by all the members in the project.
Closeout reporting
Closeout reporting is an often overlooked and neglected project management activity. This is usually because this phase isn’t always the most exciting; however it can be just as important as any other. Since the end product is the goal of the entire project itself, a successful closeout reporting is vital to delivering the final product, whatever it may be. Many closeout tasks can be identified as transition tasks, such as notifying all the project participants of status changes in the project, giving product improvement ideas, or detailing any open tasks by making an updated project plan.
End point
For this particular project that I am undertaking, communication is of uttermost important because of the nature of the goals of the outcome. The final product will be promoting communication through unspoken language or what is known in the field as Kinesics. Kinesics is the non-verbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body, or the body as a whole.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics
Communication
Ch 11
Introduction
Controlling a project differs from planning and defining a project in that it refers to long term management of the project. Control implies the techniques and skills it takes to measure progress, foresee the direction of the project, and for successful and efficient communication.
Project communication
In any situation, communication is usually the most important factor for success in reaching a common goal. Open communication defies a good working group, more than technical skill. Constant and efficient communication amongst every member involved in the project is paramount to the success of the project. Getting right things done in the right way, which, in essence, is a project, takes communication among all members. Helpful techniques are communicating within the team, communicating with management and customers, change management, and closeout reporting. The value of communication is even greater when it comes to project managers. Each team member has four main communication needs: responsibility, coordination, status, and authorization. The project manager could make these responsibilities easier by making task assignments clear, holding individual status meetings, and putting meetings on the calendar.
Configuration management
A subset of change management, which focuses on how to apply [approved] changes, configuration management limits the changes to control documents, in turn avoiding confusion by keeping all members on the same page. This helps to avoid potential disasters, for correcting the issue can be nigh impossible once well into the project. Control documents, computer files, prototypes, and test environments can all be subject to configuration management. To implement configuration management, the first step is to identify products and items that need to be controlled. Next, the management must establish the control structure. This step must take into account access restriction, possible record of changes, and notification for all the members. The final step in the process is to assign configuration management responsibility. Choosing this person should be a cautious choice, one that can handle the job yet still be respected by all the members in the project.
Closeout reporting
Closeout reporting is an often overlooked and neglected project management activity. This is usually because this phase isn’t always the most exciting; however it can be just as important as any other. Since the end product is the goal of the entire project itself, a successful closeout reporting is vital to delivering the final product, whatever it may be. Many closeout tasks can be identified as transition tasks, such as notifying all the project participants of status changes in the project, giving product improvement ideas, or detailing any open tasks by making an updated project plan.
End point
For this particular project that I am undertaking, communication is of uttermost important because of the nature of the goals of the outcome. The final product will be promoting communication through unspoken language or what is known in the field as Kinesics. Kinesics is the non-verbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body, or the body as a whole.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics
Controlling the Project
Controlling the Project
Building a High-Performance Project Team
Ch 10
Introduction
Building a strong and committed team is the dream of any project manager. Controlling the project and keeping it on track, that is the outcome of a hard working project manger. Controlling a project blends the art and science of project management, (Verzuh, Erick, 2005, pg 231).
The challenge of building project teams
Luck and mystery has nothing to do with building good working teams. It is the hard work that goes into selecting the team members and creating in them the will to cooperate and learn to work together. Every team faces several difficulties before assembling as a one unit. Two main factors should be taken into consideration when creating a high-performing team. The first is the clear understanding of the team member that they are teaming up to solve some complex problems and these problems must be solved. Second, working relationship between the forming team players are temporary, hence, it is a must that they learn to get along together. It is all about employee empowerment and employee involvement.
Leadership responsibilities
Actions speak louder than words. This old saying did not go wrong when addressing leadership issues. As project managers, it is not what we believe will influence our team mates but our deeds. What inspires a team is the personal energy that comes out through example. Leaders put the team in motion, focus on the objectives and keep moving forward until goals are achieved. It is rare that the commitment and attitude of the leader drops below that of the team players. On the other hand it is vitally crucial to remember that out team mates are humans. Humans with feelings, egos, and career goals beyond this particular project that they ate part of. Their confidence in us, their leaders, may dictate their level of motivation and dedication to the progress of the project. Our genuine concern to their needs demonstrated in addressing their dignity as human beings, may by a catalyst factor in deciding their dedication to the goals of the project. We all know the golden role that came in the good book, yet it is required of us, as leaders to even treat out team mates with a little bit more that we want to be treated. Always remember to stop before you reach the burnout point for your team members’ production limit.
