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PhD WorkshopProject Management

4 November 2010

Dr Kay DudmanFaculty of Computing

London Metropolitan University

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Plan for today

Projects and project management: some definitions

Project life cycle

Planning tools and techniques

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What we are notnot doing todayNot writing proposals...Not writing proposals......looking organising, scheduling and

monitoring activities and resources

What we are are doing todayUsing examplesUsing examples

...try out the techniques in the context of your own PhD

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Definitions

Project

Purpose of projects

Project management

Stakeholders

Project life cycle

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What is a project?

"...a managed collection of activities to bring about a desired change"

(CCTA, 1997)

"...a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service"

(PMBoK, 1996)

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Why do we have projects?

"All work is project work"

Tom Peters, 1999

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What is project management?

Ensuring the defined project is delivered

on time

within budget

to the specification and quality required and expected by the major stakeholders

Making the project happenhappen

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Stakeholder analysis

A stakeholder in a project is a person or organisation who:

is involved with...

is affected by...

can affect the outcome of...

the project

A key stakeholder could close the project

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Who are the (key) stakeholders(key) stakeholders for your PhD programmes?

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Project life cycle

Four phase life cycle

...there are other models in use

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Project life cycle

Four basic phases conceptualisation definition/plan execution/implementation finishing/completion

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Conceptualisation initial plans demonstrate feasibility identify general risks and constraints identify stakeholders & their

requirements define scope determine success criteria prepare feasibility document gain approval to move to next stage…

Project life cycle:

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Definition/plan refine objectives and scope design solution identify project constraints identify tasks and activities identify resources agree standards and methods

Project life cycle:

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Definition/plan (continued) schedule activities and resources agree budget assess risks produce a baseline plan gain approval to move to next stage...

Project life cycle:

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Why plan?

If we failfail to planplan…

…we planplan to fail fail !

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Definition/plan proactive rather than reactive who does what, when and how? what resources are required, and

when? identify problems and/or risks early help identify costs help communication allows progress to be measured

Why plan?

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Why plan?

Planning has its own costs

Benefits must outweigh costs Good planning will benefitbenefit the project Bad planning can add to the cost of failurefailure

Don't over-plan – allow flexibility too detailed may be impossible to achieve

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Execution/implementation detailed technical requirements &

design refine & carry out the plan monitor & control progress against

plan update plan as necessary report on progress plan identifies detail of future work

Project life cycle:

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Finishing/completion work is completed and documented finished product made available provides basis for final evaluation

Project life cycle:

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What phase of the project life project life cyclecycle is your PhD?

What do you need to do to move to the next phase?

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Planning tools and techniques STEEPLE factors SMART objectives Work breakdown structure Scheduling Gantt charts Network diagrams Critical path analysis

Project management

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External (environmental) factors include:= S= Socialocial

= P= Politicalolitical

= E= Economicconomic

= T= Technologicalechnological

= E= Environmentalnvironmental

S

T

E

E

P

L

E

Influencing factors

= L= Legalegal

= E= Ethicalthical

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What STEEPLE factorsSTEEPLE factors can you identify for your PhD?

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Objectives

Clear project objectives are vitalvital to planning

Allow successsuccess of the project to be evaluated

Enable prioritiespriorities to be set

Enable conflictsconflicts to be resolved

Provide direction and motivation

Published so key stakeholders are aware of them

Must be SSMMAARRTT

Cross-reference at end to establish completion

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Objectives

= S= Specific and written downpecific and written down

= T= Time-framedime-framed

= A= Agreed, Aligned, Achievablegreed, Aligned, Achievable

= M= Measurableeasurable

= R= Realistic, Relevantealistic, Relevant

S

M

A

R

T

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SMART Objectives

Increase UK sales volume of ring binders by 5% by 30 June 2011

Some examples:

the objective is:

specific and written downspecific and written down

measurablemeasurable “increase UK sales volume of ring binders by 5%”

achievableachievable by the staff concerned, agreedagreed by those involved, alignedaligned to the requirements of the organisation

relevantrelevant to organisation’s sales targets, realisticrealistic in terms of outlets

time-framedtime-framed “by 30 June 2011”

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SMART Objectives

Reduce staff absenteeism in SE department by 30% by 31 Dec 2011

Some examples:

the objective is:

specific and written downspecific and written down

measurablemeasurable “reduce staff absenteeism in SE dept by 30%”

achievableachievable by the staff concerned, with health awareness courses, agreedagreed by those involved, alignedaligned to the requirements of the organisation

relevantrelevant to the work of the organisation, realisticrealistic in terms of health care provision

time-framedtime-framed “by 31 December 2011”

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SMART Objectives

Submit draft report to supervisor by 31 August 2011

Some examples:

the objective is:

specific and written downspecific and written down

measurablemeasurable “submit draft report”

achievableachievable by the student (you!), agreedagreed between student and supervisor, alignedaligned to the research topic

relevantrelevant to the research area, realisticrealistic in terms resources (e.g. attending seminar / conference / workshop)

time-framedtime-framed “by 31 August 2011”

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What SMART objectivesSMART objectives can you identify for your PhD?

