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BUSINESS PLUG-IN B15

Project Management

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Describe the project stakeholders and executive sponsor’s roles in choosing strategic projects

2. Highlight the five components of a project charter

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

3. Describe the two primary diagrams most frequently used in project planning

4. Identify the three primary areas a project manager must focus on managing to ensure success

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS

• Project – temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result

• Project management – the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements

• Project manager – an individual who is an expert in project planning and management

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS

• Project management role

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CHOOSING STRATEGIC PROJECTS

• Project stakeholders - individuals and organizations actively involved in the project or whose interests might be affected as a result of project execution or project completion

• Executive sponsor - the person or group who provides the financial resources for the project

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CHOOSING STRATEGIC PROJECTS

• Three common techniques for selecting projects

1. Focus on organizational goals

2. Categorize projects

3. Perform a financial analysis

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UNDERSTANDING PROJECT PLANNING

• After selecting strategic projects and identifying a project manager the next critical component is the project plan

• Building a project plan involves two key components:– Project charter– Project plan

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Project Charter

• Project charter - a document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities and includes:– Project scope– Project objectives– Project constraints– Projects assumptions

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Project Charter

• SMART criteria are useful reminders on how to ensure that the project has created understandable and measurable objectives

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Project Plan

• Project plan – a formal, approved document that manages and controls project execution

• A well-defined project plan should be:– Easy to understand and read– Communicated to all key participants– Appropriate to the project’s size, complexity, and

criticality– Prepared by the team, rather than by the individual

project manager

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Project Plan

• Two primary diagrams used in project planning include PERT and Gantt charts

– PERT chart – a graphical network model that depicts a project’s tasks and the relationships between those tasks

• Dependency• Critical path

– Gantt chart – a simple bar chart that depicts project tasks against a calendar

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Project Plan

• PERT Chart EXPERT – PERT Chart Example

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Project Plan

• MS Project – Gantt Chart Example

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MANAGING PROJECTS

• Project manager - an individual who is an expert in project planning and management, defines and develops the project plan, and tracks the plan to ensure the projects is completed on time and on budget

• Project milestones - represent key dates when a certain group of activities must be performed

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MANAGING PROJECTS

• Managing a project includes:– Identifying requirements– Establishing clear and achievable objectives.– Balancing the competing demands of quality,

scope, time, and cost– Adapting the specifications, plans, and

approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders

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MANAGING PROJECTS

• A project manager must focus on managing three primary areas to ensure success:– Managing people– Managing communications– Managing change– Managing risk

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MANAGING PROJECTS

• Change management – a set of techniques that aid in evolution, composition, and policy management of the design and implementation of a system

– Change management system – a collection of procedures to document a change request and define the steps necessary to consider the change based on the expected impact of the change

– Change control board (CCB) – responsible for approving or rejecting all change requests

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MANAGING PROJECTS

• Common reasons change occurs– An omission in defining initial scope– A misunderstanding of the initial scope– An external event– Organizational changes– Availability of better technology– Shifts in planned technology– Users needs and requests– Management reducing funding

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Preparing for Change

• Three important guidelines fore effectively dealing with change management1. Institute change management polices

2. Anticipate change

3. Seek change

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RISK MANAGEMENT

• Project risk – an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project objective– Risk management – the process of

proactive and ongoing identification, analysis, and response to risk factors

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Mitigating Risk

• Actions to improve risk management capabilities– Promote project leadership skills– Learn from previous experience– Share knowledge– Create a project management culture

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CLOSING CASE ONEStaying on Track – Toronto Transit

• Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) serves over 1 million customers daily

• TTC currently has over 50 large engineering and construction projects

• TTC’s 50 projects average 100 – 150 activities each, with some projects encompassing as many as 500 – 600 activities

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CLOSING CASE ONE QUESTIONS

1. Describe Gantt charts and explain how TTC could use one to communicate project status

2. Describe PERT charts and explain how TTC could use one to communicate project status

3. How could TTC use its Master Schedule to gain efficiencies in its supply chain?

4. How could TTC use its Master Schedule to identify change management and risk management issues?

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CLOSING CASE TWOChange at Toyota

• Toyota Motor Sales undertook significant change to bring IT and the business closer

• The change began with the upheaval of a 400-person IS department

• 50 percent of jobs were changed over 6 months

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CLOSING CASE TWO QUESTIONS

1. What would be the impact on Toyota’s business if it failed to implement a project management solution and managed its projects using a myriad of spreadsheets and Word documents?

2. Why would Toyota find it important to focus on implementing good project management techniques?

3. Why are project management, change management, and risk management critical to a global company such as Toyota?

4. Describe the ramifications to Toyota’s business if it failed to anticipate change.