Active listening
As the old saying goes, listening is an art. However, active listening is double that art. For the listening to be active the listener has to be attentive to the speaker, giving them his full undivided attention. Several factors may hinder out capability as project managers to listen. Some of these hindrances could be summarize in the followings:
- Distraction caused by the environment that we are in, such as degree of comfort and relaxation that a crowded conference room can offer. That can steal our concentration.
- Some times a prior knowledge of the spoken subject may rob out full attention given to the speaker. That might give us the false conclusion regarding what is being said, believing that giving more attention to the speaker will is not necessary since we know all needed to be known about the subject at hand.
- People talk in different styles according to the part of the world they are from or according to their level of education. Listeners tend to shut speakers off when using a different style than ours.
- Also a negative past experience with the same speaker may shut us off to his ideas. A good listener has to detach themselves from any prejudice against the speaker because of prior experience.
End point
Although we all as project managers could benefit from learning how to put teams together and how to work with them and get them to work with each others. Yet in this particular project, that is one thing I have to touch lightly. I’m performing the vast majority of the work plan tasks myself. The administrative portion of the project will be taken care of by the acting dean at CE in the form of rolling on decisions and budgets.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Building a High-Performance Project Team
Ch 10
Introduction
Building a strong and committed team is the dream of any project manager. Controlling the project and keeping it on track, that is the outcome of a hard working project manger. Controlling a project blends the art and science of project management, (Verzuh, Erick, 2005, pg 231).
The challenge of building project teams
Luck and mystery has nothing to do with building good working teams. It is the hard work that goes into selecting the team members and creating in them the will to cooperate and learn to work together. Every team faces several difficulties before assembling as a one unit. Two main factors should be taken into consideration when creating a high-performing team. The first is the clear understanding of the team member that they are teaming up to solve some complex problems and these problems must be solved. Second, working relationship between the forming team players are temporary, hence, it is a must that they learn to get along together. It is all about employee empowerment and employee involvement.
Leadership responsibilities
Actions speak louder than words. This old saying did not go wrong when addressing leadership issues. As project managers, it is not what we believe will influence our team mates but our deeds. What inspires a team is the personal energy that comes out through example. Leaders put the team in motion, focus on the objectives and keep moving forward until goals are achieved. It is rare that the commitment and attitude of the leader drops below that of the team players. On the other hand it is vitally crucial to remember that out team mates are humans. Humans with feelings, egos, and career goals beyond this particular project that they ate part of. Their confidence in us, their leaders, may dictate their level of motivation and dedication to the progress of the project. Our genuine concern to their needs demonstrated in addressing their dignity as human beings, may by a catalyst factor in deciding their dedication to the goals of the project. We all know the golden role that came in the good book, yet it is required of us, as leaders to even treat out team mates with a little bit more that we want to be treated. Always remember to stop before you reach the burnout point for your team members’ production limit.
Active listening
As the old saying goes, listening is an art. However, active listening is double that art. For the listening to be active the listener has to be attentive to the speaker, giving them his full undivided attention. Several factors may hinder out capability as project managers to listen. Some of these hindrances could be summarize in the followings:
- Distraction caused by the environment that we are in, such as degree of comfort and relaxation that a crowded conference room can offer. That can steal our concentration.
- Some times a prior knowledge of the spoken subject may rob out full attention given to the speaker. That might give us the false conclusion regarding what is being said, believing that giving more attention to the speaker will is not necessary since we know all needed to be known about the subject at hand.
- People talk in different styles according to the part of the world they are from or according to their level of education. Listeners tend to shut speakers off when using a different style than ours.
- Also a negative past experience with the same speaker may shut us off to his ideas. A good listener has to detach themselves from any prejudice against the speaker because of prior experience.
End point
Although we all as project managers could benefit from learning how to put teams together and how to work with them and get them to work with each others. Yet in this particular project, that is one thing I have to touch lightly. I’m performing the vast majority of the work plan tasks myself. The administrative portion of the project will be taken care of by the acting dean at CE in the form of rolling on decisions and budgets.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
The Planning Process / Realistic Scheduling
The Planning Process
Realistic Scheduling
Ch 7
Introduction
A successful project should meet the goal on time and within budget. In addition to that a successful project should have a realistic schedule. A practical schedule that is feasible to accomplish. Such schedule would include a detailed knowledge, a task sequence and an account of constrains that are not within the capability of the team to solve considering objective of all the team members.