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Work Breakdown Structure

Systematic way of breaking down a project into manageable and well-defined “chunks” of work (work packageswork packages)

Each work packagework package broken down into a detailed list of activitiesactivities

Each activityactivity broken down into individual taskstasks

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Work Breakdown Structure

project your PhD!

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Work Breakdown Structure

work packages work packages could include:

literature survey and reviewperform studyanalyse & interpret resultswriting thesis

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Work Breakdown Structure

activities activities could include: identify and review relevant papers submit paper to conference submit interim report to supervisor prepare questionnaire interpret data from questionnaire identify subjects (individuals) for study plan structure of thesis

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Work Breakdown Structure

tasks tasks could include: request paper by Jones from library request paper by Smith from author review paper by Jones review paper by Smith interview subjects set questions for questionnaire issue questionnaire analyse data from questionnaire write report have report proof read submit report cite references build references section

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Work Breakdown Structure

Project Breakdown: top level

W P 1 W P 2 W P 3 W P 4

C o m ple te P ro je ct

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Work Breakdown Structure

W ork Package 1 Breakdown

A c tivity 1 .1 A c tivity 1 .2 A c tivity 1 .3

W P 1

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Work Breakdown Structure

Activity 1.1 Breakdown

Task 1.1.1 Task 1.1.2 Task 1.1.3 Task 1.1.4

A c tivity 1 .1

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Work Breakdown Structure

Project Breakdown: com plete structure

Task 1.1.1Task 1.1.2Task 1.1.3Task 1.1.4

A c tivity 1 .1

Task 1.2.1Task 1.2.2Task 1.2.3

A c tivity 1 .2

Task 1.3.1Task 1.3.2

A c tivity 1 .3

W P 1 W P 2 W P 3

Task 4.1.1Task 4.1.2Task 4.1.3

A c tivity 4 .1

Task 4.2.1Task 4.2.2Task 4.2.3Task 4.2.4Task 4.2.5

A c tivity 4 .2

W P 4

C o m p le te P ro je ct

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Work Breakdown Structure

Work package breakdown decided on: Functional grounds Responsibility Project phase Geographic location

There is not an implied order in the

work packageswork packages / activitiesactivities / taskstasks

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Work Breakdown StructureWork package: literature survey and Work package: literature survey and

reviewreviewActivity Activity – identify relevant literature

tasktask: request paper by Jones from library tasktask: request paper by Smith from author

Activity Activity – review relevant literature tasktask: review paper by Jones tasktask: review paper by Smith

Work package: check validity of dataWork package: check validity of data Activity Activity – confirm findings of survey

tasktask: interview subjects

Activity Activity – interpret data from questionnaire tasktask: analyse data from questionnaire

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Work Breakdown StructureWork package: prepare surveyWork package: prepare survey

Activity Activity – generate questionnaire for survey tasktask: set questions for questionnaire tasktask: issue questionnaire

Work package: report findingsWork package: report findingsActivity Activity – construct report

tasktask: write report tasktask: have report proof read tasktask: submit report

Activity Activity – gather existing work tasktask: cite references tasktask: build references section

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What work packages, activities and work packages, activities and taskstasks can you identify for planning your research?

Can you group the activities and tasks together in different ways?

Which arrangement suits youryour way of working?

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Scheduling

Setting out all project activities & tasks

logically so dependencies & resource

constraints are satisfied

The project schedule is constrained by:

Resource availability

Logical dependencies

Milestone constraints

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Resources

Resource availability affects task schedule

Ensure the rightright resources are used

Ensure resources are used efficientlyefficiently

Affects cost, quality and time

Relationship between these is not linear(Brooks, 1995)

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Resources

HumanOther

Equipment Tools Office space Information Raw materials … and so on ...

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What resourcesresources do you need for your research?

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Dependencies

Logical relationships between tasks

Finish-to-start is common task Atask A must finish before task Btask B can start

may include lag and lead times (delay or overlap)

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Dependencies

Other constraints on tasks: task cannot start beforebefore a specific date task must finish byby a specific date task must start onon a specific date task must start as soonsoon as possible task must start as latelate as possible task must run in parallelin parallel with another task task must wait X dayswait X days after another task ends

• caution: these may be consecutive working days

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Milestones

Milestones significant eventssignificant events in the project plan normally correspond to key deliverables

• transfer report from MPhil to PhD

• submission of thesis

milestones and dates are agreed with key stakeholders at the baseline plan stage

milestones often become fixedfixed

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What milestonesmilestones can you identify for your PhD?