Planning
On planning any project there are two stages should be considered, the preparing stage and the developing stage. The preparing stage is when the project is defined with a work plan that states the purpose, scope of the project and the responsibilities of each team member. Also, the project manager should prepare a risk log. While the development stage is recognizing resources available, building a breakdown structure, identifying task relationship, creating a schedule, and estimate work packages in size and in milestones.
Milestones
A milestone is defined to be an event or a stage in the life of an event that demonstrate progress or development of that event with time. That been said, it is obvious that the two most important milestones in any given project are the first and the last. There are three good reasons for me as a project manager to use. These reasons are:
- To mark inputs from one project party to another.
- To keep progress organized and easy to read.
- To catch any potential problem as soon as it happens.
Scheduling
As project progresses, it is imperative that tasks are completed in such a way that a successor task doesn’t start until the predecessor one is completed (fig 7.3 pg 137). Or what is called a finish-to-start relationship which is the most common task relationship on the network. This requires an adequate scheduling and awareness of the delivery date especially if it is an externally imposed finish date. Externally imposed deadlines usually do not come with a little or no float and once the float is used up the project will run in the negative float. That happens when the finish date is impossible to meet, hence for the experienced project manager the float should not be an opportunity to move slow on tasks.
End Point
Reading Realistic Scheduling, I realized couple of concepts I wasn’t implimenting in my project. As important as the milestones are to any successful project, I really did not include them in my work plan, simply because I wasn’t aware of them and their significance to my project. Although I had a float in the finish date, I didn’t take the negative float possibility in my consideration. Although it is not too late to incorporate new milestone as the project progresses but still I would save a lot of valuable time had I used them.
The second was the finish-to-start task relationship. I'm not sure whether that would’ve worked for me but definitely my work plan would’ve been more precise and better organized. I had more than one task going the same time. It didn’t ruin my project but for sure it spread out my resources unnecessarily.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Realistic Scheduling
Ch 7
Introduction
A successful project should meet the goal on time and within budget. In addition to that a successful project should have a realistic schedule. A practical schedule that is feasible to accomplish. Such schedule would include a detailed knowledge, a task sequence and an account of constrains that are not within the capability of the team to solve considering objective of all the team members.
Planning
On planning any project there are two stages should be considered, the preparing stage and the developing stage. The preparing stage is when the project is defined with a work plan that states the purpose, scope of the project and the responsibilities of each team member. Also, the project manager should prepare a risk log. While the development stage is recognizing resources available, building a breakdown structure, identifying task relationship, creating a schedule, and estimate work packages in size and in milestones.
Milestones
A milestone is defined to be an event or a stage in the life of an event that demonstrate progress or development of that event with time. That been said, it is obvious that the two most important milestones in any given project are the first and the last. There are three good reasons for me as a project manager to use. These reasons are:
- To mark inputs from one project party to another.
- To keep progress organized and easy to read.
- To catch any potential problem as soon as it happens.
Scheduling
As project progresses, it is imperative that tasks are completed in such a way that a successor task doesn’t start until the predecessor one is completed (fig 7.3 pg 137). Or what is called a finish-to-start relationship which is the most common task relationship on the network. This requires an adequate scheduling and awareness of the delivery date especially if it is an externally imposed finish date. Externally imposed deadlines usually do not come with a little or no float and once the float is used up the project will run in the negative float. That happens when the finish date is impossible to meet, hence for the experienced project manager the float should not be an opportunity to move slow on tasks.
End Point
Reading Realistic Scheduling, I realized couple of concepts I wasn’t implimenting in my project. As important as the milestones are to any successful project, I really did not include them in my work plan, simply because I wasn’t aware of them and their significance to my project. Although I had a float in the finish date, I didn’t take the negative float possibility in my consideration. Although it is not too late to incorporate new milestone as the project progresses but still I would save a lot of valuable time had I used them.