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Scheduling

TasksTasks must be scheduled to satisfy all constraints, logical dependencies and milestone dates

There are tools to help achieve this Project schedule must also be ‘‘stable stable ’’

Small disruptions Small disruptions to tasks must not have significant impact on the whole schedulewhole schedule

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Gantt charts Gantt charts show tasks/activities against time Tasks could include:

request Jones paper from library request Smith paper from author review paper by Jones review paper by Smith interview subjects set questions for questionnaire issue questionnaire analyse data from questionnaire submit report have report proof read write report cite references build references section

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Gantt charts

Can set questions while requesting and reviewing papers Might not need two full weeks

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Gantt charts

Might be able to start this task early ...and finish early

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Gantt charts

Might not have to start this task straight away Might want to delay while doing other things

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Gantt charts

Might be able to set questions in the middle of the time slot

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Gantt charts

Questionnaire must be prepared before it can be issued

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Gantt charts

Questionnaire must be issued & returned before results can be analysed

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Gantt charts

Analyse data before interviewing subjects

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Gantt charts

Interview subjects before writing report

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Gantt charts

Have report proof read before submission

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Gantt charts

In their basic form Gantt charts: Do not explicitly show logical dependencies Do not optimise resources and costs Do not display current progress

But...They are simple to read

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Isolate the Baseline Plan

RisksRisks must be associated with a planplan before they can be handled

As risks could prevent the achievement of objectives, plans for achieving objectives must be in place before risks can be considered

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Analyse and Assign RisksIdentify:

WhatWhat are the potential risks?

Assess: What is the impactimpact of each risk? What is the likelihoodlikelihood of the risk occurring? How can the risk be preventedprevented or identifiedidentified

early early ? What needs to be doneneeds to be done if the risk does occur?

Allocate: To whom can I assignassign the risk?

this will probably be youyou

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What risksrisks can you identify in your plan for your PhD?

What could possibly go wrong?

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Network diagrams

Powerful tools to represent and optimise

complex schedules

Not as intuitive as Gantt charts

Planning rather management reporting tool

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Activity on Arrow

The network consists of ‘nodes’ and ‘arrows’ Each node represents an ‘event’ Each arrow starts and ends at an event Each arrow represents an activity Arrows and nodes are uniquely labelled Arrows point from left to right (indicating time)

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10 20A

2

Activity A runs from event 10 to event 20 and has a duration of 2 time units

An activity could be: identify and review relevant papers submit paper to conference submit interim report to supervisor prepare questionnaire interpret data from questionnaire identify subjects (individuals) for study

Activity on Arrow

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Activity on Arrow

10 20 50 70 80

30 40

60

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

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Critical path method

Earliest Event Time (EET): Earliest time an event can occur

Equal to the earliest time allall activities leading into the event can be completed

Determines the earliest time any activity leading from the event can start

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Critical path method

Latest Event Time (LET):

Latest time an event can occur (and still complete the project in the shortest possible time)

Greater than or equal to the earliest event time

Cannot be earlier than the earliest event time (would indicate a problem in the calculation)

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Critical path method

Notes: two passes through network diagram

• first pass to calculate EETs, left to right

• second pass to calculate LETs, right to left

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Critical path method

Notes: cannot have LET earlierearlier than EET - by

definition cannot have negativenegative times for EETs and

LETs start time of project will be zero (EET=LET=0) finish time of project will have EET=LET

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Critical path method

Some definitions …

FloatFloat is the difference between LET and EET: Float = LET – EET

Slack is slightly different from float, but the terms are often used inthe same way

Float is always greater than or equal to zero

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Critical path method

Some definitions …

The critical pathcritical path is the sequence of activities with zero float

The critical pathcritical path is:

the longest pathlongest path through the network, but the shortest timeshortest time in which the project can be completed

The critical path must go all the way throughall the way through the network diagram

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Critical path method

10 00

2022

5070 80

30 40

60

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEET

EET 0 plus duration 2 gives EET 2 for the

next activities B, C & D

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Critical path method

10 00

2022

5077

70 80

30 66

40

6055

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEET

EET 2 plus duration 3 gives EET 5 for the

next activity H

EET 2 plus duration 5 gives EET 7 for the

next activity G

EET 2 plus duration 4 gives EET 6 for the

next activity E

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Critical path method

10 00

2022

5077

701212

80

30 66

4088

6055

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEET

From H, EET 5 plus duration 7 gives EET 12 for the next activity I

From G, EET 7 plus duration 3 gives EET 10

for the next activity I

From F, EET 8 plus duration 3 gives EET 11

for the next activity I

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Critical path method

10 00

2022

5077

701212

801515

30 66

4088

6055

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETChoose the latestlatest EET;