The second was the finish-to-start task relationship. I'm not sure whether that would’ve worked for me but definitely my work plan would’ve been more precise and better organized. I had more than one task going the same time. It didn’t ruin my project but for sure it spread out my resources unnecessarily.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
The Planning Procees / Work Breakdown Structure
The Planning Process
Work Breakdown Structure
Ch 6
Introduction
Any project that takes more that few simple steps to complete is a complex project. For example if you are to prepare some boiled eggs, then you don’t need such a complex planning and calculating to be able to put up a working plan. Yet if you were to cook some lobster tails dinner, then you need to put together some pre-cooking working plan. First you need to get the recipe, the ingredients, the mixing formula, cooking time and instruction and probably quite few more steps. Perhaps the most powerful technique in project management is to breakdown the work plan. If done well, it can become the secret to successful project management.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The work breakdown structure or as it is some times referred to as task list. It is the tool that divides a large and complicated project into several small easy to mange tasks. Putting a WBS together helps the project manager in providing a detailed illustration of project scope also monitor progress and create accurate estimates, in addition to building project teams.
Work Package Size
According to Verzuh, the secret to a successful project management could be the ability to breakdown a large size project to smaller units of work. This way these small work units will be easier to manage and assess. In addition, it will be far more manageable in case of an uncertainty happening. As every project manager realizes that things on the planning sheets will not move as expected on ground, it is advisable that the manger plan these small unit of work with some simple yet effective rules in mind. The 8/80 rule, that suggests keeping the size of working packages between 8 to 80 hours of labor. Also, the reporting period or what is called status meetings should not be longer than the time needed to complete any of these units of work. These meetings are convened for the purpose of reporting the progress of the project and to identify any potential problems.
Planning for Quality
Quality is job number one on any project manager’s mind. Yet the phase that this quality control process takes place is crucial for the planning and delivery of the final product. Steve McConnell in his book Rapid Development, talks about the wasted efforts and lost time in repairing a defected product in the final stages. He states that “if a defect is fixed in the construction phase, it can cost 50 to 200 time as much to fix as it would have in the requirement phase.”
End Point
I found that WBS is important to my Capstone project as it is to any of the projects that mentioned in the chapter. After reading this chapter, I went back to my drawing board and tried to break it down to smaller work units, not because it is a huge and complex project but just because following WBS makes it easier and more manageable to do one task at a time, and once it is completed, I can move on to other tasks without worrying about the completed one anymore. That by itself takes away a lot of an unnecessary pressure.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Work Breakdown Structure
Ch 6
Introduction
Any project that takes more that few simple steps to complete is a complex project. For example if you are to prepare some boiled eggs, then you don’t need such a complex planning and calculating to be able to put up a working plan. Yet if you were to cook some lobster tails dinner, then you need to put together some pre-cooking working plan. First you need to get the recipe, the ingredients, the mixing formula, cooking time and instruction and probably quite few more steps. Perhaps the most powerful technique in project management is to breakdown the work plan. If done well, it can become the secret to successful project management.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
The work breakdown structure or as it is some times referred to as task list. It is the tool that divides a large and complicated project into several small easy to mange tasks. Putting a WBS together helps the project manager in providing a detailed illustration of project scope also monitor progress and create accurate estimates, in addition to building project teams.
Work Package Size
According to Verzuh, the secret to a successful project management could be the ability to breakdown a large size project to smaller units of work. This way these small work units will be easier to manage and assess. In addition, it will be far more manageable in case of an uncertainty happening. As every project manager realizes that things on the planning sheets will not move as expected on ground, it is advisable that the manger plan these small unit of work with some simple yet effective rules in mind. The 8/80 rule, that suggests keeping the size of working packages between 8 to 80 hours of labor. Also, the reporting period or what is called status meetings should not be longer than the time needed to complete any of these units of work. These meetings are convened for the purpose of reporting the progress of the project and to identify any potential problems.
Planning for Quality
Quality is job number one on any project manager’s mind. Yet the phase that this quality control process takes place is crucial for the planning and delivery of the final product. Steve McConnell in his book Rapid Development, talks about the wasted efforts and lost time in repairing a defected product in the final stages. He states that “if a defect is fixed in the construction phase, it can cost 50 to 200 time as much to fix as it would have in the requirement phase.”
End Point
I found that WBS is important to my Capstone project as it is to any of the projects that mentioned in the chapter. After reading this chapter, I went back to my drawing board and tried to break it down to smaller work units, not because it is a huge and complex project but just because following WBS makes it easier and more manageable to do one task at a time, and once it is completed, I can move on to other tasks without worrying about the completed one anymore. That by itself takes away a lot of an unnecessary pressure.
Reference:
- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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