need to wait until longest activity has finished

EET 12 plus duration 3 gives 15 for the endof the project

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Critical path method: table

Activity Duration EET LET Float/Slack

A 2 0B 4 2C 5 2D 3 2E 2 6F 3 8G 3 7H 7 5I 3 12

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Critical path method

1000

2022

5077

701212,,1212

801515,,1515

3066

4088

6055

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETLETLET

LET 15 minus duration 3 gives LET 12 for activity I

LET = EET for the end of the project

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Critical path method

1000

2022

5077,,99

701212,,1212

801515,,1515

3066

4088,,99

6055,,55

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETLETLET

LET 12 minus duration 3 gives LET 9 for activity F

LET 1 minus duration 3 gives LET 9 for activity G

LET 12 minus duration 7 gives LET 5 for activity H

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Critical path method

1000

2022,,22

5077,,99

701212,,1212

801515,,1515

3066,,77

4088,,99

6055,,55

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETLETLET

LET 7 minus duration 4 gives LET 3 for activity B

LET 9 minus duration 5 gives LET 4 for activity C

LET 5 minus duration 3 gives LET 2 for activity D

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Critical path method

1000

2022,,22

5077,,99

701212,,1212

801515,,1515

3066,,77

4088,,99

6055,,55

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETLETLET

Choose the earliestearliest LETso that the longest activity will

have enough time to finish

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Critical path method

1000,,00

2022,,22

5077,,99

701212,,1212

801515,,1515

3066,,77

4088,,99

6055,,55

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETLETLET

LET 2 minus duration 2 gives LET 0 for the start of the project

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Critical path method: table

Activity Duration EET LET Float/Slack

A 2 0 0B 4 2 2 or 3C 5 2 2 or 4D 3 2 2E 2 6 7F 3 8 9G 3 7 9H 7 5 5I 3 12 12

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Critical path method

1000,00

2022,22

5077,99

701212,,1212

801515,1515

3066,77

4088,99

6055,55

A2

B4

D3

C5

E2 F

3G3H7

I3

EETEETLETLETCritical pathCritical path

The longestlongest path through the network is

the shortestshortest timetime the project can take

The critical path is the path with zero float; anyany delay will meanthe whole projectwhole project will be late

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Critical path method: table

Activity Duration EET LET Float/Slack

A 2 0 0 00B 4 2 2 or 3 1C 5 2 2 or 4 2D 3 2 2 00E 2 6 7 1F 3 8 9 1G 3 7 9 2H 7 5 5 00I 3 12 12 00

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Network diagram Network diagrams show tasks in sequence/parallel Tasks could include:

request paper by Jones request paper by Smith review paper by Jones review paper by Smith interview subjects set questions for questionnaire issue questionnaire analyse data from questionnaire submit report have report proof read write report cite references build references section

Consider how long each task might take

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Network diagram

10

20

110 12040

30

request Jones paper

request Smith paper

write

repor

tpr

oof

read

repo

rt

subm

i

t re

por

t7060

review Jones paper

review Smith paper

set q

’s for

q’naire

issue

q’na

ire

analyse data

from

q’naire

interview

subjects

50 100

90cit

e

refere

nce

s

build

refe

renc

e

s sec

tion

80

dumm

y

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How could you use the critical critical path method path method in planning your PhD?

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Conclusion

Project life cycle basic framework for any project

• going on holiday• organising a conference• researching for a PhD

Planning tools & techniques useful methods to help you plan

• what you are going to do• what you have done so far• what there is left to do

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Enjoy your research!• think about publishing papers

- relevant journals- appropriate conferences

• attend relevant conferences to get feedback- some conference organisers want student

helpers

• submit your transfer document / thesis- follow the university guidelines

• think about using project management tools and techniques to keep your research on track!

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References & further reading Allen D (2001) Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-free Productivity, Piatkus

Bell J (1993) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education and Social Science, 2nd edition, Open University Press

Cohen L, Manion L & Morrison K (2000) Research Methods in Education, 5th edition, Routledge Falmer

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References & further reading Andersen E S (2008) Rethinking Project Management: An Organisational Perspective, FT Prentice-Hall

Bentley C (1997) PRINCE 2: A Practical Handbook, Butterworth-Heinemann

Brooks F. (1995) The Mythical Man-Month (Anniversary Edition), Addison-Wesley

Burke R (1999). Project Management: Planning and Control Techniques, Wiley

Cadle J & Yates D (2008) Project Management for Information Systems, Pearson/Prentice-Hall

Central Computer & Telecommunications Agency (1997) PRINCE 2: An Outline, The Stationery Office

Field M & Keller L (1998) Project Management, International Thomson Business Press

Maylor H (2003) Project Management 3rd edition, FT Prentice-Hall http://www.epigeum.com/component/content/article/37-research-

skills-online/67-6-project-management-in-the-research-context (last accessed 1 Nov 2010)

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Any Questions?